P/I/P, Match P1: Revs vs MON, Fri 11/20/2020 6:30p [R]

Discussion in 'New England Revolution' started by NFLPatriot, Nov 16, 2020.

  1. teskicks

    teskicks Member+

    New England Revolution
    United States
    Jan 14, 2002
    Wrentham, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    When I saw the starting 11 I thought Bruce is really going for it. That is an attacking group. I liked it.

    Some of my thoughts:

    Gil and Bou really play well together. We have missed that combo.

    TMac had a really tough start to the game. Seemed like every pass he made was off target. Polster too to a lesser extent.

    Buchanon was dangerous and once he got that yellow on Corrales I was convinced a second was coming. Smart of Henry to get Corrales out at the half.

    The REVs lost a lot of the play in the beginning of the second half and I think that had a lot to do with Buchanon's injury. They were on the back foot when he left but once he did leave and his attacking threat was gone Gil had less space to work because Polster did not scare them the way Tejon did and they could crowd Carles.

    The game opened up again for the REVs when Lee came on.

    The three DPs all played up a notch, or two in some cases.

    Kessler's game reading was on display. I thought it had been missing for a few games recently.

    The streaky Bunbury is in a down streak. He missed so many opportunities.

    Diop robbed Buksa twice.

    I got the impression that Bou did not trust Rennicks

    Farrell had another one of his brain fart plays. Badly misjudged a ball near midfield giving Montreal an odd man break (excuse the hockey term). Just glad it did not result in a goal.

    Was Montreal as tired as they looked on that final goal. How did they let Bou have that much space?

    I am getting a little tired of one poster's apparent hatred of Caldwell's game. It's getting old. Granted, he is not a flashy player but he is steady, rarely misconnects a pass and reads the game very well. This allows him to be an effective 6 without the physicality of others who play that position. I remember another guy who played that position who sang Scotty's praises again and again. Jermaine Jones loved playing with Scott.

    Bruce seemed pretty happy after the game.

    I hope Tejon's injury is not serious. He has been a bright light this season and I hope to see more of him.
     
  2. BERich

    BERich Member+

    Feb 3, 2012
    New England
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It was a fun and exciting game to watch. Makes a difference when you can't settle for a tie. (For the record, I don't have a problem with ties) I agree with most of the comments so far. A couple of my random thoughts about the game:

    I have criticized the selection of Caldwell as a starting DM, but he played very well last night when he was inserted into the lineup. It kind of goes along with my thought that he would be a good sub at that position.

    There are long stretches of the game where the Revs don't move the ball fast enough on offense. Montreal had 8 players in the box and the Revs don't have anybody who can break that down. But when they moved the ball quickly, especially when they switched fields, they had better scoring chances.

    I like Quioto he's a beast. There is someone who doesn't fall down when the defender bumps him. It's usually the defender who goes down. Farrell a couple of times was knocked off stride by Quioto, not the other way around.
     
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  3. Cannons

    Cannons Member+

    May 16, 2005
    #53 Cannons, Nov 21, 2020
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2020
     
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  4. NFLPatriot

    NFLPatriot Member+

    Jun 25, 2002
    Foxboro, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    On the postgame show, Doyle pointed out that Bunbury does the little things that often go unnoticed. For example, he made a nice inside run that drew the defender off of Gil, which gave Gil space to shoot and score the first goal.
     
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  5. tsb11

    tsb11 Member+

    United States
    May 31, 2018
    Yeah, you didnt watch the game then.

    He was excellent holding possession, and actually created a couple chances.

    3/3 shots on target, 2 deflected off the post. 5 duels won, 3 inside the opponent's 18. Only disspossessed once. Constantly making aggressive runs to attack the 6yd box, We signed this guy to be a target forward, and this is pretty much the target forwardiest game you can have.

    There is a reason Bou had so much space in the 95', and thats because all 3 CB were tracking Adam Buksa
     
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  6. tsb11

    tsb11 Member+

    United States
    May 31, 2018
    There were 2 MTL defenders to defend 3 revs on the play (I think Tommy was the other one)

    kudos to the other 2 for making the right play to clear space on the overload
     
  7. patfan1

    patfan1 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 19, 1999
    Nashua, NH
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There were some negatives to take out of that game (Tajon's injury being one), but it had been so long since we'd had a playoff win that I don't even care.

    Well done Revs. Now let's see if we can somehow shock Philly.
     
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  8. rkupp

    rkupp Member+

    Jan 3, 2001
    #58 rkupp, Nov 23, 2020
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
    Wow, doesn't get more dramatic than that. And, well deserved, with all the pressure we created. Bou was very clutch with that finish.

    Mistake/confusion/exhaustion by Montreal's defense dropping off and giving Bou a ton of space. Nice play by DeJuan Jones to spot the opening and give Bou just the pass he needed.

    In the late going, we were having trouble getting Gil the ball - he was getting so much attention from Montreal. Nice move by Arena bringing on Nguyen to be an alternate distributor. We'll need that again against Philly.

    I guess the 'positive' player must have been Büttner, Fagundez or Bye? I'm guessing Diego, since he never gets injured and I don't see Arena leaving him out if he was available.
     
  9. Revs In First :)

    Aug 15, 2001
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm guessing Buttner - Fagundez tweeted from inside the facility during the game, and I highly doubt he'd be allowed on site if he was positive. During the broadcast, they said Bye was out with a hamstring issue and referred to Buttner as "unavailable".
     
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  10. firstshirt

    firstshirt Member+

    Bayern München
    United States
    Mar 1, 2000
    Ellington, CT / NK, RI
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agree to disagree. He has had much better games in my opinion
     
  11. edcrocker

    edcrocker Member+

    May 11, 1999
    In the Revs’ game against Philadelphia tomorrow, if Tajon Buchanan is healthy enough to start, it would be a good idea for Bruce Arena to consider starting the following line-up:

    -------------------------------------------Turner-----------------------------------


    Buchanan------------------Farrell------------------Kessler--------------Jones


    -------------------------Polster (or Nguyen)-----------Caldwell--------------------


    ---Gil---------------------------------------Bou-----------------------------Bunbury


    ---------------------------------------------Buksa---------------------------------------


    If Buchanan is not healthy enough to start, Arena should consider starting this line-up:

    ---------------------------------------Turner-----------------------------------


    Polster------------------Farrell------------------Kessler--------------Jones


    ----------------McNamara (or Nguyen)----------------Caldwell---------------


    ---Gil------------------------------------Bou-----------------------------Bunbury


    ------------------------------------------Buksa---------------------------------------


    1. Carles Gil at right midfield

    Against Montreal, the Revs played well and won their first playoff game since 2014. They passed the ball well, played with good energy, and played as a team—they worked well together.

    Prior to the game, I was uneasy about the idea of Carles Gil starting at outside midfield. I was worried that he wouldn’t have the stamina to get back on defense, and tackling and defending are not his strong suits, particularly after coming back from a serious energy. But in the match, he played very well at right midfield. He scored a brilliant goal and controlled the ball excellently. And his defense wasn’t bad. At least I didn’t notice any problems. So, it would be a good idea for Arena to start Gil at right midfield in a 4-2-3-1 against Philly on Tuesday night.


    2. Defensive-midfield

    Against Montreal, Tommy McNamara had a mediocre game. He turned the ball over too much. In fact, the first time he got the ball, he was dispossessed. He also had the lowest passing percentage of all the Revs’ midfielders (85%) other than Gustavo Bou (83.3%), and Bou was basically an attacking player in the game. McNamara also attempted fewer passes per minute played than any Revolution midfielders other than Bou and Teal Bunbury. McNamara also had fewer tackles (0 versus 2) and the same number of interceptions (1 versus 1) as Scott Caldwell, who played 23 fewer minutes than McNamara. Here is a link to whoscored.com’s statistics for the Revs-Impact game:

    https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1...r-2020-New-England-Revolution-Montreal-Impact

    Meanwhile, Scott Caldwell played well against Montreal. He attempted an impressive 53 passes in his 40 minutes of play. (In comparison, McNamara attempted 41 passes in 63 minutes of play, and Matt Polster attempted 65 passes in 90 minutes of play.) And Caldwell completed 92.6 percent of his passes.

    In addition, this season, Caldwell has played 18 games for the Revs with 15 starts. In comparison, McNamara has played 14 games with 11 starts, and Polster has played 15 games with 8 starts. So, Caldwell has been a more integral part of the team this season than either McNamara or Polster. In addition, an advantage of starting Caldwell against Philadelphia is that he played only 40 minutes against Montreal. So, he’s likely to be fresh for tomorrow’s match. So, Arena should consider starting Caldwell as one of the holding midfielders against the Union tomorrow.

    Who should Arena start as the other holding midfielder? One option that Arena should consider is Lee Nguyen. Against Montreal, Nguyen came in for McNamara in the 63rd minute, when the game was 1-1. He played very well. His passing, ball-control and dribbling were good.

    However, throughout Nguyen's lengthy career, he has played little as a holding midfielder. And he is not a great tackler. And how much ground does he cover? In addition, in the Revs’ 2-0 loss to Philadelphia on November 8, he had a poor tackle on Jose Martinez that was part of the sequence that led to the Union’s second goal. Here is a link to video of the play:

    https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...s-new-england-revolution/details/video/248539

    Nevertheless, if the Revs start in a 4-2-3-1 tomorrow, Nguyen would not be the lone holding midfielder. For instance, he could have Scott Caldwell next to him to handle a lot of the defensive duties. So, perhaps Arena should talk to Nguyen to see how comfortable he would be with starting at holding midfield in a 4-2-3-1. If Nguyen is concerned about the defensive responsibilities, perhaps Arena should start Polster or McNamara next to Caldwell.

    If Arena does not start Nguyen at holding midfielder next to Caldwell (and Buchanan is able to start at right back), it would be good for Arena to start Polster next to Caldwell. Polster played better against Montreal than McNamara. For instance, Polster attempted 65 passes and completed 92.3 percent of them. He also led the Revs with four interceptions. McNamara attempted 41 passes and completed 85.4 percent, and he had only one interception. Also, Polster is more athletic than McNamara and may cover more ground.


    3. If Buchanan cannot start


    If Buchanan cannot start, then Arena probably should start Polster at right back and either Nguyen or McNamara at holding midfield next to Caldwell. Polster played well at right back against Montreal. And DeJuan Jones was good at left back against Montreal. In the match, Jones played left back better than Alexander Büttner has for most of the year. Jones was more dynamic going forward. He also is faster and more athletic than Büttner.

    Another option would be to start Brandon Bye at right back, Jones at left back and Polster as one of the holding midfielders. But Bye has been somewhat invisible in the last month of the season, and against Philly on November 8, he didn’t get back on defense after Adam Buksa turned the ball over. This led to Philly’s second goal. Here is the play:

    https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...s-new-england-revolution/details/video/248539


    4. Sergio Santos

    Philly’s Sergio Santos is fast, and he has eight goals this season. And he scored against the Revs the last time the teams played. It’s important for the Revs to be aware of him and contain him. Here’s the goal:

    https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...s-new-england-revolution/details/video/248438

    As the goal shows, Santos is quick in the box


    5. Defending set pieces

    The Revs have struggled all season at defending set pieces. And against Montreal on Friday night, Montreal scored off of a set piece. Everyone on the Revolution lost track of Romell Quioto. Here’s the play:

    https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...ution-vs-montreal-impact/details/video/249482

    In addition, in the Revs’ game against Philly on November 8, Sergio Santos scored off of a corner. Thus, on every defensive set piece tomorrow, the Revs should be extra-focused mentally and stay goal-side of their men. It could be the difference.
     
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  12. rkupp

    rkupp Member+

    Jan 3, 2001
    So, is the challenge one of speed/quickness or size/strength? Since that's where Santos usually plies his trade, I'd say size/quickness - so I'd rather see Rowe - who has been very steady when playing fullback. Polster is the more experienced defender, but I think he'd be at a significant disadvantage in terms of quickness vs. Santos. And, as we saw in the last game, he is very limited in overlapping up his wing.
     
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  13. rkupp

    rkupp Member+

    Jan 3, 2001
    Mancienne is a possibility as well.

    Or, bringing Mancienne or Delamea into the middle and have Farrell play RB.

    I'm guessing Arena will opt for the least extensive change, but ... throwing a surprise at PHI wouldn't be a bad thing.
     
  14. edcrocker

    edcrocker Member+

    May 11, 1999
    Thanks for the comment.

    So, do you think Bruce Arena should start Kelyn Rowe at right back tonight instead of Matt Polster? I would start Polster ahead of Rowe at right back. Among other things, Rowe has not played right back in quite some time. For instance, as far as I remember, he hasn’t played the position once all season. Moreover, here is a link to football-lineups.com’s page for Rowe:

    https://m.football-lineups.com/footballer/57928/?t=2353&s=265

    About one-third of the way down the page is a chart with all the games Rowe has played this season. On the far right-hand side of the page, it lists the position that he played in each game (when that position was known by the people who administer the website). He hasn’t played outside back this season.

    And Polster played well at outside back on Friday night. His defense, passing and positioning were all good.

    Moreover, Polster has played a lot of right back in his career. For instance, he generally started at right back for the Chicago Fire in 2017. Here is a link:

    https://m.football-lineups.com/footballer/98688/?t=1713&s=261

    And when Polster played for Glasgow Rangers -- which wasn’t very often -- my understanding is that he at least generally played right back. For instance, in 2019-20, he started at right back three times in the Scottish Premier League. Here’s a link:

    https://m.football-lineups.com/footballer/98688/?t=2115&s=273

    Finally, based on my research, Kelyn Rowe hasn’t played outside back all that much in his pro career. He played it some in 2017, but that’s three years ago, and he may have lost a step since then.

    If, however, Brandon Bye is healthy tonight, he would be a good option for right back, with DeJuan Jones starting at left back. Bye has played right back about 15 times this season, with 12 starts. And Bye has been good at right back.

    But I agree with you that it is a good idea for Arena to keep in mind that Kelyn Rowe can play outside back in a pinch. He’s played there in MLS a number of times in his career. For instance, he could play left back, and DeJuan Jones could play right back.

    As for Michael Mancienne at right back, as I understand it, he has never played right back for the Revs. Although he played some at outside back for Nottingham Forest (for instance, in 2017), he didn’t play a lot there. Also, he’s tall and has a pretty high center of gravity. So, I would start Polster ahead of Mancienne at right back tonight.

    Lastly, your idea of starting Mancienne or Antonio Delamea at center-back (next to Henry Kessler) and starting Andrew Farrell at right back is an interesting idea. Farrell has played a lot of right back in his MLS career. But Farrell has been solid this season at center-back. And Polster did fine at right back against Montreal on Friday night. So, I would stick with that. It’s more tried and true, at least for this season.
     
  15. rkupp

    rkupp Member+

    Jan 3, 2001
    Well, Arena did roll the dice and try something totally new by starting Buchanon at RB against Montreal, so I guess he isn't afraid to think outside of the box.

    Yes, Rowe hasn't done it in a while, but the particular skills required are mostly mental (there's no doubt he's good enough athletically, even if a bit small for the position). His mental discipline is what allowed him to adjust well to the position in the past, so I think he'd be fine doing it again.

    I like Bye and he had a great season IMO, but he looked so off against Philly last time that I'm really nervous about going back to him.

    OTOH, I'd like to see Buchanon start there if possible, so hopefully ...
     
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