August 7, 2009 by f4denz.

Well this afternoon I had a chance to look at the official match guide and while the lineup for RSL didn’t surprise me at all but on the SSFC side I was a bit surprised that Freddie “underwear” Ljungberg wasn’t listed in the starting lineup. No injury was listed but I have to wonder if the toll that playing at elevation in the All Star match has Sigi wanting to hold him for the second half? As I continued to look down the match guide I was to say disturbed at least when I saw that Kevin Stott was the head official, RSL fans remember him from a number of matches with horrible calls and US Soccer reviews saying that mistakes were made but all that does is make me wonder why is he still allowed to be an official?

So RSL fans have yelled and screamed about the lack of results on the road but Seattle has just one road win, like RSL and SSFC are -5 in goal differential on the road with just 7 goals scored in 8 matches. RSL is plus 13 at home with 23 scored and just 10 goals allowed in 9 matches, but I don’t think the recent home form of RSL with the struggle against San Jose, and going down two goals to FCD only to mount a first ever comeback from two goals down by RSL, has a lot of fans expecting us to dominate Seattle. How will RSL deal with the attack of Seattle who plays very aggressive and also have been great this year at taking advantage of mistakes by their opponents? Can RSL finally slow down Nate Jaqua who has 6 goals and 1 assist in 10 matches against RSL in his career? With so many questions for RSL and with Jason stuck in the suite and unable to have contact with the team during the match, who will provide the answers, who will step up and take charge?

Kyle Beckerman is the captain of the team but this year he has struggled to be an impact player in most matches, Javi was the creative engine last year, but so far this year he barely has made a ripple. Olave goes from monster to miserable, Will Johnson works hard but in a more defensive role is still trying to get his game up to the expected level, and Fabi comes back after this team doesn’t pay him and has been showing a ton of heart and energy but his touch and shot are just off causing him to be unproductive. I expect as the season gets shorter that some of these guys will step up, but perhaps more important will be how the new guys step up, last year the midseason additions of Johnson, Russell, and Mathis quickly started to pay dividends for RSL. Pablo Campos will likely see a lot of action the next couple weeks with Yura recovering from his shoulder injury, and I am hearing good things about Rachid El Khalifi and his impact in practice, could he see his first action this weekend? I still am waiting to see when the staff will give Raphael a shot, he has done well with very limited minutes. Will RSL sign get their argie, can they get a work permit for youngster Nelson Gonzalez? Like I said so many questions, and it will be interesting to see who steps up and answers them, early in the season I would have said it was Clint Mathis but the change of formation doesn’t seem to have done him any favors.

So I expect this to be a very fast match, as both sides have some good speed in their lineups but it will also be a very physical match as I said yesterday Seattle is bottom of the fair play table and have had a league high 7 players red carded this year. Javi is the most fouled player in the league, Fredy Montero is 3^rd on that list, and Nate Jaqua has committed the third most fouls in the league, so expect a lot of people to be on the turf, hopefully RSL can play with their emotions in control and not make any silly mistakes.

So here are the projected lineups (I think both sides will make changes):

Well if the numbers stay the same then we should expect Seattle to score one goal on the road and RSL to score two at home, and that is my pick. I do expect that RSL will play as if their season is on the line and push hard to get Seattle winded early, a shame that the weather won’t help us as it is only supposed to be in the 70’s.

Other matches

LA 2 – New England 2
Columbus 2 – San Jose 1
Chivas 1 – Colorado 1
Chicago 1 – Houston 2

OFF MY SOAPBOX
“Audentis Fortuna Juvat”

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August 7, 2009 by f4denz.

Well it has been a while since I have done one of these but after some lackluster efforts by RSL and a poor 1-2-0 in our last 3 it is time for us to look at what RSL should do if they want to beat Seattle this weekend. For RSL it is huge as they need every home point if they want a real shot at the playoffs, for Seattle they are coming off their worst defeat in MLS last weekend as they got beat 4-0 by lowly San Jose and beatdowns in exhibitions against two of the world’s best teams (Chelsea and Barcelona) and for them the pack is catching up so they will need points on the road as 7 of their remaining matches are on the road and only 4 more home matches. In watching Seattle play all season, they love to push a high line and attack, they have decent speed and usually good passing, they play as aggressive as any team in MLS and look to put their opponents away quickly, but they are suspect to the counter and watching San Jose be the first team to really make them pay for their mistakes. When SSFC beat RSL early in the season it was Seattle that took advantage of the mistakes made by RSL, and that trend has continued all year as teams have been quick to pounce on RSL mistakes, while RSL has converted on other sides mistakes (Columbus at home, LA on the road, New England at home), this match really could be decided by the team making the fewest mistakes and who takes advantage when someone slips up.

For RSL there are no suspensions other than head coach Jason Kreis but the injury to Yura Movsisyan could be costly as he is out for the match and Robbie Russell is listed as doubtful, and for Seattle they are healthy and with Fredy Montero turning down a national team call up so he could play on Saturday you know they are taking this serious, they will only be missing James Riley who is suspended for a red card against San Jose. Expect a hard fought and physical match as Seattle is second in yellow cards with 43 and first in red cards with 7 and are at the bottom of the MLS fair play table.

So what can RSL do, less than stellar play from Will Johnson since his return from the Gold Cup and Fabi’s struggles with both passing and shooting should put them on the bench for this match and with Yura out I would go with this lineup:

Rimando
Wingert-Olave-Borchers-Beltran
Cox-Beckerman-Morales
Mathis-Campos-Findley

While neither Cox or Campos may be ready to go a full 90 I would rather start with an aggressive lineup and push, we can make changes at the half if needed but if we don’t push and attack early then we may find ourselves trying to play from behind again and that isn’t a position we need or want to be in. Cox has played well when given a chance and I think he is deserving of a shot for more than the final minutes of a match, put him in at the start and if he can’t handle it then pull him out but it isn’t fair to only let him play when matches have already been determined. Pablo has had time to get used to the elevation and it is time to see if the faith placed in him by Jason and Garth is well placed, time to see if he can step in for our target threat in the middle of our top 3, he has done well in practices and in limited action so it is time to step up. I love having players who can bring energy and pace off the bench, Fabi and Will both could be players to come in late and take advantage of Seattle when the elevation kicks in and give RSL a huge advantage late in the match.

So for me the matchups between Beckerman vs. Freddie and Javi and Alonso could be the keys to the match, another big match up will be to see how Tony Beltran matches up with Seattle’s wonder kid Fredy Montero whose 9 goals and 6 assists have him looking like a real MVP contender. Our backline will need to play tight and communicate as we know that Nate Jaqua has always played well against RSL including getting a goal in the March matchup at Qwest field. While Kasey Keller started the season showing he may still be the best American keeper playing, but in recent weeks in real matches he has looked human but still has a 0.98 GAA in MLS action 3^rd in the league, RSL’s Nick Rimando has been left out to dry a number of times by defensive mistakes and has seen his GAA jump to 1.17 which is still good enough for 7^th in MLS.

This match presents a unique set of challenges and so I don’t believe that at any point can we worry about taking a more defensive stance in this match, changes that I would likely make would be based on the effectiveness and fitness of players instead of the circumstances of the match or the score of the match.

At the point where Raphael is looking tired or ineffective, I bring in Will Johnson, at the point where Campos is tired or ineffective I bring in Fabi and move him to the wing and put Robbie in the middle of my top 3. I would at 60-70 take out Clint as he tends to gas out a bit and I would introduce Rachid to the fire that will be facing one of the top teams in the West. This is an important match and the key will be playin a very aggressive match and controlling possession at all costs. I believe this will truly be a match where the team that plays bold with win.

OFF MY SOAPBOX
Audentis Fortuna Juvat”

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