How do you quantify "figured it out" and "struggled mightily"? I think we're romanticizing prior effectiveness of the formation. Table points earned and goal difference have been remarkably consistent over the last four seasons. Offensive production improved and was at or near the top of the league. Admittedly I'm a numbers guy, but I'm having a hard time seeing where exactly the drop-off was, other than cherry picking games against superior teams.
What does the formation change against NE say about Cassar's mindset? Did its represent - experimentation, or desperation, or an intention to play more defensively? The team's where it should be. RSL has gotten points by being defensively stout (thanks Olave) and getting points via Morales while it struggles to find the pieces/formation/flow/confidence required to score more frequently. The tide also isn't constant. I say this every year, but MLS is advancing rapidly. If you're not getting better you're falling behind. In many ways I think that epitomizes the post-2009 RSL run. How did RSL become competitive? The player stocking from (roughly) 2007-2009 was unbelievably successful and we got so much better so fast - just consider all the additions - Rimando, Olave, Borchers, Russell, Wingert, Beltran, Grabavoy, Johnson, Beckerman, Morales, Espindola, Movsisyan and yes Findley (in that era). The Front office was batting about .700-.800, which is insane. When we nabbed Plata and Saborio we got goal production immediately too. Schuler and Vasquez and Mulholland are other bright spots. Attinella was a good signing. Some of those people prolonged the streak. The trend back then was to pick up vets overseas (see the defense) - or talent we though would work in our system (and often did - see Yura/Findley). At present we seem to be trying to combine a new system, youth, and older vets into a casserole of mixed results. It's not a complete disaster - but it's also not firing on all cylinders. Look at all the signings too - and the youth - and how many question marks we have: Pecka? Stertzer? Sandoval? Jaime? Philips? Garcia? Gil? Allen? That's a lot of guys getting a lot of minutes with a lot of question marks. Throw in a Sabo slump, a hit and miss KB5, injuries...and consider the talent that's moved on - in the last few years: Johnson, Borchers, Espindola, Grabavoy, Wingert, Findley. They're all starting somewhere else for a reason. I'm not recounting lists to make lists. I'm trying to draw a picture. A lot has shifted. RSL is where they should be. We're betting on some younger players. We've embraced a reboot. We bet on a coach and his vision and system (and I think it's fair to question whether he has all the players bought in). We've bet on fan support. It's still only 20% of the way through the season. Plata made all the difference in the world last year when he was in the lineup. If LA focused on anything it was taking him away when they blew us up in the playoffs. The Bruce even said so after the match. Sometimes trust and rhythm come when they come. For me - that's what 2015 is about. Some of you may want results now. This is more like a could-be 2008 than anything else in our recent history. I know it's at the end of a 3 year plan thing, but it got disrupted by Kreis/Garth/Cassar/Borchers/Wingert/Grabavoy/Findley/SaboPlataSchulerHurt etc. Can we make the playoffs this year? Can we compete in 2-3 years? That's how we should be looking at it IMO. And this isn't a Cassar love piece. I am leaning towards doubting that he's the guy (he's too nice and the team lacks discipline/killer-instinct/fitness), but he is getting his shot.
The red highlights my concern and the bold highlights my cause for concern. My problem is not that RSL isn't getting results, it's the reason they aren't getting results. A team doesn't have to be a winner to entertain me. The past couple seasons I've been entertained by Dallas and Portland despite the fact that they haven't won anything either. My problem is that the style RSL plays is complete garbage. We aren't failing because the final pass of a beautiful play isn't connecting. We aren't failing because our play is beautiful and our forwards haven't figured out how to put a ball in the net. We aren't failing because our defense struggles despite a prolific offense. If we were achieving poor results for any of those reasons I could take it. We are failing because we lack creativity all over the field and resort to rec league boot ball tactics. It's not that we aren't getting results, it's that we aren't getting results in the ugliest way possible. What I've highlighted in red is exactly the problem. We aren't competing to make the playoffs this year, nor are we building to make them in 2-3 years. Our roster is a mix of really young and really old players. We have almost nothing in between. If RSL wants to call this a rebuilding year then make it a rebuilding year. Which season is it we are rebuilding for when 6 of our 11 starters are over the age of 30? Also, and this isn't directed toward you, (more to the commentators on ESPN700) can we please stop comparing this season to 2007. It's not he same at all. Kreis took on a bottom dwelling shit storm and took a chance (what choice did he have?) by completely rebooting an already garbage system. He brought in a new corps of talented players who were, for the most part, under 30, and incorporated a brand new system. Cassar took over an MLS finalist with many talented players and pieces and an owner who has publicly said (whether it's true or not) that he will do what he can to put a winning product on the field. Look at the situation Kreis took over, compare it to what Cassar took over, and then bury the stupid theory that they are similar 12 feet underground.
Yes they were but I was on the other side with Kries. I was confident that he could pull it off for many reasons. One being his incredible intensity that was apparent from the get go. There were also other things that I, and many came to see in Kries that lead them to have great confidence in his abilities to move RSL up the standings and into respectability. Cassar may do as well or better than Kries BUT my gut is telling me it's time for dinner, no wait, it's telling me that Cassar falls much lower on the scale in being up to the challenge of being an MLS head coach than Kries did when he started. Certainly there are other factors that play into the success of any team, injuries, FO abilities etc., but for me Cassar has a very long way to go in becoming a coach comparable to Kries. I don't see Cassar being willing to trade his best friend to improve the team. He appears to still be in buddy mode. I don't think Kries has ever been in buddy mode. Ever. Inside or outside of soccer. I hope he proves me and my gut wrong.
I can almost hear him saying..."I'm very disappointed in the support fans are giving the coach. Goobx1, you're fired". Then... "Jason - I think you're being a bit too harsh. Goobx1 is just trying hard. I'm really proud of the effort he's putting in."
Good discussion. These are the questions to ask. You ARE comparing the team to 2007/2008...and you're concluding they're not comparable. I'm not ESPN 700 as you point out - I merely suggest that we SHOULD be comparing this year more to other rebuilding years to see if/how it stakes up. The truth is - that the book is not written on 2015. We don't know where the wheel of fortune will land. The optimist might hope that the younger players come through and the system comes together and the fight re-appears and the injured rise up and walk. The pessimist will see every cause for concern. This will be amplified on this forum by results. When we stole points people were happy. When we crapped the bed people were not. This is Cassar's season. Last year was a momentum play. This year is his exam.
I think it will be telling if we make any trades during the next window. If we're on this same path when summer hits, I would hope Cassar would have the balls to make a big trade. Maybe it's Sabo, or KB, or any number of veteran players that aren't playing to the standards we need. This isn't me saying I want to get rid of them, but if we have some guys not playing to the standards we're used to, it might be time to get the max value we can and quickly reinvest it.
Well one of the points I was making is that I don't understand how this is a rebuilding year. So far we've seen the most minutes from Kyle Beckerman who has been with the club for 8 years Tony Beltran who has been with the club for 7 years Olmes Garcia who has been with the club for 2 years Saborio who has been with the club for 5 years Mulholland 1 year Morales 8 years Rimando 8 years Gil 5 years And because I'm bored of this Schuler, Vasquez, Phillips, Allen, Olave, Jaime. Our team is mostly unchanged from what it was 2 or 3 years ago. We have new players in Phillips and Olave who are over thirty so I'm not sure why they would be part of a rebuilding plan. Then there is Vasquez and Allen who have only broken into the lineup because of injuries. Are we labeling it a rebuilding season because we're trying a new formation? I think this season is being dubbed by media and RSL as a rebuilding season so that they have a built in excuse for failure. When you listen to radio shows or read about the team online you'd think Cassar blew up the roster this past off season, and brought in a new group of players. In reality, we aren't much different than we were in 2013 when we made it to the final.
I could see how it's considered rebuilding. We're going with a new formation + trying to get some of the youth more minutes to see their worth. I think Morales keeps throwing a kink in the works, because I'd guess they were hoping to slowly phase him out, while giving Gil more minutes in that role. The original plan seemed to have Salcedo getting more minutes, until he wanted out. Olave felt like more of a panic buy, and so far I'd say it's at least panning out for this year. Phillips is someone that should give you 2-3 years, while the FO finds a younger player that can stick with us longer. So while the team hasn't been blown up, between the formation change, adding a few people, and the increased age of the remaining vets, I think anyone could realistically see where we might start slow. I still think we'll probably need 2-3 changes before things click better, but I don't expect that to happen until the offseason.
Anytime 10 of the biggest contributing players thus far have been with the club (and played extensive minutes) for multiple years....it's not a rebuilding year. Ya, you can argue we lost Grabs, Borchers, and Wingert, but we replaced Borchers with a guy who came to this league with our team and Grabs with a guy who should have been starting anyways. This isn't a rebuilding year, the team is mostly the same, it's a year of new things and many trials/tribulations. But it's not a rebuilding year.
Which, if true, is quite frustrating because I feel like we're almost there. In my opinion we aren't even 2-3 changes away. 2-3 would be nice for some added depth, but I genuinely feel like we are only one creative player away from being a force in this league. Whether that player plays up top on a wing or swaps places with Mulholland it doesn't matter. Our defense is fine. A midfield with Beckerman and Morales is always going to be good. Our forwards just aren't cutting it. If we were to pick up another creative player over the summer and stick him up top with Plata and Sabo...or if said player is better suited in the midfield swap him with Mulholland (even though I really like Mulholland) I think this team could really be something special.
It's why I think Plata of last year would make this formation look a lot better. Right now we're mostly relying on Morales to do all the hefty creative lifting, without a ton of support. I thought Plata last year did a good job of being able to run at the defense and get wide to cross or cut in to make something happen. Having someone like that also helps out Sabo and the midfield support. If he's able to pull the defense out of shape, it allows Sabo, Morales, etc pockets of space to exploit. I think as long as Plata can come back and get to his 2014 form, our left side should look pretty amazing between Phillips and Plata interchanging, with support from Sabo/Morales and whoever plays on the right. My biggest concern will be the right side, since Beltran has never been an offensive threat, and so far we haven't found a solid person in that spot. Right now it feels like it should belong to Allen, but where he's so young, there's bound to be some inconsistency there. I'm sure Jaime will get more of a shot once he's healthy, and I hope it will click for him. I have a feeling there will be a bit of rotation between Jaime, Garcia, and Allen as we try and figure out who works best over there. In the middle I'd love if Gil/Morales was able to pan out, because 2 creative people in the middle would help ease some pressure since teams couldn't try and just double up on Morales. Sadly it doesn't look like Gil is the man for the job, so a summer signing of a creative midfielder might be the best route.
DrownElf and UPinSlc , you two are the biggest run your mouth "think you are the soccer answer to this team" . If someone says one think that makes sense but isn't to your liking u go on rants. Don't read me but read other writers who say this team isn't that good. We have very few good players. KB , Nick, Javier Luke, Olave, Shuler, Beltran, are Good players but a good team needs more. Vasquez. Salcedo Allen who are all young who might be really good someday but that is it. We got rid of experience for what. A team with no depth, and no experience on the bench or players to complete the starting lineup.
Much as I love phills' rants, we've got a couple more good players that aren't are on his list. Attinella, Phillips, Plata, Sabo (I know, I know...). I still think the jury's out on Jaime. And we have other youngsters with potential - Saucedo (Salcedo reference?), Ovalle, Kavita, Lalo and Glad. Still kind of beating that dead horse.
I'd love to see a big mid-season signing but with all the DP slots occupied I don't think that would happen without some big trade. For now I'd be okay with being able to fill the game-day roster
Would it not be nice if we could go to one reliable site to see , what players are DP, players who are home grown, players salaries, Garber bucks, etc. until then I will continue to look forward to the eminent signing of a true DP.
I'd give up KB and Sabo for him That dude can ball If I ever hear RSL connected to Peralta, though, I might lose it. What a ********ing ********