Playing for 90
Fansided

Why Yankee Stadium will continue to plague NYCFC

By Jake Fitzgerald-Marcin

Jul 12, 2015; New York, NY, USA; New York City FC and Toronto FC players stand on the field with children during the national anthems prior to the start of the match at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 12, 2015; New York, NY, USA; New York City FC and Toronto FC players stand on the field with children during the national anthems prior to the start of the match at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The small pitch in the outfield of Yankee Stadium does not support the style of play NYCFC want to play, and until manager Patrick Vieira comes to terms with this, they will continue to drop points.

Home field advantage is a well documented phenomenon in sports. Not only are there psychological effects of having a disproportionate amounts of fans in your favor cheering you on, but there are also physiological effects on the opposing teams because of the rigors of travel, especially in the US. That’s why in best-of series in sports, the higher seed gets one more home game if the series go the full length.

Obviously NYCFC didn’t get the memo.

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The team dropped two more points at home on Sunday when they let Orlando City come back from a 2-0 deficit to tie in the last 20 minutes, including a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time by Kevin Molino when Andrea Pirlo failed to mark him.

This drops NYCFC’s home record this season to 1-2-5, but their problem is not a below average team. They have MLS’s leading scorer in David Villa, a living legend in Andrea Pirlo, and a solid supporting cast including RJ Allen, Ronald Mattarrita, and Thomas McNamara. The problem is their insistence on playing from the back on a small pitch.

Since NYC has yet to build a soccer specific stadium for NYCFC to play in, they have taken the outfield of Yankee Stadium as their temporary home. Problem is, the biggest

(Photo by Tullio Puglia/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tullio Puglia/Getty Images) /

pitch that they can fit is 110 yards by 70 yards (and even these measurements are generous). The small pitch takes away a lot of space that a normal one would have and, in turn, makes it nearly impossible to play the style of play NYCFC is trying to play.

Patrick Vieira, in his first year as manager, has implemented a play from the back style that just will not work on the small pitch. When NYCFC plays on regular-sized pitches away from home they are successful because they can work from the back with lots of passing and retain possession of the ball, leading to lots of opportunities, as evidenced by league bests in both possession (54.6%) and shots per game (15.1).

When they play at home, however, it is a different story. The opposing sides can high press their defense and goalkeeper much more easily, forcing NYCFC to make unnecessary turnovers and lose possession. Since they struggle to get it out of the back, it’s incredibly difficult for them to get momentum to create attacking chances. Even when they win possession back, the teams are right there to hassle their players.

This is especially alarming when NYCFC’s mainstay in goal, Josh Saunders, does not have the best foot skills. Playing it back to the keeper in essential in the play style and the ability for teams to get to him so quickly sometimes creating embarrassing situations (skip to 0:22) :

Until Patrick Vieira realizes that the style of play he so desperately wants NYCFC stick to isn’t gonna work at home, they are going to continue to struggle. But look at the bright side NYCFC fans, if they do manage to pick up enough points away from home to make the playoffs, they will be a low seed so they won’t have to play at home!

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