Can we go 3-0 on our little road trip? Will Pickens return? Has Smith seen the light to keep the Black Hole on the bench? All these questions and more...this week on the Rapids Pre/Game/Post banter thread.
And a couple more, will Altitude 2 really broadcast this match? If not will they let us know in time to subscribe to MLSnet's stream? If Fox Football Fone-In calls it "illegal" and won't discuss it does justin tv still exist? ;>)
Based on who played last night, here's my guess at the lineup: Pickens/Burpo* Kimura - Ihemelu - Gibbs - Harvey Pablo LaBrocca - Black Hole - Clark** Cummings - Casey * - If Pickens is healthy he goes, otherwise Burpo ** - Clark played 120 minutes last night, but then so did Guerrero who would be the one most likely to start in place of Clark. Clark's younger so I'm guessing he'll bounce back faster.
Don't bother wishing Mehdi onto the bench. He'll start, as part of the line-up Jasonma just posted. Smith really has no other option. I know he's tried Cooke in the middle a couple of times now ( last night in the extreme of a 10 man line-up), but until we see more, it's not really Cooke's position. Smith doesn't see him as a 90 minute player anyway. It would be a wonderful story to see Cooke transition into the middle, but IMO, the player that will supplant Mehdi isn't on the roster-yet.
I'm willing to give Medhi 10-12 games. He's the starter right now, and Cooke isn't the right replacement, square peg in a round hole. Medhi has never been a consistent starter until now. His game can grow because he shows flashes of potential, but if I'm the Rapids, I'm diggin' through every South American league scouring for a potential playmaker with the ability to complete 60-80% of his passes. Honestly, the Rapids have playmakers with the likes of Clark, Cummings and Cooke. We need someone who can control the tempo, change the field, find the open players, and work the ball through the midfield consistently. Xavi of Barcelona and Spain is the prototype for this kind of player, and while he does score and create consistently, he's also very active in maintaining possession, switching fields, and finding open players in dangerous positions. (I don't think Christian Gomez plays like Xavi, by the way - the closest parallel I can think of for the US is Jose Francisco Torres who plays for Pachuca and the Nats - within MLS, this new player for Seattle Osvaldo Alonso might be in the same mold, but I haven't seen enough of him to make that call). Those players are out there, of course, none the likes of Xavi, but even a player of half his ability would be a great fit for the Rapids. I guess the big question is whether Gary Smith and his English style of play could mesh well with a midfielder of that style? Anyhow, the spot is Medhi's, at least until the transfer window because you are right, there aren't any players on the current roster that can fill that same roll and I'm not keen on LaBrocca and Pablo running the middle together, just not enough creativity between them.
Excellent post. Goes beyond the usual "Mehdi sucks" posting to actually analyze the situation and lay out the possibilities for Mehdi to develop or for a replacement at the transfer window.
If you tried listening to the CVI interview with Terry Cooke and it didn't work - it does now. According to Terry - he can play CM. http://NoFanAlone.com - give a listen.
Well said, except I'm not willing to give Mehdi 33-40% of the season. You say you want somebody who completes 60-80% of his passes. In the LA league game Mehdi completed 33%. And he wasn't playing noticeably better or worse than the prior two games. We've got 2 more road games, then LA and FSL at home. If Ballouchy hasn't picked up his game at that point then we should be thinking about a change going into our bye week before two East Coast trips split up with Seattle at home.
Mehdi sucks! Sorry, I just had to. It was like an itch that needed scratching. Seriously, Mehdi hasn't cost the team any points so far. He's pitched in defensively, and that's worth giving credit for. I do wonder if the Rapids are getting what Mehdi can give. We'll see. What alternatives are there. Nick and Pablo, not creative, but Nick's linking game is routinely ignored on BS. Cooke doesn't look as lost to me in the center as has been suggested, but I think Nick actually helps Cooke get more time on the wing. Ultimately, you have to think the Rapids are looking for someone to play as an a-mid or a forward to provide the holding and creativity in the final third.
How is it possible that Picken's can be hurt this early in the season with baby back spasms. What a joke, he's a professional soccer player this shouldn't be happening. Burpo on the other hand is veteran goalkeeper who comes in and lifts this club when he plays. It appears Burpo should be the starter for now on, plus he add's leadership unlike Mr. Back Spasms.
I give you credit regarding Nick's linking game. He's the closest thing we've got in terms of a player with that ability, although Pablo does ok. It was noted that Terry fancies himself as a CM too, which I think he can do, but he's BEST as a player, and for the Rapids, on the right wing. I'll have to listen to the interview.
More appropriate might be "Welcome to the boards Mrs. Burpo. Give Preston a peck on the cheek and an atta-boy when he gets home, he was MOTM in the USOC match."
Dorm FC, why don't you go & check the results of last night's game http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090408&content_id=237132&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp or better yet check what he's done over his career. To bring in Burpo as a top backup in the MLS, hes deserves to be the #1 keeper for Colorado. Furthermore, back spasms for Pickens and he can't even travel with the team, that's pathetic.
I'm sure I'm not the only one that remembers last season's Burpo experiment failure. I WISH with all my HOPE that Pickens is better.
A record of 14-12-10 and a GAA of 1.44. That GAA would be 11th in 2008. Last year when he was the starter part of the time he had a GAA of 1.85. For comparison's sake Pickens is 26-21-22 with a GAA of 1.19. That GAA would be 4th in 2008 (just ahead of Bouna). In his last year in MLS (2007) his GAA was 1.15. Now I don't think GAA is a great metric for keepers, but its what we have to work with. As far as "deserving" to be the #1 keeper, Smith said in the offseason that the only player who had a guarenteed spot on the team was Pablo. Sounds like Burpo had his shot to claim the starting spot, and Pickens beat him out. None of this diminishes what sounds like a great game for him last night. He appears to be the reason we're still in the USOC. So a job well done for Burpo. Looking at their careers though, Pickens has been the better keeper in MLS.
I followed it 'live', and btw reading is fundamental. I've seen Burpo in plenty of matches (too many in a Rapids jersey) and I've seen Pickens in enough to say that right now Burpo is a capable back-up, a healthy Pickens is a starter. Also nice the way you let your personal feelings about one specific player be a reason to doubt the Rapids training staff, medical staff and Pickens himself in regards to his injury, real classy. And thanks Jasonma, you're always spoiling a great discussion with actual facts. ;>)
Some posts are (much) better than others. Let's go back to these. it's not anywhere near conclusive that Mehdi can't grow into his role. True, the inspired passes haven't come, but as Deron mentioned, he hasn't actively hurt the team, and they ARE playing well. Two of the young players have already matured. Looking at the first three games as compared to last year, we see some very substantive improvement in Clark and Cummings' games. Colin has always made his runs, but he's starting to make them count. In a couple of crucial moments timing them well to link up on the counter with the Cooke or the back line, then drawing the D to make the nice feed into Casey or Cummings. Omar has learned the neat little trick of running into space on the right wing, stretching the D, and making good crosses for critical goals. Mehdi's not been effective changing the attack, but Omar is starting to do it for him. Both Clark and Omar have broadened their games, and until Mehdi shows that he can't, I'm not ready to pin the somewhat snarky nicknames on him.
We all know that Burpo gets lucky.. ALOT... and all of that help from the post is just more luck. However, stopping a PK goal in a match to decide whether you live another day, or head dead back home, is MAGNIFICENT... Stopping two is BRILLIANT... I just hope that whatever it is, the force or whatever stays with him as long as he is in goal wearing a Rapids kit. But i doubt it. That is why I always sacrifice a chicken when I know Burpo is gonna be in goal. Hey, it worked last night!
Oddly enough one of the proper body posture positions for a goalkeeper can be called the 'chicken catching' position. ;>)
Spoken like someone who has never had back problems. (Nor any understanding of apostrophe usage. Seriously, who has a last name with an apostrophe occurring that late in it?) If your back is out, you can't go, it's really that simple. And it slowly gets better, so why fly and sit on the bench, when we have a 3rd keeper with a working back? Follow the NHL, NBA, etc., check out the injury reports, note the frequency of back spasms. And what logic connects professional player to no-back-spasms-ever? Heard of Joe Sakic, the consummate pro? When Pickens clears one up the middle to the other team during the stretch run, we can revisit the pecking order. Until then, good job Burpo! Way to beat LA twice!
Why is this spot Mehdi's? If we have playmakers like Cooke and Clark on the wings, and maybe Cummings developing into a forward with creative ability who can set up goals and score, as we have seen in the the first three games, why have Ballouchy? As others have said, stick LaBrocca in there playing in front of Pablo. Mastroeni is the midfield destroyer, LaBrocca is the holding midfielder who dishes it out to the wings are tries to make the smart pass going forward. Cummings then can create and Casey has shown he may develop into a big strong target who can poach goals. Sure LaBrocca is not going to be like Xavi, but who in MLS is going to be? I could say we could use someone who reminds us of the deceptive ability to shed a defender together with the laser like shot and big game ability of Eto'o or the ability to take on defenders then pass or shoot with equal ability to carve up a defense in the box of Messi, (I actually secretely believe Clark can do this eventually) but so what? LaBrocca playing a holding mid and creating a midfield presence is a step up from Ballouchy who is just not being effective. It appears to me that you make a point then change it at the end. Again, if we have developing playmakers that contribute, why do we owe Ballouchy the chance to see if he develops when he has shown nothing. This has to be the best position in sports. Other guys around you are getting better and you aren't but we stick with you just in case you do get better, too. You make the point that Ballouchy can't change attack but Cummings can. So why keep Ballouchy? You make the point that Clark and Cummings are showing that they can broaden their games, so for some reason we can keep Ballouchy out there until he shows he can't? When will he suddenly prove to Smith that his career long ineffectiveness is suddenly not going to change. As I stated in a previous post, Ballouchy has had more than enough time to show he can play. In his MLS career, he has played in 77 games, starting 63. That is over two regular seasons worth. He is now 26. If he does suddenly start contributing, it will be an increadible development and not predicted by his past with the Rapids or RSL. If people call him Black Hole, that is just part of the frustration people feel that goes along with the passion of sport. Kirovski was the cone. I guess it would be nice if we gave people positive nicknames but maybe no one has inspired us yet. On a positive side, I get excited just thinking about Cummings and Casey on the field together. Could this be one of those great striker parings that develops and stretched defenses with a combination of speed, creativity, size and strength? I think Cooke needs to start and if he gets winded, bring in someone else. Cooke can play. He can send in balls to Casey. He can link up with Cumming's speed. Clark will continue to mature. We can back them up by a solid central midfield that can slow down any counter and hold the ball for change. I think the Rapids can do great if this is allowed to develop. Work with the strengths we know we have. Two solid holding mids with creative players in front and down the sides can work, especially if Omar continues to mature. This can be a really good team.