With two weeks off, the Rapids should send out a first team squad, not a collection of bench players. Hopefully the days of treating the Open Cup like an annoyance is behind them. This is a chance to make fans for the club.
We can't have the 2016 defense and the 2019 attack at the same time. The 2016 defense resulted from 2 committed DMs (Cronin & Azira) who did not go forward much and contributed little when they did. The 2019 attack is coming from multiple players getting forward and contributing with goals, assists, and/or good ball and player movement. Midfielders and fullbacks can't magically be up and back at the same time. I prefer the current balance of having them attack more at the risk of giving up goals. Abu and Ford (assuming he's ever healthy enough) may tip the scales a bit toward defending better without having 6 committed back all the time.
There is a break from MLS play for the Rapids after next Satruday's match v MN United with the next match scheduled for the 22nd of June @ Vancouver. However, should the Rapids beat NM United next Wednesday they will likely play the following Tuesday or Wednesday in the 5th round. Which means they'd have a week or so between Open Cup matches but then a short turnaround for the next MLS match. It's likely that CC will have to make some choices next Wednesday as the Rapids will have had played four days earlier. Somebody like Acosta is going to need a rest at some point soon.
Warmups are gonna be looking 🔥 on Saturday 👀📝 https://t.co/Ba9WHGtL0w#Rapids96 | #Elevate pic.twitter.com/FPGQ2vRAu3— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) June 4, 2019
Saw this tweet a few minutes ago. I’m gonna be in the store before the match Saturday to get one. Love the colors/design!
I should have put a sarcasm alert on my post. Anything is possible with the proper 4-2-3-2-1 formation. You only have to believe. And hope nobody else can count.
Good news: Lewis is producing enough on the field to get noticed by Berhalter Bad news: Lewis gets called up for mid-week friendly game, when we play our game on Saturday Good news: Lewis isn’t selected for the 18 of aforementioned game, but still gets to train at the international level 🇺🇸 🗞 Team news is in! Here's your #USMNT Starting XI for tonight's match vs. 🇯🇲.LINEUP NOTES >> https://t.co/JhS1Lu3O0G pic.twitter.com/fLr53N7KcZ— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) June 5, 2019 I’m guessing he goes 70min on Saturday against Minnesota (pending status on hamstring tweak)
Anyone else feeling a loss of passion for the USMNT? Sure it is just a pre Gold Cup friendly but still I just couldn't engage much more to the first half than I would if it were something like Panama playing T&T in a friendly. The television is on in the background and recording but I'm just not getting drawn into the match. Since they missed a WC they just seem somewhat dead to me -- maybe this tournament they'll get my fan-trust back, I hope so. After all it only took a few matches for the Rapids to regain my interest. Really the last meaningful match they played was crashing out of WC qualifying -- not to drop a spoiler (or inspire a goal) but so far this is not very meaningful either ...
Its been years (going back to before the last WCQs) that I cared about Nats friendlies. We play too many of them against opponents that we shouldn't struggle against. There's only 4-5 games per 4 year cycle outside the WC itself that should really matter given where the U.S. is right now. The two WCQ's against Mexico, the trip to Saprissa for the WCQ, and the two Gold Cup finals. Beyond that we should be a team that is expect to win every meaningful game we play (not that we would win every game, upsets happen, but it should be the expectation).
Just please wash up before you come back here. And spoiler alert -- is our new coach named Hudson? It doesn't seem like warm up matches less than a fortnight from the tournament should be for experimentation -- why isn't the roster pretty much set? And now the television does have my attention -- WWC preview, in Paris, in the rain -- perfection ... and proves that I still can be a soccer romantic.
The USMNT was my entry into soccer fandom and I obsessively followed them for years. But as my Rapids fandom grew over the years I just cared less and less about the national team. It's more rewarding to devote more energy to a club team, even one as bad as the Rapids, because you get more games and the "reset" button gets hit every year rather than every 4 years.
Welp, Lewis made the Gold Cup team! Very excited for him, but I wish we could have had him running at Minnesota's somewhat questionable defense.
I still like to watch, but as stated over and over, the USMNT just can’t seem to muster any real consistency in our mediocre conference. For the reasons you state following the Rapids feels more satisfying (I know, “what?”) as a fan. Can go to games, team is accessible, yearly renewed “hope”, chat forums that aren’t vitriolic... But, I’ll always watch USMNT if I can get the broadcast.
Stoked for Lewis that he made the GC final roster. Not so stoke he will be missing games for the Rapids. Lewis has been instrumental is us trying to claw our way out of a black hole. But that play is exactly why he finds himself on the GC roster. We can make due without him but "next up" mentality will have the be present. Maybe Serna steps up on the wing.
It's official, @Jon_lewis710 is joining the #USMNT for the @GoldCup!📝 https://t.co/4NUJhe1aWD#Rapids96 | #Elevate pic.twitter.com/D54Mldzy2S— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) June 6, 2019 Didn't think he'd make it as he is recovering from a hamstring tweak and he didn't see the pitch last night - when he could have made a difference. Given what Pádraig told me after the match last Saturday he may not be 100% for a few weeks. Hopefully Berhalter is cautious with him. Sure wouldn't want him to exacerbate the injury and miss extended time with the Rapids. Boy did his four matches with the Rapids make a difference in terms of his confidence and exposure. Hard to imagine that had he stayed with NYCFC he would be in the same place with the Nats. I was already thinking that Lewis wouldn't play this Saturday v MN United and the Rapids of course won without him last weekend. So I think they can find away to generate quality chances with the players they have. On key is going to be Shinyashiki. He needs to have the ball at his feet in the final third where he can play the ball to his teammates in positions to score. I assume he'll start again. Watching the Nats last night I was thinking that not only would a healthy Lewis had made a difference, but Acosta could have as well. Don't know what Berhalter is looking for in his midfielders, but Acosta is better than most of the players I saw last night. If you are joneing for good national team play, there is an important match for the U-20 men on Saturday v Equador and of course the women begin their quest for a fifth WC on Tuesday.
Not a fan of friendliest nor easy tournaments that we always host, so I don’t watch or pay attention to the Nats much.
Diego Rubio made the EA Sports FIFA '19 Team of the Week this week. (For those who aren't familiar with the FIFA game, each week they name a Team of the Week based on the player's actual play and make special versions of them available in a section of the game. Obviously its easier for MLS players to make the Team of the Week now that the major European leagues have completed play, but its still notable.)
Nope but this game had me wishing for the glory days of Hudson skippering the Rapids. I have never seen such flat play (maybe 5 mins was decent) and we were outclassed across the board. I would wander over to USMNT threads here to see what excuses they are making up for their Team USA should be all MLS players bent, but I decided a lobotomy might be less painful.
Most interesting part of this piece is about Boateng and his contract. It states that he's in Norway for family reasons and may not be back with the team. The Rapids are on the hook for his salary through 2020. If that's the case I wonder how many players they can carry on the books without them contributing on the pitch? Backpass: Wins are fixing the Rapids’ serious attendance problem in Commerce City https://t.co/MxscrDU0pY— Denver Post Rapids (@rapidsnews) June 7, 2019
Shapiro states that Casey was the first on the Shinyashiki bandwagon - years ago. Rapids striker Andre Shinyashiki is constantly clutch — the only way he knows how to play https://t.co/fwYNfD1VKD— Denver Post Rapids (@rapidsnews) June 7, 2019
.@MLSfrom5280 talked with @jacko_8 about how things have changed with the #Rapids96 in recent weeks. Check in out: https://t.co/btNwY11m24 pic.twitter.com/JuB4MSMyAi— Burgundy Wave (@Burgundywave) June 7, 2019