Tata Martino talks Bobby Boswell, referees and two-week break

After Atlanta United scrimmaged the Atlanta Silverbacks (I’m not sure what the final score was as I only watched the second half. United scored a goal but we (media) all missed it as we started to talk to Julian Gressel), manager Tata Martino talked to the media members for a couple of minutes and discussed the latest topics surrounding United.

After Atlanta signed Boswell, many fans speculated that he would see playing time during the long game-stretch in September and that he’ll give either Leandro Gonzalez Pirez or Michael Parkhurst a much-needed breather. Martino didn’t exactly confirm that speculation but here’s what he had to say.

“He’s a really experienced player, a good center back, has been in the league a long time and knows it really well,” Martino said. “I think he’ll be good support for us and if he plays, he’ll be able to step in and play well. He’s come here to be an alternative to either Gonzalez Pirez or Parkhurst or even to play three in the back.”

Martino joked about playing three in the back and three up front but quickly stated that he has never thought about doing such formation.

“I do think as a coach, you’re always thinking of possible lineups and solutions,” Martino said. “Maybe there’s a game where it’s the last set piece or corner where we need a goal or something, so to bring a player who’s tall can help us.”

Tata wasn’t the only coach who criticized the referees this past weekend as New York Red Bulls manager Jesse Marsch also had a comment or two following his team’s loss against New York City FC.

“I think we should be able to give our opinions because otherwise the league isn’t going to improve, so for a coach to be able to say what he thinks is good because that’s how the league can improve,” Martino said. “If it’s something the league always wants us to keep quiet then I don’t think that’s a good idea because how else is the league going to improve.”

As United faces a two-week break until their next matchup against DC United, Martino said that the focus of the team will be recovery and studying DC United, as they have dropped six points against said team.

Injury Update:

Tata said that Josef Martinez, Kenwyne Jones and Mark Bloom are all recovering according to their timeline (at this point, we don’t know what that timeline is exactly, maybe DC United) but goalkeeper Alec Kann might take a bit more time. The team will also wait a couple of more days to incorporate Greg Garza back into training as he recovers from his shoulder injury, in which at the moment he needs to have as little movement as possible.

So my questions are, if we go to a 3-4-3, how would that lineup look? When will Josef be back? Will Atlanta be able to obtain at least a point out of their matchup against DC United?

Leave your comments below and let me know what you think.