OK, I'm going to try to skip the sarcasm and negativity and focus on facts. So far the team looks much like last year's which was the worst in team history I think. However, missing last night were the following: Sean Johnson, David Accam, Razvan Cocis, Mike Magee, Patrick Nyarko. No sense thinking about Magee and Nyarko. Mike is out until at least June and Patrick may be out all year. Sean was not missed since Busch is at least as good as him. The hope has to lie with Accam and maybe Cocis. From what we saw of Cocis last year, I'm not optimistic. Accam is the salvation if there is one. So far, neither Maloney nor Igbo has impressed. Frankly, they've done nothing of note. Shipp has looked good, but not a difference maker. Do Prado came in last night and didn't seem to realize we needed a goal. He stood around in midfield most of the time. I love Quincy's hustle and personality, but let's all agree that he should not be starting. He runs around a lot but he cannot finish or pass effectively. I think a back four of Jones, who has looked very good, Adailton, Larentowitz, and Palmer is pretty solid. Not sure about depth there. Polster started out like a wrecking ball and I don't think he is ready yet. Gehrig seemed ok at center back, but last night his slowness was evident. He can't play outside. Shipp and Maloney have to play. Igbo and Accam up top have to play. That leaves two spots. If rumors are true, we will soon have Victor Perez to fill one of them until at least June. Who fills the remaining starting spot is a mystery to me. Everyone who is left is deficient somewhere. Watson, Stephens, Ritter, and Do Prado don't excite. So it seems as if we have to play the following, hope to avoid injuries and try to develop more cohesiveness in attack. Johnson or Busch Jones, Adailton, Larentowicz, and Palmer Cocis, Perez Shipp, Maloney, Accam Igbo As much as I try, it's hard to get excited or even optimistic about that line-up until they show something. When Magee returns, I'd slot him in midfield in place of Cocis. That sacrifices defense for offense but this team has no leaders. They all play like role players waiting for someone to step up. As a fan, I can no longer stand the lack of scoring or even threatening to score. So, as much as I'm trying, I'm finding it hard to be hopeful. Having two season tickets, I'm thinking of exchanging most of the early season in hopes that later they will find their stride and be worth watching. For now, they are not.
This is the true issue for me. I'm watching Maloney to see if he can step up and fill that roll of leader. I'm excited to watch him take steps in that direction so Shipp can perhaps roam a bit more free and play some exciting soccer. Watching that transformation could be fun, if it happens. If they dissolve I suppose there will be a bit of a trainwreck rubber necking. After the fifth game of the year I'll be a bit more critical and harsh. After the tenth we'll know what we have.
I'm a firm believer in having a midfield that limits the number of chances your defense has to face. I'm hoping this midfield becomes one that can do that.
BRM, decent analysis. Magee must play up top, not in midfield, and certainly not in place of Cocis. That makes no sense.
Agreed *1,000,000%. Magee as a MF = middling nondescript MLS jouneyman. Magee as a Forward, which he has INSISTED that he is, and not a MF = MLS MVP. Any questions?
What I got from reading your well reasoned and thoughtful post was it is pretty hard to focus on facts without being negative.
I only saw the last 20 minutes and here is what I saw.....Defensively we are bad (which we already knew). More importantly, offensively we so stagnate. We had one guy up top while they had 5 or 6 guys back and we just had no movement or anything. Was it like that the whole game? It's going to be another long year unless we get a CB and a good outside back.
If you want to see the HIGHlights instead of the lowlights go to the 20th minute and watch the rest of the first half. From memory that was about the best run of play for the Fire. EDIT: The stagnation was VERY bad after the 70th minute so you saw the worst part of that.
http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2015-03-14-chicago-fire-vs-vancouver-whitecaps-fc/stats If you click on that link you will notice on the possession chart which is in 5 minute intervals the Fire controlled the ball quite handily from the 10th minute until half and most of the chances created happened then. They couldn't bury it however and it came back to haunt them.
I didn't realize the Caps committed 24 fouls to our 11. Granted a big possession advantage will play a big part in that, but could someone other than Polster (4 fouls) be arsed to get stuck in?
Possession means nothing against a team that doesn't want it. When Borussia Dortmund went to the champions league final I remember plenty of games where the other team had 60% possession even though Borussia dominated. Vancouver is built to counter, when they get the ball they spring forward. We were always going to win the possession game against this team, unless we truly dominated them. If we dominated Vancouver they would have won the possession % game like they did against TFC last week when they got smoked. I have seen multiple articles/people mention the possession as a positive for the Fire, and it just leads me to believe a lot people that write about the game don't understand tactics.
Well I certainly agree with this statement but correct me if I am wrong in saying Yallop claims he is attempting to build a team that "controls the ball" through possession and can play "pretty attractive soccer" so if that is in fact what he's trying to do (and not play Route 1 or kick and run) then the team succeeded in that regard. If you have built a midfield around guys like Maloney, Shipp, Cocis and this new Spaniard guy as well as Magee when he heals up these guys are going to succeed with the ball at their feet, aka; possession.
So far, he is failing, then. There was nothing "pretty attractive" about the game on Saturday, and less so the week prior. I think you are on to something about the players he has brought in who might be appropriate for that game plan. It does seem like that is what he is aiming to build. Perhaps we will see an attractive, possession-orientated soccer team that actually, I don't know, scores a few goals. I won't hold my breath, as I have little faith in Yallop's ability to do anything. He looked disinterested on Saturday in the 80th minute while the game was still tied and his expression did not change after the Fire went down a goal. His substitutions are uninspired and his tactics suck. Or, maybe (with the injuries to Accam, Magee and Nyarko) we have just been "unlucky" so far and will be Barcelona-lite with all of our possession when they return. ...trying to keep hope alive with that last point.
this is the big problem - even if we can see options for ways out of the suck, Yallop doesn't see the same thing. He thinks Alex is an asset, he thinks Larentowicz is a CD, he's been following Igbo for years by his own admission, and I'd rather have Amerikwa out there at this point. We can post all the lineup improvements we want, but until Yallop is gone expect to keep seeing the same old 6-7 defenders with 3 or 4 offensive talents, and learn to enjoy watching Shipp and Maloney get frustrated trying to craft plays while surrounded by 5 defenders. That said, Frank should sack up and play the formation he said he was going to play, but with the right players: Accam-Magee-Nyarko Shipp-Maloney-Cocis whoever you want they allsuck Johnson And until everyone's healthy, play backups in the same formation. This team is not talented enough, this coach not good enough, and no one familiar enough, to play different tactics and formations game to game, so we might as well pick something and stick to it and hope that it comes together int ime to make a difference.
This is true. Most damningly, this is the team Yallop built, and he doesn't even seem to know how to use it. It took him all preseason and a regular season game to decide Watson wasn't good enough in cmid (after all last season). He was quoted saying Shipp was probably a bench player before preseason, but now that Shipp has shown up Maloney every game, Yallop's reaction is to play them both instead of balancing the midfield. His neglect to strengthen centerback and wing positions combined with his lack of building a decent midfield or organizing a forward unit that functions has cost the Fire two games already. That said, your ideal lineup is suicide. It's like a 4-1-5 with all tiny forwards. Like Bunge said above: A midfield of Cocis, Maloney and Shipp would only invite ruin and death on the Fire's average-at-best backline.
Well hard to do that with a mostly offensive midfield lines ups people post in BS, unless we can go all Barcelona and keep the ball 80% of the time. But for that we need guys that can bite and pressure other teams into turnovers, basically you need a few Rios out there. Maybe Perez can be one of those guys.
We could get a good price if we sell Shipp, that would balance the midfield. I slowly walk away from the thread.............