Knocking the ball around is one thing, putting it in the net is another and saying we're unlucky is getting old. DC United is as weak as they get and we still come up empty. Face it, we just aren't that good. If I had to point out one major flaw it would be Harris. He did have a couple of chances but mostly, he just got in the way ans screwed things up. I would almost rather see Serna then Harris. WHen he's in, TnT might as well go home.
saying that we're unlucky is old? this game was the definition of being unlucky Twellman shoots, off Rimando, off the left post, then off the right post. Harris shoots, off rimando, off the post, out for a corner. Whats not unlucky about that? ill somewhat agree on the WH thing, i just dont think that they are on the same page at all with each other. i like Noonan and Twellman or Moore and Harris. those go better together. and dammit, Cancela, shoot the ball!
Unlucky, but still not enough As a loyal displaced Revs fan, I was at the game at RFK tonight. I was directly behind the goal when Twellman's shot hit both posts but would not go in!!! The Revs deserved at least a tie tonight and probably a win. There is enough talent on the team to win, but for some reason it is not happening. I have said for years that W. Harris should go, but he remains. He should be playing golf with Clavijo somewhere!!! I must also add that Cancela must shoot the ball. He had a few chances tonight and wouldn't take the shot. Very frustrating to watch! Noonan did play well of the bench. He should get the nod over Harris next game. There is time to fix things. And I think it is doable. Best of Luck, Roy(in NJ)
This team most definitely DOES NOT SUCK. It's by far the best roster the Revs have ever fielded and a real upgrade over last years team that was a crossbar away from the Cup. For some reason this squad has gotten the "I've been bitten by the snake" syndrome. Confidence is half the battle in sports and when a team gets on a downslide it's hard to break out of the slump. The Revs definitely played well enough to get at least a point last night and were good enough to come away with a win. Yet a damn Reis rebound resulted in another loss. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that this Rev squad will find a way of regaining momentum and will play well enough down the stretch to be a solid playoff team and reach at least the semi finals in the playoffs. The key will be regaining confidence in themselves and a few solid wins will do just that. SJ better look out next weekend. I think this is going to be one pi--ed off bunch by next Saturday. George
This team does not suck. I'm not sure if everyone saw the match (I caught it on Boston's WB) but it was filled with fouls and was extremely physical. It made me wonder if Dema Kovalenko indeed does have some sort of rage problem... I think DC just took out Cancela every chance they got, that guy just took punishment. Considering the abuse he absorbed, his play was really good. And in response to other comments, in my opinion, Wolde Harris was far more dangerous than Noonan in this contest. I'd like to see Pierce replaced with Kante though, he seemed more interested in pretending he was Dema Kovalenko (ie assaulting others with ridiculous challenges, like when he raped Ernie Stewart) than playing. I'm not sure I agree with Soccer Doc's prediction on the rest of the season though... in our next 11 games we play San Jose twice, New York three times, and LA and Chicago once each. It's going to be close, let's hope the lads pick up their heads and turn this around soon...
Maybe I was tripping at the time, but wasn't it generally agreed upon last week that Rusty was sorely needed on the back line instead of Kante?
its another case of the NKN syndrome (newbies know nothing) Pierce is a much smarter defender then Kante, and faster, not to mention better. Lets face it, Pierce is twice as better as Kante, and thats no disrespect to Kante. And i think we are just snake bitten. A couple of things don't go our way, the ball bounces the wrong way, and we lose all our confidence. Maybe Nicol has some more magic up his sleeves so he can pull off another run like last year.
Honestly the Revs were doing most of the fouling in the early game, and were getting away with it. TNT himself had three horrible challenges from behind and only got called for one. I was pretty embarrased of being a Revs fan last night. Cancela seemed to give the ball away almost as much as Etcheverry on the other side, I guess they evened eachother out. It was nice to see Ralston back out there hustling and getting those crosses in. The thing about Pierce is he's smart and knows when he can foul and when he can't (in the box) which is the difference between Kante. Although I'd say that at least one of the penalty kicks called on Kante were questionable. Pierce is fast and is a harrasser, unfortately I think that has little to do with talent. I haven't seen enough of Kante to really say who's better but I think if the refs were more strict on the Rev's there could have been a lot more fouls called.
I'm honestly just going through my annual summer sports depression right now. Between the Sox and the Revs, christ. What is it with this town?
This response is mainly in response to Soccer "the optimist" Doc's post. I think the word "suck" is a bit too harsh, on the other hand, there are serious problems with this team that can't be blamed on "bad luck". You can make the case that hitting the cross bar twice on one shot is bad luck but the team hasn't doesn't have a win in 6 games. It's more than bad luck that accounts for those losses - especially given the number of last minute/injury time goals by the opposing team. The team is arguably "the best team the Revs have ever fielded" but that doesn't mean much. The whole league has improved significantly each year through contraction and improved talent coming up through the system. It's not enough to have the best team the Revs have ever fielded, they need to be as good as or, preferably, better than the other current MLS teams. While clearly Brown is a better keeper that Reis, you can't blame Reis for that rebound. As much as I hate Stoicthkov, that was a powerful blast he made on that last shot. It would be very difficult for any goalkeeper to hold that ball. Ideally the ball would rebounded out of bounds or somewhere harmless but you can't blame Reis for this one. Blame the defense that left Stoicthkov open. Last year was an optimists dream come true. Each year, Soccer Doc and a few other optimists predict that things will turn around and the Revs will do well. In 7 seasons, the optimist were right once (not a great record!). Of course, they expect the same thing to happen this year. I like to consider myself a realist (rather than optimist or pessimist). Last year, the Rev's did have a great run at the end of the season. Like some of the bad luck they are having now, last year they had some great good luck at the end of the season and the playoffs. Its unrealistic to expect the same results this year. The current Revs team, while it clearly has some talent, also has some major weaknesses. To blame the current winless streak on bad luck or being 'snake bitten' is to bury your head in the sand. Steve Nicol did some impressive things with this team last year but has made some questionable decisions this year (roster selection, subsititutions) and needs to shoulder his share of the blame for the team choking in so many games. You can't have it both ways. Nicol can't be can't take the credit for the wins last year without taking blame for the non-wins this year. You can't blame bad luck when they lose without giving some credit to goodluck when they have streaks like they did last year. At the rate they are playing, the Revs will be lucky to make the playoffs and I doubt they will make it past the first round - by any measure a disappointment over last year.
Please make a distiction between posts by SOCDOC and SOCCER DOC I guess you and I see things a bit differently Paul. I knew when I wrote that this is the best roster that the Revs have ever fielded someone would chime in--"Thats not saying much". But if you compare this roster with last years which was a "cross bar away" from the Cup it's a MUCH better and deeper roster. That is saying something. If one objectively looks at how the Revs have played in most matches they have looked the better team for most of the match--in fact one could say they dominated most of these matchs. Yet, they have had mental breakdowns for short periods (Dallas, KC. Mutts. DCU) which turned sure wins into ties or losses. This is a side with a lot of ability and at the moment questionable mental toughness, I think you mislable me when you call me an "optamist". I have been highly successful in life by being a realistic pragmatist with a positive attitude. The reality is that this very talented side is underperforming at the moment. Will they turn things around? I don't know but the ability is there if they can find the mental toughness. George
Yeah, this is hopelessly confusing socdoc vs Soccer Doc. It is my fault for registering a name before reading the boards. I'll change to something else....maybe "pusbag".
The numbers game: Just to look at the current dilemma from a slightly different perspective, consider the current roster from this angle: 18 man roster (not including roster-exempt players). Number of "unserviceable" players - guys who only make it on the field as a last resort (and sometimes not even then): 4 (Cullen, Kante, J. Moore, Vazquez) Number of frequently injured "core" players: 2 (Pierce, JMM). Goalkeepers: 2 Roster-exempt players who contribute valuable minutes: 0 So, you do the math. When you have an absurdly small roster, a comparatively high number of "doghouse" players, and two important frequently injured players (and injuries to other players, suspensions, etc.), you must rely on a bench that you do not have. The Revs are not just unlucky. They have plannned badly for the current set of circumstances. If Pierce and JMM get better, and Kante or J. Moore can add some useful minutes, this team can play well again. If Ralston, TNT, or Joseph go down, they could miss the playoffs. A lot of work to do in the offseason.
Which season were they right, considering this team has never finished over .500 for any regular season? Last season's playoff run? The previous season's Open Cup run? If the team does not suck, there is still a big problem somewhere. All is not well in Revoland and someone or ones has to be accountable. A very poor midseason run with a lengthening winless streak. Leaking points away. Snatching defeats from the jaws of victory in extra time. Sounds like a normal Revos season to me. Even with more talent available and a lot fewer bodies in the stands.
Re: The numbers game: While I like Noonan in spite of the fact that I didn't want to draft him, the Revs historically get less use from their non-roster players than any other team in the MLS. Look at the Mutts, who have Clark, Magee, and Gaven. Chicago has Mapp and Capano and Jacqua and Pause, DC has Eskandarian (and some young talent they don't use). We have Leonard and Singer (our biggest "contributors" to date) along with TF3, Nick Downing, and Ibrahim Kante. Hopefully, between our picks, the Fire pick, and what we get from the Gals, we could get in a decent P-40 or two. As for whether we suck or not, cynic that I am, I'll still vote no. We don't have a lot of depth, but we can put as good a lineup out there as anyone else. I think that the team needs to remember that we won last year not because of great attacking soccer, but because we spent a great deal of effort on keeping the ball out of our net. I'd say that if Brown, Pierce, Joseph, Cancela, and Twellman remain healthy for the rest of the year (and possibly Joey, who doesn't have a great backup), we should make the playoffs fairly easily. And I say this expecting to lose to SJ 2-1 or 1-0, as they've seemed to have our number for a while.
Re: Re: The numbers game: And don't forget the two Argentinians who dropped from heaven onto the Metros doorstep. Considering these five have not appeared on the field together for a single minute yet this year, this may be more of a long shot than it appears. The number of "unserviceable" players also seems to be unacceptably high (although I'm hoping against hope Kante can somehow return to form).
Re: Re: Re: The numbers game: Considering that Cancela's only played 2 or 3 games, that's a little harsh. But then, we've played well when we've had the other 4 (Rusty, Adin, TnT, and Joseph), so having Cancela instead of Leo or DH should make us all the better.
True, but you' probably have to add Ralston and Llamosa on that list, and hope that either Wolde, Noonan, or JMM plays well, and Jay Heaps doesn't fall asleep that particular game. So we need: Brown Pierce Joseph Cancela Twellman Franchino Ralston Llamosa (no real substitues) as well as... Harris, JMM, or Noonan to play competently. Jay Heaps to remain alert. When you get right down to it - it just seems like lot of contingencies (and points again to the team's lack of depth). To be fair, the poor form of Kante and Cullen, along with the frequent injuries to Pierce and JMM have crucially weakened this team. Maybe nobody could have predicted this - but having another 2-to-4 non-roster players who could come in and contribute (like they do in NY/Chi) sure would help. But that's what draft picks are for...
I'll stay with my group. No disrespect to Ralston, who's clearly one of our best players. But if the right players are healthy, we could win starting Noonan in place of him. If you have to sub Cullen for Joseph or Kante for Pierce for an extended period of time, or if you lose Twellman, we'd be in much more trouble. Kind of like the way the Celts did better without Bird than without Parish, not because Robert was better than Larry, but based on the quality of their backups.
Bet you're one of those type of people who used to sport the "UConn Basketball: Where men are men and women are Champions" bumper stickers ha?
No. I was just suggesting that if you don't want to have a completely depressing sports summer there is a successfull and entertaining local team to get behind.
