Good game so far, two good teams with a bunch of talent between them. Nooooo idea how Portland just missed that. Blake tearing his defense a new one for that
Just rotation for NYCFC. Chicago is a weak opponent, at home, and they were looking ahead to the Open Cup match on Wednesday against New England. Taty and Talles Magno were also out, though Taty was suspended.
Why are people seemingly always surprised when Paul Arriola does something noteworthy like that? He's been doing that for nearly a decade now. It's the same with Roldan. They're good. They do it repeatedly over and over. They're not Christian Pulisic or Brenden Aaronson, but they're consistently good. He's had a couple of bad injuries that have undoubtedly slowed down the trajectory of his career (like Morris, Pomykal, etc.), but that guy is really good in MLS. And if you're really good in MLS, you've got a good shot at the national team. If ya can't respect the work in MLS, maybe we'll have to post Liga MX goals.
It’s because most human beings are limited and lack the will, courage and basic intelligence.to change their mind. It’s easier and safer to form an opinion, and then do everything possible mentally to stick with it. It’s why humans are so easy to lead and manipulate.
Arriola is having a career year. He hadn't before produced a seasonal per-90 goals plus assist number that he has for this season. So he hasn't been doing this for a decade.
That’s a decent argument if I was trying to attack the team. But I’m looking at the chart and looking for possible explanation for it. If NYCFC played on a normal sized field, it would be easier to conclude that the players were the main cause. BUT because we have that home field size variable, I think it would be interesting to see if those numbers held up on normal size pitches. I also see the flaw in comparing NYCFC’s away data, to other sides home data, since team’s away lineups and tactics are often different from their home lineups and tactics. So maybe if the data used only away teams data and compares that data it would be more useful.
I think it's time with Pomykal. He looked very sharp again last night. I'm going to be very pissed at Gregg if he doesn't call him in as a replacement for McKennie (who we've heard is going home mid camp) & then closes ranks from that point to the WC. We aren't in any way settled at that spot, beyond the starters. Reyna's a big injury question, LDLT's crazy overrated, and Roldan's never translated.
Has it been reported McKennie is going home mid-camp? The only thing I've seen is that he will be on limited minutes and won't be able to start till at least the Nations Leagues games.
Sofascore Team of the Week * = 23-and-under ** = 20-and-under ------------------------Sapong(8.4)MOTM------- ---------Arriola(8.0)MOTM---------------OWolff(7.5)2nd**---- ---------------McNamara(7.7)2nd---Morales(7.4)3rd -----------------------------Davis(7.5)3rd--------- ----Markanich(7.6)2nd*---------------------------Bye(8.8)MOTM-- ---------------Glad(7.2)2nd-----Birnbaum(7.1)4th--- ----------------------------Clark(8.3)2nd--- Player of the Week: Sapong Clark Arriola 23-and-under: Markanich OWolff Mihailovic(7.5)1st 20-and-under: OWolff Narriel(7.1)7th Cowell(7.1)4th Duke(7.1)4th Honorable Mention(MOTM, 1st, 2nd) Jimenez(7.6)MOTM Mihailovic(7.5)1st DJTaylor(7.5)1st Amaya(7.1)1st* Nelson(7.1)1st Melia(7.2)2nd Glad(7.2)2nd Fernadez(7.1)2nd* Bradley(7.1)2nd Farfan(7.0)2nd*
I'm not sure how Pomykal replaces McKennie in any meaningful way. McKennie is creative, a significant goal threat, and while he's not the most active defender (because his teams control the ball) he's an effective one when called upon to do so. Pomykal isn't particularly creative or skilled in the passing game, he is no real threat to score, and while he's an active defender he's not a particularly successful one. If you need someone to spot Luca or Musah he seems like more of a candidate. He's maybe an above average MLS CM but not someone whose game screams out for a callup.
Weekly Tidbits Nice debut start from Colorado's 22 y/o Markanich 5 key passes 4/4 tackles Career day for Bye with 3 assists. He has greatly improved the passing. He just needs to tighten up the tactical aspects of his defending. Big day for 17 y/o Owen Wolff 5 key passes 4 ints CJ Sapong had 16 goals and 5 assists for the 2017 season. Maybe he could've gotten a call up.
Fagundez definitely got his American citizenship, though. I remember him tweeting about it with a picture of a monster truck. On the youth boards they followed Fagundez' citizenship timeline like a hawk after he first broke into the Revs. He didn't seem to understand that the USSF couldn't expedite his citizenship timeline. https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2015/0...r-the-u-s-after-choosing-to-play-for-uruguay/ “The moment came when they told me I couldn’t continue because I wasn’t a citizen or a resident,” said Fagundez. “A lot of years passed – so many years – and the situation didn’t change. I was tired of waiting for the United States.” Fagundez said he had no hard feeling against American soccer officials. “Right now, I don’t want to play with the United States,” he said. “I’m very happy with Uruguay and I think we can go far.”
There is replacement on a roster and replacement as a similar type of player. I read that as simply duke wants him on roster not as a stylistically similar player necessarily.
Fagundez' situation was a lot like Andy Najar's. The timeline just didn't work. I'm not sure Andy Najar has ever gotten his citizenship. By the way, Diego Fagundez is far and away the leader in MLS appearances now for homegrown field players. He's 27 years old and has played ~325 matches across all competitions. Its a great and dubious mark at the same time!! [If he keeps playing well, he's got a shot at the all-time appearance mark in MLS for a field player.] He might actually be first overall. Maybe he's got a few more than Bill Hamid now. Last time I bothered tabulating the numbers I think Gyasi Zardes was in 3rd place.
So, now that we've got the Fagundez thing settled, I feel like .... if the MNT struggles to score, we should at least be keeping an eye on the top US-eligible assist guys in MLS, incl Amaya and Cowell.
We don’t have a lot of good midfielders is why. One gets hurt, we’re in trouble. You don’t have to go too far down to get to Pomykal. He’s not a terrible player, he’s a bit above average for MLS.
What... Arriola usually tops out around 6-7 goals per season when healthy, so scoring a goal every other game is NOT the usual for him, it's an improvement. Exactly.
Almost hoping for one of the midfielders to not be game-ready so Gregg is forced to call in Pomykal or Keaton Parks... and if he still does not (Jackson Yueill ) I will literally riot at the capitol with AC
I watch every FC Dallas game and while I think Pomykal has been pretty good yesterday was the 1st time since his long injury layoff where he looked like the player many of you are clamoring over. The pace seems to have returned and his entry balls are super legit. Really like him as an 8 in the USMNT system and would be cool with him as a double-pivot 6 if GB ever decides to try it out again. But I still don't see him as a must call up right now. If I see the player I saw yesterday consistently then I will change my tune.