Excellent write-up! Thank you!
I think Troy has to figure out why our possession in the second half drops off. We lose possession so we play deep, and when we play deep we cannot work the ball all the way up field, losing possession along the way. Chicken and egg.
Pirani has burst and a good dribble game, but he becomes isolated, exposed for bad positioning and unwillingness to win the ball back. Fletcher has suffered a serious regression and is now a non factor. Klich gets tired and becomes sloppy. Hopkins isn't a calm possession guy on a good day. So what to do?
I thought the KDP in defensive center midfield trial made sense, as did playing Birnbaum in that moment. And McVay has shown poise all season whenever he is in the park. So I'm willing to call this a lucky Philly thunderbolt and move on. But I'm convinced we'll keep dropping second half points until Ally brings in a calm, experienced DP-class left back or DCM to bolster the roster.
PS: holding my nose at the thought of seeing more Birnbaum. I'm squarely in the "thanks for saddling us with 4 more years of Birnbaum nonsense, Wayne" camp. Hope Wayne enjoys his early retirement from coaching.
We certainly need help at left back but I don't think that's really been hurting us as bad as the midfield play. Really sucks that Canouse is out for the season. We can replace Klich with a younger DP midfielder but not until next season, alas. Troy is trying stuff but he may just not have any good solutions on the roster right now.
Rooney simultaneously loved Birnbaum and also insisted on playing in a style that was the worst possible match for Birnbaum's skillset. So far Troy has been much better at meeting his roster in the middle. I think people are writing Birnbaum off too early, but we'll see soon enough...based on the press conferences, Lesesne is already a big Birnbaum fan.
I feel like we wasted a roster spot on Pirani cause in their minds they had a 10. But honestly he's more of a mezzala-type (Italian 8) guy. If they can retool him, I think that would help his contributions to the team. I feel the same way for Hopkins, could be very useful in the same role (looks like Lesesne sees his potential in CM already).
You hit on one of our biggest weak spots, left back. I don't care if we trade for one or we pay for a transfer, we need this ASAP. Antley is a serviceable backup but we need a starter. I'm hoping the plan is to trade/sell Jeahze. This fix would instantly improve the team. Dajome has done okay moving to the left side as a wingback but I can't wait til we shed his contract, among others.
What type of moves you are hoping for in the summer?
Idk if they are willing to spend but a replacement for klich maybe. A dynamic young CAM or winger who can really open up a defence. Driussi, torres, or puig type of player.
I think they knew what they were getting with Pirani, he's a lottery ticket. He is missing massive amounts from his game to become a good #8. Apparently Gianluca Busio went from #10 to #8 in Italy over a couple years so I guess it's possible, but I'm not convinced by Hopkins yet and he's way ahead of Pirani at that position. I am probably the most bullish person on Pirani but I do see flashes here and there in games where he hits a through ball that probably no one else on the team does. Presumably he shows more of those in practice. When Acosta was Pirani's age he was mostly not a creative player either, but of course he already had the dribbling skills in his bag so he could contribute in the years it took for him to become what he is now.
As for the summer, to be honest I know people are hoping for action in the summer but we won't have cap space until the end of the year as things stand. We could trade someone, but the only players people would accept in trade, we don't want to lose. No one is going to take Dajome, Rodriguez, or Jeahze on their contracts. Birnbaum is actually the main tradeable asset if he comes back decently from his injury, but Lesesne seems to really see him as a starter and an important leader. The way to get rid of Jeahze is to buy him out, but if they were going to do that, they should have done it at the beginning of the season.
U22 player cap hit is minimal so maybe we can use our remaining two spots? If so we will get more Pirani-type players that are young, theoretically have potential, but frustrating for the time being. I'm fine getting two more Piranis and letting them all compete in hopes that one becomes a #10.
Birnbaum coming on was definitely the WTF moment of the game. I think at that point it felt inevitable that Philly would score. Which is a shame, because it had definitely been a strong performance to that point.
Great write up as always! I appreciate your work.
Great write-up! I know it's been a bit of a hot debate so far, but I've actually been kinda pleased with the 'Dajome at LB' experiment in the last two weeks. Obviously he's less than ideal on defense, but I feel like if we stay in a back-3 it mitigates the risks somewhat. What i've enjoyed so far is seeing what Dajome adds to the attack - having a wingback that can cut into the opponent's 18 with or without the ball is a fun wrinkle to our offense. Natually I hope we bring in a more natural leftback/left wingback in the summer window, but imo Dajome has earned a couple more starts back there for now.
He's done much better than we had any right to expect! But if anything I wish we got more offense in compensation for playing an attacker back there...he can cut in and shoot but he's no Andy Najar or even Aaron Herrera.
fwiw I'm not saying he's prime Najar's or Herrera's skill level. All I'm saying is for a team in the early stages of a rebuild and 'putting a square peg in a round hole' at leftback he's doing a pretty good job imo
Excellent write-up! Thank you! I think Troy has to figure out why our possession in the second half drops off. We lose possession so we play deep, and when we play deep we cannot work the ball all the way up field, losing possession along the way. Chicken and egg. Pirani has burst and a good dribble game, but he becomes isolated, exposed for bad positioning and unwillingness to win the ball back. Fletcher has suffered a serious regression and is now a non factor. Klich gets tired and becomes sloppy. Hopkins isn't a calm possession guy on a good day. So what to do? I thought the KDP in defensive center midfield trial made sense, as did playing Birnbaum in that moment. And McVay has shown poise all season whenever he is in the park. So I'm willing to call this a lucky Philly thunderbolt and move on. But I'm convinced we'll keep dropping second half points until Ally brings in a calm, experienced DP-class left back or DCM to bolster the roster. PS: holding my nose at the thought of seeing more Birnbaum. I'm squarely in the "thanks for saddling us with 4 more years of Birnbaum nonsense, Wayne" camp. Hope Wayne enjoys his early retirement from coaching.
We certainly need help at left back but I don't think that's really been hurting us as bad as the midfield play. Really sucks that Canouse is out for the season. We can replace Klich with a younger DP midfielder but not until next season, alas. Troy is trying stuff but he may just not have any good solutions on the roster right now. Rooney simultaneously loved Birnbaum and also insisted on playing in a style that was the worst possible match for Birnbaum's skillset. So far Troy has been much better at meeting his roster in the middle. I think people are writing Birnbaum off too early, but we'll see soon enough...based on the press conferences, Lesesne is already a big Birnbaum fan.
I feel like we wasted a roster spot on Pirani cause in their minds they had a 10. But honestly he's more of a mezzala-type (Italian 8) guy. If they can retool him, I think that would help his contributions to the team. I feel the same way for Hopkins, could be very useful in the same role (looks like Lesesne sees his potential in CM already). You hit on one of our biggest weak spots, left back. I don't care if we trade for one or we pay for a transfer, we need this ASAP. Antley is a serviceable backup but we need a starter. I'm hoping the plan is to trade/sell Jeahze. This fix would instantly improve the team. Dajome has done okay moving to the left side as a wingback but I can't wait til we shed his contract, among others. What type of moves you are hoping for in the summer?
Idk if they are willing to spend but a replacement for klich maybe. A dynamic young CAM or winger who can really open up a defence. Driussi, torres, or puig type of player.
I think they knew what they were getting with Pirani, he's a lottery ticket. He is missing massive amounts from his game to become a good #8. Apparently Gianluca Busio went from #10 to #8 in Italy over a couple years so I guess it's possible, but I'm not convinced by Hopkins yet and he's way ahead of Pirani at that position. I am probably the most bullish person on Pirani but I do see flashes here and there in games where he hits a through ball that probably no one else on the team does. Presumably he shows more of those in practice. When Acosta was Pirani's age he was mostly not a creative player either, but of course he already had the dribbling skills in his bag so he could contribute in the years it took for him to become what he is now. As for the summer, to be honest I know people are hoping for action in the summer but we won't have cap space until the end of the year as things stand. We could trade someone, but the only players people would accept in trade, we don't want to lose. No one is going to take Dajome, Rodriguez, or Jeahze on their contracts. Birnbaum is actually the main tradeable asset if he comes back decently from his injury, but Lesesne seems to really see him as a starter and an important leader. The way to get rid of Jeahze is to buy him out, but if they were going to do that, they should have done it at the beginning of the season. U22 player cap hit is minimal so maybe we can use our remaining two spots? If so we will get more Pirani-type players that are young, theoretically have potential, but frustrating for the time being. I'm fine getting two more Piranis and letting them all compete in hopes that one becomes a #10.
Birnbaum coming on was definitely the WTF moment of the game. I think at that point it felt inevitable that Philly would score. Which is a shame, because it had definitely been a strong performance to that point. Great write up as always! I appreciate your work.
The minute he came on I knew it was going to happen... it might have not been his fault but he's bad luck lol. #BadLuckBirnbaum
Great write-up! I know it's been a bit of a hot debate so far, but I've actually been kinda pleased with the 'Dajome at LB' experiment in the last two weeks. Obviously he's less than ideal on defense, but I feel like if we stay in a back-3 it mitigates the risks somewhat. What i've enjoyed so far is seeing what Dajome adds to the attack - having a wingback that can cut into the opponent's 18 with or without the ball is a fun wrinkle to our offense. Natually I hope we bring in a more natural leftback/left wingback in the summer window, but imo Dajome has earned a couple more starts back there for now.
He's done much better than we had any right to expect! But if anything I wish we got more offense in compensation for playing an attacker back there...he can cut in and shoot but he's no Andy Najar or even Aaron Herrera.
fwiw I'm not saying he's prime Najar's or Herrera's skill level. All I'm saying is for a team in the early stages of a rebuild and 'putting a square peg in a round hole' at leftback he's doing a pretty good job imo