Five Takes On The Five Stripes

The one where we Juanted it more

 

1: Ok I dunno 😆. There’s a couple ways you could look at this match. One view says we gotta start closing out games confidently. It’s concerning how we shoot our selves in the foot at the end. It’s really unfortunate that it almost came from a player who’s been among the very best for this team. The other view is that we did manage to break that narrative and get a W when we clearly were nowhere near our best. Champions find ways to win and today with a little bit of grit and a little bit of luck which has been, with and against us this season, we found a way. 

 

2: The first goal will always be huge for us no matter how it comes. Today it was route 1. Chances came more from route 1 than then build up play or counter attacks. That’s honestly fine with me because it shows yet another way this team can produce and be dangerous when the “Atlanta United way” isn’t really working like it wasn’t today. 

 

3: I think we badly need Ibarra starting in the midfield. It’s not just Thiago that’s key to how we operate. Yes the equalizing goal is pretty much on him but in the past two games our play in the middle of the park has really suffered. We need him in there commanding and controlling the play to give players like Thiago the ability to operate more freely. 

 

4: it’s official the injuries are a thing. I have no idea what happened with Westberg but I hope it’s not serious. The FO deserves tremendous credit for having us so deep at Keeper but now we’re fresh out. Reyes from the 2’s will most likely have to be called up for Wednesday’s match and potentially signed to a homegrown deal for MLS play. Hopefully GG isn’t concussed or angered his hammy further. If the injuries keep coming week to week again, it’s going to have an impact on the summer window and how we approach new signings. It could really derail things. 

 

5: Death, taxes, and GG scoring when he starts. Is this guy something or is he something? He understands space and how to occupy it. He finishes smartly. He puts in work on the defensive side. He’s intelligent as exhibited by the smart yellow. Pretty sure he’s who Vertical Horizon was signing about. 

The one where he chopped but got stopped

1: We dropped two points. There’s plenty of good things to take away from this match, but first and foremost, we missed out on a statement win. Actually one of the positive things that I take away is that the whole team is looking at it that way too. That’s the the mentality I want. A draw isn’t good enough. Especially when the win is right there. We expect more. Two road draws is by no means a poor result, but with the table often being so damn tight at the run in, this might be a game we look back on with real disappointment. 

 

2: I think it’s a credit to this club and it’s stature and status in the league that every team when they play us seem to pull out their best performances against us. Even when our opponent might be struggling and on a poor run of form, we always seem to bring out the absolute best in them. It remains a statement to beat this club. 

 

3: Injuries are starting to matter again. Brad, Almada, and now GG. We gotta hope that Thiago is just precautionary and that GG will be short term. For now we’re handling absences really well. Tonight we were missing Guz (which is a bigger loss than some realize) Ibarra, Thiago, and GG for most of the 2nd half. In spite of missing some of our best players, we are still finding ways to get performances and results. Feels like the team is remembering last year and refusing to wilt. Hopefully the injuries don’t really start to pile on because at some point it does become insurmountable . That being said, as disappointing as dropping two points is, I think tonight did show that this team is not dependent on any 1, 2 or even 3 players. 4, 5, 6 might be a problem tho. 

 

We will be missing more players. Caleb and Miles will both be called up. Caleb will be in the u20 WC for a month. US Open Cup about to start. 

 

4: Chol has been the perfect example of better depth. I’m gutted he didn’t have the game winner. He stepped up, as he and others have this whole season. Teams seem to struggle with him. He’s a bit of a wild card that can be played when you need to throw something different and unpredictable at the opposition. If injuries are going to be a thing again, that next man up mentality is going to be key to us having a successful season. 

 

5: GG has been the exact signing we needed in a number 9. He’s consistent, and not just in scoring, but more the way he’s finding the goals and the chances. He’s not just a target man. He’s hard working, fights for every ball but at the same time is humble and a real team contributor. Let’s hope the treads haven’t come off the tank too severely. 

The one where we get ejected but not dejected

1: This team is good y’all. Both of the “New York” teams are arguably our toughest matches because of the unique challenges each opponent offers. And TBH every team struggles with them. Red Bulls because of the ugly style of play. NYCFC because of the postage stamp they play on. We played some pretty good football against both. And tonight we managed to get the first goal whilst down a man. I’m really happy with the performances and more importantly the consistency. 

 

2: Ibarra is finally a take. Sucks that it has to be under these circumstances. He’s been quietly going about his work. He’s been a big part of our success and I think next week we’re gonna find out just how big. Unless we try to appeal the red which honestly, I think it’s worth a try. It wasn’t malicious or reckless from Ibarra for me. It was dangerous from both players. 

 

3: We’ve always been a team that plays well when we are able to control the game and play our style. This year we’ve shown more of an ability to adapt better when we can’t do that and still find a way to get results. We’re handling adversity well and teams who win trophies tend to do that. 

 

4: Really looking forward to getting Gutman back so Caleb can get forward. Etienne has shown some real skill but based on his mercurial form, I just feel like Caleb would have found the net a couple times in these last two matches if he wasn’t filling the role of Gutman. 

 

5: On the whole, every player just seems like the best versions of themselves this year. Ibarra has been massive. Rossetto has been far more consistent. Even Machop Chol, in the limited minutes we’ve seen him, has shown to be a real attacking threat with more composure than he’s ever had playing with us. We’ve a long way to go but for me right now we feel more balanced, and cohesive than at any point in our history. 

The one where we are full of bullief

1: As much as a person is capable of hating something, I hate the Red Bulls. They have no interest in playing soccer and are the antithesis of Atlanta United. Probably why, after 7 seasons, we hadn’t beat them in the regular season. I was very nervous in the opening minutes because we seemed to be playing right into their hands. But fortunately we got the early goal which, is always important, but doubly so against the Bulls. 

 

2: No I seriously, I really hate the Red Bulls. This isn’t the kind of soccer I like to consume. I’ve never been so unbothered by a team building up their own play. Not a single one of their attacking opportunities came from their own build up. For the love of God, the best chance all night came off of OUR corner kick.

It was concerning for me how much we tried to play through their press or build up out of the back. It’s exactly what they want us to do and yet we did it. At this point the Red Bulls should be as mysterious to us as a blocked toilet is to a plumber. 

 

3: I was very happy to see cards come out early and often for the Bulls. The type of cynical fouls they love to make has to be punished. He definitely missed a few calls and if he suspects there is a head injury he’s got to call that immediately. If the suspected injury to a Red Bull player occurs in a promising attack for them and they get upset over the ref stopping g play, that’s on them. If they wanna dive and fake injuries constantly then they have to pay the consequences for crying wolf. Live by the sword, die by the sword. 

 

4: I wanna be clear here, Purata is a Gorgeous man, like near Tito levels. But he’s been a little inconsistent. He had some truly great moments tonight. In truth he probably stopped at least an attempt on goal, but he does seem to be one of those players that has mistakes of the really growing variety. Admittedly that might be a little unfair because as a defender, generally speaking, mistakes tend to mean more. But nevertheless it’s a little concerning. Luis Abram might become very important. 

 

5:  I think that will be one the hardest matches we play all season. They’re just a miserable team to play against. They’re physically and mentally exhausting. I say when we go to Jersey shore for pt2 we give them the ball and let them do the work. More goals would have been nice. It was tense right till the end. GG was in good positions and probably should’ve put another away, but a hard fought win with a clean sheet against someone we haven’t been able to take down over 7 seasons is something I’ll happily and proudly take. Also, Zoa is a far superior energy drink.

The one where sometimes our matches are Columbusts

1: We can lose, but we cannot lose like that. Tonight was unacceptable. Full stop. At least we dirtied their clean sheet but, good grief. This cannot happen. 

 

2: He’s a 10 but he’s not there. With missing a player like Almada we knew coming in that we might be lacking a little in the creative playmaking department. So the plan had to be force turnovers and errant passes early and often. We failed to do that. Columbus had the ball glued to their feet and we just simply couldn’t get it off them. In the rare instance where we did, we just gave the ball right back. 

 

3: With missing a player like Miles we knew we couldn’t afford to give the ball away in dangerous positions and yet, we gave it away like an obvious ending to a bad movie.  We were fortunate to get out of the first half at only 1-0 and then we just collapsed like SVB. 

 

4: Have we not paid our injury dues? I really hope we don’t see another cascading event like we did last year. Injuries do matter. It is a little curious for me how when we hang 5 on a very injury laden Portland the takes from some are “Well yeah, we should beat a team with that many injuries” So you’re saying that a team dealing with injuries to key players should lose? Ok….  Feels like Atlanta wasn’t given that same grace last year. We all agree we still should have performed better at times, even with the injuries, but they were a really big factor. 

 

5: The only positive we can take away from this game in Ohio is that we don’t have to stay there. I can speak with some authority on this, Ohio is a miserable place. Far and away the worst state in the union. 

The one where it’s better than bad it’s good

1: In addition to the chemistry we’re seeing on display and the great attacking soccer, we’ve also got something we didn’t have last year, luck. I’m honestly a little surprised VAR called the screen on Portland’s goal. It’s a Goalazo and I don’t think Brad is getting there no matter what. But to win titles you need a little good fortune and we’re finally getting some. 

 

2: Caleb out here trying to break some kind of record for how many consecutive takes he can appear in. I’m running out of superlatives. Dude hasn’t even voted in an election yet and he’s out there putting in these kinds of performances. I do wonder what Etienne is thinking. No doubt he fully expected to start but there is absolutely no way you can bench Caleb Wiley right now. 

 

3: Alamada is automatic for the people. He was fully 26 yards out. The keeper knows where he’s going and he put it where he, or anyone else for that matter, could not get it. The dude is unreal. The consequence of his absurd abilities is that the more he balls out, the less likely it will be that we can keep him. So let’s stock pile as many goals and wins with him as we can. Next week against Columbus will be interesting in that we will get to see what we can do without him. 

 

4: As much as we have analyzed what has gone wrong for Atlanta United we should spend some time analyzing what is going so right. For me it’s the quick one/two touch and pass with an emphasis on forward progression. The ball never stops moving and that has the affect of asphyxiating the opposition because there’s really no time to rest. It’s like in cycling. The team at the front sets a high pace at the front of the column and then when the time comes to launch an attack, all the riders behind are gasping for air. Tonight we never let up and I’m really happy to see us taking more risks with our touches and passes. They won’t always come off like they did tonight but I’m happier with high risk high reward play than I am with playing it safe. 

 

5: Yes, I am Georgios. I said to the people around me after he had missed a few chances and been called offside, god help the league when he does start scoring. I stand by that statement. He’s hungry and something tells me he’s almost angrier about the chances he missed than he is happy about the one he converted. He’s got speed, he’s cool and composed in finishing and he’s good in the air. He’s going to be quite a signing. 

The one where we put on a Wiley performance

1: Well that was quick. We haven’t seen that kind of fast and decisive attacking movements in the attacking third, with final product, in some time. We came out flying and caught Charlotte off guard. We have of course started fast before, but the difference this time is we put the ball into the net. Charlotte finally responded after the 2nd with some intensity of their own and a couple half chances but we did not concede and we did not wilt. We did what we have not done enough, step on the opponents throat and put the game away early.

 

2: So like we were saying, Caleb Wiley. That rising star may have already risen. It’s going to be a massive season for him. Those finishes had the calmness and composure of a veteran player. He’s giving Pineda a lot too think about. He’s doing what Jackson Conway failed to do. He’s taking his chances. 

 

3: Luiz getting on the board with the type of clean finish we saw in pre season will be a massive boost for his confidence. When GG starts regularly one would think that will only improve if he can just put the mistakes out of his head and stay relax and composed. 

 

4: Having both Brad and Miles back is absolutely massive. For the most part anytime Charlotte did spring a quick counter I found myself not feeling the same sense of dread as I did last year because I know who’s back their ready and able to put any fires coming their way. 

 

5: The goals will come for GG. Not a whole lot produced for him in the second half but when you put the game away in the first, that’s bound to happen. It’s a long season but as of now, this is very much not 2022. Every game has seen improvements, this being the biggest step forward. Charlotte on the other hand, I think they’ve got wooden spoon potential. 

The one where points are dropped but hopes are raised?

1: Caleb Wiley impressed me the most in the first half. There are some takes and narratives out there that this club doesn’t develop young players well. While it’s impossible for every young player who comes here to have success, we have been pretty damn consistent in young player development and Caleb is just another example of that. His runs both on and off the ball are dynamic and threatening. He can dribble, he can cross…for me I think he’s going to develop into the full package and become another home grown success story that will be talked about for many years to come. 

 

2: Thinking inside the box. Clearly the message got through to the players. Get inside the box and shoot. We still took our chances outside the 18, and they were all pretty high quality, but it’s good to see us driving with ball towards and into the box. The shots taken tonight had a much higher XG than last week, unfortunately Toronto has quality between the sticks. 

 

3: Toronto is kinda terrible and Sean Johnson is kinda excellent. If Toronto has any success this year it will be due in no small part to him. He will be to Toronto what Matt Turner was to New England. We had excellent shots on goal, they just happened to be against, at least for me, the best keeper in the league right now. No disrespect to our own. 

 

4: Etienne is a real live wire. His impact was immediate and tho we won’t even be credited with the hockey assist, he was the catalyst for the goal. He’s got a little bit of that LGP energy in him tho so he might end up in yellow card jail sooner than later. 

 

5: Last week on the pod we talked about being happy with the win but a little concerned about similarities to 2022. Nothing about tonight’s performance reinforces those fears but, because we didn’t get the full 3 points against a poor team we absolutely should get all 3 from, I don’t think we can say it completely and totally dispelled them either. Still, I can’t be mad at the performance. It’s more of what we’ve come to expect from our team and is well above and beyond the performances of last year. 

The one where we don’t start till the stop

1: Scoring, it better be Greek to us. The new Luiz looked like the old Luiz. His touches were poor. His decision making was bad and the penalty was embarrassing. He got the keeper to go, all he had to do was roll it in and instead he hit it well wide. Dunno what size goals he’s practicing on. He also had his customary # of shots into the stands. Truthfully the shot he had from outside the box was closer than his PK. Literally he was closer to scoring from 20 yards than he was from 12. 

 

2: For me Brad answered any lingering questions about his readiness. He had a great save, his distribution was fine and the goal we conceded was not on him. His leadership will be key in fixing things going forward. 

 

3: Transition, they had it, we did not. We got burned every time they won the ball back. Whether winning it in their own half or ours, their instinct was to immediately go to goal. On the flip side our instinct seemed to be play it back or knock it around mid park for a bit before inevitably coughing it up and scrambling to get back. If we’re gonna play such a high line, it sure would be nice if we did more in the attacking phase. Any time we did get near the 18 more often than not, we froze. San Jose had a clear style of attack and we look disorganized and just searching for an opportunity by any means necessary. 

 

4: I’ve seen enough of Jackson Conway. His instincts aren’t good enough. He doesn’t anticipate the ball like a striker should. He was constantly on the wrong side of his defender so that any time a ball did come his way, he was never going to get it. Unfortunately he’s not worth much more than being a tall target to hit off a corner. 

 

5: So, I’m a little worried about this win. Hear me out. We’ve had thrilling late winners before. This might be the best of the bunch. We should celebrate. I have no problem winning a match like this. Sometimes you need a bit of magic. I’m very happy with the 3 points. Truthfully I was happy with a single point. But it can’t paper over the fact that we were not good in virtually every phase of the game and it took two Goalazos from a World Cup winner to get the win. Pineda has had time. We’ve had a full pre season. I still do not see what we are trying to do or who we are trying to be and that concerns me.

The one where Luiz gave us a lot Toluc-at

1: Luiz showed and has shown a lot so far. He looks like a more sure footed, confident version of himself. We’ve all known he has the technical skill but too often he hasn’t made the best decisions or trusted his abilities. That seems to have been corrected. The runs he’s made off the ball thus far, his control with the ball at his feet and the finishes he’s had, it’s all been at a level and quality that we’ve yet to see consistently. Let’s hope he can carry this over into the regular season. 

 

2: Party in the front, shaky in the back. All the defensive problems we had and goals we conceded were to be expected given that it was nowhere near the actual composition of what our backline will be. Lots of miscommunication or no communication at all. We also didn’t have Brad between the sticks barking out orders. I think we can also expect that in the regular season some of those spaces will be closed down a little more quickly. There were also a number of challenges that I think we’d get a bit more stuck into when it counts. No disrespect to the prestige of the AmFam but the primary objective tonight was don’t get hurt. Unfortunately…

 

3:  We got hurt. Caleb appears to be ok but that looked like a pretty serious knock he took to the head. Looks like Chol also did a hammy. Dude takes one shot and goes down. To be fair, he’s not really used to taking them. Not really sure what Pineda saw in him that made him want to experiment with him as a 9. Still, not biggest loss if he is out. No disrespect but he is a deep depth piece. 

 

4: With Chol coming out it gave Jackson the opportunity. I have some big hopes for him this year. He’s never really been able to stake his claim with the first team but with Josef gone, he really could see some minutes behind our new Greek God. He did have a pretty good year with 2’s despite the 2’s being pretty much near rock bottom of the table. But he just once again hasn’t shown much. He had a golden opportunity at the end and he just didn’t take it. He needs to use his size and strength to do better. 

 

5: Ajanni Fortune is one for the future. The kid is dripping in talent and he had a lovely little flick on assist. I would have actually like to have seen him have some more minutes but he was productive with the time he had. He’s been a rising star with the 2’s and I hope he can continue on that trajectory.