This year I'm looking at regular season games as test runs for knockout games. 1-0 vs. Colorado at home was awesome. Job well done. Now go into Seattle and get a road goal and don't let the game get out of hand. Have to score a goal. So any tie game other than 0-0 is good by me. Even a 1-2 loss would be fine.
http://www.frontrowsoccer.com/2017/03/16/gonzo-watch-veron-trains-likely-seattle/ GONZO WATCH: Veron trains, but likely out for Seattle Mar 16, 2017
http://www.frontrowsoccer.com/2017/...-expected-start-training-red-bulls-next-week/ STILL NOT READY: Veron expected to start training next week Mar 18, 2017
Well, can't say I went into this one with much in the way of expectations, so not too bummed about the result. Two things I am a little concerned about though... 1) The 4-2-2-2 Defensively, I don't think were any better off. We're not winning turnovers more often or in better places. We're not any less vulnerable to a counter attack. Offensively, things are a mess. Marsch said last year that he abandoned this formation because it didn't suit Kljestan. Well, here we are again. Kljestan is struggling to impact the game on the right side, and his ability to connect with BWP can make or break this team. 2) The absence of Collin in the back line. Tonight's back four was just not a talented enough to survive a trip to Seattle. Almost as bad as last year's rotating disaster until Collin showed up. So what's the deal with Collin now? He had a pretty bad series against Vancouver but his ceiling is so high that I'd rather just let him work through a cold patch.
As to the attack, yeah. Things are not clicking. Guldbrandsen offered some promise, but there is a strong disconnect there right now. 16 is simply not having the impact on the game that he needs to have. It is that simple. Royer is working his tail off out there and I love his game and his work rate. Still, there is little to be said for the passing being done. Not having Collin was a big deal, no doubt. But Zizzo and Bilyeu were absolute trash. The breakdowns in the back 4 were the down fall last night. With the depth and frequency of the overlapping runs JM likes to lean on, the quality needs to be better. I am excited to see Murillo get some time out there to see what he can provide, but not having Kemar last night hurt. Among other things, of course. We have to get this figured out, because this is starting to look eerily like the end of last season all over again.
We're vulnerable in a different way now. Instead of going up the gut on the ground when there is a turnover teams are electing to go over the top or make the long switch to the wings knowing that our system requires the fullbacks to push up...and oh yeah about the fullback performances lately. It's absolutely criminal that management has ignored the elephant in the room for more than 2 seasons now. The defense is a revolving door many of whom have been ill-equipped to perform the task at hand. If you're going to play a narrow 4-2-2-2 that really puts a lot of pressure on your wingbacks to generate offense AND cover the counter-attacking long ball. Zizzo has been very effective in attack, but his 1v1 defending hasn't been good enough. Bilyeu was a nightmare. Taxi didn't look great vs. Colorado. And even IF you have outstanding wingback play on both sides of the ball (which again is a MUST HAVE for these tactics to work) you need to have CB's that can bail them out when they inevitably get caught up the wing. Collin has been a disaster, and Perrinelle and Long have made some epic mistakes out there on some routine stuff. That simply cannot happen to have a trophy winning team. I'm actually not as worried about this. We have a lot of weapons on the roster and if the 4-2-2-2 continues to fail I actually have faith that Marsch will move some pieces around to get it running again. BWP and Sasha are getting up there in years, but there is absolutely no reason that they should be this ineffective so far. But good lord if we do revert back to the 4-2-3-1 or change our tactics to whatever supports our weapons in attack I'm still going to be very worried about a defense that simply is not cutting it. It seems everyone forgot about poor defending in the CCL once we picked up points in games WHERE WE STILL DIDN'T DEFEND WELL. The Seattle game (because the result was poor) revealed some major deficiencies that our first 6 points were covering up. I'll take the results over poor play every day of the week and twice on taco tuesday, but I'm not stupid enough to think that poor play (specifically poor DEFENSIVE play) is going to be rewarded in the long run. IMO it's time to spend big time DP money on a prime aged CB. That or we need to spread the TAM/GAM/WHAM/BAM money evenly across the backline to find defenders whose attributes are SPECIFIC to the style of play Marsch wants.
Life can be ironic at times-----in the first 2 games the team played like zombies out on the pitch. This was the first game that they actually played with a high energy level. The team was still having major problems generating offense but at least they were trying.This was not the game that they deserved to lose, but soccer of course is not baout who deserves anything--it's about who puts in more balls in the back of the net and Red Bull with their offensive struggles was never going to be able to keep up with Seattle. We're only three games in, but when i compare Red Bull with NYC FC--in Viera's team i see a team that knows what it wants to do on the pitch and has clear vision. Red Bull right now is a confused mess. There is no clarity in the attack and a lot of disorder on defense.
I rarely if ever question the effort of this team. They sometimes come out flat but that's different than not coming to play. Energy doesn't worry me. The defense does.
Agreed. And, too, where 16 is on the pitch. I am just not sure this alignment works for him and, by default, for the attack. And that better get ironed out soon, because RBNY will need to score in bunches to make up for the leakiness at the back.