Real salt lake vs. TFC semi liveblog
July 28, 2008 by f4denz.
Here are a couple picks from warm ups:
Not sure if TFC will be starting Barrett, but he is supposed to be in the 18 man roster for the match.
Real Salt Lake vs. Toronto TC preview
July 28, 2008 by f4denz.
Well it is the MLS version of Monday night football, and if you’re asking yourself why play on Monday the answer is simple. RSL has stated that they would not play home games on Sundays, so despite 8 other MLS teams playing their matches on the weekend for the convenience of their fans, but in SLC it is all about not offending those who may have gone to church in the morning. In case anyone has forgotten that many decision by the team are still made based on not what may be best for the team, but rather what will offend the fewest members of the LDS church. What can you do?
Toronto looks for points on the road
So Toronto comes to town and they have had a decent season and have won as many matches as RSL has, and they have also lost the same number as RSL, but having played two fewer matches they have two fewer ties. They have a couple other things in common with RSL, first they have only one win on the road and 6 losses, both sides also are unbeaten at home (they are the final two teams in MLS that can say that) Toronto’s road record has one major advantage over RSL, they have been able to score, they have put up 9 goals on the road to RSL’s 4. That goal differential is made up when you know that RSL’s defense has given up five fewer road goals than TFC.
TFC will have a bit of a hodge podge line up as Maurice Edu and Marvell Wynne are on national team duty with the US Olympic team (as is RSL back up keeper Chris Seitz), injuries will keep Danny Dichio and Todd Dunivant out of the lineup, and could keep Kevin Harmse out of the line up as well. Of the available TFC players only Jeff Cunningham has more than two goals, his 3 goals make him the most potent offensive threat for TFC, I am sure they will be happy to get the deal with Chicago done so they can add Chad Barrett to their roster of strikers. Perhaps then TFC will be able to get a win, something they have done only once in the last two months (1-3-2 in June and July).
Why MLS Why?
So I have to ask why MLS would do something so stupid as to assign Kevin Stott to another RSL match, knowing that everyone remembers the debacle the last time he was in charge of a match at RES. OK, maybe not everyone remembers the 2-2 draw against the LA Galaxy that involved Stott making a wrong call on a free kick that resulted in a LA goal, and worst yet that he let a offside call stand when it was clear there was no offside. Don’t trust me, review my blog post with details from US Soccer. In light of this I really question the decision to send him back to be the head official in a RSL match, here is hoping RSL doesn’t get another crap match from Stott. My prediction is that if his precious LA Galaxy happen to win against Dallas, that RSL will find the officiating very tilted toward TFC’s favor, there is little doubt that some at MLS HQ would much happier with the flagship of MLS being in first place, and I am sure they would like to see “the model of a new franchise” move up the standings in the East to ensure they make the playoffs. So if it happens don’t be surprised.
What is up with the TFC roster?
So I have to ask what the heck is up with the number of international players on the TFC roster? First MLS gave them a huge advantage on the number of international players they were allowed to have:
with the exception of Toronto FC who were awarded seven Senior International slots (three of which could be used only on domestic U.S. players) and five Youth slots…Toronto FC has been awarded two additional international player slots, which they may use only on domestic U.S. players. These slots shall be in effect for two (2) seasons and will be reviewed at the end of the 2009 MLS League Season.
So this leads me to believe that TFC should have no more than 14 international players and 5 of them are for US players, so when I look at their roster I see more than that, now a couple of those players are listed as Developmental players, but I am not sure how they are still listed that way, when they are listed as starters, or are playing on the first squad. Of the 25 players currently listed on the TFC website, only 6 of them are listed as being from Canada, so one has to wonder what if any rules are really being applied to the TFC roster spots, not that they are the only team with issues, does anyone know how LA has ended up with 3 DP’s, or how Chicago is going to add McBride when they already have a DP in Blanco (is Brian going to play for less than 400K)? Just more examples of the rules only applying when MLS wants them to, perhaps the solution is to have them follow the same rules as other MLS teams, but to count all North American players as domestic players?
RSL looks to say atop of the West
Well RSL has been one of the hottest teams in MLS over the last couple months, posting a 3-1-4 record in June and July, and the result has been that Real is sitting in first place in the Western conference. With the Galaxy getting beat 4-0 at Dallas, and it looking like Colorado will go down against the Crew (they trail 1-0 with 15 minutes left), that means that RSL will be in first place until the weekend even with a loss or draw. With this being their last match for 19 days, getting a full 3 points will probably be the only way RSL can hold onto first place over their extended break.
The scoring woes of RSL continue as they have only scored 4 goals in their last 5 matches the upside is that all four goals came at home, and with the offensive punch lacking in recent weeks it was nice to see Fabian Espindola get a little playing time against Saprissa. I am not sure if he will be a part of the 18 man roster for the match, but he could provide a great punch coming off the bench. Also playing to RSL’s favor is the fact that TFC will be starting two players with very little MLS experience Tyler Rosenlund has 78 minutes of in his MLS career, and Nana Attakora-Gyan has a whopping 3 minutes of MLS action, so the question is can RSL take advantage?
I expect a hard charging RSL who despite being in first place still are not getting a lot of respect around the league, I also expect that players know that RSL has never beaten TFC and that last years expansion team holds a couple victories over Salt Lake. This should be an exciting match as Jeff Cunningham tries to get out of the dog house for missing an easy goal in the recent TFC vs. Montreal match to determine which professional team would represent Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League, with the end result being a 1-1 draw TFC was knocked out by the USL side. Robbie Findley will be out to prove that while he may not be the fastest guy on the RSL roster, he still is our leading scorer. This one is going to be a huge 2-1 win for RSL, they may give up a goal, but they will get all 3 points as they again beat a Eastern Conference foe at RES.
OFF MY SOAPBOX