Blah blah still can't use space blah blah too slow on our build up blah blah that ref was terrible. How does Arnaud get a yellow for a run of the mill sliding challenge, but Nagita doesn't get a yellow for PI. Or Collin doesn't get a yellow for PI...In-the-box jersey tug aside.
Yeah, remember those Japanese guys raking the field in Major League? On the road, yep, we're Sh***y right now.
This is going to sound crazy, but . . .we're not much threat to score when we're attacking. Look at the extended sequence of attacks we had in that half. In all of that, did you ever feel like 'it's coming, it's coming, we're gonna score!'? I sure didn't. The way we're playing right now, our goals are going to be garbage goals. They're going to come on set pieces, on mistakes by the opposition, and on the occasional counter out of the blue. They aren't going to come through a solid attacking build-up followed by a technically proficient finish. We aren't that team. I wish it weren't true, but it is. This was yet another match in which we got what we deserved.
I know we have a respectable amount of points but boy is watching this team play "soccer" painful. We have 20 goals in 17 matches for a measly 1.17 GPG average. That's super low considering we're one of the best in MLS on set pieces. That naturally means we're one of the worst from the run of play
This is true at the moment. We just can't stay healthy enough to get a starting duo up top that can gain some chemistry together. Look at all the different frontlines we've used thus far(Arrieta-Espindola, Espindola-Rolfe, Pontius-Arrieta, Arrieta-Rolfe, Doyle-Arrieta). If we can stay healthy, I don't see why we can't get that chemistry like we did for a stretch last year and score some pretty nice goals. We just aren't good enough individually where we can just force something on the offensive end like some teams.
I agree, we're not threatening enough from the run of play. I think Kitchen is good enough to shield the back four by himself against 95% of MLS opposition. We have got to start putting someone that can dictate the pace of play in front of Kitchen, especially since Kemp is the only one that can consistently hit in a dangerous cross from the wings. I would rather we spend the EJ money(whenever that gets finalized) on an attacking or box to box midfielder, instead of another forward.
Haha. "Kemp'd" Made me laugh. Am I right, was it one shot on goal? Seriously? Against St. Ledger and Boden who are NASL level at best? I'd throw Neal in there too. We couldn't generate chances against them? Really? I joked about Hamid and Hope. If we're a team that can be shut down by eliminating Espindola too, we're in trouble. But how crazy is it to say that when this team still leads in MLS in the Supporter's Shield race? We are nitpicking a league leading team. What does that make us? Did we ever say that the Nowak years? We were all about 1-0 grinding back then and happy as hell until drummed from the playoffs. Hard to find a handle on this team. What is their identity?
Even when healthy I still have no idea where the offensive chemistry comes from. I certainly don't see a lot of potential for improvement from central midfield where Olsen's had his 2 first choice guys all year. What is our ideal offensive set up? The only thing I know is that Espindola and Rolfe should be part of it but I don't even think we've figured out how to use them properly. I've seen Rolfe on the left, on the right and up top … On the one hand that shows Rolfe's versatility but on the other hand it shows a coach that's still experimenting because he doesn't have it figured out. Also is Arrieta part of our 1st choice attack? I don't think Ben knows the answer to that either. On the one hand he's our leading scorer but on the other hand he's had the most success off the bench. Is NDL part of this theoretic 1st choice attack? And if he is will he ever score another goal in MLS or is that just not part of his job anymore? What about Pontius? That's $350K of cap space that's up in the air. Another player that gets shifted around in various positions and frankly I don't even notice when he's missing from the lineup. Let's not even mention this EJ nonsense … it's been like 6 months of speculation with no resolution …
We're still in first, but every single team in the East has at least one game in hand on us. Some have as many as three.
A few thoughts before heading to bed: 1. I love Espindola to pieces and he's dynamite when he's playing well. However, his play suffers massively the more frustrated he is. He made several really poor decisions trying to be the hero tonight which cost us. When he's playing with fire and trusts his teammates, he's a much better influence on the team. 2. Arnaud does a lot of really good things out there, but I really think we need to work him out of the lineup in favor of Halsti. He just doesn't do enough offensively anymore to justify playing him as a day to day #8 in modern MLS especially against more athletic teams(like Orlando). Halsti might just provide us with the passing dimension we've been lacking from the center of midfield. I really like the thought of bringing in Arnaud for the last 20 minutes to be a game killing pest(like Lewis Neal). 3. Rolfe isn't in form right now. He'll get the mojo back and start playing better, but he's been very much below standards the last few games. Not concerned about this too much.
I assume you meant this year outside of one strike that got us 2 extra points in Orlando last time. This team looked pretty crappy today.
Yes to all of those. Not just Espindola, but the whole team reacted poorly to the poor calls by the officials. Maybe the heat was too much for them, but they argued more with the officials. But we definitely need another forward. We need to see what can happen with Halsti in there. We could also use Pontius back. Much like when DeLeon was out we missed him (although he hasn't played well since coming back), people have ragged on Pontius, but his injury leaves us with Aguilar or Doyle coming off the bench instead of Pontius or Rolfe or DeLeon. I'm interested to see if anyone can get in form by playing well vs. Pittsburgh midweek. NE could be tough a week from now too.
Last year, we had a stretch where we were regularly scoring 2-3 goals per game with Espindola-Silva up top and Rolfe on the wing opposite DeLeon. We had the luxury last year of escaping the injury bug(with a few exceptions) and could play the same starters game in and game out. This year, between fixture congestion and injuries, we just can't seem to field a consistent forward and midfield lineup. That's going to hurt chemistry overall. Again, that's not an excuse or anything for our offensive play. We absolutely should be generating more scoring chances than we are. However, if we can get a stable offensive group playing together, I think the scoring will pickup to a degree. We will never an offensive powerhouse like some teams(Seattle, NE, FCD, etc.) but with our defense, I don't think we need to be.
Yes. One miracle goal against a wall that gifted him a shot. Outside of that one start and 10 games total and he's done essentially nothing on the scoresheet, or even remotely threatening from the run of play. He hasn't been healthy and I get that. But at some point he has to produce or stay on the bench and get healthy. Agreed that a stable lineup will be more threatening in general. But then again, have we been found out? Maybe the emperor has no clothes. Which is sayin something considering we still lead the East at least for another week.
I'm not into the sky is falling mode. This game was a soft PK away from a road draw. Really, did Orlando really have a serious look at goal? Despite all the oral service Fox gave Kaka, he's slightly better than ordinary at this stage in his career, he's just found a bunch of Florida chumps who will pay millions for a 200K quality player -- good on him. The problem in this game was Arnaud and Rolfe. Rolfe was invisible, I wish Arnaud had been as well. Did he connect one pass in a threatening area all night? Ben has to run out Halsti for awhile and see how he partners with Kitchen because Arnaud is just killing plays and possession right now. DCU has suffered from a tremendous number of injuries. This is a truly amazing team to be leading the league and not playing the same lineup from one game to the next. At this point, Ben has to run out the same lineup for a few games in a row and see what shakes down. Put Silva and Espy back together for 3 games and see what happens. Use Arrieta from the 70th minute on to pair with either Espy or Silva. Put Rolfe back on the left side and either NDL or Pontius on right. Spell those three with Aguilar and Doyle. (I didn't realize Doyle is only 23, I think he could turn into quite a useful player in this league -- in midfield.) In other words, set up the lineup, set the subs up so they know their primary responsibilities and let it go for 3-4 games and see if a rhythm develops. I really don't think other teams are getting "better", they just are playing the same lineup consistently and getting more positive results. In other words, this is a deep team, otherwise it couldn't and wouldn't be where it is today after essentially missing its top 3 scorers for most of the season. In the end, this depth will prevail. Imagine, Orlando without Kaka? NASL is what you have. Look at LA without Keane. In the end, DCU will prevail as the other teams begin to suffer their share of injuries -- i.e. Jones and his second sports hernia this season.
Actually, we have been playing badly for 5-6 games now. Even when we were winning we sure did not look good. Now we don't look good AND we lose.