P/I/P: Revs @MON, 9/17

Not really an IMFC post, but this is more building on the "losing that loving feeling" posts above, especially after another year of "standing pat" at roster deadline, especially after more injuries on the defense:

I feel like as a fan that I put in a fair effort trying to pretend that this team is being managed in away that is focused on on-field results.

I admire their place in the standings in the league table of "Operating Income" and "Franchise Worth", it is truly admirable. BKIASB, truly. But that's not what a fan, casual or no, actually cares about. For fans, the W/L/D table is more of the thing that matters.

That is the big disconnect that I try to pretend to ignore and try to not let it make me any more jaded than I already am about this team.

At some point I am sure I will run out of effort to sustain the pretending.

I would probably even feel better if Krafts, Bilello, Burns, etc just came clean and admitted their priorities and stopped feeding us the lines about "trying" to win being a top priority.

'Fessing up by them wouldn't fix anything - but it is the dissonance between what they say vs. what they collectively accomplish that is damning...

...and painful to this fan.

 

"Losing that loving feeling"? You've got to turn that upside down, and love that losing feeling!

But I'm actually kind of interested in this one, in a way that I was totally not for the Colorado game. I'm keen to see if Agudelo has well and truly emerged from his hibernation. It looks like he has, but then we've been disappointed before.

And Montreal -- they're good or bad seemingly at random. I actually sort of like the Revs' chances here.

 

Wow. You gotta get over that USOC disappointment.

The USOC loss stings, because we were that close, but the fact that we couldn't beat the best team in the league, in their house, on a night they had rested several starters for (and taken a loss for), when we had 2 key 1st half injuries - doesn't mean their recent run of form has run it's course. They actually played quite well after going down 3.

The Revs still have a shot of playoffs and after that, who knows.

They've been in a very good run of form lately, but still need to prove they can sustain it on the road. That's the reason to care about this one for me.

 

I want to feel the Love and passion I had for the team late in the 2006 season

 

This is a key game. Montreal struggling and how does Heaps get the players to respond after the trashing.

Lose and season is over. Especially with other results going against us.

 

Goal from Kamara 24 sec. into the match. But the MTL attack is keeping the Rev defense in panic mode.

 

Wow, frantic game so far. But I think I like it.

 

He was outside the 18, in the arc. Should not have been a PK. Now begins the dismantlement of the Revs 2 goal lead as the defense clearly was flat & invoherent during 1st half...

 

Big win for the Revs tonight, especially since they usually do nothing in Montreal. If they can get in the playoffs anything is possible. There is no truly solid team in the East. Orlando was absolutely embarrassed at home tonight and that helps the playoff picture for the Revs.

 

If it has two tits, I'll be watching.

No, wait -- two strikers. Two of those. Yeah.



Honest, I meant strikers.

 

Very Best Case Scenario: Heaps has awoken from a nightmare's vision of The Ghost of Revolutions Future [played by the Spirit of Jose'Mourinho], scared crapless by the prospect of joining the mass graves of forgotten and hapless managers that fume in the long night of deserved oblivion, as a newly determined and reformed man who is prepared to dedicate his well masked genius to building a team that grasps destiny and won't ever be stopped by adversity. This run continues, the Revs storm into the playoffs. From Altidore to Gerrard to Lampard to Villa the "great names" get pummeled into the dust. Heaps crowns himself with immortality as the one who stands on the ramparts in MlS Glory. Then next year the Revs ravage Joe Public by a triple comb, storm to CCL heights, and before the bejeweled teeth of Dhubai Overlords smash Barcelona at the Club World Cup. Glorious new stadium --by The River Charles--ensues, rabid crowds of Hubster Europoseurs flood Backbay in Rev style, and Soccer Doc starts justly sporting a "Yeah, I'm Dr. Pangloss, whadda gonna do about it??" sweatshirt.

Worst Case Scenario: Heaps wakes up from a bender with The Ghost of Revolutions Past [played by the Spirit of Stevie Nicol] and staggers off into "just making the playoffs". Where the Revs are promptly kicked to the curb by Klejstan & the Brothers Wright-Phillips......but not before Jonathan Kraft signs Mr. Heaps to a Burnsie ["Contract for Life, No Experience Required]. The Revs never defeat Joe Public. The Revs never get a stadium of their own. Cloning technology allows a Burnsie contract to last Millenia. The Revs get their own titanium plaque with "Ripley's" as the uncontested world champion for making championships without winning a championship.

Likely Scenario: I die before the Revs ever escape this Groundhog Day of Despair.

 

Only caught the second half but thought we looked the better team by far. could have easily been 5 or 6 for us.

Pk was crap. Not intentional and not in the goal area. Pure garbage call

 

Don't watch for the rest of the year, if they play like they did last night, maybe the revs will win something

 

• I think there has to be more to it than 2 strikers, but I'll take it.
• When that pseudo-PK was called, I also said to myself "I've seen this move before". It says such good things that they didn't get into that Washington Generals role-playing.
• The Rowe-haters club is on break right now.
• Nguyen still looks like a shadow of his former self.
• Ultimately, we will be knocked out because our defense is too weak, particularly in the middle. [fantasy] If Kouassi came back to play in the middle, and Koffie shifted to CB, maybe that would be the magic combo. [/fantasy]

 

I don't think it's the formation so much as the players. Agudelo's in good form, so you mix him with Kei, Lee, Diego and Rowe (also in good form) and what you get is a robust attack regardless of the formation. They're not attacking as a 4-5-1, 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-4-1-1 or 4-3-3. They're just attacking. It's also creating room for Farrell, Tierney and Caldwell. No idea if they can keep it rolling, but it's a team that's got players eager to attack. That's what puts the ball in the net, not formations.

 

Watched the game on tape delay this morning --- a great effort, nice to watch and a great result.

I am NOT a Rowe fan, but he had a good game last night. NOT just the goals, he did a lot of good movement and quick passing to help us keep the ball moving and create a free flowing game for us.

Lee --not a huge fan of his either and he had a stinker, IMHO, not sure of the percent of the time that he put us in a better position when he had the ball, but my sense was way less than 50% of the time.

By the way, when they asked who was the MOTM, my initial reaction was Caldwell. I thought he was great out there last night, but I understand that it's hard to overlook Rowe scoring two.

 

Hey c'mon give us some credit for objectivity. I can only speak for myself; it's less about Rowe himself and more about a lack of performance. Rowe has a great game last night, but it's not like he's been putting in MOTM performances all year.

This. Rowe looked good last night, probably the best he's looked all season, maybe in his entire career.

 

Great result! I guess we can only win in Canada... Maybe if we squeak into the playoffs we'll be at Tronna and it will be a good omen for us...

But that's the problem here. If the Revs had started playing like this a month or two ago, we would be looking to avoid the wild-card play-in game. While it's good to win away from home, let's not kid ourselves. Montreal sont Pain grille. They are toast. They lost their last 3 home games each by multiple goals and they are dropping fast. They are another team (like us) that are underachieving, and should be better considering their players. We'll see them again, and who knows, they may end up coming out of their funk and gub us good.

Other teams have games at hand on us, we are playing "trap" games against Chicago and Columbus, which are by no means a gimmie. We could easily end up in the playoffs, and for some that will be good enough. I never want to root against the Revs, but in this case, it could be the worst thing to happen to the team. If that happens, Heaps will surely be back, the status quo will remain, and we won't get any significant additions over the winter. Kouassi for a whole season will count as out "addition."

 

I think the formation has plenty to do with it. We weren't dangerous with one striker. Why it took so long to realize that is beyond me. There is definitely offensive talent on the team, it just wasn't utilized properly. At least now, we have a chance.

 

Next week, Revs play Columbus as last game of weekend - so they will have seen what happens with DC playing Orlando and Montreal against Red Bulls.