Real Salt Lake by the Numbers
August 6, 2009 by f4denz.
So now that the All Star match is long gone I thought I would try to get back to my normal schedule, so let’s take a look at some of the numbers. RSL is 1-2-0 in their last three and in the 270 plus minutes of play have actually put together a decent 90 minutes, a good 45 minutes and 135 minutes of just ugly soccer. Columbus was ugly, we played flat and made mistake after mistake and the defending MLS champs looked like it by taking full advantage of our mistakes despite playing without their top players. We followed that with 45 minutes of disaster at home allowing FC Dallas to be the aggressor despite playing at Rio Tinto and they took a 2-0 lead on goals by RSL killers Jeff Cunningham and Dave van den Bergh, whatever happened at halftime in the locker room cause RSL to come out and get back into the match largely on the efforts of Yura Movsisyan and we were able to pick up a 4-2 victory. The Chicago match has me baffled because we actually created some chances, took some quality shots but much like RSL early in the season we simply didn’t finish and lackluster defense in the final 20 minutes allowed the Fire to capture just their 3 home victory of the season. What could have been 7 points, or 5 points actually ended up as just 3 and that means the standings are:
Just 4 teams have a lower point total than RSL, but 6 teams ahead of us are within 5 points, so this is the time when points being to be vital to the playoff race and those lost points on the road come back to haunt teams. We have two 6 point games at home in the next two weeks against teams in front of us, wins against Seattle and Houston are going to be the deciding factor for RSL this year, if we can win both and climb to 29 points while preventing those teams from widening the gap then we might just have a shot at one of the two western conference playoff slots or at least one of the 4 at large spots.
Ever since last season I have been a huge fan of sportsclubstats.com
RSL got a lot of help by other teams and while our recent trend isn’t what I or anyone else would like to see we still are sitting with a 1 in 3 chance of making the playoffs and a win against Seattle would boost our chances by close to 15%, while a loss would drop us that same 15%. Clearly this match is one of the most important we will have over the next couple weeks, knowing that August is a month with 3 home matches and after this month we only have one home match between the start of September and the middle of October. By the time we get back home then the playoff race could be all but locked up, so the next couple weeks are going to be the key.
How about some individual numbers:
While Robbie continues to lead the team with 7 goals, it has been the recent performance by Yura that has kept RSL’s head above water, after a very slow start we have seen the change to the 4-3-3 get Yura the quality of chances he has needed to start being an impact player again. I do think that move has hurt Robbie a bit by asking him to often play on the wing but it looks like that role has become easier for him in recent weeks. I am still puzzled how Javi can only have 4 assists, and how in so many matches this year he simply seems to disappear and doesn’t make an impact. I do think the new formation has helped him but I still am waiting to see him start to play at the level we all know he is capable of, you will notice he is still one of the top fouled players in all of MLS with 46, which is almost 25% of all the fouls committed against RSL.
In recent weeks I have been confused by Fabi, who has shown great energy and a ton of heart and passion but who still really seems to be struggling with his touch both in passes and shots and too often seems to be on a different playbook than the rest of the team. I am hoping we start to see more and more of Raphael Cox, who seems to be a sparkplug each time he gets any playing time and was the only highlight in the Columbus match, and with Pablo getting close to match fit (at elevation), and Rachid getting time to adapt to RSL’s style and the elevation both could be vital parts to a playoff push for RSL. I actually wouldn’t be surprised to see Pablo get the start this week as it sounds like Yura’s shoulder injury could keep him out of the lineup. It will also be interesting to see if RSL can get the work permit for Nelson Gonzalez, who would bring us back up to three argies on the roster.
For soccer fans the last few weeks and the next couple are among the biggest of the year, there have been huge matches all over the US and Canada with teams like; Chelsea, AC & Inter Milan, Barcelona, Club America, Everton, and Real Madrid, the Gold Cup tournament, and coming up a huge midweek World Cup Qualifying match as the US tries to win for the first time ever in Mexico City. I have heard numbers that close to two million fans have watched live soccer in the US in the last couple weeks, as the “Summer of Soccer” lives up to its expectations, now the leagues in Europe get going as MLS enters its biggest stretch of important matches, it is a great time to be a fan.
Still need your input
I still need your help with issues, solutions, problems, ideas, and suggestions on how RSL can work better with their fans and season ticket holders, the feedback via email, facebook and blog comments has been impressive to say the least and I will try to put together a summary of them this weekend so you all can review them. I really want to know what can be done to make you feel more valued by RSL, is it more matches, better interaction with players, or something else. I am really looking forward to hearing for all of you and being able to sit down with those in charge and let them know what your thoughts are, this doesn’t mean we aren’t fans but it means we know that they are capable of more. We also need to look inward at what can we do to better support the team?
So whatever your thoughts or opinions keep the feedback coming.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
“Audentis Fortuna Juvat”