4/5/25 - SKC 2 - 0 STL
I don't want to be here, either.
Blah, blah, blah. #MLSMondays
Breakdown, let’s do it.
Team Selection:
Essentially, this is what the people wanted after Austin? Given the current player availability, this aligns with what everyone has been discussing all week.
But I’m not satisfied, and neither should you be.
There’s been a LOT of discussion about how this team doesn’t fit the 3/5 back, suggesting a return to the 4-2-3-1, etc., and let me be clear: you’re wrong. For all the talk about how 4-2-3-1 is the identity, the last two transfer windows have been indicative of a switch in that philosophy, and that was well before Olof took the reins.
Playing Teuchert and Hartel in their natural positions? Good. Wallem and Totland, better as wingbacks? Good. Horn at left back? Okay. Horn at centerback? Mediocre. But Horn at left centerback in a three? Very good. Kessler, one of MLS’ best centerbacks in that formation? Fantastic.
Formation talk is fun. I love it because it's all hypothetical.
But what’s not hypothetical is that in a back 5, no position is more crucial than the wingbacks. A team without width has no chance. A team lacking width cannot move the ball, cannot threaten with the ball, and cannot score. Here’s my issue with the team selection, and it’s not solely focused on Olof. It’s an issue that every coach, across every sport, faces: fear. Why are we punting on 4th down at midfield? Fear. Why are we bunting with a man on first and no outs? Fear. Because if it doesn’t work, the coach has to face criticism, be embarrassed, and answer questions. So, instead of taking risks, they choose the safe option- avoiding the choice that might win the game, but instead opting for something that minimizes the chance of losing in that moment.
What were we discussing, and how does that connect to Olof? Oh right, wingbacks.
Akil Watts and Kyle Hiebert are likely the worst wingback duo we will see in MLS in 2025. On Saturday, Akil Watts recorded a -0.44 dribbling g+. That sounds bad, but it’s even worse; it’s the third worst individual g+ statistic a CITY player has recorded in the last two seasons. He accomplished this against one of the weakest teams in recent MLS history, with 58% passing and 1/7 in duels. He had 13 yards in carrying distance, the lowest on the team. Combined, Watts and Hiebert went 0/1 in take-ons and had the same number of progressive carries as Ben Lundt: zero. The players tasked with providing width in possession and attack didn’t find themselves in space to advance the ball ten yards forward, at any time?
No one looks at this viz and thinks that’s a healthy balance. No one thinks this is what CITY wants. A balanced offense is a dangerous offense.
Totland is injured, Horn is injured, and Wallem has been forced to play further forward. I get it. But here’s the thing: when you have a system reliant on wingbacks, you’ve got to play people who can play wingback. Joey Zalinsky was good enough to earn an MLS roster spot when the rest of his draft peers went to CITY2. Tyson Pearce has been highly touted and quite impressive according to those who watch him weekly. Mykhi Joyner was so impressive last season for CITY2 that they signed him to an MLS roster spot. If you haven’t heard of Matthew Doyle, the Armchair Analyst, he’s worth a Google, and it seems we are on the same wavelength this week: Doyle's Latest Armchair Analyst.
It’s a double whammy - on their own, Hiebert and Watts are depth players at best. Playing them out of position? Stop it. That profile above is not the profile you hinge your system on.
Olof isn’t the first, nor will he be the last coach to choose fear over courage. And that’s easy to say for someone whose job isn’t on the line with these decisions. He may have stumbled into the Brazilian duo that works, but the ceiling of this team and its style is rooted in the quality of the wingbacks. Right now, it feels like the ceiling of a dog kennel compared to a two-story living room.
Player Accountability
It would be insincere to spend the entire time bemoaning Olof’s team selection or the playstyle.
If Wallem’s shot had been two inches to the right, there’s a strong likelihood that we would have enjoyed a happy Saturday evening. Olof didn’t use black magic to hit the post. Olof is not the one who fails to put a shot on target.
Olof surely didn't manage to keep Watts' feet unsettled and unprepared to tap a pass into the net.
Olof did not instruct Hiebert to have another lapse in defensive awareness, his second in a week, that directly led to a goal.
Olof did not have his 6’ 6” goalkeeper step too close to his near post and allow a shot with an expected goal (xG) of 0.19 and a post-shot expected goal (PSxG) of 0.26 to slip into the back of the net.
And Olof is not the reason why this team absolutely crumbled after those mistakes, showing little fight. That’s a characteristic often seen in losing teams, and this team had been losing long before Olof arrived.
It’s easier to fire a general manager than a team. It’s easier to fire a manager than a team. When I screw up at work, my boss gets fired, right?
As the great Joshua Yaro said, "We have to take some of that accountability as well...The coaches did what they had to do tonight...this is on us."
Thanks for reading. I didn’t enjoy watching and writing, and you didn’t enjoy reading it. But, regardless, we are #AllForCITY, forever and always.