Iro vs James

Discussion in 'Columbus Crew' started by cbus3, Jun 12, 2011.

  1. cbus3

    cbus3 Member

    Columbus Crew
    United States
    Aug 9, 2009
    Paxdecke
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Seriously, what is it going to take to get Iro on the field?

    Is this an ongoing joke?
     
  2. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    It is kind of bizarre. We can all see why Julius has been bounced around the league but the coach can't.
     
  3. SourCream&OnionUtd

    Nov 19, 1998
    James made about 15 blocks tonight. Won almost all of his headers. Yes he clocked up a few fouls. Yes he came to 'help' Gardner and left Nazarit. There's the problem. I do rate Julius and am happy to have him in the team. But I'm totally up for getting Andy a start pronto. In fact I was surprised he didn't start today.
     
  4. cbus3

    cbus3 Member

    Columbus Crew
    United States
    Aug 9, 2009
    Paxdecke
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You can't judge him on one game. Look at our weak set piece defense. Do you think much would be getting by Iro and Marshall?

    Maybe it is because he is next to Chad and he looks poor by comparison, but I feel like the majority of through balls that burn our defense is because he is outrun and out of position
     
  5. Psycho_Derek

    Psycho_Derek Member+

    Nov 18, 2005
    James was at fault for the goal, almost a carbon copy of the goal against NYRB, he ball watched, and let the guy behind him go.

    He may have played well for 90 mins, but that one mistake cost us.
     
  6. SourCream&OnionUtd

    Nov 19, 1998
    I'm not judging JJ on one game. Was merely pointing out that he contributed as much if not more than anyone tonight. Unfortunately for him, and as derek pointed out and I did as well, his one mistake cost us.

    And it wasn't that he was ball watching so much as he was trying to do too much. Trying to slide over and snuff out Gardner's man. He left his own area to help out and Nazarit popped up and filled it. This is JJ's trouble as a player. It's what makes him appear better than he is at times but crucially is what also exposes him at least once nearly every time out.

    As for defending set pieces, I actually blame coaching on this one. Time and again this year I have seen Chad literally marking no one and floating to help. Makes no sense. Put him on their most dangerous aerial threat and be done with it. For whatever reason, and I know others here have seen it too, it hasn't happened. I can only put that on Bob, Mike, and Ricardo because it defies reason, logic, and accountability.
     
  7. fidlerre

    fidlerre Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 10, 2000
    Central Ohio
    for some unknown reason we have the beat man marking centerback in the league, and the coaching staff thinks we should play him as a roaming zonal defender who marks space and not a person...insane as it may seem.
     
  8. Placid Casual

    Placid Casual Member+

    Apr 2, 2004
    Bentley's Roof
    Iro v James?

    What's the difference? they are both defensive liablilities.
     
  9. Crew Chuck35

    Crew Chuck35 Member+

    Apr 13, 2009
    Gahanna, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Exactly.
    People are acting like Iro is some God-Send. He was simply a better option last year than Brunner.
    To me its 6 one way 1/2 dozen the other.

    Iro has scored more goals though. Of course they have been off set pieces and when we arent even good enough to draw 1 CORNER IN A MATCH what difference does it make?
     
  10. OU9601

    OU9601 Member

    Jul 12, 2003
    Lancaster, Ohio

    He blocked about 15 shots because he wasn't marking his man close enough and was giving them room to shoot. That's not good defending -- that's just crappy shooting by the Fire.
     
  11. junior21

    junior21 New Member

    Apr 16, 2006
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I want to see him as a forward. Call me crazy but when he was subbed to Gaven he did ok. I didn't understand why Burns was subbed in if Bob wanted "to keep" the tie.
     
  12. SourCream&OnionUtd

    Nov 19, 1998
    You're right, he wasn't marking tightly at all and those blocks don't necessarily translate to good defending. When he does mark tightly though, if turned, like most players he is prone to grabbing and holding. Which fans of all clubs complain about. Personally, I didn't see much need to mark either Puerari or Chaves tightly as both are rather unimposing physically. Nazarit OTOH, yeah body him up.
     
  13. Psycho_Derek

    Psycho_Derek Member+

    Nov 18, 2005
    We have a lot of fans like this. Saying why aren't we playing x he is way better than y. Only to find out that the coach was right in not playing x because he is shit.

    I am not saying Iro is shit, I am agreeing with Crew Chuck, he is not the answer to anything. Same way Mendoza, Griffitt and Duka were not the silver bullets last year. Cunningham, Meram and Iro are not the answers this year.
     
  14. scornflakes

    scornflakes Member

    Aug 1, 2009
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    So while you guys are wandering around at noon with a flashlight looking for "answers", I'll still be over here pointing to what's been pretty much obvious since day one and that's that Iro's a better player than James in every way that CB is played in this sport, except in RW and Brian Bliss's bizarro conception of it. There are no "answers" in sports (other than Allen Iverson), there are only better options. Defensively, offensively, physically, and when it comes to composure, Iro's a better option.
     
  15. Psycho_Derek

    Psycho_Derek Member+

    Nov 18, 2005
    Better is a matter of opinion. Here is how I see it, taking "who is better" out of the equation.

    Iro and james are completely different defenders, Marshall and Iro are the same type of defenders. Having Iro and Marhsall for set pieces may solve one problem, but if you want two tree trunks in the middle of the defense, praying that the offisde trap holds then fine, just hope we don't come up against pace and movement up front.

    Having said all that, James needs to sit. I would be happy for Iro to start but geez, thinking that Iro could cure all ills is a sad day for Crewdom.
     
  16. scornflakes

    scornflakes Member

    Aug 1, 2009
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    I don't agree with any of this. Iro and Marshall are not carbon-copy defenders. If this were 2009, I might've agreed with you, but Iro's arguably the most improved player on this team over the last 2 years. There's this notion that because they're both trees, they play the same kind of game. Marshall's better with his feet, especially in tight quarters; and he's a genius when it comes to positioning, reading the game, and predicting where the action will be on any given play. Iro covers more ground, occupies more space (especially on set-pieces), is better at smothering smaller opponents outside of the box when needed (go back and watch the last 10 minutes of the RSL match on Wednesday, for example), and, contrary to popular opinion, has better open-field speed. In the match at New York last year, NYRB tried over and over again to get Dane Richards (Mr. Pace And Movement) 1 v 1 on Iro in space because they thought he could blow past him, and Iro went step for step with him every time. His steps might not be as quick, but when you're 6'5" you don't need as many (and it's under-control-speed, not frantic speed like James tends to show). It's why when you are presented with a choice between an athlete who's 5'11" and fast, or 6'5' and fast, you always choose the taller athlete. James might be quicker in any 6' x 6' space, but Iro doesn't need to be quick in that same space because he takes up more of it.

    The other thing that Iro does when paired with Marshall is demand more from the opposition on our offensive set pieces. Chad's been made a non-factor on set pieces because--if Heinemann's not on--there's no one else on the pitch who is capable of winning a header. Granted, Iro doesn't have the accuracy of Chad when it comes to heading the ball, but he wins them, which is more than can be said about anyone else on the field. Playing James has rendered Marshall ineffective on set pieces because even someone as good as Chad can't get clean headers when he's surrounded and being held by 3 defenders at any given time. All Chad is right now is decoy to pull defenders to him, in some crazy hope that the ball drops at the feet of Kevin Burns or Rich Balchan so they can send a screamer off of the facing of the stage roof.

    Again, that's not what I'm saying. He's a better player, he brings more than James, there's no rational reason why RW started James in the first place, and it's insane that he continues to do so. There are a lot of issues with the way this team is managed. Why disregard an obvious fix for one of those issues just because there are 5 or 15 other problems?
     
  17. cam5fc

    cam5fc Member+

    Sep 23, 2008
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    James and Iro will give you gaffes all day long. Either one. Now, that said, with the shit play we've been getting from James, Iro deserves a start... its more due to attrition that actual talent.

    This argument and the Francis > Balchan argument are things that I don't get. They're all relatively similar in mistakes that are prone to be made and moving one in for another isn't necessarily going to provide a different result for you.
     
  18. pastor

    pastor Member+

    Jul 1, 2009
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    The team needs some offense right now so you have to go with IRO.
     
  19. righthalf

    righthalf Member

    May 3, 2002
    Overall, I think James is a better than Iro. James read and broke up the play well, good 1-on-1, and can pass the ball out of the back better. He projects confident in his plays too.

    One area that I think Iro is better than James is the header, and I think Iro is improving quite a bit comparing to his first or second year.
     
  20. patricksp

    patricksp 91.9 Crew Fan Rating

    Nov 4, 2007
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    How fair is it that game in game out and even in game that the LB is different? I just wonder if that is some of the problem.
     
  21. fidlerre

    fidlerre Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 10, 2000
    Central Ohio
  22. pastor

    pastor Member+

    Jul 1, 2009
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy

    Yeah, pretty amazing. He allows a goal and makes the team of the week.

    TH got one earlier for not scoring a goal.

    Dilly got one a few weeks back for what I am not sure.

    The list goes on....
     
  23. Hooz

    Hooz Member

    Apr 1, 2008
    Hilliard, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    ...even though he should've closed down the space and not allowed all those shots to begin with.
     
  24. eboe

    eboe Member+

    Columbus Crew
    United States
    May 23, 2006
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I understand someone's play during the full 90 is important, but if you get burned for the losing goal in stoppage time, you don't deserve to be in the team of the week.
     
  25. Psycho_Derek

    Psycho_Derek Member+

    Nov 18, 2005
    I think it was for showing us what a left wing should be doing.
     

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