Tag: Khiry Shelton

The Day After (New England)

The Day After (New England)

The day after? It couldn’t have come soon enough. NYCFC traveled to New England on Saturday, full of hope and potential. And if you listen to the pundits, momentum as well. But being “unbeaten” isn’t the same as winning, and when people start celebrating the act of not losing, then you know you are in trouble.

One could argue that we were off to a good start. We had some bright spots in the opening minutes. Angelino was a revelation. The man’s like a death ray. Utterly fantastic. Which, of course, only exposed the rest of our squad as being so much less so.

We did enjoy a slight edge in possession, which somehow lasted throughout the entire game, but that proved about as meaningful as being unbeaten. In the 12th minute, New England had a moment of clarity that coincided with a moment of quality to produce a well-earned goal from Lee Nguyen.

Yes, it was the result of nice passing, but our defense looked a tad feeble on the play. Both Andoni Iraola and Jason Hernandez rushed out to challenge Diego Fagundez, leaving Ngyuen wide open behind them. Mehdi Ballouchy tried to recover and shut down Nguyen in the box but it was too late. If I had to blame someone, it’d be Iraola, as Hernandez had more of a right to push up on Fagundez. Iraola should have been marking Ngyuen. And it certainly wasn’t the first time the Spanish vet, only two games into his NYC FC run, has been suckered out of position like that.

Things started to roll downhill from there. We had the ball, but we couldn’t do a damn thing with it. So sad.

Changes Coming

Our midfield is still getting comfortable with full backs that can play the game. By that I mean they are starting to realize that they have a position to play, with responsibilities to fulfill. This includes providing coverage on the overlap.

And with Shay Facey starting to play the ball out of the back, with the help of Angelino and Iraola, the midfielders are also discovering that they need to provide them options as well. The days of simply running around in hopes of picking up a loose ball from defensive clearances are hopefully over, along with the default setting of having keeper Josh Saunders regularly booting the ball as far up field as possible.

And our forwards? We don’t get many opportunities the way we’ve been playing, and these guys squandered the few we had on Saturday. In fairness, Patrick Mullins worked his ass off. But David Villa needs to do better. Are the balls used in MLS that much more attractive than those in La Liga? They seem to be, because Villa’s always looking down at the ball and never up at his teammates. And I can understand his frustration at the poor service, but he’s also throwing tantrums when he’s not even bothered to get open. Could the 33 year-old need glasses?

I hope Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo, our two other designated players, have a better attitude than Villa has displayed. We’ll know soon enough.

Hungry or Fed Up?

It’s strange that, given the introduction of five new players in the middle of the season, no one on the current squad looks even remotely interested in fighting for their place on the team. You’d expect them to be digging deep to prove they deserve a spot out there, but that didn’t appear to be the case this weekend.

And if it were only one or two players looking like that, I’d place the blame on them individually. But since everyone lacks that sort of hunger, I have to blame Coach Jason Kreis. Where’s the leadership? Where’s the man management? And has anyone spotted Jurgen Klopp “vacationing” in New York City this summer?

All in all, it was a fairly timid performance from a team that should be – needs to be – doing a lot better. We’re more than halfway through the season and we’ve still got too many poor touches, poor passes, and poor positioning.

More Changes Needed

With the addition of Lampard and Pirlo, things should change in the midfield. We’ve already seen some change in the back. And hopefully that will translate to a change on the attack as well.

For example, with Angelino and Iraola advancing up the flanks, along with precision passing from Pirlo, might we see more of Adam Nemec and his aerial ability in the box? And what about Khiry Shelton? Sure, he’s been battling an injury, but he practiced this week, not even a spot on the bench? What’s up? His pace will be a welcome alternative on the attack. Tommy McNamara couldn’t outrun an armadillo.

The good news is that Ned Grabavoy won’t be available to play next week. He earned a straight red in the 55th minute for doing a poor Nigel de Jong impersonation. The saddest part is that it was the first and only time his name was called all evening.

Hernandez will have to sit as well, thanks to steady stream of yellows. Will Kreis give Jefferson Mena a start? The Colombian center back was only recently signed, but I don’t think anyone is interested in seeing what else Kwame Watson-Siriboe can do wrong.

And what about Lampard and Pirlo? Will Kreis start either – or both – of them, especially with Mix Diskerud still away on national team duties?

Kreis has shown some faith in Iraola, but he took Angelino off after 70 minutes, replacing him with Chris “Wing and a Prayer” Wingert. He also took off Mullins and brought on Kwadwo Poku shortly after Grabavoy’s dismissal, though the Ghanaian talisman proved unable to work his magic. He did have a few nice connections, though, including a late-game link-up with Pablo Alvarez, who replaced Ballouchy in the 77th.

What lessons, if any, will Kreis learn from this flatulent performance? Will he give the new guns a shot or cling to his familiar failings? Only time will tell.

And time is running out on this season. So far we’ve earned a measly 21 points in 20 games. At this rate, we’re not going to make the playoffs. We’ll need to at least double our 1.05 points per game average over the next 14 fixtures if we hope to have a shot at the post-season this year.

On To The Next One

We play Orlando at home on July 26th.

I don’t know why, but I hate Orlando as much as the Red Bulls. Maybe even more. Perhaps it’s the whole “the other expansion team” thing, or the choice to name it Orlando City SOCCER Club, or the purple fucking color, or most obvious, the fact that it’s fucking Orlando.

So yeah, I’d like to win. With Lampard hopefully playing and perhaps, perhaps, Pirlo, we could have a better midfield. Which means we’d actually have a midfield. And some of the infamous NYCFC mediocrity may have to sit down and never see the pitch again.

Ned Grabavoy is suspended for us and star Canadian striker Cyle Larin is suspended for them. Both great news for us.

While this game will be billed as Kaka vs Lampard & Pirlo, the truth is that the rest of our team need to vastly improve, or at least try, to give us a chance this season.

Anyway, 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 (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.

NYCFC vs Real Salt Lake: Preview

On Saturday, May 23rd NYC will travel to Salt Lake to take on Jason Kreis’s former club at 10 p.m. ET.

Form

RSL haven’t exactly set the world on fire with their play this season. While managing some impressive away wins at San Jose and more recently the Chicago Fire, Salt Lake have only won 1 of 4 games in their home stadium and have suffered heavy defeats such as 4-0 and 4-1 to the hands of New England and the Montreal Impact.

NYCFC have been worse, though. After an opening night win over the Revolution, NYC have seemingly forgotten what 3 points feels like. Unlike RSL, however, NYC always seem to compete for every game, never losing by more than 2 goals. We love barely losing. Yet, after a massive morale-boosting 2 goal comeback draw with 10 men last weekend, all of NYC will be hoping that game can kickstart the season.

Lineups

RSL: (4-4-2) Rimando (GK), Beltran (RB), Olave (CB), Vasquez (CB). Phillips (LB), Beckerman (CM), Gil (CM), Stertzer (LM), Mulholland (RM), Saborio (ST), Sandoval (ST)

-RSL have a host of niggling injuries to Okwuonu, Plata, Morales, and Jaime. While not necessarily guaranteed starters, RSL would benefit from having a few of these guys fresh and on the bench.

NYC (4-4-2): Saunders (GK), Brovsky (LB), Wingert (CB), Hernandez (CB), Facey (RB), Jacobson (CM), Mix (CM), Shelton (RM), Alvarez (LM), Mullins (ST), Villa (ST)

-With RJ Allen suspended, Brovsky will move to left back and Facey will slot in at right back, as Williams is out with NYCFC’s favorite injury, the famous left adductor strain.

-Both Calle and Grabavoy are questionable but one could make the bench.

Final Thoughts

This could be an important game for both sides. We both need the win.

Furthering the plot line is that Grabavoy, Watson-Siriboe, Velasquez, Wingert, Saunders, and as we all know, head coach Jason Kreis all used to play at RSL. It will be very much a homecoming for Kreis & Co. Let’s hope we can spoil the party.

May the force be with you. Or at least a win. Maybe even a tie. Good luck, basically.

The Day After (Chicago)

Last night NYCFC earned a well fought point against Chicago Fire at home. Here’s our thoughts.

David Villa? More like David Suck!

That’s not entirely accurate. He’s a fantastic footballer who holds the top goal scoring record for the Spanish national team and has won almost every trophy that a footballer can earn. He came to MLS to either: A) Get one last hefty paycheck living in our lovely city or B) Give himself one last challenge.

Presumably it’s a Mix of the two but if option B was at all on his agenda he’s doing quite poorly.

Granted, he’s only been here for a bit and he’s had some injury trouble, but it’s kind of unsettling how hard he’s finding life in MLS.

Sure, he doesn’t have Xavi or Iniesta giving him passes. Which in all honesty is exactly the reason he’s struggling. But you’d hope a player of such high caliber and talent would be able to do something on his own. Yet he often looks at a loss for ideas.

He keeps losing the ball when he runs with it at MLS defenders. Let me repeat, MLS defenders. 

And while his off the ball play is rather commendable, he’s slow and indecisive on the ball (Mix Diskerud too, maybe that’s what they learn in training?).

Villa will get the ball in a dangerous area and often slow the tempo, allowing for the opposition to get more men behind the ball, and then he’ll shoot from the same position he was in earlier yet now it gets blocked.

But forget all that. Villa is a goddamn world-class footballer. He shouldn’t only be finishing every single chance he gets in the box, he should be creating chances, he should be a game changer. A Designated Player, if you will.

So far he hasn’t really done that. He’s been good in patches, takes some nice shots like the one that allowed Mehdi Ballouchy another goal for this season, but he really isn’t doing anything special. We’d like that to change. Or another DP. Both work.

The People

As our results have been poor to say the least, I’ve been wondering how long will this team continue to get support.

Losing to the Red Bulls, playing like crap, being a bad team, all these factors add up to what should be a substantial loss of an excited fan base.

Of course the diehards would stay and the casual supporter would go, but it’s those in the middle, the slightly interested, who have presumably been jumping ship after this suck-fest we call our first season.

Thus, at Yankee Stadium this summer night I was surprised to see 23 thousand fans in attendance. There were many seats vacant, which makes me question that number, but a lot of people are still showing up. What if we were good? Imagine the possibilities!

Yet as the game progressed my positivity from the fan support was quickly overshadowed by what’s becoming an NYCFC trademark: poor play, red card, giving up a goal.

Once the second goal went in, the crowd (myself included) started getting angry.

“You guys are idiots” one fan screamed down to the team. “How could you make that pass?”, “What’s wrong with you guys?” “Does anyone want my season tickets? Please? I’m begging you!” were only some of the less than supportive shouts during the first half. It looked as if we were in for another long night.

Then, Mehdi Ballouchy did what he does best: Inexplicably score yet another goal. Fans clapped and cheered, but it wasn’t enough to bring us back from the disapproval we held.

Second Half

NYCFC love the second half.

We always play better. And for some reasons teams end up playing worse. Really odd.

Last night was no different. We played far better in the second half, and ended up with a goal to show for it.

Went Shelton sent that miss-hit shot wobbling into the far corner, Yankee Stadium erupted. As the game came to a close, most fans were on their feet, applauding the efforts of our team.

True, we were a man down for an hour on the match, but it’s quite incredible we were all clapping for a tied game at home. Maybe one day we can clap for a really good performance and even, dare I say, a win.

Shelton

It’s a shame, but Khiry Shelton looks the be the Chicharito of the MLS. We’ve started Shelton for many successive games after his breakout into the team, yet despite his best efforts, he hasn’t really had the offensive impact we’d hope he would.

Normally I’d be livid if he were benched, but last night I felt he sort of deserved it. And the truth is his pace and raw force are better utilized later into the match when the opposition are tired.

It’s so simple! He kept having such a positive impact on the game off the bench earlier in the season, naturally we assumed he’d be just as effective given 90 minutes.

Yet, we were wrong. Shelton is at his best two-thirds into a match when the opposite defenders are starting to get weary and he can run at them full steam. He may not want to admit it, but at this point in his career, he’s best only playing 30 minutes a game. But what a 30 minutes he gives us.

On To The Next One

Shelton’s late goal can only propel us towards a brighter future. It will give the team renewed confidence and a belief that maybe they aren’t the worst thing to happen to New York since some European douchebags brought pigeons here on a boat.

But let’s not get our panties in a bunch. Sure Kreis and Co. will be lauding this miraculous result, but we’re still making the same stupid mistakes and not playing up to our potential.

We can hope that this comeback will inspire us to get a result against a Real Salt Lake that were just humiliated 4-1 by last placed Montreal Impact, but only time will tell.

On to the next one.

NYCFC vs Chicago Fire: Preview

On Friday, May 15th NYCFC will host the Chicago Fire at 7 p.m. ET.

Form

Chicago’s form is an enigma. They love mini-streaks. 3 losses, 3 wins, and now 2 losses. Hopefully this’ll be their third loss in a row, just for the sake of consistency.

Chicago have a quality-ish team. Harry Shipp, David Accam, and Shaun Maloney all have the individual firepower to take over a game, but often struggle to do so. Accam wreaked havoc down NYC’s right side against Brovsky last time they played, so expect NYC to be prepared for that.

Or they won’t. Whatever. NYC need to get their shit together, but I don’t expect anything from them at this point.

It’s kinda fun now though…When will NYC get a win? How long will we wait? This is exciting! In a depressing sort of way.

Lineups

Chicago (4-4-1-1): Johnson (GK), Jones (LB), Larentowicz (CB), Adailton (CB), Gehrig (RB), Accam (LM), Polster (CM), Ritter (CM), Shipp (RM), Maloney (CAM), Guly (ST)

-Accam returns from a game suspension and will be looking to get his team back to winning ways

NYC: (4-4-2): Saunders (GK), RJ Allen (LB), Wingert (CB), Hernandez (CB), Williams (RB), Jacobson (CM), Mix (CM), Grabavoy (LM), Shelton (RM), Mullins (ST), Villa (ST)

-Calle and Nemec are STILL fighting injuries. Nemec is looking near 100 percent and should make the bench.

-RJ Allen could keep his place after an assist in a lively performance again Red Bulls, but could be dropped for Brovsky/Calle.

-It’s likely Mix will get the start over Ballouchy, but expect him to be fighting to stay on the pitch after last weekend’s early sub.

Final Thoughts

Deep Dish sucks!

Actually, no it doesn’t, it’s just not legally pizza. It’s something else, a separate denomination of cheese-tomatosauce-bread dishes.

Point is, much like last weekend, all we’ve got for bragging rights is that New York is better than Chicago. And they’ve got worse pizza.

We are home. While that hasn’t mattered much this season, you’d hope we want this win more than Chicago. Or who knows.

Let’s go team!

NYCFC vs Chicago Fire: Preview

On Friday, April 24th at 8pm, NYCFC travel to Toyota Park to take on the Chicago Fire.

Form

Chicago haven’t played a game for over two weeks, and they will hope that doesn’t interfere with their good run of form.

After a dicey start to the season Chicago recorded back to back home wins against Philadelphia and Toronto. Granted, neither of those teams have necessarily lit up the MLS this season, but NYC lost and tied against Philly.

DP and former “free-kick-which-relegated-QPR” taker Shaun Maloney will look to bolster his strong partnership with Chicago native Harry Shipp as they take on a weak NYCFC side. If these two have a strong game together it could be a long night for NYC fans.

NYCFC are on a dismal run of form. Nothing is going right at the moment. Copious injuries, horrible finishing, losing at home, and just overall poor play. It is difficult to imagine NYCFC coming out of Chicago with anything more than 1 point, but then again, this is the MLS. Colorado Rapids did beat FC Dallas in Texas 4 nil. If that’s possible then I don’t rule anything out.

If NYC are to pull off an upset here, they’ll have to play to their potential, and then some.

Lineups

Chicago (4-2-3-1): Busch (GK), Jones (LB), Adailton (CB), Larentowicz (CB), Gehrig (RB), Stephens (CM), Polster (CM), Accam (LM), Maloney (CAM), Shipp (RM), Amarikwa (ST)

-Stephens is struggling with an injury and may be replaced by Chris Ritter

NYCFC (4-3-3): Saunders (GK), Calle (LB), Wingert (CB), Watson-Siriboe (CB), Brovsky (RB), Jacobson (CM), Ballouchy (CM), Grabavoy (CM), Velasquez (RM), Shelton (LM), Mullins (ST)

-David Villa did not train with the team on Wednesday, and looks a doubt. Mix Diskerud could make it back but also looks a doubt.

-Shay Facey is back in training and could get a spot on the bench. Defender Williams is an injury doubt.

-Jason Hernandez is still out, but likely will return for the Seattle game.

Final Thoughts

NYCFC will be looking for inspiration from an injury laden team on a poor run of form.

Kreis may opt to keep his formation, as it did result in the most shots NYC have taken this season. Although Mullins had a very solid game, he often drifted wide in order to pick up the ball and then would cross it into the centre, only for no one to be there. It might be worth hauling off a midfielder for Nemec so Mullins has someone to aim for.

While Chicago aren’t the strongest team in the league, their trio of Ghanian DP Accam, Scottish DP Maloney, and youth product Shipp will probably be too much for NYCFC to handle.

Tune in tomorrow on Univision or their live stream tomorrow at 8pm to find out.

The Day After (Portland)

Last night NYCFC lost 1-0 at home to the Portland Timbers.

So Easy a 7-Year-Old Could Do it

There were a few things I learned when I was first learning how to play footie: NEVER pass the ball across your own penalty box, don’t just kick the ball for the sake of it, and pass to your teammates.

Last night NYCFC broke every single one of those rules.

Jeb Brovsky shanked a clearance in his own box which served as a really nice cross to the other team. Often this season we’ll kick the ball up with no direction hoping something happens. But the worst by far was the level of our passing.

Our Passing/Communication Breakdown

I honestly don’t know what happened. Our passing and movement last night looked as if this were the first time these players were on a field together.

Players would put too much on the ball. Players would under hit their passes and give it right back to the other team. Players would hit passes behind the runs of others, resulting in yet another turnover.

The worst, though, was in attack.  We had opportunity after opportunity in the attacking third to make something happen and the only thing stopping us was our own ineptitude. Fans throughout the stadium were yelling at players like Ned Grabavoy and Khiry Shelton after they made horrible passing errors which would have led to clear goal-scoring opportunities.

Furthermore, there seems to be a genuine lack of communication between these lads. Players are making runs and not getting service, then receive the ball when they track back and are marked by the other team. Positionally players seem confused. For most of the game we didn’t seem to have either a right mid or a left mid. It really feels like once NYC steps onto the pitch we’re somehow down a man compared to other teams.

Anatomy of a Center Mid

Jacobson is a good defensive midfielder. He tackles well, he’s physical, and he reads the game nicely.

But Jacobson is hardly ever going to carry the ball with pace and beat a few guys. And that’s ok, providing our other players do so.

I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but far too many of our players don’t have the ability/desire/know-how to pick up the ball from the defenders, TURN around, beat a player or two, and pass it off.

Granted, top quality players like that are often the most coveted these days (David Silva, Luka Modric, Iniesta) but that doesn’t mean we can’t even try.

Once, Ned Grabavoy picked up the ball in the center of the pitch. He was receiving a pass from our left back. I looked at where he was, he had acres of space. He could have turned around, looked up, done his taxes, and still have time to get a pass off. Instead he took a touch, never picked his head up, and passed it right back to our defender. Effectively doing absolutely nothing. I swear watching this team will be the death of me.

Positives

Shots on goal!

I can’t believe it but we actually had 21 shots in total, our most this entire season.

We’re taking shots, which is great progress. Now we need to work on something I don’t think these boys have ever heard of before: shot selection.

How many bloody times did one of our players have a clear shot and not take it? And then pass it off to some guy in a far worse position for him to take a shot that was never going to score?

But hey, Patrick Mullins was very encouraging. With Villa out injured, Mullins looked a constant threat. He was hustling, taking as many shots as he could, and making really impressive runs towards goal. Take a bow son.

And Kwame Watson-Siriboe. Fucking rock in the back. Won nearly every header. Had some brilliant last ditch tackles. And even had one Varane-esque run into the opposite team’s half. We’d love to see him permanently partnered with Jason Hernandez when he’s back from injury, but Kreis might like mediocre white guys too much to drop Wingert.

On To The Next One

We play Chicago Fire in Chicago this Friday at 8pm.

I don’t even know what to hope for in this game. Keep shooting I guess?

Forget doing a scouting report on how Chicago are, let’s see if we can do anything in training this week to help our team. Otherwise, this is going to be a very long season.

On to the next one?

The Day After (Philadelphia)

What a weird weird game.

Javier Calle, a left winger, started at left back. The young Ghanaian powerhouse known as Poku replaced David Villa (slight hamstring injury) at half time, along with Watson-Siribioe replacing Hernandez (calf).

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

I sincerely believe that periods of our play last night were the best these boys have ever played. I also believe that our lethargic final 20 minutes was some of the worst defending we’ve had, which is saying a lot.

The start of the second half was chock full of incisive passing, encouraging interchanges, shots on goal (gasp!) and overall quality. We looked like a real footie team, if only for a while. All of this without Villa. So what happened?

Kwadwo Poku

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason why Poku was so influential, seeing as there are so many.

It all comes down to his vision and marauding runs through the midfield. We’ve written before about how Jacobson and Mix are fairly inept at the main attacking focus of center midfielders: transitioning the ball from defense to attack. Far too often this season Jacobson and Mix lack the ability the move the ball forward, beat a player or two, and pick out a player in attacking position.

This is what Poku does. He picks the ball up and immediately picks up his head and looks to push forward. It was exciting watching his close ball control, his strength and speed to seemingly fly past opponents, and his tactical nous to pick out the right player once he’s in the attacking third. Fucking brilliant.

Yet, he waned as the half progressed. Which is worrying, seeing as he came on at half time. The rest of the team seemed to follow that trend.

What Happened

It seems that we went from playing the best football of our nascent season to playing some of the worst in a blink of an eye.

Suddenly it was the 70th minute and Poku couldn’t get his passes right, the team was making dumb fouls, and our game dropped significantly.

Was it fitness? That’s a possibility, as people did look visibly gassed. But that seems odd as guys like Poku and Watson-Siriboe had only just come on.

Was it the pressure? Maybe after such encouraging play they started making a few mistakes and they freaked out? That could be a factor, but we’d hope the team is mentally tougher than that.

Maybe it was just the loss of a commanding presence in the back, in the form of Jason Hernandez. Jason looked distraught to be injured at half, you could tell he wanted to help his team win. Perhaps with him in that back four the defensive collapse near the end of the game could have been avoided.

Regardless, we switched off for those last 20 mins (at home, mind you) and that needs to be fixed. We need to keep our concentration for the entirety of games, not 20 minute increments.

Shelton in the Raw

Khiry Shelton got his much anticipated first start for NYCFC last night. How was he?

He was alright. He was good. He has real pace which will always change the dynamic of any team. But he was a little sloppy in his touch, and a little poor with decision making.

While I fault the 31 year-old Ned Grabavoy for his poor decision making, I’m inclined to cut Shelton a lot of slack. Remember, Shelton was playing college footie only a few months ago. Now he’s getting called up by the Olympic team, starting for an MLS club, and rooming with Mix Diskerud. He’s really moving up in the world.

He’s got an extreme amount of raw talent at the moment, but he needs consistent playing time to properly develop. Often last night he’d have the ball out on the wing and be too indecisive or tentative to really take on the full back 1v1. That lack of confidence is to be expected from your first start, but we could see the potential there. Just take him on Khiry, you can do it.

Also his decision making in passes needs some work. I remember one time he did brilliantly to break out of the back on a counter from a corner kick. He ran the entirety of the field and had Ballouchy wide open to his right and Calle with two defenders on him to his left. For whatever reason he chose Calle. That was the wrong decision.

Yet, that’s not something you learn in training, you can only learn that from competeitve play. Maybe a year from now Shelton would have passed to Ballouchy and it would’ve been two nil.

Even with the poor decisions he made he was still a hugely important player for us last night, which is a testament to his potential as a player. Keep starting him and we will reap the rewards.

On To The Next One

I haven’t been so excited by any part of our game this season than the first 20 minutes of that second half. I’m impressed that we have it in us and we managed to show it on the field.

However, we gave up a stupid goal at the end. And we’ve only got three days until our next game. And we play Portland, a much better team. And realistically Kreis won’t start Poku, who was even lauded by the stream of consciousness tweets that are continuously posted on the screen at the stadium.

Encouraging from NYCFC. Could be better, but you have to start somewhere. Let’s hope we can make that last for more than 20 minutes.

On to the next one…