Watched the last 20 minutes. Good job Monarchs. Won 2-1 on the road. Evidently Velazquez had a good game based on what the Portland announcers were saying.
So...more goals after one game than RSL has after four. More points after one game than RSL has after four.
Vela looked good in the game. The Portland Goal came from a massive goal keeper error, but they looked really good in this game.
I don't know how true this is, but...... Didier Drogba signed with Phoenix Rising. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/didier...-rising-in-the-second-tier-usl-171421892.html
They've also got Omar Bravo and Shaun Wright-Phillips on their roster. HC is Frank Yallop. It's like the super retirement team.
You haven't done anything until you have proven yourself at the USL level. These guys want to finish their career on a high note and prove themselves at a higher level than the Champions League. ;-)
With Petke moving up, the Monarchs had a hole to fill. They filled it with former assistant coach Mark Briggs. Briggs was an assistant under both Juarez and Petke, so there's a decent amount of consistency there. He was apparently in the running for the coaching position when Petke was hired. http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/775870 http://www.rslsoapbox.com/real-mona...mark-briggs-promoted-real-monarchs-head-coach
Monarchs vs Phoenix Rising FC Saturday 4/1 at 4PM - If you're not going to the game, you can watch it here: http://www.uslsoccer.com/realmonarchsslc-phoenixrisingfc-905452
Watched the T2 game and now the Phoenix game and Monarchs are again looking dangerous. Don't look to shabby and play an entertaining style.
Some nice words about the Monarchs: http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/777817 (Although, I've got to say, I kind of miss the Rufio look.)
How much does this play into the new look for RSL? 1st game lineup: 2nd game lineup: Tonight's lineup:
Aren't those lineups pretty much what we played under Cassar? Monarchs with a big win tonight. Looks like I should've saved a bunch of cash and got season tickets to their season instead.
Where you draw the x's is the same, how they play is much different. Petke has asked that team to push forward higher on defense which establishes a completely different setup once they win the ball. The bigger question is if the first team has the type of players to execute that style of play at the MLS level.