I'd say Gozo is looking more dangerous, but there's been a number of times he gets past his defender, and there's absolutely nobody to pass to. So sometimes he loses it after trying to beat more players towards goal, or has to backtrack and let the defense regain their shape. It's maddening.
Making a good run is a skill. Making a useful run is a much harder skill Piol does the former, I have yet to see him make the latter more than once in a game
I think his runs are mostly good on a typical team. I guess he can always adjust and just say “This would be the right run but, face it, no one is going to send the ball to me, so I’ll do something else.” There is definitely a rationality to that adjustment.
I was surprised at how much I liked Eneli higher up the pitch. He only got a few mins there so it could be a disaster for a whole game, but I wouldn’t mind more experimenting with that. We suck right now anyway. What about a lineup like this? Agada Eneli - Luna - Gozo Ruiz - Ojeda Katranis - Vera/Junqua - Glad - Caliskan Cabral Let Eneli and Ruiz freely swap and provide defensive cover when Katranis is up the pitch.
It’s not a terrible idea. I think the sudden love of Caliskan at RB will come to a disastrous end. He’s very similar to all the recent players that have rotated in there and everyone thinks could be the next guy.
My memory could be wrong, but has the RB spot cost the team much this season? I know everyone points to the Glad game, but that was probably the right call (over Quinton who would have been abused more than Glad was). I know they aren't getting positive, game changing moments from the position, but having actual competition at the spot is a goal of the FO, right? Yes it would be nice to have a Katranis level player there is ideal, but the current situation is not a top 3 problem with this club right now. I'm not a huge proponent of Caliskan, but if he's out there doing his job and not making game-changing mistakes, I'm all for him continuing to push Hidalgo for minutes. That's apparently the point of the club at this point (unfortunately).
I don't know if he needs to be higher as much as he just needs to turn and go forward more often. In the Portland game there were times, later in the game, where he got the ball and instead of doing what most RSL players do, and take a quick look around to see who is open behind them and then take a couple touches and then making a pass after the defense has had time to reset, he turned quickly and drove the ball through the open space and put pressure on the defense around their box. More of that would be nice. Turn, take the space, then find a team mate instead of turn and look around for a minute. Other than Luna there are not a lot of shining stars on offense so take some chances. Do you want to win by 2 or 9? I mean come on.
That is the million or almost 2 million dollar question. He's not fitting in and not playing incredibly well but keeps starting. Perhaps that's a way to show interested teams that they believe in him and he has a lot of talent. But at some point you can't keep blowing smoke game after game about the intangibles and the other stuff he does when he has a whopping 3 goals and 3 assists in 22 games. That is not what they were expecting or selling when they brought him in. He was supposed to be a dynamic 10 and really bring something to the offense. Patience has to be wearing thin.
He was playing as an 8 in Denmark. I'm not a scout, but I don't know why you'd bring in a guy to be your lynchpin when he doesn't play there. After doing some research though, he has played the most games as a LW. What position did Luna play (and breakout at) last year? LW! He has about 50% more matches at LW than he does any midfield position. This move just gets worse. Cut your losses and move on. Dear Miller family, I'm not asking you to spend like one of the top 10 clubs in the league, but at least spend enough to be mid-pack. You'd earn a lot of good will if you show fans that you see a major problem and are willing to spend a little to fix it.
RB should be one of the easiest positions to find quality at. It's crazy to me that somehow we found a great LB and are still struggling at RB. Quinton over Glad for sure. He's been serviceable there, while Glad was disastrous. Once again, how in the hell is RB a spot we don't have locked down?!