The thing with me for Shelton is (and when Vermes was on the SKC Podcast he was basically saying the same thing) that despite his stature he isn't really this hold-up play striker that some make him out to be. I have hardly ever seen games by him where he excelled in that department. I have seen games where he had great passing and off the ball movement - though this one was certainly not one of them. To be fair to him, I also think that CF is also just not his natural position - imo he played his best games for SKC at the beginning of the pandemic season when Russell was injured on the right wing. One thing that he definitely isn't, is a poacher, and I think someone with a great presence inside the box is what SKC needs in a forward. I hope that Vujnovic will be that kinda striker. Other than that, I think I see this game more positive than most people here. One should mention that we played what was the second best team of the regular season in the second part of the previous season away from home. They are definitely going to be one of the contenders for SS and MLS Cup this year. They were the better team, but I didn't think it was by a significant margin. I was also surprised to see SKC press this high away from home, especially since it appeared to me Vermes got away from that last season. I was happy that he got away from it given our issues with pace, but I think if you are going to do that, it makes sense to do that against a team that led possession in MLS last season rather than against a team built around the counter attack. I also don't think this approach cost us the game. The first goal came after an awful unforced giveaway. The second was admittedly a counterattack, but pace was not the issue on the goal, it was Fontas' ridiculous way of challenging Dwyer. And on the other hand, we forced several turnovers because of the press - we just did not capitalize on them. I think there was a 15 minute stretch or so towards the end of the first half where we pressed so well that the ball barely went out of the Atlanta half.Other than the two goals, we did not allow any high % chances despite our risky approach until the latter stages of the second half. As I suspected in the roster movement thread, the 6 is likely going to continue to be our problem position, as Uri had a bad game and Mauri somehow a worse one. I liked Isimat Marin and Ndembe; Salloi, Russell and Walter all had decent games too. Good cameos by Hernandez and Tzionis too. I hope I won't be proven wrong, but I think things will be looking up the coming weeks.
By the numbers, the game wasn't as bad as it looked, or felt at the end. I will admit, i kept watching Fontas try to sprint back and defend while thinking, this is a problem. i also think the fact that the numbers favored us in many, many ways and we looked that out of the game might be a really bad sign. However, we controlled possession, 56-44, which is even more impressive because for the first 30 minutes is was 70-30 to Atlanta. it took us a while to get rolling in our first game, but we did. We actually outshot Atlanta, 14 - 12. OMFG though, 2 shots on goal to their 6 (huh, a 3-1 ratio). We outpassed them, 83 percent completion to 80 percent, and our passing superiority applied to every zone on the field, including a rather impressive 77 percent in attack. For all his lack of pace, Fontas connected passes with all 10 other starters. Walter and Uri connected with 7 others, each. Upsides to game: Logan, as he is henceforth called by me, was good. Look at his action map. he rampaged up and down that left side and defensively had five recoveries. he worked hard, he's quick and fast. he's an upgrade. Remi was really solid. His action map looks just like a true two way mid's action map should look. he was active and everywhere. Salloi's game was too quiet, but the goal should give him confidence and he's a confidence player. He had both of our shots on goal. He didn't have a shot off goal. that means he's retained his edge, and wasn't involved enough, IMO.
Stats aside, this game depressed me. I left it hoping Atlanta might be the dominant side in the east this season. They might be. but anyone who has watched a lot of Vermes team had seen this gang who couldn't shoot straight. Also, the book on us shouldn't so easily transfer from year to year. Play in a low block and counter at pace and have a lot of fun doing that. i really like our CBs on the ball. I really like Isi's defending. But we cannot have Fontas and Zusi on the backline at the same time and play that high up the field. if we're going to play such a high, press, I'd like to see Pierre. There was a moment, as folks were praising Shelton during the Englilsh language broadcast when they noted his hustle and pressure and strength on the ball, then noted, but he isn't a shooter and he can't really pass. I know it's just me, but I rate those things fairly high up in the list of what I want from a striker. We have a lot riding on the new guy and a miracle Pulido recovery. Uri ihad a couple really nice moments. he stepped into the passing lanes smartly. he wasn't perfect, but he is an upgrade on Mauri, and an upgrade on Ilie for the last couple years. So that's a positive, unless he broke himself. Russell is starting slow. As he did last year. Has anyone seen Voldemort? Is he fitting in? Might we see him with Isi at some point? Fontas actually played a bit of d-mid in la liga. His tortoise pace is not ideal, but with a bit of speed around him, you cannot deny his impact on our possession game.
It's not that they lost, I think most people expected a loss or at best a draw out of this game. The problem is how they lost, with the same mistakes and tactical deficiencies that have defined this team for the past 2-3 years. Despite what the stats say about KC's performance it didn't pass the eye test at all. It also showcased a lot of things that people have been saying about certain players on the roster (Fontas, Zusi, Shelton, Espinoza).
Yeah, this is the point. I also think there's enough history, a decade of it, to know that the failure to put shots on frame isn't a bug so much as it's a feature far too often with a PV club. Question, as T-zone looked quite lively, do we work Salloi at the false 9? Hernandez looked good enough and hungry enough that I'd love to see him start. I'd love to see if Pierre does care (sorry, bad Sendek joke)
I wasn't able to watch it, but that lineup looked pretty heavy on guys who played a lot last year but probably won't so much this year (in my assumption, anyways). I think when our midfield is healthy, we won't see a lot of Espinoza. And I think that the plan always has been to replace Zusi with Pierre, so I hope his development is purring along as Vermes is counting on. Obviously doesn't answer the 6 (Vermes seemed confident in Mauri but he's got some real work to do to overcome his shaky start here) and with a thin midfield, Fontas is gonna get exposed constantly. Really, really crossing fingers that the staff's faith in Mauri isn't misplaced and will break good before too long. He isn't my ideal choice for that position, but the team desperately needs a leader right there.
Man, I dunno about Mauri having a way back. PV subbed him in after Uri's injury in like the 50th minute, then subbed him out less than 30 minutes later. To me, that is not a good sign that Mauri has a ton of goodwill or trust from PV.
True, probably an over reaction to one game, but the reason people are reacting this way is HOW the team lost, not that they lost. Two of four starting defenders are on the field because they are great passers, not because they are good defenders. I'm tired of hearing about how great Fontas is at passing. I don't give two $hits how many sideways and backwards passes Fontas completes. He couldn't defend most forwards that play in the Gardner Fieldhouse Sunday night league, much less MLS. I also don't care how many crosses Zusi gets off, or what his passing completing percentage is. He's too slow to play outside back. The way to beat SKC in 2022 is the same as it was in 2011. Let them keep the ball, then kick it long and run in behind. The difference between then and now is Zusi was in his 20s, not late 30s, and we didn't have the slowest player in MLS as our starting CB. The team got torched for 3 goals that easily could have been 6. If we're being honest with ourselves, we all know this isn't going to be fixed anytime soon because its Peter. He doesn't change his approach, he just beats his head into the wall until the wall fails of he's so concussed he forgets to use any subs. And I didn't say a single word about the attack which was tragic.
Sure sure, and I don't mean to dismiss any of that. But every year is gonna come with games that look really really bad and games that look really really good. This game is a hell of a lot easier for me to write off because it's an away game against an Eastern team. If this was at home against Houston, I'd be right there doomsdaying with all of you. But hey, all things being equal, it's in our best interests to play our worst on the road in the east (not that that's how sports work or anything you can plan, of course... it just makes it easier to move on from I suppose).