The schedule gods have been kind (fixture congestion! ha). It will be interesting to see how the revs do against teams on a full week of rest once this little run of playing tired teams end.
Really curious to see how this game plays out. Expecting rain, which shouldn't help attendance. Olsen has to be the lead candidate at this point of time for Coach of the Year (they've already surpassed their paltry point total from last year).
Time is now to put as much money in the bank as they can. If Revs don't take care of business now, it will be a lost opportunity. Road seems to gets harder in terms of tired opponents. Would be nice to build up some padding in terms of points, might get them through a rough patch later on. And avoid relying on other teams fortunes to get into playoffs.
We could definitely argue that. But in general, it's been given to a guy that shows the most improvement with his team. To have already surpassed last year's point total is a point in his favor. I'd do agree though that Heaps is also right up there.
Er, is that a recommendation that you think the Krafts should be looking to cash in on any extra interest generated by this good run, and save up any extra money they make now, rather than spending more on new signings or whatever to help the Revs this season?
I would say Heaps should win if the Revs get to the final 4 or further. Yes, his would have been a two-year turnaround, but it is a far greater achievement to go from pure, unadultarated crap to middle-of-the-road competent in one year, and then go from there to be a serious title contender (or even champion) in year two. Olsen was pretty much universally despised by DC fans last year, and he deserves credit for their turnaround. I would also say that they should not really have been as bad as their record was last year, and that, most people blamed Olsen. Right now, both teams are looking good, but let's wait until October to see if either of them is still where they are now.
Hah, unintended literal meaning of a metaphor! Maybe they are doing that. Balance sheet is looking shinier every day!
Just IMHO, but I don't think DC has the depth to sustain their recent level. I think they did a good job in the offseason of rebuilding their starting lineup, but I don't think there's much behind that.
On balance, DCU looks statistically very similar to us. They are defensively stingy, having given up 6 goals in the last 8 games, and 3 of those away to Portland. Their 3 name players in the offensive third each can score in different ways. On the other hand, their mids are very physical, and with the exception of DeLeon, don't seem to offer much by way of combination. Neal is a punk. I don't see much coaching genius coming into the DCU story. I think Olsen was largely responsible for last year's debacle, and I haven't seen anything this year to show that they have become something special. They cashed in what assets they could, and picked up a list of more or less expensive MLS journeymen, some of whom, especially Rolfe and Espindola, I like. Their one >2 goal game was against a Dallas team playing with 10 men for 2/3 of the game. They usually seem to grind out results. Against us, they will, I believe, try to isolate Espindola or Johnson against a single defender, with Rolfe lurking at the top of the 18. The Revs seem to have figured out the team D thing enough that I doubt Espindola gets any easy looks, and I doubt Rolfe escapes the aroma of Dorman's body odor for long. If DCU can play cohesively and creatively this weekend, and not turn the game into a hackfest, I'll eat my anti-Olsen words.
I do not like Ben Olson. I do not like the DCU franchise. I do not like the way DCU plays hack-ball Please Revs---obliterate them GO REVS
New England Revolution vs. DC United Gillette Stadium (7:30pm ET) REFEREE: JUAN GUZMAN AR1: Kermit Quisenberry AR2: Felisha Mariscal 4TH: Silviu Petrescu http://www.proreferees.com/mls-assignments-05-21-14-05-28-14.php
I hate Olson on a boat I want to beat him with a goat I want to beat them in the rain I want to beat them on a train
Female AR. Interesting. Mariscal's done plenty of women's games, but I'm not sure if she'd done MLS for this year. Wonder if that will prompt any better behavior from the players/coaches. ARs are often the target of a lot of invective - especially if they don't get some support from the center ref.
There was a female ref in the center circle several years ago, and if you don't notice anything about the calls, I guess that means she did a decent job. Speaking of refs, the other AR for this game has to be a pretty tough guy if he has a name like Kermit Quisenberry.
Kermit Quisenberry is a three-sport athlete. Soccer reffing, olde-tyme bare-knuckle boxing, and 1-on-1 cricket
Doubt it will continue at a rate as it has been, but I found this interesting that the Revs have more PK attempts (and goals) this year in 11 games than they did in all of 2012 (2) and 2010 (1), and a couple more seasons if you go further back. Jaime Moreno had more PK goals in his career than the Revs (as a team) have had PK attempts in the last decade. Moreno had 43 PK goals, the Revs have had 46 attempts since 2002. Amazing stat (to me at least).
Interesting stat. I wonder if it is due to the style the Revs are playing these days. Their ability to make quick passes in tight spaces and move the ball into the box with combinations seems like a style that will make defenders have to dive in and take desperate measures to recover and stay in the play. Earlier Revs teams scored, if at all, with more cross and pray. Even in the glory years, it seemed like Twellman and Dempsey were getting the bulk their goals from running onto crosses rather than craft with the ball inside the box. That style doesn't lend itself to penalties the way the current style does.