Real Salt Lake’s season is on the line

September 24, 2008 by f4denz.

“Fortune Favors the Bold”

Those words were spoken over two thousand years ago by Virgil, and more recently they were spoken last year at the press conference announcing Jason Kreis as the coach of Real Salt Lake in May. I like that quote but I think Real Salt Lake may want to take another line from Virgil as the get ready for this weekend’s match up with San Jose “They can conquer who believe they can. “.

Listen, I have been harsh in my criticism of Real Salt Lake in recent weeks, and I believe it is honest and truthful. We should have beat LA in LA, no questions asked, it was our best chance at a road win all season and we blew it, period. We could have gotten a result in New York, but we failed to protect a lead, and we didn’t, period. We had to beat Chivas at home, but we didn’t, period. You can, and many have made excuses, but I don’t believe that excuses are going to do this team any good, and I will not make excuses for them. We are better than what we have shown, and it is a team problem that can only be solved by the team. If they don’t believe they can make the playoffs, then they won’t. They could have done themselves a huge favor by winning last weekend, but instead we now face a 1 in 3 chance of making the playoffs. It can get better or worse and it is all up to the team, a win at San Jose will put us back into contention for the playoffs, according to Sportsclubstats:

Destiny is about results

So reality is that if RSL can muster up enough to get a win, they are back with a real shot at the playoffs, still only a shot, but at least they can impact their own situation. A loss on Saturday and RSL will drop to a 1 in 5 chance of making the playoffs, while San Jose would jump to a 50/50 chance at making the playoffs. So how can a team we have dominated 4-0, 3-1, and 0-0 be so close to playoff contention? Simple they made a couple changes to their roster and have shown an incredible amount of heart in every match and have not lost a MLS match since early July, are they better than RSL, no, but they have found a way to prevail in ways that still elude Jason and RSL. No player on their team has scored more than 4 goals this season, 5 different players have scored match winning goals and Joe Cannon has dropped his GAA to 1.17. Somehow a team that won just 2 matches in their first 10, have found a way to win 4 of their last 7, and it has come from team play, a lot of heart, and playing a full 90 minutes in each and every match.

The Challenge

Asking fans to really believe that RSL can go on the road and beat a vastly improved San Jose team is a stretch, but I understand that players, coaches, even diehard fans have a right to ask everyone to believe, but given the road record and recent performance of RSL, they should not expect an overwhelming response. I still think it is possible, but it will require a big match performance from the big names, there will be no better chance for Javi to prove that he is worth the money RSL has paid to secure his services for the next few years. No better way to silence the critics of Kyle Beckerman, than to have him repeat his two goal performance against San Jose earlier this year. No better way for Nick Rimando and Nat Borchers to make fans forget last weekend, than to post a clean sheet against a team that has scored at least one goal in 7 of their last 8 matches. No better way for Clint Mathis to prove that he is the spark off the bench that this team often needs in the second half, than to get his first goal or assist since his return to the team.

If RSL really wants to get the fans behind them for their October 9^th opening of their world class stadium, there is no better way than to get a win against San Jose.

OFF MY SOAPBOX

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