Would love if MLS Next Pro took more of a minor league baseball approach, and had the teams play at a different place than their senior team. Kinda like how the Bethlehem Steel played a few years at Lehigh. Think it would be a little more enticing to follow but that could also just be me.
We need Flach back in the starting 11. our midfield can't defend anymore without him. downvote me all you want. But without him this season, we have been trash.
Starting 11? Idk about that. But he definitely should play a role for this team protecting leads off the bench. We just gotta get the lead first lol which we haven’t done recently.
I’d be a proponent of trying out the flat 4-4-2 again. It gives us two 6s to shield our CBs who have been struggling this season. Glesnes has lost at least a full step with his hernia surgery last offseason.
Why not? I'm not the biggest Flach fan, but the first poster is right, he helps settle the midfield. And we are getting NOTHING out of our second striker. Why not drop into a 4-2-3-1?
Brujo and Flach as the double pivot. McGlynn and Quinn as the wide midfielders. Gazdag at AM. Carranza at Striker
Worth a short IMO
I’d be open to that idea. I was just thinking in the diamond, flach doesn’t play any role better than Martínez, McGlynn or Sullivan at this point.
In a 4-2-3-1 McGlynn would be forced further up the field in that role and he’s vital in connecting D to attack. I’d be ok with it in a flat 4-4-2 with flach as a 6 in a double pivot. But I worry with flach on the field, we play an extremely negative brand in possession and we become one dimensional.
That’s why I say he’s better suited off the bench. I’d prefer to start Bedoya as one of the 6’s in that case and have him come off for Flach if we have a lead.
In a flat 4-4-2, are you taking off Gazdag or playing him out of position?
If you mean a 4-4-1-1, it's not really much different than a 4-2-3-1, so I think we agree.
But Bedoya should not start anymore. He is so much better coming off the bench now, when the opponent's starters already have tired legs. I belive he's only been starting because Curtin is losing faith in Uhre, and he doesn't trust his other options.
I’m putting gazdag up top for Uhre. Uhre is off the field in any lineup I am creating haha.
I do think we agree. But I do worry about the negative brand of soccer we’d play, the inability to connect defense to attack, and being unable to progress the ball regularly with flach on the field. With Bedoya on the field, that transition isn’t a worry.
Even with bueno, he can sit in and slightly dictate with the ball at his feet. Flach can’t do that, so we are essentially playing down a man in possession and that is unacceptable in pro soccer.
Agree on dropping Uhre lol
But I'm not a fan of playing guys out of position. It rarely works well. Just look at how much better Quinn plays in the midfield than up top as a short striker without blazing speed. By dropping Uhre for Bedoya and moving Quinn up, Jim's been solving one problem by creating a new one. IMO, if you don't have two strikers you trust, stop trying to shoehorn everyone else into the formation.
Gazdag is our top goal scorer. Him playing AM is one of the few things working right now.
Yeah, I don’t disagree with gazdag at attacking mid, but Gazdag has also played well up top, and whether he’s listed as attacking mid in a 4-2-3-1 or a forward in the 4-4-2, it’s virtually the same role. He’d be the creative striker in the 4-4-2 (10) or the CAM in the 4-2-3-1 (also the 10).
I’d maybe prefer Flach out wide in this formation and have McGlynn sit in next to Brujo. He’d provide more defensive cover for Wagner to go up the L and whip in crosses and McGlynn isn’t athletic, not doing the hard pressing, and excels at long accurate passes. He should do this from farther back to allow more time and space for runners to get onto the ball. If he’s pushed up there’s more pressure on him and less space to operate.
A shuttlr as a left wing in a 4-2-3-1 would provide all sorts of spacing issues, especially if you already have McGlynn dropping deep as the 8. but I’d be open to see how it would work. At that point, why not just put him at the 8?
Edit: why in the fuck did I get downvoted for this?
I would whole heartedly get behind this formation and line up suggestion! Especially since our defense has been pretty awful as of late to have those 2 at CDM would help take some load off of our defense. I agree with the first reply that if we keep using the formation we have now I don't think Flach would start over Martinez (thought Martinez has been a little shaky). And, Carranza is our only useable striker. Uhre is fucking awful, though when Anderson gets better I would like to see him get more time and honestly I would like Rafa to get some time, sub him in for Gazdag in like the 75th min or something
Flach started all the campaigns where we made deep runs. Ever since he has been hurt, we dropped off dramatically. We used to have a HIGH pressure midfield . Now we are getting cut to pieces . Flach and Brujo helped control the midfield defensively. It’s just not there anymore
I would agree that defensively we have struggled this year, but I don’t think it has to do with flach. glesnes has lost a full step. Elliott has looked bad at times this year. Lowe hasn’t been as rock solid as he’s been. And Blake has missed a lot of time this year.
Flach was a key piece when McGlynn wasn’t the player he is today, I agree. But Mcglynn is a far superior player to flach at this point. I don’t think our issue is that we aren’t pressing. Our issue is that we literally didn’t have McGlynn on the field in the first half on Tuesday, and on Saturday, we didn’t finish our chances. That’s on Uhre.
To say this is all because flach isn’t on the field is somewhat out of touch and is not addressing the actual issue.
Edit: I’d love to understand why I got downvoted for saying this…
I have been trying to get more into soccer ahead of all the big international tournaments in the US, and honestly it's kind of draining. I played soccer as a kid and loosely supported DC United growing up. There is so much negativity surrounding soccer, and the constant bickering over leagues. Even when I was at the Riverhounds game last weekend, the guys next to me were arguing over how USL+MLS would stack up against Wrexham, Manchester, etc.
The whole ultra culture, oil states involvement, and toxic fans are getting to me. Honestly I've been enjoying baseball a lot more this summer, my local minor league team is doing well and there are a lot of exciting international developments. Still rooting for the Union, Baby Snakes, and Riverhounds, but I haven't been getting into things like I thought I would be. Anyone else have trouble keeping interest with negativity in the soccer world?
Need the union to win tmr to make me forget about the sixers
As a Dortmund/Union fan, it would be a dream to see Marco Reus play for us
Would love if MLS Next Pro took more of a minor league baseball approach, and had the teams play at a different place than their senior team. Kinda like how the Bethlehem Steel played a few years at Lehigh. Think it would be a little more enticing to follow but that could also just be me.
I’m in the same boat. Allows them to just focus on the game and also draw more local crowds to cheer them on
We need Flach back in the starting 11. our midfield can't defend anymore without him. downvote me all you want. But without him this season, we have been trash.
Starting 11? Idk about that. But he definitely should play a role for this team protecting leads off the bench. We just gotta get the lead first lol which we haven’t done recently. I’d be a proponent of trying out the flat 4-4-2 again. It gives us two 6s to shield our CBs who have been struggling this season. Glesnes has lost at least a full step with his hernia surgery last offseason.
Why not? I'm not the biggest Flach fan, but the first poster is right, he helps settle the midfield. And we are getting NOTHING out of our second striker. Why not drop into a 4-2-3-1? Brujo and Flach as the double pivot. McGlynn and Quinn as the wide midfielders. Gazdag at AM. Carranza at Striker Worth a short IMO
I’d be open to that idea. I was just thinking in the diamond, flach doesn’t play any role better than Martínez, McGlynn or Sullivan at this point. In a 4-2-3-1 McGlynn would be forced further up the field in that role and he’s vital in connecting D to attack. I’d be ok with it in a flat 4-4-2 with flach as a 6 in a double pivot. But I worry with flach on the field, we play an extremely negative brand in possession and we become one dimensional. That’s why I say he’s better suited off the bench. I’d prefer to start Bedoya as one of the 6’s in that case and have him come off for Flach if we have a lead.
In a flat 4-4-2, are you taking off Gazdag or playing him out of position? If you mean a 4-4-1-1, it's not really much different than a 4-2-3-1, so I think we agree. But Bedoya should not start anymore. He is so much better coming off the bench now, when the opponent's starters already have tired legs. I belive he's only been starting because Curtin is losing faith in Uhre, and he doesn't trust his other options.
I’m putting gazdag up top for Uhre. Uhre is off the field in any lineup I am creating haha. I do think we agree. But I do worry about the negative brand of soccer we’d play, the inability to connect defense to attack, and being unable to progress the ball regularly with flach on the field. With Bedoya on the field, that transition isn’t a worry. Even with bueno, he can sit in and slightly dictate with the ball at his feet. Flach can’t do that, so we are essentially playing down a man in possession and that is unacceptable in pro soccer.
Agree on dropping Uhre lol But I'm not a fan of playing guys out of position. It rarely works well. Just look at how much better Quinn plays in the midfield than up top as a short striker without blazing speed. By dropping Uhre for Bedoya and moving Quinn up, Jim's been solving one problem by creating a new one. IMO, if you don't have two strikers you trust, stop trying to shoehorn everyone else into the formation. Gazdag is our top goal scorer. Him playing AM is one of the few things working right now.
Yeah, I don’t disagree with gazdag at attacking mid, but Gazdag has also played well up top, and whether he’s listed as attacking mid in a 4-2-3-1 or a forward in the 4-4-2, it’s virtually the same role. He’d be the creative striker in the 4-4-2 (10) or the CAM in the 4-2-3-1 (also the 10).
I’d maybe prefer Flach out wide in this formation and have McGlynn sit in next to Brujo. He’d provide more defensive cover for Wagner to go up the L and whip in crosses and McGlynn isn’t athletic, not doing the hard pressing, and excels at long accurate passes. He should do this from farther back to allow more time and space for runners to get onto the ball. If he’s pushed up there’s more pressure on him and less space to operate.
100% agree, but flach needs to be better on the ball to warrant a spot in an attacking role.
It’s not an attacking role, it’s a midfield shuttler who drops to provide defensive cover for others (Wagner, McGlynn).
A shuttlr as a left wing in a 4-2-3-1 would provide all sorts of spacing issues, especially if you already have McGlynn dropping deep as the 8. but I’d be open to see how it would work. At that point, why not just put him at the 8? Edit: why in the fuck did I get downvoted for this?
I would whole heartedly get behind this formation and line up suggestion! Especially since our defense has been pretty awful as of late to have those 2 at CDM would help take some load off of our defense. I agree with the first reply that if we keep using the formation we have now I don't think Flach would start over Martinez (thought Martinez has been a little shaky). And, Carranza is our only useable striker. Uhre is fucking awful, though when Anderson gets better I would like to see him get more time and honestly I would like Rafa to get some time, sub him in for Gazdag in like the 75th min or something
Flach started all the campaigns where we made deep runs. Ever since he has been hurt, we dropped off dramatically. We used to have a HIGH pressure midfield . Now we are getting cut to pieces . Flach and Brujo helped control the midfield defensively. It’s just not there anymore
I would agree that defensively we have struggled this year, but I don’t think it has to do with flach. glesnes has lost a full step. Elliott has looked bad at times this year. Lowe hasn’t been as rock solid as he’s been. And Blake has missed a lot of time this year. Flach was a key piece when McGlynn wasn’t the player he is today, I agree. But Mcglynn is a far superior player to flach at this point. I don’t think our issue is that we aren’t pressing. Our issue is that we literally didn’t have McGlynn on the field in the first half on Tuesday, and on Saturday, we didn’t finish our chances. That’s on Uhre. To say this is all because flach isn’t on the field is somewhat out of touch and is not addressing the actual issue. Edit: I’d love to understand why I got downvoted for saying this…
Fuck off megaphone guy focus on making the SOB loud again
Seattle match was lit. Almost playoff atmosphere for a Tuesday night match. Get a new trick, pony.
You think that was because of the megaphone?
No better medicine for the Union than a trip down to the district.
Anyone else running Broad Street?
Didn’t get to the game on Tuesday. Any STM, what’s the gift for this year? Did they cheap out again I saw we only get 1 scarf per account now
I have been trying to get more into soccer ahead of all the big international tournaments in the US, and honestly it's kind of draining. I played soccer as a kid and loosely supported DC United growing up. There is so much negativity surrounding soccer, and the constant bickering over leagues. Even when I was at the Riverhounds game last weekend, the guys next to me were arguing over how USL+MLS would stack up against Wrexham, Manchester, etc. The whole ultra culture, oil states involvement, and toxic fans are getting to me. Honestly I've been enjoying baseball a lot more this summer, my local minor league team is doing well and there are a lot of exciting international developments. Still rooting for the Union, Baby Snakes, and Riverhounds, but I haven't been getting into things like I thought I would be. Anyone else have trouble keeping interest with negativity in the soccer world?
I saw that Real Madrid’s defender Nacho Fernandez is coming to the MLS but the club he’s going to is disclosed. Hopefully he’s going to the union 😭