Would like to see more initiation of the JAM attack from the right, rather than through McAnuff primarily.
Why when he making it happen? Arguably MF engine room
Disagree. What is he making happen? The final balls?
We might have to agree to disagree then, all the connectivity in MF comes from him, the 2nd chance that was struck against the Mex def came from him....there's a reason he's the center piece in their MF for this length of time...he alone is probably one of the biggest reasons our game vs them in the CFU final was disrupted
My contention is twofold:
1. Variation to exploit the right. Not necessarily seeking penetration behind the defender(s), because JAM can't/couldn't do that consistently without compromising balance and risk conceding a second goal ... but to generate the entry ball from the right (ahead of the defence) for (2) McAnuff to be involved in the finalizing.
Aside from the 3 for 1 chance (which was not generated by McAnuff), Jamaica was failing at second balls from the left but had promising looks when service came from the right. With the finishing being what it is centrally, McAnuff showed promise to finish from the left ... particularly off the run. He was dynamic but not creative.
For me, the overlooked Jamaican contribution was service
to McAnuff and Donaldson, but McAnuff on his own was not dangerous enough.
The critical final pass he made (that probably caught your eye) was generated by service
from central midfield, which he latched on to off the run. On his own, he did not do enough.
To accommodate my comment, I re-watched the first half. Started at 31'. Post-goal.
In any event, one has to examine his contribution pre- and post-goal. And my thoughts on this started formulating before Mexico scored. His actions pre-goal definitely did not generate sufficient danger of consequence. He attracted a couple defenders but/because he never sought to penetrate, but to link up and combine. After Mexico scored, gehhin production became even more important. Just wasn't there.
Doh geh me wrong eh. I think he played a useful role, but I would not describe him as the engine merely because he saw a lot of the possession.
His role was to unlock and to provide. In my mind, he deserves to be on the bench as he is right now. Not because of fatigue, but because he wasn't effective. In this game. CFU? What have you done for me lately?
At the end of the day, this is a question of philosophy (regarding how the coach prefers to orient his attack) ... but it seems that Schaeffer's withdrawal of McAnuff supports the issue as to his effectiveness
in this game.