I don't think anyone is going to disagree that Bruce-Ball is kinda boring. The man is as exciting as Sunday Bingo with my grandma. Still.. embarrassing losses have been kept at a minimal, and it looks like the team is ready to fight for results again.
This guy seems to feel the same way. I don't agree with everything he says, but he has an interesting take. http://www.mls-rumors.net/2009/05/video-mls-ultras-galaxy-breakdown.html
Which I'm sure we will both agree is not good enough but better than getting stomped week-in, week-out
Ok amigos. Let me play the devil's advocate for a sec. Given the number of new players on the team, I am assuming that it may take a few more games for the entire team to develop some chemistry. Anyone would agree? Or am I off base?
I dont think your off-base at all... most players will admit that they need to 'gel' with other players... to be able to 'instantly' know/realize their runs etc... some players prefer to come for the ball, others like to sprint to a particular side etc... With all of that said, we need to put some wins on the board. Silly mistakes for goals wont be tolerated very long and neither will games like NY where we had practically no shots on goal... Someone is going to have to take this team by the scruff of the neck!! JACK-UK
Thanks for the feedback. I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who believes that the team still has to gel.
jorgeinla4, you're right that it's gonna take time for this team to gel & have good chemistry. We gotta be patient but sometimes patience wears thin. At least we're not losing but dammit, I wanna see victories.
I get so tired of watching him on the sidelines. I felt this way before he was even our coach. He is always looking sour & really PO'd, because his teams are usually playing like crap. I was not happy he was hired & I'm not satisfied so far. He still has a chance to turn it around, but this summer transfer window, and any changes he makes in the team approach, are going to be CRITICAL. If Bruce has a bad 2nd half of the season, I'm not sure even he can stay employed. The HDC crowd is getting sparser every week, and they're starting to look for blood.
I agree! The players take their share of the blame, but so must the coach/manager. Yesterday's display was simply not good enough for a professional soccer organization. Dont get me wrong, Columbus were absolutely shite... but we seem 2nd to the ball, we seem like hoofing it up the pitch (and the confusing thing is, it seems Arena isnt happy with that either)... so? do they not respect him? listen to him? arent good enough? Something needs to change... A draw is one thing, if its exciting and we have a few shots on goal... yesterday was dire.. .and yes, as a new STH, I'm not used to the massive crowds... but yesterday seemed very sparse to me... am I wrong or is it ever fuller? JACK-UK
Well, it was the lowest attendance of the year and probably won't be the lowest. This team has go to become more entertaining or the fans will stay away in droves. The casual fan does not care that this team "has no talent but a lot of heart". Nobody wants to spend their hard earner money to watch shite soccer which constantly ends in a draw. I was just reading an article in the New York Post about the passing of the NY Cosmos manager from the '70's and he knew that for soccer to succeed in America, that there needed to be goals. 5-2 was better than 2-0. He was not wrong. This team needs to win and win now. 8 garbage shots on goal is not good enough. Look for a change of pace against Dallas next week, with the G's winning 3-1.
Re: The Bruce Arena Report (IL De Follow Up) My biggest issue with Bruce is this is the best he can produce when he has all his weapons in his arsenal to access. There have not been any major injuries. He still has (Gordon, Buddle, Donovan) that is over 40 goals at the ready. He brought in all the players the (he) wanted is comfortable with like (Sanneh, Dema, Magee, Berhalter, and Kirovski). He got very lucky with Donovan Ricketts. How this dude couldn't perform in fourth division england is outrageous, seeing how good he is here. No one not even Bruce could have perdicted that Donovan Ricketts would be the best keeper in MLS right now. What would happen if this man had been hit with a moderate amount of adversity so far? Can you imagine losing either or both of the donovans for weeks or months? Would this team take a serious nose dive if it went all (New England Revolution) and lost 4 or 5 starters for months at a time. All signs point to Bruce Arena being completely underwhelming to this point. And he needed every advantage, every lucky break, everything to go right at the most oppurtune time... just to be where he is right now. Head Coach and GM of a team that has 1 win in 9 games. I think the Beckham situation distracted him on his team prep, and squad planning. So much so he basically went into this season looking for nothing but stop gaps and not real talent to play positions, but something familiar to fill holes. Guys like Jason Kreis fall into the pitfalls that becks and his people were dishing out earlier this year. but not MLS and Internationally experienced coaches like Bruce Arena. This started early and I don't think the old man has recovered since.
Re: The Bruce Arena Report (IL De Follow Up) You know, I don't think this is factually accurate. I'm not a huge Arena fan right now either, but Buddle has missed most of the season, Dunivant missed the beginning, as did Ricketts. Berhalter came in late, and most people (including me) on this board criticized the move at the time. He was right about Ricketts and Berhalter. He knew better than we did. (And he dang well should---he's a famous coach, after all.) Doesn't make Migs or Kirovski look any better. So sure, criticise the failure to build a cohesive attack, but to then decide that he got lucky with Ricketts and claim he's had all the pieces in place isn't intellectually honest. The midfield still needs a fix. That's a fair criticism.
There is more to just bringing in the right players. Our flank players need the confidence from the coach to get forward and make an offensive contribution. I mean if we are going to sag back and play defensive then we need to counter with speed and width. We are just not doing it because the team is afraid to give up a goal, which we always do because we can't keep possession of the ball. Is that talent or tactics from the coach? My answer is that it's both. We clearly are lacking talent in certain positions. If Birchall is an upgrade in the defensive mid position, we still need a creative presence in the attacking mid with Becks on the right wing and a healthy Buddle. BA the GM better get on it. We are all ready many points back with the knowledge of losing Donovan to many games over the summer. I don't know, I really do not have alot of confidence in Bruce, the GM and coach. The one difference, IMO between last years team and this team is neither will make the playoffs but I enjoyed watching and cheering the G's last year over this boring team.
A whole lot of the ugly play is on the players, though. If they're constantly hoofing the ball upfield under minimal pressure while Bruce is yelling at them to play it to feet, there's not much Bruce can do, short of cutting half of the team.
Re: The Bruce Arena Report (IL De Follow Up) I don't think that anyone could have predicted Rickett's success, but he certainly succeeded in League Two. He was keeper for over 100 games with Bradford City and only left because of the Visa problems. By accounts from BC fans, they thought the world of Ricketts and I can't imagine that they were a particularly good side. He was known for his athletic saves and poor service. I also don't think that this is the full arsenal. Buddle still is not match fit and there is a huge hole in the midfield. A huge British hole that is taking up our roster spot. If this team sucks down the stretch then we can pull out the pitch forks and torches.
To TequilaJoal: Amen on your lead post; agree 100% I believe Arena has orchestrated his mediocore results to appear to be more then are since halftime of the US/Portugal match in WC 2002. Congrats to BA; bummer for the rest of us. IMO; it arrogance that keeps him from growing along with US soccer. He thinks he knows it all because he NEVER changes. Sigi changed at Columbus (better); Sampson changed at USMNT (yikes!); Yallop has not changed in SJ (how low can they go?); change creates risks and BA does not believe in risks. BA must be forced to change. On a side note: I bet DB has injuries that limit his return playing time and his exposure to BA ball
That is it in a nutshell for me. So who do you think BA will take in the first round of the draft next year?
Man, there's nothing better than speculating about the draft 8 months in advance. Our needs: 1) Wide midfield, even if we do serious recruiting now. 2) A long-term replacement for Dema 3) A long-term replacement for Berhalter (if Marshall doesn't work out) 4) A speedy forward (someone like Findley ) My version of being optimistic is that we won't draft any higher than 4th. From this year's draft (which was unusually good), the best choice at 4 would have been Chris Pontius. Alternatives would have been Michael Lahoud (as a Dmid) or Jeremy Hall. After that, it thins out pretty fast. I really don't know who will be available next year.