fcnews.nyc http://fcnews.nyc An opinionated digest of NYCFC news and analysis. Thu, 14 Mar 2019 14:00:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.1.1 https://i2.wp.com/fcnews.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/cropped-fcnewsnyc.png?fit=32%2C32 fcnews.nyc http://fcnews.nyc 32 32 98296157 Goalie Wars Edition http://fcnews.nyc/2019/03/14/goalie-wars-edition/ Thu, 14 Mar 2019 14:00:24 +0000 http://fcnews.nyc/?p=130 There was a lot to like and alongside a nice helping of meh in NYCFC’s draw vs. DC United that showcased some great saves by Sean Johnson and Bill Hamid and excuse to use the following clip.

Dome Torrent put forth a 4231 to combat DC United’s deadly duo of Luciano Acosta (P.S. he’s really good) and Wayne Rooney. As I noted in The Outfield’s March Preview, Rooney can counter teams that try to shutdown Acosta by coming into the midfield as a false 9. The 4231 with two defensive-minded midfielders James Sands and Alexander Ring was great counter for this and Dome deserves a tip of the cap.

However, the offensive side of the ball still looks very raw. Maxi Moralez and Alexandru Mitrita did not combine well until the end of the game when they both moved centrally. The starting lineup probably needed to not have both Jonathan Lewis and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi sitting on the bench.

While, the Sands-Ring tandem worked well, it would have been nice to see Keaton Park. With 15 minutes left, NYCFC had a firm handle on a DC team that had been tired out by the Pigeon’s possession game. Getting a more offensive-minded player like Parks to help hunt for that last goal was the aggressive move to make.

Understatement to say a #9 is need. Could be Mitrita’s turn next game against LAFC.

NYFC 0, DC United 0

Weekly Reminder that the 20 Min Condensed game is available on the MLS app

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]]> 130 A Little Too Conservative Edition http://fcnews.nyc/2019/03/04/a-little-too-conservative-edition/ Mon, 04 Mar 2019 19:16:38 +0000 http://fcnews.nyc/?p=120 On Friday, I wrote in the March schedule preview at The Outfield about the need for NYCFC to get off to a strong start because of end-of-the-year scheduling issues. Despite getting a much needed point on the road against Orlando City, the result left a bittersweet taste for most supporters.

Dome Torrent put forth a very conservative counterattacking 523 that did not give the Boys in Blue the tactical advantage in the midfield that was needed against a depleted Lion squad that saw the DP triumvirate of Nani, Dom Dwyer, and Josue Colman start the match on the bench. It was a very confusing look with many questions about what exactly Domeball is actually going to look like.

Game Recap: NYCFC @ Orlando City (2-2)

This is the link to the full game on Twitter. 20 minute condensed game also available on the MLS app.

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]]> 120 Take Me Out to the Nashville Edition http://fcnews.nyc/2019/02/25/take-me-out-to-the-nashville-edition/ Mon, 25 Feb 2019 14:45:57 +0000 http://fcnews.nyc/?p=113 So there is a super cool new website in the NYCFC series of tubes called The Outfield put together by Dummy Run that I am excited to be apart of. He has put together a great, smart group of writers that hopefully fill some of the void of interesting, original NYCFC content.

Chris and Chris put out a great preview on our incoming new players. My first feature came out on Wednesday on Jesus Medina‘s DP status and other roster rules and oddities that impacted NYCFC’s offseason. Dummy did a great job turning the drivel I call writing into a something that people actually enjoyed reading.

Please give us a follow, because there is some great stuff in the pipeline coming out next week!

The Orlando Preseason Blackout

Neither of our two games in Orlando versus Orlando City or Minnesota were streaming so there is not really a lot to write about. The one constant seems to be the 4141 variant of the 433 seems to be our go-to tactic, with some 4231 on the side. Some hero from Minnesota streamed the second game on his phone. God bless you, sir.

Thread has the links to the rest of the first half and entire second half.

Spring Training Preseason Finale in Nashville

What better way to prep for a season in a baseball stadium then to play your last preseason game in a baseball stadium?

City sported a 4231 against USL and future MLS member Nashville SC with Ebeneezer Ofori and Alexander Ring in the double pivot. While Ofori looked ok next to Ring, his insertion in the starting XI makes you question why a more offensively skilled Keaton Parks did not make an appearance.

Alexandru Mitrita scored a banger, but the combo of Mitrita, Maxi Moralez, and Jonathan Lewis looked a little disjointed at times. Lewis needs more game time at CF if that is the position he is going to play, and hopefully Mitrita and Moralez can adjust to each quickly during the season.

Congratulations if you had middle of the preseason in the Ronald Matarrtta injury pool!

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Maybe we will get a white kit next year

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]]> 113 Six Formations, Zero Strikers Edition http://fcnews.nyc/2019/02/12/six-formations-zero-strikers-edition/ Tue, 12 Feb 2019 13:59:35 +0000 http://fcnews.nyc/?p=107 The big questions after the signing of Alexandru Mitrita is how exactly are we going to use him and who on earth is going to play striker? The answer to the first question is a whole bunch of different ways and the answer to the second question is probably a whole bunch of different people now that Legia Warsaw has confirmed that striker Carlitos has rejected a move to NYCFC.

Against AIK, Mitrita played striker in the first half in the same 4141 that Dome Torrent showed in the first preseason game and #10 in a 4231 in the second half where the birthday boy scored off a great run set up by Ismael Tajouri-Shradi.

We have also seen Valentin Castellanos, Jesus Medina, and Maxi Moralez all line up at striker. Based on the two preseason games, here are six different formation and lineup possibilities that I posted on twitter thread:

Check out the whole thread on Twitter for all six formations

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NYCFC Nation had @NYCFCTactics. He did an excellent job. Check it out below:

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What could have been…

]]> 107 I’ll Take Designated Player for 8 Million Euros, Alex Edition http://fcnews.nyc/2019/02/04/ill-take-designated-player-for-8-million-euros-alex-edition/ Mon, 04 Feb 2019 13:00:41 +0000 http://fcnews.nyc/?p=99 The big news of the last week was confirmation on the signing of Alexandru Mitrita for €8 million ($9.2 million). The addition of the diminutive Romanian attacker is the third largest inbound transfer in league history- only less than Atlanta‘s recent acquisition of Gonzalo Martinez for €13.2 million and Ezequiel Barco last off-season for €12.3 million.

It is nice seeing the club spend big money on a designated player, but there are some major questions about where exactly Mitrita slots into Dome Torrent’s 433 and who is going to be playing striker with the exits of David Villa and Jo-Inge Berget.  

Despite mainly featuring as an attacking midfielder for club and country, Mitrita- who scored 12 goals in 16 games in the Romanian first division this fall- could theoretically slot in as a Sebastian Giovinco-like #9. Dome has seen smaller, more fluid attackers at striker as Pep Guardiola’s right hand with Sergio Aguero at Manchester City and Lionel Messi at Barcelona. It reminds to be seen if we can expect Mitrita to be as successful as those two in MLS.

NYCFC Loses Preseason Opener 2-0 to FC Copenhagen

Hard to take much out of this game. Tactically, Dome pushed out a his version of the 433 that has more of a 4141 shape with completely different first and second half squads.

First half lineup
Second half lineup

Without Mitrita and Jonathan Lewis, Jesus Medina and Maxi Moralez were forced to play less than optimal positions which resulted in a central midfield that was devoid of any real offensive threats and creativity. While not the most exciting game, the sivler-lining is that despite the academy and backup players used, the Pigeons still did not give up a goal in the run of play to a Europa league team.

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]]> 99 Everyone Gets a Young American Midfielder Edition http://fcnews.nyc/2019/01/28/everyone-gets-a-young-american-midfielder-edition/ Mon, 28 Jan 2019 13:00:40 +0000 http://fcnews.nyc/?p=92 The big news of the past two weeks were the official signings of a trio of young American midfielders Keaton Parks, Juan Pablo Torres, and Justin Haak.

Undoubtedly, these moves not only show the hand of Claudio Reyna, but a organizational shift towards valuing American youth players in the USNMT structure that started with the drafting of Jonathan Lewis, and the signing of homegrown players James Sands & Joe Scally.

From a purely economic standpoint, the shift is very understandable. Homegrown players help create cap space. TAM has lead to an increase in international signings, and value of those international roster spots. For a team as dependent on quality international signings for those finite roster spots, the need to maximize domestic depth and production across the board is for the utmost importance.

The big question, especially with the move to retain Ebenezer Ofori on loan this season, is how do all of these young players get minutes. Loans are not going to be out of the question considering the successful loans stints that Andre Rawls, Saad Abdul-Salaam, and James Sands had last year. Expect Haak along with Scally to play heavy minutes for the Academy U19s.

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Even Berget would have scored this one courtesy of J-Lew.

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]]> 92 X Parks the Spot Edition http://fcnews.nyc/2019/01/14/x-parks-the-spot-edition/ Mon, 14 Jan 2019 14:00:07 +0000 http://fcnews.nyc/?p=82 Hey, folks! I hope your New Year is going well. There is going to be a slight change in the format. I still am going to try this put out this digest every week or so, but I am going to be more abbreviated with my analysis from here on out. The reason for this will be more clear as we get closer to the start of the season.

Keaton Parks Coming To City on Loan

It has been reported by multiple reliable sources that American midfielder Keaton Parks is finalizing a loan deal to NYCFC from Portuguese giants Benfica for the 2019 season. The 21-year old is USMNT capped and would be a huge get for NYCFC looking to replace Yangel Herera.

@TheDummyRun collected some game footage GIFs in this thread.

I know that some fans are disappointed about the lack of player news, but I am a little surprised at the lack of excitement by the fanbase for Parks. This is one of the best moves in MLS so far in the offseason. Parks will instantly slot into starting midfield next to Maxi Moralez and in front of Alexander Ring. Get excited people!

Haak Rumored to Be Close to Signing a Homegrown Contract

17-year-old midfielder Justin Haak, one of the gems of the NYCFC Academy, is reportedly close to signing a homegrown player contract and will further bolster the midfield. Haak had been exploring options overseas and had committed to Maryland for this fall.

Stop Freaking Out About NYCFC Drafting Another Goalkeeper

NYCFC traded $75k GAM to move up and select Marquette goalkeeper Luis Barraza. There were some really bad takes about this pick. David Villa‘s replacement was NOT coming from the Super Draft.

In the era of TAM and homegrown academy players, the SuperDraft is becoming increasingly irrelevant. American goalkeepers are one of the only consistent source of value in the draft.

Coupled with the boatload of GAM NYCFC received for Jack Harrison, the need to have a reliable supply of goalkeepers that can play with their feet, and the fact veteran backup Brad Stuver being very underwhelming, this pick makes a lot of sense even after drafting Jeff Caldwell last year. I wouldn’t be surprised if we draft a keeper next year either.

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Interesting thread on QBFC/Villa motivations

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]]> 82 Kevin Quevedo Rumor Mill Edition http://fcnews.nyc/2019/01/02/kevin-quevedo-rumor-mill-edition/ Wed, 02 Jan 2019 21:27:30 +0000 http://fcnews.nyc/?p=75 The strongest link to NYCFC this offseason has been Peruvian international Kevin Quevedo. NYCFC has been linked to the Alianza Lima winger since mid-October.

Peruvian newspaper Libero reported on Saturday that Quevedo was going to make a MLS move to either NYCFC or Minnesota United, but Jeff Reuter, Loons beat reporter for The Athletic, tweeted that Minnesota was not in play.

If Quevedo signs, it looks like the club strategy towards roster building is going to be towards signing Young DPs like Quevedo and Jesus Medina. Both players will save NYCFC over $600k in precious cap space and could give NYCFC the flexibility to sign another player in the salary range of Alexander Callens or Alexander Ring.

Tactically, this gives Dome Torrent another pacey pure winger to implement his 4141 version of the 433 instead of the inverted cut-inside player preferred by Patrick Vieira. The big question that we still to have answer is where exactly does Jesus Medina and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi fit into this lineup? Both left-footed players seem to do better playing as cut-inside right wingers, rather than playing on the left side. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Medina move permanently to central midfield this season.

Regardless of whether the Quevedo rumor pans out, if you are looking for a big name DP to come in for NYCFC in 2018, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

How Should You Feel About David Villa’s #USL2Queens Project?

The update on David Villa‘s Queensboro Maybe or Maybe Not United FC elicited a wide range of reactions. If a USL team is able to get a stadium site at Willets Point before NYCFC gets a stadium, we will riot. It could be the last straw for many Founding Members that have put up with the subpar conditions and value of their club memberships at Yankee Stadium since the beginning.

I am looking at this as a good sign that progress is being made on the GAL/Parking Garage Site next to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. No politician is going to choose a USL team over a MLS team at Willets Point if they had a choice.

Whether an MLS or USL team gets the Willet Point site, the road is going to be bumpy and full of challenges. Local groups are already organizing against the stadium.

Five Reasons Jonathan Lewis Got Called Up to the USMNT

A lot of people were surprised to see Jonathan Lewis get a USMNT call-up this past week and will be joining teammate Sean Johnson at Camp Cupcake. Here’s five reasons why he may have been called up:

  1. While Lewis has not been able to break into the NYCFC lineup for either Vieira or Torrent on a consistent basis, he had some great performance in limited minutes against Gregg Berhalter’s Columbus Crew.
  2. He could also be a great fit for the cut inside left wing position that Justin Meram filled for so long for Berhalter with the Crew.
  3. This could be a move looking towards the 2020 Summer Olympics rather than a serious Senior National Team look.
  4. There is also a possibility that NYCFC is trying to move Lewis and Berhalter is giving exposure to a young player in the pipeline with the hopes of moving him to team that will get him more playing time. A young American attacker that can score in the USMNT pipleline on a Generation Adidas contract is going to be desired by someone.
  5. This is Camp Cupcake. This is more logical than Tommy McNamara making the squad last year.

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]]> 75 The Odds Were In Our Expansion Draft Favor Edition http://fcnews.nyc/2018/12/17/the-odds-were-in-our-expansion-draft-favor-edition/ Mon, 17 Dec 2018 14:00:47 +0000 http://fcnews.nyc/?p=61 Ibeagha Survives As Expansion Draft Tribute

While everyone (including yours truly) was freaking out about NYCFC leaving Sebastien Ibeagha unprotected, FC Cincinnati did us a big favor by selecting promising Red Bulls centerback prospect Hassan Ndam instead. 

Over the last two years in the USL, Ndam had dominating performances against FCC including one this July in which he helped shut down Fanenado Adi.   NYCFC fans will also remember Ndam keeping David Villa scoreless in our last US Open Cup match-up.

Also playing into FCC’s decision was a trade for Vancouver Whitecaps CB  and Red Card Machine Kendall Watson which was announced a couple hours after the Expansion Draft.

Plucked From the Dumpster Fire

NYCFC liberated utility player Tony Rocha from the MLS toxic wasteland that is Orlando City.  Rocha played a bunch of positions last year for Orlando City including center midfield, left midfield, centerback, and left fullback.

At the end of November, Rocha was one of eight Orlando City players who had their options declined.   NYCFC sent a fourth-round SuperDraft pick (aka nothing of value) to acquire Rocha’s MLS rights before the Re-Entry draft.  By acquiring his rights, NYCFC will likely be picking up the option that Orlando City declined.  Rocha made $68,902 in base salary last year and will likely not be making much more than that in 2019.

While some fans are clamoring for some big moves to replace Villa and Yangel Herrera, this seems like a solid depth move especially with the recent left-footed player exodus of Rodney Wallace, Ebeneezer Ofori, and Kwame Awuah. Don’t expect Rocha to be more than an emergency fill in off the bench.

Rawls & Wallace Find New MLS Teams

Two NYCFC players that had their options declined found new clubs this week.  Andre Rawls’  USL performance last season was good enough for him to be selected in the First Round of the Re-Entry Draft by the Colorado Rapids.  He will compete with newly acquired Clint Irwin for the privilege of backing-up MLS’s worst DP Tim Howard.

Wallace officially signed with Sporting Kansas City.  Although it was believed that NYCFC attempted to resign Wallace to a cheaper contract after declining his option, his departure was not very surprising. 

What is surprising is that Peter Vermes plans on converting Wallace to fullback, a position that he is probably needs to play but was not very good at for both the Portland Timbers and NYCFC.

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]]> 61 The Truth About David Villa Edition http://fcnews.nyc/2018/12/09/the-truth-about-david-villa-edition/ Sun, 09 Dec 2018 20:33:00 +0000 http://fcnews.nyc/?p=32 Chanot Gets a New Multiyear Deal

Beside the departure of David Villa, NYCFC’s decision to decline Maxime Chanot‘s option was the most talked about roster move of the young offseason. I wasn’t very surprised by the resigning as Chanot had very oddly been an absolute ghost on social media. If he were leaving, I would have expected a more formal goodbye post.

The good news is that the spine of our defense (Ring-Chanot-Callens) is going to be in place for years to come.  When healthy, he is arguably the best ballplaying centerback in the league and someone who was invaluable to the possession styles of both Patrick Vieira and Dome Torrent last year.  Safe to say that Chanot is going to be penciled in as our first post-Villa captain.

I love the move, but the timing is very odd. NYCFC could have waited until after the expansion draft to announce the signing. FC Cincinnati would likely not be spending a draft selection on a player without a contract who could easily just go back to Europe. Announcing the deal now could mean that NYCFC has a deal with FC Cincinnati in place perhaps for the MLS rights to Saad Abdul-Salaam, who just finished a great loan stint with the  with Phoenix Rising in the USL. 

No Real Surprises in the Rest of the Roster Moves

After regressing the last couple of season and barely making the 18 in the Dome Torrent era, local marketing sensation and 2015 original Tommy McNamara was finally let go.  He was an MLS 2.0 player in a TAM world.  Don’t be surprised to see him eventually in the USL.  

Ebenezer Ofori‘s buy option on his loan deal from Stuttgart was also not picked up to end an underwhelming tenure at NYC.  The move makes alot of sense as exercising the buy option would have required TAM or a DP slot.   Ofori, who was being considered for a DP slot last year, was a huge miss by CFG’s scouting department.

The team also cut ties with Kwame Awuah, Andre Rawls, Rodney Wallace, and human scapegoat Eloi Amagat. The team had traded $75k GAM in order to select Awuah in 2017 SuperDraft.  It will be interesting to see where he ends up with the Canadian Premier League’s inaugural season about to begin. Rawls is now free to resign with the OC Blues where he was on loan. Rumor has it that the team is considering bringing back Wallace on a (hopefully much) cheaper contract.

In a move that miffed some supporters, the club exercised the buy option in Valentin Castellanos’ loan from CFG sister club Club Atlético Torque.  It was obvious that Castellanos was a pacey talent that Dome preferred over players like Jonathan Lewis, but Torque’s relegation to the Uruguayan second division could have been a factor for CFG to move him to NYC permanently.  Would like to know what the transfer fee was but MLS is gonna MLS.

I would have liked to see the club decline Brad Stuver‘s option and find some new talent in the American goalkeeper pool as well.  He was disastrous while subbing in for Sean Johnson this season.

Yangel to Europe?

I think that it is time to say goodbye to Yangel Herrera.   Would still love to see him get loaned back to us next year, but this kid is a talent well above this league.  While its very unlikely that he can sign for Manchester City because of visa reasons, he can probably slot in very well in some other top European league. Makes signing a midfielder our number one off-season priority.

Is Kwaku Owusu the Next Homegrown Player for NYCFC?

There are unsubstantiated rumors going around via the NYCFC Forums that Kwaku Owusu , a three-star rated player by Top Drawer Soccer, is going to be announced as our next homegrown player at the end of the month. The centerback helped NYCFC win its first USSDA U18/19 championship and was named to the U18/19 Eastern Conference Best XI alongside current HGPs Joseph Scally and James Sands.

What’s the Truth About David Villa?

The truth about David Villa is that he likely made the decision to leave in the middle of the season. The likely story is that NYCFC tried to low-ball Villa with a non-DP contract, and Villa responded by finding another team.

On August 17th, Spanish sports tabloid Diario AS had reported that NYCFC would not renew Villa’s contract and Villa was considering retirement. So how does a site that will literally post any rumor get the jump that David Villa and NYCFC would break up three months before it happened?

It’s not a great leap to believe that it was likely someone from Villa’s camp who leaked the story. Not only did this allow Villa’s camp to float his name to potential clubs but to also pin the split on NYC.

After the Hudson River Derby on August 22nd, Villa told Dylan Butler that reports about his retirement were “fake news” but in hindsight he also made other comments that pointed towards a potential breakup.

Villa told Butler, “I can’t be here forever, as a player.” When asked about contract talks, Villa said, “It’s not the moment….we’re not talking a lot because I don’t want to talk a lot.”

These are the type of comments that an unhappy player makes, but is professional enough to at least give a half-denial.  Villa was rarely made available to the media after these comment.

What really happened to cause Villa’s discontent and the timeline that followed is hard to pin down.

After this showdown in August, Villa was likely convinced by former teammate Andres Iniesta , who had signed in the spring for an obscene amount of money, to team up with him and Lukas Podolski at Vissel Kobe.

At this point, when NYCFC came to Villa at the end of the season to try to extend his contract and perhaps now realizing they needed to increase their offer in order to retain him, our superstar had already moved on and was no longer willing to listen.

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