Best team in mls with the worst defence

[Pronto]

Zavaleta needs to go or has to go down to TFC2 this guy keeps making mistake after mistake.

The coach what is up with the formation? And player picking all year long

[OgtheDim]

Two best defenders injured for most of the year

Absolutely no defender of USL class down on the USL team

#3 & #4 CB regress significantly

Emergency use of a never very quick DM to play CB in a 5-3-2

Keeper gives up a goal he shouldn't have 2 out of 5 games


We've drafted and brought in bad young defenders for the last 5 years (with the possible exception of Hagglund who really is an occasional starter who should get maybe 12 games a year, not the 25+ he has gotten in 2018)


Ultimately, this is on Bez and the choices made down on the farm - most teams bring in at least 1 decent MLS quality CB out of their academy every 5 years or so

[jloome]

Two best defenders injured for most of the year

Absolutely no defender of USL class down on the USL team

#3 & #4 CB regress significantly

Emergency use of a never very quick DM to play CB in a 5-3-2

Keeper gives up a goal he shouldn't have 2 out of 5 games


We've drafted and brought in bad young defenders for the last 5 years (with the possible exception of Hagglund who really is an occasional starter who should get maybe 12 games a year, not the 25+ he has gotten in 2018)


Ultimately, this is on Bez and the choices made down on the farm - most teams bring in at least 1 decent MLS quality CB out of their academy every 5 years or so

At some point we may have to accept that the youth setup has been a minor disaster; we've promoted exactly one player, Hamilton, who sees time and one other, Liam Fraser, who ever plays. Everyone else has either been a college draft player who had a cup of tea in the USL, or a first-team signing.

Our farm setup is fucked. And we've let go real talent. How on Earth is it that coaches like Martino and Bradley can get league-leading performances from Gressel and Kaye, and yet on the latter we didn't even keep him at the USL level.

Clearly, Rongen, Dichio, Bent and the early guard had fuck-all judgement about quality, and the French guy who fled wasn't here long enough to affect anything.

As for the defense, we have a couple of major problems. First, having a starting and healthy Drew Moor with Mavinga coming in part-time last season covered up the major deficiencies in the respective games of Zavaleta and Bono, neither of whom is ready for prime time. THen we that cascaded into the ongoing problem of our best wingback Morrow, when healthy, not being able to range forward as much.

On the other wing, Van Der Wiel is obviously hugely talented but looks amotivated at best. He doesn't have the intensity to close quickly and fight all game, although he looked okay on the inside. Auro, while an excellent winger for the MLS level, really cannot defend for shit. Almost every game he played he left someone unmarked in the box, simply by not being tight enough.

Without Moor to hold up and direct the backline play, our best communicator was out. That added to the backline pressure, and forced Bradley, when playing Mid, to spend more time covering holes than shutting down lanes. Bradley simply wasn't very good for much of this season, either. He looked amotivated as well, and I believe they said at one point he was our fifth- or sixth-best rated midfielder in terms of Audi points, which is sort of shocking for what he's paid. He had his moments but he looked like he was no longer the same quality of player as when he arrived, or even close.

In fact, I'd say motivation seemed a problem all over. THey thought they were invulnerable and when they weren't, they collapsed. I got the sense pretty much from day one that they only cared about the champions league, having broken league records -- everyone except Osorio, really, who busted his ass all year. Keep in mind he wasn't our only contract that was due. We had six or seven guys re-upping and yet they still lacked energy and motivation.

I suspect the Van Der Wiel signing changed the locker room dynamic, as he's sort of a quiet, dour guy, not a type 'a'. Then there was Auro and Agkexte as foreign language signings. So communication was probably affected somewhat.

Then there's the fragility upfront. With Altidore and Vasquez spending more time injured than playing, we had a really hard time holding onto the ball for those long periods required under a possession system to break down a defense.

We didn't seem to adjust tactically. Vanney has been great for us, but he seems absolutely wedded to one style of play, the short triangle with the wide switch, and he never deviates regardless of formation. It makes us predictable and easy to hit on the counter.

So, in all, it was a bunch of things. A lack of defensive depth, overestimating a few players, too much spent on a handful of players and not enough on depth.

[magmadragon]

Well said

[PizzaEatingYeti]

Very good analysis!

[Yohan]

At some point we may have to accept that the youth setup has been a minor disaster; we've promoted exactly one player, Hamilton, who sees time and one other, Liam Fraser, who ever plays. Everyone else has either been a college draft player who had a cup of tea in the USL, or a first-team signing.

Our farm setup is fucked. And we've let go real talent. How on Earth is it that coaches like Martino and Bradley can get league-leading performances from Gressel and Kaye, and yet on the latter we didn't even keep him at the USL level.

Clearly, Rongen, Dichio, Bent and the early guard had fuck-all judgement about quality, and the French guy who fled wasn't here long enough to affect anything.

As for the defense, we have a couple of major problems. First, having a starting and healthy Drew Moor with Mavinga coming in part-time last season covered up the major deficiencies in the respective games of Zavaleta and Bono, neither of whom is ready for prime time. THen we that cascaded into the ongoing problem of our best wingback Morrow, when healthy, not being able to range forward as much.

On the other wing, Van Der Wiel is obviously hugely talented but looks amotivated at best. He doesn't have the intensity to close quickly and fight all game, although he looked okay on the inside. Auro, while an excellent winger for the MLS level, really cannot defend for shit. Almost every game he played he left someone unmarked in the box, simply by not being tight enough.

Without Moor to hold up and direct the backline play, our best communicator was out. That added to the backline pressure, and forced Bradley, when playing Mid, to spend more time covering holes than shutting down lanes. Bradley simply wasn't very good for much of this season, either. He looked amotivated as well, and I believe they said at one point he was our fifth- or sixth-best rated midfielder in terms of Audi points, which is sort of shocking for what he's paid. He had his moments but he looked like he was no longer the same quality of player as when he arrived, or even close.

In fact, I'd say motivation seemed a problem all over. THey thought they were invulnerable and when they weren't, they collapsed. I got the sense pretty much from day one that they only cared about the champions league, having broken league records -- everyone except Osorio, really, who busted his ass all year. Keep in mind he wasn't our only contract that was due. We had six or seven guys re-upping and yet they still lacked energy and motivation.

I suspect the Van Der Wiel signing changed the locker room dynamic, as he's sort of a quiet, dour guy, not a type 'a'. Then there was Auro and Agkexte as foreign language signings. So communication was probably affected somewhat.

Then there's the fragility upfront. With Altidore and Vasquez spending more time injured than playing, we had a really hard time holding onto the ball for those long periods required under a possession system to break down a defense.

We didn't seem to adjust tactically. Vanney has been great for us, but he seems absolutely wedded to one style of play, the short triangle with the wide switch, and he never deviates regardless of formation. It makes us predictable and easy to hit on the counter.

So, in all, it was a bunch of things. A lack of defensive depth, overestimating a few players, too much spent on a handful of players and not enough on depth.

+1

I'm giving Bez and Vanney till midseason next year to fix the team. I think they earned that much based upon past experiences.

[ensco]

At some point we may have to accept that the youth setup has been a minor disaster; we've promoted exactly one player, Hamilton, who sees time and one other, Liam Fraser, who ever plays. Everyone else has either been a college draft player who had a cup of tea in the USL, or a first-team signing.

Our farm setup is fucked. And we've let go real talent. How on Earth is it that coaches like Martino and Bradley can get league-leading performances from Gressel and Kaye, and yet on the latter we didn't even keep him at the USL level.

Clearly, Rongen, Dichio, Bent and the early guard had fuck-all judgement about quality, and the French guy who fled wasn't here long enough to affect anything.

As for the defense, we have a couple of major problems. First, having a starting and healthy Drew Moor with Mavinga coming in part-time last season covered up the major deficiencies in the respective games of Zavaleta and Bono, neither of whom is ready for prime time. THen we that cascaded into the ongoing problem of our best wingback Morrow, when healthy, not being able to range forward as much.

On the other wing, Van Der Wiel is obviously hugely talented but looks amotivated at best. He doesn't have the intensity to close quickly and fight all game, although he looked okay on the inside. Auro, while an excellent winger for the MLS level, really cannot defend for shit. Almost every game he played he left someone unmarked in the box, simply by not being tight enough.

Without Moor to hold up and direct the backline play, our best communicator was out. That added to the backline pressure, and forced Bradley, when playing Mid, to spend more time covering holes than shutting down lanes. Bradley simply wasn't very good for much of this season, either. He looked amotivated as well, and I believe they said at one point he was our fifth- or sixth-best rated midfielder in terms of Audi points, which is sort of shocking for what he's paid. He had his moments but he looked like he was no longer the same quality of player as when he arrived, or even close.

In fact, I'd say motivation seemed a problem all over. THey thought they were invulnerable and when they weren't, they collapsed. I got the sense pretty much from day one that they only cared about the champions league, having broken league records -- everyone except Osorio, really, who busted his ass all year. Keep in mind he wasn't our only contract that was due. We had six or seven guys re-upping and yet they still lacked energy and motivation.

I suspect the Van Der Wiel signing changed the locker room dynamic, as he's sort of a quiet, dour guy, not a type 'a'. Then there was Auro and Agkexte as foreign language signings. So communication was probably affected somewhat.

Then there's the fragility upfront. With Altidore and Vasquez spending more time injured than playing, we had a really hard time holding onto the ball for those long periods required under a possession system to break down a defense.

We didn't seem to adjust tactically. Vanney has been great for us, but he seems absolutely wedded to one style of play, the short triangle with the wide switch, and he never deviates regardless of formation. It makes us predictable and easy to hit on the counter.

So, in all, it was a bunch of things. A lack of defensive depth, overestimating a few players, too much spent on a handful of players and not enough on depth.

This is very good. Bravo.

You underplayed the injuries, which were really the biggest story. Most of which occurred in training. Something broke down in the training/off field regimen.

[TFC John]

My gut feeling is we never win when Bradley plays in the defensive three/four/five instead of his midfield role. Has anyone tracked our record with an eye to comparing these two options? I know our defensive problems go way beyond one player, but I think Vanney sees Bradley as a way to steady a depleted defense and I don't think that has actually worked. We need Moor or someone like him.