15 Thoughts What a freaking snooze fest this game was. Like, seriously, I considered going home at half because I was so damn bored. This team is doing the exact opposite of what you want a team to do during a season. We peaked early/mid and are now on a downward trend in play. It's actually kinda sad to see. I cheered our first shot on goal. I didn't care how shitty it was (it was pretty bad) but it was progress. I should have known, at that point, that this game was going to be as dull as it was. I don't know why more teams don't play this bunker and counter against us. It works so well as our apparent reaction to a team packing the bus is to stay stagnant and play into the slow pace. Seriously, we did the same ball movement like 300 times. Get the ball to KB. Ball goes to outside back. Ball goes up to outside of diamond player/forward. They move ball to space outside of 18. no penetrating runs. ball goes back to midfield (KB/Javi/Mid) and we recycle. The problem is that last ball, back to the midfield, if done wrong can really screw the team over and set us up for a counter. Chivas can't die soon enough. How do you get scored on and go more into a shell? Like, what the hell did I jus twatch? That is not a pk. I would be livid if it got called on us and was fearful for a lot of the game (while still 1-0) that we were going to have the same thing happen to us. Luckily we limited chivas set pieces and they were god awful on the few they did have. The KB goal was a god damn fluke of a sequence. A bad cross to Plata that he somehow keeps alive. Frustration as nobody moves off the ball leads to him shooting. Ball deflects back to him. He takes the suddenly open space and the ball finds it's way to KB (not convinced it was fully on purpose) who takes a shot into the absolute center of the goal. Somehow he megged Kennedy (don't claim you meant to KB, god knows you didn't) and we score. I didn't even cheer. I laughed after the goal. That was the most Utah halftime show I've seen at the RioT. Lets get a bunch of tweeny girls dressed up and pretend they're zombies. Then ruin a good handful of songs from the 80's by adding a beat to it that kills the actual song. ********ing Millenials. I moved to 14 for the second half because the ball was going to be on that end of the field. Good lord. Does anybody sit down there? Claim that the smell was you, please! It was like someone died. Then shit themselves. Then lit it on fire. I wish Cassar had the balls to pull Javi. I really do. I'm not saying don't start the guy (well, maybe I am) but it's obvious he loses steam late and the team needs a spark at the AM spot. Why it is always the outside that gets yanked is beyond me. Give the team life - put in Vela or Gil where they can succeed. How the crowd didn't jinx the pk was beyond me. Was I the only one thinking "this curse is so damn real that Sabo will miss this pk and we'll go into a spiral of doom". I still don't know where he placed it as I couldn't bear to watch. Was it just me, or was the crowd similarly really lame this game? Like we were all just done with the game before it started. Why wasn't the chant "No! Mas! Chi! Vas!"??? I still don't get how that was a red card. Look, you can't kick the ball at the ref. I get that. But from my angle Chavez didn't mean to do that. he was frustrated and hit the ball. It struck the ref by accident. No Chivas player could hit a ball that accurately, come on. Had Javier scored that goal off the juggle and volley I think I might have fainted. I was still trying to catch my breath from it like 5 minutes after the fact. What a ridiculous (and a bit accidental and definitely lucky) idea. I don't know what to expect from this team in the post season. They are falling ass backwards into the playoffs. We look so unconvincing in everything lately that I'm convinced we're either going to lose in a really awful fashion (read 3-0 type stuff) at home in the play-in game or somehow manage our way back to the final. Who knows. I feel more exhausted than anything that the season is over. It's been one of those kind of years.
Lol, we should get beers sometime next season 15, every single one of your points has run through my head since last night, except the section 14 thing. The half time show was hilarious, I leaned over to my friend when they were all running on and proposed a simple wager: "$5 says they do some short dance to a bastardized techno version of 'Thriller'." He was lucky he didn't take the bet.
I was surprised it was a red, but I think yellow would've been fine. I also found it funny that Chivas defended more after going down. You can tell nobody on that team seemed to care. Maybe Kennedy but that's about it. I also wouldn't mind seeing Javi subbed in some games. First half Javi is usually a fair bit different compared to the second half. My biggest worry is having to go into extra time in the playoffs, and having Javi still out there walking around because he's too tired.
15 to 32's points were all spot on, but I'll add a few more. 1. I thought Salcedo did fairly well. Admittedly he wasn't tested much, but on the few occasions he was called on, he stepped up and made good plays. 2. No Jaime on the bench? Seemed odd to have both Olmes and Findley on the bench instead of Jaime. Didn't impact the outcome, but it seems we have 1 too many strikers. 3. As 15 to 32 pointed out we have a terrible time breaking down compact defenses. We've seen it consistently over the past six or seven weeks playing against lower-rung teams that are able to hang around and knick a tie or a win against us by playing compact and springing the counterattack, which brings me to my next point... 4. Our team is quite slow, especially our midfield. We simply don't have the pace to keep up with opposing midfielders and attackers, so when other teams do spring a counterattack we have a helluva time getting back fast enough. Speed can mask or hide mistakes in the flow of the game, but it's not something we have in spades. The lack of speed in our midfield also shows up when we try to transition from defense to offense. Other teams can recover against us because we aren't that fast and our midfielders can't/won't run at defenders and blow by them with pace. Will Johnson did this with decent effectiveness and we've never really had a good replacement for that skillset since he left. 5. Opposing teams have realized points 3 and 4. That is, we love to lure out opposing midfielders/defenders far from goal and then quickly work the ball into the space and create chances. This works when teams are caught in the following dilemma: If I, the defender, don't close down space they will shoot/cross/etc the ball and create a dangerous chance, so I must at least *try* to close them down far from goal. So opposing defenders/midfielders try to pressure us into mistakes far from goal. This works for us because we can move the ball quickly into the space they've vacated and create opportunities. Unfortunately for us, our effectiveness at creating chances between 18-25 yards has dropped dramatically, in part because we've become accustomed to an offensive scheme where we work the ball quickly and find a guy for a shot from about 12-15 yards. It's as if we've forgotten how to shoot/cross the ball from 18-25 yards. And if defenses don't think we're threatening from 18-25 yards and know that we aren't fast enough to blow by them, they can sit back a few yards and make sure to apply a soft amount of pressure, which means the whole offensive scheme falls apart because we need to lure them out to create chances. If we want to be effective at our quick-interchange offense, we have to make defenses think we're threatening from 18-25 yards. And finally, one last point: I hate to say it, but we're not an MLS Cup caliber team anymore. The rest of the league is getting faster, stronger, younger and the core of our squad isn't any of those things. It's great we're making the playoffs, but an MLS Cup looks like a very long shot from where we sit today. We have a great team that plays together quite well, but we're short 1 or 2 key components from being competitive in the short term. I'm hopeful for the next few seasons but ultimately I think we're going to have tough few seasons in front of us as our core squad gets older and the rest of the league gets better in the meantime.
That's why I think we need to get rid of Borchers, Wingert, Ned, and Findley. That's a huge amount of cap space saved. Salcedo/Schuler are more than capable of being full time CB's, and we use the money saved from Wingert to get a speedier outside back that's an actual threat of offense. Same thing with Ned. Get someone with a little more pace, that can actually handle the outside of the diamond, because Gil/Vela aren't those guys. I wouldn't mind ditching Sandoval/Findley, and picking up a young guy with some promise. It's quite possible we won't really need a big replacement, because if Jaime fits into the system next season, we'll have Plata/Sabo/Jaime, and unless we go through a bunch of terrible injuries, they should all be capable enough to be rotating around minutes with the occasional Garcia cameo. And for the few of you out there that will pitch a fit about losing those guys, sorry but it's time. It's clear that they're all on some various degree of decline, apart from maybe Ned. I've enjoyed their time with us, but if we want to move forward as a club, those would be my first guys to go. Tons of cap savings to get guys younger and just as good.
This team has some fundamental problems that can only be fixed with some serious changes in the roster. We avoided doing that this year due to getting a "new" coach, so hopefully now that he's settled we can start looking to improve this upcoming off-season. please for the love of god get a good outside back
I'm a huge fan of leaving our high salary bench players unprotected. First on the chopping block: Findley. Someone PLEASE take Findley. If we still have Lagerwey no doubt he can upgrade our roster with that freed up cap space. Second, Gil. I may take some flak for that but Mulholland has stolen his spot and we're better with him on the field. I'd be interested to see how much combined money we paid Findley and Gil to ride the bench this season. Third: Wingert. He's turned into a turnover machine as of late, let Kreis bring him back home to NYC. Something still tells me we should protect Borchers. I think he still has something to offer. I like Salcedo but he's getting called up to the Mexican national team and I'm sure he's getting serious looks from Mexican clubs and I don't think he's completely rooted to Utah and the MLS. I'd hate to lose Borchers and then have Salcedo leave and be left with Schuler and Maund. Same with Ned. I can see the argument to leave him unprotected but out of everyone I've mentioned I'd like to lose him the least. He's just a smart and consistent player and I think we should protect him if we can.
Time for a little overhaul. I think RSL will not lose anyone to NYCFC but will be trading a player or two for the privilege of not losing a player to them. I could see Gil and Wingert heading there. Wingert, one of my favorite players for RSL, could be a great veteran for a young expansion team and Gil needs a new home and a fresh start. I wouldn't be surprised if he was looking to leave anyway after getting sent to the bench by Luke. No matter what it should be an interesting off season for sure.
I like Ned, but he's on the verge of being too past it. He's always been slow, and as he declines with age, his overall game is going to get worse. The problem is the lack of speed in the midfield. Why keep a slow old high salary player? We have that in Morales, who is far more creative then Ned most days. I can see getting rid of Gil, but I'm still on the fence with him. What we do know is he's not cut for the outside of the diamond. When we see the few times a season at the top of the diamond, then I see why he's still around. I'm not a fan of his salary compared to his production, but when Morales is gone, I'd like to see him at the AM slot. Put me in the camp of 'I'm fine if he goes, but can see why he stays until Morales is gone.' Same thing with Velasquez. He's just not good on the side, but if he and Gil split time at the AM spot, I think we'd be OK. I truly think the three guys we absolutely need to get rid of are Borchers, Wingert, and Findley. Findley I'd be kind of OK with staying if he was on ~1/4 of the pay. He's not, and dumping him frees up a lot of space. Borchers has his moments of being good, then moments where you can tell he's past it. He might have 1-2 years in him, but he'd be better off going to a side that needs a veteran, and has a really pacy CB partner that can cover his mistakes. As far as Wingert/Beltran, both are good defenders that offer next to nothing on offense. Wingert is far older, and the worst of the two offensively IMO, so he should be the one to go. Get someone that can offer something on offense. I'd prefer some good pace as well, but for the love of god, get someone that can actually cross the ball consistently. We haven't had that since Russell. His last couple years you could tell he was too slow/past it defensively, but he STILL could whip in a good cross. Part of me wouldn't mind a formation change to better fit in guys like Gil/Velasquez, but honestly the diamond isn't that bad overall. A lot of our issues stem from a midfield that is too slow to beat defenses, and we have the same thing coming from the outside backs. Just adding one pacy back and midfielder would do wonders to open up some space. Right now our only actual speed comes from Plata, and Findley/Olmes if they're out there. The problem with that is that they're all forwards. So even if you can get a good ball to one of them, they're left on an island to either beat ~3 defenders to make something happen, or they're forced to try and hold the ball up for what feels like forever, until our slow ass midfield can catch up. By then the defense is setup, and any space that was exploited is now gone. Having something like pacy outside back/midfielder/forward gives us a lot more opportunity to counter and exploit gaps in a defense, because we'd have guys that could work together to make it happen. Right now we just don't have it. I truly do love most of the guys on our roster. I'd hate to see some of them go. At the end of the day it's all business, and if we want to get better, then some of them have to go.
Ever feel like you are in the stands as a home town fan extra for the movie Hoosiers for one of the early games in their season?
I think the point I'm trying to make is that this team is happy with making the playoffs and going from there. Last season I think RSL finished second in the conference in spite of some glaring issues, but got super hot early in the playoffs. In playoffs, all you have to do is get in and get hot. I don't think RSL makes the final, but if they start the playoffs strong, who knows.
Cut Findley and Wingert. It's appalling that Findley is costing 200k of cap space. There are so many good players you can purchase with that money. Wingert has lost it. Try and strike a deal with NYCFC to get rid of him. I like Sandoval. He is really not a great soccer player, but I like his personality and work rate. Let him live out his soccer playing days with the Monarchs. There is no space for him on the first team though. I feel like both Borchers and Ned have something to offer the club. I say shop them around, see if we can get anything for them, and if we can't I don't have a problem keeping them for another season or two. Javi is slowly losing it. His set pieces are utter garbage, and you can see him slowing down as time goes on. No need to cut him quite yet, but Valesquez and Gil need to start being rotated in his position. Who knows when he'll be done and it will be nice to have a capable back up for when that happens. I would have Valesquez and Gil essentially fight for the position. If Gil proves he is capable then keep him. If Valesquez proves he is better then let Valesquez take the position and drop Gil. I don't see a reason to drop Valesquez either way because he is pretty cheap (if I am remembering correctly). If neither prove capable then there is no reason RSL shouldn't look to fill the position with a DP. Anyway I figured since everyone else was giving their two pennies I would give mine too.
I can agree with your points. I do think if Borchers and Ned do stick around next season, then they need to be rotated around more.
The good news is that a team's form heading into the playoffs has NO BEARING whatsoever on how they perform in the playoffs. Every fall we hear the same thing about teams needing to "peak at the right time" so that they are performing their best heading into the playoffs. That's complete nonsense. The playoffs are a crapshoot, which is why the biggest thing is to avoid the play-in game because that's one less crapshoot we have to make it through. If you don't believe me, here are some stats to back it up: Form at the end of the season and playoff performance Avg. PPG (since 2005) over the last 5 games of the season for teams that lose in the Quarterfinals: 1.59 Avg. PPG over the last 5 games of the season for teams that lose in the Semifinals: 1.47 Avg. PPG over the last 5 games of the season for teams that lose in the Final: 1.67 Avg. PPG over the last 5 games of the season for teams that win MLS Cup: 1.62 For that matter, how well a team does over the whole season isn't related to playoff performance either: Form over the whole season and playoff performance Avg. PPG (since 2005) over the whole season of teams that lose in the Quarterfinals: 1.59 Avg. PPG over the whole season of teams that lose in the Semifinals: 1.54 Avg. PPG over the whole season of teams that lose in the Final: 1.58 Avg. PPG over the whole season of teams that won MLS Cup: 1.62 So, we might as well just sit back and enjoy the games. No point in worrying about whether our form has been good or bad recently; it just doesn't matter.
For those of you how are saying that "Javi is losing it," let's not forget that this season has statistically been his best ever for RSL. Most minutes played, most goals scored, and second most assists of any season with RSL. That's just incredibly impressive for a guy who is 34 and had as serious an ankle injury as he had in 2011. His minutes probably need to be reduced next season, but my hat's off to him. That being said, I get frustrated almost every game that Cassar pulls Luke instead of Javi, when Luke is still dangerous in the 70th minute AND covering his defensive duties well. We need to give Gil and Vela more minutes in the AM spot, and conserve Javi's minutes as well.
Out of those stats though, I really wonder how much of it is before the 70th. It'd be interesting to see if the majority of his good stats are before he's getting tired. If so, then it's an even bigger case for having Gil/Seba sub in, because you'd have a fresh guy up top giving better opportunities to score late, while not missing anything by having Javi exit.
@Ismitje Maybe we should move this discussion to a new thread. "Offseason roster moves" or something. I have a feeling that this subject could go on a while.
Another note on the Javi stats; how many goals are PKs? As Sabo has been out most of this year Javi has taken all of the PKs.
Good call. Hadn't thought of that. 4 of Javi's goals were PKs, out of 9 total. So that's a substantial number. Still, this year he scored 5 non-PK goals, last year he scored 6, the season before only 3, all in roughly equivalent amounts of minutes. I wouldn't say there is a big drop-off in production.