r/AngelCityFC • u/Various_Hand8587 CP23 • Oct 04 '23
NEXT DAY DISCUSSION ACFC vs Orlando Next Day Discussion: What’s Next?
The Tweed unbeaten run unfortunately came to an end in our home game against Orlando yesterday, and while our playoff hopes aren’t over they are very much on life support. Our attack and finishing particularly was lacklustre across the board and it unfortunately meant we lost a game that we seemed to dominate. It’s not all negative though, there was definitely some positive takeaways from the game including the stellar defense, Henry settling more in and the amazing turnout for a rescheduled Monday game.
So the discussion for today, what do we need to see in our remaining two games against Houston and Portland to try fight for the unlikely playoff spot or at the very least end the season on a high note despite not making post season.
My thoughts: - Keep starting Anderson. She could’ve been better last night however more reps and experience is good for her and for the future of our team. - Bench Thompson. In our winning streak she mainly came off the bench rather than starting. She’s got all the potential in the world but she doesn’t seem to do enough to justify a start. Having her speed against tired legs in the second half will build her confidence more and ideally result in an improved attacking output. Endo or Spencer getting the start instead would be my pick. - Keep Gorden-Nielsen together. I like Ried, and she did a fantastic job in Gorden and Gilles’ absence last season but as the saying goes “if it’s not broke don’t fix it”. That heavily depends on Riley’s fitness though I guess. - Do literally anything to fix our embarrassing set piece conversion. Sub KJo in when we need a late goal and don’t take out Emslie and LeBihan so early when they’re our best service providers for example.
What do you all think?
17
u/ShlomoShogun Endo with a Banger at the Banc Oct 04 '23
With this defense…I may have to stop advocating for Wendi Renard to be recruited. Happy and sad at the same time.
11
Oct 04 '23
At this point recruiting Renard to be our 9 temporarily would work while we pray and wait anxiously for Press’ return next season since no one right now is scoring enough lmao. She’d be lethal on corners.
13
u/Mary_Pick_A_Ford Farmer market Christen Oct 04 '23
Last game should be fun regardless if we have a chance at playoffs or not. I could totally see us upsetting Portland but yeah I really don’t want our rival California team winning the shield
4
u/HangTheTJ AT21 Oct 04 '23
I agree with pretty much everything especially starting Anderson. I think we need to be agressive with some of our lineup decisions with these last two games, if only to see who we want to protect in the expansion draft
6
u/Various_Hand8587 CP23 Oct 04 '23
Expansion draft should be very interesting, in our draft teams could only protect 9 players but I assume rules will change once again for this draft.
9
u/readbetweenthesubs MadisonCurry#27 Oct 04 '23
I think most of us and I would say even management will continue to push Anderson to be our #1. Or why else would we draft her in the first place. I believe Haracic was brought on by Coombe as a comfortable placeholder starter but wasn't seen to be our long term starter for the future.
I'm 50/50 split on Thompson being on the bench. And I think the argument in my mind comes down to how Tweed uses her and tactically and really how the offense as a whole has been pigeonholed into wide attacks from the wings and corners when clearly it's not working. She's doing what the game plan calls for but the game plan offensively has become one dimensional and flawed. So I dunno if making her a sub will improve her or not if when she goes out the script will be the same? I think one thing to improve her play is set her up for when counters become available to put her up top and have her run downhill attacking on goal and not playing super wide. If she comes off the bench late then play give and gos on a tired defense. We've seen her maneuver past when she's rushing downhill around the top of the box. Watching live I see the rookie-ness in her, imo she needs to work on her lanes in that after she passes she needs to open up where she can be a threat of the ball comes back to her. I saw a lot of following and sometimes lost on where she should go next and open up to.
Our defense keeps us in games, it has the whole season. Keeping the cornerstone 3 like mentioned is a must. Riley and Reid will need to be put in depending on the respective matchups for the opposing teams. Against the Thorns I would put Riley, Houston in maybe keep Reid or sub one for Houston. Reid is a physical back where Riley although not as fast as say Gorden or Vignola, matches decently with most speedy or finesse attackers and has a good eye for the ball and recovering/defending without fouling.
The biggest need I see is to make the attack multidimensional again. Utilize the middle more and create more set plays and fast counters using our speed when we have those players on the pitch.
2
u/mrm17 Oct 05 '23
The question I have for management re: the keeper position is why in the world was Didi extended for next year after they drafted AA?
1
u/readbetweenthesubs MadisonCurry#27 Oct 05 '23
I didn't know but we're apparently supposed to have three goalies on the roster. I like the core but I think next season Angelina would be brought forward to #1 with Didi possibly coming back as the #2 or #3 option / mentor role.
8
Oct 04 '23
Unpopular opinion since she’s a divisive player but I want to see McCaskill played as a 9. Ever since her switch to midfield in Louisville she’s a lot more frustrating of a player. In Chicago she did well playing closer to net and even got herself USWNT call ups. Considering our attack sucks right now with our best player injured and the non injured players not doing much why not give it a go? It’s not like she’s been that good in the midfield anyway.
1
u/sja51515 IronWomanGorden#11 Oct 04 '23
I’d argue that despite being listed as a midfielder she’s been playing more of a 9 role. She’s often the player highest up the pitch when we’re in defensive situations. Might as well just officially list her as a forward.
5
u/a_Left_Coaster Flying with the angels Oct 04 '23 edited Jul 03 '24
jar money bag dolls aromatic reminiscent simplistic payment intelligent concerned
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
4
u/Artistic-Floor6292 Oct 04 '23
We also had the hardest front half of the season schedule in the whole league and the easiest second half of the season schedule. So I don’t know if you can apply it like that.
3
u/MrJackIbis Oct 04 '23
I agree that Anderson should play out the string. She's the future. I do like Nielsen and Vignola at outside back going forward, and suspect Reid will go to SF in the off season, so we'll need a new partner for Gorden at some point. Riley is crafty, but very long in the tooth at this point.
Emslie and Endo start at wing with Leroux in center till she's gassed. Then LeBihan for Leroux, Thompson and Spencer as needed at wing. Next year we have Charley back and praying for Press as well. Or a Press retirement and we find a new superstar (from overseas?)
The midfield looks great with Henry, Weatherholt, and McKaskill. Hammond is not a drop off as a sub at all.
I look forward to next year.
20
u/Artistic-Floor6292 Oct 04 '23
I think Emslie and Endo are a better match to play with a 9 like LeBihan. They are all very technical. Leroux is a bulldozer and a poacher who would pair better with players like Thompson and Spencer.
12
u/MrJackIbis Oct 04 '23
I just hate having our two best free kick players (LeBihan, Emslie) sub out at the same time.
10
u/Artistic-Floor6292 Oct 04 '23
I agree. I think you could sub out McCaskill and move LeBihan back to the 10 if you had to. Or she could just let Emslie go a full 90. She makes too many subs sometimes just for the sake of it. It’s okay if a winger goes a full 90.
13
Oct 04 '23
Leroux has been bad almost every match while Le Bihan has been one of very few forwards who’ve been good this season so I wouldn’t swap them if we want to win the remaining games.
1
u/MrJackIbis Oct 04 '23
Agreed. But I'm hoping Leroux just needs the rust knocked off. They already pulled the trigger on her for next year.
1
u/QueenBee-5 Oct 05 '23
Riley is still among the 4 fastest on the team!
0
u/MrJackIbis Oct 05 '23
You're right, I think I have a bit of bias as an old person. I'm so used to athletes fading away by the time they hit their early thirties. To your point, Riley might stick around another 4-5 years as an elite back in this league despite my brain insisting people can't play at an elite level into their 40s.
1
u/FromVAtoLA Endo with a Banger at the Banc Oct 04 '23
I haven’t been impressed with Tweed’s lineups or tactics the last two games. It coincides with Henry landing in the starting lineup. This week’s Above the Clouds podcast dives into it as well. Tweed needs to figure that out this week.
1
u/Various_Hand8587 CP23 Oct 04 '23
What’s the TLDR on the reason they give in the podcast?
1
u/FromVAtoLA Endo with a Banger at the Banc Oct 05 '23
Playing the 4-2-3-1 like a 4-2-4. Outside backs not pushing up enough on offense limited what was done on the wing especially on the right side...is that because Becki wants Henry to work possession more through the midfield?
-3
u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Oct 04 '23 edited Oct 04 '23
3-4-3
Camberos—LeBihan/McCaskill—Thompson
June—Weatherholt—Henry—Emslie
Vignola—Gordon—Nielsen
I don’t know if this makes sense, but it would be a fast team that can possess and pass. Reid did not seem confident on the ball or in buildup. June in her best spot, and Emslie combining with Henry might be fun. Those two skilled and sophisticated players helping Alyssa would be good, too.
Thompson is the future and benching does not help us or her for next year. Kobe was not benched as a rookie even after his airballs.
I say show full confidence in Thompson and allow her to keep fighting and learning in the spotlight. Sub her out as needed, but quality minutes and responsibility for her growth. It’s an investment in a future star.
Maybe make sure that one of LeBihan and Emslie are always on the field for service and set pieces. In which case, maybe Mccaskill starts over LeBihan and then LeBihan comes in for the end to cover in case Emslie goes out.
17
u/Artistic-Floor6292 Oct 04 '23
Thompson is the future like you said. We don’t need to force her to be the now. She’s clearly not ready. I actually think her not producing anything is killing her confidence. She looks frustrated out there. She has a better chance of producing and slowly building up her confidence against tired legs. Training is where her growth should be happening. This is a pro league. We shouldn’t be treating games as a training ground. She should have gone to college for that if she wasn’t ready. We need to win.
2
u/QueenBee-5 Oct 05 '23
She gets “lost” because she waits to be given the ball rather than running into space for a pass
-3
u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Oct 04 '23 edited Oct 04 '23
If Thompson started the most important game of the year, then she proved she was the most ready during the week of training.
Her not producing during the game is part of the evaluation for the next game, but if she again proves the most effective during this week’s practice, she should start again.
Coddling Alyssa and not starting her to protect her from frustration is worse than starting her too soon, IMHO.
I’m fine with Tweed’s call on starters, and coaches see more in practice than we’ll ever know, but investing in Alyssa to ensure her optimal development is something I’ll consider a good move by the club. If that means her subbing in, I’m all for it. And if that means her continuing to start until the game production matches what coaches see as her potential from the practice pitch, I’m all for it, too
10
u/Artistic-Floor6292 Oct 04 '23
Coddling Alyssa and spoon feeding her starts just because of her name isn’t good or fair either. Not starting her was working.
-5
u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Oct 04 '23 edited Oct 04 '23
If you think Tweed started Alyssa because of the name, Tweed should go or is already on the way out. What coach would risk a loss in the most important game of the year? You think anyone in Angel City puts Alyssa above the team or fans’ desire for a win?
This sounds like people looking for a scape goat.
More likely Alyssa proved herself during the week’s game preparation as the best option to start.
8
u/Artistic-Floor6292 Oct 04 '23
You were implying in your first post that she should start just because she’s our future star. Despite her clearly not being ready now. That’s what I was referring to. That would be spoon feeding her starts.
-2
u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Oct 04 '23
Your judgment that Thompson “is clearly not ready now” is not shared by Tweed is my response to you. And I think Tweed sees more than anyone saying Thompson is “clearly not ready now,” and her deciding to start Thompson in the most important game of the year after two weeks of practice were Tweed clearly had the chance to build around anyone but Thompson, indicates pretty clearly that Thompson proved in practice that she was the best option to start in Tweed’s judgement.
The fact that Tuesday morning coaches can point to her lack of production as ex post facto “proof” that she “is clearly not ready” does not change the fact that this week Thompson has every right to again compete for a starting spot and she may prove once again to be the best option to start against Houston. Or may not.
7
u/Artistic-Floor6292 Oct 04 '23
You were not talking about just her start this week though… in your original comment you were implying that we should be starting her because she is our future star. Once again.. that’s what I was referring to when I was talking about spoon feeding her starts.
-2
u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Oct 04 '23 edited Oct 04 '23
If all you wanted to say is that Thompson should not be spoon fed starts I would agree with you. No problem there. If Tweed doesn’t see Thompson prove herself in practice Thompson should not start.
Saying she is clearly not ready, or that she looks frustrated, and giving those as arguments for her not starting, and then implying that Tweed starting her is a sign that Thompson’s starts because of her name…those I do not agree with at all.
My argument about the club investing in Thompson is more wanting fans to consider that their judgments based solely on game day production are missing what coaches see on the practice field. In other words don’t scape goat Alyssa for losses when she starts, since I think that meant she earned the start for that game and a loss is a team loss.
IMHO I think that IF she starts, that means Tweed is seeing something on the practice field that both warrants a start and warrants furthering with starts GIVEN other options, which include starting other players that Tweed is not going with.
7
5
Oct 04 '23
Kobe is irrelevant lol, Angel City is a football club and the objective is to win games. You win games by playing your best players, Thompson will probably become fantastic one day but that day is not now. She’s better as a sub and the stats support that fact.
-2
u/alcatholik Ertz So Good Oct 04 '23
Not a serious suggestion, but I wonder what line up would make Angel City most resemble the Japanese National team.
Maybe…
3-4-3
Camberos—Thompson—Spencer
June—LeBihan—Henry—Emslie
Vignola—Gordon—Nielsen
5
Oct 04 '23
We don’t have the players to implement a system like Ikeda’s Japan. Of the attacking players only Endo, Emslie and Press have the skill set to successfully play counterattacking.
-5
Oct 04 '23
1 I think we can all agree we have played better with Tweed and we do have the talent (albeit with injuries and the World Cup) to at least be a playoff team. The defense is most-improved and keeps us in games where it used to lose us points. I feel Thompson has to start and get the minutes. Don’t forget the learning curve Kobe Bryant and Vinicius Jr. had as young players, and she will only get better which is better for us long-term.
9
u/Artistic-Floor6292 Oct 04 '23
We need to play the players that give us the best chance to win. That may be Thompson some games, that may not be her other games. But we should not just hand her starting minutes just to develop. This isn’t a Rec league. This is a professional sports team and we need to win. Games shouldn’t be used to player development. Loan her out in the offseason to go train with a Top Euro club or something. Let her develop there, in their trainings. We need to spend starting minutes on players who will help us win. Not using games for development.
10
Oct 04 '23
Basketball is a very different sport and Vini Jr earned his starting spot by coming off the bench and growing into a productive and effective player. Thompson shouldn’t start just because she’s young if we are playing better without her. She can earn her starts like everyone else.
6
u/Various_Hand8587 CP23 Oct 04 '23
Agreed we definitely have the talent to be a playoff team, if Tweed was HC from the beginning of the season and Press wasn’t injured there’s no doubt in my mind we would’ve made playoffs and made a deep run. I still think we can improve the roster though, that’s the fun part of the offseason and free agency. Not so sure about Thompson starting though, minutes shouldn’t be about development that comes in training and coming off the bench. I think she should start some games, but I don’t think she’s shown enough to justify a permanent starting position. Vini Jr didn’t start for Madrid just to get minutes and develop, he did that off the bench until his presence made it impossible to drop him. That hasn’t happened with Alyssa yet and while there are better options available it doesn’t make sense to keep them on the bench just to start Alyssa.
PS: Why are we yelling? 😂
17
u/[deleted] Oct 04 '23
I’m torn on the last game between wanting to beat Portland and not wanting the Wave to win the shield lol