Game #21:FIRE @ San Jose 7/28/12 9:30pm (Nonstop 5.2)

Well we are playing the highest scoring team in the league, so FK is going to defend in this game for sure.

So I think if he's going to defend, then do it right, let's add another defensive midfielder and play with three (Pause, Pardo, and Paladini). Just set up a wall of 7 defender and see if San Jose can get passed it, because all we are going to play for is 0-0 tie. Then FK could say in his post game conference how well me played, how compact we stayed, pleased with the effort and how nobody got injuried.

Something like this:
------------------Johnson--------------
--Gargan-Freidrich-Berry-Segares--
------Paladini--Pardo--Pause--------
--Nyarko--------Alex----------Rolfe--

With Nyarko, Alex and Rolfe not going past the attacking third or they will be taken out.

or they will be thaken out. Oh no!! Not that....anything but please don't let them be "thaken" out!!!

I would expect something similar to what we did against NY.

Except with Pappa suspended and Friedrich unsuspended. Nyarko will fill in for Pappa at LM.

With Gargan starting the Villa game and Anibaba not, Frank seems happy with Anibaba > Gargan at RB.

I think he meant to say, we will play a 4-6-0 two defensive midfield formation, boring long ball soccer. At this point it doesn't matter who is in the starting 11, because we play the same way regardless. Defend, defend, counter, defend some more, get scored on, change to a 4-4-2 and lose 1-0 or 2-0.

There is absolutely no reason to expect Frank to play that kind of 4-3-3, which would work anyways...Now you're just posting nonsense to bash the team.

There is no reason to expect him to do anything but put out the 4-2-3-1 he has done basically all season, which has also proven to have enough defensive rigidity to stop any team, including San Jose. I predict that this game won't be more than 1-0 either way.

I perdict it will be at least a two goal defeat, I'm going with a 3-0 lose. Only way it what be 1-0 us, is if San Jose played there B or C team and we got a PK or scored on a free kick (like our last goal), because sure as hell we aren't going to score during run of play (392+ minutes and counting).

Agbonlahor and Villa only managed 1 on the reserves + 1 Germain international which means Wondo and SJ will run for 3-4

This is more self contradictory crap. If we truly weren't playing with a forward, we wouldn't have anyone to hoof the ball to. You wind up trying to create through the midfield. One could argue that elite teams like Barca using a "False 9" play a 4-6-0, but that certainly isn't us.

It's not like we haven't tried a diamond 4-4-2, we used a similar formation for a while in a 4-3-1-2.

Vancouver was able to beat them 2-1. No reason we can't hold them too.

Yes the formation that FK puts out there is 4-2-3-1 (4-5-1), but our forward plays more in the midfield then foward. So it's more like 4-2-4 or 4-6-0.

When was the last time we used a 4-4-2?

The only time we play a 4-4-2 formation is when we go down a goal and try to make some kind of come back. Try again Pause and Pardo started every game together but one FC Dallas, so we didn't play a 4-4-2 formation once this season.

4-3-1-2 was our base formation at the end of last season, beginning of this season.

The 4-2-3-1 is actually more attacking than the 4-3-1-2 we were playing before. Pappa had to play more defensively on the wing and thus wasn't contributing much on offense. That's what led to the hoofball style play, the 4-3-1-2 was built for hoofball.

Vancouver was home and sorry but Vancouver is better than us (even tho we beat them 1-0). Would you like to wager on the game, so you say the game will be a 1-0 game either way and I said we will lose 2-0 or 3-0.

Damn these games that are on 5.2. Wish Directv could pick that up.

Just for laughs, I decided to look up the last few games the opponent scored first.

5/26 - Columbus
Goals - Crew (9), Crew (43), Fire (72)
Fire subs - Oduro on for Pappa (46), Barrouch on for Puppo (46), Paladini on for Pause (60)
We bring on Oduro and Barrouch against a team that spent the entire second half in "coast and collect" mode and only Austin Berry can score.

6/2 - NE
Goals - NE (69), NE (73)
Fire subs - Rolfe on for Oduro (69), Robayo on for Pause (74), Puppo on for Barrouch (77)
We go down a goal, move INTO a 4-6-0 and then throw in the towel by putting in Robayo before the Puppo/Barrouch sub which is a wash.

7/8 - LA
Goals - LA (24), LA (78)
Fire subs - Alex for Pause (45), Robayo on for Oduro (67), Barrouch on for Rolfe (79)
Alex or Pause is just a more attacking version of our 4-5-1. No second forward. Then Frank again signalled his surrender and giving up hope on getting a point by putting in Robayo.

7/18 - NY
Goal - NY (71)
Fire subs - Nyarko on for Alex (45), Robayo on for Oduro (61), Barrouch for Pause (75)
Nyarko/Alex is basically a wash and then we go into 4-6-0 and a man down by bringing in Robayo, get scored on and go back to a 4-5-1 but with greatly reduced talent on the field thanks to Robayo and Barrouch.

So, we do not, in fact, "change the formation/lineup" every time we go down a goal. And we sure as hell don't go to a 4-4-2. In fact, sometimes we go more defensive, oddly enough. The better explanation for any improvement in our play when we go a goal down was pointed out by loonixxx two months ago when he noted that Grazzini only really starts to play well when we're down a goal. Of course, we don't have to worry about that anymore.

0-0 is our best case scenario unless they decide to self-destruct for us like KC did.

Gameplan for SJ:



Then:


And pray for a:

Lose? Well., we finally agree on something after all! LOL

If we use 3 CDMs, we might want to add Anibaba to the back line to create more continuity...

--------------Tornaghi------------
-Gargan-Anibaba-Freidrich-Berry-Sega
-----Paladini-Pause-Pardo-------
----Robayo-----------Hunter------
-----(ghost town with tumbleweeds)------------

And give Tornaghi a start...

I can't wait!

Always look on the bright side of life!

If Fernandez is ready to start, let's go with something like this. FK said he's fit, he's been playing this year and he knows the league, so no resaon for him not to start.

--Rolfe----------------------Oduro--
-----------------Alex------------------
-Fernandez-----------------Nyarko-
-------------Pause or Pardo*--------

-Segares-Freidrich-Berry-Gargan-

--------------Johnson----------------

*-Please Frankie just pick one PLEASE.

Klopas has said Fernandez probably won't play.

He wants to keep in tact his tradition of bringing in along players slowly, and making them sit on the bench until we transfer them.

Why, it's not like he's not fit, he trained with Seattle on Friday. He left the same day the FIRE players did, so what's the problem. Oh yeah, he's going to bring him along slowly, so we should see him sometime in September.