Toronto FC,#CMNT & #CWNT, Scotland, Heart of Midlothian FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC
"The Harder the Struggle, The Greater the Reward" - @OsoJ92AWAY DAYS - CHICAGO August 2017, MONTREAL March 2018
If Auro is out I would go with a 3-4-1-2
——-Ciman Moor Mavinga
Deleon-Osorio-Bradley-Morrow
—————-Pozuelo
————Altidore-Akinola
I know it is the nature of the beast but not really keen on MLS Soccer website guys saying it and now I just read a Chicago writer's article all calling for the way to deal with Pozuelo is to consistently hack him down and foul him in this upcoming game. MLS idiots said they should have hacked him down after the penalty kick he took last week. What a barbaric attitude. I hate that kind of mentality in sports.
I read the same thing. Absolute idiocy, but unfortunately this is exactly what actually happens at the top — look at the most fouled players in Europe, or how Ligue 1 deals with Neymar. Fouling a player into injury is actually a “strategy” unless the refs protect star players, especially when you can’t get calls unless you dive. Look at the penalty on Jozy — his shirt was held basically every time he went forward, he complained numerous times, but it wasn’t called til he flopped in the box.
Seba was fouled constantly while marked by 2-3+ defenders and people called him a “whiner” or “petulant” (even on this board) so it just goes to show the mentality of MLS fans.
Not saying its a good thing, but if the Fire does this, Osorio or Delgado kicking Schweinsteiger or Dax will happen.
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Villareal is the ref - he can lose a handle on this game easily.
Unfortunately that's just the nature of the game, and it happens at all levels of play. Reminds me of this image from a few years back of Hazards legs after a match vs Galatasaray:
Just like stego mentioned above, this is the same strategy teams used against Seba all the time
I agree with everything above. Chris Penso was largely awful with this in last game. If refs don't make the easy/early calls, and an occasional yellow when warranted (like a tackle through the back), people will just flop more & more until they get some calls. I think Pozuelo already mentioned that he didn't like some of attention & double-teaming he saw in Belgium. We really can't get that TAM winger soon enough, provide another avenue to attack, and draw attention away from Pozuelo.
Altidore, in addition to dishing it out, also gets hacked alot. I noticed he wasn't really getting in position for the long goal kicks and drop kicks vs. NYC; often staying in offside longer. Those long balls are some of the plays where he gets the most abuse.
In case we need some enforcement, Akinola actually weighs more, and is a bit shorter than Altidore. (And he's pure muscle & can turn on a dime.) Jussayin'... DeLeon also doesn't strike me as the shy and bashful kind.
If Auro is out, the logical sub is Zavaleta or Morgan. I doubt Vanney will go three at the back with Bono looking so shaky.
If it is Zavaleta, let’s show the man who was fourth overall in minutes played on our 2017 Championship team some love
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
And Endoh to where DeLeon plays.
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Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/FireConf/status/1114206931114254336
Last edited by OgtheDim; 04-05-2019 at 12:33 PM.
Somebody should plaster an x on a railing every time a new foul happens on Pozo - like they do X's for strikeouts in baseball. The embarrassment would stop this real quickly.
Poz will have to be protected. This isn’t unique to MLS - it has been part of football for long time. England doesn’t win WC 66 if Pele hadn’t been kicked off the park by the Bulgarians.
I’d be looking to Bradley, Delgado, Mavinga to be sending a message to anyone who is going to try that against Poz.
Endoh & Shaffleburg down in Orlando starting tonight for TFCII.
As fans we have to be heard every time a call isn't made in our favor.
Come on.you reds!!!
With Auro out I think it's gonna be 3 at the back.
Bono; Mavinga, Moor, Ciman; Morrow, Bradley, Delgado, DeLeon; Oso, Pozo, Jozy
Great weather, afternoon start, hope BMO is packed today.
This is tough. Chicago isn’t particularly good in the midfield but has some decent wide options. Ideally we setup the way we did last week but do we play the lineup that suits our available players or the lineup that suits the opposition?
Personally i’d add a striker up top and drop DeLeon to RB. Reason being, all else equal I take the impact of Hamilton, Akinola, or Chapman being on the field over Ciman. In theory the extra defender sounds good. In practice that extra defender has been bad. But that’s just me.
You could just as easily have the better game plan.
Last edited by ag futbol; 04-06-2019 at 12:39 PM.
Yeah I'd like to see the back 4 stay with DeLeon back there for Auro. Maybe Chapman at RM? He's done enough to warrant more playing time.