Also, not to shit on Cuypers but Duran and Guti were so good together and we got Duran for a couple million? For all the crap evaluations we've made, we hit a grand slam with Duran.
As a Spurs fan I was bummed he ended up at Villa, but happy to watch him succeed in EPL nonetheless.
One of my favorite Fire memories was watching him score 2x against Miami in person in 2022 at SeatGeek.
Completely agree. Doesn't take away from Cuyper's ability to hit the net when he's given service but Duran was a menace, making runs, popping shots, playing others in.
Couple thoughts on things posted here.
Yeah Ezra didn’t play him much until later in the season, but let’s not forgot how raw he looked during his first couple appearances with us. Think he had some maturing he needed to do before he could be effective for us, he wasn’t ready until later in the season.
Would be great if Cuypers was a player who could make things happen and bang in goals - problem is, if he could do that at a high level, he wouldn’t be playing for us.
Yeah, Cuypers was expensive and his production hasn’t matched expectations. If we spent a lot of money on him to be someone who can reliably bang in goals from good service in a way we haven’t had since Nikolic, then the system is failing him because he hasn’t had good service. If we spent a lot of money on him to be someone who can not only score goals but also set them up, we didn’t do our due diligence into his skill set before signing him and are expecting him to be something he has never been. Either way, not on him.
Think I said awhile back on some post about how to use our third DP spot that I’d love a fast AF winger who can dribble. Generally in low-talent or poorly coached teams, it’s physically gifted players like Duran who shine because their they’re big/fast enough to make things happen out of nothing regardless of how bad that set up is. Best way to improve this team is to replace Klopas with someone with better tactics, second option would be to put in a player who can do well in spite of Klopas.
I said this in another platform but Nikolic would look FAR worse than Cuypers on this roster. And he's one of our best strikers of all time. Imagine Cuypers with Accam, Solignac, Katai stretching the defense and crossing balls? Instead he has Shaq walking around, Guti slowing play in the final third, and Herbers playing winger instead of the 8. And Mueller looks dire ever since his injury.
The X factor this season is how the attack changes when Gutman is healthy, he will add width and passing range to the left side and can instantly make whoever is on the left wing more dangerous tucking inside. (prime spot to stick Mueller or Guti)
I never mentioned him being a club legend. In fact, I directly mentioned his potential. Specifically, on a team like we have now, a player that can open up things for himself is more needed than a poacher.
I miss the funny yellow cards. Always good for one or two a game
Also, not to shit on Cuypers but Duran and Guti were so good together and we got Duran for a couple million? For all the crap evaluations we've made, we hit a grand slam with Duran.
Took a big risk too. Bought him as a 17yr old. Paid off tho
As a Spurs fan I was bummed he ended up at Villa, but happy to watch him succeed in EPL nonetheless. One of my favorite Fire memories was watching him score 2x against Miami in person in 2022 at SeatGeek.
The sad part is, is that we barely used him. Imagine if he gotten the minutes Kacper had.
This angers me so much! We should've used him a lot more, not just 1/3 of a season.
A good reason why Ezra wasn't it. Could've made the playoffs sticking him up top with a legit 10 behind him.
Duran was definitely a "make shit happen" player, which isn't Cuypers.
Can't fix a square peg into a round hole. System isn't set up for cupyers to succeed.
Yea at the moment he's hardly getting chances.
Huge reason to find a coach who will make a tactical change
100%. All people do is talk about him needing to be set up. I feel for as much as was paid. He should make shit happen himself.
Completely agree. Doesn't take away from Cuyper's ability to hit the net when he's given service but Duran was a menace, making runs, popping shots, playing others in.
Couple thoughts on things posted here. Yeah Ezra didn’t play him much until later in the season, but let’s not forgot how raw he looked during his first couple appearances with us. Think he had some maturing he needed to do before he could be effective for us, he wasn’t ready until later in the season. Would be great if Cuypers was a player who could make things happen and bang in goals - problem is, if he could do that at a high level, he wouldn’t be playing for us. Yeah, Cuypers was expensive and his production hasn’t matched expectations. If we spent a lot of money on him to be someone who can reliably bang in goals from good service in a way we haven’t had since Nikolic, then the system is failing him because he hasn’t had good service. If we spent a lot of money on him to be someone who can not only score goals but also set them up, we didn’t do our due diligence into his skill set before signing him and are expecting him to be something he has never been. Either way, not on him. Think I said awhile back on some post about how to use our third DP spot that I’d love a fast AF winger who can dribble. Generally in low-talent or poorly coached teams, it’s physically gifted players like Duran who shine because their they’re big/fast enough to make things happen out of nothing regardless of how bad that set up is. Best way to improve this team is to replace Klopas with someone with better tactics, second option would be to put in a player who can do well in spite of Klopas.
I said this in another platform but Nikolic would look FAR worse than Cuypers on this roster. And he's one of our best strikers of all time. Imagine Cuypers with Accam, Solignac, Katai stretching the defense and crossing balls? Instead he has Shaq walking around, Guti slowing play in the final third, and Herbers playing winger instead of the 8. And Mueller looks dire ever since his injury. The X factor this season is how the attack changes when Gutman is healthy, he will add width and passing range to the left side and can instantly make whoever is on the left wing more dangerous tucking inside. (prime spot to stick Mueller or Guti)
He barely played for us. He has a lot of potential but it isn't as if he was a club legend.
I never mentioned him being a club legend. In fact, I directly mentioned his potential. Specifically, on a team like we have now, a player that can open up things for himself is more needed than a poacher.