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Metro - Worms Game Thread


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#151
Komba

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Arena loved Sacha at one point too.  I just think Arena seen the same dropoff and moved on.  Mobility wise, he cant handle it anymore.  His mind will always result in some nice things on the field, but his mobility isn't at an acceptable level anymore.

 

Everyone has their fall off... BWP hasn't hit his although his is coming too.  It's what drives me nuts when people had an issue with the Dax trade. This is a young man's game. And you can sometimes have a rare guy that holds on to his quickness/speed/athleticism longer than others but eventually it does go.  Robbie Keane held on longer than the usual guy, but even Arena was smart enough and not too sentimental where he realized it was time to close the door.

 

And sometimes you can have a guy like Henry, who had such great skill and was so far ahead mentally, he was still a great player regardless.



#152
iced1776

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http://www.americans...player-xg-2017/

 

Going by this analysis, Sacha's been fine not great (unlike last year).  BWP has been good, and I think he'll continue to find his game. I am a bit worried about him going forward though. He's on the wrong side of 30 and playing alone up top takes it's toll. 

 

Had no idea they updated these stats so regularly, very cool. Sacha is still sitting at #1 in key passes, #3 in expected assists, yet there's still this strong perception that his play has dropped off a cliff this year. He may not be at the same pace as his career best last year, and there are certainly games like this Philly one where he was visibly below par, but overall is he really our problem in attack? I've got 4-5 other guys on my list before I'm ready to talk to about Kljestan's contributions.



#153
Metrohoboken

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Sacha hasn't been good since the end of last year. Very poor in the playoffs, continued into USMNT camp, the CCL games against Vancouver, and this season has been very inconsistent. In my opinion people focused too much on the lineup and not on his overall performance. 

 

http://www.americans...player-xg-2017/

 

Going by this analysis, Sacha's been fine not great (unlike last year).  BWP has been good, and I think he'll continue to find his game. I am a bit worried about him going forward though. He's on the wrong side of 30 and playing alone up top takes it's toll. 

 

Honestly for me this week, it's all on Marsch. Team was flat in both games. I don't mind throwing away the SKC game, but I was not sure what the tactics or strategy were. Similarly the Union game was a mess. 

 

What a weird start to the season again. 

I would be very interested to get Doyle Armchair Analyst assessment on Sacha for the year.  Numbers say fine/leading the league; eye test says not as good. Or maybe he is just not MVP caliber this year but still good? 


Bradley Wright-Phillips "I prefer it at Red Bull Arena, but it was OK. I could imagine it being good for a baseball crowd.


#154
Komba

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I would be very interested to get Doyle Armchair Analyst assessment on Sacha for the year.  Numbers say fine/leading the league; eye test says not as good. Or maybe he is just not MVP caliber this year but still good? 

This is what I think.  He's a pretty good player in this form.  His mind and vision still ends up with him making solid passes and moving to the right spots.  What I think has hurt him is that his windows are limited now.  He's not quite as quick or athletic as before so the windows are smaller and he can't find himself in quite as good of positions.  

 

He also forces very few turnovers anymore or puts any real pressure on opposing players we're pressing because they all know they can make a simple movement to the side and basically get away from any pressure he puts on.  And if they get a step on him, forget it because he can't run anyone down.



#155
Koko

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Had no idea they updated these stats so regularly, very cool. Sacha is still sitting at #1 in key passes, #3 in expected assists, yet there's still this strong perception that his play has dropped off a cliff this year. He may not be at the same pace as his career best last year, and there are certainly games like this Philly one where he was visibly below par, but overall is he really our problem in attack? I've got 4-5 other guys on my list before I'm ready to talk to about Kljestan's contributions.


As others have noted his play simply isn't passing the eye test.

He's creating chances. His vision and passing seem unfazed. However, his touch, 1v1's, press, recovery, etc. have all looked sloppy to me compared to past years. We don't need him to defend per se but Im watching opponent walk right past him while he casually sticks a leg out. That just isn't good enough in a league where there is no room for error for any team.

All that being said it actually wouldn't be as big a deal if there weren't other problems with this team...but there are other problems with this team.

I love Sasha and I love this team, but there are problems here and I'm just calling it as I see it.

#156
sabremike

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It basically feels like every time Sasha gets the ball he gets surrounded, either makes a pass that gets intercepted or just loses posession, then throws up his hands and pouts at his teammates. When TH did similar pouting at least it was because his teammates were playing incompetently. Him being so great last year covered a lot of flaws and if he can no longer play at that level we are in deep shit to say the least.
Let's Go Buffalo!!!

#157
Eleazar

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It basically feels like every time Sasha gets the ball he gets surrounded, either makes a pass that gets intercepted or just loses posession, then throws up his hands and pouts at his teammates. When TH did similar pouting at least it was because his teammates were playing incompetently. Him being so great last year covered a lot of flaws and if he can no longer play at that level we are in deep shit to say the least.

Could be worse with sacha, at least he doesn't fight with any of his central defenders while the game's going on.

 

These days, he's a defensive liability, just like this guy was:

soccer-tampa-bay-mutiny-v-new-england-re


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

 

 

 


#158
ig101

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Could be worse with sacha, at least he doesn't fight with any of his central defenders while the game's going on.

 

These days, he's a defensive liability, just like this guy was:

soccer-tampa-bay-mutiny-v-new-england-re

Mutiny!



#159
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After watching this game again (on tv this time), can we stop blaming formations and Veron.  Any problems we had in the playoffs and to start this season are because of Sacha's step backward and our wing play, from an offensive standpoint, sucks.  Not saying Sacha's garbage, just that this team relied so heavily on him playing at an MVP level, that any drop in form is going to have a huge negative impact on our success.  And I know Muyl has two goals, but he's been invisible in these last two away games.  Royer... again, not bad, just not enough offensively from him.

 

I love BWP and I do think he's underrated by MLS fans outside of Metro supporters.  He's not a creator though.  He'll get to spots where he can be dangerous, but without service he's not going to do much.

 

Hopefully we'll move Veron on soon and sign a DP-level winger.  We don't need a forward.  BWP is going to play 99% of the time, we need to get him offensive help from someone that will be on the pitch at the same time as him.

 

Until he's gone, can we see Veron on the wing with Sacha and BWP also on the pitch?  Even just for a half?  It's actually a look we haven't seen that much of.  I thought we looked our best against Montreal when those three were together.



#160
arisrules

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Had no idea they updated these stats so regularly, very cool. Sacha is still sitting at #1 in key passes, #3 in expected assists, yet there's still this strong perception that his play has dropped off a cliff this year. He may not be at the same pace as his career best last year, and there are certainly games like this Philly one where he was visibly below par, but overall is he really our problem in attack? I've got 4-5 other guys on my list before I'm ready to talk to about Kljestan's contributions.

 

After watching this game again (on tv this time), can we stop blaming formations and Veron.  Any problems we had in the playoffs and to start this season are because of Sacha's step backward and our wing play, from an offensive standpoint, sucks.  Not saying Sacha's garbage, just that this team relied so heavily on him playing at an MVP level, that any drop in form is going to have a huge negative impact on our success.  And I know Muyl has two goals, but he's been invisible in these last two away games.  Royer... again, not bad, just not enough offensively from him.

 

I love BWP and I do think he's underrated by MLS fans outside of Metro supporters.  He's not a creator though.  He'll get to spots where he can be dangerous, but without service he's not going to do much.

 

Hopefully we'll move Veron on soon and sign a DP-level winger.  We don't need a forward.  BWP is going to play 99% of the time, we need to get him offensive help from someone that will be on the pitch at the same time as him.

 

Until he's gone, can we see Veron on the wing with Sacha and BWP also on the pitch?  Even just for a half?  It's actually a look we haven't seen that much of.  I thought we looked our best against Montreal when those three were together.

 

 

I think Sacha has found himself in a lot of good spots at times, but the final ball has not been there. Additionally, if you watch the games and his movement, he's much less dynamic than he was last year in the half-spaces, which often resulted in mis-matches (this is my favorite part of his game because he's so intelligent). Like McSoccer noted, the focus on lineups and Veron has taken away pressure from Sacha, who needs to gain some of that dynamism back. This team is as only as good as he Sacha is, and if he is even a little bit off, the team suffers as a result.

 

We saw that in the playoffs, where our best offensive player was actually Veron (despite the absurd vitriol against Veron amongst the fanbase), while Sacha was completely neutralized.  Part of that is that because Sacha isn't the most athletic player, so a well organized team sitting deep that isolates him and BWP absolutely crushes the 4-2-3-1, whereas because Veron has some speed and can play 1v1, he can actually create in those scenarios.  






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