MLSUnderground broke the story yesterday (at least for my little corner of the world) and, in spite of the absence of "official word" (whoops, went official while I was typing), the mainsteam media reported on it today (out of Utah, the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune; from Colorado, The Denver Post (sort of; can you spell blurb?) and Rocky Mountain News).
The news: Real Salt Lake (RSL) traded midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy to the Colorado Rapids for Kyle Beckerman. Naturally, it was down to the blogs to tell us what to think about it.
Curiously, the emotions I'm seeing run from curious to happy regardless of the team they support. The Real Salt Lake Offside begins his post with a stirring, "I do not disagree with this trade." Nearly all the papers that posted more than a blurb mentioned Beckerman's stormy past with RSL's fans, so I had expected talk anticipating a tack or two on Beckerman's locker-room seat, but...nope; it's pretty polite. And the only hostility apparent on The Rapids Offside is directed at Beckerman, who Clint figures will make the worst team in MLS (that's RSL; I know; it's close) "become even worse" - go figure.
Naturally, these could be individual fan views and Beckerman, for his past sins, may yet have to endure some kind of fan-directed spanking tunnel (y'know...when a kid has to crawl through the legs of a bunch of other kids who spank him on his way through? no?). Then again, maybe not.
Turning to more neutral venues, USSoccerplayers.com's Ian Plenderleith, dubs this a good move for Real; going the other way, FC Rocky, who makes up for the Rocky Mountain News' disinterest in soccer, seems surprisingly excited about the young Ballouchy's arrival. Given all that, it's hard to say who won. Maybe they both did (though one commenter on MLS Underground's original post viewed this as both teams, essentially standing pat). Ives Galarcep did a fair job of a both glasses half-full approach on his blog; he's also got good stuff in there on both teams' needs, "The Clavijo Situation" (which is sure to depress Rapids fans), and what this means for Freddy Adu.
So after reading all that, and doing a little thinking, here's what I've got: on a player-to-player level, RSL probably did better; put another way, I rate Beckerman's overall game higher than Ballouchy's - though, I also think Ballouchy has a bigger potential upside, with the stress on the word "potential." In terms of needs met now, again, I'd go with RSL: I would love to be proved wrong here because I see hints here and there that Ballouchy can be the kind of player I like watching, but Colorado needs goal-scorers and that Ballouchy ain't that. Beckerman should help RSL with building the standard model MLS team: e.g. one that's hard to beat, which is something RSL can definitely use; in spite of a stretch of draws in May, RSL went back to losing ways thereafter.
Given all that, advantage RSL - even if it's not much of an advantage. The sad thing is, you have to wonder what someone like Ballouchy can do in the right environment - hardly an apt description for Colorado circa 2007. You have to wonder if he'll get a chance.
Showing posts with label Real Salt Lake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Real Salt Lake. Show all posts
Top 5, 07.13: FCD D News; Stats; RSL Grovels
With no oxygen left outside LA for reasons already discussed, I doubt this will gain notice. But here goes...
- Just when FC Dallas is finally able to field Adrian Serioux, they lose Alex Yi to a hamstring injury. Sucks for them, but even more for Yi, who seemed to be getting used to the whole pro-soccer thing. In a related note, FCD versus DC United ought to be one of the games of the weekend, right?
- Throughball posted a cool table showing some kind of statistical formula for offensive production, adjusted by position. I picked this up through The Offside, who expressed reasonable shock that Clint Mathis came in second, but that's hardly the only surprise in there. Eddie Gaven?
- This comment barely relates to the article, but, while I was reading something about New England's Michael Parkhurst finally shifting back to where he likes to be, a random comment about Shalrie Joseph's status got me thinking: given a playoff format as generous as Major League Soccer's (MLS), why the hell does any team not give top players time to heal, room to get well before the late-season push? The Revs kept rushing Pat Noonan back last year. I don't get it. This league's regular season schedule may be crowded, but it's also exceptionally soft - soft enough that you don't saving players where you can makes a lot more sense than trying to kill them.
- I noted Jason Kreis' open letter to Real Salt Lake fans yesterday, but, as reported on The Offside Rules, they're bowing lower still by having players call season-ticket holders. It's nice, I suppose, in a stalker-boyfriend who can't do anything right kind of way, but they really don't pay the players enough to abase themselves in that manner.
- I never knew Chicago had so many Mexicans. Now I do - it's in this Houston Chronicle article a little ways down - and now so do you.
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- Just when FC Dallas is finally able to field Adrian Serioux, they lose Alex Yi to a hamstring injury. Sucks for them, but even more for Yi, who seemed to be getting used to the whole pro-soccer thing. In a related note, FCD versus DC United ought to be one of the games of the weekend, right?
- Throughball posted a cool table showing some kind of statistical formula for offensive production, adjusted by position. I picked this up through The Offside, who expressed reasonable shock that Clint Mathis came in second, but that's hardly the only surprise in there. Eddie Gaven?
- This comment barely relates to the article, but, while I was reading something about New England's Michael Parkhurst finally shifting back to where he likes to be, a random comment about Shalrie Joseph's status got me thinking: given a playoff format as generous as Major League Soccer's (MLS), why the hell does any team not give top players time to heal, room to get well before the late-season push? The Revs kept rushing Pat Noonan back last year. I don't get it. This league's regular season schedule may be crowded, but it's also exceptionally soft - soft enough that you don't saving players where you can makes a lot more sense than trying to kill them.
- I noted Jason Kreis' open letter to Real Salt Lake fans yesterday, but, as reported on The Offside Rules, they're bowing lower still by having players call season-ticket holders. It's nice, I suppose, in a stalker-boyfriend who can't do anything right kind of way, but they really don't pay the players enough to abase themselves in that manner.
- I never knew Chicago had so many Mexicans. Now I do - it's in this Houston Chronicle article a little ways down - and now so do you.
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Top 5, 07.12: No USOC for DC; Other USOC; Stadium Porn; Kreis...
...and I leave the ellipses because I like Jason Kreis well enough and couldn't think of an appropriate verb that wouldn't sound insulting.
Trying to make this quick today.
- As a (I think) Harrisburg, PA blog put it, DC became the latest Major League Soccer (MLS) team to "go poof" in the U.S. Open Cup (OK: the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup...by Wheaties). The Harrisburg Patriot-News did a good homer write-up...as well they should. I see this loss as part of an irksome trend I mentioned yesterday and what The Offside Rules wrote today.
- Speaking of the Open Cup, Bill Urban forwarded a swell idea on USSoccerplayers.com: reserving a spot in the Superliga for the Open Cup champion (and how cool would it be if, say, the Harrisburg City Islanders lifted the Cup?). I wholly endorse Mr. Urban's recommendation - but would modestly propose adding the structural adjustments I mentioned yesterday (see the "yesterday" link above).
- I held off on this yesterday, but won't be able to ignore it till I post it and get the urge out of my system. The computer-drawn mock-ups of DC's potential stadium look delightfully space age. The image fourth from the left is my personal favorite...very tech.
- Jason Kreis' open letter to RSL fans is....is....I don't know. Painful? Mildly embarrassing, yet simultaneously appropriate? All I know is, the man deserved a better situation.
- As a fan of MLS trying to use cheapness - and I don't care what they discount: tickets, beer, parking; just something - I just wish a team other than Chivas USA was the one to give it a real-world test. Turning things over to Chivas USA co-owner, Antonio Cue:
Um...solidarity?
Ah, finally got the length of a Top 5 post to where I want it.
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Trying to make this quick today.
- As a (I think) Harrisburg, PA blog put it, DC became the latest Major League Soccer (MLS) team to "go poof" in the U.S. Open Cup (OK: the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup...by Wheaties). The Harrisburg Patriot-News did a good homer write-up...as well they should. I see this loss as part of an irksome trend I mentioned yesterday and what The Offside Rules wrote today.
- Speaking of the Open Cup, Bill Urban forwarded a swell idea on USSoccerplayers.com: reserving a spot in the Superliga for the Open Cup champion (and how cool would it be if, say, the Harrisburg City Islanders lifted the Cup?). I wholly endorse Mr. Urban's recommendation - but would modestly propose adding the structural adjustments I mentioned yesterday (see the "yesterday" link above).
- I held off on this yesterday, but won't be able to ignore it till I post it and get the urge out of my system. The computer-drawn mock-ups of DC's potential stadium look delightfully space age. The image fourth from the left is my personal favorite...very tech.
- Jason Kreis' open letter to RSL fans is....is....I don't know. Painful? Mildly embarrassing, yet simultaneously appropriate? All I know is, the man deserved a better situation.
- As a fan of MLS trying to use cheapness - and I don't care what they discount: tickets, beer, parking; just something - I just wish a team other than Chivas USA was the one to give it a real-world test. Turning things over to Chivas USA co-owner, Antonio Cue:
"We have not changed our ticket prices because we are trying to be just with the people and give them the best benefit with the soccer we are giving."
Um...solidarity?
Ah, finally got the length of a Top 5 post to where I want it.
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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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- 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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Top 5, 06.29: Better Copa Chatter; DC Win, The Shirt
Behold, the Web's bounty...
- Since I couldn't see the game (which is not Comcastic), I read reports on the U.S. loss till they all sounded the same - e.g. man, did we lose and why, Eddie Gaven, why? A couple stood above the others, though. Dan Loney's reply to a reader email on "what it all meant" says what I wanted to say earlier...only better (Dan Loney Says It Better?). So, good thing I posted the video...
The best detail line I saw came from Jen Chang's analysis on his ESPN blog, in the section on Eddie Johnson. For what it's worth, I concur with this statement: "...[Johnson] still remains too much of a one-trick pony for me. He's great at running onto through balls, but that's about it." The elaboration from this point, particularly on EJ's hesitancy, is worth the gander too.
- DC United jumped on the Colorado Rapids Argentina-style last night (i.e. late, and by the same score), but the thing that caught my eye was Fred's evangelical celebration. Now, neither The DCenters or The Offside Rules took offense at Fred's choice of celebration - and they're absolutely correct in that; The Offside Rules took it a step farther by questioning the referee's decision to issue a yellow card. Yeah, Fred's free to don that shirt, but it just sticks in my craw that a player would catch all kinds of hell - and, likely, bad publicity - for showing a t-shirt with the message "There Is No God." Just makes me cross, the way free speech works sometimes...bet the player who wears an aggressively atheist shirt would get fined to boot...
- Anyone have any idea why MLS Newsstand is stuck on Monday? Did they move it? All I know is I'm not about to go back to checking all those damn regional papers.
- Is it just more or is this the wildest season for trades in MLS history? Fox Soccer has a useful feature recording all but the most recent trades.
- Finally, I don't do previews any more (I'm actually going to try something new shortly) but I still admire them when they're done well. And the one Wiz turned in for The Real Salt Lake Offside wonderfully frames this weekend's game between Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC. Give this man a job in the marketing department.
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- Since I couldn't see the game (which is not Comcastic), I read reports on the U.S. loss till they all sounded the same - e.g. man, did we lose and why, Eddie Gaven, why? A couple stood above the others, though. Dan Loney's reply to a reader email on "what it all meant" says what I wanted to say earlier...only better (Dan Loney Says It Better?). So, good thing I posted the video...
The best detail line I saw came from Jen Chang's analysis on his ESPN blog, in the section on Eddie Johnson. For what it's worth, I concur with this statement: "...[Johnson] still remains too much of a one-trick pony for me. He's great at running onto through balls, but that's about it." The elaboration from this point, particularly on EJ's hesitancy, is worth the gander too.
- DC United jumped on the Colorado Rapids Argentina-style last night (i.e. late, and by the same score), but the thing that caught my eye was Fred's evangelical celebration. Now, neither The DCenters or The Offside Rules took offense at Fred's choice of celebration - and they're absolutely correct in that; The Offside Rules took it a step farther by questioning the referee's decision to issue a yellow card. Yeah, Fred's free to don that shirt, but it just sticks in my craw that a player would catch all kinds of hell - and, likely, bad publicity - for showing a t-shirt with the message "There Is No God." Just makes me cross, the way free speech works sometimes...bet the player who wears an aggressively atheist shirt would get fined to boot...
- Anyone have any idea why MLS Newsstand is stuck on Monday? Did they move it? All I know is I'm not about to go back to checking all those damn regional papers.
- Is it just more or is this the wildest season for trades in MLS history? Fox Soccer has a useful feature recording all but the most recent trades.
- Finally, I don't do previews any more (I'm actually going to try something new shortly) but I still admire them when they're done well. And the one Wiz turned in for The Real Salt Lake Offside wonderfully frames this weekend's game between Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC. Give this man a job in the marketing department.
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Top 5, 06.26.07: Bonus Cubans, Fire Coach Coming
In spite of a personal belief that it contains all the best stuff in the house, I decided "junk drawer" might sound like I was tossing out a bunch of surplus stuff. Yes..."Top 5" sounds so much more impressive...
- News that Chivas USA picked up the two Cuban national team players - Osvaldo Alonso and Lester Mor(e?) - who defected during this year's Gold Cup leaves me wishing that I'd watched more of the Gold Cup. In a side question, will Maykel Galindo ever stop giving to his team?
- All right, um, the rest-of-the-country's media: the Deseret News laid down the gauntlet with their complete history of Real Salt Lake trades. Not only do they name them, they manage to discuss them intelligently. Now, it's your turn...
- Soccer America reports that Chicago will announce their new coach early as next week...or, rather, that GM John Guppy would "like to make an announcement by the end of next week." Based on what's written there, Sunday's home game against the Colorado Rapids could be Denis Hamlett's sole game as Fire head coach. The way it's written makes one think Frank Klopas has as good a crack at the job as anyone.
- Call this 3A: speaking of Chicago Fire coaches, Luis Arroyave wrote a decent, somewhat personal, retrospective on David Sarachan's relationship with his little corner of the media.
- In run-of-the-mill trade news, the Toronto Star reports Mo Johnston finally got his (323rd) man: Collin Samuel has officially signed with Toronto FC. I don't know anything about Samuel and can't say how he'll do in MLS, but something in the Star's report leaves me wondering about the intensity of Mo's courtship: "Samuel, listed at 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, scored 14 goals in 115 games with Dundee." Um....
- Finally, yeah, I admit it: I got a warm, fuzzy kick out of the "Futbol Meets Football" video clip featuring David "Show Pony" Beckham and Reggie "No Nickname" Bush. Hat-tip to Laurie at The LA Offside for posting it - and kudos for her bravery in admitting a soft spot for the segment as well.
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- News that Chivas USA picked up the two Cuban national team players - Osvaldo Alonso and Lester Mor(e?) - who defected during this year's Gold Cup leaves me wishing that I'd watched more of the Gold Cup. In a side question, will Maykel Galindo ever stop giving to his team?
- All right, um, the rest-of-the-country's media: the Deseret News laid down the gauntlet with their complete history of Real Salt Lake trades. Not only do they name them, they manage to discuss them intelligently. Now, it's your turn...
- Soccer America reports that Chicago will announce their new coach early as next week...or, rather, that GM John Guppy would "like to make an announcement by the end of next week." Based on what's written there, Sunday's home game against the Colorado Rapids could be Denis Hamlett's sole game as Fire head coach. The way it's written makes one think Frank Klopas has as good a crack at the job as anyone.
- Call this 3A: speaking of Chicago Fire coaches, Luis Arroyave wrote a decent, somewhat personal, retrospective on David Sarachan's relationship with his little corner of the media.
- In run-of-the-mill trade news, the Toronto Star reports Mo Johnston finally got his (323rd) man: Collin Samuel has officially signed with Toronto FC. I don't know anything about Samuel and can't say how he'll do in MLS, but something in the Star's report leaves me wondering about the intensity of Mo's courtship: "Samuel, listed at 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, scored 14 goals in 115 games with Dundee." Um....
- Finally, yeah, I admit it: I got a warm, fuzzy kick out of the "Futbol Meets Football" video clip featuring David "Show Pony" Beckham and Reggie "No Nickname" Bush. Hat-tip to Laurie at The LA Offside for posting it - and kudos for her bravery in admitting a soft spot for the segment as well.
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Junk Drawer, 06.19: Limping Red Bull, U-20s, CONCACAF
A second, successful wrap of the interesting stuff I found around the Web today....
- While few seem willing to cut Red Bull New York much slack for their injury problems - I mean, they just kinda have to work it out, right? - it's fair to acknowledge they're real. And, speaking from personal experience, playing in an unfamiliar position ain't easy at any level. Fortunately for them, they've got a bye week ahead.
- Speaking of Red Bull, Ives Galarcep did a piece on their youth program...good stuff.
- Even though I have seen most the players named to the U.S. U-20 roster first-hand, I'm still having trouble believing, as Andrea Canales repeatedly states in her analysis, that we're fielding the best anything in that tournament (we've got South Korea, Poland, and Brazil in the first round and that still holds?) Still, she's watching closer than me, so I hope she's right.
- Speaking of Canales, I have to give her props for something she wrote about the competitiveness in the CONCACAF region:
Let's hear it for bold, beautiful calls.
- It sounds like FC Dallas picked up a Brazilian (not the body wax...yucky!), at least that's what 3rd Degree tells me. The post throws in a couple more names as well...glad I found that site again.
- Finally, if you're in the mood for a depressing look at the Real Salt Lake defense, the Deseret News obliges.
- While few seem willing to cut Red Bull New York much slack for their injury problems - I mean, they just kinda have to work it out, right? - it's fair to acknowledge they're real. And, speaking from personal experience, playing in an unfamiliar position ain't easy at any level. Fortunately for them, they've got a bye week ahead.
- Speaking of Red Bull, Ives Galarcep did a piece on their youth program...good stuff.
- Even though I have seen most the players named to the U.S. U-20 roster first-hand, I'm still having trouble believing, as Andrea Canales repeatedly states in her analysis, that we're fielding the best anything in that tournament (we've got South Korea, Poland, and Brazil in the first round and that still holds?) Still, she's watching closer than me, so I hope she's right.
- Speaking of Canales, I have to give her props for something she wrote about the competitiveness in the CONCACAF region:
"...So I disagree that Mexico and the U.S. qualifying for the World Cup is going to be a foregone conclusion. In fact, I predict that within the next couple of cycles, one of the two won't make it. On current form, it could be Mexico.
"
Let's hear it for bold, beautiful calls.
- It sounds like FC Dallas picked up a Brazilian (not the body wax...yucky!), at least that's what 3rd Degree tells me. The post throws in a couple more names as well...glad I found that site again.
- Finally, if you're in the mood for a depressing look at the Real Salt Lake defense, the Deseret News obliges.
Junk-Drawer, 06.18: Kick 'Em While They're Hurtin'
I'm trying, for what must be the sixth time, to post a daily/weekly/periodic round-up of all the good, good things I find in my online travels; my total failure in managing a weekly round-up tells me it's time to give daily a shot again.
At any rate, it's primarily giving the nod to the work of others, though I'll sneak in my share of comments. Here goes:
- To lead with what I led with, fans of some Major League Soccer (MLS) teams that endured tough weekends laid into their clubs. Two personal favorites:
+ The Real Salt Lake Offside blog writes:
+ My favorite hit, however, appeared on FC Rocky under the title "Plenty of Goats to Go Around":
In other news, commentary, and drama....
- Ian Plenderleith posted something (that I can't link to; c'mon USSoccerplayers.com, let's get that permalink situation squared away) on Toronto FC (by way of commenting on Chicago) that I thought worth noting:
Yeah, I think he's implying that they're thugs...
- Speaking of Toronto FC - or rather FC Dallas - The Offside blogger for that team (that's Toronto, not Dallas) noted something in his match report of the Texas team's blowout loss to TFC that has puzzled me quite a bit this year: Dallas' mysteriously condensed schedule - e.g. they've played 14 games, while no other team has played more than 12; naturally, they're griping about fatigue, arguably with justification. The thing is, I checked out Dallas' schedule and I'm not seeing many gaps in there outside of August. Between Superliga, exhibitions, and (presumably) Open Cup play, these cats are nearly as busy as LA. So, if the current roster can't handle the workload, I'd expect this team to stay close to .500.
- Down the Byline's offered a good perspective of the PK that allowed Red Bull to equalize:
- As explained in a taunting post by Ives Galarcep, New England could have signed Guillermo Barros Schelotto. These are the days Steve Nicol frustrates me.
- It sounds like the LA Galaxy's signing of Honduran forward Carlos Pavon is as close to official as one can get without actually being official. That should be interesting....
- Finally, with a hat-tip to Offside Rules, who checked one of the few political blogs I normally visit, Slate.com ran a cool feature on our lack of tradition where our uniforms are concerned. It's a cool, quick trip through the past and sharply written as well. Well worth the gander.
At any rate, it's primarily giving the nod to the work of others, though I'll sneak in my share of comments. Here goes:
- To lead with what I led with, fans of some Major League Soccer (MLS) teams that endured tough weekends laid into their clubs. Two personal favorites:
+ The Real Salt Lake Offside blog writes:
"We now, officially, have a worst team in the MLS. It was a hard-fought battle for the basement spot, and at times, both sides played like they wanted it, but congratulations to the LA Galaxy … you’re slightly better than the worst team in the MLS."
+ My favorite hit, however, appeared on FC Rocky under the title "Plenty of Goats to Go Around":
"When it comes time to make FIFA 2009, the video game's programmers should create four difficulty settings: easy, medium, hard and Rapids."
In other news, commentary, and drama....
- Ian Plenderleith posted something (that I can't link to; c'mon USSoccerplayers.com, let's get that permalink situation squared away) on Toronto FC (by way of commenting on Chicago) that I thought worth noting:
"Teams above [the Chicago Fire] have more points, and have mostly played less games, while Toronto FC is breathing down its neck (or more likely tugging at its shirt and kicking at its calves), also with a game in hand."
Yeah, I think he's implying that they're thugs...
- Speaking of Toronto FC - or rather FC Dallas - The Offside blogger for that team (that's Toronto, not Dallas) noted something in his match report of the Texas team's blowout loss to TFC that has puzzled me quite a bit this year: Dallas' mysteriously condensed schedule - e.g. they've played 14 games, while no other team has played more than 12; naturally, they're griping about fatigue, arguably with justification. The thing is, I checked out Dallas' schedule and I'm not seeing many gaps in there outside of August. Between Superliga, exhibitions, and (presumably) Open Cup play, these cats are nearly as busy as LA. So, if the current roster can't handle the workload, I'd expect this team to stay close to .500.
- Down the Byline's offered a good perspective of the PK that allowed Red Bull to equalize:
"While the PK was a bad call in my opinion, Jose Burciaga Jr. has to be smarter then that in those situations, the ball looked to be going over John Wolyniec's head, and Burciaga went clumsily into the challenge, even if it was a bad call you can't go into the challenge like that."
- As explained in a taunting post by Ives Galarcep, New England could have signed Guillermo Barros Schelotto. These are the days Steve Nicol frustrates me.
- It sounds like the LA Galaxy's signing of Honduran forward Carlos Pavon is as close to official as one can get without actually being official. That should be interesting....
- Finally, with a hat-tip to Offside Rules, who checked one of the few political blogs I normally visit, Slate.com ran a cool feature on our lack of tradition where our uniforms are concerned. It's a cool, quick trip through the past and sharply written as well. Well worth the gander.
Hey...I Liked Eddie Too
As all y'all know, Real Salt Lake (or, for those who prefer to remember happier times, DC United) defender Eddie Pope will retire at the end of the 2007 season. Citing chronic physical pain, Pope will gut out what currently looks like a year of chronic psychic pain and humiliation before heading off into the sunset...no doubt with that same seemingly ambling, yet shockingly effective, pace that has made him one of the best defenders MLS has ever known.
I've always loved Pope as a player, in spite of every split-second, pants-shitting moment he had me convinced he was beat only to pull off a patented recovery and careful separation of the ball from the attacking player. His expression and body language so contrasted with my perception of the play in motion, that it's almost fair to say Eddie always knew he'd get the ball even when I didn't (I only say "almost" 'cause I'm pretty sure Eddie never once thought about me while defending - and thank god, 'cause that would be weird).
There's something in the tribute piece Michael Lewis wrote for MLSnet.com that gets at this mind-set I perceive. And, speaking from personal experience as a long-time and generally mediocre rec player, what Pope talks about in the quote below is precisely what helped me improve my game to the high end of mediocrity:
The mind-set Pope describes should be pounded into the head of every kid playing the game. The key is to keep your head and keep at it.
Yessir. Eddie is a great player...I just didn't know he was a philosopher.
I've always loved Pope as a player, in spite of every split-second, pants-shitting moment he had me convinced he was beat only to pull off a patented recovery and careful separation of the ball from the attacking player. His expression and body language so contrasted with my perception of the play in motion, that it's almost fair to say Eddie always knew he'd get the ball even when I didn't (I only say "almost" 'cause I'm pretty sure Eddie never once thought about me while defending - and thank god, 'cause that would be weird).
There's something in the tribute piece Michael Lewis wrote for MLSnet.com that gets at this mind-set I perceive. And, speaking from personal experience as a long-time and generally mediocre rec player, what Pope talks about in the quote below is precisely what helped me improve my game to the high end of mediocrity:
"At times you can look great and at times you can look bad, you can look horrible," he said. "But mentally you have to be strong enough to believe in yourself, to believe in your skills, no matter whether a coach thinks you're not any good or whether he thinks you're great...Hopefully, you are able to string together a lot of those good last games and to play well. When that bad one comes, and they usually do for every defender in the league, you take it with a grain of salt. More on, learn from your mistakes and get better."
The mind-set Pope describes should be pounded into the head of every kid playing the game. The key is to keep your head and keep at it.
Yessir. Eddie is a great player...I just didn't know he was a philosopher.
MLS at the Third: Where We Are Now
Naturally, individual results provide the pieces necessary to building the Big Picture in any sports league - but I've already covered first impressions of those in earlier posts (LINK, LINK, LINK). But with the 2007 season of Major League Soccer (MLS) officially one third completed, the time seems ripe to take a wide-angle view of the state of the league’s 13 teams - which teams are up, which are down, and which are merely holding steady...and which are wallowing in the muck.
It’s well worth noting that not all MLS teams have played 10 games at this point; for instance, FC Dallas has 12 games under their belt while the Los Angeles Galaxy has played a league-low 9 games. Details like that will be noted for each team along with their record and the total number of points so far. With the Eastern Conference being the stronger of the two thus far, starting in the East seems appropriate.
Here goes....(and, for the record, I'm most proud of the stuff on Kansas City, Chivas USA, and New England...maybe DC United and RSL)...
Red Bull New York, 6-3-2; 20 pts. (11 games)
If you told anyone - Red Bull fan or otherwise - that their team would lead MLS at Week 10, the response would have been a poorly-contained laugh or a pitying shake of the head. Credit Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel - who has kicked his name onto the score-sheet in every game he’s played so far - for sharpening the Red Bull attack. Given that Red Bull defense started so strongly - they kept a collective clean-sheet for all of April; they weren’t too shabby in May either - it’s a little surprising that defense now looms as the biggest threat to their league-leading record. Blame injuries and midfielders playing as defenders for that. Once their back-line recovers, Red Bull should build on a solid start.
Rating: HOLDING STEADY...in a good place (e.g. #1).
Kansas City Wizards, 6-2-1; 19 pts. (9 games)
After sputtering out of the gate, the Wizards now see-saw between first and second in the East with Red Bull. Even as one can’t seriously talk around the standings, there’s something suspect about the Wizards rise to contender status. There is, undoubtedly, much to love about forward Eddie Johnson, who registered back-to-back hat tricks in Week 8 and 9; against that, though, the Wizards conceded five goals in those same games. But questions have hovered over KC from the beginning: their 4-0-2 (W-T-L) start didn’t impress due to two wins coming against an expansion Toronto FC still finding its feet and another to the Columbus Crew. Time will tell whether the offense - and Johnson - can keep banging in the goals and/or whether the KC defense will take away some pressure by keeping them out. Whatever happens, KC is playing some of the prettiest soccer in MLS right now. I'm serious. They've gone from being a team I wouldn't watch if I were in a coma to one whose name I look for on the schedule.
Rating: UP
New England Revolution, 5-2-3; 18 pts. (10 games)
As you read this, please keep in mind that I’m a Revolution fan - and a hard-to-please one at that. That said, the hard reality is that New England has been more lucky than good so far. A 4-3 home loss to the Wizards - in which New England only held their own on the back of fluky goals - suggested it, but a home draw to Real Salt Lake, who are widely regarded as the league’s worst team, confirmed it. New England has the pieces to compete in the correct, if uninspiring, proportions: a defense good enough to keep them in any game balanced with forwards capable of turning half-chances into goals. Too often this season, however, they have struggled not only to impose their game, but with something as fundamental as possession. What amounts to a rope-a-dope approach has worked so far, but it sure looks like a low-percentage game.
Rating: HOLDING STEADY...but flirting with the edge.
DC United, 4-3-2; 14 pts. (9 games)
DC didn’t win at all in April and, when the wins did come, it still took some convincing for even the truest of believers to hope for more than a dreaded “transition year.” But now, with a lone goalless draw (against the LA Galaxy in Week 9) planting a hiccup between three straight 2-1 wins and Week 10’s emphatic and dramatic win over Red Bull (noted above), the April funk seems to have evaporated. What has improved? It’s not like Ben Olsen’s hat trick will translate automatically to great things on offense; after all, this past weekend’s hat trick was Olsen’s first-ever and he’s an 8th-year pro. Still, they have clearly figured out something; the question is what and to what extent. No matter what it is, you can bet that every other team in the East is keeping close tabs on DC’s slow rise.
Rating: UP...no question, up.
Chicago Fire, 4-5-2; 14 pts. (11 games)
Like Red Bull, the Fire started with a 3-0-1 record. Basic math tells the tale that follows: 1 win, 5 losses, and 1 draw. Chicago is falling apart damned quickly and on both sides of the ball. This team’s persistent issue surrounds scoring, but that shortcoming ballooned into imminent doom during May when the Fire bled goals at a three-a-game clip. Chicago’s greatest hope comes in the person of Cuauthemoc Blanco, a Mexican midfield legend who will join the team after the ongoing Gold Cup. If he can’t turn around the offense, the Fire will again rely on Justin Mapp and Chris Rolfe - who are both quality players - to carry the load as they did to start the season; and thus the great hope reveals itself as a thin one. Rumors mention a Chilean star - Marcelo Salas, and it’s tempting to dub him a “former star” - joining the Mexican legend, but faith is in short supply.
Rating: DOWN...and nearing the muck.
Toronto FC, 3-6-1; 10 pts. (10 games)
When Toronto took the field for a May 12 contest versus Chicago one question stood out: when would TFC score their first-ever goal? Winning wasn’t part of the discussion back then. But something special started the 3-1 win that followed: Toronto’s irrepressible fans shouted on an improving and tough-as-nails team thereby making an away game at BMO Field an anxious occasion for visitors. Even after going 3-2-1 to turn around an 0-4-0 start, TFC still has quite a ways to go. The encouraging thing, however, is that they have started. When head coach Mo Johnston thinks he needs players, just goes and gets them: thus Danny Dichio and Jeff Cunningham joined the offense, while Marvell Wynne and Kevin Goldthwaite improved the defense. With the changes seeming to take, virtually no one thinks TFC will match the low-water mark set by Chivas USA’s in 2005.
Rating: UP...and they're the league bandwagon to boot.
Columbus Crew, 1-4-5; 8 pts. (10 games)
The unknown Crew player who kicked the corner flag out of the ground following his team’s 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo, said it all. Columbus’ chief accomplishment for the season so far amounts to alienating their fans and driving their coach mad. They can play well, even beautifully, all over the field...until the attacking third. At that point, well, no one can say what happens, but all agree it’s hard to watch. Nothing - neither trades, nor the acquisition of an Argetine legend (Guillermo Schelotto; MLS is big on legends this season) - seems up to fixing the problem and, to make matters worse, the once-mighty Crew defense is slipping as well. The standings say the Crew isn’t the worst in MLS, but, when you’re in the basement with the lights out, questions about how dark things are get academic pretty fast.
Rating: WALLOWING IN THE MUCK.
Moving now, to the Western Conference...
FC Dallas, 6-5-1; 19 pts. (12 games)
FC Dallas has mastered only one thing: book-ending confidence-building streaks with crushing losses. This habit plays havoc with perceptions; in spite of going 4-2-0 since the start of May and leading the West, a select sample of the punditry pegs them as the sixth-best team in MLS. Perhaps nothing better explains Dallas’ wayward path to the top of the West as the perfect balance they achieved in goals for and goals against: 17 on each side of the ledger, making them fourth in the league for goals for and second for goals against. Dallas’ young defense hurts them, which makes signs of offensive woes ahead - e.g. star forward Carlos Ruiz’s somewhat indifferent season so far, as well as the brutal and unfortunate injury to his partner Kenny Cooper - more ominous.
Rating: HOLDING STEADY...but definitely shaky.
Houston Dynamo, 5-5-1; 16 pts. (11 games)
What has happened to Houston so far shows that being last year’s champions only places extra emphasis on the phrase “last year’s” - as in, what have they done for Houston fans lately? By way of good news, Houston has (partially) atoned for a wretched early season by rattling off three straight wins; sadly, those had to compensate for the 2-5-1 record, as well as the long, long scoreless stretch, that came before. But the weirdest thing about all this is the fact that Houston picked up two of those wins absent notable starters like Ricardo Clark and perennial MVP candidate Dwayne DeRosario. Who needs star-power when you’ve got Joseph Ngwenya?
Rating: UP...but they had nowhere else to go.
Colorado Rapids, 4-4-3; 15 pts. (11 games)
Who knew “Colorado Rapids” was a synonym for “erratic?” To further complicate matters, the Rapids have ditched last year’s good-at-home, lousy-on-the-road formula; only three points separate their home 2-1-3 record from their away 2-3-0. Even the quality of the opposition doesn’t seem relevant: they’ll draw Real Salt Lake at home the week before beating Red Bull on the road. Baffling as they are, the Rapids have interesting players and a coach with an unbelievable eye for talent - which, unfortunately, doesn’t translate to getting that talent to perform on game day. The one consistent truth about Colorado is that they’ll likely remain inconsistent.
Rating: HOLDING STEADY...on a roller coaster.
Chivas USA, 4-3-2; 14 pts. (9 games)
Chivas’ fourth-place position looks bad till you realize they sit only five points behind West-leading FC Dallas with two games in hand. They hit some of the weaker teams early (Real Salt Lake, Columbus, Los Angeles Galaxy) and hitt good teams in moments of weakness (DC United in early May - and they still lost), but look at the standings and you’ll see they’ve got the most respectable goal differential in the West: +5 where the next best team is rocking a +1. No, they’re not burning up the league in goals, but get this: they have the best goals-against average in MLS. Things will definitely get harder - though Chivas adjusted for this by adding a bit of defensive toughness in Paolo Nagamura and Shavar Thomas. And they could really use offensive support to help first-year revelation Maykel Galindo. But, all in all, Chivas has kind of snuck into the pack - and those two games in hand look an awful lot like an ambush.
Rating: UP...thanks to situational dynamics.
Los Angeles Galaxy, 1-4-3; 6 pts. (8 games)
Small wonder talk about David Beckham bailing on his MLS contract are flying: no one in their right mind would want to join the Galaxy at this point. They enjoy the same goal-a-game attack as Chicago and, with injuries stacking up fast their defense no longer appears up to keeping them in games. With Landon Donovan out of the line-up (Gold Cup - and possibly Copa America) LA goes from a team bitten by a misfiring bug to a downright average outfit. If you’re looking for a silver lining, here’s the best possible: their next three games are against Columbus, Chicago, and Real Salt Lake - and all of them are at home.
Rating: WALLOWING IN THE MUCK.
Real Salt Lake, 0-3-6; 6 pts. (9 games)
At least RSL is won one competition this season: they fired and replaced their coach before any other MLS team. They also beat the Chinese National Team - but that doesn’t help them in the league. What is there to say about the only team in the league still without a win? Nothing much more than, it can only get better...maybe...then again, all those draws could become losses. Unbelievably, RSL has enjoyed a mini-renaissance under rookie-coach (and MLS legend) Jason Kreis; he has taught them the art of tying, replacing the four-goal losses from the season’s early days with goalless draws. On the other hand, that’s just not enough. Barring a major, possibly even implausible, turnaround RSL looks likely to maintain its perfect, post-season-free record.
Rating: WALLOWING IN THE MUCK.
It’s well worth noting that not all MLS teams have played 10 games at this point; for instance, FC Dallas has 12 games under their belt while the Los Angeles Galaxy has played a league-low 9 games. Details like that will be noted for each team along with their record and the total number of points so far. With the Eastern Conference being the stronger of the two thus far, starting in the East seems appropriate.
Here goes....(and, for the record, I'm most proud of the stuff on Kansas City, Chivas USA, and New England...maybe DC United and RSL)...
Red Bull New York, 6-3-2; 20 pts. (11 games)
If you told anyone - Red Bull fan or otherwise - that their team would lead MLS at Week 10, the response would have been a poorly-contained laugh or a pitying shake of the head. Credit Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel - who has kicked his name onto the score-sheet in every game he’s played so far - for sharpening the Red Bull attack. Given that Red Bull defense started so strongly - they kept a collective clean-sheet for all of April; they weren’t too shabby in May either - it’s a little surprising that defense now looms as the biggest threat to their league-leading record. Blame injuries and midfielders playing as defenders for that. Once their back-line recovers, Red Bull should build on a solid start.
Rating: HOLDING STEADY...in a good place (e.g. #1).
Kansas City Wizards, 6-2-1; 19 pts. (9 games)
After sputtering out of the gate, the Wizards now see-saw between first and second in the East with Red Bull. Even as one can’t seriously talk around the standings, there’s something suspect about the Wizards rise to contender status. There is, undoubtedly, much to love about forward Eddie Johnson, who registered back-to-back hat tricks in Week 8 and 9; against that, though, the Wizards conceded five goals in those same games. But questions have hovered over KC from the beginning: their 4-0-2 (W-T-L) start didn’t impress due to two wins coming against an expansion Toronto FC still finding its feet and another to the Columbus Crew. Time will tell whether the offense - and Johnson - can keep banging in the goals and/or whether the KC defense will take away some pressure by keeping them out. Whatever happens, KC is playing some of the prettiest soccer in MLS right now. I'm serious. They've gone from being a team I wouldn't watch if I were in a coma to one whose name I look for on the schedule.
Rating: UP
New England Revolution, 5-2-3; 18 pts. (10 games)
As you read this, please keep in mind that I’m a Revolution fan - and a hard-to-please one at that. That said, the hard reality is that New England has been more lucky than good so far. A 4-3 home loss to the Wizards - in which New England only held their own on the back of fluky goals - suggested it, but a home draw to Real Salt Lake, who are widely regarded as the league’s worst team, confirmed it. New England has the pieces to compete in the correct, if uninspiring, proportions: a defense good enough to keep them in any game balanced with forwards capable of turning half-chances into goals. Too often this season, however, they have struggled not only to impose their game, but with something as fundamental as possession. What amounts to a rope-a-dope approach has worked so far, but it sure looks like a low-percentage game.
Rating: HOLDING STEADY...but flirting with the edge.
DC United, 4-3-2; 14 pts. (9 games)
DC didn’t win at all in April and, when the wins did come, it still took some convincing for even the truest of believers to hope for more than a dreaded “transition year.” But now, with a lone goalless draw (against the LA Galaxy in Week 9) planting a hiccup between three straight 2-1 wins and Week 10’s emphatic and dramatic win over Red Bull (noted above), the April funk seems to have evaporated. What has improved? It’s not like Ben Olsen’s hat trick will translate automatically to great things on offense; after all, this past weekend’s hat trick was Olsen’s first-ever and he’s an 8th-year pro. Still, they have clearly figured out something; the question is what and to what extent. No matter what it is, you can bet that every other team in the East is keeping close tabs on DC’s slow rise.
Rating: UP...no question, up.
Chicago Fire, 4-5-2; 14 pts. (11 games)
Like Red Bull, the Fire started with a 3-0-1 record. Basic math tells the tale that follows: 1 win, 5 losses, and 1 draw. Chicago is falling apart damned quickly and on both sides of the ball. This team’s persistent issue surrounds scoring, but that shortcoming ballooned into imminent doom during May when the Fire bled goals at a three-a-game clip. Chicago’s greatest hope comes in the person of Cuauthemoc Blanco, a Mexican midfield legend who will join the team after the ongoing Gold Cup. If he can’t turn around the offense, the Fire will again rely on Justin Mapp and Chris Rolfe - who are both quality players - to carry the load as they did to start the season; and thus the great hope reveals itself as a thin one. Rumors mention a Chilean star - Marcelo Salas, and it’s tempting to dub him a “former star” - joining the Mexican legend, but faith is in short supply.
Rating: DOWN...and nearing the muck.
Toronto FC, 3-6-1; 10 pts. (10 games)
When Toronto took the field for a May 12 contest versus Chicago one question stood out: when would TFC score their first-ever goal? Winning wasn’t part of the discussion back then. But something special started the 3-1 win that followed: Toronto’s irrepressible fans shouted on an improving and tough-as-nails team thereby making an away game at BMO Field an anxious occasion for visitors. Even after going 3-2-1 to turn around an 0-4-0 start, TFC still has quite a ways to go. The encouraging thing, however, is that they have started. When head coach Mo Johnston thinks he needs players, just goes and gets them: thus Danny Dichio and Jeff Cunningham joined the offense, while Marvell Wynne and Kevin Goldthwaite improved the defense. With the changes seeming to take, virtually no one thinks TFC will match the low-water mark set by Chivas USA’s in 2005.
Rating: UP...and they're the league bandwagon to boot.
Columbus Crew, 1-4-5; 8 pts. (10 games)
The unknown Crew player who kicked the corner flag out of the ground following his team’s 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo, said it all. Columbus’ chief accomplishment for the season so far amounts to alienating their fans and driving their coach mad. They can play well, even beautifully, all over the field...until the attacking third. At that point, well, no one can say what happens, but all agree it’s hard to watch. Nothing - neither trades, nor the acquisition of an Argetine legend (Guillermo Schelotto; MLS is big on legends this season) - seems up to fixing the problem and, to make matters worse, the once-mighty Crew defense is slipping as well. The standings say the Crew isn’t the worst in MLS, but, when you’re in the basement with the lights out, questions about how dark things are get academic pretty fast.
Rating: WALLOWING IN THE MUCK.
Moving now, to the Western Conference...
FC Dallas, 6-5-1; 19 pts. (12 games)
FC Dallas has mastered only one thing: book-ending confidence-building streaks with crushing losses. This habit plays havoc with perceptions; in spite of going 4-2-0 since the start of May and leading the West, a select sample of the punditry pegs them as the sixth-best team in MLS. Perhaps nothing better explains Dallas’ wayward path to the top of the West as the perfect balance they achieved in goals for and goals against: 17 on each side of the ledger, making them fourth in the league for goals for and second for goals against. Dallas’ young defense hurts them, which makes signs of offensive woes ahead - e.g. star forward Carlos Ruiz’s somewhat indifferent season so far, as well as the brutal and unfortunate injury to his partner Kenny Cooper - more ominous.
Rating: HOLDING STEADY...but definitely shaky.
Houston Dynamo, 5-5-1; 16 pts. (11 games)
What has happened to Houston so far shows that being last year’s champions only places extra emphasis on the phrase “last year’s” - as in, what have they done for Houston fans lately? By way of good news, Houston has (partially) atoned for a wretched early season by rattling off three straight wins; sadly, those had to compensate for the 2-5-1 record, as well as the long, long scoreless stretch, that came before. But the weirdest thing about all this is the fact that Houston picked up two of those wins absent notable starters like Ricardo Clark and perennial MVP candidate Dwayne DeRosario. Who needs star-power when you’ve got Joseph Ngwenya?
Rating: UP...but they had nowhere else to go.
Colorado Rapids, 4-4-3; 15 pts. (11 games)
Who knew “Colorado Rapids” was a synonym for “erratic?” To further complicate matters, the Rapids have ditched last year’s good-at-home, lousy-on-the-road formula; only three points separate their home 2-1-3 record from their away 2-3-0. Even the quality of the opposition doesn’t seem relevant: they’ll draw Real Salt Lake at home the week before beating Red Bull on the road. Baffling as they are, the Rapids have interesting players and a coach with an unbelievable eye for talent - which, unfortunately, doesn’t translate to getting that talent to perform on game day. The one consistent truth about Colorado is that they’ll likely remain inconsistent.
Rating: HOLDING STEADY...on a roller coaster.
Chivas USA, 4-3-2; 14 pts. (9 games)
Chivas’ fourth-place position looks bad till you realize they sit only five points behind West-leading FC Dallas with two games in hand. They hit some of the weaker teams early (Real Salt Lake, Columbus, Los Angeles Galaxy) and hitt good teams in moments of weakness (DC United in early May - and they still lost), but look at the standings and you’ll see they’ve got the most respectable goal differential in the West: +5 where the next best team is rocking a +1. No, they’re not burning up the league in goals, but get this: they have the best goals-against average in MLS. Things will definitely get harder - though Chivas adjusted for this by adding a bit of defensive toughness in Paolo Nagamura and Shavar Thomas. And they could really use offensive support to help first-year revelation Maykel Galindo. But, all in all, Chivas has kind of snuck into the pack - and those two games in hand look an awful lot like an ambush.
Rating: UP...thanks to situational dynamics.
Los Angeles Galaxy, 1-4-3; 6 pts. (8 games)
Small wonder talk about David Beckham bailing on his MLS contract are flying: no one in their right mind would want to join the Galaxy at this point. They enjoy the same goal-a-game attack as Chicago and, with injuries stacking up fast their defense no longer appears up to keeping them in games. With Landon Donovan out of the line-up (Gold Cup - and possibly Copa America) LA goes from a team bitten by a misfiring bug to a downright average outfit. If you’re looking for a silver lining, here’s the best possible: their next three games are against Columbus, Chicago, and Real Salt Lake - and all of them are at home.
Rating: WALLOWING IN THE MUCK.
Real Salt Lake, 0-3-6; 6 pts. (9 games)
At least RSL is won one competition this season: they fired and replaced their coach before any other MLS team. They also beat the Chinese National Team - but that doesn’t help them in the league. What is there to say about the only team in the league still without a win? Nothing much more than, it can only get better...maybe...then again, all those draws could become losses. Unbelievably, RSL has enjoyed a mini-renaissance under rookie-coach (and MLS legend) Jason Kreis; he has taught them the art of tying, replacing the four-goal losses from the season’s early days with goalless draws. On the other hand, that’s just not enough. Barring a major, possibly even implausible, turnaround RSL looks likely to maintain its perfect, post-season-free record.
Rating: WALLOWING IN THE MUCK.
MLS Week 8: (Still) Filling in the Blanks
Yeah, ideally I get to this Monday, but I've got a wife, two kids, and a bitchy cat to support and help, etc.
Anyway, I've spent the past couple days reviewing the chatter on the action from Major League Soccer's (MLS) Week 8, mainly to build on the first impressions I had from the games. I did learn a thing or two to be sure - and that's what appears below. So, in no particular order (and don't let the fact I start with Thursday's game throw ya)...
Red Bull New York 3 - 0 Chicago Fire
The Red Card's Luis Arroyave threw out some analysis of the crisis on everything from Matt Pickens apparently wavering confidence (he's getting shelled; can you blame the man?), to Dave "The Man" Sarachan's dubious tactical decisions...suffice to say, if you read this, you'll get smarter. Elsewhere, Chris, who took over the Red Bull Offside blog, takes a tidy front-to-back look at what makes the East's most-talked-about team tick (for the record, it ain't the back).
Chicago Fire 0 - 0 Real Salt Lake
Given the score, it's not surprising that MLSnet.com's write-up says something about a "'keeper's duel"; and, speaking across the board, nearly everyone liked what they saw out of RSL 'keep, Nick Rimando (which makes it a minor shame he may get bumped for Kasey Keller...which, in turn, makes me wonder what the hell Keller is doing signing up to get shelled). As a couple Chicago-based outlets note, Fire fans have turned on coach Dave Sarachan with a freakin', banner-waving vengeance and line-up changes ain't enough to placate 'em.
Writing from the other side of the game, Real Salt Lake's people seem relatively happy with the draw. And, is it just me or does Jason Kreis make a lot of sense when he talks about the game. Oh, and that same link gives some quotes on what new-signing Alecko Eskandarian and his new coach thought of his first game in Hell....er, Salt Lake.
Colorado Rapids 1 - 0 Los Angeles Galaxy
A look at the box score info at the bottom of the MLSnet.com write-up proves that, once in a while, stats can meet reality when it comes to soccer. Naturally, a big part of making those numbers came with Kyle Martino's sorta-silly sending off: the Denver Post's report was good enough to let Joe Cannon vent some (un-fineable) frustration about the call (or maybe they were just being nice to an old source), while the FC Rocky blog (good one, by the way) essentially saw the call as the correct one (like me). The same source also has an interesting bit questioning Colorado's "killer instinct" - the author(s) write a powerful passage on that - and it's fair to wonder about that; they're also stoked about the crowd, and rightly so.
On the other side, the LA Times' report did little more than get me wondering about how many assists Terry Cooke - who assisted on Herculez Gomez' goal - has on the season. The fairly modest number may have disappointed, but the horror-movie-esque photo of the "poor Man's Beckham" showing on his profile page...well, that's the face (and complexion) of a man with bodies in his basement. Think I'll blow it up and hang it on my kids' bedroom wall...just for a laugh...
Chivas USA 2 - 0 FC Dallas
While both MLSnet.com and the Dallas Morning News basically saw what I saw in this game - namely, a seemingly baffled Dallas team getting pushed around in midfield - not all Chivas fans see much to celebrate in the game. At the risk of sounding like I'm making fun (I'm not), I have to confess my complete admiration for David, the guy who runs the Chivas Offside blog. You can search far and wide in the blogoverse, but you'll have to walk a fair patch before you find anyone as capable of finding every grey cloud behind the silver lining. And in Dave's world, those clouds are all named Preki. (In all honesty, I'm in awe of people who can get as riled as Dave; it's just not in me.)
Returning to the MLSnet.com report, though, they mention something I neglected - e.g. that the Shavar Thomas/Claudio Suarez pairing seems to be gelling after a somewhat shaky start. And, for the stats-fanatics out there, FC Dallas Updates pulled together some cool stats about home and away records - just the regular numbers data dump for all y'all obsessives out there.
DC United 2 - 1 Houston Dynamo
If the stats don't lie on MLSnet.com's report for this one, I'm a little mystified: twice the shots for Houston? Steve Davis, writing for ESPN looks a bit beyond the numbers to explain the seeming nuttiness...but still...it's almost enough to make me want to watch the Dynamo. Maybe it's DC's "mystique" noted by Christian Gomez...um...I felt silly just reading that one...so let's ignore that and read all the wonderful, wonderful things that appeared in The DCenters' debriefing - and I'll give a special shout-out to their crack at "Gomez Theory."
Still, there's no doubting Houston knows about their, um, issues, as evidenced by their attempt to lock out the world. But I think the Houston Chronicle's Bernardo Fallas framed Houston's situation the best with this lead:
Columbus Crew 2 - 2 Toronto FC
Speaking of leads, I've got to start this one with what the Columbus Offside wrote about the Crew offense: "But when Andy Herron limped off the field in the 38th minute with strained quadriceps, our offense limped off the field too." Ah, magic.
And, truth be told, whatever happened on the field, Crew-related outlets did bang-up analysis on this match. Whether it was the Columbus Dispatch slowing the "Schelotto Will Solve All!" parade by noting he's having some trouble gelling with the team or smartly capturing the Crew's disappointment with the draw, they did good. With regard to Schelotto, though, I think the general feeling is that the problem lies in part with the team he's joining...
That's not to say the Toronto papers totally dropped the ball; after all, it was the Toronto Star who answered my earlier question about how Crew 'keeper, Andy Gruenebaum, got beat by Jim Brennan's long-range bomb.
Gasp...finally....
New England Revolution 3 - 4 Kansas City Wizards
Was this the game of the week, or who? (And that's why I buried it.) I think the crucial thing I missed - or of which I was ignorant - was a lingering injury to Shalrie Joseph, picked up last week against Houston; the Boston Globe's Frank Dell 'Appa mulls that one quite a bit in explaining the loss. The Revolution Offside throws in another facet by pointing out an obvious, but too often overlooked truth about the 3-5-2: "it’s a strong formation with little room for error." Those are both swell, but they lose out in my personal "Analysis Stakes" to Blue Blood Journo's dispatch from the Jersey shore. What can I say? So far as I'm concerned, the man nailed his analysis of New England.
Not to be outdone, the Kansas City contigent weighed in with some beauties. For instance, Down the Byline credited defending high upfield for KC's success against the Revs. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Offside, well, it's just hard to beat Michael's post for dissecting the way KC beat the Revolution; #5 is a masterpiece.
OH, HOLY CRAP...I'M NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN....
Anyway, I've spent the past couple days reviewing the chatter on the action from Major League Soccer's (MLS) Week 8, mainly to build on the first impressions I had from the games. I did learn a thing or two to be sure - and that's what appears below. So, in no particular order (and don't let the fact I start with Thursday's game throw ya)...
Red Bull New York 3 - 0 Chicago Fire
The Red Card's Luis Arroyave threw out some analysis of the crisis on everything from Matt Pickens apparently wavering confidence (he's getting shelled; can you blame the man?), to Dave "The Man" Sarachan's dubious tactical decisions...suffice to say, if you read this, you'll get smarter. Elsewhere, Chris, who took over the Red Bull Offside blog, takes a tidy front-to-back look at what makes the East's most-talked-about team tick (for the record, it ain't the back).
Chicago Fire 0 - 0 Real Salt Lake
Given the score, it's not surprising that MLSnet.com's write-up says something about a "'keeper's duel"; and, speaking across the board, nearly everyone liked what they saw out of RSL 'keep, Nick Rimando (which makes it a minor shame he may get bumped for Kasey Keller...which, in turn, makes me wonder what the hell Keller is doing signing up to get shelled). As a couple Chicago-based outlets note, Fire fans have turned on coach Dave Sarachan with a freakin', banner-waving vengeance and line-up changes ain't enough to placate 'em.
Writing from the other side of the game, Real Salt Lake's people seem relatively happy with the draw. And, is it just me or does Jason Kreis make a lot of sense when he talks about the game. Oh, and that same link gives some quotes on what new-signing Alecko Eskandarian and his new coach thought of his first game in Hell....er, Salt Lake.
Colorado Rapids 1 - 0 Los Angeles Galaxy
A look at the box score info at the bottom of the MLSnet.com write-up proves that, once in a while, stats can meet reality when it comes to soccer. Naturally, a big part of making those numbers came with Kyle Martino's sorta-silly sending off: the Denver Post's report was good enough to let Joe Cannon vent some (un-fineable) frustration about the call (or maybe they were just being nice to an old source), while the FC Rocky blog (good one, by the way) essentially saw the call as the correct one (like me). The same source also has an interesting bit questioning Colorado's "killer instinct" - the author(s) write a powerful passage on that - and it's fair to wonder about that; they're also stoked about the crowd, and rightly so.
On the other side, the LA Times' report did little more than get me wondering about how many assists Terry Cooke - who assisted on Herculez Gomez' goal - has on the season. The fairly modest number may have disappointed, but the horror-movie-esque photo of the "poor Man's Beckham" showing on his profile page...well, that's the face (and complexion) of a man with bodies in his basement. Think I'll blow it up and hang it on my kids' bedroom wall...just for a laugh...
Chivas USA 2 - 0 FC Dallas
While both MLSnet.com and the Dallas Morning News basically saw what I saw in this game - namely, a seemingly baffled Dallas team getting pushed around in midfield - not all Chivas fans see much to celebrate in the game. At the risk of sounding like I'm making fun (I'm not), I have to confess my complete admiration for David, the guy who runs the Chivas Offside blog. You can search far and wide in the blogoverse, but you'll have to walk a fair patch before you find anyone as capable of finding every grey cloud behind the silver lining. And in Dave's world, those clouds are all named Preki. (In all honesty, I'm in awe of people who can get as riled as Dave; it's just not in me.)
Returning to the MLSnet.com report, though, they mention something I neglected - e.g. that the Shavar Thomas/Claudio Suarez pairing seems to be gelling after a somewhat shaky start. And, for the stats-fanatics out there, FC Dallas Updates pulled together some cool stats about home and away records - just the regular numbers data dump for all y'all obsessives out there.
DC United 2 - 1 Houston Dynamo
If the stats don't lie on MLSnet.com's report for this one, I'm a little mystified: twice the shots for Houston? Steve Davis, writing for ESPN looks a bit beyond the numbers to explain the seeming nuttiness...but still...it's almost enough to make me want to watch the Dynamo. Maybe it's DC's "mystique" noted by Christian Gomez...um...I felt silly just reading that one...so let's ignore that and read all the wonderful, wonderful things that appeared in The DCenters' debriefing - and I'll give a special shout-out to their crack at "Gomez Theory."
Still, there's no doubting Houston knows about their, um, issues, as evidenced by their attempt to lock out the world. But I think the Houston Chronicle's Bernardo Fallas framed Houston's situation the best with this lead:
"The Dynamo's start to the season so far has been progressively downgraded from slow to lackluster to disappointing. After Saturday's 2-1 loss to D.C. United, 'free-falling' has made its way into the list of terms used to describe the situation. 'Horrible' is warming up and ready to sub in, just in case."
Columbus Crew 2 - 2 Toronto FC
Speaking of leads, I've got to start this one with what the Columbus Offside wrote about the Crew offense: "But when Andy Herron limped off the field in the 38th minute with strained quadriceps, our offense limped off the field too." Ah, magic.
And, truth be told, whatever happened on the field, Crew-related outlets did bang-up analysis on this match. Whether it was the Columbus Dispatch slowing the "Schelotto Will Solve All!" parade by noting he's having some trouble gelling with the team or smartly capturing the Crew's disappointment with the draw, they did good. With regard to Schelotto, though, I think the general feeling is that the problem lies in part with the team he's joining...
That's not to say the Toronto papers totally dropped the ball; after all, it was the Toronto Star who answered my earlier question about how Crew 'keeper, Andy Gruenebaum, got beat by Jim Brennan's long-range bomb.
Gasp...finally....
New England Revolution 3 - 4 Kansas City Wizards
Was this the game of the week, or who? (And that's why I buried it.) I think the crucial thing I missed - or of which I was ignorant - was a lingering injury to Shalrie Joseph, picked up last week against Houston; the Boston Globe's Frank Dell 'Appa mulls that one quite a bit in explaining the loss. The Revolution Offside throws in another facet by pointing out an obvious, but too often overlooked truth about the 3-5-2: "it’s a strong formation with little room for error." Those are both swell, but they lose out in my personal "Analysis Stakes" to Blue Blood Journo's dispatch from the Jersey shore. What can I say? So far as I'm concerned, the man nailed his analysis of New England.
Not to be outdone, the Kansas City contigent weighed in with some beauties. For instance, Down the Byline credited defending high upfield for KC's success against the Revs. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Offside, well, it's just hard to beat Michael's post for dissecting the way KC beat the Revolution; #5 is a masterpiece.
OH, HOLY CRAP...I'M NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN....
US Open Cup: Progress Report
Courtesy of the Colorado Rapids win over Real Salt Lake*, the Major League Soccer (MLS) side of the U.S. Open Cup equation is mostly plugged in.
(* How do RSL fans get out of bed in the morning...seriously?)
So, this seemed like as good a time as any to see how things are shaping up in America's oldest soccer tournament. I won't lie to you: I thought this one would be to the draw stage already. Turns out I was wrong, as was proved by the state of The Big Table, which lays out the tournament bracket, but has yet to plug names into the pairings. Still, there's the sidebar to it that tells who has made it so far. Also, the U.S. Open Cup site is pretty good about keeping readers current about where things are for, say, the United Soccer League's Division 2 as well as this weekend's big qualifying blowout in USASA Region III (or at least that's what I think it is).
So, this year's tournament is definitely coming together...just not quickly as I expected. If nothing else, there are resources out there to help keep interested parties current.
(#########)
(* How do RSL fans get out of bed in the morning...seriously?)
So, this seemed like as good a time as any to see how things are shaping up in America's oldest soccer tournament. I won't lie to you: I thought this one would be to the draw stage already. Turns out I was wrong, as was proved by the state of The Big Table, which lays out the tournament bracket, but has yet to plug names into the pairings. Still, there's the sidebar to it that tells who has made it so far. Also, the U.S. Open Cup site is pretty good about keeping readers current about where things are for, say, the United Soccer League's Division 2 as well as this weekend's big qualifying blowout in USASA Region III (or at least that's what I think it is).
So, this year's tournament is definitely coming together...just not quickly as I expected. If nothing else, there are resources out there to help keep interested parties current.
(#########)
USOC: Rapids v. RSL: The Final Play-In
Lord knows the major media doesn't do much - or, more accurately, nearly enough - to promote the U.S. Open Cup, so I thought I'd do my bit here. Because this is a West Coast affair, I'm not even behind yet....whew.
Anyway, MLSnet.com pulled together a nice plug. Given the rivalry between the two teams, one might think they'd work that a little more, but the focus instead goes on the Rapids semi-mysterious loss of home form (getting used to the field, they say). The local media in both markets typed out a couple Open-Cup-focused pieces as well: the Rocky Mountain News writes about the likelihood of Conor Casey and Jose Cancela picking up rare starts while the Salt Lake Tribune notes the injury to Carey Talley (ouch!) and trade of Jeff Cunningham - though Talley only merits mention in the headline.
I'm not knocking any of that: beats the hell out of nothing, right?
In other spaces, a general feature on how Colorado is covering the gimpy holes in their backline makes for educational reading, as does a heart-warming look back at the Rapids' history in Open Cup play - thanks Colorado Rapids' Offside!
I'll close by laying down my marker: I say Colorado wins this one. Not exactly bold, I know, but I would have gone with Real Salt Lake had Talley not been injured.
(#######)
Anyway, MLSnet.com pulled together a nice plug. Given the rivalry between the two teams, one might think they'd work that a little more, but the focus instead goes on the Rapids semi-mysterious loss of home form (getting used to the field, they say). The local media in both markets typed out a couple Open-Cup-focused pieces as well: the Rocky Mountain News writes about the likelihood of Conor Casey and Jose Cancela picking up rare starts while the Salt Lake Tribune notes the injury to Carey Talley (ouch!) and trade of Jeff Cunningham - though Talley only merits mention in the headline.
I'm not knocking any of that: beats the hell out of nothing, right?
In other spaces, a general feature on how Colorado is covering the gimpy holes in their backline makes for educational reading, as does a heart-warming look back at the Rapids' history in Open Cup play - thanks Colorado Rapids' Offside!
I'll close by laying down my marker: I say Colorado wins this one. Not exactly bold, I know, but I would have gone with Real Salt Lake had Talley not been injured.
(#######)
Cunningham to Toronto: Sure Looks Official
I can't link to it, but if you go to MLSnet.com any time soon, you'll see that the Alecko Eskandarian thing involved shipping Jeff Cunningham the other way. I'm guessing there will be a full article before too long...maybe I'll pick at that tomorrow morning...
(Whoops, never mind; an article popped up while I was gabbing.)
Now, I wonder if and how LA enters into this one.
Here's another question: if you could be either player, which would it be? Hmmm...a city with a buttload of buzz, crazy seat-cushion throwing fans, a couple recent wins to brag about, and field turf? Or a place with fans slumping to morbid depression thanks to a total lack of wins, either real or prospective, a new, untried coach, a management team widely regarded as incompetent, and, again, field turf?
I'm feeling like we should all do a whip-around to get Alecko a care package.
(########)
(Whoops, never mind; an article popped up while I was gabbing.)
Now, I wonder if and how LA enters into this one.
Here's another question: if you could be either player, which would it be? Hmmm...a city with a buttload of buzz, crazy seat-cushion throwing fans, a couple recent wins to brag about, and field turf? Or a place with fans slumping to morbid depression thanks to a total lack of wins, either real or prospective, a new, untried coach, a management team widely regarded as incompetent, and, again, field turf?
I'm feeling like we should all do a whip-around to get Alecko a care package.
(########)
Week 7: Quick Hits
Here are some quick, undiluted first impressions left by Week 7’s action, talking team by team as they come to me - I’ll fill ‘em in later with some reading. Anything with an asterisk means I caught at least one of a given team’s game in full.
Toronto FC - I don’t know what I would have written had Toronto managed to knock off DC United over the weekend; three straight wins, no matter the circumstances, makes more an impressive streak. They didn’t win that third game, of course, but, judging by the highlights, Toronto both looks and seems like a real team all of a sudden. That could be function of having two more wins than Real Salt Lake...
DC United - Still not sold. Sure, in beating Toronto on the road, they succeeded where two teams once perceived as competent - the Chicago Fire and the Houston Dynamo - failed. Moreno looks older than dirt. I like the guy plenty, but, my word....
New England Revolution* - Yeah, they won, but I hate them for making me watch that pile of shit. Awful, ugly performance the quality of which was best described by the exasperated raspberry coach Steve Nicol blew when asked to assess his team’s performance in a sideline interview. A performance that distasteful warrants dropping the Revs in my power rankings on aesthetic grounds at the very least.
Red Bull New York - The match report (which I cheated and read) showed an even game, statistically speaking. The highlights, however, showed Dane Richards rip past Rusty Pierce like a rusty gate, a defense that contained the Crew’s “attack”* fairly well and an offense that punished mistakes. Given the Crew’s defense over the past few weeks, the four goals scored might say something; but this could also be an aberration, a la the Crew’s performance against New England a ways back. So, good game, but count Red Bull another team on which I’m reserving judgment.
Houston Dynamo* - Wow. That’s all I’ve got, really. Wow. Why the hell can’t these guys score? I’ll confess to nodding off/finding the hairs on my stomach more interesting than the action on the field, but dubbing the Houston attack anemic does a disservice to the adjective.
Columbus Crew - *I’ve got a theory on the Crew’s offense: they’re not pulling the same direction. Put another way, different players have different ideas about the way to get their team scoring goals and that plays out on the field with errant passing, mistimed runs - just a general grabasstic mess with too many generals freelancing it. Mmmm....”generals” doesn’t correctly communicate the level: let’ go with corporals.
FC Dallas* - Maybe it was RSL, maybe it was the late night and serial Pabst-swilling, but I liked what I saw last night out of FC Dallas. Most impressive were signs the defense might be gelling and maturing, as well as how quickly this team turns around and transitions from defense to offense; they literally get the ball and - POW! - the team as a whole faces forward with their heads up. Two wins in as many games also tell a happy story. A couple other random observations: as the commentator said after Chris Gbandi scored, that’s the goal of the week - see if you don't agree (thanks, as always, to Climbing the Ladder)...
...continuing, tough-ish call on the PK, though I see how it happened, but that’s the only significant blemish I caught in an otherwise composed performance; between his awareness and ability to ride tackles and play out of trouble, Juan Toja looks like the real deal. In spite of years of bitter, bitter experience and the bias that grows therefrom, I like what I see in Dallas...again.
Real Salt Lake* - Worst team in the league, no question in my mind. They’re USL Division 1 material at this point. As such, I really want them to play the Portland Timbers in the U.S. Open Cup...
Chicago Fire - While I didn’t see all of Thursday’s game between Chicago and Dallas, the last 20 minutes showed a Fire team ALL OVER the visitors from Dallas. Mapp, especially looked dangerous. Still, they didn’t win, never mind draw this game and that’s just got to feel like a shot to the pills. Put another way, whatever is wrong with these guys, it’s sort of fer reals. If I had to name the problem, I’d say they’re missing a blunt-instrument kind of player like Nate Jaqua, e.g. someone who can make good on goal-mouth scrums.
Colorado Rapids - Didn’t watch them play, but they do seem to be settling into the erratic profile so familiar from seasons past.
Kansas City Wizards - This is the team I forget about most often this year; used to be Colorado, but they became interesting starting in 2006. I think we’re still a few weeks from having the data to make a decision on this bunch.
LA Galaxy - Didn’t see it, but I’m definitely surprised by this past weekend’s draw with Chivas, who I rate about as highly as “Oh Boy” Alberto Gonzales.
Chivas USA - Honestly, between these guys, RSL, and even Houston, the West looks no better than half-good right now.
All righty. I’m off to see what else I can learn about all this stuff; if all goes according to plan, I’ll wrap up that by the end of the day.
Toronto FC - I don’t know what I would have written had Toronto managed to knock off DC United over the weekend; three straight wins, no matter the circumstances, makes more an impressive streak. They didn’t win that third game, of course, but, judging by the highlights, Toronto both looks and seems like a real team all of a sudden. That could be function of having two more wins than Real Salt Lake...
DC United - Still not sold. Sure, in beating Toronto on the road, they succeeded where two teams once perceived as competent - the Chicago Fire and the Houston Dynamo - failed. Moreno looks older than dirt. I like the guy plenty, but, my word....
New England Revolution* - Yeah, they won, but I hate them for making me watch that pile of shit. Awful, ugly performance the quality of which was best described by the exasperated raspberry coach Steve Nicol blew when asked to assess his team’s performance in a sideline interview. A performance that distasteful warrants dropping the Revs in my power rankings on aesthetic grounds at the very least.
Red Bull New York - The match report (which I cheated and read) showed an even game, statistically speaking. The highlights, however, showed Dane Richards rip past Rusty Pierce like a rusty gate, a defense that contained the Crew’s “attack”* fairly well and an offense that punished mistakes. Given the Crew’s defense over the past few weeks, the four goals scored might say something; but this could also be an aberration, a la the Crew’s performance against New England a ways back. So, good game, but count Red Bull another team on which I’m reserving judgment.
Houston Dynamo* - Wow. That’s all I’ve got, really. Wow. Why the hell can’t these guys score? I’ll confess to nodding off/finding the hairs on my stomach more interesting than the action on the field, but dubbing the Houston attack anemic does a disservice to the adjective.
Columbus Crew - *I’ve got a theory on the Crew’s offense: they’re not pulling the same direction. Put another way, different players have different ideas about the way to get their team scoring goals and that plays out on the field with errant passing, mistimed runs - just a general grabasstic mess with too many generals freelancing it. Mmmm....”generals” doesn’t correctly communicate the level: let’ go with corporals.
FC Dallas* - Maybe it was RSL, maybe it was the late night and serial Pabst-swilling, but I liked what I saw last night out of FC Dallas. Most impressive were signs the defense might be gelling and maturing, as well as how quickly this team turns around and transitions from defense to offense; they literally get the ball and - POW! - the team as a whole faces forward with their heads up. Two wins in as many games also tell a happy story. A couple other random observations: as the commentator said after Chris Gbandi scored, that’s the goal of the week - see if you don't agree (thanks, as always, to Climbing the Ladder)...
...continuing, tough-ish call on the PK, though I see how it happened, but that’s the only significant blemish I caught in an otherwise composed performance; between his awareness and ability to ride tackles and play out of trouble, Juan Toja looks like the real deal. In spite of years of bitter, bitter experience and the bias that grows therefrom, I like what I see in Dallas...again.
Real Salt Lake* - Worst team in the league, no question in my mind. They’re USL Division 1 material at this point. As such, I really want them to play the Portland Timbers in the U.S. Open Cup...
Chicago Fire - While I didn’t see all of Thursday’s game between Chicago and Dallas, the last 20 minutes showed a Fire team ALL OVER the visitors from Dallas. Mapp, especially looked dangerous. Still, they didn’t win, never mind draw this game and that’s just got to feel like a shot to the pills. Put another way, whatever is wrong with these guys, it’s sort of fer reals. If I had to name the problem, I’d say they’re missing a blunt-instrument kind of player like Nate Jaqua, e.g. someone who can make good on goal-mouth scrums.
Colorado Rapids - Didn’t watch them play, but they do seem to be settling into the erratic profile so familiar from seasons past.
Kansas City Wizards - This is the team I forget about most often this year; used to be Colorado, but they became interesting starting in 2006. I think we’re still a few weeks from having the data to make a decision on this bunch.
LA Galaxy - Didn’t see it, but I’m definitely surprised by this past weekend’s draw with Chivas, who I rate about as highly as “Oh Boy” Alberto Gonzales.
Chivas USA - Honestly, between these guys, RSL, and even Houston, the West looks no better than half-good right now.
All righty. I’m off to see what else I can learn about all this stuff; if all goes according to plan, I’ll wrap up that by the end of the day.
Week 6 Power-Rankings Round-Up (check my math)
As I was about to explain in long-hand form the collection of 9+ power rankings I pulled together to study, it occurred to me that a mathematical method of some sort could make sense of it all more efficiently. It turns out all those math teachers who swore I'd use what they taught me were right...though it's also likely they didn't entertain the possibility I would misapply the tools they provided.
Call that my caveat for this post: I'm not totally sure that what I've done is mathematically valid, but it seems good enough - and that's why I'm posting.
By way of source material, I found power rankings posted on nine different sites - the "+" that appears above came about because, due to the format - which splits Eastern and Western Conferences - I can't use the rankings from Who Ate All the Cupcakes; but I like the author's stuff well enough to give him a shout-out regardless.
The other nine, however, appear below. After listing them, I'll redo the power rankings by placing all 13 MLS teams in the order of the average ranking they received across all nine outlets/blogs. Here's a list of the source material:
It's a Simple Game (mine obviously - LINK)
Sports Illustrated (Ryan Hunt) LINK
WVHooligan LINK
Soccer by Ives LINK
Sideline Views (Luis Bueno) LINK
Orlando Sentinel LINK (bonus for great format)
My Soccer Blog LINK
MLS Underground LINK
Finally, ESPN, the grand-daddy of them all: LINK
And now, here's how MLS's 13 teams stack up when you average the scores awarded to each of the teams by all nine outlets; for poops and giggles, I listed the high and low figure for each MLS club.
1. New England Revolution: 1.0 (Yep, they were the universal #1)
2. Red Bull New York: 2.7 (best, 2; worst, 4)
3. Kansas City Wizards: 3.9 (best, 2; worst, 6 - big spread on them)
4. Colorado Rapids: 3.9 (best, 2; worst, 7 - still bigger spread)
5. Houston Dynamo: 4.7 (best, 2; worst, 7 - ditto)
6. FC Dallas: 5.3 (best, 4; worst, 7 - 5 heavy; I gave the 7)
7. Chicago Fire: 7.6 (best, 6; worst, 10 - 7 heavy; I gave the 10)
8. Los Angeles Galaxy: 8.2 (best, 5; worst, 10 - pretty random; I gave the 5)
9. DC United: 9.7 (best, 8; worst, 11 - small range, wide variety)
10. Columbus Crew: 10.6 (best, 6; worst, 11)
11. Chivas USA: 10.8 (best, 8; worst, 13 - 10, 11 heavy)
12. Toronto FC: 11.9 (best, 10; worst, 13 - 12, 13 heavy)
13. Real Salt Lake: 12.6 (best, 12; worst, 13 - pretty conclusive)
So, there you have it. That may or may not give a handy snapshot of the conventional wisdom. I suspect it does, even if the ranges on some teams is a worry.
Talk at y'all tomorrow.
(#########)
Call that my caveat for this post: I'm not totally sure that what I've done is mathematically valid, but it seems good enough - and that's why I'm posting.
By way of source material, I found power rankings posted on nine different sites - the "+" that appears above came about because, due to the format - which splits Eastern and Western Conferences - I can't use the rankings from Who Ate All the Cupcakes; but I like the author's stuff well enough to give him a shout-out regardless.
The other nine, however, appear below. After listing them, I'll redo the power rankings by placing all 13 MLS teams in the order of the average ranking they received across all nine outlets/blogs. Here's a list of the source material:
It's a Simple Game (mine obviously - LINK)
Sports Illustrated (Ryan Hunt) LINK
WVHooligan LINK
Soccer by Ives LINK
Sideline Views (Luis Bueno) LINK
Orlando Sentinel LINK (bonus for great format)
My Soccer Blog LINK
MLS Underground LINK
Finally, ESPN, the grand-daddy of them all: LINK
And now, here's how MLS's 13 teams stack up when you average the scores awarded to each of the teams by all nine outlets; for poops and giggles, I listed the high and low figure for each MLS club.
1. New England Revolution: 1.0 (Yep, they were the universal #1)
2. Red Bull New York: 2.7 (best, 2; worst, 4)
3. Kansas City Wizards: 3.9 (best, 2; worst, 6 - big spread on them)
4. Colorado Rapids: 3.9 (best, 2; worst, 7 - still bigger spread)
5. Houston Dynamo: 4.7 (best, 2; worst, 7 - ditto)
6. FC Dallas: 5.3 (best, 4; worst, 7 - 5 heavy; I gave the 7)
7. Chicago Fire: 7.6 (best, 6; worst, 10 - 7 heavy; I gave the 10)
8. Los Angeles Galaxy: 8.2 (best, 5; worst, 10 - pretty random; I gave the 5)
9. DC United: 9.7 (best, 8; worst, 11 - small range, wide variety)
10. Columbus Crew: 10.6 (best, 6; worst, 11)
11. Chivas USA: 10.8 (best, 8; worst, 13 - 10, 11 heavy)
12. Toronto FC: 11.9 (best, 10; worst, 13 - 12, 13 heavy)
13. Real Salt Lake: 12.6 (best, 12; worst, 13 - pretty conclusive)
So, there you have it. That may or may not give a handy snapshot of the conventional wisdom. I suspect it does, even if the ranges on some teams is a worry.
Talk at y'all tomorrow.
(#########)
Kreis: Doomed or Determined?
Steve Davis framed this question pretty well in a piece for ESPN, but a couple things occur to me as I watch Jason Kreis' young foray into professional coaching.
To begin, and in his favor, he certainly sounds like he's up for it. Put another way, Kreis speaks about the game with a fair amount of intelligence. For example, this comes out of ESPN preview for tonight's Rapids v. RSL encounter:
So far I've found the substance of the above pretty representative and remain surprised that he's never sounded outright stupid (came close here, but the tone rather charmed me), never mind cliched, in his post-game commentary. Against that, though, sounding smart and capable is always easier than being smart and capable.
And, as Davis points out, Kreis needs to be both given the team and situation he inherited. One rarely noted facet to this part of the equation comes with Kreis' closeness with the team he's leading. With the speed of the media making this change feel weeks rather than days old, that gets a little lost, but a quote from Carey Talley in the Deseret News' preview of tonight's game brings home the connections Kreis retains with RSL's players:
It's possible that will help more than hurt - but I doubt it. The first game forced everyone to just get on with business, but, if things keep going South as most expect, will the same apply down the line? Or will Kreis' charges question not just his credentials, but his basic competence, if the team falls off the playoff pace? The risk is that Kreis will lose this team faster than a more experienced coach every would.
For all that, Kreis sounds both happy and not a little wise as he embarks on his coaching career; so his head is in the right place. However it pans out, the man deserves a fairer shake than he's getting.
To begin, and in his favor, he certainly sounds like he's up for it. Put another way, Kreis speaks about the game with a fair amount of intelligence. For example, this comes out of ESPN preview for tonight's Rapids v. RSL encounter:
"If I were to go back and analyze all of the goals that were scored against us, most of them were down to individual mental errors," Kreis said. "So for me, the entire first week has been about changing that mentality, getting players to react quicker in situations, transitioning from offense to defense."
So far I've found the substance of the above pretty representative and remain surprised that he's never sounded outright stupid (came close here, but the tone rather charmed me), never mind cliched, in his post-game commentary. Against that, though, sounding smart and capable is always easier than being smart and capable.
And, as Davis points out, Kreis needs to be both given the team and situation he inherited. One rarely noted facet to this part of the equation comes with Kreis' closeness with the team he's leading. With the speed of the media making this change feel weeks rather than days old, that gets a little lost, but a quote from Carey Talley in the Deseret News' preview of tonight's game brings home the connections Kreis retains with RSL's players:
"'Jason is a friend to a lot of us, and you don't want to let your friend down,' said Talley."
It's possible that will help more than hurt - but I doubt it. The first game forced everyone to just get on with business, but, if things keep going South as most expect, will the same apply down the line? Or will Kreis' charges question not just his credentials, but his basic competence, if the team falls off the playoff pace? The risk is that Kreis will lose this team faster than a more experienced coach every would.
For all that, Kreis sounds both happy and not a little wise as he embarks on his coaching career; so his head is in the right place. However it pans out, the man deserves a fairer shake than he's getting.
Roberto Brown and the Lords of Discipline (DC?)
So, I'm waiting for the league to hand down some kind of hurt to Houston Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson for the cheap shot he took at the Colorado Rapids' Roberto Brown...and, for those who either didn't see or didn't think anything of it, Jeff Carlisle's preview for Thursday night's ESPN game contains this nugget on the aftermath:
In Robinson's defense, the announcers for Saturday night's Rapids/Dynamo game said something about Robinson pushing off to protect himself from an on-rushing Brown, who was chasing a ball he had pushed too far ahead. But Robinson's forearm lunged forward pretty damn sharpish - at least as I and the (admittedly biased) fans who caught it on The Richard's replay screens saw it.
At any rate, impatience took me to the discipline page on MLSnet.com, which is where I first caught wind of the suspension Andy Herron picked up for popping Jay Heaps. Nothing on Robinson yet (and I'll refrain from changing my underwear till that changes), but I did find something pretty dang nifty: The League Fair Play Table. Let me say, there are some surprises on that sucker. The biggest? Look who's dirtiest: DC United. No red cards yet, but look at all them yellows (15) - and only FC Dallas has commmitted more fouls (91 for DC versus 97 for Dallas; the latter has had one more game, however, so look for that to change).
No less surprising is who they're beating: Colorado? Chicago? And, after Week 5's 22 foul-affair against KC, Columbus? Here I thought teams like New England and Chicago were the proponents of negative soccer...
On the other end, look at Real Salt Lake: 19.5 points to DC's whopping 105.5! Is this why they suck? (No, it's worse. Still, you'd think they'd have some kind of chip by now.)
Anyway, it's kind of a fun table, especially when you figure out how it works. But, whodathunk? Damn, dirty DC United?
(########)
"...a forearm to Brown's head from Houston defender Eddie Robinson has left him with headaches, which may force him out of the match."
In Robinson's defense, the announcers for Saturday night's Rapids/Dynamo game said something about Robinson pushing off to protect himself from an on-rushing Brown, who was chasing a ball he had pushed too far ahead. But Robinson's forearm lunged forward pretty damn sharpish - at least as I and the (admittedly biased) fans who caught it on The Richard's replay screens saw it.
At any rate, impatience took me to the discipline page on MLSnet.com, which is where I first caught wind of the suspension Andy Herron picked up for popping Jay Heaps. Nothing on Robinson yet (and I'll refrain from changing my underwear till that changes), but I did find something pretty dang nifty: The League Fair Play Table. Let me say, there are some surprises on that sucker. The biggest? Look who's dirtiest: DC United. No red cards yet, but look at all them yellows (15) - and only FC Dallas has commmitted more fouls (91 for DC versus 97 for Dallas; the latter has had one more game, however, so look for that to change).
No less surprising is who they're beating: Colorado? Chicago? And, after Week 5's 22 foul-affair against KC, Columbus? Here I thought teams like New England and Chicago were the proponents of negative soccer...
On the other end, look at Real Salt Lake: 19.5 points to DC's whopping 105.5! Is this why they suck? (No, it's worse. Still, you'd think they'd have some kind of chip by now.)
Anyway, it's kind of a fun table, especially when you figure out how it works. But, whodathunk? Damn, dirty DC United?
(########)
Chutzpah: Thy Name is Real Salt Lake
"Near the 68th minutes, New York goalie Ronald Waterreus appeared to have handled a back pass. Many among the 14,000 plus at Rice-Eccles Stadium thought so."
[SNIP]
"It was a back pass, it really was a back pass," said [Real Salt Lake defender Eddie] Pope afterward, still burning over the non-decision. "One week you get punished for it, the next it doesn't go your way. I spoke to referee, and he he didn't think it was a back pass, either. and that's the problem. You've got to be on same page here."
- Salt Lake Tribune (who should hire a copy editor), 5.9.07 (LINK)
Who knows? Maybe I would have nodded along with Eddie had I not spent the week reading how Real Salt Lake owed their equalizer to a little something dubious of their own (from Soccer by Ives):
"Apparently RSL midfielder Carey Talley had been on the sidelines changing his bloodied jersey and was waiting to be waived into the game by the match official, Ricardo Salazar, but fourth official Brian Hall told Talley to get back on the field before Salazar ever acknowledged Talley. Talley proceeds to intercept a pass by Clint Mathis intended for Hunter Freeman and starts the play that gets the ball to Chris Brown, who scores a beautiful goal."
Best to keep scrutiny of the referee at a minimum Eddie. Even if Red Bull players and (you kiddin' me?) the coach aren't whining, most of what I've read suggests they believed Carey Talley to be out of the play, which makes the whole thing sound a little sleazy. That said, it also sounds like Talley is fairly innocent here; he was, after all, waved on...not to take anything away from the goal itself, which was pretty groovy.
(#######)
Goals, DC, Columbus, Kreis: Week 5 Q & A...
...in which I ask the questions and you provide the answers...if you're so inclined. Or we can just leave 'em hanging till Major League Soccer's (MLS) teams and front office provide answers. Anyway, as part of the ongoing effort of organizing the commentary in this space, I’m trying on a “talking points” feature after each weekend - just a list of questions, reactions to results, happenings, etc. from the previous weekend’s games. Naturally, I won’t mention, let alone think about, every issue and angle. As such, I’m encouraging anyone with the time and web-access to drop in a point that occurs to him or her. Enjoy.
To begin, there’s the goal of the week to sort out and, thanks, as always to Climbing the Ladder, the list of candidates appears below. Personally, I’m hung up between Dwayne DeRosario’s bomb against Colorado and Chris Brown’s late (tarnished?) equalizer against Red Bull.
Moving on....
- What will become of RSL? (On an obviously related note, I’m less interested in the flipside to that question - e.g. what did this weekend’s draw mean to Red Bull New York? I can’t say why.) I mention this less because of that gutsy draw, but because I like what I’m reading from Jason Kreis in terms of tactics, not to mention what I’m seeing in terms of Luis Tejada-terminating moxie. He's got guts, but is guts enough?
- Are 1-0 games going one way or the other and a bunch of goalless draws all there is for Columbus this year? The problems with scoring are evident enough, but, as Steve Davis mused in his column (and as I mused elsewhere), what was the foul heavy response? Aggression provides an equalizer against skill, of sorts anyway. (Again, if you’re wondering about the flipside to this, it’s fair to note that, as part of my ongoing campaign to ignore/dismiss the Kansas City Wizards, I’m continuing my effort to pin their success on failures in the opposition. As such, I’m viewing this week’s win over Columbus through the Crew’s problems with scoring and, possibly, frustration arising from that.)
- Will there be fallout to the ugly, ugly knock Houston defender Eddie Robinson laid on Colorado’s Roberto Brown? (Due to stupid, stupid beer) I forgot the unappetizing sequence that featured Robinson laying out Brown and ended with two yellow cards to Colorado players - Pablo Mastroeni for dissent and Brown for retaliating shortly thereafter. A bad sequence for the ref all-round.
- Is DC United on the road to recovery? Put another way, did DC beat Chivas USA or did Chivas just lose to Houston? Are they even on the road to recovery or did Chivas flatter them due to lousy, firing-offense quality coaching, bang-up ‘keeping from Troy Perkins, or did they just catch Chivas in a misfiring transition?
All for now. Hopefully, future editions will come earlier and read better.
To begin, there’s the goal of the week to sort out and, thanks, as always to Climbing the Ladder, the list of candidates appears below. Personally, I’m hung up between Dwayne DeRosario’s bomb against Colorado and Chris Brown’s late (tarnished?) equalizer against Red Bull.
Moving on....
- What will become of RSL? (On an obviously related note, I’m less interested in the flipside to that question - e.g. what did this weekend’s draw mean to Red Bull New York? I can’t say why.) I mention this less because of that gutsy draw, but because I like what I’m reading from Jason Kreis in terms of tactics, not to mention what I’m seeing in terms of Luis Tejada-terminating moxie. He's got guts, but is guts enough?
- Are 1-0 games going one way or the other and a bunch of goalless draws all there is for Columbus this year? The problems with scoring are evident enough, but, as Steve Davis mused in his column (and as I mused elsewhere), what was the foul heavy response? Aggression provides an equalizer against skill, of sorts anyway. (Again, if you’re wondering about the flipside to this, it’s fair to note that, as part of my ongoing campaign to ignore/dismiss the Kansas City Wizards, I’m continuing my effort to pin their success on failures in the opposition. As such, I’m viewing this week’s win over Columbus through the Crew’s problems with scoring and, possibly, frustration arising from that.)
- Will there be fallout to the ugly, ugly knock Houston defender Eddie Robinson laid on Colorado’s Roberto Brown? (Due to stupid, stupid beer) I forgot the unappetizing sequence that featured Robinson laying out Brown and ended with two yellow cards to Colorado players - Pablo Mastroeni for dissent and Brown for retaliating shortly thereafter. A bad sequence for the ref all-round.
- Is DC United on the road to recovery? Put another way, did DC beat Chivas USA or did Chivas just lose to Houston? Are they even on the road to recovery or did Chivas flatter them due to lousy, firing-offense quality coaching, bang-up ‘keeping from Troy Perkins, or did they just catch Chivas in a misfiring transition?
All for now. Hopefully, future editions will come earlier and read better.
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