Crooks: NYCFC Is Failing, But Are The Expectations Reasonable?

By Glenn Crooks
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Expectation is a word that can bestow a weighty burden on people both personally and professionally.

Parents assert elevated expectations on their children in and out of the classroom. The demands may lead to resentment and detachment.

Those in sales are expected to meet quotas on a monthly or quarterly basis. Failure to consistently sustain a standard may lead to dismissal.

Individuals in supervisory positions, like a parent or executive, must weigh numerous factors before determining those prospects. Regrettably, the expectations in some cases are impracticable.

While there may have been added factors, the City Football Group sacked Jason Kreis when he failed to meet the unrealistic expectation of a playoff birth in New York City FC's inaugural 2015 season. The presumption was that a roster containing David Villa, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo should produce a place in the postseason.

Alas, there were first-team players named Jeb Brovsky, Andres Mendoza, Josh Williams, Javier Calle, Sebastian Velasquez, Adam Nemec and Kwame Watson-Siriboe surrounding the DP group. While Villa met expectations and beyond, Lampard and Pirlo did not arrive until the summer and were mildly affective. High-priced and ballyhooed Mix Diskerud was inadequate. Chris Wingert and Ned Grabevoy brought leadership and experience, however, they wore down mentally and physically as the season progressed. The Georgetown University back four would have been a preferred line in front of goalkeeper Josh Saunders, who was negotiating mortar attacks in nearly every match.

The burden of expectation is now on Patrick Vieira and the optimism was soaring through preseason and after a road win against the Chicago Fire to open the regular year. Khiry Shelton and Tony Taylor were both healthy. Tommy McNamara and Diskerud were consistent attacking threats out of the midfield. Pirlo was leading the league in touches and passing accuracy. Costa Rican international Ronald Matarrita was playing like an All-Star at left back. The additions of Ethan White, Frederico Bravo, Steven Mendoza, Diego Martinez, Frederic Brillant and Mikey Lopez gave the appearance of a personnel upgrade in '16.

However, since the 4-3 win at Chicago, New York City has gone winless in its next seven matches. The current record is 1-3-4 with seven points.

Through eight matches in 2015, NYCFC had six points with a 1-4-3 mark.

While there is little doubt that NYC is creating more strikes on goal than a year ago and there is superior quality throughout the roster, the defensive frailties at inopportune intervals is eerily similar.

MORE: 'Soccer In The City' Podcast: NYCFC's Big Defensive Issues, And More

White played the role of Watson-Siriboe with an extra time, defensive blunder of extraordinary proportions on Wednesday against Montreal. On a dead ball in the 91st minute, White positioned himself on the wrong side of Dominic Oduro and Didier Drogba hit a precise free kick to the head of Oduro, who was unoccupied at the front post. White had replaced the injured RJ Allen who had given City the 1-0 advantage with his first MLS goal. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

"We give a present to the other team," remarked Villa, who has failed to score on 21 shots in his last two matches. "It was too easy -- in that position, I always go to the first post."

Villa was suggesting that the set piece's intent should not have been a revelation.

"It is totally unacceptable that we are making mistakes on defense," said Matarrita, whose silly foul on Lucas Ontivero afforded the late opportunity for the Impact, who had created little up until that point.

The presumption is that this second-year franchise will play in the postseason. Little else is acceptable. Which begs the question, are those expectations excessive?

Throw-Ins

-- It's time now to play a game I like to call, "Guess the Coach Quote." The following post-match quotes are attributed to either Kreis in 2015 or Vieira in '16 after the first eight matches of the season.

(0-1 correct answer -- you think MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service; 2-3 correct -- you are really just a Yankee fan; 4-5 correct -- you know that Kreis did flips after scoring goals; 6-7 correct -- you watch old clips of Vieira playing for Arsenal).

Answers contained at the end of the column.

1. "We were the much better team. We dictated the game. We had majority of the chances against one of the best teams in the league."

2. "We deserved to win that game. I feel sorry for the players because they deserve more than what they are getting at the moment."

3. "We are in a period where everything is going against us, but we are going to stick together and fight together and turn it around."

4. "I'm very encouraged with the performance. We are moving in the right direction. I think we have the necessary qualities to be a very good team in this league, but for whatever reason I feel that we are getting quite unfortunate."

5. "The only way to turn it around is to keep doing what we are doing. They deserve more points than they have at the moment. I think you will agree that we are not getting the luck like other teams are getting."

6. "We are going to stick together and fight together and turn it around."

7. "We need to look at the positives and build off the positives rather than look at the negatives."

-- On Saturday afternoon at the Stadium, New York City will host Vancouver, which is also coming off a 1-1 home stalemate, having done so at BC Palace against Sporting KC on Wednesday. Center back Kendall Waston will be absent after getting sent off with his second yellow card just five minutes into the second half of the mid-week match.

It will be just the second all-time meeting between the sides. City defeated the Whitecaps, 2-1 in British Columbia last September on goals from Lampard and Villa.

Vancouver has won just one of its last nine road matches, surrendering just under two goals per game. On the attacking side, the Whitecaps have scored multiple goals four times in their last 15 regular season MLS matches and just once on the road.

Vancouver leads MLS with three goals from corners and four from penalties. The Whitecaps have only scored two goals from the run of play, which is the fewest in the league.

-- Leicester City needs two points in three matches to win its first top-tier English league title in 132 years -- the entire life of the franchise.

At Old Trafford this Sunday, LCFC meets the team with 20 titles, the most of any English club -- Manchester United. Leicester City, at 5,000-to-1 odds before the start of the season, can clinch the Premiership with a victory.

"This is a fantastic story," said Vieira, who played eight seasons for Arsenal FC and won the EPL title in 2004. "It is a great story for all of soccer with a small club without all the resources. Great credit to the coach and the players."

The Leicester City coach is Claudio Ranieri, who managed Chelsea in 2004. That season, Chelsea finished second in the league behind Vieira and Arsenal but eliminated the Gunners in the Champions League quarterfinals.

-- Francesco Graziani, a 1982 World Cup champion with Italy, is friends with Ranieri. Graziani is at the Players Development Academy in New Jersey this month with the AS Roma Academy. In a fascinating discussion, he offered his thoughts about Ranieri.

"He is a really nice man, I am happy for him," said Graziani, who scored the only goal against Cameroon to promote Italy to the knockout stage in '82. "But I wouldn't be surprised if he leaves Leicester after this season. What is the best they can do next season, fifth, sixth or seventh? Maybe?"

-- Answers to the above quiz: 1. Kreis, 2. Vieira, 3. Kreis, 4. Kreis, 5. Vieira, 6. Vieira, 7. Kreis

For all things NYCFC and the world of futbol, please flow Glenn on Twitter at @GlennCrooks