A previously not very deadly MNU had 19 shots tonight, 12 on goal. We managed 2 shots on goal. Then Porter wonders why we don't score goals. Edit: no Grouchy for me, I was waiting to see if Steffen played.
No excuse for Pipa playing half hearted. This was a winnable game and he sets the tone. Effing Horsefeathers and poppycock. Where is the pride and passion against a rather sad group of loons.
There is a reason Grouchy polls never have an option that says '[Former Crew player] scores a goal, Crew lose by one'.
There have been many games this season when I've thought that Santos was our best player, at least going forward. No huge shock that without him we looked pretty hopeless tonight. How many times did Zardes touch the ball while he was in the box? Zero? Our bench tonight was pretty dire looking. If we lose a few players to international duty this summer, this bad stretch that we're in right now could stretch all the way to July.
Good info for those of us on the Minnesota feed. Glad I read this thread. (Not glad about the concussion, of course.) On the subject, I thought Kempin probably did enough to get another start next week. (Assuming no Steffen again.) Also, if Pedro is still out of town, he may be gone for next weekend too. Bummer. (For both him and us.) That lady's name was pretty crazy looking, but the play-by-play guy was dropping wrong names like the old Crew stadium announcer did back in the old days. I think the sideline guy called us Chicago. I also heard Gonzalo Higuain, John Mensah, Joe Mensah, and maybe a few others throughout the night. Oh yeah, also Rico Clark subbed on for us instead of Argudo, but that may have been the graphics, not the announcer.
Pipa's been going through the motions for two years now. He's a quitter and a loser. And you are right, he unfortunately sets the tone for the rest of this clown show.
Bottom line, you can't win if you can't score and this team can't score. There's really nothing else to say.
Several unrelated thoughts. We need fifth leading scorer Bill Hamid to be traded to every team we play if the own goal strategy is going to work. Finlay’s dad texted me before the game this week and said Ethan was super excited and motivated to score. He felt trading him was a mistake and wanted to show everyone they were wrong about him. Take that for what it’s worth. Maybe nothing. We are a bad team. Maybe we always were. I think the pressure of the relocation drama helped our team and now that the pressure is off they appear to have relaxed or reverted to form.
Alternate plan, we could loan out Bendik on a one day contract to each opponent. This is the source material for the former Crew player curse.
Sure, we're a bad team. But last year we also had Valenzuela, Awful and Steffen in the line-up. Those guys being out, plus Santos' absence, with a roster that's already lacking in depth and quality, is a recipe for disappointment. I assumed we'd be poor this year, just not this bad. But I do think the injuries are what have made a bad situation into a dire one. I also need to start hearing our coach admit that this isn't nearly good enough. His keep on keepin' on bullshit is getting old.
I dunno about that. Not that I necessarily disagree but it must be noted that the comments of Rapids coach Anthony Hudson after getting his ass whipped by LAFC that his players stunk and there wasn't much he could do about making them not stink because, well, they were stinky were nothing short of outrageous. I don't have a problem with a coach making some happy noises about how they just need to keep working hard and things will be fine and blah blah blah. What's a problem is when the coach actually believes it. And with all due respect, I don't think he believes it for a minute, I don't think he sits down with Bez and says that shit and I'm willing to bet that practices are no picnic,if his reputation is anything to go by. Happy talk is for the idiot fans so they'll maybe keep buying tickets. The alternative is to say "Boy, we suck, don't waste your money coming to games until we get some new guys" Most people can figure that out without his help.
If we have all of our starters we're good enough to be just above .500 and probably make the playoffs. Without them we are a hard team to watch. I do not want to watch this team build out of the back. I want them to keep the ball as far from the goal as possible.
The defense actually played well yesterday. Even with a #3 keeper in goal, we still only gave up one goal. And that was on a set piece, and it was a midfielder and a DP forward who quit tracking.
#3 RB as well. The only positive is Kempin seems better than Bendik. Kempin needs to take more control of his area but we've been so spoiled the last couple years.
Updating what I posted in the Los Angeles FC thread... Since the start of April the Crew are (I think) 2-7-0, 6 goals for, 15 goals against, and have been blanked five times. They're a disaster right now.
Not that well. It had to do more with Minnesota not being good. Also, Our defense is part of the offense. Our outside backs aren't getting the job done. Also, we should be playing team defense. Also, we are suppose to be able to control possession that starts out of the back. Not that good.
There's at least four, of various designs, hanging in the KG house... And used when the weather is appropriate. Wonder if we'll have the Crew Garage Sale going forward....