Some positives: Finlay needs to start somewhere and Anor should be our LB. Also, Gehrig continues to show improvement over last season. I don't think he is a starter, but he is a very capable fill-in and backup to Pipo and Parkhurst The bad: Pipa injury, Oduro continues to do nothing wasting a ton of cap space, everything Williams does, Bedell being on a professional soccer roster and dropping more points at home.
Very winnable game, but a few costly mistakes, losing Pipa early, and some incredible saves kept us from a win at home. Again.
For those outside the dreaded TWC blackzone, did anyone catch the awkward moment with Ethan and Ashleigh? She asked him about what Jeff Thayer from Creighton meant to him and looked like it caught him off guard. He even mentioned right before they cut away that "that came out of nowhere." Did I miss something that I should know about?
I really want to see a back line of Jimenez - Parkhurst - Gerhig - Anor. I think it would work best with Trapp in the DM spot to cover, but I think that would offer us the best attack from the wings. Then add Finlay and Meram in the midfield, and I think we become a lot more dangerous in the attack.
Had Antonella not played the game of his life i think we win this match handily. I can't believe this team won 3 straight games. We are so inconsistent. The good: Finlay needs to start consistently. Great chip, but great feed by Speas. Speas is earning more playing time. Every corner he serves is dangerous. Great through ball on the goal. Parkhurst- How the fck did this guy get cut over Brooks? He is solid solid solid. So good, I've forgotten about that other guy we had... what was his name...Marsha or something? Clark- great game Gherig- he's in the good column because his is significantly better as a backup than Wahl. But then again, so is my elementary kid son. The bad: Meram- I want him to play forward because he isn't consistent enough as a midfielder. He tires too quickly and loses possession more than Tchani (and that's saying something). He has a great shot, but for every great shot he kills like 5 attacks. Not worth it as a starter IMO. Oduro- loved him last year, but he's as cold as this past winter. When he's on he's great, but he's so far off I can't even come up with an analogy. Wahl- He's still on the team so he's still in this column. And his play Sat. was that bad. Bedel- added nothing and can't jump for anything. Meh: Jiminez/Anor- not our worst spots but didn't stand out. Neither played well but both rarely made mistakes. Tchani- the only reason I put him here is because it was his foul that led to the RSL goal. He's got to be more careful. Referees in MLS aren't great so when a small pussyfied player like Morales drops near him, he's going to get called for a foul. He needs to be more careful. Besides that he was a beast winning possession for us in the middle. He was our best player winning 50/50 balls in the air again.
Still don't understand what Gregg has against Speas. He tried to loan him out and is only playing him due to injuries. He has easily been the best midfield sub all season (Meram is a forward, playing out of position).
Credit to Bedell for hustle on Finlay's goal at least - he was with him stride-for-stride and was behind the defense too as a great outlet.
Why didn't Arrieta make the 18? Is he hurt or out of favor? Finlay and Speas provided a spark when they came on. Bedell not so much. We probably should beat an RSL team that's missing Rimando, Beckerman, and Saborio. But we didn't step up, despite having more shots, possession, corners, etc.
Depth has been one of our biggest worries all year, so I'll take a 1-1 draw against RSL when we're missing 4 starters (plus Higuain for 70ish minutes) and in the middle of a 3 game week. I'm still disappointed that we didn't win obviously, but I don't think it's an awful result for us with what we know about this team. Hell if their backup. GK doesn't make a couple big saves we probably walk away with 3 points. Per Jardy, Arrieta was not in the lineup because of player rotation. Still surprised he didn't stay in the 18 to come on late though.
Good game from the Crew, though obviously far from prefect. It's always difficult to win when you can't even score a PK. As Gregg said post-game, anytime the opposing GK is the motm, you're at least doing something right.
Mentioned above, but in the post game press conference Gregg said Arrieta just got the night off due to the three games in a week, Bedell took his place in the 18.
Finlay, speas, and gehrig were the obvious positives from the match. We are so much more dangerous on the counterattack. Wish GB would be more flexible tactically.
Finley has to start and here is why. He is able to stretch/get in behind the defense from a wide position. Kinda like Oduro was able to last season when he was playing wide. Teams are playing us so compact that having a change of pace on the outside (neither HJ or BA have it) opens teams up and creates opportunities. Speas also needs to start. I love Higuain and I am not saying he should be benched but a lot of times he dribbles us out of good attacking positions. Speas deserves some time to show is ability. The pass on the goal was fantastic. The weight was perfect. We created plenty of chances and should have won but their keeper made 3-4 really really nice saves to keep them in it.
Bedell i think looks lazier than he is just because he's so tall and lanky, probably not the quickest dude out there. His positioning is just all wrong too. Is Tchani really better than Speas? I am not a Tchani hater, but he doesnt seem like he can go 90 minutes, does make bonehead mistakes, and Speas has been good every game he has been in for us. Finlay is the new Anor. Came out of nowhere to be awesome. Im not sold on Parkhurst. Josh and Gherig both had good games.
Tchani and speas play different roles in the team. In fact last night it appeared that Tchani played the Trapp role. I thought at first it was Viana, but Tchani was dropping between the two CBs How awful was Oduro though? I understand we need to rotate to save legs, but seriously Oduro is not going to get any better without playing some serious minutes (no not just 90).
I was extremely critical of that damned Fifi Baiden substitution last week, and remain so. It my opinion it was the single worst sub 3G has made. If this team narrowly misses the post season, that will absolutely stand out as a key moment in the season. That said, I have to give credit for the use of Finlay as a late sub, thereby making him a viable option as a starter this weekend. I also like the idea of leaving Arrieta off of the 18 in the midst of schedule congestion. He'll start on Saturday, and perhaps be all the more motivated. Oduro had a lazy offside call towards the end of last night's game that really bothered me. I think it was on a restart, and he hadn't even bothered to see where the defenders were. It is true that, with anything less than stellar goalkeeping, he gets a highlight-reel goal last night, so there's no point in getting too gloom-and-doom. But some of his issues seem to involve effort. And with guys like Finlay and Meram stepping up lately, Dom's playing time should be anything but guaranteed.
Assuming Pipa is out, I'd like to see: Arrietta Oduro - Speas - Meram Wil - Viana Anor - Parkhurst - Gherig - Williams Stevie C. Finlay Super Sub for Oduro, Tchani can go in the Center Mid *Maybe barson gets a start if the odds are Gherig wont have two good games in a row --- Then again, lineup enthusiasts should remember our name isnt Gregg, we don't know how people practice, practice together, etc...
This teams needs a goal scorer, I know the understatement of the year right? With no penalty, it really looked we were getting nothing out of this match because no one is able to score. Gehrig showed well, hope he gets more playing time. He made the right mental decisions and did not try anything flashy, parkhurst can push the ball forward when we need a center back to do that.
Tchani is better for his position. I don't think they could be compared since they don't play the same position or role. Tchani is acting as our 8 but with Trapp usually dropping so deep he is also like a 6. Kinda like a 6/8 hybrid. Speas is more attacking. I think if we start Speas in Tchani's spot we lose the midfield or Higuain drops so far back we move forward at a snails pace and Arrieta(or Oduro) are isolated on an island up top. Unless we are making a significant tactical change, I don't see Speas playing for Tchani. Tchani has many flaws and makes a couple dumb plays each game, but besides our CBs, there is NO ONE on the field for us that is better at winning the ball in the air. His physical presence in the middle has been tremendous this year. And anyone not sold on Parkhurst is spoiled by years of Chad Marshall. I'm pretty happy with our result though i feel like i shouldn't be; why does a tie at home feel like a win? The TFC game still hurts.
Oduro's movement in general has just seemed really off this year. I didn't even notice him on the field for large portions of the game last night, compared to last year where even if he wasn't getting a ton of touches he was all over the place pressing the back 4 into a mistake. Gehrig has looked pretty solid so far, especially compared to what we were expecting from him at the beginning of the year. Still makes some boneheaded tackles, but overall I thought he played well next to Parkhurst. Another interesting note from the match, Anor had 110 touches from LB. That's more than any Crew player has had in a game all year. Him and Jiminez have both looked solid out there when thrown into that role, at worst I'd prefer one of them starting over Williams.
If you were going to describe Oduro's strengths the list would start with speed. His movement as a center forward is poor because there is not as much space available centrally as there is out wide. He is not able to utilize his greatest strength effectively. His 90 minute attack score this season is 4.06 compared to 26.5 (via Squawka.com). You want to get your fast/creative type guys in space so they can utilize their skills. He is just not a center forward no matter how you try to spin it.
At this point, with the team all healthy, our forwards being completely ineffective in the matches, this is what I would like to see: ---------------Meram---------------- --------Speas-Higs-Finlay---------- ------------Viana-Trapp------------- -Anor-Parkhurst-Gehrig-Jiminez- ----------------Clark------------------ And with every one back after the World Cup: ----------------Meram----------------- ---------Speas-Higs-Finlay----------- -------------Viana-Trapp-------------- -Francis-Parkhurst-Gonzo-Jiminez- -----------------Clark-------------------
I don't like the idea of a Viana/Trapp pairing. Viana can't control the midfield as well as Tchani, which would leave Trapp and the wide center backs to have to clear up lots of plays. Viana can play a better ball forward, but I think he causes more turn-overs and will lose most 50/50 battles.