1. Something I have noticed, is a lot of back passing to Pickens when the midfield/defenders are around midfield or in the offensive half only to have Pickens 'goalie' kick the ball. Doesn't make sense to do this so many times when said midfield or defenders could just send the ball forward in a direct 'cross' if you will without the time elapsed of sending it back to Pickens just to have Pickens send the ball forward anyway. Over 90% of these 'goalie' kicks have been turned over to the opposing team. It has become more of a habit that should be addressed. 2. If you notice how the team seems to be lost with what to do with the ball after moving the ball around/forward/backward for about 40 to 60 yards is because they practice too much small sided 'games'. Just look at one of their latest videos. They have moved the goal posts to half of the field. This way of practicing creates this muscle/mind memory of playing in these small sided situations. Much the same way a predominantly indoor soccer team plays outdoor games on a large field. 3. Omar needs to get rid of the Folan act of throwing his hands/body around in disgust EVERY time a ball does not go the way he would have liked. It is creating a bad aura within the forward half. Omar, get over it and just play. You will see that those balls will naturally come to you in much better positions. 3. Practice to Play, Play to Practice.
I have not noticed this at all, I have seen him react to his own mistakes like this... Guess I need to watch him more.
I agree will Ballso's comments about the return to our back passing era. Jeff L. is, IMHO, one of the chief offenders. I've tried to keep track of the number of back passes he's made in the last 3 or 4 games, and found it very difficult to keep from yelling " move the ball forward, not backwards!!!" At the Galaxy match, I'm sure people sitting around me must have thought I was an LA fan. What bothers me the most about Jeff doing this, is the fact that the opposition mid fielders often drop back when he has the ball at his feet and they give him plenty of room to move the ball with his feet up into the opponents side of the pitch. He's a big boy with a reputation for hard hits, and there are a lot of smaller midfielders out there who are happy to fall back and watch him advance the ball in the opposite direction. Sadly, he doesn't take advantage of the extra space to move the ball forward in the attack. Hope this changes soon. Maybe I'm just a little ticked off at him for smoozing so much with his old team mates after we got our butts kicked in Foxboro.... adios
We did see attacking substitutions so props to the coach for that, also our goal was a pretty one with some serious air under someone other than Drew Moor, anything else positive I guess would require a re-watch and I already deleted it... for cause. As above we need a fully healthy squad that can all play on turf and no team gets that for a whole season.
As we saw in the NY game, Jeff's job is to take care of the ball. Being able to give hard hits isn't much of a help if the ball has been tackled away behind the other midfielders. He doesn't make the quickest turn so I think he is generally conservative with the ball in that position.
I reckon Jeff back-passes for two reasons. First, he's not terribly great at turning with the ball and must protect it. Second, the Rapids just aren't very good at showing for the ball. (This effects more than just back-passes, it leads to long ball, and puts a ton of pressure on the outside backs to move the ball forward in what eventually becomes a very predictable way.) The last player that was particularly good at showing for the ball in midfield was Nick LaBrocca. Smith does a fair job, but being consistently on the field sort of makes his impact meaningless. This is what I like about Rivero and expect a continued influence. He does get into the spaces that make it easy for Jeff to make a safe pass. The team needs Castrillon to help out more, and if they stick with a diamond then Mullan to help open up the space. If I start noticing that JL's passing up good options in order to back-pass then I'll complain about him. Right now I don't think the offense consistently gives him the options.
I'm not discouraged by the Rapids performance at all. I like the continued dominance of possession and the number of shots we're taking per game. The D seems to have taken a step back from last year and is going to have to tighten up. The Revs first goal was unfortunate. Marshall got outjumped, and the header to Sene was a high loop that someone should have gotten to or put a body on Sene. Once Sene hit that ball, Pickens had no chance. The second goal was a combination of a sloppy giveaway that landed the ball at NE's feet in our third and suddenly there were 2 NE guys in the box versus 5 of ours, and then Pickens allowed himself to stand flat footed away from the goal instead of retreating closer to the line as he should have. I'm not happy with 4-5-0 by any means, but we're certainly in the thick of it in the West. As people have pointed out, some of the toughest parts of our schedule are about to be behind us, and I think we're still gelling. I thought Pareja put out a good lineup, and I like Freeman's confidence on the ball. It's like having a Larentowicz at RB. Speaking of Larentowicz, I think he may play his way back into some national team callups after this season--the experience he's getting at pivot may get him noticed by Klinsmann. I felt like Omar only played the first 15 minutes of each half, and his finishing continues to disappoint. Hopefully Casey (& Wynne) will be back for the FCD game on Sunday. My one criticism of Pareja is that he waits to long to make substitutions. Fresh legs at 2-3 positions for the last 30 or 20 minutes may have made the difference between a loss and draw. He did keep all the attacking players out there, but it may have suited us better to sub out Omar or Tony. Cascio, as usual, was a marauding force out there, and I like his fearlessness in taking shots. Playing the 4 4 2 with a diamond midfield is a good idea, I think, because it allows us to get our best four midfield players on the field--Rivero, Castrillon, Larentowicz, and Mullan at his natural RW spot. When Pablo and Henao are available, that just makes it even deeper, and no reason to leave three of those guys on the bench. At forward, Cascio, Cummings, Casey, Akpan, and Edu should be enough. Cummings & Casey hopefully will get their chemistry back, or Omar can start playing on the wing with two others being the striking pair. Short turnarounds suck for the team, but I'm greedy for some more Rapids action!
Assuming the return of the injured players is complete, I like this paragraph as it instills confidence in play over the next couple of months. I am guessing by the end of May, this scenario will likely be in full swing. Good things may come of it. Gracias!
Only problem is Mullan has never ever been a natural RW in his life. At best he is/ was a box to box high energy outside mid
