Diego Fagundez voted Player of the Week after inspiring New England Revolution rout of LA Galaxy June 3, 2013 MLSsoccer staff MLSsoccer.com
What Sacha and Davis have that Nguyen doesn't is size and strength (Nguyen doesn't even pretend to compete for balls in the air anymore!). At the international level (particularly when you get beyond CONCACAF, which is the goal), strength really matters. That's not to say little guys can't play, but they have to bring a lot more in other attributes if they don't have the size and strength that other guys do. If you want to promote Farrell over Cameron, the only fair comparison is how they've looked in MLS (highest level they've both played). Cameron was one of the best and most versatile players in MLS. Farrell looks like a very good rookie. There's a big gap there. And Cameron starts in the PL - the thought of Farrell doing that [now] if frightening. Not to say he might not get there someday, but he'd get toasted at this point, whereas Cameron can hold his own. Martino compared him to Marvell Wynn. Cringe. The only thing they have in common is the position and strength and speed. Farrell already has skills that Wynn never developed. Despite the scoreline, I see this game as much like our last to 2-0 games. We got the lead and were able to use that to get an insurance goal. LA was clearly fatigued and pretty much tossed it in late when Donovan decided it was more important to argue than defend. Now that's leadership! Speaking of that play, how phony is it for Arena to blame that on the ref. The ref called a foul, it doesn't matter what the linesman signals. The ref made the correct signal and pointed the right way. Donovan wasn't even looking - that's his own fault. Arena's whining is unbelievable, but probably typical for him. His team gets shut out, gives up 5, basically gives up with 10 minutes left - and he blames the refs. I hope he get the fines he deserves. From the post-game press conference: (On making changes…) ARENA: “I’m going to make believe that the last 15 minutes [of the game] didn’t happen, but for the most part our back line played alright. The second goal, let’s be honest, the referee made a big mistake. He caught our whole team on the wrong side of the ball. That happens and that basically determines the game. No excuses on our part.” So, essentially he makes one big excuse, then says "no excuses on our part"???? (On the team becoming unglued after allowing that second goal…) ARENA: “Yeah and they shouldn’t have. That’s life, but that’s something that I’m hopeful that the referees and assistant referees can learn from. There’s too many guys to correct that and resolve that issue. It’s a big part of the game, but in all fairness, we weren’t in position to win the game anyway.” So, in other words, they shouldn't become "unglued", but it something the refs can learn from??? His level of denial is awe-inspiring.
They both have the size advantage, but strength, as in the strength to not get knocked off the ball is IMHO, not an issue for Nguyen. In another thread, I likened his body shape to Messi (who seems to do alright at a decent level). Lee has a low center of gravity and seems to have beefed up. He has learned how to use that and his lack of height to create leverage against taller players in tight spaces. As a result, he is almost never knocked off the ball or off balance. I don't remember him doing that so well when he first came out or even last year. I have no worries about him thriving in tough traffic. That's strength that matters though I agree, it's not going to win headers in the box.
Just wanted to pop in and congratulate NE on a thorough ass kicking of Designated Player FC. Yeah yeah, I know it doesn't help my Houston Dynamo from an Eastern Conference standpoint but I can't tell you how much I enjoyed watching that. Looks like after a few lean years, NE is back and is a serious contender. Nice to see.
ARENA: “I’m going to make believe that the platter of pork chops, gravy and chocolate cake didn’t exist, because they disappeared about 30 seconds after I entered the room. No one else is even fit to breathe the same air as me, and certainly not YOU! And what are you looking at? Guards, take this riff-raff away!" Based on previous interactions with him, I've always thought that Arena was a miserable excuse for a human being, and it just makes me laugh out loud to hear him say, "No excuses, but it was the ref's fault!" He needs to hear the immortal words of our ex-gaffer, as true now as they were when he first spake them: "Ye ken blayme tha raffaree effya lake, bu' a' thu endathadey, yuh gut tae loo' a yuurself inna mirra"
This was the most gratifying win since at least 08 when we beat several Mexican teams in the SuperLiga. Most impressive was keeping the clean sheet.
1) Sacha most likely has played himself off the radar screen after his last outing. If not, he should have. He brought nothing. Nguyen brings ball control, passing and shooting. Davis is too old and slow. I think that our troubled midfield needs people that can control the ball and maybe create 2) I believe I said Farrell should be added to the player pool and brought along slowly. He has the physical tools and should be developed. He is no Marvell Wynn. I'm no big Cameron fan but am a big Parkhurst fan. I thought for sure he'd play in the Germany game and was disappointed he didnt.
MLS Team of the Week includes Fagundez, Rowe, Goncalves (with Shuttleworth on the bench), and Heaps. They have this to say about Hepas: "Heaps and his staff have amassed quite the collection of attacking talent, and on Sunday we got to witness exactly what the likes of Saer Sene, Diego Fagundez, Juan Agudelo and the rest of this attacking group can do on a field together. All of a sudden, Heaps has a side that was starving for goals at the start of 2013 on the path to becoming an attacking powerhouse." Wasn't sure whether to post this here or on the Heaps is Clueless thread . . .
Finally got around to watching this, but boy, it was worth the wait. Maybe I should watch it again. Now, I know it's impossible to ignore Fagundez as MOTM, but I have to say, Goncalves had a monster game. He's been solid since day one, but he outdid himself yesterday. It seemed like he won every ball he contested. Every bit of trouble he neutralized. Tierney, McCarthy, Farrell -- terrific performances all along the back line. I don't know if anyone noticed, but LA scarcely created a single real scoring chance all game. And what about that goal from Rowe? He took the most unbelievably non-obvious angle, and put it in. Really, the only negative from this game was that it cemented the irrelevance of Bengston. And maybe even that's a good thing, viewed rightly.
4 of the goals came after Bengtson was subbed on. Not saying he was directly involved, but it's not quite fair to ignore that.
4132 forever man. That's all I have to say. We neutral fans thank you Jay H. The most entertaining and underused formation in the modern game.
just finished watching this myself thanks to having to work on Sunday and the blackout finally being lifted for MLS Live. "They haven't had it this good in Gillette for years" was the comment made at around 90'. aint that the truth. biggest win in a long time, lots of players had a great game, biggest crowd all year, nationally televised game, and yet... (yes im still going to complain after we gave LA a 5-0 shellacking) football lines still visible on the field in June! what king of god damn mickey mouse BS is this? our home field is an inexcusable embarrassing mess. truly pathetic. still, not going to let that kill the mood. it was a fantastic game, and shows that a lot of these young guys have real promise, and gives hope that Heaps may just be able to figure this coaching this out one day. also, any day we beat LA is a good day. and I have to agree with abecedarian on Goncalves. great signing. he has been very solid since day one and is the best thing to happen to our back line in god knows how long.
It's also hard to ignore that four goals went in after the LA midfield played like they thought they had heard the final whistle
Yeah. I think they call it a 4-1-4-1, but it's very fluid on the attack and probably looks like a lot of things at different times. I don't care what they call the formation, I like that it is dynamic, and that it seems to be working. We spent a number of years watching what seemed like a zonal offense where everyone stayed in their little lanes.
I'll give rkupp credit, he was consistent in saying the 4-1 blowout at RBNY was because we opened up, desperate to attack, and he's saying the same thing for LA. The 5-0 scoreline flatters us a bit, but hell, after some of the offensive stagnation the past few years ... I'll take it.
Being at the NYRB game I can agree with that assessment that we came out desperate to attack. They countered right away with a goal. We keep attacking and scored a goal but then A.J. yanked a hammy, Farrell got burned by Henry and things got out of hand.
I think the 4-1 beating we took in NJ was partly due to us pushing forward for an equalizer. I think both the late goals were off of counters and we were pushed forward. Watching the LA game, I did not feel we were taking advantage of a team desperate to score and throwing caution to the wind. I think we took advantage of a team desperate to not be on the field. LA was a mental mess after the second goal. I'm guessing they were taking their cues from their "leader", Donovan, who absolutely took himself out of the game after that goal. For instance, the 4th goal (Barrett) seemed to be a result of their entire defense (which was back behind the ball), expecting us to take that throw and waste time dribbling in the corner. All were on their heels and watching. I think we took advantage of a team, that for whatever reason, on that day, did not have the pride to try to stop us from embarrassing them. So yes, the score does flatter, but we were headed for our signature 2-0 win which would have been a good thing, too.
Believe me, I don't think Davis or Kljestan are the answer, but you were asking why Nguyen wasn't getting a look and I think his size/strength is the reason. He probably will get called in at some point, if he keeps playing well, but I don't expect him to get very far with Klinsy (who's very familiar with how physical euro teams can be). I agree, Farrell should be on the longer term radar (and probably is), but calling him in for a few days here and there isn't going to accomplish that much. What he needs is a few seasons of pro games and that's what he's getting. Maybe the Olympic qualifying team would be a good opportunity for him to get some international experience. And, of course, an off-season training stint would also be good for him. As for Parky vs. Cameron, Parkhurst hasn't been playing and Klinsy is pretty consistent in looking for guys in playing shape (when the USNT has gone against that, the results have been pretty ugly). That's why Sasha got a good look - he's had a full and productive Euro season. And I accpet that you're not a big Cameron fan, but at the time he left MLS, he was clearly among the top 10 domestic MLS players. Top 5 IMO. And has only grown since then with regular PL time. I'll also give LA the "travel" excuse. Flying coast-to-coast, only to encounter an unseasonable heat wave is tough. Then, add in the whole business of getting stuck in traffic and getting to the stadium so late they had to delay the start, has to throw a monkey wrench into the mental preparation. I'd still like to know how they managed to be so late for the game, when usually teams plan on being at the venue 3 or 4 hours early, at least. Was there really that horrendous a traffic jam?
Well it wasn't really a coast to coast flight, since they played on the East Coast during the week. In regards to timing, I honestly didn't notice a delay in the start, but in general, the visitor's buses get to the stadium about 2 hours ahead. They used to drive by the supporter's lot every game. They don't do that anymore.