that's a bit harsh considering it rebounded right back to Kaka. Unless United signs Usain Bolt anytime soon, I don't think there is player on the planet who could legally get in position to clear that out before it got back to Kaka. As for your other points - spot on. Birnbaum shanks a pretty routine clearance and then Kemp gives the linesman and the ref an opportunity to make that call with a boneheaded decision. Ribeiro was moving away from goal and out of the penalty area. What good is it to go shoulder-to-shoulder right there?
DC lost focus on the sequence leading up to the penalty. Several players simply stopped and complained that Orlando had committed a dangerous play and Kemp was just beyond stupid to do what he did. It was a penalty and the only really egregious bad call for me was when DC was denied a breakaway opportunity for a phantom foul on Arrieta, I believe. Simply put, DC needs a replacement for EJ. They can't pitch shutouts every time out and if they are only managing one or two shots a goal on game, the losses will end up mounting rapidly. All three games against Orlando (and why did all games of the season series have to be in the first half of the season?) have been incredibly tight games. We stole one there and caught a few breaks at the game at RFK. All things considered, we probably got more than we deserved against them this season. As an aside, Cangelosi's fellating of Orlando for 90 minutes pissed me off. I thought Meola's analysis was pretty solid, but both national broadcasts of the Orlando-DC games could have been mistaken for a local Orlando feed.
The sky is definitely not falling … I watch quite a bit of MLS and most other teams are riddled with issues and weaknesses too … We're not doing anything different from earlier in the season when the points were going our way. Olsen has one setting for this team … a straight up 90 minute grind. Our defense is still strong enough to keep us in games which means that on an odd evening where we somehow manage to score we'll have a decent chance at collecting some points which in today's MLS is still a smart way to conduct business. They don't call it Mediocre League Soccer for nothing … But man is this team painful to watch. The level of entertainment is about on par with getting a root canal with no anesthesia. There is absolutely no joy in our game … When guys like Kemp, Franklin, Arnaud, De Leon and Kitchen get the ball in an attacking position I can just about see the panic and confusion on their faces (oh the joys of a 600 hz. HD TV) … It's not very entertaining regardless of how the result ends up on any particular day. We're not the only MLS team that is this unwatchable … but there's several teams that do have entertainment value despite their imperfections. If playoff spots were awarded based on entertainment value I'm not sure we'd make it even in this abysmal Eastern conference ...
Arnaud had a very poor game, especially emotionally. He was so angry in the first half he couldn't complete a simple pass, and his non stop bitching at the ref was just over the top. I think his rage kept Espindola and the rest of the team too wound up. When things are going badly on the road the veteran players need to keep the team energized but focused. Instead Arnaud had a 90 minute temper tantrum. I'm ready to see some more of Halsti. I think NDL was one of the few who played well. He was winning balls all night, and made a lot of good, and creative passes.
There was a dangerous play right before the PK call. The PK on Kemp as Olsen said was 50-50. I agree with him. The Phantom Foul was a horrible miss. The lack of a PK when Kitchen was run over on the corner kick was a clear PK. There were tons of other close calls that went against DC. Quite a few offsides calls not made vs. Orlando on both ends... so it wasn't just one AR. All that said, the team didn't particularly deal with it well and had some many mistakes it's not fair to blame the ref. It is fair to admit when the ref sucks though.
The, "Let's turn Connor Doyle into the new version of Josh Gros" experiment is not going very well. I would much rather have Corria's infinitely higher soccer IQ out there the last 20 minutes than Doyle's bull in a china shop approach. The link between the midfield and the forwards is desperately lacking right now. Kitchen and Arnaud both suffer from relaying too much on back and lateral passes. NDL has his typical flashes but then disappears for long stretches. Until he gets in better shape (if ever), I see him as a 2nd half sub. I prefer Rolfe's excellence closer to goal, but understand the current health constraints. I agree with getting Halsti into the lineup on a regular basis and using Arnaud to kill off matches. EJ's coins have to be spent on a pure attacking player, either central mid or forward. As the roster currently stands, a first round exits appears imminent...
I am with you (the sky is definitely not falling) .... but entertaining they are not. By the time the new stadium is built I would like to see just a little joga benita (Ben versus Bon ), instead of joga grindita. I know Ben values results .... but when he is not getting results, then the fan base starts asking questions about the quality of the play not just the results from the match. It is pretty clear that with Boswell and Birnbaum and the backline that we can hold on our own there for the most part. But this situation with EJ must get resolved and we need more depth and attacking talent up top. Doyle and Pontius just are not getting it done, and Espy needs someone else to pair with. What do you think will happen with this team when Kitchen and Hamid are both abroad? It will be real bad. Management needs to make critical moves before the bow wave hits. They did a good job playing Loudoun County and West Virginia (Charlestown) and the Virginia Governor against the DC government. Kudos to them. Now let's play that same game and get some more attacking talent on the pitch.
I certainly agree that, most of the time, DCU is not "pretty" to watch. However, given the salary constraints Olsen and Kasper must work with, "pretty" probably is unobtainable. Earlier, I said Kaka plays like a 200K player. Now, DCU certainly would be improved by a (current) Kaka level player. Problem is, Morsink and Kasper have to find that player for 200K because they don't have the bucks to overpay for a Kaka, Pirlo, etc. I also believe after the "Gladiador" fiasco, the DCU management is very leery of any type of "youth DP" player. They clearly got scammed by some agents in Brazil on that one (and the other Brazilian I can't remember) and they aren't going that route anytime soon. Additionally, there are several who post in the various stadia threads that Thohir is looking to cash out after the stadium is built. If that's true (and I have no inside knowledge of Thohir's intentions), don't expect Olsen and Kasper to be handed large wads of cash to upgrade this team. In other words, WYSIWYG for the foreseeable future.
What a disjointed effort! Everyone seemed to be on a different page! When we did pressure the ball up top, the defense coughed up the ball. Too bad we did not apply high pressure more. What is up with NDL bending over in the second half and sucking air!?! I can see a weekend warrior doing that kind of stuff but a professional!?!
This is a list I found of MLS salaries from last season. http://www.thegoatparade.com/2014/4...argely-stay-in-similar-positions-year-to-year If this is accurate, then that means there are about 5 or 6 teams who pay similar annual wages, but still produce a more entertaining product than us.
90+ and humid as f$#k and he was running end to end and touchline to touchline? I can forgive that. Now, Arnaud's soft passing and outright giveaways? ugh
Well we were one Kemp brain fart away from getting a point on the road (this generously assumes that the guy has a brain), but I view it as only one point dropped because we were never going to get three. To get three points, you need to score and that just wasn't going to happen. We looked completely brain dead when in possession. As Casey Stengel asked about the Mets, "Can't anybody here play this game?" I pretty much agree with what has been said about individual players. Arnaud had a bad game, Rolfe was pretty much invisible, Espindola tried to be the hero with some marginal shots (though I can't blame him too much, because there just seemed to be little interaction with anyone on the front line, so why not shoot). I have been critical of Franklin, or more precisely the amount of money we pay him for what he gives us, but his absence (what happened to him?) does hurt because it means we have to play both Korb and Kemp. What is up with Jalen Robinson? It is time to find out if he can play in MLS or not. The defense has been pretty solid, but the fullback position is a weak spot. If Korb was not equally good (not great, but solid) on both sides, we would be in real trouble. We need to find a quality left back or else find a better back up for Franklin and be resigned to having Korb on the left even though he is not much of a threat going forward. You just can't keep playing Kemp in a position where one mistake can cost you the game, because he makes those mistakes. And I will say again that we need to be playing Halsti because he seems to understand how the game is played.
And what is up with the Kaka worship? He took a poor PK and was lucky to have the rebound pop up right to his head. Big deal.
I'm just a novice but in watching the past 3 games in particular, it's pretty apparent to me that with Arnaud and Kitchen in the midfield together, we have no opportunities going forward except for the occasional fortuitous pass. Arnaud is undoubtedly a hard worker but he is like a loose cannon with horrific passing skills. The past two games in particular, although I think he has regressed all season, easily 75-80% of his passes were either way off target or to an opposing player. Our attacking players have no chance when the ball is given away repeatedly before it gets any where near their feet--how exasperating is that and I'm sure it affects their attitude as the game continues to get away from them. Kitchen is a little better possession-wise but he's not going to be an effective link to get the offense down the field consistently. Kind of reminds me of that TV show--The Weakest Link. When you are out there and there's a disconnect, it affects everyone on the field--from the front to the back.
One thing I will say about Arnaud, is that though his passing was generally.....not good...he did make some really smart runs and find good space. Of course, when he made those runs, he never got the ball...so. Yeah, I don't know. There are still no effective links between our defense/midfield and our forwards, and until we can improve upon that, no target forward is going to help.
Well, you and I disagree about entertainment, although certainly not for this game. I guess I'm one of three people that doesn't mind DC's style in general. I do agree that the sky isn't falling, but it is gradually descending and the ground is rising. For whatever reason, I think DC came out of the gate better prepared than a lot of other teams. I think DC was playing an excellent team defense that other teams couldn't match for most of the game, so they were able to edge out most of their opponents. Now, however, other teams are coming into form and DC is moving in the opposite direction. DC's quality hasn't plummeted, but players like Korb and Kemp who were "inconsistent, but useful" have become consistently mediocre. Kitchen has been "fine" the last couple games, but this team needs him to be "good." I think Arnaud has dropped off a little, too, although it's hard for me to say. He's always sort of been low key and done thankless jobs, last year he was a safe place for the ball to go in dangerous areas - he probably wasn't going to split the defense or score a goal, but he would maintain possession and get the ball to someone else - but I don't think he has been as solid this year. The outside midfielders have generally been mediocre (Rolfe excepted), but once or twice a game we'd see something special from Pontius, DeLeon, or whomever that, even if it didn't result in a goal, would force other teams to react to DC's wide play and I don't think we're seeing that anymore. DC's results may drop off anyway simply because I think they got off to faster start than most of teams in the East, but if Olsen doesn't do something to check the gradual downturn in quality from some of the "role" players, I think wins are going to be a lot fewer and further between.
I think we're seeing an after effect of the congested schedule. Just because as a team they had a week between games, it doesn't mean they all re-energize right away. Especially the guys in their 30's, in conditions that soccer shouldn't even be played in. Even more so when most of your game is built on "grinding" and not on skill. (Yeah, I hate our style, but I do understand the reason why we do it that way. )
Really? I think his passing was much more than just ..."not good." He repeatedly broke down our attacks with poor passes and distributions. He can make runs all day long after he gives the ball away and it won't matter. Hustle and work ethic are no question but he has been a play-killer lately.
Fair enough, but it is up to the coach to have people with enough energy out there. Regarding Arnaud, don't get me started. He held up the play all game long, to let the opposing settle in on defense I suppose. Not to mention that he was emotionally unfocused the whole game. For all the complaining we do about calls against us, he should have been tossed out of the game on numerous occasions. Now I understand that Ben thinks he works hard and has a fire in him, but that is just not going to cut it. Especially since it is bringing down Kitchen's game specifically and the rest of the team in general. I am sure Espindola wanted to rip him a new one a bunch of times during the game. Halsti please!