The Day After (Toronto)

Holy crap. 4-4. For neutrals that game was up there for game of the season. For fans of either team that just took off 3-5 years in life expectancy.

Typical NYC

I feel stupid that after we had gone up two-nil I felt happy. Two-nil! So early on! It was great. We were going to win.

Turns out that wasn’t to be. In what was a crazy game with 4 penalties and 8 goals, what stood out was that NYC blew a perfectly good lead. We talk about passion, desire, dedication so often in the footie world. The fact is, the guys out on that pitch just haven’t achieved the mental toughness to shut games out. We should have scored those two goals, defended as a unit and won a vital three points. And yes, perhaps that would have been a lot less exciting, but Mourinho didn’t win the Premier League by giving the neutrals a nice game to watch, he won it because he knows how to win. Which is something we clearly lack.

Villa & Giovinco

Technically speaking, Villa and Giovinco are two of the best players in the league. If you look at their pedigree, their history, and for Giovinco their age, it’s clear that these players are a class above everyone else.

Yet, I still feel that Giovinco plays much better. There will be those who believe that me saying Villa has played poorly is outrageous, that’s why I don’t allow comments. Yes, he’s finally scoring goals. But look, he scored from a free kick and a penalty. And last week was another free kick. It’s great that he’s able to make something out of nothing, but why can’t he score more from open play (case in point last night’s sitter)?

And even if he is scoring, stats are over-hyped. Trust me, if stats were what they claim to be then Liverpool’s moneyball-esque era of Downing & Carroll would have ended far differently. What I’m saying is, I’m glad Villa is finally scoring goals. And he’s even hustling for the team. But he’s not even close to the $6 million we pay annually. Or even close to what he should be. He still inexplicably dribbles into defenders. He still takes way too long to shoot, and he loses the ball far too carelessly for a World Cup winner. With Lampard and Pirlo behind him I expect much greater things. Otherwise I’m gonna start sending nasty letters.

Spanish Full-Backs

Iraola was rusty last night. But to be fair the former Bilbao man has barely trained a week with the team before being thrust into the starting lineup. That’s how much NYCFC and Kreis rate the right back. It’ll take time for the 33-year-old to really settle, but despite some of his defensive shortcomings it was obvious he was already a step up from RJ Allen. Just look at his positioning. Iraola was doing something no other NYCFC player has ever done: consistently get wide into open space. It’s sort of remarkable that you’re taught to get wide and open space up by mediocre coaches by the time you’ve turned 10 and no NYCFC player has done it well. If you watch Iraola for a match, you’ll see how his hugging the right touchline creates so much space for his players, and his darting runs down the wing always look dangerous.

Plus, there’s Angelino. The blond haired 18-year-old made his debut as a half time sub for the impressively poor Kwame Watson-Siriboe. Wingert was moved to centre back (CAN WE SIGN TEFU PLEASE) so that Angelino could wreak havoc down the left flank. And wreak havoc he did.

Angelino looked dangerous every time he touched the ball. He made a duracell battery hopped up on coke look lazy. His pure skill, his absurd pace, and his abundant energy make him already one of the most dangerous left backs in the MLS, and he’s only getting started. In an interview with NYCFC afterwards he said that he felt he wasn’t at all nervous, but that he lacked match fitness and looks to be much better in the games to come.

If what we saw last night was lacking match fitness and there’s better skill to come then we’re in for quite a treat.

On To The Next One

Remember when Frank Lampard was supposed to play? Yeah, well he’s supposed to play next weekend. But maybe it’ll be a few more weeks if he decides to extend his loan with some team. BOOM, roasted.

But real talk we’re lucky to have a player of his caliber, despite his age and his ability to sit on the bench for the second half on Man City’s season. He should make his debut against New England, and we really could use him.

With all this Pirlo & Lampard fanfare, it’s hard to be patient and wait ’till they both are consistent starters. But injuries aside, that day should be coming soon. Until then, let’s get Tefu, let’s learn from Iraola, let’s learn how to hold a lead, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll get somewhere this season.

On to the next one.

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.

NYCFC vs Montreal Impact: Preview

Well, we’re at it again. After the gut-wrenching home loss to the Red Bulls, it’s probably good we don’t have any sort of by-week, as we’ll want to forget the calamity that was last weekend as soon as possible.

We’ve played Montreal quite recently, which takes a good amount of intrigue out of this game. As an expansion team, we haven’t played any MLS teams before, thus any matchup is usually the first time we’ve ever played them.

But anyway, we beat Montreal 3-1 at home last time. It was easily our most impressive game of the season, and we’ll hope we can manage another win in Canada tomorrow night.

Form

As I said last time, Montreal are a hugely eclectic team. After losing to us they went on to impressively beat Orlando City, only to get destroyed by Toronto 3-1, a team we had just recently beaten. For every MLS match they play, it all depends on which Montreal side decides to show up.

NYC were in a nice run of form before getting ripped apart by the Red Bulls. I’m fairly confident heading into this match, though. With Lampard, Iraola, and Angelino on the horizon and South African player of the year Tefu Mashamaite training with us, competition for spots in our admittedly sub-par team will be fierce. It seems like NYC have taken notice of the fact that our team is generally bad and in this Montreal game, expect players to fight hard to cement their place in the starting XI.

Lineups

Montreal (4-2-3-1): Bush (GK), Tola (LB), Soumare (CB), Ciman (CB), Oyongo (RB), Donadel (CM), Reo-Coker (CM), Tissot (LM), Piatti (CAM), Romero (RM), McInerney (ST)

-Defenders Camara and Miller are still out.

-Striker Kenny Cooper just underwent knee surgery, as did fellow striker Cameron Porter

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

-Shelton is very close to a return and could even start this match, but will most lilkely come off the bench

-If Kreis knows what’s good for him, he’ll start Poku, with Mix Diskerud off for the Gold Cup. Mix will miss around 4 MLS games. The question is where Poku will play, as a slot at CM makes sense, but he’s been more effective in an attacking position. Even so, with Grabavoy and Jacobson behind him, he might be given free reign to wreak havoc.

Final Thoughts

New York City is about to go through a heavy transition phase with so many new faces coming into the starting lineup. This will be the last game for players who’ve been here since day 1 to prove that they’re worth starting. And not a lot of them are.

Montreal have their ups and downs, and we expect this game to go NYC’s way, however unlikely that sentence is in any other circumstance.

We’ve beaten them before, we need a bounce back from last week, lets beat them again.

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 (Montreal)

Last night NYCFC won their second game in a row, with a commanding 3-1 home victory over the Montreal Impact.

Who Are You and What Have You Done With NYCFC?

Watching the game last night felt eerily similar to Arsenal’s mid-January win over Manchester City this year.

Aside from the obvious gulf in ability between the two games, this game was similar in that fans from the winning team were scratching their heads wondering: “Why don’t we always play like this?”

In Arsenal’s case, it was a willingness from the entire team to defend as a unit in big games. For NYCFC, it was to attack as one.

The first goal of the night was stunning. Not that it’ll win best goal of the week, not even that David Villa (who finally played well in a game) scored, but the way it happened.

Grabavoy picks out his long-haired compatriot McNamara, who marauds down the left flank and sends in a low cross to Mullins, who deftly lays a one-touch pass to Ballouchy, who takes a touch, PICKS HIS HEAD UP and cooly finds Villa, who does what he is payed to to: finish.

That goal, dare I say, had some Arsenal in it. And that was merely an example of how NYCFC were doing. Of course, there were awful unforced errors, and of course both Jacobson and Brovsky kicked the ball out of play when trying to make a pass, but it didn’t happen as often as usual.

There were times I didn’t recognize the team I was watching. The passing between the NYC players showed some sort of mutual understanding, some chemistry. Is this what we’ve been waiting for?

……….Poku & Mix

Let’s recap: Poku is subbed on in the 75th minute, steals the ball to assist a goal in the 76th, and scores in the 90th.

Mix Diskerud scored a volley against Germany midweek with the USMNT and comes back and plays brilliantly, scoring off the bench and dishes out some sublime passes.

So why is it that when these players start matches rather than come off the bench, they seem to have so much more trouble?

The obvious answer is that you have fresh legs coming in the 75th minute, you know you just have to run as hard as you can for 15. Also, you have energy, while everyone else on the pitch has been running for 75.

These are part of the answer. But there is another more interesting possibility. When Poku has started games, he doesn’t have the freedom to roam forward whenever he pleases. As a part of a two-man center midfield, Poku can’t throw caution to the wind and put in performances such as last night. When Poku starts, he spends a lot of time in the Pirlo-Xabi Alonso role where he picks the ball up deep and attempts to link defense and attack and get a play started. Problem is, if he’s passing it from deep, who’s he passing it up to?

A possible answer was actually something Jason Kreis tried last night. He pulled off Mullins, a striker, for Poku, a center mid. We’ve put together a lineup that would use Poku, our most promising youngster, to his full potential, while still keeping the players that Kreis holds so dear.

4-5-1

Saunders (GK), Wingert (LB), Hernandez (CB), Facey (CB), Brovsky (RB), Jacobson (CDM), McNamara (LM), Mix (CM), Poku (CM), Ballouchy (RM), Villa (ST)

Kreis has already tried a 4-5-1 this season, so it’s clear he’d be willing to do this. What works so nicely here is primarily the role of our two most dynamic midfielders, Mix and Poku. While you lose a striker, having three center mids allows at least one of Poku or Mix to make runs into the box to aide Villa. This especially will help Poku, because in this formation he can count on Mix and Jaboson behind him and do what he does best, make shit happen. With this formation, Mix and Poku have free reign to do what they like, and given that liberty we could see some real sexy football. Just saying.

Shay & Villa

Shay Facey continues to impress in stunning fashion. Only a few weeks ago Facey was struggling immensely at right back, forcing us to wonder if such a young lad was cut out to be starting matches. All that talk will hopefully have been put to bed after 3 consecutive solid performances at center back. Facey on countless occasions last night made the tackle when it mattered and he anticipated passes expertly. Facey doesn’t put his body on the line as much as Hernandez, but at 20 years of age he can already read the game far better than his 31-year-old American counterpart.

Villa has disappointed thus far this season. Although he’s got a few goals, he has an awful tendency to be anonymous in games. In most games there are 30 minute periods where it doesn’t feel that Villa is even playing. For a starter that’s worrying, for a DP that’s downright inexcusable.

Thus, seeing Villa’s determination and control of the game last night was a marvel to behold. Villa was picking the ball up from his teammates, playing little one-two’s and taking dangerous shots on goal. He would track back and defend when needed and there were few moments during the first 70 minutes when I didn’t see him doing something proactive. With a goal and an assist to his name Villa will feel accomplished, and rightly so.

It’s Not All Sunshine and Rainbows

With this being only our third ever win and probably the only game we’ve actually played legitimate team footie it’s understandable that I’ve spent most of this lauding the key men in the win. But there were still way too many things we did wrong. For some reasons our defenders still have a horribly stupid tendency to pass it directly to the opposition in our own half. David Villa still waits too damn long to pull the trigger, whether that be a pass or a shot. We inexplicably kick the ball out of bounds when we have possession.

These are problems that need to be fixed, or at least addressed. But right now we’ve got back-to-back wins and a Poku goal. Life is good.

On To The Next One

Our next MLS game is this Saturday away to Toronto FC. But before then we have a midweek matchup against local rivals Cosmos in the 4th round of the U.S. Open Cup.

It will be interesting to see how many regular starters Kreis & Co. will decide to play against the NASL side. With these two wins under our belt, Kreis might look to Saturday’s Toronto game and play a much weakened side against the Cosmos. However, NYC will want to keep the good form going and a win on Wednesday could be crucial.

Toronto will be a stern test to say the least. A team packed full of quality, star player Giovinco has been looking like an early contender for regular season MVP.

If NYC were ever going to stand a chance against Toronto, it was going to be with good form and a stellar team performance. We’ve got the first, let’s see if we can manage the second.

On the the next one.