Atlanta United tried their darnedest to take 9 points from a six-day, three-match turn, but the cards were too stacked. Their first road trip match of six ended in a 2-0 loss, dropping the full gamut of points up in New Jersey. To be fair, it wasn’t a complete capitulation on the Five Stripe’s part, but the uphill battle was simply too much. Here are the final whistle thoughts from Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey.
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Pragmatic
I’m getting on a soapbox here.
Atlanta United had three matches in six days. Ridiculous, but it is what it is.
The Red Bulls play a predictable, obnoxious style of soccer. Atlanta United was on tired legs. The Red Bulls like to press, force the opposition to make mistakes, and then jump on dumb giveaways. This is QUITE LITERALLY their playbook.
Atlanta, with such short rest, should have settled in and let the Red Bulls have the ball. Statistically speaking (go look it up, we’ve talked about it on the show) when the Red Bulls have the ball, they don’t do well. They want you to own the ball and then make a mistake so they can score on an easy turnover.
It’s bitch* soccer, but it works. And I’m all about what works.
What Atlanta SHOULD HAVE done was let their legs rest while the Red Bulls confusingly ran all over the pitch wondering what to do when they have a ball at their feet. Instead, Atlanta tried to stick to their style from their past three home matches and it turned upside down very quickly. Let Latte Lath and Miggy run wild on balls over the top, but no, it turned into playing through the chaotic press that Atlanta United has quite literally never been able to solve.
I want to see more pragmatism. Do what the opponent doesn’t expect.
Get back on track
Fine. Three matches in six days, it’s a legitimate excuse. Now go and show something more in a few days against NYCFC. The team has rest, and actually has some semblance of an identity. It can’t fall apart now. Go and give the fans a good showing against Deila’s old team and not all is lost, but the reality of the situation is Atlanta United has a massive hole from which to dig their season. They have five more games before they return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which wouldn’t be a problem had they stacked points early, but now each and every match matters.
This. Road. Trip. Can. Not. Be. A. Goose. Egg.
Designated Players
They have to get involved. The Atlanta United “winning streak” consisted of one DP (Miranchuk) grabbing games by the scruff of the neck and tallying four assists and a goal, with a whole bunch of non-DP’s pulling six goals. Latte Lath and Miguel Almiron have to step up and show why they were brought to this team. Unfortunately, 2018 was a lifetime ago. There is certainly a recipe here that can work, but it hasn’t been nailed down yet. Deila has to take what worked over the past couple of matches, analyze it with what’s going wrong, and find a balance for the Five Stripes to be successful.
Let us know below what you thought of the match!
Just my observations…
I’m sorry, but I still see something in Miggy, he just seems to be playing his own game/style/formation and it is screwing up everyone else. Dalia just needs to reign him in, and have him play as part of the team. As for what works, go back and watch when Miggy was in the ATL the first time and have Miggy and team watch as well. Latte can be the new Josef Martinez and those two could at least put some shots on goal. The Midfield needs a strong CDM that can control things and distribute. We can’t play out of the back, we suck at it because of terribly inaccurate passing (caused by where they are expecting each other to be) and inability to recieve a pass under control. When we do boot it up the field to releave pressure (instead of playing out of the back) it goes to nobody or Latte Lath can’t retrieve it. Tthe other team then collects it, recycles… and its… rinse, repeat.
Someone mentioned a bunch of misfit toys… that is exactly what it looks like. Each player seems to have a different idea of what their responsiblities are and what they should be doing. Again, that’s on the coach for not communicating in practice and in games when he sees it. As a fan I can see what the player is intending, and maybe the coach sees it to and therefore doesn’t say anything…. but that’s my point. He needs to the manager and correct them instead of watching like he’s a fan.
We have got to stop trying to build from the back – we do not have the personnel for it, and the mindset of constantly sending the ball backwards opens us up to stupid mistakes when the other team is pressing. Of course, the NJ Cows have always played a very pressing style, and apparently the team was not ready for it (I assume this is the bad scouting / bad tactics Garth referred to). While it will be far too late to save the season, I am hoping (against hope) for a strong CB and strong defensive Mid to be brought in during the transfer window.
I don’t think the 352 formation is working because:
I think the defense is poor. If you are going to play 3 CBs you need 3 strong defenders that are ready to take the opponent’s attackers’ legs off. Right now it’s too easy to walk through that defense. Maybe a solid DMF can help protect the backline a bit. At least make the opposition work for their goals.
The midfield lacks control and vision. To play 5 across, you need an engine, someone with vision, someone to coordinate the attack. Right now it’s just pure chaos in the midfield.
I think everybody has had different opinions about who should play where, but after 15 games I’m still looking for Dalia’s playing philosophy. I’ve seen different lineups and different formations but never seen how we really want to play; it’s almost like we see a different team every week. I’m beginning to think the players are not buying into Dalia’s playbook and think Pineda is still coaching us. Maybe he’s a bad communicator or a terrible motivator or just not a very good coach ’cause our players are not that bad. Maybe somebody can tell me what our identity is?
I’m starting to board the boat that Miggy just isn’t cutting it. I hate saying it too, but truths are sometimes hard to swallow. And LL…where has he been? It’s like there is only one person allowed to go missing and Alexey found his way back, but now that means LL goes missing? When Thiare can come in and make an almost instant impact by getting on the ball and putting in a shot or two, that should tell you it’s not a systematic issue, it’s a personnel issue. Have to wonder if he came over, saw how bad it was, now regrets it, and wishes to be sold off already. Don’t want to think that way, but it may be truth.
I have been saying for a while now that Almiron is best suited to being in the wing, but until he recognizes that he plays better in the wing he will keep overlapping with others in the middle of the field. I think Latte plays better when he is up top by himself. That helps him play to his speed. When he was paired up top with Almiron, it almost seems like Latte is holding himself back.
I’m still not sold on Almiron being a winger either. We all know he’s a strong 10 who can get on the ball and make things happen but just doesn’t seem to be in sync with the others. A 10 has to be in sync with his forwards and his other mids and I think the only one who understands this, honestly, is Klich. But he’s not a crosser, he’s not going to take defenders 1:1, which are the two strengths of a winger.
I’m not sure Delia is willing to tell Miggy what to do and then demand that he actually do it.
At this point I’m not sure it would not be beneficial to sit Miggy for a game as a healthy scratch. Might be a way to send a message.
Not sure we’d notice a drop off in team performance.
The purpose of the game is to score more goals than the opponent. Personally appreciate any style and approach that gets that done consistently. Hats off to Red Bulls for being a more consistent club and for relegating style to the trash bin and focusing on what matters: pts.
Roster construction is the Land of Misfit Toys. Delia has no idea how to make anything out of it
Miggy is a waste of space and can go wherever. I don’t see him ever getting back to even remotely resemble his old self
LL has flat out disappeared and even when getting service has not been able to finish. Is he a miss?? I don’t know. But a lot of money has been spent on two underwhelming DPs
LL started out very good and looked to be as advertised after 5 games. Seems to have the yips now, or maybe is tired of running but not getting any service. But WDIK?
Miggy is bad. Just bad. And now the club has another bad contract
Yeah, he’s not just “not 2018 Miggy,” he’s a substantially worse version of that man. The nostalgia kick is over and I remember now why I NEVER look back after a player leaves.
Took us this long to figure it out and that’s a shame. Most frustrating thing: Newcastle knew what they were doing. And coming back he thought he could run shit… well?
I’ll point out 2 things:
1) we aren’t the only team that played 3 games in 6 days. Everyone did, including NYRB, and they even had a road game in there.
2) I saw a possession stat somewhere after the 2 goals – NYRB had like 62% possession. We let them have the ball plenty and I don’t know that at any point I looked at them with a ball at their feet and they didn’t look completely competent and confident.
We are still just a bad team. Even the last 2 games we won were ugly from a numbers perspective. We’re just gonna have to enjoy the random feel good moments we get and wait for the FO to do something in the next 2 windows.
At least we’re not as bad as the Galaxy?
True, but the Galaxy win something last year.
Miggy killed the game.
Cardinal rule: don’t cross in front of your own goal. I’m not sure what else there is to say..?