Week 15: The Games I Caught (+)

I managed two games this weekend: New England’s win over Red Bull New York and that tantalizing ripper of a draw between DC United and FC Dallas; for the rest of the games, I clocked the result and that’s about it. Looks like I’ve got some reading to do...

But, if you’ve got fifteen minutes to spend on the can this morning, below are some thoughts that came to me out of those two games I caught.

Red Bull New York 0-1 New England Revolution
- Shockingly decent crowd for New York, no? Actually, it is no. Only 13,819. Well, good job to the camera crew ‘cause it looked better than that.
- Sadly, the camera crew couldn’t save the game, a dull affair highlighted primarily by the through-ball that sent an inexcusably open Andy Dorman in to score for New England and Red Bull forward Juan Pablo Angel’s long-simmering madness. I loved the look on his face when he got sent off.
- Having mentioned Dorman, I may as well dub him man of the match. He scored one, and nearly had another, on a day when no one else looked terribly interested.
- OK, that’s a bit harsh. Red Bull started pretty well, going closest (by my recollection) when Clint Mathis hit the post and almost nabbed the rebound in the same sequence. When things dried up for Red Bull, however, things dried up generally.
- And that’s New England’s fault. They never managed a whole lot on offense. On the upside, their possession passing was better than I’d seen it in and Steve Ralston ably played the part of the wily veteran. But the essential absence of Taylor Twellman and, to a still greater extent, Pat Noonan, meant the Revs didn’t threaten enough to produce a rout - and, given Red Bull’s play, that would have been the only way to keep things interesting.
- Then again, when James Riley is on the field, things tend to be interesting.
- So, what ails the Red Bulls? Where Juan Pablo is concerned, profligate finishing; he missed at least one, and likely two, chances that a player of his reputation should have buried. Mathis had his chances and, if memory serves, he looked the most aggressive Bull on the field so long as he was out there. Claudio Reyna, god bless ‘im, looks tired out there - maybe that $1 million wasn’t so swell - and Dane Richards didn’t offer much more than energy on the right. Given all that, I’d say the Red Bulls suffer from an inability to impose themselves on a game, coupled with deadly problems with capitalizing on the few chances they create. This should look very familiar to The Bruce.
- All in all, not much of a game to watch. It was the kind the makes you drink to ease the boredom, only to have the drink inadvertently lull you to sleep.
- Oh yeah, I just noticed that MLSnet.com is celebrating Ralston’s 115th assist; given this was a secondary assist - Shalrie Joseph actually played Dorman in - this only makes me wonder how many of Ralston’s other 115 assists deserve asterisks. Don’t get me wrong: Ralston is not only one of my favorites - a consummate pro and a talented guy all round - and he absolutely deserves the praise, but...secondary assists are kinda silly.

DC United 3-3 FC Dallas
- This Sunday game on the other hand, this is the kind of game we should all sit prospective converts in front of in the effort to spread the faith. There was enough space on RFK’s field that one would think they could build the soccer-specific stadium in there.
- But DC fans have to be worried about what can only be described as a defensive collapse, one abetted by something like a Shrinking Violet Syndrome. FC Dallas, on the other hand, should be heartened by their team’s fight. Those of us not so fond of DC, well...let’s just say I had fun watching the second half...
- One last thing here: if Dallas had Kenny Cooper available, DC would have lost. They played down the flanks so much in the early going and only lacked someone powerful enough to get on the end of those crosses.
- Man of the match for me: again, it’s Arturo Alvarez. Toja had those inspiring goals and he brings so much all over the field, but Alvarez has that penchant for running at, and unsettling, defenses; it keeps ‘em honest. Dominic Oduro is pretty useful as well, though his lack of polish showed badly when, after being gifted the ball deep on United’s left, he almost miraculously failed to score.
- Speaking of playmakers, what’s up with Gomez? I didn’t see much out of him yesterday. I’d say United got more out of Ben Olsen. And a surprisingly spring-chicken-esque Jaime Moreno; was his hamstring pull the turning point?
- I’ll leave this one to DC fans, ‘cause I wasn’t paying enough attention, but who was the weakest link on defense? DC defenders got bowled over for (at least) two Dallas goals, and out-muscled on the other (hmmm...leaning back to Toja for man of the match...), but, damn, were those doughy goals.
- Going the other way, however, DC sure as hell had Dallas’ back-four at their mercy for the opening 50 minutes. Having only watched the game once, I thought they suffered from defending too far up field; watching them retreat toward goal approximated, substituting soccer for war, what would happen when a pike-push turned wrong on medieval battlefields. Just frickin’ carnage all ‘round. I’m guessing Steve Morrow made adjustments at half time - and those helped - but Dallas gave up their share of chances up to the 60th, 65th minute.
- Still, great game to watch. I would have enjoyed it just as much had Dallas lost 3-2, or won 4-3 (OK, that’s a lie; I would have loved a 4-3 Dallas win).

Moving on to the ones I didn’t see...

Chicago Fire 0-4 Houston Dynamo
I already wrote up this one; scary game from the rest of the league’s perspective.

Kansas City Wizards 1-0 Real Salt Lake (whoops, saw highlights)
- Wow...kinda thought they’d do better against RSL at home.
- Suddenly the mystery behind the high ratio between KC’s shots and goals adds up: hey guys, you can play the ball closer; you don’t have to shoot from over 20 yards for it to count. Seriously, these guys need to work on breaking down defenses.
- Speaking of which, I want to know where KC keeps the Eddie Johnson I saw in this game because they sure as hell didn’t send the same guy to the Gold Cup or the Copa America. Seriously, guys, if you’re just going to pretend to send EJ and keep this real (or is this the evil twin?) locked in a closet at Arrowhead, you may as well play him.
- Having just read the headline to the MLSnet.com match report (link under the score), can one really say KC ended their "slide" when RSL was the opponent? For the record, I'm still waiting for Toronto FC's first road win.

Chivas USA 2-1 Columbus Crew
- I’ll have to watch the highlights for this one; very intriguing result. Whoops...they don't exist...damn...
- Good for the Crew for scoring one on the road; that’s only two against Chivas at home this year. Actually, I see by the stats sheet they scored two goals; damn shame Eddie Gaven gave the game-winner to Chivas....well, unless you’re a Chivas fan.
- Good result for Chivas, whatever happened.

Houston Dynamo 0-0 Toronto FC
- There are times when I want to witness records being set or broken; this isn’t one of them.
- I wonder if Toronto has Houston’s number. Or maybe they’ve just got the “draw-on-the-road” thing down.

Right. I’m off to do some reading; I’ll need to know more before compiling power rankings. Interesting week, though...

Top 5, 07.10: Osorio, Open Cups, RSL's "Special Talent"

Quick(er) and dirty(er) today...

- As nearly everyone has noted, the U.S. Open Cup got underway last night with FC Dallas just squeaking past the USL-1 Atlanta Silverbacks. The best report I found on this one came from Buzz Carrick's 3rd Degree. It's a bit Dallas-centric, but, boy, is it thorough. Any visiting Silverbacks fans should feel free to balance this account with thoughts of their own.

And the ever-reliable official site of the U.S. Open Cup has a nice spread showing all the third round match-ups...and don't let those June dates throw ya. It's July, dude. I totally checked.

- As reported in a couple places, Juan Carlos Osorio started with the Chicago Fire yesterday. Good for him. Less good for him: his first game comes this Thursday against the uncomfortably hot Houston Dynamo...rut-roh. I don't think many expect him to win that one, but some smart folk have great expectations for the new guy. On a personal level, I just want to add this: MLS is better with a good Chicago team. Same goes for Colorado. Come back, you assholes.

- Iso-Vision: some love it (like me), others find it distracting. If you hop down to the comments on that link, you'll see the rushed defense I made - but, rushed as it was, I stand by it. I find "Iso-vision" really educational. You get to see what a player does during an extended period - e.g. timing their runs, how they fit into the larger shape of the team, how busy they are, how they conserve energy, etc. If you're really lucky, you'll catch them doing the good stuff - e.g. farmer blows, scratching their balls and bitching out the ref.

- Did all y'all see Real Salt Lake's latest attempt at making a local government regret the decision to build them a stadium? Has a stadium ever been built in spite of its proponents? Can this thing still go sideways?

- This last one is just weird. Does the Boston Globe's Frank Dell'Appa get a piece from any trades involving Andy Dorman or something? I'm sure he doesn't, but that why else would he carry water for Dorman's agent?

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#$%ing Cheapskate: Can I Remain a Revs Fan?

OK, this is seriously the last post of the day. I've got to sort out my bets for the Derby and haven't done a lick of respectable research.

Upon seeing what the New England Revolution pays its players, I wrote the following (at least in part):

"Hell, who am I kidding? With, literally, 10 exceptions, the whole roster is a fucking bargain. How does [Bob Kraft sleep apnia at night? Players, boycott this douche bag!"

(Get the full take here, which covers not only the Revs, but the league as a whole.)

As much as I really, really want to get to horse racing research, I can't till I get my head around the sensation that continuing support of the Revolution somehow validates the way Kraft pays too many of his players; I feel like I'm complicit in "Cheapskate Bob" paying his players like some Gilded Age villian. Ugh, the bastard!!

With regard to the players, it makes me respect them more and less all at once. On the plus side, these men are more than consummate pros; they're almost super-fucking-human in their endurance; teams across the league should be able to secure not only their services, but their undying loyalty by tacking a fiver to new contracts. On the flipside, though, get out! Get out as soon as you can. Let the cheap fucker try to win the league with a bunch of kids out of college; the man deserves nothing less than bitter, bitter failure with his tax write-off.

OK. Think I'm done now. It's odd, y'know. Even as a borderline squishy "fan-of-the-league", the soft spots for this team and that remain. And knowing how close this team has taken me to (OK, given that it's a game, mildly absurd) happiness on three separate occasions, it really chaps my ass to see them get screwed by a guy who has the money with which to show his appreciation.

So, seriously, I wouldn't play for Bob if I were a player. I hope fewer of the good ones do till he changes his tune. And someone rescue Andy Dorman from this shitbag.

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New England Revolution: 2007 Season Preview

(Don't ask about the photo...it's the devil in me.)

Past
MLSnet.com: 2006 Season Wrap
MLSnet.com: Big Questions after '06
My Thoughts on the Revolution’s '06 (Know my biases)

Present
2006-07 Off-Season Changes
Soccer New England’s Ins & Outs for roster changes (wait...those aren't just ball boys?)

New England Revolution’s roster from MLSnet.com

And now, the Future...

Key Men
Taylor Twellman - Before you assume it’s just the goals, flash back to the 2006 playoffs. Recall Twellman bellowing in the face of a prone Ivan Guerrero, remember him drifting back to defensive midfield to protect the lead against DC United, and mourn the fact he finally scored a goal in a final only to have Ching’s quirky goal cancel it seconds later. There’s a reason Twellman is one of the faces, if not the face, of the Revolution. He does so much for this team.

Daniel Hernandez - Unlike Coach Steve Nicol, I was a fan of Jose “Pepe” Cancela. The biggest question facing this team is who provides the “cultured” passing Cancela could very well have supplied if he ever saw the field for the Revs. It helps immensely, not least with Nicol, that Hernandez is a solid, if injury-prone, two-way player. But there are times when the team struggles with coherence in the attack and Hernandez looks the likeliest candidate to provide that. Assuming he can, the Revs become a better team without question, because when they stall....(shudder).

Matt Reis - It feels like a bit of disservice to the three men who will line up in front of him, but Reis anchors that line and, therefore, gets the nod here. Frankly, watching Reis play scares the bejesus out of me; it looks like he’s going to miss more than he stops, but there’s the dang ball in his hands and not in the net, so I have to call the man a great ‘keeper for this team. The Revs did manage the league's best defensive record last season, after all.

Andy Dorman - One of the most frequently asked questions of the 2006-07 off-season was what the Revs will do without Clint Dempsey. Dorman’s 2006 answers that one. While Dempsey was away, he improved on his 2005 totals by tripling his goals tally and doubling his assists (stats here). Hard to say. He’s already topped Dempsey for a one-year assists total (Dempsey maxed out at 9 in ’05; see here), but, naturally, this isn’t an apples-to-apples kind of thing: it was Dempsey’s ability to unsettle defenses that provided value; I’m assuming Dorman will do things differently - e.g. pass the ball better. Still, this is an experiment worth watching.

Additional Assets
Great Front Office Support - HA HAA HA HA HA HA!!

Liabilities
Aging - The big issue here, key performers in a number of positions - Steve Ralston, certainly, but also Joe “Personal Leave” Franchino, Avery John, Daniel Hernandez - are on the wrong side of 30. Obviously, different players age differently, so it’s not so much that these guys suddenly start sucking wind once they blow out 30 candles on the birthday cake, but there’s no question that there’s a transition coming; depending on the player (think Ralston) that could start this year.

Snake-bit - The chuck an NFL analogy into the discussion, do the Revs become the Buffalo Bills or the Denver Broncos? The former, of course, reached the cusp of success three times and haven’t been heard from since (maybe...I haven’t follow the NFL for shit since the 1980s/90s). I’ve got a bad feeling about how this team recovers mentally from a second consecutive let-down.

Cheap Front Office - While it’s hard to substantiate charges by Shalrie Joseph about “disenchantment” on the Revolution roster, it wouldn’t be all that surprising given their front office’s apparent pride at consistently running this team under budget. There’s something to be said for keeping a tight rein on personnel costs, but there’s also something to being generous with your players when they take your tax write-off to the final two years running. While it’s true they made Twellman happy - though only after several bitter months - the Joseph mess says something about the relationship between players and admin.

Unknowns
Draft Class - I had originally typed “(Insert New Guy Here)” in the “Key Men” section above. Good as the Revs’ starting eleven is, I can’t see this team having a successful season without several of the new guys (for the record: Arsene Oka, Wells Thompson, Miguel Gonzalez, Ryan Solle, Amaechi Igwe, Chris Loftus, or, the one garnering the best press and looking likeliest to start*, Adam Cristman) becoming solid, first-team contributors.

Injuries - Before the season has started, this team is coping with persistent injuries for Pat Noonan*, a freak injury for Michael Parkhurst, and niggling injuries to Hernandez. If the injury bug keeps biting at this rate, I’m guessing the Revs will face a dreaded “transition year.”

Prospects - Using Gambling Analogies
I think the “snake-bit” liability will be telling. There’s an air of desperation, exasperation - perhaps some other kind of “-ation” - surrounding this team, a wild-eyed vibe one might see in a gambler striking off to the pawn shop down the street from the casino. It’s like they’ve got the wedding ring in hand and ready to hawk and they’re hoping against memory that the stone is real diamond and not cubic zirconium. To me, the quality of that stone is Nicol’s Superdraft savvy. If he guessed right - and he may have - the Revs remain a playoff team; I can’t say a contender, but, in all truth, I stopped believing after 2005. But I can also see the Revs missing out this year.

The Nicol model relies on slow, steady growth and that may work. But there are also worrying signs that it’s done as much as it could and bigger intervention is needed. I suspect his seat is getting warm this year; it will only take a bad start to get it up to hot.

(W)Revs Wrap, 02.19.07: Dorman's Day

I know the date is off, but my losing life-long war with technology registered still another setback yesterday when I found myself stranded from the login page for The Offside. (Honestly, I'm willing at this point to submit to eating flavored paste from tubes and getting my eyes wired into a see-through computer screen that will allow me to be ever-productive; just give me a friggin' flying car and I'll go peacefully....)

At any rate, I posted yesterday's item today: a think-piece on expectations that Andy Dorman's role with the New England Revolution will grow and if and how he'll cope. All I'll say here is I'm unsure as to whether he's got the "extra something special" to fill the whole left in the Revolution squad by Dempsey's departure. Best case: he'll be a different, less-flashy, but by no means less effective player.

So, Dorman, prove me wrong, you Welsh stud.

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