Altidore: Villarreal vs. Sevilla, Dec. 14, 13:00 ET

Awesome...thanks.

 

I though Khaveci and Rossi had the flu? and believe me even if they cannot go it will be Franco that gets the start....

 

Stop making stuff up.

 

I too didn't think Rossi was injured.

 

Rossi and Nihat will start, they are not injured just have the flu and will im sure not be sick for Barcelona, i think Jozy will be first off the bench if they fall behind. If they are winning then you wont see Jozy at all. I do think that Jozy is ahead of Franco now though.

 

I don't like bringing kids on when you need a goal.

 

I havent read many of the posts, but I was in Tenerife watching this match in a bar. Besides the obvious comical defending on the wings, the most stated comment was 'why are these idiots dancing so much instead of getting it to the forward?'

And I couldnt really disagree at all.

You saw the yellow's time and time again, try and beat 4 players on the dribble, bounce a ball off the defender, and score the miracle tying goal.

You got the feeling that if Jozy saw anything withing 20 feet of the goal in the a scoring position he would do something with it, but each pass was too high, too short, unreachable, or to empty space.

I just kept waiting for one even semi-good chance to come Jozy's way and it didnt. He left the ball two or three times to onrushing players only to see it come to a pathetic finish. His give and go with Franco would have been superb had Franco actually laid it back to a wide open Jozy on the right (if I remember correctly...that Dorara beer is lethal man.) At any rate, it is pretty obvious that the team needs a complete overhaul in the back. They need speed and they need size and leadership.

Also, I would strongly consider going 66 on this and dropping in two Dmids on this team. Their strikers and defenders and talented enough goal scorers.

 

Soccer America Daily on Jozy....

 

Hardly definitive.

 

Altidore was marked extremely tight from the time he came on until the end of the game. The announcers on GolTV made mention of this several times. Every time he touched the ball his back was to the goal and he was playing the roll of a target forward. Not once did he receive a ball he could run onto. He played several good balls to players running onto him and didn't receive anything back. The "fouls" are because Jozy is a very big strong young man who at 18 or 19 is a horse.

 

Excellent points.

You guys think he'd be able to show his abilities if he was played on the wing instead of waiting for the ball to come to him playing as a target forward?

He'd be able to run at the goal using his speed and strength more often than if he was playing forward, especially given the recent dip in form in Villarreal's midfield.

I think it'd be good for him, help him find his feet a little bit and eventually make the transition back to forward.

 

But I thought Jozy was a CF...?

Edit: So u suggest he play in Pires or Cazorla's Positions'

 

Well yes, he is a CF but I'm thinking he could come in around the 70th min to replace Pires and have a chance to run at defenders with the ball.

I don't really think it will happen. Just throwing out some ideas.

 

Jozy was a fairly mediocre winger in MLS; I woud expect that would make him subpar there in La Liga. He's had luck in the past as a forward with freedom to drift to the wings, though. His first appearance for Villarreal was an example of that.

 

You make the generous assumption Pires will last until the 70th minute

Don't be surprised if you do not see Altidore at all in this weekend's game though, especially if Villareal decide to make a game out of it....I get the feeling if Pellegrini goes with a 4-4-2 we'll see Rossi and Franco up top with Khaveci the first option off of the bench....

Of course if Barca make mincemeat out of them Pellegrini might decide to bleed Altidore and Fernandez a little more

 

Jozy had some of his worst games as a winger for the Red Bulls, although more than one coach put him there. He works best when paired with another forward who draws attention and can hold the ball, allowing Jozy to make runs.

 

I agree he isn't a winger, but in my view he is best used as a lead forward paired with a more withdrawn forward like Donovan or Adu. While Altidore had some success playing with Angel, he never looked comfortable or maxing out on his talent in that combination.

Yes, Altidore had trouble holding the ball against Sevilla, but so would Brian McBride... or anybody else. The reason -- Villareal was a man down and outplayed, leaving it often with its best play being a long, hopeful ball that the defenders are alway favored to deal with. Let's see how Altidore does holding the ball in slightly less difficult situations before consigning him to be a winger.

Franco was much, much worse than Altidore in his time on the field against Sevilla. Of course, that doesn't mean that he won't be preferred by a coach in a pressure-filled, high-profile match against Barcelona.

 

I finally got a chance to watch my recording of this game. Hmm, I do think he could do better holding the ball as compared to other big strong forwards (Carlton Cole comes to mind as an example). I think he tries to hold it up a bit too much and might be better taking it back to some space on the run and then laying it off. I also think he was just a bit late in anticipating some flick ons here and there. It is notable that the defender was usually reacting slightly faster than he was which means the defender often saw what was coming before he did. Lastly, I think his body language is a bit uncertain. By that I mean he doesn't explode on his runs--just kind of hesitantly starts them. I think that causes the guy on the ball to not be entirely certain what he is going to do. That, in particular, is lack of experience with his teammates. I am nitpicking here because I think he did some good things as well. Watch Raul play that same position. Once the camera swings foward he has usually already made a full tilt run somewhere. Maybe he is offside or maybe the ball is picked off but if not, he is gone. Tactically I know the teams are different but he would be a good person for Jose to watch.