Preseason 2020

Santos (I think) got laid out and the no call led to the sequence where Room made the double saves.

I saw very little to be concerned from, it was the first preseason match and with a competent ref the Crew would have won by much more.

 

Between the ref and us not taking advantage of the 4-5 gifts their keeper gave us....

 

It's preseason for me too so no full Good/Bad/Ugly. There really wasn't anything too ugly anyways. It was a very preseason game.

Seems like the attackers still don't have a clear goal in the attacking third. Lots of stuck between a shot and a pass or the pass was just too strong making the attack fizzle. But the pace has been upped so there's more chances to be had. Diaz is going to put in some miles this year. Lots of streaking down the right side. Pedro and Gyasi are both who they are so I expect a lot of hand wringing on their play this year. LZ showed moments of brilliance so that's exactly what I wanted to see in his first action. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the Mohktar for Diaz sub pattern as I think the Mohktar/Santos pairing is a bit redundant but Mohktar looked fine in his 30 minutes. Adi looked engaged in what his role will be. Hopefully that pushes Gyasi.

In the defensive midfield, it seems like Nagbe and Artur are both going to put in a lot of work. I liked what I saw from them but I think I may have seen the light of the need for another DM to reinforce the ranks there. Especially with Baby Berhalter's bad night. Surprised Morris didn't see minutes but apparently I was right in that Porter is working on getting the starting 11 in match fitness. I'd be completely surprised if Morris didn't see the field on Wednesday.

Backline was fine but that was partly because Phoenix didn't look competent in the attack. The run of corners was not a good look. Milton's back baby! Afful was the weak link but I didn't see much from Cadden to immediate call for him starting. The CB pairing is intimidating but the play didn't 100% match the look. Room made some good saves and stopped a middling PK. I'd prefer more grabs than the parry he relied on in a few instances but I'm not going to hammer that too hard.

No injuries so successful match. On to Red Bull. I'll be interested to see if they press Crew and if so, how that effects the play.

 

Also: TOP OF THE STANDINGS AFTER MATCH DAY 1!!!!!!!!!1!!!!1!!111!!!!
https://www.soccer24.com/world/visit-tucson-sun-cup/standings/

 

Me too, particularly because a) our expensive, veteran back five is theoretically capable of not only handling high pressure but also punishing it instead of that scrambling desperation we witnessed on Saturday. "Oh my God, I just barely managed to get to it and kick it into the 20th row" is not what they're getting paid for.

And b) the entire design of Porter's scheme is to punch you in the mouth early and often and keep you on your heels so that you can't or won't bring numbers upfield to overload our defense. THAT'S THE WHOLE BLOODY POINT and if the Crew can't do that then the coach's entire strategy is a flat failure.

As I said earlier, in these games there is virtually no opponent-specific game prep, since the win means nothing. Rather, it's about proving the scheme, everyone performing their role and meshing into the overall team concept.

We saw damned little of that. Bits and pieces. And it's certainly concerning that our very expensive defensive back line spent much of the game barely able to clear the ball in the nick of time, because it means that Porter's scheme wasn't working.

 

It was a preseason game so I try not to attach too much significance to anything. And yet...I was not enjoying the play from our team. We looked like a bunch of players who just met and had different ideas about what we were supposed to be doing. I hope we begin to see drastic improvement. Soon.

 

ATTN: @LaMacchia

1. Saw this on my weekly ebay Columbus Crew search. It's got the star but no sponsor. A bit pricey. https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Adidas...entrq:539dff241700a9ca2dc84ab4ffd7ee98|iid:1#

2. Land-Grant is slowly releasing more details on Massive Saturday. Seems like Massive is the same juicy ipa recipe as last year but will be available in special tall boy cans with designs based on throwback jerseys. They've teased the 96 and 99 jerseys so far. They're also showing 2008 MLS Cup at 5 and the preseason match vs Houston at 7. Crew-centric merch and ex-crew players and reps with a pop-up shop will be there. https://www.facebook.com/events/226653305030614/

 

What I saw in that game doesn't look fixable by March 1st. More like May 1st

However, there is only room for improvement.

I am confident I know nothing about preseason training

 

The one time when preseason gave me a good hint toward the future was when the Crew beat 1 FC Nurnburg 7-2--who did go on to be relegated that season. I mean, you just don't beat a Bundesliga team that bad--even in preseason.

 

Anyone who puts a much stock into a preseason game needs to relax. Anyone who has played in these types of games know it’s all about getting game fitness, working on connections with teammates, and sharpening tactics. Results just don’t matter that much.

I didn’t see the game but I wouldnt draw much from the results.

 

BTW, there are limited highlights on the Crew website.

 

I don't think anyone who watched is ready to espouse doom and gloom. We're all in the process of forming opinions on this squad. We've analyzed things "on paper" and pretty much uniformly agreed that this is a better team than last year. Now we're getting to see them play some games and looking to see that improvement show itself on the field.

This was not a very good looking game. No doubt about it.

I did see a few things that I liked. Zelarayán finding Diaz a couple times in the first 10 minutes with long vertical balls. This is some of the stuff I expect to see from our new #10.

Nagbe and Artur both received short passes from Room at the top of the "D" and...TURNED UP FIELD under a bit of pressure. Oh lord, how I have longed to see this.

Valenzuela was back on the field. He wasn't outstanding, he didn't stand out much, but he was out there, went all 90 and didn't seem like he was lacking confidence in his body to do what he wanted it to do.

Most have covered the bad stuff already. Santos was invisible, Afful was as invisible as Valenzuela without the excuse of a year off. Zelarayán seemed at odds with what the team was trying to do quite often. We gave up 2 or 3 times aas many chances as we created.

Anyway, we take the field again tomorrow. I highly suspect we'll see our second team play 90 minutes with a couple of subs this time out. It will be interesting to see how the backups fare against an MLS club. Looking forward to it.

 

Not a bad thing depending on what trophy you value. The league is littered with teams who broke out the gate fast and were stumbling in the fifth furlong.

 

let the optimism flow through you! Give in to your fandom!

 

Many of the similar items are from ebay sellers that ebay so lovely informs that "I have bought from this seller before." ...

 

What line up does everyone want to see Wednesday?

i really want to see Aidan Morris & Etienne Jr play , want to see how Mokhtar and Cadden look as well as the CB pairing of Keita & Josh

Also who starts at LB Francis or Jimenez . I like Jimenez better because he plays better Defense.

also interested in who plays GK better maybe Kempin and Lampson each play a half

 

I wouldn't mind seeing the projected 11 play the first half and then make wholesale changes for the second. We didn't look great in the last game and I want them to play together as much as possible before the season starts.

Yes, I know that isn't going to happen, they need rest.

 

No chance want to see the starters on rest vrs a MLS team in the following game

 

I know. That's why I put in the last sentence.

 

But why do you want to see them play another half ? The key is staying injury free while building chemistry before the opener

 

Because they have a limited amount of time playing together.

Ya know, the chemistry part.

 

I'd actually like to see the starters play 60, then make the changes. Chemistry and match fitness. They have the week off after the tournament and there will be the pesky 3 games in 8 days during the season so it's good for them to experience it.

 

Hey it’s Matchday! I’ll be intrigued to see what kind of lineup is put forth tonight. I’m sure Porter wants to build chemistry and stamina but you also don’t want to run out tired legs on Saturday just because you tried to reach peak stamina on Wednesday. Maybe try out whatever rotation Coachbot may be thinking for the season 3 game weeks before emptying the bench for the final 30.

Id like to see Morris on the pitch and would like to see more of Cadden. I wouldn’t mind seeing Mohktar starting at Pedro’s position just to see him work with Diaz. Etienne should see the field so that none of the attacking midfield plays more than 60 minutes (preferably 45 for Santos and LZ). Room can have the reps at GK if he needs them, not too concerned with the backup GK battle.

RBNY typically press Crew well so you’d want to see how the starters react to that so I’d be willing to roll out the starting 11 to start and then make mass subs at half.

Some thing tells me the scoreline might not tell the whole story for this one.