While I like Hyka and agree with the comments about him coming off the bench, he has never been the Albanian Messi for us.
I still contend that the Quakes got their offseason personnel priorities wrong. They spent big money on YAOAM (Yet Another Outside Attacking Mid), when they had already had pretty good depth there (Vako, Hyka, TT, Wehan, Salinas - if you move him back to his natural position). And they have failed to really upgrade the outside back / wing back position. They still really lack in good wide play. All of those YAOAM players are cut-in types (except Salinas), not really strong wide players - speedy, good crossers of the ball at speed, can provide good outside defense, etc. And we still do not really seem to have a really strong CB. So instead of Magnus, who is a good player, but not sure that he's $2 million a year good, and he puts players like Hyka on the bench, we could have signed say a real quality wide player or two, and a really quality CB or two. Right now we are suffering with the quality of wide play and central defense, and I'm not sure we'd have all that much of a downturn with say Hyka starting instead of Magnus. I get it, Hyka is smallish and doesn't have a mohawk and scowl and play Viking soccer, but he is a good player - good in possession and good with the ball at his feet.
Based upon early returns (still some ballots waiting to be received), I think that this is a correct assessment (although I'm not sure why you had to make fun of Magnus to prove your point). Hyka's stats for last year were average/good (3G and 5A). I'm equally concerned that we still don't have the right mix of players yet. Wait and see.
Hyka's numbers are for only 21 starts, so extrapolate to a full season of starts, it would be more like 5g, 8a, which I think moves it from average / good to just "good". I think in a full season Magnus will likely have double digit assists but probably not that many more goals (than Hyka's extrapolated 5). And I think he hurts the team's ability to hold onto the ball because he's very frequently trying high risk / high reward passes. The good part of that is more assists - the bad part of it is that it contributes to making the team one of the worst in the league in being able to hold onto the ball, which is a weakness that has cost them a bit this year IMO. Also, it wasn't to "make fun of Magnus". I was alluding to what I believe is Stahre's preference for more physical players (similar to Dom in that way). And if they are Viking, all the better!
I'm starting to come around to your Dom-redux theory. The NYCFC game, with no TT on the bench, and two unused subs, while Hyka languished, is pretty compelling evidence in support of your theory. A few more similar data-points and the entire fan base will be of the same mind.
I think that Magnus is a really good player. I expect him to be an important part of a successful season. That said, more Hyka please! And more TT please!! Let's burn all three subs, every game. There's always a good reason to make a sub, always. Hyka has some speed, and he's a different kind of player from Vako or Magnus. (And he's Euro, so freaking play him already!!) I think that Hyka would make a great late game sub, and he could play either outside mid spot, or sub for one of the forwards, you, an older, slower forward who's production looks to be falling off a little bit. And the same is true for TT, he can play either side or forward. Wow! We've got some offensive options. How about we use them? And we could hang this exceptional looking flag in the stands!! Go Quakes!! - Mark
So far he hasn't been quite as "bunker" as I thought he'd be. He is high pressing a little more than I expected. But Dom did that a lot at home too. The real test is the road games. The team looked pretty much like a Kinnear team in KC. But in other ways he is also showing himself to be similar so far - the lack of priority in possession, the apparent preference for more physical players versus smaller technical players (e.g. Fatai in the 18 while Hyka or TT is not), a reluctance to use subs, and the reliance on veterans over developing young players (I know Yeferson is young, but as an international signing, probably for ~$500k after transfer fees, etc., you expect more of a finished product). When Leitch took over, you noticed the changes in those areas right away. The team was suddenly trying to own the midfield and possess the ball, Fatai out, Jackson in, Jackson and TT immediately begin to get starts, not a lot of bunkering, etc.
I'm nearly there as well. I don't even want to see Quincy on the team, let alone coming on when we need a goal. And Alashe? Why does he come on when we trail? It's perplexing. Hyka-chu was a standout performer last season and can't get a game. And we're losing. That point on the road against Philadelphia was not a good point. While I'm at it, let me throw Wondo under the bus. Like in years past, only moreso, he offers nothing to the team if he doesn't get a poached goal. And he's missing those. Hyka and Tommy need to play. We were not only more fun to watch, we were better. Do we really need to dust off the Free Tommy Thompson signatures?
I dusted off mine. Poor guy tweeted a picture of himself before the PU game with the caption, "Ready". I responded (only response) with some encouragement to "hang in there", that he'll get his chances this season but not sure I fully believe that.
Based on last year I would tend to agree with you. But honestly he has looked good this year in his cameos. I'd rather see Hyka, still.
Re-signing Godoy really limited what they could accomplish in the offseason, from my point of view. They couldn't change the type of midfielder they wanted because they doubled down on a player who has serious downside. Yes, they could have still looked for better outside backs, though I think they genuinely think Qwiberg is going to develop well for them. I was actually quite surprised to see Salinas start the season in that position. Eriksson definitely displaces Hyka, which I have mixed feelings about. He was not given much opportunity to impress during preseason. He always got put on when they swapped over to nearly all bench players for the second halves of games, so he played alongside guys he had little game experience with. As a result, he never looked sharp. I really wish Stahre had done a better job in doing his homework when he had the chance to see players in action with no consequences. Now he doesn't have that luxury and so far, it seems that he's not willing to trust players that he never gave a fair chance to in the first place. If it wasn't clear already, I don't think much of Stahre so far. He seems like a mediocre manager, at best.
Speaking of Quakes’ away travel issues, do you think they always fly economy? Are there any league restrictions about that? I know teams can’t use charters, but what about first/biz class?
Traveling coach should only be an issue for the really tall guys. (I'm short, so my definition of tall might not match yours.) Anyone under 5"10" should be fine on a coach flight. And you can always get up and move around to stretch your legs. Should on long flights. It's just very hard to win on the road in MLS. It's a fact of the league. Clearly, some teams are better at it than others, and should investigate what they do to make themselves more successful. But I think it has more to do with discipline than small airline seats. Go Quakes!! - Mark
Someone might be “OK” in economy, but travel is so much easier in biz class. I arrive so much less harried and annoyed.
I was so happy to see Hyka at all, and then he scored. So glad for him. Hopefully that gets him a longer look, and doesn't ignore it because it was a deflection.