In the penultimate game of the year revs travel to Rio Tinto to take on RSL on Thursday night at 9pm. Mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the revs are playing for jobs in 2019. It will be interesting to see the lineup Friedel puts out. I would bet it's similar to what we saw against Orlando. This is a great chance for Wright, Anking, Herivaux and maybe even Segbers and Samayoa to get some quality minutes. RSL has been tough at home but are far from invincible, coming off a 4-1 defeat at Rio Tinto vs Portland. In fact, they are winless since 9/1 when they pounded the Galaxy 6-2. The revs road record is what it is but I expect they are going to give them a physical, hard fought battle. My prediction is 1-1.
A win here would at least allow the Revs to tick off one accomplishment on Friedel's list - have a better road record (I know they've already exceeded last year's dismal showing, but ... it's only a marginal improvement).
I am hopeful that the revs put forth a good showing, but I am ultimately rooting for RSL in this one. Gotta keep Carson out of the playoffs
If Friedel is using this match to determine who wants to be here next year, he’s got a total rebuilding project to look forward to this offseason.
Friedel seemed to be making bad lineup choices and then blaming it on mentality, blasting the team at halftime that they have to play for the owners (lots of ass kissing on Friedel's part about Krafts in multiple interviews this week). A lot of this can be attributed to how Friedel prepares the team, so I think the fact he keeps distancing himself (and his staff) as part of the problem is not fair. Playing Rowe at left back has been a target of everyone and it is working...for the opponents. Pull Zahibo within first half, move Caldwell back. Pull the captain, Caldwell at half (to be fair it is not known if Caldwell was injured). Mancienne as the highest paid defender, I am not seeing it. That was RSL B team.
Between the comments from Burns yesterday about this team being "so close" to the playoffs, and then the official NER twitter posting that the "Revs come up short" ... I just don't even know what to do anymore. Didn't watch a second of the game. And glad for it.
The revs in general were loose with the ball, but zahibo was especially wasteful. Considering he is defensively deficient to begin with, thats just an awful personal performance not really a tactical gaffe. Add to that the generally poor attitude of the team (look especially at penilla and zahibo) and they were just never going to win. The positives for me: Segbers looked alright. He made decisions quickly, and was unafraid to take on defenders. His long term home might not in the defense, but he looked like a guy who could stay on the field. Diego did a nice job of asking questions in the attack. Rowe was awful at left back, but he is a net positive in the midfield. Friedel continuing to play him at left back is either an intentional demonstration of how technically deficient the team is or a prime example of his short comings as a manager Wright came on and had a nice turn. Kind of disappeared after that, but showed enough to deserve a longer run
Nothing really to add, I actually forgot they were playing and saw the score on my twitter feed at 3-0. Glad I forgot. But I don't really have a reason to watch this team until serious changes happen. Kraft is cool with coasting along, but I'm not. With Burns still in charge of player acquisition, we're going nowhere. With the amount of changes Friedel made it clear he wants to make, this off-season is going to be telling about Burns capabilities and shortcomings.
I wish I'd forgotten. DVR'd the game and watched after the Sox and Bruins, into the early hours of the morning. Yet another 2 hours of my life I'll never get back (maybe the 6th game I'd say that of this season). Bad strategy, players who didn't seem to want to be there, etc. I'm feeling like scrap the lot of them (FO, coaching staff and team) and start over. That, of course, won't happen until the ownership changes.
"The expectation every year is to make the playoffs,” Burns said. “There is a lot of disappointment; for the third year we haven’t got in, and to be so close." The underlined got me mad more than the "to be so close" comment. This says it all. If their expectation is to make the playoffs then they are aiming too low. They should expect to win the supporters shield and MLS cup every year. Anything else should be considered a failure.
At a minimum they need to have a multi year plan to achieve their goal. Right now they have low ambitions with short term goals that when they fail to meet them do not progress the project. If their plan was to compete fornthe shield in 3 years, then they need to make decisions with that goal in mind. But to just play game to game and hope to win without any inkling to how their organization plans to get better is just a waste of time
That really doesn't bother me anymore. This has been known for a while that just making the playoffs is meeting their goal.
RSL's depth comes through, leaving Petke quite the dilemma October 20, 2018, 4:46PM EDT Bobby Warshaw When was the last time the Revs won a game (let alone by 3 goals) when they were missing 5 key players?
The Revolution are a great team. Kraft is the best of all possible owners. Friedel is a managerial genius. And on that happy note, see you all as next year's glory unfolds in March.