Archive for May 2008
MLS Week 9 Predictions and Preview
May 24, 2008 by f4denz.
| Home Team |
Away Team |
Actual Results |
| Toronto-2 |
DC United-0 |
TFC 1-0 |
| San Jose Eathquakes - 0 |
Houston Dynamo -2 |
San Jose 2-1 |
| Columbus Crew - 3 |
NE Revolution -3 |
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| DC United – 0 |
TFC - 2 |
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| Colorado – 2 |
Chivas - 2 |
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| LA Galaxy - 3 |
KC Wizards - 1 |
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| Red Bulls - 0 |
Fire - 0 |
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| F*C* Dallas- 1 |
RSL - 2 |
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King of the Hill
When the Rev’s try to do what no other MLS side has been able to do yet this season, they for the first time all season will have close to a full roster, but can they stop the winning ways of the Crew at home (4-0-0)? Well New England have proven themselves to be road warriors so far this season (3-1-1), those three road wins are tied for the best in MLS. But at home I have to stick with the undefeated Crew, this one should be exciting as no team can knock Columbus out of first, but New England could make it interesting heading into June. I have been impressed with the talent that the Rev’s have brought to MLS from Africa, there 3 new additions bring pace, size, and talent to what already was a good side. Columbus has been riding high off the talent of 2nd year player Robbie Rogers, and one of their most experienced players Alejandro Moreno, who have 9 of the teams 14 goals so far this season. Columbus gets challenged but win this one 3-2.
Game Guide
Midweek Rematch
DC United suffered another loss on Wednesday night as they went north of the border to face TFC in front of what some call the leagues best fans, today they get another chance at beating Toronto, but now in front of their home fans. DC United will seek revenge on their first ever loss to TFC, and more importantly they will be trying to stop their 4 game losing streak that has seen them score only one goal in those 4 matches. If you want to know how important the loss of Gomez was, simply look at the tables, DC United are the worst team in MLS and Christian’s new team Colorado is atop the Western Conference, add in the loss of Ben Olsen and the failure of the talented Gallardo to make the team better and their problems just seem to be getting started. TFC on the other hand is one of the hottest MLS teams, they have a 6 match unbeaten streak (4-0-2), and their defense has been stellar giving up only one goal in their last five matches. Toronto has not been the highest scoring team in recent play scoring only 5 goals in their last 5 matches, but with their defense, they don’t need many goals to get results and I am going to pick TFC to win again (despite my feeling that United may finally break out like they did against RSL) TFC 2- United 0.
Game Guide
RSL rivals battle
I still struggle to figure out which of these teams I hate more, Colorado with Pablo, or the Goats USA? Neither side has looked impressive yet this season, but both hold wins over RSL on their home pitches, when these two sides have met in Colorado the most common result has been a draw (4 out of 5). Both teams have scored 13 goals this season; the difference is that Colorado has given up only 9 goals which makes them the best defense in the West. On the other side Chivas have given up 16, only DC United has given up more. Both teams have scored in almost every match so far this season, only once have the Rapids failed to score, and Chivas has been blanked only twice. I think this will be a entertaining match but will end like most of their matches in Colorado as a draw 2-2.
Game Guide
Galaxy aim for the stars
Well LA could put themselves in first place in the Western Conference with a win against KC and if my prediction for a draw between Chivas and Colorado comes true. No team has scored more goals than LA so far this season 19, and they are facing a KC team that has less than half that with only 9 goals all season (3 in their last 4 matches). The problem in this one for LA is that other than the United no team has given up more goals 16 (same as the other team from LA), the KC defense is anchored by Jimmy Conrad one of the best defenders in MLS and KC have only allowed 10 goals to be scored against them. Something is going to give in this one and I have a feeling that it will be the defense of the Wizards, I don’t think that LA will get a hat trick from anyone player but I think a team hat trick will give them the win at home, Galaxy 3-1.
Game Guide
Defensive battle in the East
So the two best defenses in MLS match up on Sunday in New York, as the Red Bulls who have only given up 6 goals all season will face off against the Chicago Fire, who have only given up 5 goals. Both teams have a lot of injuries that will impact who can play as well as how well some players may perform, check the game guide for the gory details. New York will be without Dave van der Bergh out for a red card suspension, as well they will be without head coach Juan Carlos Osario who is also serving a one game suspension. Chicago will be trying to just stay close to the top of the East, and hoping that Columbus cools off at some point this season. This game also features the match up of the non-Beckham superstars, both Juan Pablo Angel and Blanco made an impact last season on their teams and the league, now the two superstars will match up for the first time this season. Angel has been suffering from injuries early in 2008, but Blanco has been on the pitch every minute of every game so far for Chicago, this matchup should be one of the best of the weekend, shame it is only going to be offered on Telefutura with their horrible technical issues and Spanish only broadcasting. Imagine if all the other matches were English only, outrage. Anyhow I have no idea if this one will end up being a scoring fest or a drought, but I am leaning towards the latter a 0-0 draw.
Game Guide
Can RSL take advantage
So RSL already owns a victory over Dallas this year, but they have never gotten a win or draw when facing Dallas in Texas (0-4-0), RSL has also not gotten any points on the road this year (0-4-9) and only scored two goals in their four defeats. How could anyone think that this match should be any different? Well Dallas has just made a coaching change, out is Steve Morrow and in is Marco Ferruzzi, but has that interim label, how will players react? Dallas will be without Adrian Serioux who is serving a red card suspension, their defense was already suspect as DP Duilio Davino has struggled to adapt to the MLS style of play, Dax McCarty is still out due to an injury, and they are coming off a total thrashing at home against the Galaxy 5-1. Their biggest weakness in my opinion is that they are a one trick team so far, long balls over the top to Kenny Cooper has been their only real offensive threat this year, it has lead to half of their 10 goals, but shut down Kenny and who will step up? One of last season’s surprises was Juan Toja, who has been almost invisible this season, their midfield is very suspect, but can RSL take advantage?
I think RSL has to counter the long ball tactics of Dallas with two efforts, first control the midfield and don’t allow the more accurate balls from the middle of the pitch, make Dallas play long balls out of their own defensive third. Second, counter and cross, we have to have a quick response as Dallas will throw too many players into the attack, if we counter fast and get the ball into their third of the pitch and put good crosses into Deuchar we could just start to see the goals be delivered by “Dr. Goal”. This will be tough as our attack will have to come from the outside as Morales appears to be out for another match, I had hoped we would have moved Dema back into the defensive mid role and given Matias Corboba a chance to show if he has the ability to play on the first squad. But if the game guide is to be believed it looks like Kenny Cutler will get another start in the midfield, he had moments last week both good and bad moments (more bad than good in my opinion) but the reality is that we lost a match we could have won at Colorado, and this week is another match we could and should win.
I am going to pick another RSL win and I am going to pick it the same as the last time these two teams met, 2-1 for RSL.
Game Guide
Quarterly Report Card
May 22, 2008 by f4denz.
A little background on my grading methods, as a team I would have to give a C- since the team has shown potential but is not performing to expectations so a slightly below average grade is given. I am granting just a little credit for what should have been a 3-2 win against the Galaxy, if that had been a clean draw without so much controversy I would have given a D+ for the effort so far this season. Now onto individual player grades, I believe in the following grading curve:
A=Exceeds Expectations
B=Meets Expectations
C=Meets Requirements
D=Below Requirements
F=Failure to meet Minimum Requirements
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Player – Current Grade
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Reason for Grade
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How to Improve
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Kyle Beckerman - B
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I expected solid play from Kyle, I expected leadership, and I did not expect 3 goals and Kyle to be our leading scorer.
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Kyle has been given the captain’s armband, he needs to be the man in charge on the pitch, and he must lead by example and motivate the team to follow. Continue to take shots and convert them into goals.
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Kenny Deuchar – C
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“Dr. Goal” has yet to live up to the hype, I still think he can but 2 goals so far would only lead to 8 for the season. He has worked hard in the box and his teammates are still learning how to play with him.
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Kenny needs to continue to make himself a target in the box, take the first touch shots and improve his goal output. He has to remain focused and not get frustrated during matches.
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Fabian Espindola – B-
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Espindola has been good in attack and has shown a willingness to take shots (16 and 10 on goal), he has been using his pace to his advantage and I believe more good things will happen on the pitch
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A little work on his first touch is needed and a little better finishing 10 shots on goal and only two goals. He must show the wisdom to pass the ball to Kenny and others in the box, he needs to have some assists to go with the goals.
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Robbie Findley – C-
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Robbie is not getting as much playing time so his production is down, his speed is still a great tool but his shot ratio is low only 1 shot for 100 minutes played. That is ¼ Espindola’s rate, and ½ of Deuchar’s. More shots will lead to more goals
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Robbie has to shot and finish, he will have time with the U23 team to re-find his touch. Robbie needs to understand that speed can kill, but when combined with control and vision he can still turn his season around.
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Javier Morales - B
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Javier did not get a chance to shine in limited play last year, this year he has shown himself to be a great creator in the midfield, he leads the team with 4 assists (only 3 players in the league have more). Javier has been willing to take the shot as well, he is tied with Espindola for the team lead. Hopefully he will be healthy enough to get back into action soon.
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Morales has been one of the best things so far this season, he is showing himself to be one of the better attacking midfielders in the league. He needs to continue to create and attack, he will need to learn to take better advantage of Deuchar. He must get healthy and stay that way for RSL to be successful this season.
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Carey Talley * - D
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I included Carey even though he is no longer with the team, I like Carey and think he is a hell of a guy. I fear that the injury last season and his rushed recovery have impacted his future in MLS. He has the heart of a lion, but I think his body is failing him
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Do not come back to haunt us like Harris and Esky did in our last match with Chivas.
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Tony Beltran – C-
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Tony is a rookie, but he also is our first round draft pick. He came in with great promise and has shown moments of being a great MLS player, but he has also made some rookie mistakes by getting out of position and losing the man he is marking.
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Exposure with the U23 team and more playing time with the RSL first squad will help Tony get better prepared for the MLS style of play. Tony has great pace and a desire to play forward into the attack, he must make better passes, and learn to cross the ball better into the box to take advantage of our target players.
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Nat Borchers – C+
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Nat is an animal and I would love to grade him higher, but the defense has struggled and Nat has lost his man a few too many times on set pieces, I expect this grade to improve by midseason
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I imagine getting used to MLS play takes a few matches, I expect that we will see better play from Nat for the rest of the season. He is a natural target on set pieces both on offense and defense. He needs to find a way to help the offense more on set pieces.
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Matias Cordoba - I
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7 minutes of playing time, we have all heard the hype that Matias may be our best midfielder. With Morales hurt and Talley gone, we need to see the proof.
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Get into the starting 11, or become the first midfield option off the bench. When he gets on the pitch he must take advantage of it, shots, assists, and goals will get everyone’s attention.
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Kenny Cutler – C-
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RSL original, Kenny has more 1st team time in the first fourth of this season than he did all last year. The downside is Kenny has shown a lot of rust both coming off the bench and in his one start. His passes have been short or misdirected.
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Kenny has to play more physically in the midfield, he must stop attacks before they get out of the middle of the pitch. He has to see the field of play better, and has to get his passes to the intended targets. He has to limit mistakes and take advantage of this chance at playing time.
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Ian Joy -D
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Ian has been hit and miss so far this season, he is another playing getting reintroduced to MLS. He has shown the ability to get forward in attack, but his recovery ability has not been up to expectations. He has to find a way to get the ball into the box when attacking, and has to do a better job in his one on one defense. He has been beaten a few too many times.
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I think Ian will improve as the season moves along and he gets back into the MLS style and pace of play. Ian is not afraid of physical play and needs to take advantage of that fact to slow down attacking players, better a free kick from a foul, than a clear path to goal. Better vision when clearing the ball and moving forward in attack.
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Dustin Kirby - I
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3 minutes of playing time is simply not enough to comment on.
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Work himself into more 1st team playing time.
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Dema Kovalenko – B-
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Only two players got higher marks, because Dema is a force in the midfield. Only Morales has more assist than Dema, but Dema has had a couple great chances for either more assists or shots on goal, his first touch has not been as good as it should be. I love the energy and attitude that he brings to the team, there is no quit in Kovalenko
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Dema has had chances to really impact a number of matches offensively, and he has not taken full advantage of them and must do a better job in the future. Dema has to stay out of card trouble, and keep his emotions in check. He leads the team in fouls committed 15 and yellow cards 5. He has to keep the physical nature of his game but try to keep out of card trouble.
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Matias Mantilla- C-
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Another defensive player who suffers because of the overall failing of RSL’s defense. Matias has had some great matches; he is one of the team’s most vocal leaders on the pitch and will defend his teammates with unmatched passion. He has been out of position too often, or failed to cover his teammates moving forward in attack, and had some clearances that have lead to other teams getting offensive chances and goals.
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Matias needs to be the leader of the backline, with everyone around him being new he has to step up and keep the line organized to support Rimando. He must work on making sure that he clears the ball far enough to allow his teammates to recover and stop any offensive threats.
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Yura Movsisyan - D
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His first touch has failed him, his shots lack the power and accuracy we know he has. Too often he has refused to make a good pass in order to take a bad shot. His limited playing time has kept him from really finding his touch this season. Too often both at home and on the road, he has tripped over his own feet or the ball.
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First, Yura must get healthy; a recent meniscus surgery will keep him out for a while. When he gets back, he must learn when to shoot and when to pass the ball when in the box. He must get his first touch back, too often that has lead him to putting himself into bad positions. Better decision making will result in him getting more playing time.
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Jamison Olave – B-
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Olave is the only defensive player to get higher than a C as his grade. The reason is simple, I had few if any expectations going into the season of Jamison. After seeing him play in the BYU reserve match, I knew he would get some starting time soon. Physical and quick Olave has been a real asset so far this season.
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We have too much talent for our back line to be giving up this many goals, only 3 teams have given up more than RSL. Jamison will have to play very well when he is in the starting lineup, Matias and Nat seem to have the center of the defense locked up, so it may be the wings that hold the best future for Olave.
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Nathan Sturgis – I (B-)
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Before his injury Sturgis was making a real impact on the RSL line up, he provided a great defensive presence, and often was the starting point of RSL’s offensive efforts.
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Hamstring injuries can really impact players, hopefully Nathan will recover soon. He is an important part of the RSL midfield and that of the US U-23 national team. When he comes back Nathan must continue to live up to expectations.
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Andy Williams - C
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While some people cling to the saying that “when Andy plays, good things happen” but so far Andy has no goals and only one assist, but he has not lost his desire to shoot the ball 13 shots so far. Andy has had a habit of being a one man attacking machine, but that attitude flies in the face of the more team oriented attacking style RSL has embraced. Andy has the ability to serve quality balls into the box, he and Deuchar could be a great 1-2 punch, but so far that connection hasn’t formed.
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Andy has to become more of a team player, I understand his frustration when his passes are sharp but the following plays fail to get results. Andy must resist the temptation to put the entire attack on himself, and do a better job of pulling defenders to him and then getting the ball to others in attack.
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Chris Wingert – C-
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Chris is one of defensive line that has performed as expected but the overall performance of the back line has been below expectations. Chris has been an important cog in the RSL attack, he has the speed to get forward in attack and get back into his defensive position.
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If Chris can do a better job of crossing the ball in attack his grade will jump. He also has to make sure that he helps cover defensively when others defenders join into the attack. He must use his great feel of the game to help the backline react more quickly to stop opposing teams attack.
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Nick Rimando – B-
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Nick has had a great season so far making his fair share of impressive saves, his GAA average is up but only two keepers have faced more shots, and only two keepers have made more saves.
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Nick has to do a better job in communicating with his defenders to ensure that they are in the right place and that they know what his expectations are for them.
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Well that is it for my player grades, I will be doing my predictions and preview of the MLS weekend action tomorrow, until then I am
OFF MY SOAPBOX
Midweek MLS Previews
May 21, 2008 by f4denz.
DC United @ TFC
Well this matchup between the bottom two teams in the East should be entertaining, but I would not expect a high scoring match. DC United has one goal in their last three matches (all loses), and TFC has scored just one goal in their last two (both ties). So TFC has an edge in momentum, but when these two sides faced off earlier in the season, it was DC United who dominated and put a 4-1 whipping on the boys from Canada. The projected line ups are:
This is a very different TFC than what United faced earlier in the year, they have added a number of new international players and by the look of the line up two that have made a great impact already in their time in Toronto will be in the match Guevara and Ricketts bring offensive punch and creativity to the lineup and with Robert becoming the on the field leader of the team, TFC is a much improved side in week 9 vs. week 2.
I am going to pick TFC to win tonight 2-0 over DC United who really are trying to figure it out. Offical Game Guide
Same MLS town, Same MLS name, very different team
So for the first time the team formely known as the San Jose Earthquakes, now the Houston Dynamo will be facing off against the new version of the Quakes, it will be interesting to see how the fans react on Thursday evening as these two sides walk out for introductions. San Jose has really struggled to score, they only have 4 goals in 7 matches and they have a number of injuries that will impact their roster (Ayres, Glinton, and Philippe are all out and Garcia is probable), they have only scored in two of their matches a 2-0 win against the Rapids and a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Columbus Crew. Houston seems to have found their scoring edge by putting 2-1 victories up the last two weeks against Colorado and Chicago. Here are the starting lineups:
While the emotions will be high on both sides as the match kicks off at Buck Shaw Stadium, Houston has too much talent and I think they will put two into the back of the net again. The only question is can San Jose do enough to get on the scoreboard? Having to play Ned Grabavoy at striker tells you how much trouble the Quakes are in, I think they simply do not have a chance. 2-0 Houston. Official Game Guide
Real Salt Lake’s ¼ of the season review
May 21, 2008 by f4denz.
So we are past the quarter way mark of the 2008 season and we know a couple things in a single table RSL is currently in 12th place with just DC United and expansion side San Jose behind them, if you look at just the Western Conference standings we are in 6th place with only the Earthquakes behind us. There is one upside to being in the West this season, all the teams suck and RSL is only 4 points out of first place, and had they won their match last week against Colorado, they actually would have been in first place.
But to know if the first full season with Jason Kreis as head coach and Garth Lagerwey as general manager is a success we have to compare the results both to RSL’s first three seasons, but against the rest of the league. I am going to do this by looking straight at the numbers, and then offering a couple opinions.
I will also offer my season grades for players and staff, kinda a mid term report, I will include what each of them need to do in order to improve their grade, this will come later in the week.
The Numbers
So in major league soccer the numbers that matter are your record and your total number of points, but goals for and goals against also are important, so lets take a look at the numbers. So through 8 games here are the numbers:
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Year
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Record
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Pts
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GF
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GA
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Final Record
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2005
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3-3-2
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11
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8
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10
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5-22-5 (20)
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2006
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2-5-1
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7
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10
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13
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10-13-9 (39)
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2007
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0-3-5
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5
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7
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14
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6-15-9 (27)
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2008
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2-4-2
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8
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11
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14
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So in the stat that matter most, RSL is doing better than the past two years at this point of the season, but trailing our expansion effort. Remember the first year where we all expected great things after a good start, but in the final 24 matches we only won two more, and had 5 and 10 game losing streaks, the writing was on the wall but we got one more full season of John Ellinger, and we did see an improve in 2006 and our 39 points were only two shy of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but we finished worst in the West. 2007 was supposed to be the season, so said Dave Checketts as he promised the playoffs, but our slow start caused the end of Ellinger era, and ushered into the reign of Kreis. Jason faced an uphill struggle and the team was just 1-6-4 between the change and the all star break (1-9-6 overall at the break), but things got better after the All Star game and RSL went 5-7-3. Our longest losing streak was 4 games, but our next longest streak was 2 which happened several times, we finished dead last in the West for the second straight year.
The reality is that if the rest of the season is a follows the trend of the start of the season we will end up with 30 points, 2nd best in team history and keeping our 1 point per game current effort. If we improve by 25% to a 1.25 point per game average we would end up with 36 points probably not enough to make the playoffs, but an increase to 1.50 would see us end with 41 points and in the shortened 30 game schedule that should be enough to make the playoffs, both Chicago and KC made it with 40 points last season. This is possible; here are what I would expect to be the 2 most likely scenarios, a 9-7-6 record or a 10-9-3 record for the rest of the season.
New Faces in New Places
That brings us to this season, 20 new faces from the start of 2007 to the start of 2008, and everyone knows that many new players will take some time to come together as a team. We have seen moments of great play like the 4-0 United match, good play in a lot of matches, and a couple of debacles (Chivas 3-1 defeat, United 4-1 defeat, and last weeks 2-0 loss at Colorado), which is really typical of a team with a lot of different players in new roles and new lineups. We have seen tactical mistakes made, and admitted by coach Kreis, but we have seen him make good adjustments as well (the Chicago match, the 2nd half at TFC, and adjusting against LA), this again seems typical as we try to figure out what players work best together, dealing with some injuries. While some players have been living up to expectations or even exceeding them (Beckerman, Kovalenko, Morales, Borchers), others have been average (Espindola, Wingert, Rimando), and a few would have to be classified as disappointments (Talley, Joy, Deuchar, Findley, Movsisyan) not that it is all their fault. I will go further into depth later in the week with my player report card.
Off the pitch
Wow considering how the front office has operated in the past, I consider this to be one of the highlights of the season. The stadium is moving forward and looking better each and everyday. New blood in the sales department has actually lead to some great sized crowds, and they are much more responsive than in years past. Merchandise is steady, but lacks any real variety or flash, it is just the standard league stuff that every team has and more in line with the minimum as opposed to years past when the variety was better but it was always hit and miss. Marketing has taken a couple of hits with the failure to find a host for the weekly coach’s radio show, very little advertising, and with the recent Real Madrid cancellation, the black eyes continue. Operations has finally announced their plans for the relocation to the new stadium, in fact that announcement came today:
Plans for the Relocation Guide and Relocation Event have been set in motion! By next week Stadium Relocation Guide’s will be printed and sent out to all of our Royal Club Members.
This Guide will include:
–Your priority number
–Relocation selection time and date (choosing your seats)
–Answers to frequently asked questions
–A color-coded pricing map
–Ways to contact us regarding changes to your account and any questions you may have.
If you need to make any changes to your account, (address, phone number, etc.) please let us know as soon as possible by e-mailing clientexperience@realsaltlake.com or calling us at (801) 924-8585 and asking for a Fan Relations Representative.
We are targeting June 23-27 for our relocation event. If nothing else, this is an advanced notice to put these dates on your calendar. The actual date of your appointment will depend upon your priority number. You WILL NOT be allowed to choose before your scheduled time. If you are unable to attend you will be given the option to send a person in your place to choose your seats, or you can come to the event after your scheduled time (subject to availability, seats will be assigned at next open time slot). We apologize if this is rushed notice for any of you, but this week was selected due to time constraints that our game and construction schedules have put on us. We thank you all in advance for your support and understanding throughout this process, and cannot wait to get this special event underway.
What: Royal Club Member Relocation Event
When: Depends on Priority Number (Will be between June 23-27)
Where: RSL Stadium in Sandy, Ardell Brown Building (Construction HQ). Details/ Directions and parking information to follow.
So I have to say again I have been impressed by the efforts of the front office, better viewing parties, better stadium operations. Let’s hope they keep it up.
Expectations
So I have been way to often accused of being a optimist when it comes to things regarding RSL, but I would rather hope for the best, than spend my time wondering how or when things will go in the tank. I expect that RSL will make at least one major roster move in the next 4-6 weeks, and I also think RSL will look at the international market for a real DP (thinking attacking midfielder). I believe that we will get one mid table European team and two teams from Central/South America as our friendlies, a far cry from Real Madrid. I am going to go out on a real limb, I think we win next week at Columbus in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, as most teams play more bench players and reserves, I just wish there was TV coverage. I think we end up in 3rd or 4th place in the West, Chivas will have real problems as players miss time for international play, Dallas is a one trick pony and Cooper is simply not good enough to carry that much of a burden, San Jose is showing signs that they really are an expansion team and they will struggle all year long.
The two questions for me in the west are will Houston continue to struggle or have they found their defending champion form, and is Colorado going to be able to stay on top? I think Houston is got enough talent, but will suffer as they lose players for international duty for the start of World Cup qualifying, without DeRo, they will struggle. Colorado looked really bad last week in their win over RSL, but they have some great depth and their younger players who started getting playing time early in the year looked really good. LA is got the ability to win every game, they showed that last weekend as they simply embarrassed FC Dallas, it appears that they have found a way to stop teams from scoring as many goals and lets face it the league is going to do whatever they have to (another DP exemption, looking the other way on salary cap violations), all in order to not only ensure that LA makes the playoffs, but do well in them.
RSL will play their final two home matches of the regular MLS season in the new stadium, both have national TV coverage, and we play our first MLS playoff game at home in the new stadium, but we go out in the first round.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
MLS and Real Salt Lake news/blog updates
May 19, 2008 by f4denz.
MLS week 8 in review
Chivas USA Makes The Points ussoccerplayers.typepad.com
DC United once again get to be part of the main story for all the wrong reasons, dropping a 1-0 lead to end up losing against a club that has never - NEVER - come back to win an MLS game.
MLS Weekend Review: The Sack Rack csrnusa.com/ussoccerspot/
Another sign of Major League Soccer’s evolution is the development of a tradition reporters and pundits have in the motherland, the UK. That is the sack race. American soccer reporting and writing is generally not as negative or cynical as our British counterparts. This is largely because we have neither the history, the football infrastructure nor sharp critical historical lens they have en mass. But as MLS gets more attention albeit from non-mainstream sources, coaches face more pressures than in MLS first decade of existence.
SBI MLS Best XI: Week 8 soccerbyives.net
You just never know who you are going to see on the weekly MLS Best XI.
First there was Chad Barrett, then there was Alan Gordon. Now you can add Atiba Harris and Edson Buddle to the list of forwards who have made MLS Best XI this year.Buddle is joined on the squad by fellow attacking players, and MLS Best XI regulars, Landon Donovan and David Beckham, who both played their parts in the Galaxy’s 5-1 distruction of FC Dallas.
The Good, The Bad, The Coyote Ugly (week8) blog.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider
THE GOOD
*Edson Buddle’s hat trick.
*Marcelo Gallardo’s change of direction and well-placed goal.
*TFC Coach John Carver, on Columbus’s tactics: “They’ve come to spoil the game. They’ve come to take their time. They’ve come to fall over and dive all over the park, and I think that’s what they did. Any team to go six wins out of seven and have a game plan like that surprises me a little bit.”
Other MLS news
Qualifying Format Unveiled for 2008-2009 CONCACAF Champions League™ concacaf.com
The new CONCACAF Champions League™ will be comprised of 24 teams, representing each of CONCACAF’s regions. The CONCACAF Champions League™ will feature four teams from Mexico and USA; two clubs each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama; and one representative from Canada, Belize, and Nicaragua and three teams from the Caribbean.
The following is the qualification process, which will be completed by mid-July 2008, in preparation for the start of the Preliminary Round of the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League™ this coming August.
ON MY SOAPBOX
So am I the only one who thinks the timing of this tournament will stink for MLS squads? The group stages take place at the same time as the MLS playoffs, and even worse the next phase Quarterfinals and start of the Semifinals take place before the MLS season starts. I like the concept of something better than what current Champions Cup offers but this really seems like a stretch, USL teams from Canada get to try and qualify, but USL teams from the US are shut out (unless they can become the 2nd USL team to win the LHUSOC-Rochester did it in 99-since the MLS started competing in the tournament). Perhaps a better solution would be a smaller tournament, 12 teams instead of 24, or trying to get leagues to adjust their schedules to allow teams to better compete in the tournament? I am not sure, but we will see how this first attempts goes, I am not holding my breath for MLS success in this format.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
Another MLS team in Canada? (Commissioner’s Vancouver Statement) web.mlsnet.com
Following today’s announcement in Vancouver that BC Place will undergo renovations, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber issued the following statement: “We believe Vancouver is a potential market for a future Major League Soccer expansion team. There is no doubt the market for professional soccer exists in Vancouver, as we saw last November when nearly 50,000 fans attended the exhibition match between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Whitecaps.
ON MY SOAPBOX
Listen I think that the success of TFC is great, they have a great fan base, and while I am not sure how they are able to get a roster with so many international players (god knows the MLS rules get bent and broken more often than they get followed), but is that enough to bypass major US cities that have been waiting for expansion? St. Louis, Las Vegas, San Diego, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and others have had interest, some cities have funding already in place for stadiums, a few have even offered MLS their expansion fees, but the commish playing politics makes statements like this and leave fans scratching their heads.
Now add in the news that the recent partnership with FC Barcelona includes rights for them to own and control a team (read more here -”If you want to be a global brand, you have to be in the United States,” said FC Barcelona vice chairman Ferran Soriano, the club’s executive responsible for marketing. “We want to have a permanent presence here, and maybe that permanent presence will mean a team here someday.”), and add in the fact that as part of his deal with MLS that David Beckham also can become a franchise owner. Where is the talent going to come from for these teams, this could lead to a 20 team league within the next 4-5 years, and with the current salary cap in place this type of expansion could lead to MLS becoming a weaker league, at least when it comes to on field performance. I would urge Garber to deal with the issues current teams are facing and worry less about expansion beyond Seattle and Philly.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
RSL Updates
ON MY SOAPBOX
I will be doing a full ¼ season review over the next couple days but here are a couple of the things that stick out. Of all the new 2008 players, it is the defense that seems to be the most improved, but at the same time we have given up more goals to this point of the season than in the past, so is the defense really improved? We bring “Dr. Goal” to Salt Lake, and fail to get him the ball MLS has had very few pure strikers, and we get one but have no clue that he is not like most of the forwards in the league who want the ball 20 yards out, he will crash the box looking for either a ball over the top, or a cross into the box that he can use his height and skill to head into goal. We must figure out how to leverage him, before like many other players he gets frustrated and quits trying or leaves. I find that while our numbers look better than last year for overall performance, they still do not measure up to expectations.
OFF MY SOAPBOX