Been waiting all season for this game.
A home playoff game is in our own hands. We can ride some nice momentum into the playoffs .
I can't believe Armas didn't start Kaku yesterday. You think he sits him again???
Been waiting all season for this game.
A home playoff game is in our own hands. We can ride some nice momentum into the playoffs .
I can't believe Armas didn't start Kaku yesterday. You think he sits him again???
I can't believe Armas didn't start Kaku yesterday. You think he sits him again???
found Kaku not starting a bit odd as well seeing the lineup on twitter. seemed to have worked, but whatevs.
RIP Guillermo Romulo, Alexander Francis Orig, Celenio Eleazar, and my Mom, Resurreccion Eleazar.
RIP Cesar Castello, Mike Vallo, Glenn Stampiglia, Bob Paquette, and Warren Lee
We won two big games in a row without starting Kaku. We lost the three previous games, all of which Kaku started. It may just be a coincidence but I am not personally convinced that the team is better with Kaku starting. He provides more in attack than any of the alternatives but it is worse at pressing and defending than all of the alternatives. The team looks at its best when it resembles the aggressive pressing team fielded by Marsch. Kaku is not the best fit for that style. A central midfield three of Davis, CCJ and Rzat and better defensively and in the press than one with Kaku. I am not sure the amount Kaku adds in the attack is worth the drop off in defense and in the press.
"To believe is to suffer. It is like loving someone in the dark who never answers." - Antonius Block on Metro fandom
We won two big games in a row without starting Kaku. We lost the three previous games, all of which Kaku started. It may just be a coincidence but I am not personally convinced that the team is better with Kaku starting. He provides more in attack than any of the alternatives but it is worse at pressing and defending than all of the alternatives. The team looks at its best when it resembles the aggressive pressing team fielded by Marsch. Kaku is not the best fit for that style. A central midfield three of Davis, CCJ and Rzat and better defensively and in the press than one with Kaku. I am not sure the amount Kaku adds in the attack is worth the drop off in defense and in the press.
Good point, but I personally feel he's better player than Davis.
We won two big games in a row without starting Kaku. We lost the three previous games, all of which Kaku started. It may just be a coincidence but I am not personally convinced that the team is better with Kaku starting. He provides more in attack than any of the alternatives but it is worse at pressing and defending than all of the alternatives. The team looks at its best when it resembles the aggressive pressing team fielded by Marsch. Kaku is not the best fit for that style. A central midfield three of Davis, CCJ and Rzat and better defensively and in the press than one with Kaku. I am not sure the amount Kaku adds in the attack is worth the drop off in defense and in the press.
I think that's as much about the other 10 guys on the field upping there game as it is about Rza being a better fit than Kaku. Kaku made that second goal happen with his nasty control of the clearance.
Come playoffs when teams are better prepared and better focused, you need a guy who can make magic out of thin air. Kaku provides more of that than Rza.
Kaku made that second goal happen with his nasty control of the clearance.
The thing is that I think Kaku may be best in the role of a super sub. He is at his best when he is fresh and the other team is tired thus opening up spaces and opportunities for Kaku to exploit. Plus, when Kaku is fresh versus a tired Davis or Rzat, the drop off in defensive and pressing abilities is less pronounced. Kaku is almost certainly a better player than Davis in isolation but the Red Bulls are very much a system team and Davis may be a cog that fits better in that machine than Kaku.
I am by no means saying Kaku is bad or that he does not have a role to play but I do not think he is optimized to play the high energy Ralfball style that still looks to be the teams most effective style of play. When Kaku starts we tend to play more more slowly and conservatively, like how we tried to play against Atlanta in the playoffs. Attempts at a more conservative approach this season have not been much more effective than it was against Atlanta in that game.
"To believe is to suffer. It is like loving someone in the dark who never answers." - Antonius Block on Metro fandom
The thing is that I think Kaku may be best in the role of a super sub. He is at his best when he is fresh and the other team is tired thus opening up spaces and opportunities for Kaku to exploit. Plus, when Kaku is fresh versus a tired Davis or Rzat, the drop off in defensive and pressing abilities is less pronounced. Kaku is almost certainly a better player than Davis in isolation but the Red Bulls are very much a system team and Davis may be a cog that fits better in that machine than Kaku.
I am by no means saying Kaku is bad or that he does not have a role to play but I do not think he is optimized to play the high energy Ralfball style that still looks to be the teams most effective style of play. When Kaku starts we tend to play more more slowly and conservatively, like how we tried to play against Atlanta in the playoffs. Attempts at a more conservative approach this season have not been much more effective than it was against Atlanta in that game.
I dont think Kaku is the reason Armas decided to employ tactical nothingness for 3/4 of the season. Most of the matches where we sat in a mid or low block Kaku would try to push the line higher, press, and frustratingly try to encourage his teammates to do the same.
Really cant afford to bench your best offensive weapon. Outside of Blake gifting Barlow a goal we created very little in that match.
Outside of Blake gifting Barlow a goal we created very little in that match.
We are good enough to beat the best teams, and bad enough to lose to the worst teams.
if we win this we could be the team getting hot at the right time for once......
if we win this we could be the team getting hot at the right time for once......
We won the last 5 regular season games last year.
A pressing team like ours should do better in cooler weather. That is what I am hoping for.
We are good enough to beat the best teams, and bad enough to lose to the worst teams.
@Antonius Block, You bring up some good points about not starting Kaku - I just can't get behind not starting our best player. He dictates the play at times, creates so many of our opportunities. I do think he does defensive work. It's not like he just walks around and doesn't press. Marsch had a higher pressing system and played Sacha at the 10 - I think he did even less defensive work.
For years we have been saying "this team needs a gamebreaker". Now we have one and we are gonna sit him for the biggest games....idk about that.
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