From the moment their expansion was announced, New York City FC were destined to steal more than their fair share of attention in Major League Soccer. The spotlight tends to follow clubs of such wealth and stature, and with Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City behind the franchise NYCFC had both those things from the very start. But even by their standards, the decision to appoint Patrick Vieira as head coach for the 2016 season drew plenty hot takes and headlines.
In fact, if a title was to be given to a review of NYCFC’s first season in existence ‘hot takes and headlines’ would be rather apt. They might have failed to even make the play-offs, but Jason Kreis’ side came to dominate the agenda in 2015, with their development picked apart on a weekly basis. Everything they did was the subject of scrutiny, including the call to fire Jason Kreis after just one season in charge.
But has that decision paid off? Kreis often spoke of forging a team in the ‘City way,’ whatever that means, but results simply weren’t good enough to satisfy the club’s hierarchy. So has Vieira made any progress on appeasing that ambition in the opening few weeks of the 2016 season?
The former Arsenal and France midfielder has taken 10 points from his first nine matches in charge of NYCFC this term, placing the club just inside the play-off places in the Eastern Conference. If Vieira can keep his team in that position he will likely keep his job, unlike Kreis, but the results claimed so far hardly represent a dramatic upturn.
Vieira has opted for a 3-4-3 shape in an effort to get the best out of his squad. Kreis often struggled to find a way to accommodate his midfield talent in the one team last season, and so the new boss has seemingly sought to solve that problem by changing formation. Of course, there is nothing rigid about the new shape, with NYCFC frequently shifting into 4-3-3 during games.
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But in pretty much every way, NYCFC are a middle of the road kind of outfit. They average 17.2 shots on goal per game - ranking them 10th for such statistics in MLS. They average 24.8 tackles per game - ranking them 10th for such figures in MLS. They are also ranked 13th for interceptions, making 19.9 per game.
However, New York City FC are very much still a possession based side, boasting a higher average share of possession (56.6%) than any other MLS side. They were this way under Kreis too, but the challenge for Vieira is to translate that territory into genuine threat in the final third.
David Villa is very much still New York City FC’s frontman in every sense. Questions have been asked of the club’s Designated Players and big names over the past year or so, but not the former Barcelona and Spain striker. Villa has netted six times in just nine appearances this season and continues to lead the line as well as anyone else in the league.
The 34-year-old is a hub of attacking productivity, averaging six shots on goal per game - 3.6 shots per game more than any other New York City FC player. But Villa isn’t just a finisher but a creator too, averaging 2.2 key passes per game, putting him ahead of even Andrea Pirlo (2), one of the greatest playmakers of his generation. The Spaniard certainly justifies his status as NYCFC’s poster boy.
Vieira has found, as Kreis did before him, that Yankee Stadium is something of a difficult domain. As was the case for much of last season, NYCFC have struggled for wins at home in 2016. It wasn’t until last week against the Vancouver Whitecaps that the duck was broken with a 3-2 victory, and even then there wasn’t much control to the hosts’ performance.
At the back New York City FC have still to find a combination that works for them and provides a basis for their attacking talent farther up the pitch. Jefferson Mena started the season in favour, but has recently lost his place after a disastrous display in a draw against the New England Revolution, in which he was withdrawn after just 28 minutes.
Against Vancouver, Vieira went with a four man defence, with Frederic Brillant and Jason Hernandez starting as the centre-back pairing. Neither boast particularly impressive interception (3.4 per game) or tackling (1.1 and 2.1 per game) statistics, but the NYCFC head coach is keen on the way the duo can bring the ball out from the back. Such an approach carries risk, though, and the Bronx side have subsequently fallen victim to individual errors more than once this season.
New York City FC is still a work in process and it’s entirely possible that as the season progresses they will get better and better. But as things stand it’s difficult to determine the real change Vieira has made at the club. That doesn’t mean that in time it won’t start to shine through, though.
Can Patrick Vieira help guide NYC FC to the playoffs this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
