Michael Farfan stayed sitting because he was in an offside position. By sitting, he made it clear that he wasn't involved in the play Hoppenot was developing, and made sure Hoppenot didn't look to him for an outlet. To get involved, he would have had to get up, circle around behind Hoppenot, and then make another run, by which time I'm guessing he thought the play would be finished, so by standing up he'd be doing more harm than good.
problem was he was in the way. laying there is was basically another defender for TFC, prohibiting hppenot from using the goalline to attack. he should have stepped off the field which would have been about 6 inches away from where he was laying
I get your point, but it's not like he was 15 yards ahead of the play. If he got up and took 3 steps he would have been back onside in plenty of time to give Hoppenot an outlet or draw a defender away. I'm not questioning the guys hustle factor. He obviously plays smart and works hard all game. And I know he had to be beat after making that run in the heat plus pissed about not getting the call. I just think that was a poor decision on his part. All things considered, we have nothing to complain about in this game from any of the players (well maybe Pajoy's missed header).
Great game yesterday. It wasn't perfect, but they definitely played with a lot of intensity and heart.
A great all around team win this weekend. It's amazing how different this team is under Hackworth. Okugo is a beast at CB. Really would like to see him get a shot at LB when the Soumare era begins. Adu played really well, he actually played some defense. It's fun watching Jack Mac 'grow up' in front of our eyes. Hoppenot is legit. Marfan played really well- some really great passes! Brian was rock solid. Was that Ryan Johnson knee to the 'family jewels'? Nice to see Torres return to the pitch. What a fun game to watch. Can't wait until Wednesday night!!!!!
Union get some love from Ives http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2012/07/sbi-mls-team-of-the-week-philadelphia-union.html
The way I saw it, Hoppenot's the one who was the hindrance by trying to dribble into the goal when he had two guys to pass to at the top of the box. That said, he's hungry and wants to score. There's not much point in obsessing about every mistake made by a rookie playing with a ton of confidence. Hopefully next time he'll look up, see the outlets and add an assist to his tally.
I agree. I disagree. Why would we move an athletic, smart player who is performing well in the center of the pitch somewhere else? I think we should leave Okugo where he is and see if the good form continues.
What im wondering is where Torres fits in. Hopefully he's not slotted in as the "fast guy off the bench when the other team's gassed"... Hoppenot has earned that spot. It should be noted that Antoine showed some serious class last night, signing autographs for at least a half an hour after the match.
I'm not sure I see the value in tinkering with a defense that has been giving up very few goals already.
Normally you wouldn't. However the weird world of Professional Sports dictates that you must play the guy you just paid big bucks for. Not that we know how much we paid for Soumare, but I'm sure he's carrying a heftier tag then Okugo. The last thing we need is to have expensive dead weight on the bench again...a la Gonzalez.
It would be a shock if a former MLS best 11 selection, and defender of the year finalist ends up being dead weight on the roster. He's only going to improve our Defense. He's huge, and athletic which should immediately help us out with set piece defending. It will allow Okugo to move back into midfield. I'd really like to see him start a match or two over Carroll or even Gomez (maybe rotate between the two), as his distribution is much better then Carroll's. Don't get me wrong, Brian Carroll is one of the reasons for our turn around, as he's a very under rated player, and one of the Union's most consistent players as well. I just feel in the long run Okugo offers more at that position, or at least on the wing in MF on occasion. At the very least the addition of Soumare will only make the team better (competition for spots, etc.). One of the main reasons cited by Frank Yallop for San Jose's turn around is the increase of depth and quality in the squad, which has led to more competition for playing time, which has increased the level of play of the team.
Why not? An extra gear (Hoppenot) plus nitrous (Torres) seems like a nice way to drop the hammer on an opponent.
It is really, REALLY hard to take Carroll out of the starting 11. Him and Valdes have been our most consistent players all season, heck you can even go back to last season as well. Once Soumare is fit and ready he should replace Okugo at CB, this will leave Okugo out of the starting 11. I don't disagree with playing him on the as LM but he is currently behind two very good players in Carroll and Gomez. He should definitely be ahead of Lahoud and is also our 3rd CB. Don't really want to see him as a LB as I think Gabe has shown he deserves to play unless we get someone better. I really wish party rock had worked out so we could see the Farfan twins in the midfield together but you can't win on every signing.