Miles Robinson entered the 2023 free agency period as the top player on the market and after making the switch to defending Supporters’ Shield winners FC Cincinnati, the veteran defender is already paying huge dividends for them.
Robinson delivered the winning goal on Saturday in FC Cincy’s 2-1 road victory over the Chicago Fire, giving Pat Noonan’s squad their first three points of the campaign. After a lackluster goal-less draw with Toronto FC on opening weekend, FC Cincy rebounded in a big way to claim a rivalry win at Soldier Field.
Aaron Boupendza and Xherdan Shaqiri traded goals in the first half, but FC Cincinnati found a way in the second half to grab a lead for good. Robinson’s right-footed finish off of an in-swinging Luciano Acosta corner kick boosted the visitors in front and made the 26-year-old a hero for the evening.
“He’s a top player,” Noonan said postmatch to media about Robinson. “You could see it in certainly how he defends. I thought in space in a couple of dangerous moments and when they played direct he was on the mark with some of those defensive moments in one v one isolation, I thought the recognition of how he was getting pressure, releasing off the line to be able to challenge some of the balls with attackers coming under, you know, in front of the backline, I thought he did a really good job in those moments.
“Good footwork, keeping plays in front of them at the right time,” he added. “And then obviously, he’s an asset on set pieces. He’s, you know, already gotten on the end of in the first four games, you know, three or four, which could have been goals. So we’ll try to continue to find ways to free him up so he can find goals in that way. But yeah, he had, you know, one of the top performances of the day for me.”
Robinson entered last offseason with European and MLS interest after a successful seven-year stay at Atlanta United. A former first round pick in 2017, Robinson lifted three trophies in Atlanta, including MLS Cup in 2018 during Tata Martino’s reign as head coach.
His growth in Atlanta United boosted him into the U.S. men’s national team plans, where to date he’s earned 28 caps and lifted two CONCACAF trophies (Gold Cup, Nations League). Now Robinson has a great opportunity to be a key contributor for FC Cincinnati, who has already advanced in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and will be among the favorites in MLS and Leagues Cup later this year.
With four points earned out of their opening six available, FC Cincinnati are pleased with the start of the new campaign.
“It’s important to win games early on, I say it all the time, and you don’t want too many games to go by where you’re searching, you know, and chasing that first win,” Noonan said.
“So I think that’s just important for the confidence of the group,” he added. “You know, going on the road, we were a strong road team last year, and we talked about what got us to that point to be able to win games and at times, you know, struggle, but have the right mentality during those stretches, and I think tonight was a really strong road performance and hopefully something that will propel us moving forward in terms of just progress from the first two league games, as well as combining those Champions Cup games.”
miles switched from a turf team — a lousy situation for a player with a leg issue — to a grass team. i am hoping that fixes his issues. i am fine with him being either included or left off for march, as he wasn’t playing well last year. he has history with the team and trying others would be fine. it might also put some fire in his belly.
then when he inevitably rebounds this spring, bring him back in this june for copa america.
my deal with club form here is if the player continued to do fine for the Nats, then there is no reason for this sort of message sending/trying out others. i think we have to go through these motions because miles didn’t look like miles last year. if miles goes back to looking like miles — as this run makes one hope — then he’s just had a window off. the NL window, but just a window.
ââŠbut he canât pass his way out of a paper bag.â How much money you want to bet in another article, Coach will say he didnât say that. Or use the classic go to âYouâre putting words in my mouth!â when you remind him of hid words he posted. European clubs donât know how to evaluate Miles. Milesâ management/agent team doesnât know what clubs are ideal for his play style. Itâs a 2 way street. Miles passes the ball to the 6 and both fullbacks on either side w/ both feet. His time w/ the 5 stripes & WCQ is the evidence. You donât win a GC & make best XI if you canât pass as CB especially w/ Matt Turner your GK. He uses his left foot more than any right footed CB (Zimmerman, & CCV rarely ever use their left foot so they donât play at LCB), also including Hoovers own CR. Ream doesnât use his right foot so he doesnât play RCB. Miles plays both CB spots. Miles wouldâve started in the WC if not for an injury. This is hilarious to me. This manipulation of observational reality happens so much SBI can do a spinoff called RSH. Revisionist Soccer History
Yep. He passes the ball just fine.
And it Sounds like to me Miles passed on Europe not the other way around.
yeah, it’s like people are watching the games, or are letting their biases taint their observations for whatever reason. Listen, it’s clear that a lot of people in our fanbase will make up negatives about a player because thy aren’t playing in Europe, or specifically because they play in MLS, but will in turn make excuses for or give the benefit of the doubt to our players who are in Europe….it’s really silly to me!
*aren’t watching the games*
to me the primary focus should be on finding backs who can defend. after you do that then you parse among the competent defenders to find the ones with secondary/against-type abilities you might want as frosting on top. one of the problems with US defenses for about a decade is we seem more concerned who can play offense before we sort out could they mark their own grandmother out of a game, which is a really dumb way to run a defense and gets you players like omar and villafana.
so let’s go back to, can you mark, and then pick dolos and bocas and popes from among the ones who can do their primary job right.
in part because, to be punchy, a back usually does something exciting a couple times a year. i get picking people who score 15 for offense. i do not get picking someone whose year is like 1G 3A for supposed offense. that’s they pitch in something productive about every 5-10 games. so what, especially if every few games they get torched for a goal.
I definitely think Robinson and Richard’s are the two starting CB’s for the USMNT. Both have pace and physicality and passing ability for the US to play more pushed up in tye back. Love Ream, but you can’t push him more forward due to his slower pace.
Errr…not to quibble, but Robinson’s superbly athletic and is certainly a physical presence and very good in the air, but he can’t pass his way out of a wet paper bag, which is why Europe never really came in for him. He’s actually worse at distribution than Zimmerman was, and the difference in quality in passing between Ream and Zimmerman was pretty glaring in Qatar.
You definitely have to keep an eye on Ream because Father Time marches on, but for right now it isn’t close to my eyes (and I would bet, Gregg’s) between Ream and Robinson. I’m actually not even sure Robinson makes the 23 for Nations League if CCV is healthy, since he and Trusty are probably the backups at the moment.
It’s Miles and Richards. Miles is better than CCV and Trusty.
Disagree.
Miles was a bigger, faster , more powerful version of Aaron Long. Passing ability? Really?
Which was why he was able to replace Long so seamlessly and improve on him.
I’m not sure he ever came back from his achilles as well as he might have. At this point Richards will likely be paired with either Ream, Brooks or Trusty, our left footers.
To be a starter Miles would have to beat out Richards or CCV and he won’t do. And if Aaron Long is playing well, Gregg will put him in the mix. Aaron Long is much beloved by both Gregg and Jesse Marsch for some reason.