In 2008 we made the conference final and dominated New York, but lost 1-0, rather than a first round exit. In 2011 we again made the conference final, losing to LA 3-1, rather than a first round exit. Carry on.
I don't think there's anything wrong with Kreis's tactical approach that would not still work wonders in MLS if we had the caliber of player in 2013 that we had in 200 Remember the beginning of 2007, when we had high hopes? We had them because of some terrifically exciting play down the stretch of the 2006 season. We were fun to watch and competitive - and we relied on career seasons from a collection of healthy players towards the end of their effective careers. It was never going to be possible to replicate no matter how much we wanted to (and the threads from that season - both of them - are right here on BS if you want to go back and read them). We're blaming tactics for Javi getting injured, slow, and old; tactics for players like Williams and Mathis being replaced by players like Steele and Nelson; and tactics for forwards like Yura and Robbie being replaced by the collection of crap that has graced our lineup for two years. I suggest that the tactics let us punch above our collective talent this season, but there is no statistical difference between us and Seattle over the course of the season, and they have better players. Last season the question was whether to rebuild or to give this group another go. What would this group have done with the a regular midfield? A 4-5-1? Better? And you're off your rocker if you think Skunk Boy (who I dearly love) was ever going to be more than a bit player - was ever going to be ready to be more than a bit player - in 2012 (he isn't a DeLeon). Once we committed to these players, we were counting on their experience and savvy and even their familiarity with the system to compensate for their age, injuries, lack of speed, and degradation of skills. I bet we'd be happy with Will Johnson at $240k if the rest of the midfield was still performing at the level they were when we signed that extension. He covered for a lot of mistakes. But he isn't good enough to be our top midfielder, which he needed to be based on who else we were playing. Now his contract is too big, unless you need someone like him to cover while new (younger, fitter, faster) players learn the system. Aside from minor substitution issues (meaning less often than we wanted), I don't think there's much issue with Kreis. Or Lagerway - except perhaps in committing to this group another season, and it actually came pretty close to working out.
Yikes, you're absolutely correct. I was looking at RSL's Wikipedia page, but my brain must have been switched off because somehow I translated "semi-finals" to mean 1st round exit, and "quarter-finals" to be 2nd round exit, instead of the other way around. So I got 2008, 2010, AND 2011 wrong. Flip them all: 2008 and 2011 was 2nd round, 2010 was 1st round. Thanks for catching that.
I'm in a similar boat. Although I can understand losing but giving it your all. I can live with that. It's the complacency and not caring until the 75th that upsets me the most. If we had played for 90 mins and still lost, it'd suck but at least I'd be happy they gave it their all.
I don't think you're in the minority - in fact I think that this is how Jason and Garth define success as well. And that's great--it's what everyone looks at (although I wish the Supporter's Shield was more recognized than the Cup). It's just healthy to recognize that if this is how you define success then you're going to have a lot of failure even if you have a great team, because so much of the outcome depends on luck. For me, I define success as qualifying for the playoffs and the CCL each year. In that respect RSL failed because they didn't get a CCL spot for next year. But a team that consistently qualifies for tournaments will eventually win trophies. Maybe that's a low bar, but that's how I think of it.
Anyone who thinks this club hasn't been one of the very best in MLS for the last5 years is just wrong. It has been exactly that. A wee bit more class on the attacking side would have pushed us to the top I think. Now, moving forward to 2013, I'm not sure that a wee bit more class on the attacking side is enough. Injury issues in the CB position group, an aging mid-field and ever reducing pace, combined with the aforementioned need for a more effective attack cast doubts on the club's ability to remain as one of MLS' best, much less its ability to move to the top.
Read an interesting comment on Twitter. NY blogger was stating that now that Red Bulls got rid of Backe, they should go after Jason Kreis. That made me think. My wife says no way. I said "the guy is from Nebraska, went to school in NC and worked most of his pro playing in Dallas. He isn't tied down to one place". Imagine what NY could do for Kreis going forward? Sink or swim for sure. Just an interesting idea. I always thought change just meant players.
I think Jason would be great for NY. (Not that I think or want it to ever happen) What do you guys think?
I think almost every MLS coach in NY has sunk. I mean even Arena got fired there. So its VERY likely Kreis would sink. However it would be a potentially GREAT move for him, if he likes that kind of risk. We know people have spoken how he should be in line for the USMNT job. Fixing RB would be a definite feather in his proverbial hat. However, I don't think its likely. Just fascinating to speculate about. He might take Morales, Olave and Jonny Steele if he left.
That's very true. I think there can be multiple "correct" perspectives on "failure," particularly in MLS where each US-based team participates in a minimum of two competitions (MLS reg. season, US Open Cup) and up to four competitions (MLS playoffs and CCL). I am reasonably confident that you have a superior knowledge of statistics to me. I suspect then, that you may be using the term "luck" in a different way than I would. It's such a loaded term when it comes to sport because, although I am sure it exists (e.g., the ball skipping on the grass in an unpredictable way, or taking an unpredictable deflection, or a player's freak injury, etc.), I still want/like to believe that skill and preparation are the primary factors driving a result. In the context of the larger theme of this thread, I don't believe that extreme changes should be made at any level of the organization, although *some* significant changes will be required.
Wingert has sign a new contract. It was stated earlier. Every player on any team has the goal to be champs but if it isn't obtained , the players wouLdnt necessarily say it was a bad season.. Yes we have four center backs but there were games that two were injured or three and wingert had to play there so keep all four in my mind. We need forwards. That should be the top priority....
Yeah, I guess I think of "luck" as random noise around your skill level. Think about when Martinez scored the goal against RSL on Thursday. That was an amazing shot that took a ton of skill. It goes just past Rimando's fingers, and just inside the post. He definitely has a lot of skill. But if you have Martinez hit that shot 100 times, how many of them can he hit just in that perfect spot? Certainly more than you or I, but not 100% either. That's the luck part. On another day, maybe that shot doesn't go in, and maybe one of RSL's does. That changes everything, but a lot of that is just random noise. That's more what I mean when I say luck. Teams like ManU or Barcelona have this kind of "luck" as well, but their overall skill level is so much higher than a lot of their competition that they're still able to win a high percentage of their games. In MLS, relative skill levels are so close that this "luck" plays a huge part in the outcome of each particular game. That tends to even out of the course of a season, and so I feel pretty confident that SJ was the best team this year (even though I despise how they play). But in each particular game, small little things change the games dramatically.
We had such a revolving door of CB's due to injury, wouldn't it make sense to address that by trading one of them with higher value like Olave, for a good CB that isn't injured every month? Top priority is the midfield, not the forwards. We do need a solid 3rd forward, or 2nd if for some reason we don't keep Espindola. But the majority of the season, it was the lack of midfield support that was killing the offense. You can't just lob a ball over to Espindola and expect him to somehow go 1 v 2-3 and expect a goal. Same goes to crossing the ball to a double teamed Sabo. Get a speedy quick midfield that actually supports the attack, and you should see our forwards getting a lot more quality attempts at goal.
Know when else you can't expect a goal? Espindola and a wide open goal in the biggest of games. I am done there, completely.
Reminds me of what comes after a cross ball to Emile Heskey? a goal kick But RSL can deal with cross that's why we could afford to have the full backs tucked in against Seattle. If you want to play narrow at the back, do it properly go to a back three. I can't think of any team that;s been successful in the long term with a back three although Zennet beat Rangers in the UEFA cup final with very mobile full backs that amouted to a back three. But as I said do it right, the system is 3-5-2 with three mobile centre backs, to make it work you need five in midfield to stiffle the opposition and force longer balls that the back three can mop up. The midfield five is really a midfield four [if you want the best set-up ] who hold fairly regular positions across the middle. The fifth player is a floater who pops up on either wing, is happy to recieve the ball with his back to goal and has the nounce to identify opposition weaknesses in play. Finally a front two - to keep he pressure on the opposition back line and receive the ball from our defense and midfield to give them an outlet [ otherwise the ball comes straight back. Characteristics of the forwards: one is not Sabo and neither is the other one when he dries up he really does it big style and attempting to recover confidence by shooting from further out samcks f despration
The only way I'd feel any bit comfortable with 3 in the back is if it's made of Olave, Borchers and Schuler all at 100%. And we're playing against a bottom table team.
trib article on potential changes this offseason: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/55248676-77/roster-season-lake-salt.html.csp Really, Beckerman? We're the only team? Lol, do you even pay attention to the rest of the league, every single team talks about it all the time.
That article was a whole lot of nothing actually being said. Fits pretty well into the current mainstream media.