It’s all on him now. He was our second best player before now it’s his rodeo. 1) Can beat people on the dribble 1v1. 2) Hasn’t missed a PK yet and the ones he’s hit have looked solid. 3) Disappears for stretches of games. 4) Has good vision and intelligent passing when he slows down to play the passer role. 5) Doesn’t seem to have a good shot. 6) Doesn’t seem to have a good cross. I’m sure there are many other points and I could be off on these but with Shaq gone, this is what we have. What good or bad am I missing?
Plenty of raw talent, but a lack of a quality mentor on field and coaching off field will be to his detriment. Remember Harry Shipp?
let's get some other players that can play at his processing speed in the midfield i hate that we continue to play him on the wing on defense which means he's not in the middle of the field immediately on the counter look forward to seeing him play with a much better roster (hopefully)
His creativity is really up there for a kid his age. That is one of those positives that can become a negative if he leans too hard into it and eschews the easy plays for the flashy ones, but I’ve not seen that as a problem so far. He hustles and works to saves balls that we otherwise might lose. His shot has some mustard on it, he just needs to get better at choosing when to shoot and when not to.
The likelihood and extent of improvement in Gutierrez is much higher with a new much better coach and a new high-quality DP#8. Many of the other younger players would also benefit. A new GM and/or acquisition specialist is obvious. Given the current state of affairs, namely- 1)Shaqiri’s DP slot 2) another potential DP slot,(Gimenez) OR a U22 plus $2 million GAM 3) recent arrivals not yet integrated into the team 4) the number of contracts up for review soon NOW, not later, is clearly the time for action. These three actions plus routine year-end decisions on who to let go and who to promote should bring dramatic improvement next season. Anything less is likely to condemn the Fire to another cycle of the same old shit.
Unfortunately, there is very little that can be done in regards to player acquisitions until the season is out of our misery.
We are stuck with the roster we have but may be able to reach decisions on both a new coach and a new GM/ roster specialist. Player inquiries are probably also possible. Just trying to stimulate some activity so we are not having this same discussion next June. ( You know I wrote off this season months ago.)
whether he's an 8 or a 10, he's at his best in the middle of the field need someone that can link the ball from the back line to him in a central position -- we try to play possession soccer, but can't move anything through the middle of the field we ran the offense up the right side of the field much of the night with Arigoni and MHS instead of Gutman and Guti -- was kinda puzzling Guti tried to do too much last night, especially in the first half the whole thing is just bad
Maybe give the other team some credit for forcing the Fire to play down Arigoni's side instead of Gutman's. Whatever the analytics say, the eye test indicates that is the way to play.
yes, this is true i don't have the analytical chops to see what the other team was doing to force our hand just seems strange that when we had shaq, he played the true 10 role and when he wasn't available, guti was slotted there, but was otherwise on the wing when sharing the field with shaq -- he did pretty well in those appearances, enough that there was a debate Shaq vs. Guti now with Shaq gone -- de facto gone for several months -- Guti still gets slotted on the wing mostly instead of a true central role (as opposed to one where he is asked to drift centrally at times) instead, we have our DMFs playing in the middle and Guti outside -- I want a formation where Guti is in the middle with two strikers ahead of him -- a 5-2-1-2/3-4-1-2 -- or one where he has a target forward and two wingers ahead of him like a 4-2-1-3
Been asking for this for two and a half years, may Shaq rest in peace. I fear Guti is a better winger than CAM and that’s why he plays there. I would have loved to see him with Cuypers and Shaqiri behind him. He could have been more inside and not as far forward as a striker where his vision, passing and shooting would have been closer to goal. A little in from the winger position, a little further up field. Two overlaps on either side, a striker up top or make a move to attack himself, with Shaq always making himself available as an outlet. Either Ginenez or Acosta could cheat forward next to Shaq to have a full attack. Alas we never got to see it.
based on what though? most of his best playing is when he drifts centrally, he and shaq had some good combos when they would both work the middle some i'm ready for a new coach
Just his disappearing act in the middle. He is also a very vertical player. Turn and run forward is his default mode. I’d like to see him take control in the middle but he has yet to really take advantage of that spot on the field.
you have the weirdest takes to me sometimes on this board you have been shaq's biggest defender, heitz's biggest defender, guit's biggest critic just feels contrarian for the sake of it
I’m sometimes against the grain but not for the sake of it. I still believe Guti is (now) our best player but he is currently limited in what he can do. He’s not the captain/leader we need and he’s not a CAM. I don’t hold those things against him like I didn’t hold them against Shaqiri. It seems though that most people around here expect those qualities from him. I simply do not. We all want a traditional CAM, but he’s not it. He’s a fast paced attacker that is actually a better fit style-wise for MLS than Shaqiri’s skill and intelligence sprinkled with a healthy lack of pace. If we want to build around him then I think he needs to be closer to goal than a CAM. False 9? Middle of the 3 in a 4-3-3 or 3-4-3? Put him where he can bust succeed and not where we wish he would succeed.
I think the league has adjusted and the MHS as second forward should be done. Either try Guti there or Koutsias or Mueller. We all know that Guti is a bit limited defensively, which is why I don’t like him on the left wing considering the injuries to Gutman and Gasper have created a rotating cast that leaves the defense exposed. If Frank opts for a 4-4-2 like he started with against DC, try swapping Acosta and Guti. Guti is going to want to be higher upfield in the middle. Let Acosta defend the wing and pinch in a bit if the other team tries to attack down the middle. I think Frank is trying to get Guti to round out his overall game by giving him more responsibility in defending the wing but also to maximize his strength by drifting into the middle and driving at the defense. Maybe it is too much for him, but I suspect it is similar to Shaq, the players around him are not helping especially during the transition from defense to offense. Even when the Fire do go direct it is usually Cuypers or MHS all by himself surrounded by defenders. The Fire have not figured out how to break down a defense because there are at least 6 players on the Fire’s side of the field.
Wouldn’t it be fantastic to have a free slot to play a CAM? I don’t have the heart to say Herbers could fill the middle of the field role but yes, we have a free spot to fill in my projected lineup…