Its been about two months since Acosta last played a game where he acted like a mature professional. Since some time in April, he's been pouting and throwing his hands in the air every time he loses or gets knocked off the ball too easily. And then he just walks around with a pained expression on his face but insists on getting the ball ALL the time. Only to lose it. I'm not talking about bad or off games where passes don't connect. Or where his shots are off. Or where runners can't quite catch up to a thru-pass. I'm mean inexcusable immaturity from a DP and from someone who's supposed to be a leader
His actions really confuse me, yes the transfer fell thru.....it sucks....but if I'm a European scout watching him constantly pout or throw a hissy fit whenever something doesn't goes his way I'm not going to be interested in shelling out big bucks for a guy who may just end up being a bad apple for my team. He really isn't doing himself any favors.
And replace him with who? Titi? Watching the game last night, I think some of what folks see is misinterpreted. First, Lucho is a fierce competitor and he holds both himself and his teammates to a very high standard. I think that's why Rooney likes him and vice versa. Second, teams pummel the shit out of him all game long and the dimwit MLS refs permit it. That has to be incredibly frustrating when bipedal hacks are taking you out of your game not through skill but by mugging you. Last night he was gesturing constantly to his teammates to be more active and tougher. He gets pissed when he thinks a player mailed in a play. Given the lassitude exhibited by the team last night, I fully understand the frustration. Lucho had very little support going forward -- really Rooney and Titi. However the rest of the team neither surged forward nor stayed compact and were cut to shreds by NYCFC, I'd be ********ing apeshit if I ran my legs off in a match and others either couldn't help the offense or help the defense.
Ok... nobody up there to make that final pass into the box. I get it. He can be frustrated. That doesn't mean he should dribble into three people instead of making a simple pass that allows more players to get forward or that he should not make any attempt to win the ball back after dribbling into three people.
I agree. Lucho is skilled and exciting but he often puts himself into a situation where failure is almost preordained - such as dribbling into a crowd; holding the ball too long, etc. Now perhaps this is in part because, aside from Rooney, he distrusts passing to anyone else. If this is the case, it's a big problem for the team. My "solution" is to find a true, front-running striker and let Rooney drop back to midfield to work at close quarters with Lucho. But who is this mythical striker who does nothing but score goals? Gerd Mueller is a bit long in the tooth.
This offense works when both Mora and Arriola are playing and Moreno and Canouse patrol the middle. The wing play becomes more dynamic and the center of the pitch is better controlled. When those players are absent, the offense goes to shit because Segura is no Arriola (and neither is Stieber) and the rotating cast of left backs weren't even close to Mora's level of ability and versatility. Couple that with no real front runner -- a Mattocks type whose pace causes problems -- and you get what you saw last night. I suppose in that case, you do bench Lucho because he's in a system that doesn't permit him to operate except by trying to create something out of nothing. If you noticed last night, Rooney up top was usually doing the same thing, trying to turn 3 defenders to get off a shot because there was no support other than maybe Lucho or Titi. That brings us back to coaching -- meaning if your available lineup doesn't favor your playmaker do you change the system and maybe bench him in place of someone else who might fit in better? Or, do you throw your two best players out there and say "make something happen because if you don't we're ********ed?" We saw plan 2 in operation last night. Last night you could have had Titi and Yow outside, Segura and Durkin inside and had a more dynamic offense and better defensive shape. Instead Olsen put Segura out wide where he is less dynamic than Yow and put two kids in the middle, one of whom really isn't a D-mid. The results were as expected. Rooney created some magic, but not enough.
Olsen’s defensive tactics put a ton of pressure on Acosta and Rooney. With most of the team defending at the 18 or deeper it’s usually all on Rooney to hold the ball and Acosta to make a killer play in order to create a shot. We are a counter attacking team and (even more crazy) a high press team when the ball is deep in our opponents half. It must really suck to be a Canouse or Moreno. Either way, when Acosta has the ball, there is rarely any support so he is either trying the killer pass or taking on too many guys. This is what Olsen wants.
Beg to differ. Most of the time Acosta and Rooney are forcing this little Give-and-Go or forcing passes to each other EXCLUSIVE of the other players around them who are usually open. otoh - Acosta and Rooney could both use a few long balls down the flanks more often. But on Wednesday vs NYCFC, neither Bustamante nor Robinson had any clue as to what to do with the ball and Acosta was clearly frustrated.
His first touch last night looked like Gyasi Zardes' first touch. He looks like a guy who has given his 2 week notice.
Again. It’s not a bad first pass, or a bad first half. It’s persistent pouting and walking around half-interested that frustrating to watch.
To make matters worse, last game he was showing shades of DeLeon by shanking balls over the net (although by not as much) as well. He looks completely checked out.
Contrast Acosta's pouting and virtually checking out after something doesn't go his way with Rooney's full field activism. Rooney is committed 100% of the time; Acosta isn't.
This is just a reversion to type. He has never been a shooter. His first weeks with Rooney just made people think he was.
I think he's just trying to do too much. The PSG fiasco has to weigh on him. That looked like a big payday for a kid from Argentina. Obviously, he wants that again and is pressing. Thing is, if he kept it simpler, he would do much better.
I can't recall a DC United offense that was as predictable as they are right now. And when you think about some of the DC United offenses over the last 10 years, that's really saying something.
I don't know who said what to Acosta, but his attitude was very different Saturday night. Yes, many of his passes were off. Yes, he insisted on having the ball. And, yes, he wasn't happy. BUT, he wasn't pouting all the time. He wasn't flinging his arms around. He was always trying to direct the offense and see what could happen. Most of the time it didn't work, but he always showed a competitive force out there.