Although I am not typically a fan of meaningless mid-season friendlies, there are a lot of positives to take from Metro's games against Man City and Tottenham.  The midfield played extremely well throughout the mini-tournament, moving the ball smoothly and passing well, often creatively.  Thanks to the arrival of Thierry Henry, as well as the return of a healthy Mac Kandji, Metro also looked quite dynamic up top, which it has struggled to do for much of the season.  Barring a few mental lapses, the defense also played extremely well.  All in all it was a good couple games for New York, and hopefully their solid play will translate to league results.  The New York Football Challenge was also fun to watch and brought out decent crowds, so maybe some of the Spurs, City, and Sporting fans that attended these games will be back to see their local side in action.

Defensive Duties

Although the outside backs struggled a bit with some of their faster opponents (Gareth Bale and Adam Jonson especially) the defense held up well considering their opposition.  Central defenders Tim Ream and Carlos Mendes played exceptionally well through both games. "We went into this game looking at it as a chance to really get back on the right foot defensively and get back to what was winning us games, and I think we did that." - Tim Ream. Ream, who is always extremely composed for a rookie, had no trouble dribbling out of pressure from the back, despite the fact that Robbie Keane and Emmanuel Adebayor were the players chasing him down, not Kei Kamara or Chad Barrett.  Roy Miller, who returned to his familiar left back role (he has been seeing minutes in the midfield latley) also looked quite good, and it is clear he is a better defender than winger. 

Midfield Maestros

Metro's midfield played quite well in both matches, breaking up plays, distributing the ball, passing creatively, and playing with rhythm.  Even in the second half of the Man City game, when Backe made multiple changes to his squad, the midfield linked up pretty well.  Joel Lindpere was excellent in the Spurs match, creatively pulling the strings and attacking throughout.  Tony Tchani and Dane Richards looked great against Man City.  Seth Stammler also held his own as an outside midfielder, although he is not the best attacker in the world.  Richards played out of his mind in the Spurs match, creating chances and finishing his own excellently.  Although at this point it seems kind of unlikely, fans of the team are praying he can translate his success in these friendlies to effective MLS play. 

Mac Attack

Kandji had a great couple games.  With him being gone or injured for weeks, it was easy to forget how technically gifted and fluid on the ball he can be.  He impressed against Tottenham, linking excellently with Henry and creating both space and chances with ease.  When asked after the Spurs games if he was playing normally or attempting more skillful tricks because it was a friendly, Kandji said, "I'm just trying to get my groove back, because its been a while and that was my first 90 minutes.  Ill always be like that as a player."  Apparently he found it in the second match, because he picked up a goal and an assist.  Kandji has been frustrating to watch in the past, playing with a high amount of flair but often losing the ball or failing to convert chances.  If he can continue to play with style but create and finish more chances, he will be an excellent player.

Miscellaneous Musings

Metro's roster is currently full, which means there will have to be a cut to make room for Thierry Henry.  The casualty of this new addition seems most likely to be team legend John Wolyniec, aka the Staten Island Ronaldinho.  Luckily, it appears that the team has offered him a coaching position on the squad.  A classy move, since Woly has long been a part of this team and has always given his all, as well as scored some of the biggest goals in team history.  Hopefully he accepts the teams offer and stays a part of the organization.

Rafa Marquez is definitely the teams first choice for its 3rd DP, and he seems highly likely to join the team.  The only stumbling block in the past week or two has been whether or not he can get out of his contract with Barcelona to join Metro on a free transfer, which he has reportedly been able to do.  It now just appears to be a question of when, and not if he is coming, and the when appears to be soon.

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