- 4 days ago
Jason Longshore joins Chris "Turtle" Thomas to analyze Atlanta United's frustrating loss to Columbus and the team's offensive regression. They evaluate the roster's high-priced signings and explore rumors surrounding Neymar's potential move to MLS before discussing Angel Reese joining the Atlanta Dream.
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00:00Jason, let's start here.
00:02It's not that they lost.
00:04It's how they lost, my friend.
00:06Why did it look like they were playing through an inch and a half of molasses on that pitch?
00:12It's interesting because to me it's two halves.
00:16And the first half has issues in it that are not quite as bad.
00:22But there are issues there.
00:24The first half was pretty even by pretty much anybody.
00:28Both coaches said it.
00:30Most of the players said it afterwards.
00:33Columbus had a few more shots, but they really weren't dangerous.
00:36The first half was kind of a stalemate.
00:39But the big issue on the Atlanta side for me was that they weren't creating any danger in the attack.
00:46There was one touch inside the 18-yard box in the first half.
00:50One.
00:51It's not enough.
00:53You were getting up to that.
00:54You weren't getting into the 18.
00:56And that's not a recipe for success.
01:00But you weren't really giving up a whole lot of chances either.
01:02So, okay.
01:03Well, the second half you gave up chances.
01:05And I know there's a lot of focus right now on giving up the goals that they gave up.
01:12Especially the third one after you scratch your way back into the game.
01:16You get it to 2-1.
01:18The crowd is going.
01:20And before they can even stop yelling, it's 3-1.
01:25That's unforgivable.
01:27But my issue is more so with the offense and the defense.
01:32Because when you're not creating any danger and teams aren't afraid of how you're going to hurt them, right?
01:43Like, Atlanta United goes into the game, and Tata Martino talked about it today.
01:47Columbus is a really good team with the ball.
01:49So, Atlanta knew that, okay, if we step up and try to high-press them, they're going to play through
01:54us and then they're going to have gaps.
01:56Let's not let that happen.
01:57And they didn't for about 45 minutes.
02:00Okay.
02:01The other team looks at Atlanta and they say, right now, they're not going to hurt us with their attack.
02:07Let's not make it easy for them.
02:09Let's not have any turnovers in our own half.
02:11But we can get numbers forward.
02:13And it starts to push.
02:15And it's like you've got a stack of something, and you're just pushing on it and pushing.
02:23And eventually, the thing's going to fall over.
02:25And that's what it felt like this game was.
02:27You know, Columbus didn't really make any progress in the first half, but they kept putting that pressure on it.
02:34They kept pushing.
02:35Eventually, they get the opening, and they just push you over onto your back.
02:39And that's how this game went.
02:41And it looked that way at the end.
02:42Atlanta looked like a team that knew they couldn't threaten.
02:46Okay.
02:46So, we've talked about over the course of this season so far, Jason, about wanting to see incremental progress.
02:53Well, why are we now pointing to incremental regress?
02:58It's a good question, and I don't know.
03:00I really don't know other than the fact that you have had some changes with the lineup that you had
03:09to make.
03:11While Barracall got hurt, there were people who were calling for Barracall to lose his spot after goals conceded.
03:19He did.
03:20Steven Gregerson didn't get to the header on the first goal.
03:24And that felt like a play for a reason why he's there.
03:29Latte Lott hasn't been creating anything, and he's not a guy who's going to create things on his own, but
03:36he's not creating danger in a match.
03:39And it goes back to that for me, that ultimately why the team is regressing is you've had to change
03:46the lineup at times due to injury.
03:48You've had to change the lineup at times.
03:50Galarza, for example, he was a huge miss in this last game.
03:53I think you see maybe a little bit more of how he makes this attack function without him than you
03:59have with him.
04:01Because as Alexi Maranchuk said to the media today, Galarza is one of the guys who is willing to make
04:07those extra runs and make sometimes the run that's not actually going to get the ball,
04:13but it's going to make a defender follow him, and that's going to create space for somebody else to get
04:17the ball in a better spot.
04:19Right now, there's not enough of that happening.
04:21And I think Latte Lott is that big question mark up top in that he's not making a lot of
04:28those runs, so defenders don't have to worry about where he's going.
04:32So they can just clog the lanes, and you get to where Maranchuk tucks inside, Almiron tucks inside, and there's
04:42not that extra element.
04:45I think against Philadelphia, where you did see progress, the extra element was one, Galarza I thought played well, two,
04:52the fullbacks were able to get high and help in the attack.
04:55Well, because of the way Columbus approached the game and the way that it built, their fullbacks didn't have to
05:03say, oh, we've got to worry about Atlanta attacking us.
05:07No, their right back turned into a 10 half of the night.
05:10He was tucked in and looked like a 10, the right back for Columbus.
05:15He wasn't defending.
05:16So when he's there and Columbus has got that control, Elias Baez has to stay back, and probably Will Riley's
05:25got to stay back in that game.
05:27And then you can't get out of your own half, and eventually you topple over.
05:31Where Elias Baez did get forward, they create the goal.
05:35And it's his shot from the top of the 18, then great save and an even better follow-up save
05:41from Patrick Schulte, but Maranchuk puts it home.
05:44But that was really the only time the fullbacks got forward and were dangerous.
05:47I think, for me, why they're regressing, one, Galarza wasn't in the team this week because of the visa issue.
05:54Two, you weren't able to create enough danger to make the other team have to be honest in the way
06:00that they played you.
06:00And they were able to just throw numbers forward and start to pin you in.
06:06Okay, so I'm going to ask just a blunt question here.
06:11How much did the previous regime overvalue some of the designated and high-priced players that they put their faith
06:18in to be the cornerstone of the next version of this franchise?
06:22Well, I think there's a couple different layers to it.
06:26I don't have an issue with Alexi Maranchuk's signing at all.
06:30I think at times he's been a punching bag for people.
06:33I don't think that's fair.
06:35I think he is a guy who maybe isn't your number one in a top team, but he's the perfect
06:44number two.
06:45He can be the Scottie Pippen kind of do a little bit of everything, help facilitate, make those things happen.
06:51Right now he's scoring goals, which really is not exactly why you got him here.
06:55You wanted a healthy amount of goals from him, but you wanted him to be able to create for others.
07:00And there's just not enough of the others being in positions to create for.
07:06Miguel Almonron's a tricky situation because you know what he means to the club and what he means to the
07:11city and what it means to him.
07:14And he's not what he was before.
07:16And I don't think it was fair to expect him to be and was something that we talked about a
07:21lot when he was signed.
07:23I think he's been generally fine.
07:27I think a game like the last one shows it's tough for him when he goes on international duty and
07:35plays two games and travels around the world and comes back.
07:38And he doesn't have 90 minutes in him and that his age and where he is in his career and
07:44all the miles and games he's played.
07:47That's understandable.
07:49I think Latte Lott has been a disappointment and he would probably tell you the same because he hasn't scored
07:55goals like he did at Middlesbrough.
07:57And he was a player who was on the verge of a Premier League deal with Ipswich, a team that
08:04was promoted, a team that was moving up from the league that Latte Lott was in the second division in
08:10England.
08:11But he was on the verge of that deal, didn't get it.
08:14It's not like Atlanta was the only place that valued Latte Lott and thought he was a very interesting signing.
08:22It hasn't worked out, though.
08:23And you've got to find a way to make that come good.
08:26I think I told you before the season started that I felt like you needed 15 goals from him this
08:31season to be a playoff team.
08:33And you're not on that pace right now.
08:35So you've got to figure out what you can do to get on that pace or find those goals elsewhere.
08:40But I do think it's not just the big names that there's been misses in.
08:48And I feel like you could have this conversation about any team in town at various stages.
08:55No front office is going to get every signing right.
08:58The problem is when you have multiple at the different tiers in your roster build that don't hit.
09:07Or bad luck happens and it's injuries or what have you.
09:11When you get multiple tiers being a problem, like if you sign three top guys and two of them don't
09:18work out, but then your second tier of guys is playing really well.
09:21All right.
09:21You might be able to make up for that.
09:22When you're getting some misses throughout the different tiers of your roster, it's a struggle.
09:27And I think it's something that Chris Henderson is trying to rebuild from and get this team a little deeper,
09:34a little stronger, a little more resilient.
09:35I really do like the Tomas Akob and Elias Baez and Matias Galarza additions this year a lot.
09:42But you need more.
09:43And as he's talked about, you need a center back.
09:47You need a six.
09:48And you've got to find a way to get production out of the striker.
09:53Jason, a couple of other notes before I let you go here.
09:57Did I read that Neymar could be coming to MLS, specifically Cincinnati?
10:02Yeah, crazy.
10:05It's been reported by Tom Bogert of The Athletic that Cincinnati's had very preliminary talks with Neymar's people.
10:12Neymar is back in Brazil at Santos.
10:14He is trying to get into the Brazilian national team for the World Cup.
10:19He's trying to stay healthy, which has been the biggest challenge for him for the last three years or so.
10:26I think Neymar is going to go down as one of the greatest players of his generation, no doubt.
10:36I don't think he's anywhere near that right now.
10:38And the injury history would have to be a pretty big red flag for me.
10:43When you say preliminary discussions, that could mean a lot of things.
10:46I don't think that's a serious conversation.
10:50If it is, I would be surprised because I think it's too big of a risk.
10:55And before I let you go, we know what happened with the U.S. men's national team over their last
11:00couple of matches getting ready for this thing.
11:02What's next for them as they lick their wounds, try to learn from it, and keep on their preparation towards
11:07the summer?
11:08I think it's guys back at their clubs just trying to get into good form.
11:12And, you know, you don't want to have what happened with Patrick Adjiman, an Achilles rupture.
11:17He's going to miss the World Cup this summer.
11:19He was starting to push in to be in that number two forward for you, scored here against Belgium.
11:25You can't play scared, though, because it's this combination of you've got to play to be in top form and
11:34be hitting on all cylinders going into the tournament this summer.
11:38And every time you play, there's a risk of injury.
11:40You can't play scared.
11:41You can't play tentatively to get into this team.
11:45I think there's very few guys who have either their position in the team as a locked-in starter or
11:53as a first-guy-off-the-bench kind of situation, or guys who are just trying to get on the
11:57roster.
11:58I don't think there's very many people who are settled in terms of that tier of what this roster looks
12:03like.
12:04Just maybe a couple.
12:06So you've got a bunch of guys that are at their clubs that are going to be pushing for a
12:09spot here.
12:11I would love to see Mauricio Pochettino take – he's got to make a team.
12:15He's got to make something that fits together.
12:17And I think he roughly knows what that is.
12:20But there are some guys that are, you know, maybe outside of what he's called in before that are playing
12:27really well.
12:28And if he's got a spot or two at the back end of the roster for somebody that could come
12:32in hot into the tournament off of good club form and somebody to give you something different, I'd love to
12:40see him take that.
12:41Because, as I've told you many times, I feel like this team is a top-20 team.
12:46They're 15th, 16th in the world.
12:50They're going to need something special in moments against top teams to get over the hump because they don't have
12:56the talent to beat a Belgium or a Portugal often.
12:58They can, but they're not going to be favored in that match really ever.
13:03So you need somebody on top form.
13:05You need something a little different to be able to pull that upset.
13:08And if there's a player out there that can give you that, even if you haven't really called them in
13:12very much, I think you have to consider it now for that just extra wild card ability in the World
13:17Cup.
13:18Jason, are we going to be hearing you tonight on The Intersection?
13:21Yep, yep.
13:22We're going to be talking more Atlanta United World Cup, obviously.
13:25I think we're going to be talking Braves kung fu fighting and probably going to talk a little Angel Reese
13:31as well.
13:32That's right.
13:33Yeah, that I think is going to be going down as one of the more impactful signings in recent history
13:39for this city just in terms of the way she's going to be able to single-handedly elevate the profile
13:46of that franchise.
13:46I think it's going to be pretty special.
13:49100%.
13:49Cannot wait to see her on the court with that team.
13:52I think we're already seeing the effect of it.
13:55Can't wait to see her in uniform for the dream and what she can do for that team that maybe
13:59goes in as a contender for the WNBA title.
14:01Yeah, I mean, with the way they finished the season last year, no doubt.
14:05Jason, appreciate it.
14:06We'll catch you in just a couple hours here on 92.9 The Game.
14:08Thanks.
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