MLS has us at #2 to start the season. They put LA at #1 because they're cup winners but apparently they'd actually be at 4th or 5th by vote. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...ankings-week-1-whos-top-start-20th-season-mls
That's going to make it awful tough to end the season with a higher ranking than they're starting it. Looks like this year, almost everyone is on the bandwagon. There was one prognosticator who picked the Revs to make a big splash last year and looked like a fool at the time - Grant Wahl. http://www.si.com/soccer/planet-fut...futbol-roundtable-2014-mls-season-predictions
Well, that didn't last long: MLS Power Rankings, Week 1: Seattle Sounders move to the top after obliteration of New England March 10, 2015 MLSsoccer staff MLSsoccer.com Code: Pre: 2 Week 1: 9
"A.J. Soares was missed just as much as Jermaine Jones or Lee Nguyen." I don't believe that for a moment.
I agree, we were also missing Donnie Smith in the opener for the first time in two years, but I don't that that was the difference.
You think AJ Soares lets Martins roam wherever he wants in the penalty area, and then jump uncontested for the Sounders 2nd goal?
Martins didn't roam wherever he wanted and I absolutely think the Soares could/would have been beaten the same way when there was no pressure on the passer. It is asking too much of a central defender to stick like glue to a quality forward indefinitely while he prepares for the cross to come in. I'm one of the biggest defenders of Tierney, but that play was mostly his fault. Farrell did a good job of Martins on that play (and others), but Martins made a quick move just as the cross came in to get a little space between the defenders. It was way too easy for a quality, experienced pro like him. If the cross is contested, Martins can't predict as precisely when/where the ball is coming.
I'm talking the second goal, not the third. The 2nd wasn't a penetrating run, it was "chilling in the PK area unmarked, and then making a quick dart." When Soares got beat it was normally by balls on the ground or dribbling (I'm thinking Liam Ridgewell's goal). Agreed that it's tough to mark someone when the crosser has that long, but Martins took a good 5 or 6 steps before Farrell reacted and made a move to stay with him. Farrell is hanging about 5 feet away from Martins, Martins makes his move, Farrell turns his head and you can see him think "uh oh I need to start moving to stay with him" and then it's too late. Farrell starts moving towards Martins when Martins is already jumping. As opposed to Caldwell marking Dempsey in the box, where Caldwell is physically touching Dempsey the whole time until Dempsey makes a move, and Caldwell is still within arms reach of him.
But had Soares been there, he might have been talking, making sure that everybody was on the same page and all the runners were tracked. Also, Soares wasn't fast and did get beat for speed, but at least he tried to chase when he got beat. The only guy who made an effort to run after the 2 forwards got through was Farrell, the other 3 just stood in their spots holding up their hands and looking confused, wondering why other people didn't track the runners each of the 3 had decided he himself didn't need to track. I've said before don't like Tierney as a starting defender, because I think he tends to get caught not paying attention to where he should be, leaving the defense out of shape (see MLS Cup winning goal, imho), but in this case I wouldn't say that he was any more at fault than the rest of the defense: maybe he should have tracked Dempsey, or maybe Farrell should have stayed with Dempsey rather than leaving him without making sure someone was tracking the runner, and maybe JoGo should have tracked Dempsey, or maybe JoGo should have slid to his right when Farrell got pulled out to track Dempsey, and told Farrell to keep tracking the run, though once Farrell did release Dempsey he probably should have called out letting people know he would pressure Pappa so that Caldwell would have known he didn't need to leave Martins, even so, maybe Caldwell should have recognized the hole left by Farrell getting sucked out, and shouldn't have stopped tracking Martins without first making sure someone else had the runner, (yes you need to pressure the ball in midfield, but not at the expense of letting a guy walk in alone - see USA-Portugal, 2014, entire defense focuses on world famous Ronaldo, running with a ball way out on the wing, leaving man unmarked in front of goal), maybe Alston should have made an attempt to track Martins, but he wasn't really in position to do so when Caldwell released the runner, but maybe he too should have recognized earlier the gap that was left by Farrell initially tracking Dempsey, and stepped in a bit more, he did have to keep an eye on the guy out wide on his side, but a guy on the touchline is not as dangerous as a guy free in the middle. As you can see by the many maybes in the previous run on sentence of a paragraph, there were a number of small decisions made by individuals that combined to one large, embarassing clusterfudge of a goal. For me it shows that, on that play at least, there was a lack of leadership and cohesion, leaving everybody to do their own thing without consideration of how the unit was working together as a whole. By no means would I say for certain that Soares would have kept that from happening, but I think he was not afraid to speak up on the field, and that was something sorely (soarely?) lacking on the play.
I think one of the things that the Revs were counting on this year is for Jones to provide a lot of cover while the back line gets into a rhythm. Especially early in the year as the defense grew comfortable with each other, formed an identity, and a leader emerged. They probably also figured that his presence would make thing alright if they were unable to sign a CB. Now it appears that for at least a little while they will not have a new CB and they will not have Jones to smooth things over. It might have been a calculated risk/mitigation plan, but it appears to have worked against us in the short term. Possibly it will be better for us in the longer term if Jose and Farrell get battle tested quicker.
If Farrell is playing right back, he has more time to react to what's happening on the left, and his athleticism can help adjust or recover. When you're a CB, you need your noggin as much as your legs.
Agree with all the above posts in response to my disrespecting Soares. Leaving aside the point that the article was comparing Soares' importance to that of Nguyen and Jones, I would only say that Soares learned a lot, and improved significantly in his years at the back. He was better when he left than Farrell is now. He was not better when he started than Farrell is now. It comes down to Farrell' ability to learn at the knees of Heaps and Jones. If he has the right noggin, as Brian says, I feel he will leapfrog Soares.
I actually agreed with the specific point about Soares would not be missed as much as the Revs' 2 best players, he'll be missed, but not as much as either of those 2 would be. But I disagree with your point about the his level when he started. His first year was very strong for a rookie, and I remember thinking (and perhaps reading it from national writers, not sure), that from what we saw as a rookie, if he could grow from that level, he could be on his way to a USMNT spot. But in his first year, he was playing next to a more experienced central defender, who was not a star player, but I'm sure his experience helped Soares greatly. I can't remember his name off hand, but that guy was cut after the season, and when Soares was left as the senior centerback, paired with a completely inexperienced McCarthy, his form dipped drastically. I've said many times I thought it was a huge mistake to think the team could be successful going with a 2nd year CB and a guy who'd never played there before, and that the decision had the additional effect of hurting the development of both players. I'm not saying that Soares would be a national team player now had he continued to be paired with an experienced CB for a few more years, but I don't think his form would have dipped like we saw, and perhaps he would have reached the level he was at least season a year or 2 sooner.
This pretty much sums up the Revs' attitude toward any personnel decisions they have made throughout their history. It's a "calculated risk" that we're willing to take. I mean, what are the odds that Twellman's got more than just a headache anyway? Why would we need to bring in another striker if he's just going to sit the bench? Of course Jones and Nguyen are not only going to be healthy all year, but their form will be as good as, if not better, than they were last year. I don't see how it could be otherwise. Missing games for the Nats? Huh? When did they start taking away players from their clubs when they have a league game? Damn, I hate being blindsided like this! Oh well, bad luck! What can you do?
Wow, that's a long sentence! Tierney's mistake was when the ball was played behind the defense to his wing. He took a line back towards the middle, pretty strange - like he wasn't sure if anyone was covering the middle. Then from near the middle, he had to go out to the wing to pick up Mears, but he still didn't act with much urgency. He took a lazy, L-shaped course back into position, rather than a much more direct diagonal.
MLS Power Rankings, Week 2: Expansion teams make big moves after first wins March 17, 2015 MLSsoccer staff MLSsoccer.com Code: Pre: 2 Wk 1: 9 Wk 2: 16
Hey, Agudelo came back, so never say never. Though while Soares will not be here when Jones returns, it's also seems doubtful that Jones will be here should Soares return when the defender's current contract ends.
But I don't understand it, almost all of the starters are back from MLS Cup! So when is Jones coming back anyway?
Hey, we didn't drop! MLS Power Rankings, Week 3: New York Red Bulls make a jump behind Atlantic Cup win March 24, 2015 MLSsoccer staff MLSsoccer.com Code: Pre: 2 Wk 1: 9 Wk 2: 16 Wk 3: 16