Chicago Fire @ DC United ANALYSIS Thread [R]

[uniteo]

Can we keep this one cold and clinical?


From the stands it looked like Chicago did a great job of exploiting DC's weakness. Specifically the lack of speed and bodies in defense, Rimando's weakness on crosses, and DC's inability to hold the ball on offense. I thought Sarachan took Nowak to school tonight.

They pushed numbers into the attack - much more than I would have expected - and did a tremendous job of transitioning from offense to defense in a hurry...playing the ball long and making defenders race for it with little or no help. Then, if no break, working it quickly to the side and putting in crosses a lot closer to goal than you usually would.

What happened to Erpen though? Did he have help with his injury?

[thedeuce_2]

I will say this: We didn't really show up tonight... it just seemed like Chicago was much more motivated than we were from the start and we didn't really possess the ball at all... we played pretty scrappy and just by chance had a few scoring oppurtunities... I don't like that the announcers were trying to make excuses for us by continuing to mention Erpen going out in the 3rd... Boswell is a capable back and in my opinion played a good match... we just didn't deserve to win tonight... plain and simple

[united9]

sloppy in the net... sloppy in the back... completely inept in the midfield.. and horrific up front... rimando can't catch, carroll can't pass, walker can't finish.. should have been dc up 2-0 after10 min.... and gomez can't even land a good spit.. cmon.. if you're gonna get a stupid red at least make it worth it

[galperin]

Rimando...terrible keeper. He has always been bad, and today, he showed just how bad he can be. He is sole reason for 2 of Chicago's goals. We need an offseason acquisition!

Backline...Had a real hard time with Chicago frontrunners. I do not think the Erpen injury really hurt us. I think even if Erpen did not get hurt we were in big trouble. We need an organizer BADLY.

Midfield...Pathetic. No ability to hold possession. Freddy made a difference, but of course it was to late. Santino was nonexistent, and Carrol and Benny were not great. Gomez being sent off was horrible and killed any chance of a comeback.

Forwards...Walker cannot finish. This was no different today. Not a true starter. Filo was a joke. Jaime looked ok.

Novak...his unwillingness to switch to a different formation killed us today. A 4-4-2 was drastically needed today to handle the Chicago tactics, yet Novak either didn't see this, or was too stuborn to change. Fire him.

Crowd...A+ I guess this is one thing to be happy about. The crowd looked and sounded outstanding on TV. Way to go DC faithful! You made us proud.

[movie77]

Novak...his unwillingness to switch to a different formation killed us today. A 4-4-2 was drastically needed today to handle the Chicago tactics, yet Novak either didn't see this, or was too stuborn to change. Fire him.

Crowd...A+ I guess this is one thing to be happy about. The crowd looked and sounded outstanding on TV. Way to go DC faithful! You made us proud.

Nowak needs to be gone let's count the ways.

No way Walker should start. He's not a soccer player he's a track athlete. He had a couple of good games for United that was it. I don't know why Nowak fell in love with him this season. If you want Tino on the field then start him at forward.

I think Gross has been the heart and soul of United the last two years with his unendless energy. How he doesn't see the field in a game of this magnitude is a slap in the face to his hard work from the last two years and the team needed him out there. I don't think this was the game to experiment with a player that had played minutes up the that point.

[macheath]

(snip)...
Backline...Had a real hard time with Chicago frontrunners. I do not think the Erpen injury really hurt us. I think even if Erpen did not get hurt we were in big trouble. We need an organizer BADLY. (snip)...


Amen. Far too many instances, not only tonight, of disorganized defense, attackers being left unmarked in the 18, and goals resulting. Nelsen is missed very much--no one else has taken this role on, and it shows in tight situations. Also, we need to consider going to four in the back, especially given Rimando's weaknesses in the air--we're giving away far too much space on the flanks.

[Chicago1871]

Crowd...A+ I guess this is one thing to be happy about. The crowd looked and sounded outstanding on TV. Way to go DC faithful! You made us proud.
This should be said again. A class peformance from the United fans. You guys looked fantastic on TV.

[MrFancy]

Seems like Chicago did what they did in the last game- kept us from controlling the middle of the field by clogging it up and playing very physically. I think the idea of putting Quaranta on the wing was to get us to attack on the flanks more, but we couldn't seem to do that for the first 15 minutes or so. Once we did start advancing the ball on the outside we did pretty well, but Walker couldn't finish and the ball never seemed to bounce our way. The first three goals looked like pretty lucky caroms combined with great finishes by Chicago moreso than defensive lapses, though Rimando did badly misjudge on one cross.

We weren't playing our best soccer heading into the postseason, and it showed. We could have played better and I'm disappointed in Gomez for the outburst, but this game was as much bad luck (not to mention lousy officiating) as it was us playing badly.

[Arisrules]

There was absolutely NO fire or desire in the play of DC tonight, astonishing really.

I think Nowak is a fine coach, but the one thing that he has always done consistently is have his team fired up and ready to play. Clearly, he didn't do that today.

As for Chicago, they had two world class strikes (both of those shots were out of those world), so I don't know. Rough game though.

I doubt he comes back to DC. Maybe freddy stays, maybe he doesn't. If I was DC...I would get rid of him to bring in some players as Freddy is gone in 2 or 3 years anyway. It's pretty evident that he has an attitude problem, so get rid of him before his ego grows any bigger.

[Knave]

Can we keep this one cold and clinical?
Good idea. I'll keep a close eye on it and I'll ask here that the other mods do the same.

[neilgrossman]

You'll love him if you get him. Stop trolling.

Maybe freddy stays, maybe he doesn't. If I was DC...I would get rid of him to bring in some players as Freddy is gone in 2 or 3 years anyway. It's pretty evident that he has an attitude problem, so get rid of him before his ego grows any bigger.

[bofahey]

As I noted in the post-match thread, I think the whole backline was out of sync once Boswell came in.

When we had Nelsen, he just oozed a confidence that allowed our midfielders and forwards to stay upfield. Earlier this season, Boswell had some of that. Last week, Erpen had it.

But it was gone tonight once Bobby came in. How could it be there? Nowak has given him almost no meaningful first team action in months!

I realize there were many technical and tactical mistakes all around tonight, but the lack of cohesion once Boswell entered was what stood out to me. And for that I put 100% of the blame on Nowak, because there was no reason not to get Boswell into games as an occassional substitute or spot starter (beyond the RSL match) over the last month or two.

The other key thing to me is the fact that Moreno and Gomez, at various points thoughout the year including right now, have looked burned out. I know Nowak thinks the path to fitness is constant playing and sucking it up, but I really believe Nowak has just ridden his favored 11 way too much throughout our congested schedule and burned out some of these guys. It all started back in April when he started asking these guys to play league games on Saturday and CONCACAF games on Wednesdays, while letting good up and comers like Simms languish.

Lastly, Quaranta gave us nothing on the right wing. I guess the lion's share of the blame goes to Q, but I don't think it was a lack of effort. He just looked out of sync. Again, I have to fault Nowak for not getting Q into a consistent role. Being a target forward and right winger are vastly different roles. I think Q has the ability to do both well when he's given consistent playing time at one spot or the other... but the yo-yo pattern doesn't get him sharp at either.

[MightyMouse]

Those of you calling for Nowaks head are not thinking straight. DC has played fantastic all year long and then lay an egg on the one day they needed to turn it up a notch. It is easy to point fingers at people but the reality is this team didn't match up well at all on Chicago tonight in so many ways.

1) Ball control lacking, DC couldn't keep it together and the offense sputtered tonight badly. Chicago really pressured well and kept the ball out of their end. CJ Brown played a fantastic game frustrating each person he came across with hard challenges and little annoying things that throws one off their game in frustration.

2) Chicago has one big team, I don't think any other team in the league is as tall as most of their players. The team isn't just tall but strong and they dish out punishment on their 50/50 challenges. CJ Brown 6 feet, Jim Curtin 6-4, Griffin 6-1, Jaqua 6-3, Mapp 6-1, Sanneh 6-2, Caballero 6-1, Segares, Barrett, and Marsh 5-11. Overall this is not a small squad and physically can match any team in MLS very well. DC United has a fast team but they can't dish out punishment and they certainly can't take it for very long. Phisically Chicago had our number tonight.

3) Our defense is weak and combine that with an offense that fizzles out you have nothing. First, Rimando needs to be a backup if anything next season. He has been given chance after chance and he coughs up some scarry plays. He has great reflexes but his hands and his positioning are doubtful. He has no size and therefore he should no longer be our no. 1.

Brandon Predeux has never been my favorite player. He has size, some speed, and has played many decent games but I can't get over some nightmarish cough ups on his part as well. Boswell looks the part but 3 own goals would scare any coach from starting him. The rock we have is Namoff.

4) Our offense has had better games but Moreno is starting to look really slow and inconsistent towards the final stages of the season. Gomez also sputtered and nobody really stepped up when he and Moreno slowed. Quaranta can serve some nice crosses but he has a terrible habit of disappearing. Walker has no size, has great hustle, but hardly ever has continued success in the attack. Walker is a great sub for running at tired defenses but he is no starter.

5) Midfield, Kovalenko had a terrible second half of the season. He has made some really bad decisions and his passes were way off. The only plus about his was he tried his best not to kill anyone. Olsen has never regained his form that he had prior to his injury in England. He has had some good games since his operations to be sure, but overall he no longer has that flash speed that killed teams when he ran past defenses.

Overall we have our work cut out for next season. I would definitely think about trading Adu for some new blood but keeping him is also not a bad idea. Instead of him ridding the pine next season he should be given more responsibility of leading the team. It would be interesting to see how Adu fairs in his first major MLS season as a true starter. I hate to say it, but we need to think about life without Moreno soon...

[bofahey]

Those of you calling for Nowaks head are not thinking straight. DC has played fantastic all year long and then lay an egg on the one day they needed to turn it up a notch. It is easy to point fingers at people but the reality is this team didn't match up well at all on Chicago tonight in so many ways.

...

4) Our offense has had better games but Moreno is starting to look really slow and inconsistent towards the final stages of the season. Gomez also sputtered and nobody really stepped up when he and Moreno slowed. Quaranta can serve some nice crosses but he has a terrible habit of disappearing. Walker has no size, has great hustle, but hardly ever has continued success in the attack. Walker is a great sub for running at tired defenses but he is no starter.

5) Midfield, Kovalenko had a terrible second half of the season. He has made some really bad decisions and his passes were way off. The only plus about his was he tried his best not to kill anyone.
So Moreno and Gomez looked burned out after a long season in which Nowak relied on them throughout league and tournament play. Walker should be subbed in, not started. Kovalenko shouldn't be playing. Quaranta sometimes disappears... especially when assigned a new and different role from the prior game.

Yet Nowak's not to blame? I don't get it. Doesn't Piotr have control to change each of the above issues?

[bofahey]

I think Nowak is a fine coach, but the one thing that he has always done consistently is have his team fired up and ready to play. Clearly, he didn't do that today.
Intense coaches that get teams fired up often have an eventual burnout caused from players growing tired of the routine and tuning them out. If they didn't Pat Riley would have more NBA titles than Phil Jackson.

I'm not saying that the team has reached this point under Nowak, but I think it's at least possible.

When Hudson left, the team needed someone to bring discipline. We may have come full circle since then.

[Soccer Doc]

I think the whole backline was out of sync once Boswell came in.


I also think this was the critical point in the match. The necessary change set up the first goal and that started the momentum shift to the Fire. Momentum is so key and once the team got on it's back heal it was all over. The Fires willingness to press their advantage (successfully) nailed the lid shut. Hard way to finish such a great season.

[ursula]

I can't look at this game without noting that United hasn't been itself for several games now. At least since the next to last regular season game, Gomez has been off, Erpen's been shaky, Namoff's been poor, Walker and Quaranta and Adu have been weak. This is before the Adu thing blew open BTW so I can't use that as a scapegoat. But United has just been slow for four games now; has let the opposition dictate the game.

I don't know why this has happened but as Arisrules says above, the team has had no fire in it's belly for a couple of weeks now. Before this run of bad form there was a strong pulse even when the team was losing to Catholica. Hell, I'd take the effort of that game in Chile any day over what we saw today and for the past three weeks. Part of what bothers me is that during these three weeks Nowak has been saying in essence, "I'm not worried. Everything's alright." Clearly that was coachspeak and equally clearly it was flat out wrong.

[bofahey]

Part of what bothers me is that during these three weeks Nowak has been saying in essence, "I'm not worried. Everything's alright." Clearly that was coachspeak and equally clearly it was flat out wrong.
His post-game quotes seem to consist of more "coachspeak," at least to the extent that his quotes can be understood in any meaningful way.

Players see through that stuff. If people know that you don't really believe what you're saying, it's tough to get your coaching message accross.

[Lowecifer]

The team to score the first goal was always going to have the edge in this one, and we showed absolutely no ability to defend when they got it. Give credit to Chicago. They executed their gameplan to perfection: Disrupt and capitalize on mistakes. I don't think there's some inherent philosophical flaw in what Nowak and Co. bring to the table. I think we had a bad performance. Granted, it has been 4 out 5 bad performance in a row, but on balance that's how I feel.

Maybe we missed Josh Gros tonight.

[Ricky_DCU]

Maybe we missed Josh Gros tonight.

Sorry, not really analysis, but why didn't Gros play? I read the whole post match thread and didn't notice anything about an injury. Just a decision by Nowak?