Ah, my first Harry Potter headline...(cough..cough...nerd!...cough).
Last night’s MLS Primetime match-up suggested at least one thing about the Eastern Conference race: the New England Revolution holds the better hand. Add a win on Saturday/Sunday (forgive the vagueness; I’m forcing myself to go on memory) against DC United and the Revs look a lot like the early favorite for the Eastern title.
Good Lord...do we have to endure another Houston Dynamo/New England MLS Cup. Ugh...chasing that chilling vision of the future from my head...gimme a minute...
Like it or not, the Revs looked good and solid last night (and I’m OK with that). Even if one believes (as I do) that the visiting Kansas City Wizards had the better of the first half, the Revs’ back-three-plus-Matt-Reis limited them to long-range shots on goal; a corner or four or five got the ball in the area, but there wasn’t a lot of penetration. More impressive, though, was the reappearance of New England’s oft-forgotten “passing game”: for the first time in a while, the Revs managed the ball well and with some measure of patience.
But it was the inability of the Wizards to defend as high as they normally do, particularly as the game went on, that defined this game; Shalrie Joseph picking up the ball, turning unimpeded, and abruptly keying the Revs from defense to offense serves as the relevant image. ESPN’s on-air crew noted another piece: the frequency with which either Steve Ralston or Khano Smith enjoyed wide-open spaces on either flank. By the end of the game, “Here come the Revolution” sounded every minute or so, speaking to the siege of KC’s defensive third.
The Wizards, however, retained the aspect of a valid challenger: the Revs held only a one-goal lead for most the game and, in spite of their general attacking advantage, they didn’t put produce that many clear-cut chances. In the earlier part of the game, KC bunkered New England in their end; that’s something, even if they couldn’t break them down. By the second half, the Revs - led by Michael Parkhurst and Jeff Larentowicz - either disrupted the majority of chances before the second pass, or forced defenders to charge far upfield in search of new openings, but the Wizards had enough chances - not to mention one near-miss I mistook for a goal - to pick up a result. They’re good enough for the post-season, no question - unless they don’t keep their heads.
And so it goes: the Revs continue as a contender thanks to the combination of being hard to beat while possessing the personnel to capitalize on a few openings. A great example of this comes in the person of Ralston: at the tail end of one of his worst games I can recall, he plays a perfect ball to Adam Christman, Revs score, game over. At their best, the Revs are just lethal like that.
Some other more specific, yet random observations:
- Michael Parkhurst really does kick ass. So smart, so unflappable, so capable...more on this later.
- I’m finally getting Jeff Larentowicz: even if he’s a little limited going the other way, he’s a fairly capable destroyer.
- That KC was limited to outside shots wouldn’t have mattered so much if more of them looked like Jack Jewsbury’s slicing shot, the one time I thought the Wizards had actually scored. Unfortunately, most the Wizards’ shots went stratospheric.
- What has happened to Carlos Marinelli? He’s like a magician whose deck of cards spilled out of his sleeve. Here I thought he was going to be huge for the Wizards. He may yet, of course, but the Revs sure as hell had him figured.
- Eddie Johnson, Eddie Johnson, Eddie Johnson...what the hell to think, right? Early in the game, he pops the ball to an opening and lashes a quality shot past Avery John; the rest of the game, he gets stood up and....that’s it. He either dropped the ball miles back to a KC defender, or got the ball picked off in making the attempt. Makes one think it’s too easy to get into his head and frustrate him. Johnson needs to correct that.
- Speaking of forwards, Pat Noonan: dang, I like that cat. I like the subtle difference to his game, that little thing that sets him apart from other strikers. Now that he's fit again, I'd really like to see him in the National Team pool to see whether his schtick works in the Bigs.
- When Khano Smith is on, he’s pretty damned fun to watch. I’m tempted to call that 70-yard breakout run, which ended with a great shot on goal and a solid save by KC ‘keep Kevin Hartman as the game’s turning point.
- Speaking of Hartman, LA was friggin’ dumb to let him go. He played a great one last night. Near as I can tell, he gifts the opposition about two goals per season, but is otherwise remains one of the league’s best.
Showing posts with label Pat Noonan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pat Noonan. Show all posts
Another Crew Draw: Wraps, Mine & Others'
I wrote a collossal wrap-up for last night's 2-2 draw between the Columbus Crew and the New England Revolution over on The Offside (LINK). As such, I won't get into details in this space, at least not about the Crew. For a fairly thorough look at the game from their side, interested parties should check out that piece...and, as I usually do, I wrote that before reading anyone else's work, so all errors and idiocies contained therein are entirely my own. I'll chuck out a bunch of links at the bottom; and, for the record, the one behing the "2-2 draw" above is MLSnet.com's official match report.
I'll touch quickly on the Revolution's game, but want to note something up front: while I did predict the draw last night, I got full of myself and named a specific score. As such, I'm counting this a blown call to punish my hubris. So, here I sit at 6-9 for the season; we're talking LA Galaxy bad.
Now, here are some quick thoughts on the game:
- A familiar Taylor Twellman showed up last night: he buried a beauty from range (that he really should have never been made available to him), but missed the silver-platter set up delivered by Pat Noonan late in the game; he scores that, the Revs win over a conference rival and perceptions go crazy.
- Speaking of Noonan, the manner in which he used his head when his body didn't totally cooperate - e.g. he looked a bit tentative out there, if not outright constrained - really impressed me. Even in his limited state, he provided two sterling opportunities that teammates failed to finish.
- What the hell happened to James Riley last night? Even with Twellman missing, the win could have come through surer defending or, failing that, competent trapping. Bad one, James.
- In Riley's defense, it's possible he got caught napping. The Revs got into a great, positive rhythm in the second half and, by the 85th minute, looked to be cruising home. The breakdown is still inexcusable - especially on the individual level - but it's also fairly easy to comprehend.
- That left side is proving problematic - or, put another way, is it possible Khano Smith's golden outing against Toronto FC had more to do with the opposition than him? His replacement, Wells Thompson, showed nice aggression, but he was also clumsy/spazzy. Seeing as he's a rookie, I'll over look it for now. But Revs coach Steve Nicol ought to be open to options (Miguel Gonzalez, Amaechi Igwe, especially Arsene Oka) in that position.
- That first half? Friggin' nightmare. New England looked scrambled and stupid far too often; they couldn't connect passes, etc. It's a small wonder Nicol was pissed.
Now, on to the links, and I've only read the first one:
The New England Revolution Offside LINK - short, sweet and primarily concerned with Andy Herron's elbow.
The Boston Globe LINK
The Boston Herald LINK
Columbus Dispatch LINK
Sensory Overload LINK - looks to be a live-blogging run-down; should be interesting.
Hunt Park Insider dang...not up yet...maybe later, maybe next week...
I'll touch quickly on the Revolution's game, but want to note something up front: while I did predict the draw last night, I got full of myself and named a specific score. As such, I'm counting this a blown call to punish my hubris. So, here I sit at 6-9 for the season; we're talking LA Galaxy bad.
Now, here are some quick thoughts on the game:
- A familiar Taylor Twellman showed up last night: he buried a beauty from range (that he really should have never been made available to him), but missed the silver-platter set up delivered by Pat Noonan late in the game; he scores that, the Revs win over a conference rival and perceptions go crazy.
- Speaking of Noonan, the manner in which he used his head when his body didn't totally cooperate - e.g. he looked a bit tentative out there, if not outright constrained - really impressed me. Even in his limited state, he provided two sterling opportunities that teammates failed to finish.
- What the hell happened to James Riley last night? Even with Twellman missing, the win could have come through surer defending or, failing that, competent trapping. Bad one, James.
- In Riley's defense, it's possible he got caught napping. The Revs got into a great, positive rhythm in the second half and, by the 85th minute, looked to be cruising home. The breakdown is still inexcusable - especially on the individual level - but it's also fairly easy to comprehend.
- That left side is proving problematic - or, put another way, is it possible Khano Smith's golden outing against Toronto FC had more to do with the opposition than him? His replacement, Wells Thompson, showed nice aggression, but he was also clumsy/spazzy. Seeing as he's a rookie, I'll over look it for now. But Revs coach Steve Nicol ought to be open to options (Miguel Gonzalez, Amaechi Igwe, especially Arsene Oka) in that position.
- That first half? Friggin' nightmare. New England looked scrambled and stupid far too often; they couldn't connect passes, etc. It's a small wonder Nicol was pissed.
Now, on to the links, and I've only read the first one:
The New England Revolution Offside LINK - short, sweet and primarily concerned with Andy Herron's elbow.
The Boston Globe LINK
The Boston Herald LINK
Columbus Dispatch LINK
Sensory Overload LINK - looks to be a live-blogging run-down; should be interesting.
Hunt Park Insider dang...not up yet...maybe later, maybe next week...
(W)Revs Wrap: Cristman, Cristman!; More Joseph
I'll start with a little announcement: assuming things go according to plan, I'm going to relinquish my place on the New England Revolution blog for The Offside. Sabin, who has been my partner in producing that corner of The Offside, will take over sole authorship.
I decided instead to blog about another Major League Soccer (MLS) club: the Columbus Crew. They need the love and, me being a son of Ohio, I thought I'd make a decent fit. I'll let y'all know as soon as things get nailed down, but I won't, however, be linking back and forth between this site and that one. Why? This is, and will remain, a New England Revolution blog. In spite of my boredom/frustration with my team, I'm not changing allegiances. I'm merely providing a need - though it helps that it's a team for whom I've got a soft spot. So, Go Crew...except when you play New England.
Turning now to actual Revs' there's not much of substance. There are a couple nice pieces on rookie forward Adam Cristman, though one is more practically valuable than the other. That could be a factor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch piece focusing on Cristman's emotional well-being (good, for the record) instead of cold calculations of what will happen on the field, which is the tack taken by Soccer New England. With Pat Noonan's injuries looking to keep him out for the first game or so, these are things you might want to know.
Then again, New England Soccer News ran a piece this morning that is cautiously optimistic about an early return for Noonan. This space's position: it's a long season, people, don't rush it. Please?
Other quick items:
The Revolution corner of the BigSoccer boards is carrying a decent debate on the spat between Shalrie Joseph and the Revolution front office. It was petering into jabs last time I visited, but there's good content on sports economics and the value of a contract versus the value of a player in there as well.
And, tucked in the middle of expansive commentary on DC United and sundry items, the Washington Post's Steve Goff had something interesting to say about the 2007 Eastern Conference race:
Swell.
I decided instead to blog about another Major League Soccer (MLS) club: the Columbus Crew. They need the love and, me being a son of Ohio, I thought I'd make a decent fit. I'll let y'all know as soon as things get nailed down, but I won't, however, be linking back and forth between this site and that one. Why? This is, and will remain, a New England Revolution blog. In spite of my boredom/frustration with my team, I'm not changing allegiances. I'm merely providing a need - though it helps that it's a team for whom I've got a soft spot. So, Go Crew...except when you play New England.
Turning now to actual Revs' there's not much of substance. There are a couple nice pieces on rookie forward Adam Cristman, though one is more practically valuable than the other. That could be a factor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch piece focusing on Cristman's emotional well-being (good, for the record) instead of cold calculations of what will happen on the field, which is the tack taken by Soccer New England. With Pat Noonan's injuries looking to keep him out for the first game or so, these are things you might want to know.
Then again, New England Soccer News ran a piece this morning that is cautiously optimistic about an early return for Noonan. This space's position: it's a long season, people, don't rush it. Please?
Other quick items:
The Revolution corner of the BigSoccer boards is carrying a decent debate on the spat between Shalrie Joseph and the Revolution front office. It was petering into jabs last time I visited, but there's good content on sports economics and the value of a contract versus the value of a player in there as well.
And, tucked in the middle of expansive commentary on DC United and sundry items, the Washington Post's Steve Goff had something interesting to say about the 2007 Eastern Conference race:
"Q: Who do you think is the most improved team in MLS this offseason? Who's going to be worse off than last year?"
"A: Once Beckham settles in, LA could have a very good team after missing the playoffs last year. NY has some potential with Arena in charge and Reyna in the leadership role. Worse? Things aren't looking good in New England."
Swell.
(W)Revs Wrap: Fearing Columbus; Preseason Pain
As I threatened to do a couple of days ago, I expanded on my theory that the Columbus Crew could have a decent year, which, in turn threatens the New England Revolution's shot at one of the same. That's posted on The Offside and, given that I'm ostensibly that site's Revolution blogger, it probably contains too much commentary on the Crew.
There's one wrinkle in that post, this one regarding the changes made between 2006 and 2007 to the Major League Soccer's playoff format. Now, the majority of these rules are pretty straightforward - see seeds #1, 2, and 5-8. It's seeds #3 and #4 where things get a little wacky:
And then there's seed #4a, which invalidates the rule on the fourth seed in the case that said team's roster contains more than five left-footed players....
I kid, I kid. I think I see what they're going for here - e.g. preserving some meaningful separation between the conferences - and that it's the language necessary for seeding the two conference runners-up that it read so clunky. But, if I'm reading this correctly, it's pretty straightforward: the top two teams from both the Western and Eastern Conferences, 1) make the playoffs, and 2) get seeded above the rest, which, again, if I'm reading this right, offers potential for only one free ride (e.g. the runner-up from one of the conferences could have a sucky record - worse in fact than one or more teams seeded below them - but not only still make the post-season, but place high within the bracket).
But, in concrete terms, it's hard to know whether this hurts or helps the Revs. I'm about to do a season-preview freak-out, which (I hope) will better familiarize me with the ramifications of this - e.g. how they stack up in the East and against the Western Conference teams who can pip them on points if New England fails to finish either first or second.
P.S. I like the new playoff format thus far. It should make people nervous and that's a good thing.
In other Revolution news, the Boston Globe ran a rare piece on the Revolution, this one looking at who's likely to play in tonight's friendly against AC Inter Playa del Carmen. To save you the read, it looks like Adam Cristman, who has impressed the Revs' coaching staff, will get a shot at forward while James Riley will (gulp) start in central defense. That's less a shot at Riley, who I like well enough elsewhere on the field, as it speaks to an uneasiness about him playing central defense in a three-man defense.
But, as the article points out, Revs coach Steve Nicol has faith...we'll see if it's justified later.
The new guy - and the new-ish guy - owe their breaks to a pretty scary injury bug making the rounds through the Revolution locker room. The missing include Pat Noonan (surprise), Daniel Hernandez, and Michael Parkhurst.
There's one wrinkle in that post, this one regarding the changes made between 2006 and 2007 to the Major League Soccer's playoff format. Now, the majority of these rules are pretty straightforward - see seeds #1, 2, and 5-8. It's seeds #3 and #4 where things get a little wacky:
"3) Conference runner up with highest point total."
"4) Conference Champ runner up with the point total lower than the other Conference Champ runner-up"
And then there's seed #4a, which invalidates the rule on the fourth seed in the case that said team's roster contains more than five left-footed players....
I kid, I kid. I think I see what they're going for here - e.g. preserving some meaningful separation between the conferences - and that it's the language necessary for seeding the two conference runners-up that it read so clunky. But, if I'm reading this correctly, it's pretty straightforward: the top two teams from both the Western and Eastern Conferences, 1) make the playoffs, and 2) get seeded above the rest, which, again, if I'm reading this right, offers potential for only one free ride (e.g. the runner-up from one of the conferences could have a sucky record - worse in fact than one or more teams seeded below them - but not only still make the post-season, but place high within the bracket).
But, in concrete terms, it's hard to know whether this hurts or helps the Revs. I'm about to do a season-preview freak-out, which (I hope) will better familiarize me with the ramifications of this - e.g. how they stack up in the East and against the Western Conference teams who can pip them on points if New England fails to finish either first or second.
P.S. I like the new playoff format thus far. It should make people nervous and that's a good thing.
In other Revolution news, the Boston Globe ran a rare piece on the Revolution, this one looking at who's likely to play in tonight's friendly against AC Inter Playa del Carmen. To save you the read, it looks like Adam Cristman, who has impressed the Revs' coaching staff, will get a shot at forward while James Riley will (gulp) start in central defense. That's less a shot at Riley, who I like well enough elsewhere on the field, as it speaks to an uneasiness about him playing central defense in a three-man defense.
But, as the article points out, Revs coach Steve Nicol has faith...we'll see if it's justified later.
The new guy - and the new-ish guy - owe their breaks to a pretty scary injury bug making the rounds through the Revolution locker room. The missing include Pat Noonan (surprise), Daniel Hernandez, and Michael Parkhurst.
(W)Revs Wrap, 02.13.07: Twellman's Payday (Mystery)
So, what will Taylor Twellman really earn over the next four years? Depends on where you look. After posting the figures that appeared in yesterday's report in The Boston Globe - this is the "around $300,000 per year" figure - I've since come across reports pegging the payday a little higher. An Associated Press piece that appeared on ESPN reported:
For the record, several non-AP sources cite the same numbers (LINK and LINK - at least with regard to the first two years). Against that, Boston's other daily - The Boston Herald - goes with the same numbers as The Globe's.
So...what to think? At first I thought I'd go with the most recent date-lines, but that didn't fly: the AP's report ran on February 12, the same day as The Globe's. The rest of the stories appeared on February 13, but I wouldn't be surprised if they just read the AP's numbers and reported from there. I suppose it doesn't matter, seeing as Twellman's reportedly "delighted with the deal."
Then again, unless I'm misunderstanding the whole designated-player deal - or, possibly, the league maximum - it seems like those AP figures would put Twellman in designated-player territory, something the original Globe report explicitly precluded.
Whatever. I'm calling this for the local media, greater detail in the AP's report and what this means for Twellman's pocket-book be damned.
In other Revs news....
Twellman & Noonan
An MLSnet.com article, the one about Twellman being delighted, thinks out loud a bit about what a healthy and active Twellman/Pat Noonan partnership could mean to the Revs' offense this season:
In a word, said partnership would mean a lot, especially with Dempsey absent. Get well, both of you...we need you
Free Avery (or pay him, tightwads!)
If Twellman's delighted, there's another man on the roster feeling a decidedly opposite emotion: Avery John. Soccer New England caught up with the defender who sounds somewhat philosophical about MLS blocking a move to England's Queen's Park Rangers. Along with a few posters on the Bigsoccer thread (sort of) devoted to John's situation, I'm hoping the Revs front office makes up for blocking the trade by giving him a raise over the comparative pittance he earned last season. The Revs defense looked a fair sight better when he came on late in the season.
Miscellaneous
- This doesn't effect me so much, but there will be thorough regional TV coverage of the New England Revolution in 2007. Unfortunately, my Portland, Oregon (well...Beaverton, actually) cable package doesn't get TV38. Maybe when I go satellite....
- Here's the latest on the Revolution's preseason schedule according to MLSnet.com's grand round-up:
Mmmm...still thin on detail, I see.
"Twellman will make $375,000 in each of the first two years of the contract, more the third year with the total based on performance and $450,000 in the final year."
For the record, several non-AP sources cite the same numbers (LINK and LINK - at least with regard to the first two years). Against that, Boston's other daily - The Boston Herald - goes with the same numbers as The Globe's.
So...what to think? At first I thought I'd go with the most recent date-lines, but that didn't fly: the AP's report ran on February 12, the same day as The Globe's. The rest of the stories appeared on February 13, but I wouldn't be surprised if they just read the AP's numbers and reported from there. I suppose it doesn't matter, seeing as Twellman's reportedly "delighted with the deal."
Then again, unless I'm misunderstanding the whole designated-player deal - or, possibly, the league maximum - it seems like those AP figures would put Twellman in designated-player territory, something the original Globe report explicitly precluded.
Whatever. I'm calling this for the local media, greater detail in the AP's report and what this means for Twellman's pocket-book be damned.
In other Revs news....
Twellman & Noonan
An MLSnet.com article, the one about Twellman being delighted, thinks out loud a bit about what a healthy and active Twellman/Pat Noonan partnership could mean to the Revs' offense this season:
"After sharing 60 goals and 34 assists in their first three seasons together, the forward pairing badly missed each other in the 2006 regular season. Twellman's total of 11 goals was the second-lowest output of his career, while Noonan found the net just once."
In a word, said partnership would mean a lot, especially with Dempsey absent. Get well, both of you...we need you
Free Avery (or pay him, tightwads!)
If Twellman's delighted, there's another man on the roster feeling a decidedly opposite emotion: Avery John. Soccer New England caught up with the defender who sounds somewhat philosophical about MLS blocking a move to England's Queen's Park Rangers. Along with a few posters on the Bigsoccer thread (sort of) devoted to John's situation, I'm hoping the Revs front office makes up for blocking the trade by giving him a raise over the comparative pittance he earned last season. The Revs defense looked a fair sight better when he came on late in the season.
Miscellaneous
- This doesn't effect me so much, but there will be thorough regional TV coverage of the New England Revolution in 2007. Unfortunately, my Portland, Oregon (well...Beaverton, actually) cable package doesn't get TV38. Maybe when I go satellite....
- Here's the latest on the Revolution's preseason schedule according to MLSnet.com's grand round-up:
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
Feb. 16-24: Training in Bermuda
March 8-16: Training in Cancun, Mexico
Matches scheduled
Matches in Bermuda TBD
Matches in Cancun, Mexico TBD
Remainder of preseason schedule TBD
Mmmm...still thin on detail, I see.
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