Fans of the NWSL will always use the same phrases to describe each season, with “full of drama”, “exciting” and “competitive” usually among them. 2022 has been no different, with the additions of San Diego Wave and Angel City (based in San Diego and Los Angeles respectively) bringing new challenges and ensuring that every team has had to work incredibly hard to secure every point possible.
However, whilst the playoff fight has attracted a great deal of attention, it has also been worth keeping an eye on the foot of the table, with NJ/NY Gotham not expected by many to struggle and yet spending the majority of the campaign propping up the rest of the league.
The club, who finished fifth last season, have only managed to win four of their 17 matches in 2022, whilst they have found the net on just 13 occasions (the lowest total in the league) and conceded 36 times (the highest total in the league). In fact, their last victory came on 8 July, away at Racing Louisville, and their disappointing season led to the departure of head coach Scott Parkinson on 11 August after less than a year in the post. In the words of one leading NWSL writer, Gotham are “a team lacking in joy and identity”, with many fans questioning what has gone wrong.
This tactical analysis will look to answer that question, examining Gotham’s performances throughout the season and identifying their problems at both ends of the pitch. The scout report will also show the improvements made since former Jamaica coach Hue Menzies was appointed to lead the team on an interim basis, which have given fans some hope that their team can start to claw their way back and rediscover their form ahead of the 2023 campaign.
Attack
When it comes to NJ/NY Gotham’s attacking problems, arguably the main thing to focus on is their tactics, as they have been let down on a number of occasions by their in-game strategies and have made it too easy for their opponents to limit their threat. To succeed in a league like the NWSL, teams need to have different ways of playing and be able to adapt when things aren’t going their way, which is where Gotham have been found wanting at times.
The match against Chicago Red Stars, which proved to be Scott Parkinson’s final one in charge, was where this issue was highlighted the most, with Chicago knowing how Gotham would approach the game and also recognising how they could limit their opponents’ effectiveness, with 2-v-1 situations common as they closed the ball down and prevented crosses being made. In this case, Caprice Dydasco, who has recently moved to high-flying Houston Dash, has passed to Midge Purce, but Rachel Hill and Danielle Colaprico have got tight to her and prevented the ball from being transferred into the middle.
It was quite clever how Chicago went about this without Gotham realising because they made it look as if they wanted to press the ball every time they came towards the wings, with Hill here initially running towards Dydasco. However, this was only a ploy, because the Red Stars knew that the pass into Purce would be made, so Hill stayed back from Dydasco and ensured that she could change direction as soon as the ball moved towards Purce, creating the 2-v-1 with Colaprico, and the fact that this happened time and time again showed how Gotham kept playing into their opponents’ hands whenever they got into these areas.
