hawkfan68":vwd8boct said:
Even if they were healthy, Sigi would find a way to screw up the lineup. Some of his decisions with the lineup are befuddling. For one, he plays Andy Rose too much. He pulls out Johnson and puts in Rosales. Just mindboggling at times. I think Smurf posted the ideal lineup a while back, unfortunately with Sigi that would never be. He's find a way to insert a less than ideal one.
Not that mind boggling at all.
Andy Rose does one thing very well. He keeps the ball. Sigi uses him when he wants more possession in the midfield and doesn't have a problem kicking the ball around. Sure, you sacrifice a WHOLE bunch of speed and creativity, but you keep the ball. Primary he would play Rose over Carrasco who was more of a defender. Carrasco was a mini-Alonso who wan't half the player Ozzie is. He was better at hitting long balls than ozzie, but thats about it. Rose was favored because he was different. He's a role player for sure, but his place on the squad is warrented.
As for the Johnson substitution you referred too there was a perfect reason for the change, and it was probably one of the smarter subs Sigi has ever made.
1. Rosales didn't start to rest him for the playoffs.
2. Johnson tweaked his hamstring a few minutes prior to the sub (thats legit too, I saw him pull up slow after a long run from my view in the Brougham End)
3. Sigi pulled off a minorly injured Johnson, and put his next best attacker on the pitch.
4. He saved EJ from further injury and he got his next best player on the pitch.
What I Don't agree with was the Andy Rose for Lamar Neagle Substitution. If you want Rose on the pitch, take off Moffat or Evans....at that point we were playing a slew of center mids out of position..
Evans, Alonso, Rose, Moffat....all on the pitch at the same time. The only one of them that has ANY business on the outside of the pitch is Evans. He's proved that much this year. The other 3 though...thats rough. Its no wonder the attack went to crap after that attack, we had no wingers.
That has been the story of the season IMO...inconsistent wing play.
Evans has been servicable...when he's here
Neagle is better at forward...strait up. His quality, and production drop off dramatically when played outside.
Burch was forced into duty at left mid...and was out best left mid for a large stretch. That big winning streak we went on? Its partially due to Burch at LM with Gonzales behind him.
Rosales was Rosales. Healthier than normal this season, but his minutes fell from a 80 minute player to a 55-60 minute player. His production and quality were decent. Less effective without EJ.
Zakuani was ravaged by injury....again. I think he had 3 appearances before being shut down for the year.
Martinez couldn't touch the field....when we needed him most he was with his national team...and couldn't earn a spot once he got back....then his contract expired and the club set sights deuce.
Rose, Caskey, Moffat have all been deployed on the wings at verying stages to moderate success. Caskey was a player who has gotten far less time than I would have thought. While he isn't a top 11 player at this club (and never will be), he is a solid 18 guy and should have gotten some time....more than he did.
That was our weakness right there. Out attack floundered, even with EJ, Oba, and Dempsey because we couldn't get consistency from the flanks.
IMO Sigi's tactical choices since Dempsey's arrival have been less than ideal, yet again, his player pool has been diminished as well..
I guess what i'm trying to say is...I get the Sigi hate. I do. I see what you see. I just see it differently. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. He's had some hard choices to make. Some he's made right. Some he's missed. Some he's made right, and then his players didn't deliver. Its football.
As infuriating as a coach as he is, there's very few that we could get I'd rather have. Very few.