Source
r/AtlantaUnited•
Innerouterself

Jahn appreciation post

Imagine that you are tasked to backup up the best striker in MLS. Maybe spot start for rest and join in a few 2 striker moments late in games. You are excited to get the chance to show you belong. Then that striker gets a season ending injury. And all week long everyone talks about who we are going to sign instead of you. Including your own coach. And then you have to play the home opener while everyone is wishing you were someone else. Probably his own mom wished Josef was still in.

Jahn did a lot of the little things and dirty work. Pulling defenders to create space, running at defenders to keep them from doubling up others, trying to distribute, getting in goal scoring positions, helping on set pieces, and even getting a shot off.

MLS really relies on the full roster. And due to salary cap, it can get thin at the end. It looks to me like he did everything he was asked to do under a tough gig mentally. He needs some more polish, but I am glad he went out there and put in a tough shift.

If he can clean up his touch and distribution, he will be effective for us. He looked like he belonged almost.

Posted Mar 8, 2020, 1:58 PM UTC

38356
MexicoPeteSmokin' Jo•

I think he was by and far the weakest player in our starting line-up last night, but he worked his arse off and that's something I always like to see. He will do better next time out I'm sure.

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ATLCoyoteAtlanta United•

Agreed.

I totally sympathize with the position he's in, as the OP said. And he did his best and really didn't make any major mistakes. I also think he did his best to occupy defenders and create space for others. Even so, the unfortunate truth is we're gonna need someone a lot more threatening at the striker position in order to be a contender in MLS this year.

But, given all the injuries we've had, I certainly can't complain about starting the season with 6 points.

28
xSylkJosef Martinez•

I am very curious as to why you think that he was the weakest player in our lineup last night? I think they (Barco and Pity) had plenty of opportunities to distribute the ball to him last night on the fast breaks and never did. There was this one fast break to where he did the Haaland sprint down the field and I was highly impressed. I felt as if he didn't get the best opportunity to shine and that it would take more than just one game to give him a true rating.

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Deezer93King Peach•

Smashed it mate. Loved his work rate. He's no Josef but we don't need him to be Josef. What I saw last night should be enough but I think Jahn can actually be a consistent goal scorer once the chemistry is there. Also a shout out to Hyndman, dude has been playing the footie of his life. Hell I even really like this Mulraney lad, he's perfect for this league with his speed. Got a wicked left boot on him too. My MoTM was Meza. This 5'9" CB handled 6'4" Jurgen Locadia, a guy who was considered Brighton's best player in the Prem for a short time and is very talented overall. He won most aerial duels with him.

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InnerouterselfOP#5 - Leandro González Pirez•

Meza is so good he makes it look easy.

54
MexicoPeteSmokin' Jo•

Meza is incredible. He makes watching us defend a much less nerve wracking experience than last year.

37
wormocious•

When Robinson is healthy will Meza move out to a fullback or wing back? The prospect of having Robinson, Meza, Bello, and Escobar is exciting. But I don’t know how all their positions would work out

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MexicoPeteSmokin' Jo•

I think he is moved to the left CB position where LGP used to play. Depends on when Escobar is ready though.

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Deezer93King Peach•

I feel bad for Wyke too. He looked a lot more comfortable his short time out there and was always searching for forward passes, even hitting Barco(or Mulraney?) on a long switch into the attacking third. Hope he's ready to go again soon.

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ATLCoyoteAtlanta United•

Totally with you on Meza. He plays so much bigger than he actually is, both in terms of positioning and winning headers. Plus, he's cool and calm under pressure.

We didn't have a single starter from last year on our back line last night, yet with Meza in the middle, we defended pretty darn well.

Can't wait until Robinson and Escobar are back. We took a hit offensively with Josef going down for the year, but once those guys are back, I think we'll have one of the best defenses in MLS.

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UncleAuthorAtlanta Chiefs•

Did Meza lose a single aerial duel with Locadia? Seemed like he just owned him all night.

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HarryTheHairyAreolaKevin Kratz•

Drew the first Cincy yellow at only 4 minutes. That did take some selling on his part.

One thing that I think worked really well is when he came back to get a pass from our fullbacks, then passed it off to our advancing midfielders. By doing that, he drew a defender and opened up space behind him. For example, at 17:10, he runs back to take a pass from Wyke. Barco runs into the void he creates by drawing the defender with him. A quick pass back to Pity and Pity has Barco through with only the keeper’s toe keeping the ball out of the net.

He definitely kept Waston busy!

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dssxAtlanta United•

Jahn’s workrate and movement off the ball has won me over. Im not expecting tons of goals from him as he’s effectively opening up space for Pity and Barco, but I cant wait to lose our minds cheering when he does score.

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UncleAuthorAtlanta Chiefs•

Me too. Watching the replay of Barco's goal, Jahn begins by running off the back shoulder of his defender. When the defender takes a glance over his shoulder to see where Jahn is, Jahn runs toward him. As the defender looks back forward, Jahn runs into space directly behind his defender where he can no longer be seen. As Pity makes his move, Jahn sprints to get in front of his defender. But Pity attacks the space directly in front of Jahn, so Jahn holds up at the 6 yard box to provide Pity with a passing option. Pity could have cut it back to Jahn for an easy tap in just as easily as he drove it across the goal to Barco. That's just one moment, but he was creating space all game. It wasn't always fluid and they all need to gel and get timing in synch as well as confidence in each other, but there's definitely promise there.

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tmm4f•

Wish I could double upvote this

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desbarattoAtlanta United•

He's going to be important in Mexico this week so it was good to see him with his hold up game. Love his work rate and movement.

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ichiniiKing Peach•

Lol we're 2 games in and we already are fighting about Jahn. This sub will never change lol

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samlan16•

Waiting for the first #JahnOut on Twitter.

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mikelanning#18 - Jeff Larentowicz•

Lmao

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derpingpizzaOur Fearless Leader•

It's predictable at this point.

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Delzak421#15 - Hector Villalba•

Absolutely. I was so impressed with his work ethic. Josef plays a totally different game, but both of those tactics have their place. Really really happy with having him on the roster after seeing last night.

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mpbh•

Thanks for this. It sucks seeing all the haters coming out after his first start for us. This was kinda thrust upon him, and we need to give him a chance.

Of course he's not going to put up Josef numbers; he's a different type of player. Not all forwards have to be poachers. I think he'll be able to play a support role and give Pity and Barco a chance to really step up and shine.

Should we be looking for a new forward? Sure, but until then Adam is what we have and the team will have to adapt to playing around a different type of forward. This is a real test of our team's overall quality.

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TorchBeak•

I will have to disagree with the notion we have to play Jahn until we bring in an outside striker.

FdB should definitely look to try Rossetto as the false 9 up top with Pity and Barco.

In fact, that was one downside yesterday. Seeing Rossetto come in but Pity go out.

Can't wait to see all 3 of these guys at one time on the pitch.

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TorchBeak•

I thank him for his efforts but he's not the answer this season moving forward.

We will bring in a more viable solution who better fits the mold of the 9 for us, to complement the other players we have in the midfield and up top.

Jahn doesn't have the pace nor the one on one dribbling ability to be a consistent threat for us.

There were a few times yesterday where he would try to make a run up the middle into the box and the winger would have to hesitate because he hadn't made it to that spot yet in the box for a ground cross, much less an air cross.

He had a one on one where he tried to run up the flank but realized he couldn't so he slowed down and waited to pass to someone.

I wonder if Barco hesitated on that fast break counter because he had Jahn and Rossetto open but he wasn't sure Jahn could reach the open pass.

All in all, Jahn doesn't have the athletic capabilities to be a starting 9 for us.

He's a sub 9, someone who comes in late and uses his size to finish matches and secure results.

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Villanta81Atlanta United•

I appreciate this post. While I understand people’s desire to make Jahn feel valued and supported, you can still be pragmatic in analysis.

He hustled. But, I saw plenty of missed opportunities to get ahead of the play or turn in towards the goal that he was too timid to take. That’s not a pure striker mentality, but very suited as a sub when leading and yet still seeking goal scoring chances.

He is not his playing his proper role as our sub striker today and we will all be better with him getting back to it, provided we can find a suitable replacement.

Thanks to him for the service, but I long for more.

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w00tst0ut•

I dont think that was his choice to not turn and take the shots or make the aggressive runs. The consistency and frequency of him always looking to hold up play and make the pass to the outside or a late run from Pity says it was a coaching decision. His job the whole game was to be the set up man.

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Villanta81Atlanta United•

Agreed. He’s not our prototype starting striker. He’ll be best in that role and as a holding forward when he is again a sub, that’s all I’m trying to state.

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RonMexico_hodlerOrange Ball!•

He was the weakest link in Atl utd by far which isn’t good considering Josef was one of the bests.

Problem for me is he wasn’t physical and strayed away from some challenges he could make. Besides man marking their CB when he pushed forward he wasn’t a part of many of our attacks at all.

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nolesrb•

Did you see what he did on barco's goal? He occupied the front post, bringing a defender with him... Without that, Barco doesn't score.

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UncleAuthorAtlanta Chiefs•

This ^ is correct. When Pity attacked the same space, he pulled up for a pass as well. Pity could have pulled it back for Jahn to have a tap in.

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SobuKevAtlanta United•

I’d put Wyke below Jahn.

1
AtlantaUtdGunners•

The worst player on the field doesn’t really deserve an appreciation post. I love high work rate from anybody, but he is a short term solution for filling in as a striker. We need an upgrade ASAP

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MexicoPeteSmokin' Jo•

I think he can come good. Or at the very least do a lot better than he did last night. I do agree that we need a real cover for Josef though.

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FrankDeBooger•

Well said, plus some of us never forget...

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intensive_purpose#7 - Josef Martinez•

I have a feeling a lot of y’all praising Jahn for that mediocre at best performance last night were some of the same ones dogging Pity for his early mediocre performances.

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bayernfan1986Fusion•

If pity has a good season, that does not invalidate the criticism he received last year.

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johanspot•

It's almost like there is a really big difference in expectation between a guy with a $100k transfer fee and a $15M transfer fee

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chasingreatnessToo Many Flags•

Thanks for your post... He’s not gonna put up the numbers, but his movement was actually pretty good in that we were really fluid at times in the final third. Like you said, that is in large part because he drew defenders while allowing space for Pity and Barco to occupy. He’s like Meram in that sense—not really skilled, but works his ass off and contributes with defense and in other small ways.

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bayernfan1986Fusion•

This isn't little league. You don't have to be condescending to professional athletes. Jahn is someone that the likes of Dynamo or Cincinnati brings in at 78 minute against a club like Atlanta when they are down a couple goals. A bench player for the also-rans of MLS.

He can run all he wants. Bottom line is that he isnt good enough to be the first option for a team like Atlanta. No one expects Josef's replacement to have Josef's output. However, there has to be player somewhere out there that offers better things than Jahn.

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C_MC25•

He’s a change of pace, and a tactical player. He draws defenders to him, which opens up the space for Pity, Barco, etc. to move in on goal. FDB said in the post-match press conference that he “worked his bollocks off”, and I couldn’t agree more. He did well with the touches he had, and even better with the off-ball situations. If he can chip in with a couple of goals, more power to him, but otherwise he’s a top-tier distraction.

1
itsameshawnAtlanta United•

Have him train with players blasting passes at him with his back to goal so he can build his touch and get more confidence on the turn. He will be a target man /hold up striker. And I think he can do well.

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InnerouterselfOP#5 - Leandro González Pirez•

100% if he had a bit more skill on the ball, he would earn that spot.

1
Indisia•

There were a few moments where Cincy defenders put in a hard shoulder/body. I'm used to seeing Pity/Josef/Barco either crumple in a heap or make some sort of hop out of the way, losing the ball. Jahn stood there and took it, even knocked back a defender, because he's BIG. We don't play a style that routinely relies on that type of physical presence, or even a crossing style that could leverage his height in the air, but sometimes it's nice to have a dude that can go in and physically rough up a few defenders. Vasquez was kinda supposed to be that type of player, so Jahn is essentially a like-for-like player. But, personally, I think Jahn is stronger and I like his style better. He had a good game.

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xSylkJosef Martinez•

Honestly amazing to see all of these top tier analysts in the comments! I wish I had the vision that you guys have on Jahn after one game, it's truly astonishing. Too bad after lasts nights game you have the clairvoyance to see that Jahn is completely useless and might as well have a paraplegic on the field up until we get a new striker! Tell me, where I can get such knowledge? /s

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Gocelings•

Y’all are joking, he was useless.

-12†
JayNew2K#10 - Miguel Almiron•

Dude is a striker and he was marking Waston (a centerback) who was getting constantly forward.

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Gocelings•

Working hard =/= being good or productive

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JayNew2K#10 - Miguel Almiron•

What if that was his instructions from FDB? Jesus why are you hating on this guy

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Gocelings•

Because he didn’t impact the game in any positive way last night and I see an appreciation thread for him today. It’s just undeserved praise.

-4†
thathappensalot#3 - Michael Parkhurst•

So you disagree he did a good job marking an excellent defensive player? Watson sure seemed covered to me. I’m not saying he was the best player on the field by far, but to say he sucked is wrong. If his main position this year is taking heat and opening up space for Barco and Pity, I’m down and will cheer the hell out of him.

Players do different things. He was never going to be a like for like replacement in style for Josef.

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JLongshores_KangolBarko!•

This is a terrible take. Please rewatch the game or take your comments over to r/OCLions

-1†
Gocelings•

You can be critical of our team’s players and still be a fan, I’m not attacking him as a person.

Edit: Attitudes like this one are exactly how this place becomes a monotonous echo chamber and I don’t think anyone wants that.

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