What are your predictions for Saturday's game against the crew? Rapids: 1 Crew: 4 After this morning's practice, Hanki was kind enough to share Saturday's 3-3-4 lineup: Keeper: Vallow Defense: Sleeth, Fraser, Rizo Mid: Kingsley, Beckerman, Hart Forward: Zizi, Trembly, Schmidt, Chung
C'mon now, at least Bradley had a 5-2 Crew victory.... Maybe we'll be down to 9 men and you can get one in on us...
Just Kidding Yes, a joke. Although I wouldn't be surprised by the way Hanki runs things. Still, I'll take the Columbus Crew over the Colorado Cattle 4-1.
i like the lineup! why not try some new blood.. Know the humor with the injured players, but some of the other players deserve a try. some of the starter aren't producing good play to always warrant a start.
Hope they do well too. BTW, how is that Arsenal/ Man U race going in the EPL? I'm sure Arsenal held that big lead, right? Didn't blow any easy games at the end or anything.
Best team on paper in the league vs. the worst in the West, and we got Columbus fans trolling. Lot a class. Way to go out on a limb Bailey. Courageous.
Rapids 3 (Zizi, Schmidt, Henderson) (if Schmidt absent, Carrieri) Crew 2 (Cunningham 2) Crew are overconfident, Rapids are hungry to get a win. Home teams have lost most of the time so far. Martino will set up both Crew goals and miss two easy opportunities. When this team clicks (ie Hankinson gets fired / finds an actual lineup), we could be really good. Let's hope that happens this game...
Nice to see that Crew fans are getting a big head early on in the season. Sure, they look to have a great team, but all-time, the Rapids are 10-3-3 against the Crew. So Bailey, that avatar you got, which team is which? Seriously, the Rapids need to gain something out of this game. Anything less than a point hurts bad. 3 points could really start something, as the Crew have shown early in the season to be favorites this year and may give our team the confidence and chemistry they need to start stringing together a couple of wins. Rapid Fan prediction: 1-2 (Rapids win) Impartial observer prediction: 2-1 (Crew win, but have they kept a clean sheet yet this year?)
1-0 win vs the Metros at the Meadowlands. I don't see how the Rapids possibly win or keep this game remotely close. "The Crew is overconfident" excuse holds little water at all, unless you guys are in the locker room or have seen their overconfidence in practice. As for the Rapids being hungry for a win, I'm sure they are. And I bet the crew is too after a loss on a flukey Magee goal against the Metros and pissing away 2 points in the 89th vs KC. I doubt one team is more hungry than the other, and it can't be proven either way. Crew - 4-1
Brilliant! From the Denver Post today (May 7, 2003): "It could be a while before the Rapids' starting lineup is solidified. Hankinson said he will continue to experiment" That'll make everyone here happy! ;-) He also said: "The problem is not in the way the forwards are playing. . . It's been (that) overall as a team we are not possessing the ball well. The ability to keep the ball is something that's been breaking down for us." Well...thats not a shock. Last year one thing the team developed at times was an ability to make those short passes to push the ball up field. We've totally lost that. Earlier (?) this season Hankinson said that we were going to use the longball more. Sorry, we can't even pass the ball 10 yards without it landing on the other team's foot. We have never been good (in the past few years, at least) at the long ball. Maybe instead Hankinson could spend some time working on short passes and our set pieces (which for the past few years must surely be among the absolute worst in the league - esp. at corner kicks).
You bring up a great point about set pieces. Our corners are absolutely awful, and that is directly related to coaching. Period. Coaches can influence style of play, but obviously can't get out there and kick the ball themselves. But with set pieces, coaches can dictate a specific course of action and alter that to fit a team's strengths and weaknesses. Instead of tinkering with a lineup every week, why not tinker with a couple of set pieces that could actually result in a goal?
Rapids 1 : 2 Crew Our defense has been solid for 80 minutes, and dumb and inconsistent enough for the other 10. Wouldn't be surprised to see 3 put in but I think the Rapids will be playing slow and tight and not taking too many chances. And I can see us scoring a goal through something scrappy or garbage-like. We may not be tallying up a storm but we do have a significant amount of offensive weapons; even playing badly, I'll be surprised if after four games Chung and Henderson still haven't scored one between them.
Rapids 3, Columbus 2, in Overtime. Our goals will all be ugly. Columbus will, despite their banter on the radio last night about how great the Rapids really are, underestimate this game, and the Rapids will come out a little more determined after this "start" to the season. That is, unless they truly have quit on Hankinson. In which case it will be 4-1 Columbus.
Hankinson has to get his act together for this game. He needs the right players in the right formation. No more Rizo in the midfield, no more starting Crawford on defense. He needs to use more passing drills in his practices, because if he's using them now it's not showing on gameday. The Rapids have been making the most unforced bad passes of any team in the league. This has to stop. I would say go with this: ..................Roberts....Carrieri.................. ....Chung..............................Henderson..... .............Beckerman.....Mastroeni.............. ....Rizo........Fraser.....Stewart......Hart...... .......................Vallow........................... Carrieri over Spencer to see if this helps at all. Possibly start Herdsmann over Rizo because he was just that bad vs. the Metros. It would be nice if Garlick could get back in shape and play like his old self as well. Mastroeni will be tired from the Mexico game and may need to be subbed out. Regarding set pieces: don't let Rizo take any more of them. On a team that has Chung and his left foot you don't need Rizo wasting your corner kicks.
He thinks I'm a Euro-snob because I have Arsenal listed as my favorite team and I don't think the Rapids are a dynamic team. Maybe if he's still reading he will explain to me how the Rapids are so dynamic.
For some reason, i see you guys scrapping out a 1-1 or 2-2 tie in this one... we have never really played all that well at home... Cunningham does not fit in well with this team but he'll probably get the nod over Buddle (unless McBride is too cooked to play after the Mexico game)... you guys might be hurting if Pablo is tired as well... Here's your problem... Fraser is a joke... he needs to retire... Chung, while one of your more talented players, does not stay in the position that he is asked to play... he seems to want to play more of a skeemer role than to stay on either wing... this poses a lot of problems trying to connect things in the midfield... to me, i have seen nothing from Roberts that has impressed me... but since there has been nothing from the midfield to help up front, i can't be too hard on the guy yet... Hankinson should let Beckerman play in front of Pablo and let him loose a little bit... don't give him so many defensive responsibilities... similar to the role he played when with the U-17's... this kid has a lot of ability... he also should put Chung on the wing and if he refuses to work his butt off, take him out of the lineup... i'd put Schmidt and Spenny up top... the back four should be Hart on the right, Rizo on the left, Stewart and anyone other than Fraser in the middle... that's my $.02 again... you guys will walk out of Crew Stadium with a 1-1 or 2-2 tie...
I think what the Rapids need to concentrate on the most is the improvement of the midfield. Colorado doesn't have anyone in the center of the field that can direct traffic and distribute well. After watching the 3 past games, it looks to me that the effort up front is present with Zi Zi and Spencer. But the problem is that no one in the midfield can put a pass in a spot where the strikers can get a clean shot. Everytime I see Zi Zi or Spencer take a shot, they always seem to be crowded by the defenders. Ball placement is key. If the Rapids' midfield can seek opportunities by playing to spaces, the forwards can find better chances to crack shots at the keeper. Middies need to look for the safe pass rather than play the air-balls. Well, thats my opinion. As for the game's result, I'll go for a draw.
I don't think you are a Euro snob. I just think it is a little too easy to claim Arsenal as your team, and then hang around trashing the Rapids. While the Raps may not be as "dynamic" as Arsenal, this is the Rapids board, and a certain level of respect is warranted. I'm not hanging around the Arsenal board disparaging their sh!tty goalkeeping, or their late season collapse that cost them the EPL title.
I haven't trashed the Rapids. All I've said is they aren't dynamic. I never even brought up Arsenal. You did. I'm an Arsenal fan and I've bitched and moaned about their bad goal keeping and shoddy defense on the Arsenal board. I'm a Rapids fan who lives in Denver and I'm saying they aren't dynamic. It doesn't mean the team doesn't have talented players. But most games with the Rapids are going to be hard fought, dig in your feet games won on grit. Not ones where the Rapids string together 12 passes in a row to end up with an amazing goal.
Re: Brilliant! Hey Hanky Panky, isn't that what the preseason's (paritially) for? I agree with those who say it looks like they've never met each other half the time out there. Here's a hint: Zizi and Carrieri up front, Spenny can go up front when he gets his form back.