3 man midfield of Kljestan, Felipe and Dax. I said one of them shouldn't be part of our plans. Other than that...honestly I can't think of anything. I was a supporter of Veron and still am even though a lot of people want to ship him out. I think his situation is unique and unfortunate and we should keep him on.
The guys on ESPNFC tonite are sticking with us to win the tie at our place. Nice to see their confidence! Me I'm just a tad nervous. But I'll be there yellin' em on!
Hoping Lawrence can go on Sunday. He saved numerous counterattacks against us with his recovery speed. Thought he was the mvp of the match. I don't have high expectations of getting the shut out win, but we are due for some playoff good fortune!
I'm afraid it seems unlikely. If it's a hamstring injury he probably would need a bit more time. We've had such a stable back 4 for so long now, it's a real shame for that to be broken up a bit. Zizzo's not bad, but quite as good. Maybe we can take a little solace that Drogba seems unlikely to play. I hope I'm right about that... as an Arsenal fan, I have too many bad memories about him being a major X-factor and scoring decisive goals against us.
Grella's got a knee bruise and was given the day off, but he'll be in the squad, as will Veron & Royer. If Grella isn't completely fit to start and if Royer is, I'd vote for him.
I expect to see Veron start on Sunday. I hope he gives Marsch that "mucho trabajo" he is looking for. I think I would prefer to see Royer. Actually I might want Royer and Veron and sit down Grella and Muhl.
For me, Royer has been more dangerous than Veron, and the former hasn't even played as many mins. Muhl has earned his spot in the XI IMHO. And Grella can be fabulous at times, but lately he's been a bit off the boil? Beyond all of that it's about our plan and our mentality. We have to do 2 things simultaneously: defend like a rock, and aggressively try to score multiple goals, ideally early on to demoralize them and make them open up even more. p.s. If BWP doesn't get his act together, we may be f-ed. That late miss from him in Montreal was shocking, especially given who did it!
Why are there so many cheap upper deck seats still available on stub hub? Come on fans, no excuse for not being there tomorrow to support RBNY!
Yeah they must be a bit desperate to sell seats. I saw an ad for the match during the City-Boro match today... not to watch it on Espn, but to attend it at RBA. Don't recall seeing anything like that before! I got one of those cheap-ish seats last week via the club's website... better price than stubhub at that point. Psyched to be going to this match! And just hours after I watch the North London Derby. What a day!
NY have been good for about 2 goals per game throughout the regular season. You have to think that they are good for 2-3 in the home leg. Likewise, Montreal have played a bit over their heads in their first two playoff matches. I'd expect them to level off, besides; you just don't know how many of their aged and banged-up players will actually be able to perform at the same high level as they did last weekend. Plus there is the Drogba is poison factor. If he can turn his bile towards NY it may work, but he is a nasty player when things don't go his way. The one thing that gives me pause is the health of Lawrence. I'm relatively comfortable with Zizzo subbing in, but Oduro is a handful, at least physically. If Grella is also out I'd probably flip Muyl over to the left for extra defensive help and let Veron or Royer (probably Veron because he's more match fit) terrorize Montreal's left-side D. BTW, Evan Bush has a bit of the Robles thing going on, not the biggest goalie but he plays huge. BWP blew his chance late, but at least some of that may be due to overthinking placing the shot with a side-foot so Bush couldn't get to it. He should have just blasted it on goal and let Bush try to stop the shot. Montreal are going to sit back and play the counter even more away from home. NY is going to have to be patient, look for min-breaks where numbers advantages can be created in a short field and ready to push the pace when Montreal gets caught up. But they are probably going to have to score two goals to get Montreal out of their shell. Coherent defense, quick ball movement and precision passing are the keys.
Second postseason in a row with erectile dysfunction. inexcusable given the depth of this roster. Marsch will survive but changes are needed. Real ones.
Not happening. I am not a schadenfreude type of person, but NYCFC seemed a little better built for this type of football with their slightly higher level DPs.