Category: NYCFC

All NYCFC

NYCFC vs Toronto FC: Preview

As I’m sure most of you are aware, Frank Lampard pulled his old-man-muscle and is out of contention for this Sunday’s match. Seeing as they were billing this game as his grand debut, it’s understandable that fans (myself included) were a little disappointed. But let’s change the subject, otherwise I’ll burst a blood vessel.

Good News

They have to play my boy Andoni Iraola. They said so. If they don’t I’ll sue. As a right back it makes much more sense to simply start him rather than sub him on, but who knows who really makes the decisions behind the scenes. Seeing as Ned Grabavoy continues to play my bet is a bunch of nut-less monkeys are throwing feces at a switchboard which controls our starting 11 every match. Just a thought.

AND we could see Angelino. The super talented 18-year-old Spanish wunderkid (he’s good, is what I’m alluding to) has been training this week along with Iraola and Lampard. They haven’t made any “debut” promises for him, but he might be worth bringing off the bench, especially given Kreis’ absurd propensity for making full back substitutions.

AND Khiry Shelton is back. He was on the bench for the entirety of last week’s Montreal game, and that understandable, as we fielded two strikers to begin with and wanted to hold onto our slim lead near the end. I’d love a Khiry start, but he’s actually far more effective coming off the bench. We hope to see him, it’s been too long.

AND Poku should start. While he hasn’t been in the form of his life, he’s still better than whatever else we have. With Lampard out, it would be a shame to bench Poku, as he’ll bring the creativity and skill we so often lack.

Form

Toronto are a team full of individually talented players. Giovinco is probably going to get the MVP, Bradley could find Waldo with a long ball, Cheryou is a class midfielder who used to play for Marseille, and people seem to like Jozy Altidore despite the fact that he’s kinda bad at soccer.

Yet, with all this, Toronto are as consistent as a presidential candidate’s opinions (yeah, we make political jokes too). After losing two starters in Bradley and Altidore to the Gold Cup, Toronto were mauled in LA, losing 4-0. It was not a pretty sight. Without Bradley marshaling the midfield, it seems hard to imagine Toronto playing well at all. They are dependent upon him, and this all bodes well for us.

NYCFC are alright. We lost a huge derby match at home to Red Bulls, then we proceeded to win an away match against Montreal. It’s funny to listen to interviews from everyone saying how we’ve been in great form and have won 4 of our last 5 games. They seem to forget that two of those win have come against a generally subpar Montreal team and that we got absolutely hammered by our biggest rivals in our home stadium.

But anyway, we’re doing okay. With these new reinforcements there’s certainly a buzz around the training camp and going into a match against a Bradley-less Toronto doesn’t seem like the hardest thing in the world.

Lineups

Toronto FC (4-4-2): Konopka (GK), Creavalle (RB), Zavaleta (CB), Hagglund (CB), Morrow (LB), Delgado (CM), Cheryou (CM), Warner (LM), Jackson (RM), Giovinco (ST), Moore (ST)

-Cheryou is still a doubt with a niggling injury, but should make the starting 11.

-Toronto has a decision to make whether to play Luke Moore or Robbie Findley up top partnering Giovinco.

NYCFC (4-5-1): Saunders (GK), Iraola (RB), Facey (CB), Watson-Siriboe (CB), Wingert (LB), Jacobson (CM), Poku (CM), Grabavoy (CM), McNamara (LM), Ballouchy (RM), Villa (ST)

-Jason Hernandez is fighting off an injury and could start over Siriboe.

-We’ve given Iraola the start, simply because he’s twice the man RJ Allen is. It’s very possible Iraola would come off the bench, but we’re crossing our fingers.

-Kreis may opt for 2 strikers, whether that’s Mullins again, or Nemec who came off the bench last week and scored in a friendly exhibition on Thursday. If he does so, Kreis would have to sacrifice a midfielder, most likely Ballouchy or Grabavoy. Frankly, NYCFC play far better with a five man midfield, so we’re hoping Villa is our only striker.

-As we said earlier, we’d love to see Shelton and Angelino at some point, we’re crossing our fingers. We’re crossing our fingers for a lot in this game. Most of which will probably end in disappointment. Yay!

Final Thoughts

Toronto have just been thrashed four-nil and come into this match without the heart of their team (Michael Bradley). With NYCFC in decent form and some quality reinforcements coming in, we should fair pretty well.

But for us who knows what that means.

The Day After (Montreal)

We’re Undefeated in Canada!

If that headline makes you excited, then you might have enjoyed NYCFC’s game against Montreal last night. Sure, we picked up three points – three much needed points – but we hardly deserved them. And if you are looking to see some improvement in our performance, it was nowhere to be found.

The Game

Josh Saunders continued to be the Manhattan schist upon which our team stands. He faced no fewer than 25 shots from the Impact, with 10 of those being on target. He saved eight of them. One was a PK that drew the sides even in the 77th minute. The other on-target shot was blocked by Shay Facey, who put in another exceptional performance.

With Hernandez injured, Kwame Watson-Siriboe joined him at center back, along with Chris Wingert on the left and RJ Allen on the right. Siriboe didn’t do his future many favors with his performance. Montreal repeatedly shredded our back line, and Wingert and Allen looked uncertain about what to do on the rare occasion they did win the ball.

Andrew Jacobsen didn’t fare much better as our defensive mid. He was joined by Kwadwo Poku, who didn’t have his best game yet still shined brighter than any other midfielder on the pitch. He had some great passes, an occasional poor one, and even picked up a silly yellow. But he always put himself in a clear passing channel for his teammates, should any of them decide to look up (a rarity for NYC FC), and that alone should put to bed any suggestion about the players fitness.

Mehdi Ballouchy was on the right and delivered that “at least I don’t suck nearly as bad as Ned Grabavoy” performance we’ve come to expect from him. Though bizarrely Coach Jason Kreis replaced him with Grabavoy in the 65th minute. Was it a coincidence that Montreal scored 12 minutes later, thanks to a possible handball in the box by Tommy McNamara? Perhaps.

McNamara theoretically played on the left, but apparently they don’t teach positioning at Brown because he was rambling around like a zombie on meth, often ending up right beside Poku in the center of the field. McNamara continued his form of late, which is to say he was marginally incompetent except for the occasional moment of brilliance – with the latter unfortunately never materializing last night.

Speaking of playing horribly except for the occasional moment of brilliance, David Villa scored both of our goals. The first came in the 34th minute, from a horrible angle, though that has never stopped him before. Fortunately this time it somehow went in. The second was an amazing free kick in the 82nd minute. He bent it around the wall in what proved to be the game-winner.

It’s nice to have a striker who can be largely ineffective and consistently lose the ball for 89 minutes and then deliver a moment of brilliance or two. But I thought we signed David Villa, not Nicklas Bendtner.

It’d be nicer to have someone who is a little more consistent, someone who doesn’t try to beat three players at a time, and someone who looks up to assess his options. Villa was paired with Patrick Mullins, who put in a lot of work. And, in fairness, he was everything Villa wasn’t, including the moments of brilliance.

Pablo Alvarez came on for Mullins in the 80th. And Adam Nemec replaced Poku, who pulled up lame in the 83rd. Neither had a significant impact in the little time they were given.

By the Numbers

We did win the game 2-1, but that was the only stat in our favor. Montreal had better possession, more tackles, and fewer fouls. Perhaps most striking was our lack thereof – as in the absence of any coordinated attack. We had a mere five shots, three of which were on target. Montreal outshot us by 80 percent. And we only earned three corners, to their 10. Clearly we were largely impotent in our opponent’s half.

Saunders continues to save our hide game after game. But we need to learn how to play the ball out of the back and get it forward in some sort of cohesive attack. That’s the kind of style of play that Kreis has consistently called for, and the kind of style we have rarely seen from our side.

It’s just not working. And the occasional win, especially when we are basically stealing points from stumbling squads like Montreal and Toronto, shouldn’t be mistaken for improvements. We are still floundering, and it looks to be more than first-season jitters.

The Good News

We had some empty seats on the plane up to Montreal. Like Arsenal, and unfortunately this is the only area in which we are anything like Arsenal, our squad has been plagued by injuries. We couldn’t even muster the full 18 players allowed to travel to away games.

I know, this is supposed to be the good news section. I’m getting to it.

Next Sunday we face Toronto, another Canadian team, and another team we stole three points from not long ago. But even that’s not the good news.

The good news is that the cavalry are coming. Andoni Iraola and Angelino have joined the squad as right back and left back, respectively. Hopefully they will provide our back line with the competency they so desperately need.

We’ve already told you about the veteran Iraola. And Angelino may only be 18, but if this Man City loanee performs anything like Facey, he will be a massive improvement over the current crop of traffic cones we call defenders.

Plus, we’ve got Tefu Mashamaite on trial. The veteran center back was named Player of the Year last season in South Africa, where he captained the Kaizer Chiefs to the title with a pass completion rate exceeding 90 percent (and more than 60 percent of those passes advancing the ball) and committing only seven fouls.

And then there’s Frank Lampard, who will finally join the team for the Toronto match as well. His leadership and skills may be hampered by his aging legs, but hopefully he can help bring a little direction and perhaps even some results to our woeful offense. If nothing else, his addition to the squad mathematically reduces the chances that Ned Grabavoy will play, and that alone is cause to celebrate.

The post-match coverage on the YES Network featured an Ian Joy interview with Sporting Director Claudio Reyna. Our game day Goebbels, Joy was man enough to admit that he was wrong to dismiss the rumor that Andrea Pirlo will sign with the club, and then put the question to Reyna. In the pre-recorded segment, Reyna said that the club was indeed close to signing Pirlo but the deal had yet to be finalized. If this does happen, that would be some cavalry indeed.

In his interview with Joy, Reyna described the new additions as NYC FC 2.0. If we do add Pirlo and Mashamaite in addition to Lampard, Iraola, and Angelino, then we will have in fact replaced nearly half the squad – the kind of turnover you’d only expect in the off-season. And man-for-man, each of them looks to be a significant improvement on our current crop of starters.

We are just past the halfway mark of our inaugural season, and we’re sitting in 17th place. That’d be a relegation spot, if our league swung that way. We’ve had five wins, five draws, and eight losses. And we have a negative goal differential.

Yet NYC FC 2.0 can still recover enough to make the playoffs. And with the addition of these new players, there’s hope that we can salvage something from this season, even if it is only are self-respect.

On To The Next One

We’re hoping to keep up our record against Canadian teams as Toronto FC visit Yankee stadium this Sunday at 3.

Toronto were just hammered 4-0 away to LA Galaxy and come here in really poor form. Not to mention the absence of key players Michael Bradley and (sort of…) Jozy Altidore, both who are away at the Gold Cup, a visit from a team that would usually be very dangerous is seeming a lot easier.

With the debuts of Iraola and Lampard off the bench, plus the possible debuts of Angelino and Mashamaite, this Sunday should be an exciting day to be an NYCFC fan. Which doesn’t happen very often.

Oh, did we mention Pirlo?

On to the next one.

The Day After (Red Bulls)

Last night we were humiliated at home, beaten 3-1 by our rivals the Red Bulls. Here are some thoughts.

Wake Up and Smell The Sucking

On my 45 minute ride up to Yankee stadium from Brooklyn (still better than going on the PATH….) I turned to my father to talk about the upcoming game. I told him that it’s funny that we’re going into this game as slight favorites, only 3 games ago we were the worst team in the league with no hope.

It’s amazing how short the memory of the football world is. I’ve seen it for years in Europe, and it’s funny to see it happen here. A team, a player, or a manager, can go from being considered the cream of the crop to the worst piece of shit within a month. I remember when Cristiano Ronaldo was on top form a year back and people were questioning whether Lionel Messi had shown us his best and was on a downward spiral. A year later, Messi wins the treble in emphatic style and people are back to praising him.

And, of course, many people stick by these teams, players, or managers, but it’s really quite remarkable how ubiquitous an opinion in footie can become once it’s expressed. It’s as if journalists are too stupid to have their own opinions, so once a few articles are written everyone follows suit.

Thus, reminiscing over the insane amount of articles I read before last night’s match, I couldn’t help but be struck by the collectivity in opinions, and even phrases. “NYCFC on the up”…”Red Bulls falling”…etc etc.

The play on the field last night was a wake up call. NYCFC just aren’t a good team yet. We’re brand new, and we won’t be truly good for a while. This Red Bull team have been playing together for a bit, and have an identity.

We were almost the worst team in the league a month ago. A few lucky breaks does not make winners. Last night was case in point.

I Remember Middle School

NYC’s play last night reminded me of an 8th grade boy about to lose his virginity. The first 10 minutes are the most exciting you’ve ever had, and then you lose your focus and by the time it’s over you’re confused and she’s disappointed.

But seriously, there’s an almost childish mentality amongst our team. The first 15-20 minutes, we scored a goal, we had some silky (albeit frustratingly unnecessary) back heels, and some good passing.

Yet as soon as it was Red Bull’s turn to do something, we got bored and lost focus. The rest of the game was typified by wayward passing, lethargic movement, and a genuine lack of communication between our players. The true NYCFC way.

The Team

Yes, I could talk about how McNamara inexplicably is able to score goals yet not pass the ball at a 5th grade level. And I could mention I don’t think Ned Grabavoy was on the field last night.

But the truth of the matter is, our team just isn’t good enough. Yeah, there were poor individual performances, but it’s not like a few changes would’ve really changed that much.

We all love to play backseat manager. “Oh if only he played so-and-so”…”Why doesn’t he switch to a 4-3-3?” etc etc. Hell, I do it all the time. But the truth is there’s no magic formula that can transform the team we’ve got into a winning machine. Unless you’ve got a device which can make 11 clones of Kwadwo Poku, we’re shit outta luck. And if you do have that device, I seriously question your moral code that you’d spend your time using it to help a mediocre MLS club.

Yeah, Pirlo and Lampard will help, but we’re a brand new club, and I’ve heard patience is a virtue.

The Future

Here’s the good news, NYCFC has a bright future. We’re a piece of crap team that already manages to attract talent that most MLS teams would only dream of. I don’t care how much you think we’re just pawns in Man City’s chess game, our owners have a fuckload of cash and don’t like losing. They’ve seen how many people turn up for the shit we’ve got now and they’re smart enough to understand the economic gold mine that is NYC. They know how to run a football team, and I guarantee you in 5 years we’ll be MLS royalty.

We’ll look back at this first season when we get all the bandwagon fans down the line and say “I was there when we were shit.” And fuck, we’ll be proud. Because we suffered through every loss and every second and we’ll look back on players like McNamara and Grabavoy and RJ Allen and we won’t be able to believe that guys like that played for our club.

So forget “on to the next one.” This season will be tough, whoever we play. We’ll win some games with our reinforcements, and that’s exciting. But the real reward will come in a few years. In many ways, we’re going to end up being a lot like Man City. After years of mediocrity and suffering we eventually become the top 3 in the league, never to look back. And it’ll be so much sweeter when we win whatever they’ll be calling the trophy in 5 years time. Because we’ll remember the shit we sat through, and we’re better for it.

NYCFC vs Red Bulls: Preview

Ah, the day is upon us. With all the twitter competitions, the meaningless press conferences, and the overrated blogs, it’s easy to forget that this whole schpiel is about a 90 minute footie match. And how enticing this footie match is indeed.

Form

If you had told me that coming into this match NYCFC would be in far better form I’d probably chloroform you, squeeze your body into the back of my trunk, drop you off at the nearest sanatarium and think nothing of it.

But somehow NYCFC have won 3 MLS matches in a row while Red Bulls were winless in 5 consecutive matches before their scrappy 1 nil midweek home win versus RSL. The Red Bulls even lost, AT HOME, to the Philadelphia Union. Not even NYC have lost to the Union at home, and we’ve sucked for most of this season.

In fact, the Red Bulls’ hot streak ended just after beating us 2-1 in Harrison. Weird vibes, man.

Point is, the Red Bulls haven’t played particularly well the past few games and NYC have exceeded prior expectations, occasionally playing quality football. Going into this game at home in the Bronx, this is a pretty good scenario to have.

Lineups

Red Bulls (4-2-3-1): Robles (GK), Duvall (RB), Miazga (CB), Perrinelle (CB), Lawrence (LB), McCarty (CM), Felipe (CM), Zizzo (LM), Kljestan (CAM), Grella (RM), Wright-Phillips (ST)

-Kljestan is back from serving his suspension and should slot into his preferred role right under the striker.

-Lloyd Sam might make it to the bench, but probably still needs another week to recover from his groin injury.

NYC (4-5-1): Saunders (GK), RJ Allen (RB), Facey (CB), Hernandez (CB), Wingert (LB), McNamara (LM), Grabavoy (CM), Jacobson (CM), Mix (CM), Ballouchy (RM), Villa (ST)

-As per usual, we’d love to see Poku instead of Grabavoy. Last time out Kreis opted for Grabavoy, as Poku had played a full match in midweek. That choice ostensibly payed dividends, as NYC won in Toronto. Although Grabavoy had little to do with that win, he will be trusted in this derby match because of his “MLS experience.”

-As with last game, one of Calle or Williams should make the bench. Shelton is recovering well from a left knee sprain, but if he features at all it would be coming off the bench.

Final Thoughts

With a crowd of at least 45,000 people, it’s hard not to be excited for tomorrow’s derby.

One thing to keep in mind is that while form certainly is influential, often what makes derby matches so great is the fact that both teams want to win this game so much more than other regular league games. When this happens, the play from both sides improves and the game becomes impossible to call. Each team puts forth an inspired performance to match the other and we often see some of footie’s finest moments.

Yet, this isn’t a traditional rivalry as of yet. Sure the first game was heated, but right now the fans of the opposition teams are the ones who are making this a “derby” match. Most of the players are using the “oh-it’s-just-another-3-points” PR tactic.

But soccer players are rarely the best speakers, we’ll see on the pitch how both sides feel about this matchup.

Until then, Death To The Red Bulls.

The Day After (Toronto)

This might be two days after the fact, but we’re still as dumbfounded as we were on Sunday.

Hey, You Never Know

I never really understood this ubiquitous lottery slogan until now. Going into this match, the most I was hoping for was a decent performance and a likely loss. MAYBE a tie. But a win? An AWAY win? No way.

Yet, with a hell of a lot of luck and 20-something-thousand irate Toronto fans to witness, NYCFC won two nil.

Our Game Plan

If you watched the full game on Saturday and didn’t see the penalty nor TFC’s giveaway which lead to our second, you would’ve noticed two things: First, that Toronto are a much more skilled team, and second, that NYCFC were out for blood.

The physical, aggressive nature of NYCFC’s plan reminded me of one of Jose Mourinho’s first Clasico’s versus Barcelona. In this game the role of the diminutive, seemingly unstoppable magician was played by Giovinco, and instead of Pepe, the man tasked with hacking at Messi all night was Jason Hernandez.

Luckily, NYCFC managed to shut down Giovinco in truly expert fashion. The whole team, 33-year-old David Villa included, ran themselves into the ground, and if there was a lack of skill present, there certainly wasn’t a lack of desire.

Good Us Or Bad Them?

This is really an age old footballing question that’s difficult to assess every time it’s addressed. Did NYCFC manage to concoct a formula to shut down one of the most potent attacks in the MLS? Or did one of the most potent attacks in the MLS fall flat on its face?

The answer, as always, is a little of both. My inherent cynicism towards NYCFC dictates that I saw Toronto lose that game, not NYCFC win. But we did win, after all, and thus I’ll only spend a bit talking about how Toronto shit the bed.

They did shit the bed, though. It just wasn’t their day. Michael Bradley wasn’t really on his A-game, and even when he did manage to send in one of his glorious, searching long balls, Giovinco uncharacteristically took a poor touch and squandered the opportunity. Cheryou’s handball was not a handball, and the fact that MLS officials called it as such is worrying. More worrying is that the commentators slowly convinced themselves it was the correct call. Toronto stupidly gave away possession which led directly to our second goal. And DP Jozy Altidore was completely useless when brought on, adding little to nothing to their attack. Toronto have a really talented squad who really messed up this game.

We Won

Despite Toronto’s shortcomings, NYCFC were the ones who had to put the ball in the back of the net. And we did, twice.

We looked really solid on the counterattack and our defense held up tremendously well. Shay Facey is becoming a godsend with his efforts at center back and playing five midfielders, rather than two strikers, allows us to compete against more technically skilled sides. We scored, we won, another three points. Well played.

On To The Next One

Ohhhh and what a “Next One” it is. NYCFC will host the Red Bulls for the first time at Yankee Stadium, and with the Red Bulls on their worst run of the season and NYC on its best run of the season, it’s hard to think of a better time for payback.

Granted, anything can happen. NYCFC has been winning, and playing a little better, but we’re nowhere near where we could be. And, this being a derby match, form often matters a lot less. When you’re playing in front of what should be somewhere near 40 thousand fans, with both teams knowing what this game means for their clubs, there’s no way to predict the outcome. All we know is it’s going to be a spectacle, and almost certainly another piece of history for soccer in New York.

Come Sunday, though, most people will forget what this game might mean for the further advancement of footie, and will focus more on sending the Red Bulls back to the pit of a home they call Jersey. Unless they get stuck in traffic on the George Washington Bridge on the way back. Boom, Jersey roasted.

On to the fuckin’ next one.

NYCFC vs Toronto FC: Preview

This Saturday NYCFC travel to Ontario, Canada, for their first visit to Toronto.

Form

Toronto are in really impressive form. After having recently beaten DC United, Toronto extended their win streak to three games, with star man Giovinco in the form of his career with seven goals five assists. At home against bottom placed NYCFC, Toronto will be heavy favorites.

Oh, and there’s NYCFC. To be fair, NYC are in the form of their season. Despite a gut-busting-let’s-not-talk-about-it penalty loss midweek in the US Open Cup, NYC have won their last two MLS matches. Our most recent, an emphatic 3-1 victory over Toronto’s Canadian neighbors, Montreal, is clearly the highlight of our season thus far. With a full lineup, Poku in blistering form, and David Villa back in the lineup, we’d say NYC have at least a chance to compete in this game.

Lineups

Toronto (4-3-1-2): Konopka (GK), Creavelle (RB), Zavaleta (CB), Hagglund (CB), Morrow (RB), Jackson (RCM), Cheyrou (CM), Findley (LCM), Bradley (CAM), Giovinco (CF), Altidore (ST)

-Simonin, Lovitz, and Bloom are all out for Toronto.

-Former Birmingham and Scottish international Steven Caldwell is out with a right achilles injury.

NYCFC: (4-5-1): Saunders (GK), RJ Allen (RB), Facey (CB), Hernandez (CB), Wingert (LB), Jacobson (CDM), Mix (CM), Poku (CM), Ballouchy (RM), McNamara (LM), Villa (ST)

-After Poku’s midweek heroics, it seems foolish to leave him on the bench for this big game. Yet, after playing nearly 90 minutes, there may be reasonable doubts regarding his match fitness. Grabavoy could deputize, but hopefully not.

-Meara, Brandt, and Shelton are still certainly out.

-Both Williams and Calle have been making steady progress and could make the bench.

Final Thoughts

If NYC were to have a chance in this game, we would’ve needed to be in amazing form. We’re in good form. If Villa can replicate his desire from last game, Poku starts, and Ned Grabavoy missing the team bus while being mercilessly tortured by a gang of Syrian refugees, then maybe we’ve got a shot.

Hopefully NYC go for the win, but as Kreis and everyone in this league seems to say “An away tie is a win.”

No, it’s not. If you’re not first, you’re last. And that’s from a wholesome American film that the suits down at the MLS should be able to appreciate.

Good luck lads.

BREAKING: NYC Sign Bilbao Defender Iraola

Yes, it’s true.

NYCFC have just announced on their website that they have signed 32-year-old veteran defender Andoni Iraola from La Liga side Athletic Bilbao. As an avid supporter of the Basque club, NYCFootie is elated to introduce this player to New Yorkers.

What You Need To Know

Iraola has played the entirety of his 12 year footie career with Athletic Bilbao scoring 38 goals and amassing a stunning 510 appearances.

It must be made clear that Iraola was never a bit part player for Bilbao. In Iraola NYC have signed a world class footballer who has been the heart and soul of a club team that in the past 12 years has beaten Manchester United over two legs of the Europa, has reached the final of the Europa League, and has reached 3 finals of the Copa Del Rey (a domestic knockout tournament in Spain, independent of the regular league play.)

Andoni is truly a talented player and when he first suits up for NYCFC sometime after July 8th he will be a class above the players at NYC and the MLS.

Style

Iraola is not a fast paced full back that has become so common in world football. Iraola possesses amazing passing range, great crossing ability, and a calculated mind. He seldom makes stupid tackles or loses his head, and his organization will do wonders for the inexperienced Facey and the often-out-of-position Hernandez.

To sum up Iraola in one word: composed. Throughout his storied playing career, Andoni was always the most trusted player on the field by his Basque compatriots, always making the right pass or tackle when asked to. This fits in perfectly with Jason Kreis’s ideal for a footie player. Iraola will be quality on the field and will be a reserved leader in the dressing room.

Iraola is a level-headed, composed, technically skilled, veteran footballer who will quietly make a huge impact on NYC’s back line.

NYC’s Back Line

All logic would suggest that Iraola would simply jump Brovsky, Allen, and the injured Williams in the pecking order and slot in at right back.

However, having a player of his caliber at right back seems like a inefficient use of talent. Right backs are important, but they cannot dictate the flow of the game, they aren’t the stars of the team, and they often aren’t the main reasons why a team will win or lose a match.

Thus, we wonder what will happen. With Facey in good form it seems logical to keep Iraola out wide, but come mid-July expect Kreis to tinker with Iraola’s position. He could be slotted centre back, or even into a holding midfield position, which he has played before for Bilbao when needed. Because of his supreme technical ability, tactical nous, passing range, and defensive capabilities, we’d almost prefer him getting a shot at holding midfield.

In Short

Let’s put aside all the positional conjecture for a moment and enjoy the brilliant signing.

Iraola comes FOR FREE as his contract had run out at Bilbao and both parties decided it would be the right time for him to leave. Iraola, as far as reports indicate, IS NOT a DP, which means NYC just got a world class player and have room to get another.

The MLS transfer window reopens July 8th, meaning Iraola could make his debut against Toronto at home on July 12th, but will most likely take a bit longer to get settled.

For now, we’ve got two wins, Lampard coming, and my main man from Bilbao coming to New York.

The Day After (Philadelphia)

NYCFC broke their 11 game winless streak on Saturday night as we ousted Philly 2-1.

Wait, What?

We won? Really?

Yes, turns out we got 3 points. Frankly I still haven’t really accepted that as fact because it’s just been so long since it’s happened, I don’t know how to react.

While the hype-machine PR douchebags who run most of NYCFC’s website will herald this win as a massive stepping point, we’d like to put things in perspective before everyone gets their panties in a bunch.

Nothing Changed

The sad truth of that match was that we got very lucky. This was no tactical marvel, no newfound spark from the team, and not even the hardest fought game. There was very little we can point to that contributed to our first win in ages.

David Villa still dribbles too much and overthinks every move he makes, our defense gets caught making stupid tackles, and we struggle to get players wide. Our passing and movement off the ball are poor. We just didn’t play a good game.

If anything, we owe that win more to Philly than ourselves. The amount of chances they wasted and mistakes they made almost looked as bad as us. We would not have even been able to compete in that game had the Union not been so bad themselves.

Yet aside from all this brutal cynicism, there was a positive to take from this game.

Shay Facey

My man. I’ve always been excited about Shay, from the first day the young English lad got subbed on at right back in Yankee stadium. To me it was simple: would I rather have a young American player who’s been playing at college level, or a young Brit who was raised through the Man City youth system? No matter what, he’s going to know things that it will take years for his counterparts to learn, that’s just the reality of the gulf  between youth development in Europe and the States.

Much to my chagrin, however, Facey has had a rough start to life in the MLS. In his first start for the club he managed a red card in the first half and he’s had some really shaky defending. But after getting a rare start at center back against the Houston Dynamo, Facey has impressed, even being named man of the match against Philly.

Facey looked like vintage fuckin’ Vincent Kompany against Philly. He just had that beautiful intangible aurora about him where you just knew he wasn’t going to lose the game. Every cross into the box he managed to clear, he ran tirelessly, his positioning was spot on, and his high field pressing would force mistakes from the opposition attackers.

Though he did have some “training wheels” moments, most notably when his poor excuse for a cross fell invitingly at the feet of a Union player only for him to fuck up. But, as the case was, Philly made us look good. And Facey looked good.

If Facey can keep up this run of form he could be the rock in the back we thought Hernandez would be early in the season.

On To The Next One

At the end of the day, we did win. Which is pretty big. I’ve never played professional footie (…yet) but I believe that this win could have the power to instill real self-belief within our players. And that’ll be important considering the run of games we have coming up.

Looking ahead, we’ve got El Clasico versus the Red Bulls on June 28th. If we can maybe get another win between now and then we might have a real shot of competing. But that’s looking ahead and asking a lot.

For next week we’ve got the Montreal Impact at Yankee Stadium. Montreal are an eclectic team to say the least. They made it to the CONCACAF Champions League final all the while coming in dead last in the league. Anything can happen with those guys, but they’ve been playing some fairly good footie lately. Let’s hope we build on progress and don’t regress.

On to the next one….

NYCFC vs Houston Dynamo: Preview

Tonight Yankee stadium will host the Houston Dynamo as NYCFC try to do something, anything, to prove they are still a real team.

Interestingly enough, this is not the first time NYC have faced the Dynamo. While it was only a preseason match, we have played against these lads in the Carolina Challenge Cup back in February.

We played a fairly poor game then, losing 2-1, with the only consolation a sweet back heel from McNamara to set up Mix’s emphatic finish.

Ahhhhh, February. We had the whole world ahead of us: “back heels”, “emphatic”, “finishes,” no knowledge of Ned Grabavoy’s consistent mediocrity.  Granted, playing as we did should have been a stiff harbinger for the future, but hey, it was February.

Form

If there’s one thing that can be said about Houston’s season thus far it’s that is has been far from boring.

They’ve had only four wins, two of which have come in the past three games. They tied Sporting KC at home in a 4-all eight goal thriller. Their last match was set to be a tie against the Galaxy in California until a 92nd minute winner by Alan Gordon, giving LA the late victory.

Houston haven’t played all that poorly this season, they’ve just had a lot of unlucky moments. Watch out for British striker Giles Barnes who’s got 5 goals already and holding mid Luis Garrido. Also if you think you see a certain 33-year-old former US international playing left back, you’re not dreaming: it’s the man, the myth, the legend, DaMarcus Beasley.

NYC keep losing. They’ve lost for a while. There’s a few tied games in there. Mostly losses. That’s all.

Lineups

Houston (4-4-2): Deric (GK), Beasly (LB), Taylor (CB), Horst (CB), Rodriguez (RB), Lopez (LM), Clark (CM), Garrido (CM), Garcia (RM), Bruin (ST), Barnes (ST)

-Poster boy Brad Davis caused NYC a whole mess of trouble in that game back in February, so Yankee Stadium will hope that the left midfielder’s right knee bruise doesn’t heal up before this match. He could start, though, if the doctors give him the green light this morning.

-Center back Horst has a slight knee sprain, but is expected to start.

NYCFC: (4-4-2): Saunders (GK), Brandt (LB), Watson-Siriboe (CB), Hernandez (CB), Facey (RB), Ballouchy (LM), Mix (CM), Jacobson (CM), Shelton (RM), Villa (ST), Mullins (ST)

-It’s possible that NYCFC are using the same medical staff as Arsenal have been using for the past few years. There are SIX players who could possibly not play, FIVE of those defenders.

-Left back Calle and right back Williams are both certainly out, with a right quad strain and left adductor strain, respectively.

-Wing backs Brovsky and RJ Allen seem to be forming some type of chemistry, as both are questionable with right quad strains. Twins!

-Center back Wingert looks doubtful with a right hamstring problem.

-Ned Grabavoy is our final name on this list, with a pelvic injury (HA, loser!) having kept him out of a few matches. We’d usually be celebrating another match without him, but at this point it doesn’t even matter.

Final Thoughts

I think we could get a tie. But then again I also thought Pluto was a real planet, Arsenal would finally win the league this year, and NYCFC had a chance of making the playoffs.

Maybe try to play well? I don’t know. I really don’t know.

The Day After (Real Salt Lake)

FAITH NO MORE: RSL Dispenses NYC 2-0

Confidence. It’s the “patriotism” of the sports world…the last refuge of a scoundrel.

When your team’s coach and paid commentators start saying that your team needs confidence. When one of the Tri-State Ford’s Keys to the Match is “BELIEVE!” That’s when you know you are in trouble.

And, boy, are we in trouble.

Even without the 10-billion-ton burden that is Ned Grabavoy, we looked clueless and incompetent last night. Sure, Khiry Shelton is still a kid, a 21-year-old rookie. Maybe he and the 20-year-old Manchester City’s youth academy product Shay Facey might lack confidence, and Facey certainly showed it last night with some costly blunders, but the rest of these clowns are professional athletes. They get paid to do this, for a living. They are MLS veterans. Heck, some of them are even World Cup-winning record holders.

I could, like the match commentators, argue that David Villa isn’t getting the service he used to back when he was a world-class superstar. And I could even cling to their other claim, that MLS is a tough league with permissive refs and brutal center backs. But Villa has played against tougher, stronger, and faster opposition. And no matter what league you are playing in, if the ref isn’t giving you the calls, then you’ve got to stop going to ground and find a way to beat your opponent.

Mix Diskerud did strike the crossbar. That was our one shot on target. And our one match highlight. Which is why you won’t hear a lot of people talk about how useless he was for the other 89 minutes and 37 seconds. I hate to single him out, but – like Villa – the gap between his promise and his performance is hard to ignore. Diskerud is like a spinnaker that’s flapping loose.

In the field, Mehdi Ballouchy was our best player last night. The guy, long a posterchild for mediocrity, is even our top scorer this season. Mullins showed the occasional spark. And Jacobson wasn’t an embarrassment, though he did miss one of our few opportunities (Villa, who put one decent effort over the bar, pathetically squandered another opportunity).

Define “Defense”

Our defense really stood out. Brovsky was out-blundered by Facey, but he certainly can’t hold his head up high. Our two center backs, Hernandez and Wingert, were as effective as orange traffic cones on the side of the freeway.

The only exception to NYCFC’s failure has been and continues to be Josh Saunders. He made some huge saves. So many saves that it’s harsh to question his performance on the second goal. Without him there surely would have been more.

I look at the stats from last night’s game and the two teams appear even. Possession, passing, tackles, crosses, corners – all nearly identical. The only significant differences were in shots on target and clearances – both of which were in Real Salt Lake’s favor. Yet even MLS.com, notorious for proclaiming the league’s parity, declared that it was a “comprehensive victory” for RSL.

Jason Kreis…

I have to blame Jason Kreis. Yes, he did make some changes in the 66th minute, bringing on Velasquez for Shelton and McNamara for Mullins, and we did start to show some signs of life. And then he got bold in the 81st, bringing on Brandt – his first appearance as a professional – for Wingert. But stats aside, there looked to be one competent team on that field, and it wasn’t ours.

I blame Kreis because he picked these players, most of whom are proven entities. Sure, some of them are failing to perform, but a lot of them look completely incapable of performing – at least not at the professional level.

We’ve earned 7 points in 12 games…rock bottom of the table. 

Even without Grabavoy, we continue to chase the ball around the midfield. We lose our shape as soon as the whistle blows, leaving opponents with all sorts of space – and limiting our passing options when we do have on the ball. And our back line is exceedingly subpar. These are all issues Kreis can and should address, though it doesn’t seem like he’s even aware of them.

On the attack, Villa always has his back to the goal. Or he’s dropping back into the midfield to get the ball. That’s not his strength. That’s not his skillset. That’s not his game. That’s what Diskerud should be doing. He should be the playmaker sending through balls to Villa. Or, better yet, put Poku out there – a proven passer. And Nemec, the one strike partner who has demonstrated an ability to receive and hold the ball with his back to the goal.

I blame Kreis because he should see these challenges. And he should be working to address them. I’ve seen little improvement in our play over the past 12 games. Each week it’s the same problems. And each week he attributes them to a lack of confidence, and bad luck.

Maybe the player’s don’t believe in themselves, as Kreis claims. Or maybe they don’t believe in him. Either way, I hope I don’t have to wait 12 more matches to find the answer.

On To The Next One

We play Houston Dynamo at home. Whatever.