After this game we will be about 1/3 of the way through the regular season. Crazy I know. It was a rough start, but here are my thoughts so far: -As predicted by yours truly the offense is NOT a problem. We lead the league with 20 assists despite a general lack of production from our outside mids and are tied with Dallas for the most goals scored in MLS. This all despite a ton of missed chances early in the season. -The defense has been slowly improving, but Robles and Miller are still accidents waiting to happen. -We are still generally shitty on the road and have had problems with consistency. Part of this is down to the players and coaching, but another part of it is down to getting a relatively new lineup game time together. KC showed us what a team that's been playing together for a while looks like. Hopefully we get to that level sooner rather than later. Also, this has been one of the toughest schedule starts that I can remember. We've played more game than anyone in MLS (in some cases THREE more games!) and 5 of our first 7 games were on the road. -Cahill got the monkey off his back and I expect him to get even stronger as the season wears on. -Still a question as to how Juninho fits into this lineup when everyone is healthy. -Many of our signings seem to be pretty good. Conde and Espy have been very valuable, while Steele, Alexander, Peggy, and Kimura give us good production and more importantly quality depth. No Dax for this one, but Juninho returns from suspension. --------Henry-Espy Steele-Cahill-Juninho-Alexander Miller-Hulk-Olave-Barklage ----------Robles Peggy and/or Sam off the bench for offense. Pearce and/or Lade off the bench for D.
We're gonna miss Dax more this week than against Toronto, Cahill/Juninho isn't exactly a defensively sound central pairing and Columbus creates a LOT of their attack through Higuain dropping back into that area. I think its still the best option though, Alexander isn't a ball winner either and Juninho's passing is obviously much stronger.
I can't see Juninho starting in the middle without Alexander next to him. I'm going to call Juninho off the bench for this one. Same starting 11 as last week. Columbus' fullbacks love to bomb forward into the attack so we will need real wingers to keep them honest. How many good games in a row does Miller have to have before he loses the Timebomb label?
Well I guess we're going for a shootout then. Now would be a great time for one of those Juninho freekick goals.
We're gonna be set up real nice for the rest of the season though. Our July away matches are Colorado and Toronto. That's about as cool as you can get. We don't face Houston away until September which is great because that place is a furnace. We finish the season with 5 of our last 8 at home. And end the season at home vs. Chicago. And of course the schedule will be less congested so we can compete for the Open Cup.
I would like to see the same exact lineup again. I don't trust the Cahill-Juninho pairing. Cahill will end up playing as a CDM if he is paired with Juninho in a road game and I just think he is wasted back there. Maybe I am wrong but I would keep the Cahill-Alexander pairing with Sam on the right. Silly season two-cents worth: Rumors are surfacing that Jermaine Pennant wants to come to MLS. I think he's the right kind of player for RBNY to approach this summer, a guy who can change a game from the wide positions. I'm sure he doesn't have the Q score to excite the folks in Austria, though.
1/3 of the way gone and I have only been able to really watch 1 game this whole season (the rest I watch via DVR or live while doing work... it is not the same). 1/3 MLS Regular Season Resolution... watch more live matches.
Oh yeah. He would definitely struggle to get a work permit here due to his checkered history. Starting to make sense why he is linked to the Canadian teams and not the domestic clubs, huh? I'm actually not clamoring for Pennant to be the guy, I just think his skill set is exactly what this team should seek in that third DP.
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Go to the Wolverhampton Wolves blogs.
What exactly does that I have to do with his skill set? He's a head case. I get it. He's also a true classic wide player. I thought you would at least know that as an Arsenal fan. I remember him being my brightest hope for the Gunners.
I dont think Pennant will get a DP tag, I'd take him though We could try a 4-3-3 with Alexander, Juninho, Cahill midfield, Espindola-Henry-Sam up front
Fair enough, I can completely understand that sentiment God forbid you have to watch a guy be shit for two of your teams in one calendar year. I think that I have a deeply held hope and want to see Pennant become a star before he hangs 'em up, and a league like MLS offers him the only chance to reach that goal. I'll defer to you if you've actually seen him play in the recent past. I haven't seen him since some Stoke appearances last year I guess. So let's sign Freddie Ljungberg, eh? Maybe Robert Pires * * jk
Robert Pires is done. Same with Freddie. (I hope you were joking). If the 3rd DP must be a former Arsenal man then try Jose Reyes or maybe Sebastian Larsson.
Not Arshavin? And yes, I was kidding. Can we just find another Oscar Boniek Garcia for 120k? I really like that guy's game. Speaking of joking, how could anyone think that Castano would be an improvement over Robles? Just wait for Meara. He will win his job back very quickly.
Cahill will play holding CM. Juninho as the attacking CM. http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/teams/redbulls2.php?article_id=33410 Good news for us as Viana is out for Cbus. Should really help in the midfield battle. http://www.soccerbyives.net/2013/04/rogers-trains-galaxy.html
I will be honest, I forgot about him. I mean I remember him from only yesterday but I don't know, I just could not remember him today. But ya, he would be a good signing to if we can get him before LA do.
When he's in the midfield with Dax he plays pretty deep anyway, it shouldn't be a very different role playing behind Juninho. Maybe fewer late runs into the box but he'll be fine there.
I doubt hes had that much defensive responsibility before though, Juninhos not that mobile or good at tackling, Alexander is a pure box to box, and Dax is obviously very good at breaking up attacks
Well, to be honest nobody has had much defensive responsibility other than Dax, he's literally the only ball winner we have in the midfield. Cahill and Alexander are more mobile and will put more pressure on the ball, but they don't put up much more than Juninho does when it comes to actually winning tackles or making interceptions. The way I see it, we're going to struggle defensively in that area no matter who we play, Cahill and Alexander couldn't do a damn thing to break up Toronto's play in the second half. At least with Juninho in there we have a better chance of keeping possession to relieve the defense, and he can also play more accurate balls up to our strikers to let the team push up.