I don't think that we necessarily have a problem with playing away from Spartan as much as it's just a matter of "you've got to lose sometimes." Odds are that you'll lose games here and there, so maybe other factors like injuries, substitutions, or simple bad luck are to blame. Thoughts?
I think the larger, less confined away fields are less forgiving than Spartan when it comes to posession. If you aren't on your possession game on a larger field you will generally play chase for 90 minutes like the Quakes did in KC. A healthy Russell, Agoos and Dayak will help alot but I don't know if that will be enough.
I think that the Quakes get fired up at home. Not like the huge crowd makes an impact, but after they got five or six wins in a row at home, they really started to focus on getting wins to keep the streak alive. The come from behind wins over Columbus and KC helped. I think that they don't focus as well on the road. They've proved they can beat anyone in the league by winning everything at home (well, we haven't played DC yet...). But for whatever reason, they don't seem to be getting fired up for the road games the same as they play at home. Fortunately, we can win the MLS Cup without winning a road game -- just win the West to get the home field advantage, and then we just need to avoid the Revs in MLS Cup, you know, because then it'll be a neutral-site game instead of a road game, and the Quakes are undefeated in neutral-site games this year (games against Olimpia in Miami and Sacramento). Right? Or is that too much of a stretch?
I agree you have to chase a lot more if you don't keep possession on a larger field. What has puzzled me is the fact that they have had a possession problem on the road. A possession game is usually enhanced by a larger field, more space to pass. The Quakes have played wonderful possession in the tighter confines of Sparten, I would expect that to be even better (if that's possible!) when visiting a larger field. The travel schedule and fatigue certainly played a part in the last lose at KC.
Thats my point, I don't think their possession is great at Spartan right now either, i think they are finding ways to get the result. On the road they have no chance.
I agree. I wouldn't say that they have played great this year, but as a sign of a good/great, they have been getting results. However, a great team will start making a run at the end of the season... We have had enough injuries that a hot team could drop us in the post season with our current form.
Being a United fan (0-8-2 for 2 points), you should probably be thankful you aren't us right now.. 431 minutes and counting from our last goal...