Yes I agree that we need a CAM in a desperate way--but it seems right now that it will not happen until the summer window with the 3rd DP. Right now however, Soler is worried about losing Agudelo and it seems like he will try to get a forward before the end of the spring window.
What happen in 2010 was because Richie and Des?, were at front of everything and not Backe...Richie make the players selections and was in practice with them all the way.... And about the subs, has been because he have obliged to do it not because he has change a bit...And sub Ballouchy for Linpere was and is idiotic tactic of a idiotic coach.... And to say that he hasn't bring poor choices of players, I will disagree on that, Marquez is a aberration and one of the worst signers after Reyna, the French fellows and the German one.... (Stop that shit, I mean the one before Henry)
Well now we have Agudelo out for a while with the injury and on top of that Rodgers was denied his visa and his contract terminated by the team---so it looks like Soler may be right in trying to find a third forward before the end of the spring window to go with Henry and Cooper in case one of them gets injured. i just hope Soler does his homework and brings over someone good. the article on the Rodgers mess: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/03/30/rodgers-denied-p1-visa-red-bulls-terminate-contract
Is it truly possible?? Is Backe coaching himself out of the hotseat and into the hearts of the fans? Last night's game was a dominating and convincing performance----are we truly that good or was Columbus simply too weak of a team? I'd like to think the ship is on the rise. Kenny Cooper and Henry are on a tear at forward and last night for the first time midfield actually seemed to know what they were doing and connecting good passes to the attack. Also last night was the first night where I felt that the defense was not shaky but strong.I hope this good form continues. Can't wait to see how the Backe question works itself out this season--for now let's say he's given himself breathing room.
I've always thought the fire Backe thing was too over the top. Having said that let's not get ahead of ourselves. We lost on the road to 2 good teams and beat up on 3 poor teams (Colorado missing both their CM's, Montreal is an expansion side, and IMO Columbus was asleep in the 1st half - the 2nd half is a better reflection of their talent level). So we are doing "well" right now. I disagree and still see lots of mistakes and nervy defending. I'm also worried that Holgersson is a bust. The SJ match should give us a better indication of where we are as a team.
After the San Jose game I would say that Backe remains in the hotseat. Yes, we have an offensively explosive pairing up front, but the midfield is not controlling the game (too many giveaways and interceptions) and the defense seems to quake in their boots every time they have to stop an attack. I'm willing to give Meara a pass on his inconsistent performance so far on account that he is a rookie and was thrown into the fire. The point is that despite some moves that Backe and Soler made in the offseason the team is not a dominating force nor is it even a team that can play a team close and win 1-0. This is a team that is going to have to win most games 3-2 because it cant plug up the leak in the back. This is a huge strategic problem and reflects poorly on Soler and Backe. Continue to follow the Backe drama!!
Funny how Backe sucks as a coach when Conde is not on defense. RBNY did address the issue of the back line but there is a current (significant) injury. You can complain that there is not enough depth, and I won't argue that point. Heck, Bruce Arena doesn't look so hot without Omar Gonzalez on his back line, nor does Sanders look as good in goal as he did last year. Patience.
Agreed. Holgersson hasn't looked good and Conde has been injured. If they still look that way by July then we have a problem. Many players need that "adjustment period" to MLS. Hopefully that's whay Holgersson is going though. The Red Bulls want to win something this year. If we still have problems in defense they will address it.
Yesterday's absolute team meltdown only serves to turn up the heat on Backe.... the defense blows, the midfield can't seem to do its job, and for the first time in a several games the offense struggled.... The offensive breakdown was overdue, after all, logic dictates we couldnt keep up the offensive pace we were on for long, so I'm willing to give a pass for that. The defensive mistakes and midfield ineptitude are an entirely different matter altogether and make one want to scream. It doesn't help that Backe seems to have some kind of problem with Lindpere.... At this point there are very few guys left on the team that Backe "inherited", most of the team is now composed of Backe and Soler guys. At some point, if they cant make the pieces work together the way they should the blame has to fall on their shoulders..... On the hotseat for another week after this game and this time with the heat turned up high--let's see what the next game brings....
I never hope for my team to lose but I'm wondering if a 6-1 thrashing would be enough for management to fire Backe
Really tough win yesterday--Henry is a great player but his legs are made of crystal. I think he has been injured every year he has been with the team. To their credit the defense was able to hold on to the 1-0 lead so Backe came out looking as if he knew what he was doing on defense. The team offense looked horrible in the 2nd half though. Most of the time the other team had the ball. One of the big bogeymen with this team has always been depth---do we have enough quality guys to take over when the starters get injured or miss time? I guess we're about to find out as this next stretch of games will be rough indeed--if the 2nd half of yesterday's game is any indication, it's not going going to be pretty. Soler and Backe have to be held responsible for the lack of depth if the team is found to be in a bad position after a few games during this upcoming stretch. They have systematically traded away or released a lot of "depth" guys ever since they came to the team--essentially gutting the B team.
They tore it apart, but made an effort to rebuild it this past off season. I think they'll need one more off season to fill out the depth. Next 3 weeks are going to be brutal. Hope for ugly ugly UGLY wins or ties. 3 weeks. Then we start getting guys back.
That win las tnight was an agonizing thing to look at. With no offense to count on Backe prepared the team to go ultra defensive and wound up getting a goal by Lindpere as a nice unplanned bonus. Good job by both Meara and the backline. Barklage is starting to impress. So Backe basically took a bunch of poozers (GL reference) and whipped them into good enough shape to not get blown out and wound up winning. Good!! As they say sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Lindpere is a heck of a player, I'm just not sure the team's midfield and offense played well enough to "deserve" that win, but regardless a win is a win is a win--and as a fan I'll sure take it. Rafa comes back for the next game, whether that's a good or bad thing is hard to say. Let's hope Backe can keep this team headed in the right direction.
Backe deserves a lot of credit for yesterday's win. He ran out an experimental lineup that got the best out of our players (Solli and Lindpere especially) while encouraging the young guys to play with confidence.
To the tune of "American Pie" Bye, bye Mr. Backe Goodbye We don't want you in New York You can't coach for your life. (repeat) We need this sung!
Backe has deserved to coach for the rest of the season. We may may be extremely critical of him, including me, but has actually done a good job with the team this season.
No. I think you're about 2 games too late on this one. Backe has done very well lately. Even with the DC stinker, winning 5 out of the last 7 is great, and the cobbled together defense is looking better in these last two games than the team's defense has looked since....2010....maybe longer.
It helps that we have 2 bulldogs in CM right now in Lindpere and McCarty doing the work that Marquez refuses to do. Go back and watch the LA game and look at how many times Lindpere tracks back and runs down attackers. He did this in 2010 and our defense was great.
Unless we go completely in the tank when we get healthy and are in extreme danger of missing the playoffs, then I don't think he is in danger of being fired mid-season. For next season however, I think that depends of playoff performance and how we do in the Open Cup (which I hope we can make a deep run).
He has to win either the Open or MLS Cup this year. Both he and Soler said it. However, they might get away with making the final, playing really great soccer, and just coming up short. Really it depends on what Austria thinks. And I don't know if they think too much.
I tend to agree. If we see a first round exit (which is a Metro tradition) then see ya. But so many different things can happen in the playoffs so it remains to be seen.
9 points in 3 games where we were expected to get 0. Say what you want, but that is "manager of the year" stuff right there. Regardless of whether "clever Hans" simply stumbled into it or not. In these 3 games everything has gone right in terms of tactics AND all the offseason moves he and Soler made that were criticized (Rookie GK, no-name Lade, Swedish Statue, no-name depth guys, Cooper) have all come through in this stretch.
After this past sunday's win--Backe starts to receive respect, he really has done well during this difficult stretch. The team hasn't exactly wowed anyone but they've managed to pull off workmanlike wins when logic said they wouldn't. I wont say he's completely off the hotseat yet, but let's say the heat on the seat has been turned down several notches. Kudos to Backe.