RSL Game 6: Vancouver Whitecaps at RSL, April 8, 7:30 PM UDT

Since @15 to 32 was directly responsible for our loss to MinnU ("I will dub this 'The Game We Surely Can't Lose So We'll Find A Way To Lose'"), I applaud your optimism, El.

Looks like Petke will have a few nice days to train with his new team before the weather goes in the toilet for Saturday night's game. Looking forward to seeing how RSL 4.0 unfurls.

 

If it's like Windows, the even ones are always bad, so let's skip straight to 5.0.

 

Listened to the Petke interview on OnFrame last night, gotta say he provided more technical and detailed information/ideas in his 15-20 minutes on what he sees the team needs than all the interviews I heard from Cassar...combined. Petke legitimately sounds like a coach who knows his stuff based on that one interview, much more so than Cassar ever did. It's not going to happen overnight, it might not happen in the next few months or even this season, but I think he's got what it takes to turn the team around....as long as DLH and Waibel can get the rest of the crap sorted out in the FO and roster.

 

My parents are crazy enough to go to this game. They wanted to go to a game before the summer months and chose this one. Here's hoping we can actually put on a good performance.

 

I had the same thought, Cassar was such a tactical lightweight, it shows now that we have a coach that has some acumen. I pray I never hear Petke say he's 'proud of the guys'.

 

Toledo used to be so bad. It always concerned me seeing him on the pitch. Has he improved over the last 3 or 4 years?

 

After the Minnesota game I texted my old man and brother asking if we should wear paper bags to this game. We all said we should. The weather might make that change, though.

I fully expect Vancouver to be drained from their CCL departure and focused on not giving up goals. This will be a sloppy 0-0 game

 

Interesting...the knock on Petke in NY was that he was a tactical lightweight. And he got in everyone's face about issues...including ownership and Titi. So tactics and tact were the main complaints.

 

so.... Cassar was THAT much of a lightweight.

 

Tactics, tic tacs, whateva.

 

I'd be fine with it if it was after something like a 4-0 win, or after winning USOC or MLS Cup. As long as he's not proud of them when we lose, or barely scrape a draw after playing horribly.

 

The thing that bugged me was the whole acceptance that a tie on the road is a great result. I find that to be a defeatist mentality. I get that it can be acceptable to get a draw on the road and work to win at home. But as soon as you talk like your expectation in road games is to hope for a draw, your expectations are already allowing your team to not push as hard.

I remember, I believe early last season or the season before we played to a draw in Portland. I got to go to a business lunch put on by the team a few days after the game. After the lunch they let us go down to the 100 lions room or whatever it's called an ask questions to Caesar and Beckerman. I asked Cassar what adjustments he felt needed to be made after the Portland game to increase our likelihood of grabbing a win. His response was that the Portland result was great in a tough environment and that in MLS any draw on the road is a good thing.

That may be true. But talking like that allows your team to accept less than the best result on the road before they even start the game. And maybe that mentality is why we are one of the worst teams in the league in road results historically.

 

It was probably better than him saying "buddy, with the roster Waibel has given me what we actually did gave us our best chance to win".

 

Good news guys, I dreamed about this game last night and we lose 2 - 0.

 

Context
That's the thing about Cassar that always drove me nuts. He didn't establish context to justify his "proud" statements. Two results from last year really stand out about this. First, the Portland game you allude to. One in which we were winning late and ended up drawing. That's not a proud moment. We pissed away 2 points. The same thing happened in Orlando last year. We were leading until the end and gave up like 2 goals in a matter of minutes to draw.

It would be one thing to claw back from a losing position to grab a draw on the road. That is something you should be proud of. The guys didn't accept the fate of the game late. You shouldn't be proud of players pissing away points late in the game, no matter the location.

 

This will obviously be a wet one. I'm starting to wonder, though, if it's going to be a delayed one, too. Thunderstorms are in the forecast from 5 through 9. Didn't we play these guys before and have a massive lightning delay? I remember the club having us take shelter in the weird tunnel under the south west corner of the stadium

Edit: wait, no, that was against DC when they had that documentary on KB

 

2-1 RSL Yura and Plata score, Rimando almost saves a PK off a Beckerman red card challange.

 

I am sitting in my hotel room in NYC and cannot get the ESPN 700 stream to work. Blargh. Can't watch because I have to keep grading papers all night, and my students would appreciate me listening to the game so I maintain my sanity for a bit longer.

 

I have the Vancouver stream no problem. Whew!

 

Sorry to hear that! Would have been such a peaceful evening! Kidding!

 

Missing chances = an equal opportunity plague on RSL coaches. Plata misses a 1 v 1.

 

Remember Yura and Plata will score tonight.