Perhaps it was the whining that made the referee bad, but he was atrocious - there were at least 2 no ball "tackles" that he let go by Seattle in the same span Alessandrini picked up his phantom yellow (when a referee gives a yellow on a play that wasn't even a foul you know he's seeing the game emotionally). And I'm not even counting all the times Boateng and Alessandrini routinely beat the 1st man only to be nipped and grabbed with no consequence. Typically you see inconsistency and missed calls, but this was a CONCAF-like example of a referee caught up in the emotion of the home crowd - looking the other way on hard tackles by the home team and yet still calling ticky-tack fouls against the Galaxy. It wasn't until Boateng get mauled by Alonso that he finally started to make a few calls, but even then it was only a slight shift away from carte blanche to normalcy.
Sorry but I think that is a pipe dream. Gio's style has been the same for a decade - I can't imagine him changing now. Also Gio lacks basic athleticism (not fast, not strong) - he can't change that either. I had a therapist once that talked about things that "look like a prize but really aren't." That's Gio.
I'd really like to see Lleget in Gio's roll, but I get the feeling he won't play at all this year. It really sucks for Lleget because I think had he not been hacked down against Honduras he'd be pushing for a starting job for the national team in front of/alongside Michael Bradley. Now he's going to be lucky even to get considered for the national team leading up to the World Cup.
907095770884702208 is not a valid tweet id There were lots of posts throughout the year suggesting that Gio was poor because of Jones running into his space. I wonder what the excuse will be now?
Totally was waiting for it. Was pleasantly surprised when it didn't happen - like it would have earlier in the year. Felt like a victory.
Agreed. We could use Lletget's creativity right now on the Nats big time. Would have filled in for Acosta in the last game.
The only tiny, tiny credit I will give Gio - he was pounding the ground in frustration at himself a lot. Now he knows how I feel most of the times he gets the ball.
Great stuff reading all of your posts; it was quite suspenseful and like you all, I was also hoping no concession of a goal in extra time.
He's just motivated by chance of an NT recall and hoping for Russia next summer. He's done this same dance before.
You do realize that Jones is playing a different position under Sigi than JJ played under Curt? Sigi came in and immediately asked JJ to play as a dedicated #6 and Jones responded with his best run of form over the 5 matches he has played that slot. The switch of Jones to DMid has stabilized the defense and shape because Pedro is not only terrible as a #6, Pedro also provides zero shape organization. Sigi has also given Jones the armband the last 2 matches.
Wow. Didn't notice that. Wonder how Alessandrini feels about it? I assume Sigi is doing it for psychological reasons (wanting to motivate Jones to play disciplined) - it's certainly not based on merit.
Slo-mo from Simon Borg shows that Torres does make knee to knee contact for the red card. See end of video! https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017...een-three-sounder-players-sent-instant-replay
Where did you get this insightful take from? I have never seen a legitimate criticism of Jones in terms of a lack of effort/motivation. If there has been any criticism in this area, it's been that he tries to do too much and runs himself out physically.
It depends, Sigi is primarily a defensive coach. Allesandrini has not always paid as much attention to the defensive side of things as he could. Sigi has been extremely complementary of Jones.
And right you are. Whats even worse is that the "independent review committee" rescinded Torres Red Card, because it was not a denial of a goal scoring opportunity.
Did they also suspend Nigel DeJong retroactively 5 more games because "we don't like the cut of his jib"?
Continuing from above. I thought that it was a legitimate red card. I think that Torres did hit his leg. The so-called Levy video that shows the play from the rear lacks perspective. Nor do I think that Marshall can get their soon enough.