P/I/P NER @ VAN, Sat Jun 18, 7p ET

Put this one in the L column.

 

This franchise has always been perverse --these are the kind of games that they win and when they are playing at home against a bottom feeder with a depleted roster the lose. I'm NOT saying they are going to win but I've followed this team from the beginning and have learned never to expect the expected to happen

 

Samba, Watson and Farrell available and rested. Tierney less so. Kobayashi, (gulp) Neumann, Rowe, Nguyen, Teal, and a Juan/Femi platoon. It's a strong test of our depth.

 

I wish there was a way to get that kind of brilliance out of Kelyn more consistently. That was a beautiful volley.

 

As I was saying---

 

It is frustrating isnt it? Every now and then he does something really good and that keeps him in Heap's lineup.

My take on the game and a couple of other thoughts. We won and 3 points are nice. Were we the better team? I don't think so. Overall we were not as good as them but there were two brief moments that we were better. They had far more chances and were unlucky in that they wasted them.

We still have big problems. We sign Kamara, a proven goal scorer...that was before he came here. Now he can't buy a goal. Did he suddenly forget how to score? or are there other problems? I am voting for other problems. We still are several players away I think and I think the biggest problem is midfield. For me, Lee is the only keeper of the bunch. When I look at the mid's we faced last night... we are very slow and uncreative. Teal has to go. I'd also trade Rowe and Diego if I could get something good for him.

If we cannot get goals from a proven scorer like Kamara then we have to look at the reason why. He works hard BUT we are not getting him the ball enough and don't seem to have the players to do so.

 

You live in a different universe than Heaps -- he loves Rowe. He has said so many times, and his lineup choices make it obvious how highly he values Rowe. And why not? Rowe plays 7 of the 11 positions in the formation the Revs are using, and he plays them all well. He gives a ton of in-game options for adjusting formations and tactics, and now and then he scores a lovely goal,. And whether he is scoring or not he works hard on both sides of the ball, as Heaps noted last night.

Your opinion of Rowe is well know to anyone who reads this board, but you do realize, don't you, that the coaches and players have a very different view of Rowe? There is no way Heaps would consider trading Rowe -- he is one of the core guys Heaps has built the team around -- Nguyen, Caldwell, Goncalves, Tierney, Farrell, Rowe, Fagundez.

Speaking of which, the BS Tierney bashing (not by you, but many others) seems to have dissipated over the last year or so. Have we come around to the view that he is one of the better left backs in the league?

 

Surprised nobody's mentioned Knighton starting in 2 straight wins (albeit the open cup game should be an expected result). Has Bobby lost his starting spot?

 

Also, that wins puts us back in 6th in the conference, in both points and ppg (we'd be 8th in the west), and 4 points out of first. The East is so bad this year, if we replace our annual summer doldrums with a winning streak we can still contend for the conference.

 

What I meant of course was "Put this post in the L column."

 

No, he can float in a decent cross every so often but is still turtle slow and a mediocre left back. If he was viewed as one of the top left backs in the league don't you think JK would have called him into camp in the past 5 years? That's not a position where the USMNT are particularly deep. I can't speak for anyone else but I think it's more a sense of resignation here that Tierney can do no wrong in Heaps's eyes. Until there's a coaching change or he gets injured/retires, he's the revs starting left back.

After missing 1 league game? No, not at all. First, we need to look at the two events separately - one is the USOC and the other is the league.

Backups often play in domestic cups, so it wouldn't surprise me to give Knighton a start and see how he does.

From the league perspective, the Copa break was the ideal opportunity to rest your starter for the grueling second half. Knighton played for Vancouver so that was possibly a contributing factor along with just giving BS some rest. Bobby could be carrying a knock or could've eaten some bad seafood and didn't feel good. There's a whole littany of possible reasons to rotate your starting keeper for an away game.

If Knighton starts 10 of the next 12 games or something, then it's possible there's more to it than that.

 

You and me both. I hold my breath any time our opponent comes downfield on a counter - or in general.

 

It really helped us that Vancouver was without Rivero, Morales and Waston. It would have been a whole different game. That said, we did enough. Woodberry got a little lucky; he could have gotten a 2nd yellow when he got beat, fell down and reached out and grabbed the shoe and/or ball right outside the box.

It looks to me that Kamara is getting a little dispirited. He didn't have much impact last night, and didn't seem to play with much energy. Maybe I'm projecting my own disillusionment in his effect though.

Rowe was MOTM - hit the post on a header, and then scores a great goal. Those were his only two shots.

 

That game was a testament to the value of Rowe's versatility. It enabled Heaps to make two substitutions at positions he wanted with players he wanted, by moving Rowe around - first to dmid, then to wing.

Since moving Farrell back to right back (only two games, I know) everyone's looked a lot steadier IMO.

One thing that concerns me is that it seems like Woodbury is getting gassed late in games. For a guy his age and position, going 90 in top form shouldn't be an issue. And, it does seem like he's been getting targeted - but that also seems like a sign that our other defenders have been more consistent lately.

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I like it when the Revs are better at finishing than their opponents! I know some people think it was lucky that we only gave up one goal, but there's a reason that guys like Manneh don't score a bazillion goals. His speed and athleticism are outstanding, but his shooting - not so much. That said, he was someone I wanted the Revs to draft when he was available.

I don't know what it is going to take for Heaps to give Herivaux a chance. Daigo is a steady presence, but does nothing particularly well and at his age isn't going to get much better. This is the time to throw Zach in there and let him grow into the role alongside Caldwell.

I think getting to Vancouver early made a real difference in this one. Usually when the Revs make a west coast trip they struggle to keep up with the opponents for the full 90. In this one, they looked as fresh and rested as the home team.

Good to see Woodbury score his first - and so confidently. In two games, two young guys have gotten their first pro goals with the team. And, anyone notice, that Farrell is still looking for his first? At least he's given up growing the "first goal" beard.

 

OK, granted that I spend more time examining other people's photography than probably 99% of people out there, but:

Weird that of all those team kits generated from digital models, they couldn't get one of SKC so they took an image of a player and "erased" him. They had a CGI model for everyone else.

Anyway, agree it is a cool feature. Also was very pleased w/game result.

EDIT -- by saying "also", I meant that I had an additional comment to make. I was surprised reading through how luke warm the reaction was to the win.

 

...so now double posting to say more about the game/campaign/roster.

While I confess to not following the entire league closely, it does feel to me that (often stupid) red cards and injuries have stunted the cohesion of the Revs in comparison to the rest of the East, based on the number of times guys have had to fill in out of position.

Then, a major trade: a positive step in my eyes but obviously when you add a player like Kamara there will be a need for re-calibration. I can see that the attack looks a few tics off but in my eyes that's OK at this point.

Then the Copa break.

I was encouraged. Does Feldman have control of my mind?

 

Just curious, when do they usually fly out for a Saturday night game? I can see for the closer trips (2-hour flight), a Friday morning departure could be OK. For west coast trips, I always thought it would make the most sense to get out there as soon as possible to get acclimated, particularly if it is in March or April when the weather would be a lot colder here.

Last time I went to SF, I was dragging my ass all over town with my body still on eastern time. I don't know what it was, but I was exhausted all week, but maybe that's because I'm old and don't have a prayer of being able to run for 90 minutes like these guys.

 

Daigo played really well. He set up Kamara for a fairly routine chance that Kamara put straight up in the air in the first half ("pulling a Bedoya"), and then won the ball back to feed Bunbury for Rowe's goal. Instead of shifting Rowe into the middle of the field, I'd like to see Herivaux sub for Daigo if Daigo can't go 90.

 

I was was travelling over the weekend - just saw the game. I'm a little mystified why people aren't happier with the outcome. I thought Revolution played quite well, especially in the first half. A couple points, mentioned by others I think.
• I though it was a fairly even game - a tie would have been a fair result - delighted with the win.
• Knighton for Bobby?? Interesting. I don't see where Knighton has fluffed his opportunity either.
• Strikers are not mufflers. There is no reason to assume that Kamara would step in and instantly click. The team is still better when he is in. He will eventually start getting in synch with LN, DF and KR.
• I thought Kobayashi had a fine game as well - brought good energy. We could really have used Koffie in the second half, though.
• I'm saying it. Rowe had a great game.
• I sympathize with Monty's agita about the D, but things seem to be slowly tightening up.
• There really is a weird Rev-Vancouver connection: Koffie, Soehn, Lee, Daigo, Knighton...did I miss anyone?