With just one last preseason game left (2/23 vs POR) I figured it was time for our annual expectations thread. These are always funny to reference through the season as things evolve. Regular Season: Finish top 7 of West For me, even with the questions along the spine (who really is the number 9? what is the role of the AM in this system? Who are the center mids that sit behind the front 4? Who are the CBs? Is Nicky the GK for the season?) this team has talent enough to make the playoffs. I'm hesitant to say, given the above questions, that we should finish in the top 4 of the West and host in the first round, though. USOC: Make it to the round of 16, At the very least the club should make it to the round of 16 - hell, that means just winning one game. I'd love to see more, but this is my bare minimum of the club in the tournament. I don't care who we're paired with and where we play, take that first game a bit more seriously. Playoffs: Advance It's not enough just to get there, we gotta win at least one game in the playoffs. With it being single elimination through the whole thing, now, this should play to our strengths. It did last season. Silverware: RMC This is a late add after Pate's reply. Bare minimum of silveware for 2019 is the RMC. I also expect, with Benny in a cRapids kit, that this year will be more heated than in recently. Don't feel like this is limited to scores and standings. Any other bare minimum 2019 expectations you have of the club - put 'em here.
Right now, those are looking like pretty lofty expectations. They shouldn't be, I'm just having a hard time working up any kind of optimism for the club. When I saw the thread title, I thought, "Umm, soccer will be played. UGLY soccer." That said, RSL should: Win the RMC Make the playoffs Sort out who are the starters, and what is the identity of the team. The Monarchs should: PLAY THE KIDS! The Royals should: Make the playoffs. Be dangerous, especially at home. I should: Prepare to be disappointed.
Besides being in general agreement with the expectations already listed, I have a couple of others: 1) I expect that sometime around May the backline will be better than it was at the end of the ‘18 campaign. They just need time to play together. It will continue to improve through ‘19, but will ultimately not be as good as our backline of the early decade. 2) I expect KB5 to move into more of a non-starter role. This might not happen immediately, but should as the season progresses. 3) I expect our offense to struggle early as Sam Johnson adjusts to the team and vice versa. I’m hoping that ultimately the ‘19 offense is more dangerous than the ‘18 version, but I have a gut feeling that it will not be.
I expect that those of us locally and nationally who learned to love RSL's beautiful possession style need to understand that that bus has left the station. i think the street-ball analogy is apt...Plata is that guy who only wants to score goals and never helps back; Karate K and Kyle and the old guys trying to preserve their legs to keep on playing - so extra effort offensively or defensively won't happen. Rusnak is stuck in a system that doesn't use his talents. Too much pressure will be placed on the D to handle 1v1s. RSL will give up a LOT of goals. Some games everything will click offensively and RSL will drop 4 on the fools - while giving up 3. Last, although they keep talking about it, until I see RSL able to lock it down defensively and counter intelligently, I have no confidence this team will improve on the road. So, my suggestion is full on EMBRATSU - there will be goals (more for the other team, hopefully through quality play rather than RSL errors.) Sava and Rusnak will entertain. Plata will still ignore the defensive side of the ball but will manage assists and goals. Karate K will find goals when you least expect it. Every win will be white-knuckle and losses will likely be blow-outs. Overall, I anticipate frustrating, exciting, goal-scoring entertainment. And - if the new 9 can fly, add in a couple more goals and sneaking into the playoffs.
I guess my only unusual expectation is that I'm not expecting Johnson to be much of an impact player at all. I think he'll provide depth across the front line and be a good attacking option off the bench, but I don't think he'll be starting much unless there's an injury. I hope I eat this opinion at the end of the season. By far the biggest impact player we've brought in is Luiz, and I'm mostly just nervous about what happens if he underperforms. If he's injured or disappointing, I think we miss the playoffs.
The preseason has not helped me at all in getting a feel about these two additions. I agree with you about Johnson. If he is an impact player I will be delightfully surprised. Luiz hasn’t had the preseason minutes I expected Petke to give him. Not sure what’s going on there.
This is pretty much how I feel. I don't think we really did anything to improve the team. So while we have the talent to make the playoffs, I think a lot of the players/system will be setup in a way to not make the most of what we have. We *could* be a team around 4th/5th, but I think realistically we're going to be a team that barely misses, or barely makes the playoffs. I think a lot of that will be due to trying to start KB far too often, and trying to shoehorn players into positions that aren't there best spot.
I expect a run to the final four or two of the USOC. We really do have depth, and better depth than other teams; it won't mean playing the scrubs to go t a second XI. Our first XI might not be as good as many others, but the interchangability and numbers should make for a good USOC run.
After the game tonight I wouldn't be surprised if RSL had between 10-12 points after the first 10 games with the obligatory first win granted to expansion team FC Cincinnati as we do.
Yeah. That fits bare minimum. It's not satisfying. But, it's bare minimum. I'd like us to make the playoffs with comfort, not squeaking in. But, my expectations have been sufficiently lowered that... just really low expectations.
Oh boy...EMBRATSU! This team is now showing signs of being this years' Toronto - not the good one - the one we saw get played off the pitch earlier this week and miss the playoffs last year. What "appears" to be happening is a dramatic inability to evaluate talent: coaching, current players, prospects. So, who does that fall on? Waibel? Should he be holding Petke's feet to the fire for an inability to help good players improve and play with some discernible tactics on either side of the ball? Or should Waibel be held responsible for the overall lack of talent / speed? Oh, and WHO gets held responsible for the Jave debacle? That man should be coaching RSL's youth - now he is in Miami. Much like Checketts, DeLoy has to rely on others with knowledge to help him make good soccer decisions. He appears to be willing to improve the game day environment / stadium and the overall messaging for the club. But, at least at this exact moment, RSL appears to have one of the weaker GMs and a coach who, though emotional and a quote machine, simply may not be able to coach at the level. That is a very bad combination and I'm not sure that DeLoy either recognizes it or has a clue how to fix it. If this team struggles like we all have to expect based on what we have seen, DeLoy will have some hard decisions to make. As to the US Open Cup, RSL's backups have been crap every year we've tried to play them in the tournament. Based on the pre-season to date, there is no reason to believe this team has ANY depth. Yep...let's just say my confidence level continues to fall.
"As to the US Open Cup, RSL's backups have been crap every year we've tried to play them in the tournament. Based on the pre-season to date, there is no reason to believe this team has ANY depth." stucknutah That's not what Dunny says. I tend to agree with you though.
On air or in private? In private Dunny tends to be more - how should I say this - accurate in his assessments.
Some interesting data on this preview https://www.americansocceranalysis.com/home/2019/2/20/real-salt-lake-2019-season-preview Particularly interesting, and disturbing, that xGD went down significantly in 2018
You know that’s not what he said when we went to lunch the other day. Just kidding. If his personal opinion is different than what he says on tv then he’s doing it wrong and is a disservice to the fans.
Not really, he is a representative of the club, and has to be careful about what he says in a public setting. Once upon a time I had a contract with SUM that had some contractual guidelines that I had to follow in all of my public statements about RSL. In general, I could say anything factual, but if it came to opinion I could not say anything disparaging about the club itself, although I could provide analysis (good and bad) of on the field results. I've actually never experienced Dunny contradicting his public statements in private, but he has been more candid with some topics.
The problem with Dunny is that he likes to take strong stances/opinions on the club in public. And there really isn't much reason to do it. Where is the pressure to say this is the deepest team in club history? Am I to believe someone is really pushing him to say this is the most dangerous attack we've ever had? No. There is a way to go about hyping the team without going to the extreme that he does. Instead of "This is, without a doubt, the deepest team in club history" try "This is a really deep team with players at nearly every position pushing the perceived starters for time"
When he says, "This is the deepest team...", what I hear is, "The starters and the reserves are nearly the same skill level." If that level is fair to mediocre, that is not a positive team trait.
I don't think RSL is going to be as bad as some are thinking. You really can't make much of a judgement on MLS teams until around the All-Star break since the league is that close. Portland looks like the class of the West right now but who knows come July? Finish Top 5 in the West. Nothing less is a #PetkeOut for me. Actually give a damn in the USOC so semifinals at least. Royals - Learn to score and they'll be fine Monarchs - I think they can compete in the USL West even with just playing the RSL prospects
If RSL was compromised of one-legged blind dudes Dunny would praise their balance and listening skills.