Five Takes On The Five Stripes

The one where at least we're not DC United.

OFYO

 

1: Jahn is tall but he’s not that tall lol. I’m loving the service that Jahn is getting in the box even if they are well over his head. We know his strengths and we’re playing to them. It looks like we’re finally figuring out how to be dangerous with what we have. Better late then never. 

 

2: I thought the back line looked really good in the first half. They held their line and played Orlando attackers offsides a number of times. I give big credit to Guzan for that organization. We had a number of really good take aways in our own third that lead to some great counter opportunities. 

 

3: Second half was very disjointed. Heavy legs seemed to set in. There weren’t too many absolutely horrid mistakes but it just looked like we were getting worn down a little so I’m pretty happy to walk away with a draw. 

 

4: Guzan gets MOTM. This was probably his best performance. His distribution and organization of the back line I thought was excellent and he had two massive game saving saves. 

 

5: We seemed to approach this match exactly the same way he approached the match against DC and not just with the line up. We kept trying to play down the flanks and cross balls into the box and it just wasn’t as effective. The match against DC had something like 26 crosses. I just felt like we weren’t really playing with what Orlando gave us. There was a lot of space in the middle to exploit and we didn’t really build up through it. 

The One Where It's Good To Have Goals

1: We flipped the script tonight. DC played and looked the way we have to be honest. We got on the front foot early. We were aggressive and got stuck in with hard tackles. We frustrated and annoyed DC through the first half. We took advantage of their defensive mistakes. 

 

2: Gallagher and Brooks Lennon made a hard push for dual MOTM. Terrific performances from both of them. The 18 yard box was a piggy bank with both dropping dimes all night. Brooks, minus that one ugly match, has been consistently out best player. Gallagher is making the most of his opportunities and making the case that he deserves to start in this team. His attacking threat is as good as his service into the box. 

 

3: Hyndman is still having too many defensive mistakes for me. Since project restart this just hasn’t been a great season for him. I’m not saying he’s been an outright bust, but he has not come close to meeting expectations. 

 

4: I’ve never seen anything like what happened tonight anywhere. Either DC made a genuine mistake or they know he wasn’t on the match card and tried to play him anyway. Surely there will be repercussions that come down for DC, Ben Olson, and maybe....the officiating crew? Either way it’s bizarre but truthfully, a minor footnote in a dominant performance. 

 

5: That was fun, and when’s the last time any of us said that? Now for Orlando, in our house again. We done had them over and they went and made a mess. Not again. Not. Again. 

The one where we forget to get Uncle Arthur a birthday present.

1: Early goals are a constant theme, and they completely change the dynamic of the game. Atlanta United has never been good at chasing the game. The really frustrating part is that the goals we give away are not from the build up in the run of play. They’re from bad mistakes and lackadaisical defending.

 

2: How in the world is that not a goal from Adam Jahn in the 18th?! And then again in the 57th! Also who knew Adam Jahn had that touch in him? Adam Jahn gets man of the match for me. I don’t know how much more he could have done to get a goal. Fire’s keeper stood on his head.

 

3: We started to wake up after that near goalazo from Adam Jahn. The belief and cohesion in the attack started to form. We won possession back quickly upon losing it with aggressive challenges and a high line. If we could just get that to click before conceding we’d be in a much different position. Don’t get me wrong we’d still be struggling, but we’d be higher in the table for sure.

 

4: The second goal was a back breaker. We had the ball. We were controlling things. We had the momentum and the back line had been performing well. We got undone against the run of play by a few touches and a moment of quality. Side note, I really hate when players look to the AR and raise their hands looking for the offside flag. Play. To. The. Whistle.

 

5: So many cheap give aways in the attacking half and the final third in the second half. We just couldn’t keep possession and put constant pressure on the Fire’s back line. The few times we had good quality chances we just couldn’t finish. Throughout the match it really did feel like it was there for us and we just couldn’t finish our chances.

The one where we don't bend it like Beckham

1: It was a very strong start from Gallagher. For his first MLS start he appeared confident right away and had no problem getting himself involved in the attack. He was good on and off the ball. He was threatening throughout the first half. I'll happily take another dangerous player in the attack, especially right now. 

 

2: The first goal from Miami was not unexpected. We have to play a higher line and take risks. With risks comes opportunity for opposition especially when you’re playing a team like Miami who is playing on the counter. It’s still preventable but I can look at that with some forgiveness. There is absolutely no excuse for Miami’s second goal. Lewis Morgan was totally unmarked with acres of space. 

 

3: I absolutely love the encouragement from Glass on the touch line. "See what he’s got Johnny!" I don’t want a coach who’s berating players or barking out instructions on every touch of the ball, but I think "atta boys" and positive encouragement from the gaffer is a really good and really important element. Maybe even more so without fans in the stands. This was sorely missing from FDB. 

 

4: WTF Sibiga!!! No cards for LGP until nearly halftime. I saw him count out the fouls on one hand when he finally shows him yellow. He needed to drop his whistle and continue counting on the other hand. Moreover all of LGP’s fouls were deliberate and cynical. Sibiga just had no control over this match. It should have been a red card on Figal. Sibiga also nearly allowed a Miami player back on during a free kick after receiving treatment. This was just a really poor performance from him all around and he’s not one I usually call out. The disciplinary committee HAS TO issue a suspension to Figal. It was a deliberate elbow/forearm to the face of a player. It's dangerous play and can't be allowed or condoned. 

 

5: Overall, this was maybe our best performance since the return to play, despite the loss. For me its even better than the 2-0 win against Nashville because I think Miami is a better team. We created way more chances and the play was much faster, though still not fast enough. Look, it’s difficult when the calls aren’t going your way, you miss a PK, you don't get the call red card call and the team sits as deep as Miami did. The book is out on us. Sit deep, clog up the passing lanes, foul a lot and pay off the ref and you can’t get a win over us. 

The one where we are full of chuckles and chicken

1: Guzan is not on his game. His distribution was not great, and he made some rudimentary errors. He just does not look confident or comfortable. I’m not sure what’s going on. He seems to be organizing the back line well enough but with his own performance, I think he’s struggling.

2: Cubo Torres has now had two golden opportunities to score. Tonight’s chance was an even more clear chance than his last with miami. That header from him has to be a goal. Hopefully that’s his last clear miss and he gets going now.

3: We are still giving up too many chances and not creating enough of our own. We basically created one in the first half right at the end. Any other chances we had came from set pieces. Most of Orlando’s chances didn’t come from their build up or even via chances that inherently come from Atlanta playing a higher line and taking risks. They came from bad passes and easy take aways.

4: Bello was outstanding on defense. He had several phenomenal recovery runs that straight up prevented goals. Those defensive efforts look even bigger with Adam Jahn’s goal.

5: The second half was much better in terms of chance creation, obviously. But still, our biggest problem is consistency and that’s going to remain the problem for some time I think. We have some good moments but we just don’t have a CONSISTENT way forward to score goals. That’s understandable considering we don’t have a permanent coach and are missing two DP’s. However this is a result that we can build off of and might provide some hope for us fans and confidence for the players. For what it’s worth, it was wonderful to break Orlando’s heart a little in front of their fans. OFYO, from Jahn with love.

The one where it’s no longer a Pity that we can’t score goals

1: The whole match was very similar to the match against Orlando. We looked very hesitant in the final third. We weren’t quick enough on the ball. We’re missing a leader, a driving force that holds everyone accountable and can at times, put the team on his back. Just someone who puts in the work and makes everyone else work that much harder.

 

2: Brooks Lennon was MOTM for me with an honorable mention to Anton Walkes. He was everywhere. Right back, left back, Center mid, Christ at one point I swear I saw him run up to the VAR booth and run that for a minute. He was doing everything he could to provide that spark and be that leader with his work rate but it’s not enough for us. All fairness to him, he wasn’t meant to be that guy. If we can ever get going and if he can get linked up with Torres or Jahn, I think he can be every bit as effective as Gressel. Certainly so when Josef gets back.

 

3: Look if all these changes are going to happen, At least they’re happening in a year like this. I don’t think anyone is going to look back and really remember this year for it’s quality of play. I’m not trying to downplay anything and there’s definitely an argument to be made about this season actually being tougher to win it all, but for me this is an *. It’s an anomaly. Hopefully 2021 comes around and we have our roster and coaching staff sorted out and oh yeah, have Josef back. This team is built around him.

 

4: There was no build up of play in the first half. I think I can count the number of chances we created on one hand, even if that hand was in a horrible accident and only had three fingers. We had one half chance that Escobar couldn’t get on the end of. Then there was a ball that pinged around the box in the second half. The best chance of the entire match was with Cubo from a beautiful cross for Lennon but he Pity’d it. It felt like we were just running passing drills for most of the match. We didn’t create. It’s unexpected with news of Pity today.

 

5: Part of me just wants to call this season done. The problems we have are going to linger, to a degree at least, for the remainder of the season. Especially now with Pity gone and what’s sure to be another DP coming in, it just feels like there’s literally not enough time to get things to gel and sync up. I worry about what the frustration and lack of success is going to do to the morale and desire of the players. Maybe the plan is to just make the playoffs and then hit our stride?

 

 

 

 

The One Where 2020 Remains Consistent

FTOTFS 

8/29 OFYO

Recording the pod later tonight. 

1: We were on the front foot at the start. An incredible save kept it at 0-0 but Remedi had a great follow up effort. Eric has really stepped up his game and his role in this club since Nagbe’s departure. The middle of the park was not the issue for us tonight. 

2:. We had loads of defensive problems in the final third in the first half. We just looked totally disjointed and not in sync. Set piece defending was really poor. It could have been 3 or even 4-0 off of open headers on goal. There was utter confusion in the box on the first goal. Guzan probably should have had that, but it just looked like we weren’t set. You could see with the reaction off the first goal how serious Orlando took this. No major celebration. Straight to midfield and restarting play. The 2nd goal was a perfect example of the lack or organization. Yes, Lennon was off, but that’s no excuse. Someone has to drop back and cover. 

3: Orlando was the opposite of us on defense. They were solid and well organized for the entirety of the match. They didn’t have many egregious errors that we were able to take advantage of. Ultimately we gave them more than they gave us. We threw everything we had at them in the last 30 and they handled adversity very well. 

4: It was nice to see Adam Jahn be more involved. Honestly he probably saw more action tonight than he did all of his previous matches combined. Not only were we looking for him more but there a number of moments where he got stuck in. It was a much more aggressive and determined performance from him. 

5: Look it was never going to be Father’s Day without Daddy. Credit to Glassy, he was effective and aggressive with substitutions. He didn’t wait and made them early and they were impactful. I would have liked to see Damm come on a little earlier. He had an impact straight away. Clearly he’s been working on his crosses.

The One With Good Trouble

1: The Kenosha police deputized the people calling themselves the Kenosha Guard the moment they said "Appreciate y'all being out here" What they should have said was "GO HOME. We don't want you to get hurt and we don't want you to hurt anyone." They didn't and people are hurt and people are dead.

 

2: I don't know how we move forward in any meaningful way. I know that real progress is only going to occur when people on both sides of an issue make an earnest effort to understand the others POV. I don't know how we get to a point where that can happen.

 

3: For the Law and Order crowd out there that has been calling for an end to lawlessness, where you at? There was an armed militia taking the law into their own hands dispensing justice as they saw fit. You're either against lawlessness wholesale or not at all. It can't just be when it serves you and your worldview.

 

4: Stick to sports is dead. It really grosses me out when I hear people say shit like, they just need to do their job and not bring politics into the game. Entertain me peasant. Athletes are real people, that make real sacrifices to provide an escape for all of us. They're voices deserve to be heard as much as the next person.

 

5: To quote Bilbo Baggins "I feel like butter scraped over too much bread." There's so much going on. There's so much to care about. It can really drag you down but we all have to do our absolute best to not let ourselves become desensitized and apathetic.

 

 

The One Where We Stay Glassy

touches were sloppy. We had our pocket picked a few times. Eric Remedi was vital early on, breaking up Nashville opportunities and winning back possession.

2: For all of Nashville’s talk about how they’re not just a team that sits back and plays for the counter, that’s kinda exactly what they did for most of the match. It really wasn’t until around the 25th minute that we began to find a way through their block. We started putting more pressure on their defense and forced some errors. We started winning the ball back in their half.

3: Walkes had a standout defensive performance. The yellow card was 100% crap. In fact I’m not sure what game Ted Unkel was watching but he got a number of calls wrong. You could hear Guzan barking at him all night. “It’s a fuckin handball....TED!”. Not TED’s best performance.

4: Pity had the kind of confident game we’ve been looking for. Lovely goal in the first and how about Eric Remedi throwing on a suit and tie, grabbing a platter, and absolutely serving that up from 60 yards. I think that’s exactly the ball and position that can yield dividends for Pity. He just needs half a yard and a couple good touches on the ball. He absolutely tore the net off with his second. A not confident Pity sends that ball into the rafters.

5: Overall a good win and we get to add another team to the list that hasn’t beaten us. Based on the players’ performance tonight and from their statements over the last week, they seem to be enjoying playing again. I’m sure being home and playing in AC helps. There is still some sloppiness that needs to be cleaned up for sure, but everyone just seemed more comfortable on the whole.

The One Where Our Hashtags Become Reality

1: I don’t think Frank was a crap coach. I don’t think he ever really gelled and connected with the players. He never struck me as someone who inspires his players to run through a wall for him.

2: Yes FDB’s results are on par with Tata’s in terms of win %. Yes we did win 2 trophies last year and made it to the conference final. There was a rough start to the season and then there was that big players meeting and things turned around. You now gotta question how much of that turnaround you attribute to Frank and his tactics and how much you attribute to him sort of acquiescing to the players.

3: Since this was a “mutual parting” it further reinforces the suspicion that there were problems with chemistry. To me that says the coach didn’t sync up and enjoy being with players and vice versa with players attitude towards the coach.

4: It is gonna be tough and complicated to find a new manager. Covid 19 is going to further complicate things. The US has not done a good job getting this pandemic under control and bringing anyone in from Europe, South America or anyone else in the world is gonna be difficult for a number of reasons. Acquiring Visas will be tough, there are travel restrictions across the globe and especially coming to and going from the US. Also, you gotta factor in personal feelings from potential coaches. We don’t even know what the MLS regular season is gonna be like. Would an international coach want to travel right now and be away from family? There’s just sooooo much uncertainty.

5: Overall I think this can be viewed positively. Certainly if you were on team FDB out, you’re probably very happy but look, Darren and Boca and I’m betting a large number of the players weren’t feeling it. Something wasn’t working. We don’t know all the details about what wasn’t working but they made a decisive decision. They didn’t just wafer back and forth for months. They felt a new direction was needed and didn’t hesitate. This sets the tone for the future of the standard of this club that must be met and if it is not, we are not afraid to make moves and adjustments.