Mid-Year Review. Hawks Making a Statement. Answers Please.
Atlanta United. An expansion team. Our manager has a great pedigree and CV and has coached at the highest levels. We are 7-7-3 and 5-2 at home. Those are facts – and here are some suggestions/assumptions:
– At any level, in any league, if you have won only seven times in 16 games it is time to take some risk and change it up. Our manager, Gerardo (Tata) Martinez, will do so with Josef Martinez now at 100% and the pending congestion with the match schedule (U.S. Open Cup & September). The U.S. Open Cup American player requirements will also dictate that Tata dial up more rotation.
– Last night was a bit different, especially since Colorado decided to sit back the entire game, but some of the teams we have played get stronger as the match goes on and sometimes we lose our legs. Is this a result of Tata’s demand for high pressure or a bit of over-training?
– Is the manager forcing the tactics even if he does not have the type or quality of players to successfully pull off the high pressure system? When the high pressure works it is great to watch and it would be interesting to see what percentage of United’s goals to date have resulted from turnovers due to their high pressure tactics?
– Michael Parkhurst is the captain, and the mainstay of the team……or is he? I think he is and yes, he sometimes is physically over-matched but his experience and tactical awareness outweigh any of his shortcomings. Remember, he has fellow center back Leandro Gonzalez Pirez to manage and keep in check.
– Tyrone Mears’ decision-making, lack of man-marking, and poor service is systemic. Last night’s change to Anton Walkes was necessary but it was not a good test for Walkes as Colorado’s attack was measured.
– The July transfer window – it may be necessary to change out one or two and bring in two new players to get us through the match schedule and keep us in the playoff hunt.
– We are obviously much better at home than away so the second half schedule should bode well for us.
With all that said, the second half of the season, including the pending move to Mercedes Benz Stadium, should be fun to watch. Go United!
When you walk through The Battery at the new SunTrust Park, you wonder if the baseball game is a secondary objective? Shops, restaurants and bars, and living and working spaces basically dominate the perimeter of the ballpark. This was the reason the Atlanta Braves bolted from downtown Atlanta to the perimeter of Atlanta. It is a real estate play with Braves baseball being a piece of the revenue stream instead of the only source of income. It now looks like the Atlanta Hawks, led by CEO Steve Koonin, will make a play to develop downtown’s Philips Arena area into a spectacular live, work and play hotspot. If you are from Atlanta, think The Avalon in downtown Atlanta, with it’s never-ending bars, restaurants and shops of all kinds. A massive uptick for downtown Atlanta – if anyone can pull it off it is Steve Koonin.
As a follow up to last week’s questions regarding the USS Fitzgerald’s collision, can anyone help explain how and why this happened? Maybe I missed it but has the Navy swept the cause under the rug? I hope not, especially for the family and friends of the seven sailors who lost their lives due to the collision.
Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!!!