would anyone be shocked to see another Houston-LAG final at the Home Depot Center? zzzzzzz Looks like having to play that 4 v 5 match this year wasn't much of a hurdle.
Then he's not a good ref (and I would have said that PK non-call aside, couldn't tell what was and was not a foul tonight). Referees should make the same call in the first minute at they would in the 93rd minute, a foul is a foul no matter when in the game it occurs..
On the radio this afternoon, Robb said he had verbal agreements with several South American players (with eyes at the CCL next season). No word as to whether any of them are a DP, or really any details about them at all, but I think we can see some signings as soon as the league lets us make them.
Exactly. If he's thinking "I can't make that call at the end of a game", then he's doing it wrong and he's a coward. If it's a foul, you call it. Besides, it's not like Houston would have been eliminated solely on the basis of that call. Not only does the penalty need to be made, but even then it only ties the series score and Houston could have still won in extra time..
Ref was beyond awful. You have to call that PK. You have to. That being said, Vermes is still not getting it done. He needs to go back to being technical director and let someone else handle the strategy and subbing.
Um, Vermes did just fine this game. There is absolutely nothing he should've done with his subbing - if we got the 2nd back, maybe... esp. if we went to extra time, but we were still the ones wrecking havoc on the field in the 93rd minute. And I just don't understand what the whole deal is about anyway. Other coaches, yes, but Vermes doesn't want to have to set up specific tactics with his team, he wants to have them flow... But Vermes not getting it done? 1st in the East, missing out on the shield due to poor finishing (that can hardly be blamed on Vermes's coaching, at least not game-day or tactical stuff which seems to be everyone's complaint) and a USOC trophy. Ask Chicago or New York/DC (whomever goes out, possibly both) if they would want something like that. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with every move he's made or tactic he's employed... he's not perfect, but who exactly do you propose that's going to be so much better?
First off, "Vermes did fine this game" is a bit misleading. It's not really hard to have a strategy of "Hey, we're going to attack because they're parking the bus." Second, my comment was more directed at the series and season, and not just this one game. Well, that's too bad, because different teams have different tactics to slow you down and get you out of your game. You have to be able to adjust to that. There's simply not one style of play that works 100% of the time against everyone. Adjustments are necessary. You need specific tactics. You think Dom Kinnear doesn't have specific tactics? He absolutely did, and his team got it done against us . . . AGAIN. 1st in the East got us what, exactly? The USOC trophy is awesome and I'm grateful for it. But this team is capable of SO much more. Next year, we could be in for a rude awakening without Roger. I hope that's not the case, but we all saw specific problems with this team's attack last year that manifested themselves throughout this season, as well. I don't think you can attribute it all down to just "poor finishing," although that is certainly part of it. I don't know. That's not my job. I don't have to know who is better; it's enough to know that he isn't good enough, or at least hasn't been up until this point. I sincerely hope he figures out how to sub and strategize in the offseason, though. Nothing would make me happier.
Absolutely. With Bunbury, Nagamura, and Cesar as non-options, you really don't have a lot of options on the bench. The one sub I thought might have been okay was Convey for Joseph, but Convey hasn't seen much time recently, so I can kind of understand not making that one.
I think that blame on Vermes is largely misplaced. The coach's primary job is to get his team prepared before the game starts, and while he is not perfect in that regard--who is?--he usually accomplishes that objective. Soccer, perhaps more than any other major sport, requires good independent decision-making by the players on the field. That said--in retrospect, I might have subbed (Jacob) Peterson for Peterson (Joseph) at some point. PJ was not terrible, but it seemed like many of his passes were just a little off-target. Furthermore, I always sit right behind the south goal and have noticed that he has a remarkable knack for missing shots during warm-ups; so when the ball fell to him all alone in the box after a long series of passes late in the game, I just knew that he was going to hit it well wide, and he did. By contrast, JP had the team's highest percentage of shots on goal (11/24=46%) among those who took more than one (Rosell was 1/1). If we could have gotten a second, we were in good shape to win in extra time. Houston had already used up all of their subs, and we still had all of ours available. The crowd would have been thunderous. But it was not to be. I felt much worse when it was all over last year, because it seemed like we went out with a whimper, rather than a bang. It was a great season, and I am confident that Vermes and Heineman know what they need to do to get ready for next year.
One other thing--SKC's last two goals against Houston have both come on a header from a Zusi cross floated from the right side of the box to the far post. Is there something about the Dynamo's defensive rotation that leaves it vulnerable to that particular play? I wish that we would have seen a few more attempts last night in accordance with that template.
There are 3 competitions to play for in MLS. We won one, came in second in the other. We got a birth into champions league. What more do you want? Vermes's inflexibility with subs and strategy can be frustrating, but he knows what he's doing most of the time. Last night's strategy was good...throw the kitchen sink at them. Regarding subs, he had nothing on the bench last night besides J.Peterson. Maybe a Peterson for Peterson swap but who else was he going to put on? Take J Peterson off the bench and how many MLS season goals were on the bench? Before folks start Vermes bashing, please remember that he has drafted and developed pretty much every good player on this roster....Besler, Myers, Harrington, Espinoza, Zusi, Teal, CJ, and others. What other organization in MLS has that kind of track record with development of players, not to mention the cast offs he has remolded (Kei, Sinovic,etc). I understand the frustration of losing, but the fan base needs to recognize that we have a good thing. If you want to vent, be frustrated at the MLS playoff structure which changes every year and provided no home field advantage to SKC or SJ this season. MLS may as well pick a post season champ out of a hat.
The game was a microcosm of the season, very high work rate, lack of quality finishing, poor or rather typical MLS reffing, great atmosphere, questionable substitution pattern (although, I have to agree with PV this time. Everyone was working their a$$ off, not sure whom to sub for.) I know this sounds like sour grapes, but my biggest gripe is with the format. The home and away series really gives no advantage to the higher seed. If you are going to play a two game series, both games should be played at the higher seed. If SKC wins the first leg, no need for a second game. A tie or loss, they play the second on aggregate. The lower seed should really have to earn it, otherwise the the whole regular season is pointless.
It's not much of a hurdle. Having our last game on October 24th and then a first round bye really screwed us. I am a big believer in layoffs causing problems with the team geling and playing well. Momentum is also a factor in the playoffs and winning that game gives a team momentum going into the next.
The regular season is not pointless, but it is essentially a different competition from the playoffs. The latter is a stand-alone tournament; the regular season simply determines which teams qualify for it and how they are matched up within it. Like it or not, I think that MLS wants the playoffs to be exciting, with a high potential for upsets, so that every team that gets there feels like it has a legitimate chance to win the whole thing. This is just one aspect of the the overall strategy to maintain a high degree of parity from top to bottom. MLS Cup is not intended to go to the "best" team in the league anymore than the US Open Cup is intended to go to the "best" team in the country. My only real beef along these lines is that the conference champion trophies should go to the two first-place teams, not the two teams that make it to the MLS Cup final. The latter would only make sense if there were multiple divisions within each conference.
unfortunately, the "poor finishing" is (was?) basically a feature of this team. They were the least-accurate team in MLS (shots on goal/shots) and 4th-worst at converting SOG into goals (somewhat unlucky at times). Some of it is resultant from tactics (ie., Zusi and Espinoza taking shots from distance) and some from skills (I like Kamara, but he is basically a volume shooter).
Really? You don't think a couple fresh legs in the attack against the Houston back line that was 1) playing its third game in a week and 2) had been pushed the whole game and was cramping up might not have helped? Why the hell were players like Convey and Peterson even dressed if not to bring in for the final push. It's like last year when Bravo got all of five minutes. If your sphincter is so tight you can't pull the trigger and coach the game, why bother. Why bother yelling at the fourth official for 90 minutes? Put 11 guys out there and head to the owner's box. I could've done that. I have flashes of Greg Ryan at the World Cup all over again. One game doesn't particularly bother me, but this is two years in ago where he has frozen up and can't pull the trigger. Houston's players were gasping on the field. Our 11 had also been running the whole game and didn't have an extra gear. That's why you choose and dress the players on the bench.
And Bobby Cremins had the ACC Freshman of the Year four straight years, but couldn't win the ACC on the court. Being a recruiter and being a championship situation coach aren't the same thing. Full measure to Vermes for creating this team. But, likewise, he deserves the bashing he gets for his decisions on the field.
I hadn't thought of this explicitly. I like the idea. I'd incorporate it as follows: CCL Berths: 1 - Pot A) MLS Cup Champion 2 - Pot A) MLS Regular Season Conference Champion 1 (e.g., Supporter's Shield Winner) 3 - Pot B) MLS Regular Season Conference Champion 2 (opposite conference from SS winner) 4 - Pot B) US Open Cup Champion Alt 1) MLS Cup runner-up Alt 2) MLS team with next best regular season record not already qualified Alt 3) MLS team with next best regular season record not already qualified ....
Yeah, I've thought it should be that way for awhile. Makes a lot more sense to me than preferring the MLS Cup runner-up. Definitely would like to see this in the future.
I did see a serious bright spot for next season. The play of Rosel and Joseph. Crisp passing and composure from those guys. Looking forward to seeing them a lot more next year. All we need is a good finisher, and there's no reason we can't win. Imagine if we had a Wondo or Henry, or heck, an Alan Gordon?
From kansascity.com comments section under one of The Full 90 articles. Thought Id share this here. I am just going to take this particular poster at his word, he is who he says he is: southpointCollapse Thank you Kansas City and the region for your great support of this team. You are the greatest fans in the world. We will bring a championship to Kansas City in the near future. Neal Patterson. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/07/3906111/sporting-laments-coming-up-short.html#storylink=cpy
Just gotta say, I'm already really excited for next season. I haven't felt this way since... well, the end of last season I guess.
Not to be contrary, because I think your probably right, but wouldn't MLS achieve these same goals by having a 16 team seeded one and done playoff, ala March Madness? 1. Excitement 2. High potential for upsets 3. Every team feels like they have a legitimate chance of winning the whole thing 4. Maintain top to bottom parity, since essentially every team is in the playoffs 5. High likelihood that the best team wouldn't win I just feel that the regular season should count for more. If they want to keep this format, then add 2 teams for a 21 team league, play a 40 game home-away schedule and let's have a real Supporters Shield Champion, then the playoff format would be more palatable. IMO