Someone said the Rapids have "Technical Players"? Really? I didn't see any. Some have some technical ability, some, that's it. Of course the Rapids can't get rid of the whole team, but I'm honestly not sure any, other then possibly Castillo, would start for another team, certainly none of the others, maybe even Acosta. I grant that if Acosta was paired with any talent he could be better. Being the best on a team doesn't mean much, someone has to be the best on a team. Each game I watched I was horrified at the lack basic skills. Passing, making themselves available for the pass and then receiving it in a positive way, awful.I think I paid attention to the opponents in the box then most of the defenders. Watch a good team when a defender has the ball with time, you'll see other players moving to be available. Most the time the Rapids simply stand there and watch. I would love to see stats which easily show how many passes are negative vs moving forward in the attack. I don't think any of the Rapids have the ability to take on defenders and win. Certainly technical ability, accurate passing, trapping, basic professional soccer skills has nothing to do with coaching, formation and culture. The Rapids simply don't have the talent to compete in the top half of the table. Changing the coach won't help much of that, but the coach should go.
Official announcement of the affiliation with the Switchbacks jut went out. Crookham will be both Rapids Senior Director of Soccer Management and Switchbacks GM, all other Switchbacks technical staff stay in place. The Switchbacks will take 4 Rapids on season-long loan as well as additional Rapids on short-term loans over he season, with the Rapids reserving the right to recall any of them. Switchbacks will also play the same 5-3-2/4-4-2 Diamond the Rapids play in order to facilitate loan players keeping in formation. (I'd point out here's a big difference between those two formations and they don't overlap as much as they like us to think...)
And don't forget the 9-1 formation we used one game early in the season. I can't remember which team that was against probably because my mind had to block it out. What a year. Ugh.
They still have "official" formations? what's the point of that. After a few games in the 4-4-2 diamond the Rapids went back to being as punchless as they became in the 5-3-2. The Rapids just weren't good enough once teams figured out what they were trying to do.
Well sending Dallas to play on Halloween night in the rain worked out, they're out. Because of that we now know we traded the 4th pick in the 1st round ion January for the 14th or 15th pick (depending on tonight's LAFC-FSL game) in the Acosta-Badji trade. Given that at the time of the trade it looked like it might be the 2nd pick for the 22nd pick I think we did ok.
Badji had a good shot at goal but couldn't finish. He has two goals for FC Dallas this season (9 games, I believe). Overall, I think they'll keep him on next season but he'll need to prove himself in the offseason and early on next year. I personally hope he has a very successful career with them, but Badji is a flukey player - sometimes hitting amazing goals, while other times shanking clear open shots.
The two playoff games last night were fun, well played and miles above what the Rapids have shown for quite some time. Watching that shows you how far the Rapids have fallen behind competitively. It isnt even close. Really hard to believe. Uuggghhh.
Caught up on Rapids and Switchbacks podcasts while on a road trip and have these thoughts on the new affiliation. Pros for Switchbacks: - They've struggled to fill out their full bench on road games and their independent/small market status is reflected in their depth overall. At least four starters from the Rapids allows them to focus on the remaining roster spots. - They get Brian Crookham as GM Cons for Switchbacks: - They lose some flexibility on their formations. Pros for the Rapids: - An affiliate an hour away, playing the same formation at altitude. The Rapids coaching staff should be able to monitor their loanees better and the loanees can train with the Rapids during the week as well. Homegrown players can stay in state. - If the teams can deconflict their schedules, Rapids fans have a better opportunity to see the younger players ... this will be really nice once the Switchbacks get their downtown stadium. Also, with Real Monarchs in the West, there's more opportunities to hate Salt Lake. Pros for both: - With the Rapids' affiliation with Storm and the Switchbacks' affiliation with Pride, I believe that only leaves Rush as the only major Colorado youth program not under the same umbrella. - Hopefully this means that the Rapids will pay more attention to their fanbase in Southern Colorado with events, etc. Cons for both: - Unsure what the implications on the US Open Cup are: I believe that loanees can't play against their parent club which would put the Switchbacks at a disadvantage.
What about Real Colorado? IIRC affiliates can't be matched up against their parent team until late in the competition.
I got to the part where you listed our golden boot winner. Tommy Smith. At first I thought that can’t be right...then I realized that it sums up what a turd this season was and how bad our team is. I decided to go look at the rest of our scoring stats because I am a glutton for punishment I guess. Tommy Smith - 4 Edgar Castillo - 3 Joe Mason - 3 Niki Jackson - 3 Two defenders, a loaner gone bad, and a 4th round draft pick...beyond pitiful.
I still don't understand this requirement that the Golden Boot winner finish the season with the club. If the player scored more goals in a partial season than the rest of these guys, more power to him.
So since we have plenty of downtime now, we could do some predictions. Hudson mentioned having 12 MLS forwards on his shortlist. Who do we think is on it/realistic? I am very uneducated but i will throw one out....Will Bruin from Seattle
By "throw one out" do you mean: you think Will Bruin is on the list, or you want to throw Will Bruin out of consideration? I'd go with the latter. Don't think he's good enough to address our pitiful inability to score.
As in i want us to predict who is on it and i think he will be. Mainly because i doubt we will be getting a regular starter for any MLS team. More like the reserve forward who can't get in the team.
I still want Christian Ramirez. His salary is very high, but the dude can score. He doesn't appear to have become a first-choice starter for LAFC so mayyyybe they'd be open to moving him?
Other large clubs would be: - Real Colorado - very strong club with roots in the south metro area, but expanding around town via their combination with Edge. - Arsenal Soccer - up in Fort Collins is the dominant club in northern Colorado. There are a host of smaller clubs around, but the big independent ones would be Rush, Real and Arsenal.
For anyone thinking the Rapids will improve through the "SuperDraft" I give you this. Of the top 5 for Rookie of the year, 2 (including winner) were HG signings, just 2 of the top 20 players drafted in 2018 received votes. RSL homegrown forward Corey Baird wins MLS rookie of the year award in a landslideTop five in voting:1. Corey Baird (RSL) 44%2. Chris Mueller (ORL) 193. Mark McKenzie (PHI) 154. Joao Moutinho (LAFC) 65. Alex Roldan (SEA) 3— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) November 5, 2018 Bring on the aged, overpaid English player signings for $200 Alex.
Guess Juan Agudelo is on "Smith's List of 12" Two Revolution players will officially be out of contract on Dec. 31, 2018: forward Juan Agudeloand defender Chris Tierney. Tierney is eligible to become a free agent when free agency begins on Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Per MLS rules, the Revolution have until Tuesday, Nov. 20 to make bona fide offers to any out-of-contract players eligible for the re-entry draft.
We (rightfully) laugh but to be fair, the 2010 team was basically built out of players who would have been in the re-entry draft had it existed then. (No, that doesn't mean its a successful strategy)
Agudelo would totally make sense. He also ticks "remember when he got caps" box. Is there a list of ex U-20 strikers whose pro careers are currently floundering? I'd check 'em.