Crew v Everton :: Post-Game [R]

All that happened was that some idiot brought a LFC banner to an Everton game. The first time the cops came was about some guy trying to rip it down the other time was more or less the same thing. The 2nd guy just put an elow to the guys dome. It really was classic Everton fan stuff. Some people don't understand that stuff doesn't fly in england, and they don't understand that 80% of the fans here don't care. Maybe one day we can have hooligans too.

 

Hard to tell on TV, but it appeared Ward was caught ball watching on D and has always been hesitant to get near the opponets box. Good foot skills, but I haven't seen much determination - he flat stopped on a run down the line and a ball passed into his run went out. That the way you saw it eboe?

 

It was really just one Everton fan who was causing the problem. About twenty minutes into the game or so, he went up to the guy in the Chelsea shirt (a Gudjonson jersey) next to the Liverpool banner and got in his face and started cussing him out, and security took him away before it got real ugly. There were two women next to the guy in the Chelsea shirt (they weren't together, I don't think) who were pretty pissed off about the whole thing. The other Everton fans in the section started yelling at the guy in the Chelsea shirt, who claimed that the banner wasn't his, and that he wasn't a Liverpool fan (I don't know if that's true, but there was a guy next to him in a Liverpool shirt).

Anyway, the same Everton fan came back in the second half and started pushing the guy in the Chelsea shirt. I don't think there were any punches thrown between the two (just some pushing), and then the police dragged the Evertonian off, and it sounded to me like they scuffled in the hallway underneath thte stands. From what I heard afterwards, he got arrested. Then the police came back and got a statement from the Chelsea guy and the two women next to him (they complained about it to anyone within earshot for the whole time), and hung around the section for the rest of the game. Apparently, the two women felt it necessary for the police to escort them to their car after the game. It wasn't that big a deal...and it distracted from the game. The Everton fans were sympathetic towards their comrade, but no one else got involved, and all the Crew fans just wanted the guy out of their so they could watch the game. Anyway, that's what happened.

 

Ezra could have done so, so much more with that than he did.

 

Vasquez did not have a good night, no question.

Agree on Gonzalez, he is a real horse. Tough, physical, gets to the ball and plays like a professional. Deserved to be in the ASG but with the team doing so poorly and with Grand Dragon Nowak picking the subs there was no chance.

Ward just looks physically overmatched to me. He may have quick feet and some decent speed, but he just doesn't strike me as an impact defender. No size means you have to be awfully tough back there and I don't see it.

Szetela has the mental approach and the physical aggressiveness and strength to be a very good MLS player. I'll admit I've had some doubts about the kid, particularly playing for Zippy the Pinhead, but he may be ready to bust out. If so, he can really go a long ways toward solidifying this team. It's gonna cost Moss some PT but that's life.

Retiz needs to be more consistent. He's on and off way too much. Calling Duncan Oughton.

No question Garey needs time in the system but he's the best pure shooter we have. Just a crisp and very quick release on the ball, and he's the only one-touch hitter on the squad. I think he'll be OK, although he's gonna have to fight for PT, whcih isn't all bad. He and Coiner could develop into a decent tandem, with Burch (we may have stolen that kid) on the left and Thomas on the right.

 

i like how apparently rozental is just obviously the best player this team has ever seen, the instant solution to all the teams problems, but our ********ing coach keeps him on the bench.

what a mentality to have.




but seriously.

i missed the god damned first half, so i missed all the goals. im very glad we have gonzalez. hell of a player. hope we can hold onto him for a while. some players show promise, some players are beyond hope. pretty typical.

i do think, however, that this team is being rebuilt and we are gonna start to see it really come around. i like that.

 

One idea could be to surround Rozenthal with young legs to do all the running etc. Just let the game go through him. If we got two good things like tonight out of him every match it could be worth the risk. He also hits a decent dead ball.

Any updates on Jansen?

 

Interesting. Thought he could do a job but he is about on a par with John O'Brien for games played in the last few years.

Any other irons in the fire?

 

Run it similary to what Miami did when they were successful with Valderrama.

 

I thought that Gaudette's give-and-go with the Everton player was the highlight of the night.

Honestly, he did do a good job of getting back and covering. I haven't seen panic in a guys face like that in a while. It was quite funny in that 'gosh we just avoided dying in an accident' sort of way.

 

Gonzalez was indeed spectacular - he got everything right (except for one switch-of-the-field ball)...all his tackles were perfectly timed, etc.

I think Rozental ought to be starting every game, and I think he could be one of the keys to better play, but this wasn't one of his better games, the goal aside.

Ward was terrible. Send him back to New York.

As for Garey, I think he has potential, and I think he's just going through a bad streak right now. In the long term, he's a keeper.

 

That was exactly what I was saying leaving the game. Although I thought I saw three good things all match. A little nice interplay with Szetela on the left corner at the start of the game for the Crew's first chance. I was steaming mad when he had 3 attackers running down the field and he just stopped and held the ball, STEAMING MAD. Of course his 3 good plays were 3 more then anyone else playing in the middle all game.

Szetela, I was not impressed with his performance at all. Although I'll give him a break since he's just coming back.

Retiz was complete crap for 45'. It doesn't help to win the ball, then pass it right to an Everton player. Well actually it would help a little to actually win the ball in the first place. What happened to this guy?

Vasquez, terrible/horrible/pathetic, and not because of the shooting. He has the ability to take those shots and he had the space to take them, so good for him; Get'em on frame though. Nope, it was disgraceful because apart from the nice long diagonal ball early, he created nothing, his first second third fourth fifth ect ect touch was beyond poor, back pass after back pass right back to the player that just gave him the ball. TURN AND PICK OUT AN ATTACKER ERIC, THAT'S WHAT AMs DO. Honestly anyone who said he had a poor game against NY was an idiot, but he's regressed each outing since.

Moss started shaky, but overall I thought his performace was the best of the central mids. Solid wins and good linking play.

Is Gonzo the best SI the Crew have ever brought in not named Stern John?

I think we all see why Marshall isn't playing. Grow a sack, Chad. Marshall doesn't have the first clue how to play this game without Busch yelling in his ear all game.

Thomas is an F'en beast.

Burch is a damn good steal. Have the Crew finally found a LM?

Coiner came on the field and the Crew automatically saw more of the ball. Well done there, but I'd like to see him get around goal a little more.

People keep on with this Rozental thing, but can anyone please tell me WHY KAMARA DOESN'T START?

Garey is a waste of a draft pick. I said it then, I say it now, The Crew should have picked Kljestan instead. Huge mistake.

Beccera, I thought was pretty decent for playing a new position.

Eddie Gaven, I really don't care enough to to write anything what-so-ever about him. He's just a bitter disappointment.

 

Overall it was a pretty entertaining game that could have went 3-1 either way.

I had a lot of fun and the Everton fans were great. And V-Army was rocking hard all game. Great stuff over there guys.

 

How bout the Everton fan who got on the field at half time and warmed up with the team in sandals? Classic. He simply did his thing for a minute. Turned around and walked back up into the stands. And did not get caught or pursued by the police. He didn't look drunk either.

The fight was lovely. Columbus' finest were jumping over railing to get in on the action. I was all the way on the other side of the field, but knew what was going on the moment the two started arguing.

 

Just got back from the game, here's some random thoughts:

Rats- I was a little late, because I thought the game started at 7:30, not 7. Luckily only missed about 5 minutes.

Thanks- for explaining the fight in 108

Sigi- after the match, he ripped Rozental as usual, saying he only did two good things all night long. Then he praised Marshall, saying he looked very good, and only made one mistake tonight, although it was a big one.

Fans- The Everton fans were pretty pleasant to listen to and be around, and made some decent noise. The North End made some pretty darn good noise too. Thumbs up!

Gonzalez- Give this guy the damn captain's armband! Now! Not only does he lead by example with his play, but tonight I heard him leading pretty vocally in the back.

Marshall- Looked decent tonight, but honestly, I'm not sure it was good enough to earn a starting spot in Chicago this weekend.

Gaudette- Honestly, that one bad pass was worse than anything Palmer has done for us all season long. I know Palmer isn't a fan favorite around here, but he never did anything that bad.

Gaven-

Szetela- A darn good player! Not ready to play 90 minutes yet, but he looked very good for about the first 30 minutes.

Eberson- He popped up with the ball every now and then, but he was pretty invisible for most of the time he was in there. Considering he was playing smack dab in the middle of the field, being invisible isn't very good.

Rozental- Dammit, I don't care if he doesn't run as fast as the other players on the team. Everytime he's on the field, he creates chances and is always a danger player that the other team has to keep an eye on. How does he sit while Gaven starts all the time?

Burch- Sigi mentioned something about "knocking on wood" with regards to a potential injury after the game. I'm pretty sure he was talking about Burch (though I guess it might've been Szetela's or Garey's return from injury). Can anyone clarify who Sigi was talking about?

Ward- easily the worst player on the field. I was shocked when he was one of the few players that wasn't subbed out at halftime.

Vasquez- no way in hell should Vasquez be starting an MLS match ahead of Rozental.

Palmer- didn't recognize him at first, he got a short haircut. I think he was trying to go for the Jon Busch look.

 

Yes he was talking about Burch, who apparently went down with some sort of knee injury. He came back on shortly thereafter, but they are still concerned and going to do some tests and stuff. Remember Frankie played out the game in which he blew his ACL, and didn't realize it until a few days later.
Speaking of Frankie, did he even have to have surgery on his knee? He was in Germany for the WC with no signs of surgery (no cast, bandage, wrap or anything. I remember Busch being in some sort of big cast and on cruches for weeks after his surgery.), and I saw him wandering around the upper concourse at the NY game as if he was just fine.

 

I seem to recall a Polish guy, Bob something, wasn't too shabby.

That one's a little more understandable. Good speed, good effort, wants the ball and can score on occasion but he's very raw, does not recognize well a lot of the time and tends to mis-time his runs (although compared to Ngwenya the guy is Thierry Henry in that regard). He needs to learn to play within himself, be patient sometimes and , frankly, get some upper body strength. If Sigi wants to use him off the bench for now I have no argument.

Garey will be fine. Give him some time.

Gaven needs a position. This flipping around from up top to the left side to the right side to the middle and back and forth isn't helping him. I don't think he's an AM . His best spot is probably paired with Coiner out front. The talent is obviously there.

Burch is doing exactly what you want a kid to do - come in and work at nailing down a particular position. He's another piece of the puzzle falling into place, IMO, and a welcome one.

Looking at the big picture, that's how a team is built, or rebuilt in our case. You bring guys in and give them a shot to make their case. It's slow and frustrating and there's a lot of trial and error, but gradually we're filling some key spots out there not because Sigi is putting people in the right position but because a guy like Burch comes in and nails down his spot. It has to come from the players, not from the coach.

Look at Vasquez: you can't say he hasn't had his chances, but he's not doing what he has to do to make the first eleven. You get the feeling that it's coming down to crunch time for Eriic. Man up or take a seat. Honestly, I think he;s outclassed.

Szetela is not completely fit and he's certainly thinking too much rather than just going with it. His reactions are still tentative and he's feeling his way. The thing you have to say is that he's moving the ball forward, which is what Sigi has made abundently clear is what he wants and Danny will continue to get PT because of it.

Marshall conversely is way too passive at the moent, He wants to make the safe, short pass, or a square ball or a posession pass. It's what happened on that giveaway: Ezra was closed off - he had no place to go and was a lousy option, but Chad decided he was an easy dump. If Ezra had stepped to the ball and received it cleanly, so what? He was still in our defensive third with his back to their goal with an oppnent on top of him. What the hell was he supposed to do with it? There was room and there was time and the best Marshall could think of to do was a slow roller to a defender who had an opponent climbing all over him.

Aggressiveness and looking upfield are the keys to making Sigi happy at the moment. Make a positive play. Move. Contest every ball. We're not good enought o be a posession team so we have to be physical and fast and jump on defensive mistakes. Give Thomas or Burch a chance up there and they'll make something happen. Give the opponent time to get six people back and it becomes their game, not ours.

And we still don't really have a front line keeper. Teams who have leadership in the back from a keeper the whole side has absolute confidence in simply play better because of it. We don't have that and aren't likely to get it.

If you're still reading this, (and Lord knows why you would be) let me just ask this:

If this Saturday Sigi could trot out Hejduk, Busch and Oughton, how different a team would we be?

 

Anyone recall that mighty fine wing play by Garey in the first half, where Coiner was in the box, looking for a good ball, and Gaven was holding his hand like a 8 year old kid playing rec soccer?

 

Thanks fror clearing up the 108 thing.

I didn't think Marshall was that bad. The pass was bad, but as others have said, Ezra didn't exactly help him out much there. I think Chad just needs to have a couple games of solid play to get his confidence back. Like Bill said, he's just too passive and afraid of making the mistake. That's not a good way to play any sport, but especially soccer.

How was Gaven supposed to effect the play from where we put him, with who we put out there with him? We stuck him on the wing with Vazquez running the offense, apparently (which was give it to me, and let me shoot). He looked very good Saturday in a more natural position for him up top.

Who was this #37 guy we had last night with no name on his jersey?

As for Garey, if the guy's hamstring would just stay healthy, I think he'll be fine. He never really got a preseason because of the injury, and then it never really healed early on. If he's finally 100% now, or close to it, I'm interested in seeing what he could do. Especially with some more talent around him than we had early on.

 

Eberson.

 

Match report from the Dispatch:

http://www.dispatch.com/crew/crew.php?story=dispatch/2006/07/27/20060727-F1-02.html