yeah, that's a lot closer than i thought it was. regardless, look at the assref. he wasn't in position to make the call.
I figure he was taken off because we were chasing the game and his distribution is not his strong suit. Thought it was a very good move by Vermes as we were able to dominate much of the play from that point with 6 attack-minded players... yet we still didn't get caught cheaply on the counter. So I don't think that he got taken off b/c he wasn't doing well - he did his job very well, it just wasn't as important anymore. I think Arnaud is more important than many of us realize. Sometimes I think a player can be important and still be unnoticeable. One particular play of note is when he switched fields quickly near the end of the game to give Harrington all sorts of space (and the right ball) to get well forward. Zusi had some really awesome service off of set pieces vs. New England. His corners weren't amazing today, but they weren't horrible either. He was beating the first defender and not putting it past everyone... I'll take that.
That looks a step offside to me. If you put the line under Collin (I think that is him) then it looks to be a step offside. Our defenders are near the top of the arch while Rodgers is almost at the top of the box. I wish we had a side angle of that because he is at the very least a half step offside.
Yea, but if he's behind the ball when it's played, doesn't matter where our defenders are at... and they're pretty much level.
You should fault him because players shouldnt dive. It is sad that that is considered something an experienced player should do. No player should ever go down unless they lose their balance or are forced down. The arm barely grabbed him or slowed him down. If he hadnt dove, no one would have noticed any different. Messi wouldnt have gone down and made the best of the opportunity that he had like every player in the sport should do.
Yes - Zusi and Stojcev are a big step up at taking long corners in my opinion, over Arnaud. Too many times (the vast majority even) Arnaud simply drove corners into the 18 yard box at about chest height, where they immediately hit whoever happened to be in the way and then took weird deflections or were cleared. Rarely did they ever come in with any height or depth that would make them finish-able. Zusi and Stojcev are at least getting them past the near post with a bit of height on them. Definitely an improvement.
Oh, well - I'd say that it's extremely close and I'd give it the benefit of the doubt. Seems like if they take it away for being a foot beyond the ball when both had gotten behind our defenders, we're just getting let off on a technicality - we deserved to be scored on in that situation... the ref taking it away on a questionable call is not justice. While I'm upset that we got caught soo flatfooted on the restart, it is something that does happen to even the best teams at times. Which is to say, even the best teams should be upset at themselves for giving up goals when they really ought not... I guess what I'm really saying is that getting caught on a quick restart once isn't an indication of our quality.. if it happens often, sure - it is.. but once isn't anything to worry about.
no, i completely agree with you felixx. he shouldn't have dove and had he not no one would have noticed any different, you're right. but, unfortunately, that is what the game has become. not just in MLS, but the rest of the world and it still fools even the best referees from time to time, like tonight. i think it takes a lot from the game, but that is the reality of professional soccer across the globe. penalties are too easily given in the modern era as are some ejections, but thats what we have to deal with now. in all honesty, would we be discussing this if it were, say, bunbury who dove, drew and penalty, and converted? probably not. that being said, i still can't fault DeRosario for using the laws of the game to his advantage. i fault the referee for being fooled into making the call and for FIFA slowly making it easier and easier for players to get away with these sort of decisions, FIFA mandates or not.
I'm with you 100%. Its the same thing when it was said what Benny did was a veteran move. What Benny did, in comparison, was far shittier. He not only instigated it, but then took the dive when there was a response. I honestly lost some respect for him after that. I still like him as a player, but whenever I see a player, even those I really like, I lose respect for them when they pull that crap. Its one reason why I'd take Messi over Ronaldo any day of the week. The little dude is resilient.
At best he is level on the goal - I still think he was off, but be that as it may. All I am going to say about the officials is that if calls balance out over the course of a season, we are due for some very close calls to go our way. Two fundamentals stood out for me last night. The first is the goal. RBNY had a very quick re-start, but someone has to just stand in front of the ball so we can get back and set. Hell, when we call fouls on ourselves in the pick-up games I play in, we do this. The fact that we didn't speaks to a lack of concentration and we all know in the MLS, games seem to generally be decided by one goal, we don't have the luxury of even a moments lapse in concentration. The second fundamental, and this is just my perception, is that it seems we take the wrong angles on 50/50 balls. We might have looked slow because we were taking longer routes to get to the ball and thus RBNY won many of the 50/50 balls. I noticed this several times with Zusi and K.A. The second half was obviously much better. Our problem wasn't so much our attack being physically slow, we were slow because we took to long to make decisions. Barca is patient in their decision making, we were slow - a big difference. A great example towards the end of the game, Smith was moving with the ball, as he does so well, but Kamara couldn't make a run b/c he obviously had to stay onside, ultimately Smith plays a pass to nobody as Kamara - to stay onside - had to cut his run off. K.A. is a great athlete but too often relied on that to make up for being out of position. Cesar and Collin? I liked the combo and I even ended up not missing Espinoza as much as I thought I would. The back line? Who knows, but there is something to be said for keeping a consistent group. The second half was promising. Now that Smith is back, does CJ fear for his starting position?
Guess we're gonna have to change our name again. Searching Kansas City. We'll put a cross in anywhere.
Yeah it is frustrating to watch the highlights of the other MLS games and see good service resulting in goals for other teams. Vermes seems to favor more athletic type players, maybe he should focus a little more on the technical skills and get some players that can give some consistent service instead of searching balls into the box. Is it just me or have any of our players shown much of improvement with their service during the Vermes era? Just get tired of watching the same thing over and over each game.
This team is very poor in providing service to their strikers. As a matter of fact, the forwards have more assist than the midfielders. That is a clear indication that the mids lack technical skills. Someone posted that Smith was making passes, but the runs weren''t there; I disagree. Smith is an excellent dribbler, but it's difficult to make timing runs, because a striker doesn't know when he is going to release the ball. Additionally, on the very last play, Smith played a very poor ball to the keeper. A square ball and the game is tied. Is he needed on the pitch? Yes! Does he need to break one defender, then pass? Yes!
I agree. with the skill on the ball smith has he could make a much bigger impact if he would get the ball of his foot quicker. he's very good at beating the first defender, but then, and this is just my opinion, he tries to beat the second and then a third. by that time the defense has closed him down. smith would be much more effective if he would hit the cross or pass once he beat the first defender. there were several instances late in the second half where he would turn the corner on a defender and instead of putting the ball in the box, he would cut inside right into the defense and lose possession.
Photos from the game. http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/ijMkE1_29Ez/Sporting+Kansas+City+v+New+York+Red+Bulls
After the Chivas game 10 points in 10 games looked like a stroll in the park. Now it's like climbing Mt. Everest!
I think it is still a possibility but we will need three points out of the Toronto match and a surprise result somewhere along the line. With as much parity as there is in this league you never know what can happen and you never know when a time is going to start sliding. Hopefully we can get back into form one week and take a team by surprise.
Hey just wanted to say you guys are no where near as bad as some would have you believe... Nielsen stood on his head last night and I can easily see you boys stringing together some nice wins and upsetting some good squads.. Well played and all your boys I saw have loads of heart.. take care and good luck the rest of the way!!
Parity of opportunity exists. Not sure the on the field parity thing is really anything more than an illusion.
I dont think we are there yet. It doesnt take more than a season or two for a team to go from worst to first. NY had one of the worst teams in league history just two seasons ago and now they might have the best. That isnt the first time that has happened. There isnt an organization in this league that couldnt make a couple of moves to become one of the best teams in the league. I do believe this will fade away and perhaps this season and the new DP rules are the start of that but right now I believe it exists. Expansion teams can enter the league and immediately compete for playoff spots and more. That doesnt happen in the other major sports leagues. However, you make a good point about parity of opportunity because the rules in this league allow for everyone to build a team to compete with anyone but we have some unmotivated organizations and those are starting to show. Those organizations will fall into a small group that will be in the outside looking in. While we are sitting 18th, I dont think we are among those organizations. I fully expect use to finish at least mid-table this season as a worst case scenario.
Just got done watching the game. That's almost exactly what I expected this game to be. I'm actually pretty proud of our guys. We managed to keep NY to one goal, despite a first half where they simply dominated us through midfield. Second half we responded really well and had some opportunities to tie it up. Really the only thing I am disappointed with here is the result. It's kind of nice to get through a game without a single yellow card. A few comments I have: I love Jimmy Neilson. Came up very, very big in the first half several times. I feel like we are a little spoiled in the GK position, remember back when Bo was in goal? Zusi had a horrible first 20 minutes of the game. Couldn't keep the ball whatsoever. He seemed to get a little better as the game progressed and he had a couple of decent looks at goal in the second half. Auvrey played well, which was great to see. I still don't quite understand why he came off the field. Aiyegbusi is like a little Arnaud. He's a fighter who has a lot of heart, but man he's a small guy. He just gets beat and pushed around because of his size sometimes. He's not a bad guy to have coming off the bench, but I don't like him as a 90 minute defender at all. I'm happy with Collin. Disappointed with Cesar. Seems like every game Cesar plays I find more and more of an answer to the question "Why has this guy bounced around to so many clubs?" Looks to me like he fooled the right people, played small stints for a few big name clubs, but was never really any good. Definitely think Besler should be starting in front of Cesar. Overall I'm feeling a bit better going to LA. I feel like if we play the same way we played NY, we can get points out of LA. We did it last year when they were in better form, no reason we can't do it now.
Should we expect PV to be in a suit and tie the rest of the season? I don't really recall him ever being that well dressed for a game (he probably has but I just don't remember). I'm personally against our manager wearing ties. Dude needs all the oxygen he can get. If he needs to be formal I suggest an ascot.