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Nick Garner's avatar

Interesting observation about Da Costs on the wing.

Do you suggest he be played as a winger or is it just that his drifting wide draws defenders, opens space for more goal-directed attackers to rush the middle, that his service from wide is better than his teammates so he’s the best option to have there, or something else?

Moreno may be too selfish on the ball sometimes and get caught in possession. Same with Antony. Could it be that not enough of their teammates are moving off the ball enough to create outlets for their passes so they don’t have options but to go it alone, are they just trying to play hero ball, or a bit of both? I want to see Antony make Blanco-like runs across the top of the box from the left so he can shoot with his right foot and/or be available for a cutback back from someone on the wing. Or, if he ends up on the right, he needs to more often run to the end line and make the cutback pass to the top of the box himself. We don’t have any midfielders who are especially goal dangerous though. Ayala, Ortiz, Paredes, and Chará all have their qualities but making late runs into the box to take shots is not common and maybe their accuracy isn’t the best. Mora could check his run. Rodriguez could tuck in. Mosquera even likes to come inside and take those kinds of shots. In a perfect world, it would be Da Costa. If he moves wide at the same time, it’s not him, and he doesn’t seem like the best shooter so far anyway. I hope he develops that part of his game instead of just being better on the wing because of other circumstances.

Crepeau’s distribution? A fluke? Reason for worry? I thought his distribution was one of his positive distinguishing characteristics but that’s apparently been mistaken for some time, he’s declined, Pantemis has improved, or some combination.

I’d have to re-watch the Sounders goal sequence to know whether to agree about Surman being expected to block the shot. He and Kamal shouldn’t have been put in that predictable situation to begin with. Kamal being slow, the line being high, the fullbacks advanced, the keeper not sweeping, midfield not closing and controlling…. We’ve seen smart opposition coaches exploit that known weakness multiple times. Our defense was set up. I love Neville’s attacking attitude but damn does he need to find a better balance and fucks up by obtaining and/or retaining players who aren’t built for his style. They are good players but they don’t fit a high line well enough. I do not want Ayala (or Chará, Ortiz, or Paredes for that matter) to routinely drop so deep as to become a de facto third centerback. That takes them away from attack and transition (and defending higher up). I’d rather see our fullbacks alternating their forward runs. I know that can mean that a midfielder is going to be pulled wide to help compensate for the missing width but I’d prefer that fluidity in their attacking third than our defensive third if our CBs and keeper are going to be more vulnerable.

I mentioned elsewhere that I didn’t like Neville’s subs but didn’t know what else he could have done. Paredes and Eric Miller are essentially more defensive-oriented subs. Jona doesn’t defend as much but he also didn’t seem that interested in attacking. Diving seems to be his primary hobby lately, which is embarrassing for everyone. Maybe he’s still returning to fitness but you hate to see it. I think I prefer Fernandez as a 10 sub in theory but I’m not sure if he’s a better option there than Santi, who has been on record about his preference before. It’s too soon to know how much Fernandez can contribute to a Timbers attack regardless.

We missed Kelsy and need more and better depth in the attack. Lassiter would probably have had a better work rate than Jona but I don’t know if I’d have predicted it being the difference-maker. I was calling for Jona to be subbed on. It was the right move on paper. Antony was having a stinker and I haven’t put my finger on the reason(s) for his recent decline. My theory is that he’s part of a general return to the mean. We’re getting figured out. His decision-making also isn’t the greatest. Same with Moreno. Hopefully, both continue to improve with experience. Our third center forward off the bench maybe shouldn’t be a temporary T2 signing. Or Gage is ready for prime time and we’re just cowards? I get not risking that against Seattle when we had to sub on Bravo, Eric Miller, and a foot-dragging Rodriguez.

Anyway, this was a draw that felt like a loss because it was to the floppy fish, it was a home game, it was a Cascadia Cup game, and we were too predictable and vulnerable on both sides of the ball. I don’t know what we can and should do in the summer transfer window yet but I’m beginning to hope the FO sees a need for a faster CB on the left and someone else who can and wants to score goals up top. Maybe Bravo, McGraw, Paredes or Zuparic will want to move on and make room under the roster and salary caps for one or both of those possibilities? Sawyer Jura officially arrives from T2 next season to presumably replace Eric Miller but I don’t see any reason to advance that timeline. I hope Ian Smith can successfully convert to the kind of CB we need but perhaps that’s naive. Is he considered Bravo’s eventual replacement instead? He’s no longer a serious prospect at winger, is he? Until Pantemis got injured and Crepeau started finding his form, I’d speculated that the latter could leave this summer to pursue better opportunities. That could still happen in the primary window next season. Or it could be JP. Crepeau commands a lot of money for a keeper that may not be the guy though. Sulte will be gone and I don’t want to lose too many keepers. Would be nice to get a sweeper though. But the FO apparently doesn’t see the need. I’m going to quit before speculating about succession planning for Jona and/or Mora but put a pin in that. In the meantime, make sure Ayala is locked in for more than one more year.

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Lefthanded49's avatar

I said this elsewhere ... More Da Costa and less Moreno - god bless him! Da Costa just has more quality in the final third and with him on the ball, out wide or in the channel or whereever, he's going to deliver some underlying numbers xG. Last night in the second half, it seemed like there was a lot of Moreno on the ball, and it would be better with a little more balance in the attack. The schedule congestion has slowed Da Costa down a little bit; he's been doing big minutes, and I think it shows. He's not turning and burning as much. So, maybe he needs to do less heavy lifting and the team needs to find him. Look for him! He'll deliver.

One more note: Crepeau has been doing pretty well, so I don't want to downplay his efforts. Just saying that his positioning on the goal was kinda sketchy. He was offset like he expected a curler to the far post, and kept his near post side really open. It was basically just a straight shot.

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