I disagree. Dom "Dickhead" Dwyer is a villain. Will Johnson is a competitor that just wants to play who sometimes let's his natural competitiveness cause him to commit fouls. Watch the replay of how Will Johnson reacted after he fouled RImando and how Dwyer reacted after fouling RImando and Beckerman. After the foul, he doesn't walk away with a smile on his face like Dwyer.
That's in large part because Will Johnson is an old friend of Nick Rimando. This (plus the domestic violence charge) are why people see him that way. The exception is a fanbase like ours where he was our guy and he hasn't done crap like this in our games. Portland too; I don't know about Toronto. But not Orlando, where he has never been good enough to be worth the headache and the fans wish him gone. 995819265075896322 is not a valid tweet id In my reading of other fanbases, he was considered an angry-ish player more akin to who you describe when he was with us, and then something else once he got to Portland (and on).
Given the way that both players have acted during their MLS careers, I would still rather have Will Johnson than Dom Dwyer on my team. However, if Dom Dwyer could be persuaded to stop all the cheap shots and dick moves and just play the game, I could be persuaded to change my mind (after all, he is a decent forward). As it is, we have Beckerman and Silva who tend to attract yellow and red cards, so we don't need any more. Anyway, Sam Johnson was the better forward this game which was really, really, really nice. Just what RSL needed, a forward who can drag defenders all over the place.
Attendance at this one was awful, but there must have been some corporate giveaway because my section was packed and it was annoying as ******** with my 3 year old in tow. Dude just wanted to run around a bit and these people that just sit and chat about anything but the game weren't having it. I was shocked to see Lennon in the 18 but not in the 11. He has not had great appearances lately, but neither has Herrera. That Lennon got removed from the starting lineup first is an interesting wrinkle. Also interesting that Lennon was still considered good enough to make a sub appearance. Sam Johnson up top is fun. His hold up play isnt Saborio level, but he's better in the air than anyone else I can remember of late and looks to connect well. Kreilach had a howler of a first half. He was turning the ball over on simple passes and his first touch looked bad. The week off looked like it took a toll. In the second half, though, he was a different player. That delayed run for his goal was exactly what we've needed from the 10/8 spot on this team. Look, I'm really happy for Johnson, but that was one of the worst goals I've seen given up from a defensive perspective in quite some time. Up there with Sean Johnson's OG this weekend. I mean, Johnson falls over going away from goal. The Orlando defender then proceeds to... I don't even know how to explain what it is he did. Like he didn't fall but did his soul leave his body or something? He completely froze up. Kudos to Johnson for not giving up on the play, but how he is able to get a touch between the other defender that is insanely late to the play, as well, and the guy who seems to be returning from his out of body experience is still beyond my grasp. And then the shot. At first I thought he hit it at Rowe's head like Donovoan in the 2010 world cup, but the other angles have shown that it was shoulder high on Rowe and had no business beating him at his near post. Rowe was bad for a lot of the night with some pushed saves that should have been caught and poor positioning. There were long stretches of this game where our shape resembled a 2-4-4. It was painful to watch. Glad and Onuhoa were on the ball in the back, the outside backs would push up with KB and Everton just in front of them. Then everyone else would go stand in a ********ing line with the Orlando back 5. The tactics looked to be to try and find space behind? I dont know, but they sucked to watch. I didn't realize Will Johnson was still in the league after the before mentioned domestic abuse. He looked old out there. Still runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, but his age is really showing. Why did Orlando not start Nani, Dwyer, and Rosell? The first two eventually came on and completely changed the game. Thank god Rosell didn't come on because he would have slid in where, after Everton left, we looked especially vulnerable. Speaking of which, we're ********ed with Everton out. Besler is still the same top level USL player that shouldn't be starting in this league. Hell, he should be fighting tooth and nail to make the 18. How poorly does it speak of Mulholland that Besler is ahead of him in the midfield? Further, KB is never going to sit this season is he? The guy could have his leg chopped off in the middle of the game and Petke would call it a mere flesh wound. In this particular game, KB wasn't awful, but expecting this to be the norm from him is just flat out stupid. And it sets up 2020 to be even that much worse (either he comes back or we aren't prepared to move on). I really dislike Rusnak wide left. It might work for Slovakia, but it doesn't work for us here. He needs to be the 10. He also needs to find a way to be more assertive in the game. In the few moments he wanted to, he looked bright. He's looking more and more average this year and I'm not liking it at all. he should be our showpiece player. Yes, Dwyer is a hack. Yes, he's a tool. But the dude can play. He's a brit/american fabian espindola. The dude is sooooo annoying unless he wears your colors. And even then, it wears thin in the down times. Nani, on the other hand, looked to be legit. He was beat out for MOTM on whoscored by Kreilach who had his scored significantly improved with the goal in the second half and the ability to sub off before he got too tired. Orlando's record isn't awful, but its pretty clear they are not a top level team. They looked like the Eastern conference version of us, in fact. Maybe good enough to make the playoffs, but a lot of flaws that top teams will expose. I agree this back 4 should get another go in Cincy, but I'm expecting a multi goal against game if they dont' significantly improve their chemistry. I'm also concerned about how Petke will address the Everton loss. In a way, it might be worth exploring a 5 man midfield that is defensive focused to make up for his legs. Playing open at Cincy, without Everton, doesn't feel like a great idea.
Solid on every point imo. Some follow-ups: -RSL had a big sale with tickets going for $15. That might explain all the people in your section. - Lennon’s benching was due to 2 factors probably. 1) Petke sending a message to him that he can’t abandon his defensive responsibilities, 2) “Hey, let’s see what happens with Herrera on the right!” I actually liked it and hope he will try it some more. If nothing else it has created some competition at that spot, which is good for the team. -KB has had a pretty solid season so far. But it’s only a matter of another month or two before those legs get too heavy. He was pretty bad guarding Nani, as was everyone else. The space they gave Nani was absurd. -SKC has had a brutal schedule the last 2-3 weeks. I think their manager thought they could earn a result against RSL without Nani and Dwyer starting. I don’t blame him for thinking that tbh. -CB chemistry has been an issue for several seasons now. There has been too much rotation of injured guys there. -A significant injury to Luiz is probably the worst thing that could happen to this team right now. Has there been any word on him?
The pricing thing makes sense. My section would be top pick if you couldn't get club seats simply for the "free food". The line for said food was the worst I've seen it, ever. People were still in line after the final whistle. Usually they close that thing in the 75th min. Like I said, Lennon has deserved to be benched. But so has Herrera. And moving Herrera to RB wasn't a fix all by any means. He still had some pretty bad blunders and, the real issue, the LB spot still looks especially weak. Toia is not the answer there. If we played SKC on Saturday then I would agree with you on rotation . Orlando, on the other hand, has played a game a week for the whole season. No midweek games, no absurd travel, nothing. The excuse their coach threw out made half sense, but still doesn't hold too much weight for me given how those two performed in the game. It also still made no reference to not playing Rosell AT ALL. Once Everton went down that should have been Orlando's move. CB chemistry is brutal right now and I don't see it being fixed for awhile. Onuhoa does a lot well, but he simply hasn't shown me quality enough to be an out and out starter. Neither has Silva. Neither has glad. So, yeah, we're deep in mediocrity at CB. Go figure. I saw a tweet at halftime of the game that Luiz was goign to the hospital for an MRI. My fear is he tore one of the knee ligaments and is out until the Fall. Hopefully it's not that bad, but everything about the play indicated his knee was in really bad shape.
Yeah, Luiz let the ref know he needed a sub right away after he went down. It looked like he was trying to put some weight on it as he was leaving the field and then just let the guys on either side of him carry him off. I hope he's okay but it looked nasty. The guys I was with started talking about how some players, Kyle for instance, can go for years without a significant injury but those folks are few and far between. Hopefully Everton heals up quickly, stays healthy and doesn't join the Made of Glass Club.
Saturday was my first live game of the season as I didn't re-up my season tickets this year. Some of my thoughts: I also like Sam Johnson up front. He's pretty dynamic and given time I think he can develop into a very good forward. Is is just me or does Petke tell his guys to constantly play the ball backward? There's not offensive plan other than to hoof it forward and hope to get a break away. Any break that starts in RSL's back line makes it to the opponent's defensive third and if RSL can't immediately get a cross in, they play it back...all the way back. No effort is made to put the ball in the middle of the pitch in front of the 18 and reset, just drop passes for days. Orlando bossed the game and RSL is lucky not to have given up more than one goal. What happened to the supporters section trying to work together? The CO2 and smoke are a nice new touch but nobody was trying to work together. It wasn't just La Barra either. I sat in the upper deck so I could hear all three groups on the south end and the dude bros in Sec. 35 (when they decided to chant). The atmosphere at Rio Tinto has really gone down hill in recent years.
Just some add-ons (quality comments everyone) Petke complained after the game that Herrera and Toia were not very good going forward. 1) Toia has never had the reputation of being good going forward and 2) Herrera is just as bad attacking on the right as he is the left. Herrera actually makes Beltran look offensively skilled by comparison. Kreilach was NOT good this game. He had one particularly good moment where he was able to do what he does best - get into the area and get a quality shot on goal. However, if he is under ANY pressure, his lack of quickness is killing him. His only way to solve the pressure is to take a bump and fall down. I'd like to see more of Glad / Onuoha as they were at least competent. Rusnak is willing to get the ball; it is Petke's preferred method of working out of the back that is making it impossible. The defensive effort of Sava and Rusnak helped the outside backs look better. Once Orlando chose to high pressure RSL, all RSL possession went to heck.
If Orlando had started Nani and Dwyer they win this game. When they were subbed in the game took a totally different turn and it was only a matter of time before RSL gave up the tying or the winning goal for Orlando. Luckily for RSL they ran out of time.
Worth mentioning - Aaron Herrera got a secondary assist on our second goal with his ball over the top to Savarino. This is actually the first time he's recorded a goal or assist with the first team, in his 23rd MLS appearance. Probably not a coincidence that it happened when he's finally not playing left back.
@CrazyJ628 , regarding the backward passing, Petke was not happy with it in his post-game interview. He complained that the team missed many opportunities that were there to attack forward but chose instead to pass back. We appear to have extremes at the wide back positions. A guy who goes forward way too much and guys who don’t go forward or pass forward enough.
I kinda feel like that's something that Petke could address since he's in charge of the tactics after all. If he's lost the confidence of the team (he lost my confidence last year) then maybe it's time to find a new coach.
Also Lennon was one of the leaders in the league for his position last year. Petke loves his outside backs in the attack so much that it's actually very odd that Herrera hadn't managed a single assist until this game.
Some of that has to be that he was playing on the left side and can't hit a decent cross with his left to save his life.
... hit a cross, kick, or trap with his left. I use him as a teaching point for 1 footed 10-year olds to learn what NOT to do. He runs around every ball to avoid his left. He could NOT have gotten the assist playing left as it was an early, long, through ball which he cannot hit with his left. It was a high-quality ball though.