P/I/P Match 24: Revs @ PHI, Fri 09/03/21 7:30p [R]

For a page that bills itself as 'Everything you need to know ...', there's actually precious little information.

The players that PHI will be missing: Andre Blake, Cory Burke and Alvas Powell have received an international call-up for Jamaica ahead of 2022 World Cup Qualifier matches along with Olivier Mbaizo (Cameroon), Jamiro Monteiro (Cape Verde), Daniel Gazdag (Hungary) and Jose Martinez (Venezuela).

It's a break missing Blake, but probably a wash since we'll be missing Turner. Overall, probably a wash, but the sheer number of missing 7 players will be a bigger depth tester for PHI.

Would be fantastic to have Gil back for this one, but I'm not counting on it.

 

According to transfer musings today theyll also be without wonderkid Jack DeVries.

So, thats 4 CMs theyll be missing, 2 RBs, their starting GK, and 1 of their top strikers.

With whats left they can make a roster that looks like:
Kaszper Santos
Aaronson
Bedoya McGlynn?
Flach
Wagner Elliot Glesnes Real??
Freese

The bench is really thin. Fontana, Ilsinho, Sullivan are the only guys with any MLS experience.

We should expect 3 points from this game even without Tajon, Buksa, Turner, and Gil. I expect we'll see something like last game, although I hope Tico/Rennicks find a few minutes in this one

Bou Teal
Ema Polster Tommy Arnie
Mafla Kessler Farrell Jones
Knighton

Bench: Edwards, AJ, Bell, Scotty, Maciel, Kaptoum, Rennicks, Rivera, Kizza

 

Good intel. Repped

 

I don't recall who said it - I think I saw it on twitter (or maybe even here, sorry if so.), here's the paraphrase --

To go without the MLS MVP-apparent for a month+ and lose only one game, that's a pretty good outcome.

 

So he's back in the States I guess? I really hope Arena does something besides Teal on Friday. Im tired of seeing him stink up the field. This has to be his last season.... if he even makes it to the Spring. Play Rennicks Give the kid a chance

 

Bunbury is a clutzy finisher at times, but he is much, much, much more of a threat to score than Rennicks (or Kizza, for that matter).

 

Bunbury has 62 MLS goals in his career, and Kizza and Rennicks have a combined total of zero. I'm okay with Bunbury as the third forward. He also shows some defensive commitment, which I at least appreciate.

That said, he is 31, and definitely on the downslope of his career.

 

his 62 goals come from ~21,000 minutes (goal/~350 minutes). Rennicks and Kizza combined have 212 MLS minutes played. So its hard to say they score at a significantly lower rate

 

How would we know that?

 

His career should be over next year

 

He's led the team in season/goals-scored. Seriously, we're talking about a guy who has 1 goal in 17 appearances this year and a grand total of 3 last year vs. a guy with 62 in MLS?

Kizza has an impressive scoring record at Revs II, but I haven't been impressed in the few appearances with I (and same with Rennicks). I'd love for both of them to be impact players, but I don't think they are anywhere near as good an option as Bunbury at this point in time.

Teal's a streaky player (as far as scoring) and not the most skilled, but he does score goals - he's proven it over and over again. And, for the other facets of the game, he is very reliable.

Those stats can be somewhat misleading - many of those minutes come as a non-forward, where scoring isn't always the primary objective and he's clearly had some seasons where he's been much more efficient as a scorer than others.

 

Compared with Rennicks and Kizza, both have been played almost exclusively as wingers. Teal with few exceptions has been either a striker or a winger, with less than a few hundred total minutes as a wingback or CM

So because Teal has the plurality of striker minutes among the group you'd expect him to score at a higher rate

 

All I know is that a couple of games ago, Rennicks got in at the very end and I saw him make a good run, off the ball, from the outside, towards the middle and he looked intelligent and quite fast. Bou (I think) tried to feed him but the pass was too close to the goalie and it didnt work out. I was impressed at the time and thought I'd like to see more.
I have never thought that Arena, even when coaching the Nats, was too keen on developing young players. I know he has gotten better at this with the Revs and has developed Tajon, Bye, Turner, Bell, Jones and Kessler to name a few. Most of those also are older that Rennicks and had a college career as well. I'd be happy to see him get 10 minutes or so, here and there, to see how he looks in a game.

That being said.... Rennicks didnt make the bench tonight and Kizza starts

 

Well, speaking of Bunbury and Kizza...

 

Revs not at all sharp these 23 mins.

 

Knighton has hands of stone

 

Should be plenty of fines and maybe suspensions based on those last few minutes. Ref let that get out of control at the end after issuing 10 (?) yellows during the first 90 minutes. And looks like pushing and shoving heading into the locker rooms, too.

 

Isn't this the second time that Traustason earned a second yellow? What a dumbass. Hope he sits for a while. Let Rivera play.

 

Pardon my French, but that was some funny-ass shit from Kessler chucking all the balls away. I loved it. More gamesmanship!

 

be lucky if he doesnt get some fine