Yes! Amazing what confidence can do to a team. A lot more assertiveness on the ball, lots more (well-directed) hustle. If BC could cut out those wildly inaccurate passes that come 5/6 times a game, he'd be an unquestioned starter. Marquez and Sylvestre are quality defensive pieces at reasonable price (listening, Sak?) CJ has done all that's been asked of him. Start him and Casey, and watch them have fun with the NYC defense.
I like him and I want him to do well. But I think CJ needs to be the starter (even if Nando wasn't injured).
A few things after my joyous evening. 1) Id like to see two strikers with CJ and Nando, eliminate Wengers role 2) How Pfeffer did not come on in place of Wenger earlier is beyond me 3) BC shows how important the CDM role is for us and he isn't getting younger. Need a quality replacement here for the future (DP?) 4) How is Wenger still starting!!!!!!! What other player in the world has been in this deep of funk without being replaced at least a game now and then. 5) Marquez and Pfeffer are the future. I am so enamored with Marquez what a great CB. I would keep Edu/MArquez as starters and Vitoria as rotational if we can afford him as rotational.
I've been as critical of wenger as anyone else, but he had a really good game last night. I think he was left in to get a goal and gain confidence.
And, instead, seemed to only get more frustrated. His demeanor after the last miss last night showed a guy who may be playing on extreme "tilt" and may need a game or two off.
So you should pull Wenger when he is playing well and reward Pfeffer after he just single-handedly (intentional pun) cost us points?
Yeah, he trained this week. Hard to see him getting back on the field the way Marquez is playing, though. That tackle on Higuain made my night.
Hand ball has to be intentional. That was not. Bad call. I haven't seen Wenger play well yet. Did he have a decent game that you expect all professionals to have? Debatable but that is top end right now. Pfeffer plays like that on a bad night.
I'm not sure that Pfeffer's elbow to the head was intentional either, but that cost us points as well.
Great game last night so mostly just happy, happy, happy. Only dark spot was sitting right in front of the play (Sec 104) where Nando gets hacked down from behind in the box and gets no call. Again. Will MLS review this one in between games and suspend another player after the fact? You all dump on me every time I mention a 'slant' from MLS refs against the Union so give me a break here and tell me just how many missed red cards against us, false red cards for us, PK's for the bad guys from phantom fouls and crippling fouls in the box it would take for you all to say that the Union are a designated loser team for MLS refs? I count 6 or 7 obvious point changing fouls in the first third of the year. How long does this have to continue before I maybe have a point? I'm NOT saying that Garber has even had a secret meeting where he told the refs to cheat us. Only FIFA is capable of that. I AM suggesting that in a single entity league, there are singled out, marquee teams and then teams like us who are not in trouble at the box office and so are known to be 'expendable'.
We will listen once you compile the list for every other MLS team. It's a league issue, not a Union issue.
It's more then a league issue, it's a USSF issue. These are the same officials who over see NASL, USL and USOC matches. If the best Referees PRO can produce are Chapman, Alfath, and Unkel.......it's not going to matter who MLS signs to play in the league, it's going to hold MLS and US soccer back from progressing further. If think this is just a Union issue, try watching an NASL match. Those harken back to playing ball at the park, no blood no foul. I totally understand and get that Referees have a very difficult job to do, but the standard of Officials that USSF trots out at all levels needs to improve and become much more consistent.
I thought the Union played great...pressed the ball all night, watched each others back, supported the ball, tackled, played with heart and made their own luck! I could watch that effort all night...seems like they're clicking right now, just need to keep it up!!
Actually a handball has to be deliberate, not intentional. slight difference, but different. It is a very poorly defined call. The FIFA rulebook only has four words describing it. It leaves a lot of discretion up to the ref.
The wording in the laws is not intentional, its deliberate. The former requires a referee to read minds where the later asks him or her to judge based on an observable set of criteria. I viewed this as more ball to hand than hand to ball. When this was given, the referee team must have decided that Pfeffer's arms were in an unnatural position and/or that he made himself bigger by placing his arms where they were. I do not think that was the case, but that was the judgement. I think he was really unlucky.
I don't want to defend the referees because I do think they need to improve. I spent a lot of time involved in the program and worked with a number of guys who have now either made it to MLS or are very close. The league expanded very fast, much faster than it takes to develop referees. As a result, we see a number of very inexperienced referees learning on the job. We haven't had enough lower league games to blood referees. I think its getting better now because there are more games. What you see in the NASL and USL is, frankly, what you should see. Its better they learn the pro game down there and not in MLS. It takes longer to get an MLS whistle now. Referees used to get a couple of fourths and then get a game in Columbus or San Jose very soon there after and start to get into the rotation. Now they spend a lot of time learning as a fourth and getting middles in NASL and USL. They also get some preseason and open cup games. Some have been in that mode for three years. If I had a say, I'd handle things a bit differently. They track the elite referees as either whistles or ARs very early and specialize from there. I always learned more by working as an AR at the next level before doing the middle. I think that helps getting used to speed of play and what's going on between the lines. You get a closer look at what works and what doesn't. In England, that's generally how it works too. You get whistles at conference level and lines in league two. You than graduate, if you do well, to whistles in league two and lines in league one. They don't specialize unless a PL AR gets a Fifa AR badge. This system has been in place for a while here, and I was hoping it would be something Walton would change.