Kansas City at Los Angeles FC (Sun. Mar 3rd, 7:30PM CST) [R]

Discussion in 'Sporting Kansas City' started by vividox, Feb 28, 2019.

  1. Sachsen

    Sachsen Member+

    Aug 8, 2003
    Broken Arrow, Okla.
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    5 yellows in the first half is... concerning.
     
  2. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    5 yellow cards on SKC in the first half......ugh :cautious:
     
  3. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Zusi just got skinned by Rossi for the goal
     
  4. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    None contact injury for Fontas... Sort of looked like a hamstring... Hopefully it's not serious.
     
  5. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Cibiga going for the record for issuing the most cards in a game.
     
  6. kcfooty

    kcfooty Member

    Feb 16, 2011
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Same 11 on Wednesday? SMH
     
  7. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Zusi skinned twice for both goals.
     
  8. lukeD

    lukeD Member+

    Jul 7, 2011
    Olathe
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Good thing we have all that depth, because squad rotation and stuff.

    Zusi looked like a converted winger on both goals
     
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  9. kcfooty

    kcfooty Member

    Feb 16, 2011
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What's bad... Team is tired. Got Zero points. Six players on a yellow. Fontas hurt. Barath didn't look awesome. Zusi burned for both goals.

    What's good? At least Roger gets to rest next weekend.
     
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  10. Beech

    Beech Member

    Jul 26, 2001
    Kansas City
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So much for distinct teams. Tired legs, chasing most of game that turned into repeated fouls and then to cards. LAFC simply crisper even though we are likely the better team sans Vela. Glad to see Nemeth back on top. Dude needs half a look most times to make something dangerous.
     
  11. IASocFan

    IASocFan Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 13, 2000
    IOWA
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So much for having a deep squad! :(

    And why not use it!!
     
  12. Spassapparat

    Spassapparat Member

    SKC/Werder Bremen
    May 14, 2017
    man espinoza.. seriously.. this tackle in such an innocuous situation already on a yellow card with a ref that has shown he likes to show them.. what a veteran play -_-
     
  13. SportingKCFan

    SportingKCFan Member

    Sep 2, 2010
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Because squad rotation is better heard but not seen?
     
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  14. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I trust PV, but I disagree vehemently with this. Fatigue leads to lapses in concentration.

     
  15. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I want to get more opinions on this, but I feel that Russell needed to do more to track Harvey on the winning goal. He reacted late and left Zusi in a 1v2 situation with Harvey and Diomande. Am I crazy?
     
  16. kcscsupporter

    kcscsupporter Member+

    Apr 17, 2002
    D17
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    on a scale of 1-10, we went from an 11 to a 0. our reserves could've earned these zero points just as well. now if we lay an egg down in panama on wednesday...

    what a waste. thanks vermes.
     
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  17. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    The MLS analysis was that in the first half the discussion was if SKC was the best pure possession team in MLS history, but looked exhausted in the second half. Zusi looked off, he had no spring in his feet, people were just running by him. fontas injury is an over-tired, over worked sort of injury. Gerso was... off. I have to think that if we'd started the second 11 and lost 4-0 we might all have been complaining, but would have understood why it was necessary. Here? As noted, if we turn around and show up in Panama on dead legs? This is the sort of stubborn decision that can have an impact on the entire season. Let's hope it doesn't.
    The Audi numbers show that, overall, we didnt play particularly well. Overall, we collected 2190 pts to LAFC's 3962. That would indicate it wasn't just a last second winner, it was a deserved last minute winner.
    More precisely, we had 7 players finish at above the level of a solid MLS player, but we had three starters finish deep in negative numbers. Negative numbers indicate a pretty crap outing. Fontas at -62 looked tired. His passes were pretty stunningly on, he completed 44, missed on 3. But he made two challenges, and lost both and made a mistake that led to a goal opportunity. More than that, he looked like he should have been left on the bench, and we have to hope the leg isn't a long term, off and on thing, this season. Gerso, -162, was a non factor. He connected on 18 of 25 passes, which isn't a great percent but, wait, 25? Jeebus. He only took someone on once, and lost. He made two defensive challenges, and lost both. And Roger... As we know, he's one of our bellweathers. His -515 Audi score reflects his cards and his five fouls. But again, while he was playing destroyer well enough with 4 tackels won, an intercetption and a clearance, he only connected on 24 passes all night.
    Maybe more enlightening are Zusi's numbers. By Audi, he didn't do much wrong all night, so that's a flaw. But his 362 score is our third best performance, and it shows, again, a player who has been more active. He conncted on 52 passes, missed on 16,, so an okay percent. He had 4 ints, 3 clears, 3 aerial challenges won, and 2 tackles won. Maybe his most important stat is that he's 32 and we cannot run him like this for 40 matches. His feet are not as slow as they were last night.
    Our top players, by Audi were Seth, 476 (a very good score for him, better than any I can remember last year) and Johnny, 549.
    Still, JOhnny only tried 40 passes (31 worked) and lost as many of his take ons as he won, 3-3. I don't recall him losing his take ons at this rate last year. This could be an issue.
    Our other bellweather: Ilie was involved, 77 complete passes. But he was losing his challenges, 1 worked, 4 nope and his tackle attemps, 3-4.
    Sigh.
    It may well be that Vermes looked at CAI and decided that, hey, the second 11 has this. If not, we are in trouble in CCL.
     
  18. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In Texas they have a name for what PV said in his response....it’s called Bullshit.
     
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  19. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    It's worrisome. Last year, TFC clearly had the talent to be a much better side than one that missed the playoffs. The 11 we started means we now have problems with who plays v Panama on Wednesday, then in the home opener with Philly, Panama the thursday after that, and Colorado that Sunday. Even if Fontas injury is a tweak, he could easily miss 3 or 4 matches, meaning Besler and Barath will be overworked, putting Besler at risk of a similar sort of injury.
    Our starting 11, with a regular schedule of a game a week and rest in between, challenges for the shield this season, and might have a shot at a CCL trophy, IMO.
    But we could be toasting not just our CCL shot with this management, but putting ourselves in a hole for the regular season.
    I know it's just 3 MLS games, but we aren't just messing with our physical condition, we're messing with our mental strength. Players who aren't trusted in this situation will start to doubt themselves. Players who are overworked will doubt themselves.
    The most disposable game we had this month was against LAFC. i don't believe Vermes screws up very often. But this lineup has the potential to be a lasting problem. It's the kind of move that could land a manager over here in the hot seat (won't, of course, with SKC, and shouldn't).
     
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  20. DirtyStriker

    DirtyStriker Member

    Jul 4, 2007
    Basehor, KS
    Russell definitely should have been tracking back, I think that's another example of tired legs, Russell normally would have helped cover there.
     
  21. lukeD

    lukeD Member+

    Jul 7, 2011
    Olathe
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What happened to TFC when they went all in with CCL last year scares me.
     
  22. Inca Roads

    Inca Roads Member+

    Nov 22, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    TFC's problems were injuries and poor depth. Their CCL run was a red herring as to why their season disintegrated. We should be better set up for this, assuming Pete remembers that his guys have limits.
     
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  23. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    And laying an egg is more likely on Wednesday because these 30 year-old players that were clearly mentally whipped on Sunday aren't likely to get appreciably better with another mid-week international game.

    The alternative is the bleed the now mythical "second team" that we were told about all pre-season against a team that dismantled Toronto at home, and is clearly match fit.

    Hell, even a 7-4 or 6-5 swap out of starters in Los Angeles would've left us in a much, much deeper situation with regards to player availability and fitness.

    I love what Peter has done for given this club, and I think I want him around for another decade or more, but season after season of him picking a starting XI on opening day then running them into the ground is getting old.
     
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  24. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Soccer field players tend to peak around 28. The physical peak is earlier, but their experience gain tends to overcome the physical decline for a while. None of the Sporting Ten that have started all three games so far are really old as far as soccer players go, but we have no spring chicken in the mix. An average age of 29/30 is really, really old. Yes it's early in the season, but most seasons don't start with a game every 3-4 days with international travel.

    I honestly am scared that Peter didn't even apparently remotely consider changing out any of the squad in Los Angeles, less than 72 hours after playing a game at 8,750 feet in Mexico. And I'm really scared that he's saying fatigue wasn't a factor when 1) Concentration lapses are fatigue, and anyone with a brain that watched the game could tell which team was tired and chasing the game. Seven yellow cards isn't just a card happy ref, it's players who are late and making bad decisions - sure signs of fatigue.

    Now he's dug a hole. What the hell was all that shit about having two teams? I'm pretty sure they weren't talking about SPR.

    Besler 32
    Espinoza 32
    Sinovic 32
    Zusi 32
    Nemeth 30
    Fontas 29
    Gerso 28
    Gutierrez 28
    Russell 28 (29 next month)
    Sanchez 28
     
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  25. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    That is a great lineup, if it's healthy and still ready to go in August. One of the disappointing things about this selection was that it was a chance to build team spirit, togetherness and match fitness. LAFC were not at their best, and our second 11 might have lost but could have made a game out of it. A good, fighting effort, would have raised spirits and put us in a better position when injuries do arise. He's opened himself to locker room problems by not trusting the squad here.
    I get the notion that players who are playing well keep their places until they falter, but players nearing or past 30 need to be managed with a season long view. Play your, uhm, slightly younger adults!
     

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