I'm still in this season mode. I think United should explore upgrading goal scoring punch within the roster first, so I'd like to see Buscher get some starts in DeLeon's spot to see if he can do it. If he pulls an Opare, it's just one game and back to the drawing board.
Opare didn't play well last game. But he was really very good against NE Revs in June. His major issues right now are consistency and focus. And more playing time. We need to see if he can be the guy next to Birnbaum going forward. I still think he is, he just needs more playing time.
It wasn't simply not playing well, the pk and the red stupefyingly amateurish. I'm not giving up on him, but I wouldn't blame Olsen for being very hesitant to play him.
Well, Boswell had a stinker and was benched for a game, then came back strongly, I thought, against C'bus. Maybe Opare can do the same. But why take the chance, when Bos looked good and Birnbaum OK (despite losing Kamara on the goal). Birnbaum headed Marcelo's service to our Kamara which eventually led to Espy's tying goal.
Our complete lack of midfield control is what lead to Opare's bad day. Olsen's starting lineup was like a defensive stress test. There was no way we would maintain any possession. james
I'm not giving up on Opare (although granted I didn't watch the Philly game, just the lowlights). Also, it could very very easily be Opare and Robinson by next season, with Boswell as the sub. At this point, Boswell's leadership seems to outweighing his slowness some of the time, when we aren't under crazy attack. I'd be up for seeing Buescher get more time instead of DeLeon, but I'm not convinced he'll be good enough defensively. This is just a hunch given seeing him in limited games. I think he provides a little more in attack, but it could be too much for Sarvas and the back 4 to handle.
Goff tweeted that Afful's fine and 1 game suspension rescinded for the red card issued Saturday. Wonder if Sarvas gets something for the studs on Afful's leg and "simulation"? Given how quick Afful was "rehabilitated", I'm guessing the answer is "yes."
Part of NDL's problem is what is his position? When paired with Sarvas, he's more than adequate, he's just awful on the wing, where Olsen has placed him in Nyarko's/Neagle's/Espy's absences. You could argue that Olsen would have been better served by taking his chances with Aguilar or Vincent rather than move NDL, but Olsen seems to prefer having the "best 11 athletes" on the field, even if they are played out of position. Actually, I think the real stinker in the middle recently has been Sarvas. He's supposed to cover the back 4 in the 4-1-4-1 formation used by Olsen. Instead, he roams, and takes chances. That leave the back 4 exposed and that is a recipe for disaster, especially when one of the 4 is Boswell. I actually think NDL should cover the back 4 as someone suggested. He does have a motor, he always moves for the ball and he is more likely than Sarvas to actually stay put. Let Sarvas move forward have more offensive responsibility -- maybe he could be a better partner for Acosta than Jeffrey. Or maybe try Buescher up there as well. My guess is that we won't see any of those combinations this season or ever.
The call was terrible and I'm glad the card was rescinded. Simulation is a cardable offense, and Marcelo certainly embellished, but I don't think he will suffer. We benefited, because the send-off enabled Birnbaum to move up, and it was he who headed Marcel's service to Kamara, which led to Espy's goal. Tough luck for the Crew, but I'll take the tie. As for Sarvas, if simulation were strictly enforced teams would be playing six a side.
Seen Beuscher mentioned a few times in here...what has he done besides the goalaso in the CL game in March? He looks slow and ineffective/invisible otherwise IMO.
he seems to know where to be, which is something you can't say for a lot of the guys on this team. I'd like to see our higher soccer IQ players on the field together
Fwiw, someone on MLS.com reported he was the best player at the combine, due to his passing ability. I'd like to see it in action.
I'm not sure "simulation" is accurate in describing what I saw on the televised replays. I saw Afful step on Sarvas's ankle and foot. I don't know if you've ever experienced that in a match, but it sure hurts. The league isn't going to turn on its heel and say that Sarvas deliberately stomped Afful, when it seemed clear he was hopping around in pain. Did he have to step on Afful? Probably not, but he's not getting a retroactive yellow or red for that.
I saw the same video and saw no contact. The fact that Afful's fine and suspension were lifted less than 2 days after the match certainly suggests that Sarvas "sold" something to Petrescu that actually didn't happen. We'll see. And yes I've been stomped on the foot and kicked in the ankle, and yes it hurts. The inquiry here is what exactly happened to Sarvas.
It sure looked to me like Sarvas did not get touched at all by Afful directly. If anyone has a video angle that shows contact, I'd be glad to watch. It's possible that his ankle did hurt some from the contact because Afful does get the ball hard into Sarvas' ankle which was also on the ball. It's not like Afful whiffed on the whole tackle. But it seems likely that Sarvas embellished. I don't think it's worthy of a suspension, although it may get a fine to discourage it in the future. I'm a little surprised that Afful got his card rescinded though. Although Sarvas was able to stay out of the way of it, it was a tackle that definitely endangered Sarvas. I thought that was a reason that red cards could be given.
I'm a bit surprised it was rescinded, that seems to be something you should only do for a call a lot more clear than that was. Even if you don't think it was red, it was still a yellow card foul to me - did they just make it a simple foul, or did they just change the color?
Having seen replays of it, I thought that Sarvas 'sold it,' but that Afful should not have earned red, but a yellow card, for the challenge.
Listening to the telecast, the announcers defended the red card by saying: "any studs up tackle gets a red card as mandated by MLS this year" (to paraphrase) I thought that was an odd statement considering DeJong never gets any red... Sarvas, did sell it, in fact I thought he stumped on the sliders leg, which could have been a red itself (in fact that was what both me and my wife thought! So we were surprised by the red to Columbus). But, I am not complaining as DC United has gotten many of those type of calls against them in the past.
Lloyd Sam gets a DisCo fine for hands to the face Saturday but, as Ben Olsen said he expected today, no punishment for Marcelo Sarvas. #DCU— Thomas Floyd (@ThomasFloyd) July 19, 2016 Thx, Jay!