So, why am I not feeling easy about the season ahead?
patfan1, another BigSoccer commenter, takes the same view as me (here):
"These games mean nothing. It appears that the rookies can play, at least against the level they've played against. Now comes the test. Here's hoping they can do the same with the season here."
Sums it up nicely, I think. Still, it is good to see the names of the youngsters - Adam Cristman, Arsene Oka, Wells Thompson - all over the several write-ups, because that tells me they're performing at a level higher than that of a preseason Professional Development League (PDL) team; that's what you'd expect when you're players find themselves on the professional side of what a woman in the second link above calls a "half-professional" encounter...bet the Shell Shockers liked that.
Speaking of professionals, the Boston Globe's write-up on the game contained some intriguing details on line-ups, where people (Steve Ralston) played when another (Shalrie Joseph) left; the former elicited a reaction from another message boarder, which precisely matched mine:
"Most interesting news to me was the fact that [Steve Ralston] played center mid after Thompson subbed on."
Let me go on record now as saying this is something I'd like to see Nicol experiment with. Though I read good things about Ralston's fitness and activity further down in the larger discussion on this game, I'm wondering how he'd do as an outright playmaker. You'd lose the crossing (though not totally), but he's a smart passer of the ball and, through a quick first step and guile, has a decent knack for creating small openings for passes and shots. I'm just saying they could do worse.
Right. All for now. Thanks to the BigSoccer people I borrowed from. If I understood "repping" I'd be happy to pass on some...but I've got no idea what that means.
