First of all, much better coaching by Bobby last night. I really like the 4-4-2 better than the 4-5-1 which may be due to Guille. I think that even with Guille in, we would be more successful with the two strikers in front of him. Nice in game adjustments with the Gaven/Garey switch, and bringing Zayner in for Moffatt and moving O'Rourke into the middle. Brought more speed to the backline and improved the central midfield for us. Renteria brought good energy and hustle, plus he's a big body against a tired defense. The good: Much better finishing. We had five solid chances and went 3 of 5 on that side. And I'm glad that we went 0 for 1 on the other end (with Lenhart showing the Male Cows how to miss the post). Gaven's involvement in the offense has been great when given a chance. Ekpo's ball control skills are superb and helps build the attack. The bad: Our central defense was sliced and diced too often. A team that doesn't take 30 minutes to shoot would have killed us. I'm glad that by the time they settled for a shot, Brunner once, Carroll, and then finally Danny all were able to come back and tap the ball away for a corner kick. Leaving Tchani wide open on the far post on a corner kick. Seriously? Glad he got a weak shot off instead off heading it home. And Hesmer coming out into no man's land. Ugly! Moffatt and Ekpo's lack of vision on the attack killed a few good chances. Overall, a just result but could have gone the other way with better shooting by the Metro Stars.
Give me an army of Frankie Hejduks and I will conquer the world. Fun game to watch on TV last night. Hope you guys are all tired out come Sunday.
Ok last night's game was similar to MLS Cup 08. RBNY came out strong the first 20+ min then we held the match down for the most part. The result was great and it proves that we have depth on the squad. Even though missing GBS, Marshall, Rogers didn't really matter. It was great seeing Oughton getting some MLS time.
For three weeks now, everyone's been bemoaning the lack of playing time for Ekpo, the bad Rogers performances, Lenhart not being productive, GBS not being in sync, blah blah blah... But we've played seven matches and scored 13 goals. We've scored 3 goals in a game twice. We've not been shut out yet this season. Even our so-called "struggling" offense has still found ways to score. What we saw in spades last night is that what we should be worried about is our defense. We started off with two clean sheets in our first three games. Now, only one clean sheet in the last four. Last night, Hesmer gift-wrapped one, Lenhart was an eyelash away from the most spectacular own-goal in Crew history, NY clanked the posts three times, and there were other golden opportunities that they just missed. We could have lost that match 4-3 or 5-3 and it would have been a fair result. We can talk about Bob's coaching all we want, but it doesn't matter what the hell he does if our defenders can't defend. Brunner and Iro were brutal last night. And Hesmer looks great one match and looks like a fish out of water in the next.
This photo is GLORIOUS!! Through the smoke that ESC tried to counter to ours, came the warrior that is, RENTERIA.
It happened about midway thru the 1st half. I can't argue that it wasn't effective, but as a result it rather neutered Garey, who IMO had played pretty well to that point as a striker. We really went from a 4-4-2 to a 4-4-1-1 with Gaven a straight replacement for Schelotto when we swapped Garey and Gaven. At times, we looked like a 4-5-1. "From you! I learned it from watching you!" I meant to quote the "Richards will pop out a 5'11" 'mini-Iro' in 9 months" comment, but I forgot. My response: that'll be a problematic childbirth, because I don't think Richards has the hips to give birth to a 5'11" baby. Well, it's not terrible. I never understood the offensive complaints; we're sitting at averaging nearly 2 goals per game, better than almost anyone in MLS (including the Galaxy) by quite a wide margin. RSL is the only team in MLS scoring more, and it's just by a hair. Our defense is more problematic, even tho we still have the 2nd best goals-allowed number in MLS. We're allowing fewer than 1 goal per game - roughly equaled by Colorado and only surpassed by... the Galaxy. And this is why mateo's troll worked - we've got an incredibly huge amount of whinging in here, despite the facts I just laid out in the above post. It is Poe's Law - it's impossible to create a parody of fundamentalism that won't be mistaken for the real thing. (Recently the real world has been stranger than the parodies on The Onion. Same thing going on in the Crew forums right now.)
Seriously, everyone seems to be all over Garey's ass for having a bad game. He played the first 20 or so minutes at forward, got behind a couple times and were giving fits, but then for some reason he was moved to outside right. It seemed like we went to a 4-5-1 with Lenhart alone and Ekpo doing God knows what. So yea, he didn't have a very good game, but I thought he was good when he played his actual position.
That's his problem. And to address something else you stated. Clearly the statistics back up everything you say. Besides LA, no team has scored more or given up fewer goals. And as I watched I just felt there were long stretches where we weren't doing well, especially in the defensive third. But we never broke. That's why I do wonder how good would this team be if, and I had a little trouble figuring out how to say this without it being a run of the mill whine here, our coverage got just a little better, our wingers runs were a little more focused, our finishing just a little stronger (yes, I know) How badly could we have crushed the Revs? That game should've been 5-2. A few small things go more right and we are just going to murder as opposed to merely defeat most of the league. If there's another team as deep as we are, well, they aren't in this league.
Awwww... why would you say that! ------------------------------------------------------- Bottom line: I posited that GBS being out would screw up RB's game plan. Wouldnt you say I was right? He's SO much more than just a player, he's ALSO a 'Red Herring' so to speak. - When GBS is on the field, Eddie Gaven is overlooked. Eddie Gaven is 23 yo, folks! wiki: Sez something doesnt it? NY has to do more than get the Thierry Henry's Lothar Matteus' of the world. You think they dont wish they had Eric Brunner now instead of trying to hide him in the 'development' reserves? The got Ream.. are they gonna give him a chance to learn from a real veteran like we did with Marshall (Fraser) and now Brunner and Iro with Marshall? Really think Brunner isnt better than freaking Petke, RIGHT NOW? And is Henry going to be as content with his new city and team and manager and fans as GBS? Hell... even as much as Beckham is with LA? RB is never going to be Alexi's 'Superteam' fantasy {that should be replayed to AL over and over} until they get the idea you cant just shuffle shit around, you gotta pay attention to the basics. Let your manager have a chance to build his own team. It was painful in Sigi's first year, but look where we are now, carpers notwithstanding. Look behind the most beautiful stadium in MLS to the reason why the attendance sux... it aint the marketing it's the ********ing logistics of getting to a game! Think RB fans wouldnt trade that for some occasional mud-walks? WTH... as long as the MuttroStars think you just put on the costume and makeup to succeed, teams like ours arent gonna suffer much.
Great Point and I'm glad you made it. From an outsider perspective there is no discernible difference. As long as outsiders are creating the definition without understanding the base premises, it's all one and the same and that's what happened here. But I suspect we'd have to leave these environs to discuss your premise further..... wouldnt we.
+1 Our depth is astounding. I'm going to go ahead and say it (and any visiting supporters from other sides please feel free to call out my hyperbolic kool-aid drinking Crew fanaticism because I'll be the first to cop to it): No team in the league's history has been as ready and capable to challenge for the Supporters Shield, US Open Cup, and advance in CCL in the same year as this one. And I definitely think that the things you mentioned (coverage, focus, finishing) are improving every week and will continue to improve with matches. We still have games in hand on more than half of the league - including 3 on the Gals. If you think about it, those two matches against Toluca said more about this team than I think any of us realized. These guys had nothing but a couple of weeks of preseason games and practice scrimmages in 4 months, and they took one a top FMF club to the brink. Talent, team chemistry, amazing veteran leadership, and - dare I say it - good coaching led to that good showing. And in the 7 league matches since they have built on that, slowly and steadily. It's really amazing to me that we are seeing an MLS side that can plug in quality for quality up and down the lineup. It wasn't so long ago when that was unthinkable.
And that's the thing. If we can just start playing up to the level that we have played in the past, it is going to be unfair.
-I have no idea why Garey is getting so many bad reviews without even a mention that he was playing ON THE WING. The guy can score goals. That's it. And yet, when asked to play outside attacking mid, a position that requires none of the skills that he possesses, he still put in a decent performance. His passing trying to play Gaven in a few times was a heck of a lot more dangerous than almost anything Robbie has managed this year. Did he have a good game? Of course not. But I think he filled in there admirably. -Ekpo: the guy needs to be on the right. It's been discussed, but for whatever reason, he seems so much more confident there. I really think we need him out on the field as much as possible because he's by far the most creative player we have, and probably the best with the ball at his feet. His decision-making was waaaay too slow against NY, but I think some of that could be rust. He got himself in plenty of good positions to either shoot, or play one of his naughty little balls over the top, but he failed to make the decision to do so. -Brunner and Iro are clearly both still works in progress. -Our central midfield is bad. I'm totally okay with the Crew playing Carroll there until I die, as long as he is with someone who can actually pass. BC gives the ball away 50% of the time he has it, and the other 45% he plays a square pass to a defender. Moffat just doesn't do much. He occasionally makes a nice pass or gets in a good position, but he really isn't a good goal scorer, and he isn't the defender that O'Rourke or Carroll is. He had all the time and space in the world, right in front of the goal, and all he could do was turn to his left (for some reason), and dink a harmless shot towards the net. O'Rourke played great when he moved to CM. He made a few HUGE tackles coming back to save the defense, and he actually moved the ball upfield when it was at his feet. It may seem overly defensive, but I think Carroll and O'Rourke is our best midfield pairing right now. -My opinion of Gaven has never been incredibly high, but I think playing him at forward most of the game was pretty dang impressive. RW has a lot of balls for the position swapping he has been doing, and it's paying off. I still don't get Garey on the wing... I really wouldn't mind seeing Gaven in the middle again. -Lenhart has the physicality and mentality you want in a CM, with none of the technical ability. He really needs to learn how to play the ball off his chest and hold play up instead of launching headers into nothingness and giving possession away time after time. That said, his work rate against NY was pretty incredible. Give me Lenhart over Moreno any day.
I'm anxious to see what Griffit can do in there. And I like the idea of Gaven moving center when Robbie comes back. I think Gaven's tough enough to take some shots and not get knocked off the ball easily, which is why I can't see Robbie moving center. That's one thing about Moffat and Carroll - their both tough as nails. It's just frustrating as hell to watch them hold onto possession despite getting assaulted and then give it away by making a horrible pass.
Neither Carroll nor Moffat is good with the ball under pressure. They usually get scared and pass it to the other team or no one. For some that's good under pressure, see Ekpo, Emmanuel. I actually thought about wanting Robbie in the middle the other day. He's bulked up a bit, his defense is actually pretty good now and he's looking tough in the tackle. The question is can he do anything with the ball when he doesn't have a ton of time and space? Finally, I have to strongly disagree that Gaven is tough enough to play in the middle. Think about last season when he was playing there and how ineffective he was at times. The guy gets physically overpowered pretty easily.
I was thinking that two sticks relating to the Dos Equis commercials would be cool. Like a pic of Duncan that says "Stay Thirsty My Friends"
They have a really beautiful stadium without a doubt. Was joined by a friend coming in from lower Manhattan who said his trip was 30 minutes door to door. It was nice to have our own zip code up there in the stands. Eddie Gaven should get a 7 year contract extension. Will he be the first 20 year MLS player? Maybe one of the GK's will beet him to it. Grouchy Point and Massive Jackpots.