DCU v. Revs - 7/27/02 (R)

Ummm..


No, no they did not deserve to win..

DC dominated the entire match and if DC were not mired in the middle of a ridiculous scoring slump where they couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat, then this result would have been different..

With that being said, the Revs came in and got the 3 points and that is the name of the game..

On a side note, can someone please explain to Doug "I'm a homer" Chapman that going thru a player from behind to get the ball is not quite legal.. That was a nasty typical Franchino foul and was warrented of at least a yellow.. Undeserved yellow my arse...

Sincerely,

Sour Grapes

 

I'll grant you Chacon had a good game, but Harris? I'm willing to be convinced. What did I miss? Or is it just enough to say the Harris' best game is not saying much?

 

Re: Re: DCU v. Revs - 7/27/02 (R)

I think saying either team deserved to win is a gross injustice to winning (and losing) teams all over the world. A fair result would be a 0-0 tie with each team having a point deducted for defacing il jogo bonito.

I have to agree here. Two-foot cleats-up tackles from behind are fouls regardless of the ball-to-body ratio of contact. That said, Villegas deserved a yellow as well for his cleats-up challenge on Taylor - there was no justification for walking up Taylor's leg.

Cripes, what an awful game. Is it possible that Rongen's responsible for all this suffering? If you look back at the teams he's coached, everyone of them has suffered, regardless of who's succeeded him. NE, DC, TB, they all went to shambles in Rongen's wake. Ugh.

 

Re: Re: Re: DCU v. Revs - 7/27/02 (R)

I would go so far as to say he did a few things well- his ball for Chacon to backheel to Twellman, for instance, in what was the best bit of soccer all night. Plus he didn't forget to mark his man.

Not to say Winston Griffiths or 10 or 12 players no one's ever heard of in the a league wouldn't be better.

 

I had always wondered if we were capable of defending a lead for 75+ minutes with this defense... I must say, it was an adventure! Can't believe DC couldn't find the equaliser, they were knocking on the door all night.

I second the thoughts on Chacon, he was great possessing (although I didn't think Fuller was doing poorly enough to get yanked like that... was he carrying a knock?). If Chacon wasn't in there, it would've been 70% DC ball. Cullen had a great game, as did Llamosa. Heaps was strong in the back, plus the huge goal. Brown had some top-notch saves. Nice game from the defensive corps overall, I thought. They weren't rock solid, and DC's offense is anemic, but a shut out on the road always calls for a few pats on the back.

Still hate Rooney. Guy's just collecting his paycheck and it makes me sick. Him and Hernandez make for a very lackidasical and egotisitical - and thus, largely ineffective - central midfield.

 

Bull Bunky

<On a side note, can someone please explain to Doug "I'm a homer" Chapman that going thru a player from behind to get the ball is not quite legal.. That was a nasty typical Franchino foul and was warrented of at least a yellow.. Undeserved yellow my arse... >

Did anybody watch the replay? Joey clearly got the ball first and the player second with a dragging left leg. It was not cleats up, it was not a two footed tackle. No card was deserved

There were many far worse tackles thrown by DC later in the game that deserved cards and none were given. THe hack on Twellmans knee (no ball at all) and there was a ankle breaker thrown on a Rev (forget who or by who) the the replay showed all ankle, no ball at all, cleats into the lower shin. That was an instant Red and yet nothing was shown.

That Ref sucks and should be tossed before someone does get hurt.

 

Thank you!

By the way...400!

 

I think that the only real conclusion that can be drawn from this game is that these are the two worst teams in MLS.

Our defense needed luck to shutout the most anemic offense in MLS. There were alot of scares and some great saves from Brown. Would Sommer have gotten all those balls?

Our offense was essentially shut down by the "other" worst team in MLS.

There is no upside for a trip to LA other than two weeks to get healthy and sign ???

 

The Rev's were lucky this game. Against any competent offense, they could have easily given up 5 goals. As much as disliked DC United in its hayday, it sad to seem them reduced to the pathetic team they are today.

I also didn't see anything special in Harris's play today. Perhaps it was one of his better games but that's not saying much.


Too bad Twellman didn't have a better game with Bruce Arena looking on.

 

Glad to see Chacon go a full 90 in this match he definately seemed to make a difference.

Twellman may not have had a great game but he showed an incredible work rate throughout and had no problem playing both ways which I suspect the Bruce is looking for in a forward/striker.

Hernandez didn't play to his potential in comparison with the Mutts match last weekend.

Brown had a great match.

 

Actually, Chacon did not play a full 90, but more like 50 0r 60, after he came in for Fuller. He was certainly a big help, however, in providing needed possession of the ball. If Chacon played like that all the time, he would be starting.

Heaps went out of his way to praise Twellman in the post-game interview. "Taylor worked his butt off." Nice to see that comment, since TT had a frustrating game offensively.

 

If I'm not mistaken since both got cards last night we will be without both Heaps and Franchino for this match due to card points. A player with 20 points is Ralston--one more card and he will need to sit out as well.

I wonder if Rusty might be back for the LA match?
Glad Kante will be aboard. Our defense is anemic anyway but with both Heaps and Franchino out, if Rusty isn't ready we will need to play Downing again and that's a freightening prospect on top of an already difficult situation..

 

Hudson's post game comments:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10957-2002Jul27.html

Hudson: "I don't know if I've seen a more one-sided game."

He also comments that DC may pass on Gazza because of its need for help at forward.

 

What amazing crap. Talk about one sided press reporting.

I find the comments about Gazza funny---if he was still able to play Ray would sell his children to sign him. Fact is he's an over the hill, out of shape alcoholic looking for a place to land.

 

I'm not sure which is funnier from the Washington Post article:

1. In reference to uncalled alleged hand balls: "It has happened too many times," captain Marco Etcheverry said. "If they want to kill the league this way, that's okay."

........or this:

2. "Our whole back five was fantastic," New England Coach Steve Nicol said. "It was good, old-fashioned hard work."

OK, so we did manage a shutout against a team that couldn't score in a brothel, but "fantastic"?!?!? C'mon Stevie. But I must say El Diablo's comment about killing the league via poor officiating is a real hoot!

 

*While the offense did not play as well as they have in the past, they have still produced more goals than any other team in MLS. Got to give a little credit to DC's back line for playing an excellent game.

*Our defense was not good but it is worlds better with Llamosa than without, add to that Pierce and Kante if he can contribute (and it is hard to see how he could be worse) and we might have an average defense.

*What happened to Joey Franchino? The left side has been wide open the last few games, he's getting caught up all the time, he gives the ball away more often than not, and sometimes doesn't bother to mark his man.

 

What happened to Franchino is the same as what has happened to Rooney and Hernandez. They are trying to play the style defense their coach wants and it doesn't work for this team. From watching this game and from reading Colorado's coach's comments (CyberSoccer.com) it is clear that Nicols is trying to have the team play a compact central zone defense without individual marking assignments. Accordingly, Franchino is pulled inside and waits for the play to come to him (something that is not his style). With the flanks conceded to the other team their wide players have the neccessary time and space to play dangerous crosses. In theory, the tight central zone defense should cut these out (as on a corner kick) but the defense fails because the two central defensive midfielders (Rooney and Hernandez) are also playing a zone and don't mark midfielders running into the box. The problem is compounded by any effort at attack which opens up more space in front of the clustered back four particularly when the two central midfieders are lackluster at checking back or shutting off play through the middle. That is why we are seeing less and less of Ralston going forward, Nicols has to have told him to pick his spots more conservatively and leave Twellman to fend for himself (which is also not his strength).
What is inexcusable about all this is that a team has been destroyed to fit the favored mode of play of their coach. A better coach would either have used a system more suited to his players but this coach has persisted even as things get worse. Think back to what we had to start and it is sad we didn't get a chance to see Diallo (or Chacon) and Twellman in attack with Williams behind, Franchino in defensive mid, Ralston and Chrono out wide. The team would have needed a left back (maybe Woods who was offensively hopless but could defend OK) but they had the other players to play a repectable four man back line with two marking backs. Heaps, Pierce, Cullen, Franchino, Rooney, and Chacon have all been asked to play away from their strengths in a system ill-suited to them and the result speaks for itself. Things will likely improve a bit but this team is going the wrong way and only Nicols seems not to see it.

 

Re: Re: Re: DCU v. Revs - 7/27/02 (R)

OK, we now have another possible explanation for the Revs' suckiness:

The Rongen Factor

This accompanies (in no particular order)

The Kraft Factor

The Beppe Galderisi Factor (corollary of the Zenga Factor)

The Lalas Factor

and (last but not least)

The Slyde the Fox factor.

You make the call!

 

players

ROTFLOL

What has been distroyed???? When did this team ever play good defense????? You can't destroy what never was.

What has been causing us to give up goals isn't the coaching scheme--it's that the players are not doing the basics very well. Not clearing the ball in the box. Not talking to each other. Stuff most players learn in little league.

The problem has been the players have been making dunb, simple mistakes. The coaching plan is correct; execuition has been horrific.

I do think SN knows a bit more about this game and can evaluate what his players can and can't do than any of us monday morning quarterbacks ("Retrospectscopephiles").

 

I didn't see the game, but I read the post-game thread at the DCU board, and there was lots of tlak about blown calls that should have given them pks, and negated our goal.

What's the story? Blown calls, or pointless bitching?

 

Mostly bitching on our part..

With that being said, there were 2 seperate instances late in the game that could have been called PK's..

The first one involved Etcheverry making a series of cutback moves on Cullen along the endline about 6 yards out from goal.. Etch made one last cut and was crossing the ball when it struck Cullen's hand (which was extended from his body) and most definitely prevented the cross from getting through.. My guess is that the ref simply didn't see the infraction and assumed it hit Cullen in the midsection and went out of bounds..

The second example involved Villegas at the top right corner of the penalty area attempting a cross that hit Franchino in the upper arm/chest area.. The replay wasn't conclusive either way that it was or wasn't a clear handball but it certainly didn't just hit him in the chest like Doug Chapman suggested (big shock there considering his dopey comments on Franchino's tackle earlier in the match) without striking the arm of Franchino.. One could simply not deduce one way or the other what happened on that play and I certainly don't give the linesman or the ref any credit at all for having the guts to not make the call considering it was in the 89th minute and could have resulted in a game tying PK..

It's obviously one of the toughest calls to make in soccer, especially in such a high strung match.. I don't think objective Revs fans would have much complaining to do on either case if a PK was called.. I can just imagine what would be said on these boards had the non-calls been reversed and DC got away with 2 borderline handballs in a close match..

This is what makes this game so great.....

 

The Revs were a bit lucky, but I also think they deserved to win. You have to put the ball in the net and DC couldn't get it done, so they deserved to lose.

Roy Lassister, by the way, should probably retire. I'd even take Wolde over him.

Defensively, Llamosa makes all the difference. When he doesn't play, the Revs can't compete in MLS -- which I suppose says it all about our backline.

Pineda Chacon, I thought, played very well. They needed some possesion to counter DC's attacking and he gave it to them.

Brown though was probably MOTM. With Sommer in net, we lose 3-1.

A win is a win, especially the way the Revs have been going. I'll take it.

 

I saw this interesting comment (that some might get a kick out of) by Hudson in Diceson's DCU post-game wrap up...

"Wolde Harris coming in off the bench. I envy that sort of player – a good honest yeoman forward. "

http://unitedmania.mlsfansites.com/...59&PHPSESSID=bafea59ede75d8cb6df6d7dd293878ed