Evan a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then eh Jozy? Now Arena will feel justified in playing him even more Seriously though... our slide to the bottom continues. Farrell got beat on #1 and scored #2. A game to forget for Andrew, We need some serious help Arena. Without Gil, we look weak. Great goal by Buck! Chicago is 1 point above the bottom and should have been an easy win. Id like know why he wasnt selected for the U20 WC? The kid is good.
I thought Bruce had lost his mind to field a back three, considering our injury challenges. Considering who was on the bench, I am now inclined to think he didn’t have much choice. About the only good thing about Farrell’s game was that he wasn’t injured. It seems Blessing really needs Gil to be effective. Last night had me really missing Tommy Mac. I wish we had taken the three points, because I am not optimistic about Wednesday, save for potentially having Gil for 90.
I'm not a Jozy fan - at all. However I thought that was his best performance in a Revs uniform. He got the goal (his first from the run of play, right?). But his hold up play was decent. Vrioni I thought was pretty dangerous even though he couldn't put away his best chance. He was making good runs, and he competed for the ball. Where they really stunk was trying to get anything going offensively in the first half minus Carles. No one could complete a pass, but then Buck scored his goal and things improved. Farrell is good for a poor decision that results in a goal probably every 3rd game. Great athlete, great ability to recover, otherwise a solid defender - but that's his fatal flaw as a player.
Except lately Farrell is good for a poor goal result decision once every game. I think the attack suffered a lot by having Jones on the right side. Usually he links up well with Boateng, resulting in some good crosses for both of them. McKoun is just not capable of doing that so Boateng rarely got the ball. I guess I can grudgingly give Jozy credit for goal although he was somewhat lucky and almost flubbed it. Vrioni was also right there with him and likely would have scored if Jozy wasn't in position. We really miss Kessler. I hope we see him again before the end of the season or else we need to bring in someone else.
I liked the back 3, did not like Makoun. Ill give him plaudits for the flick on Wood's goal, but his backpass to shaquiri is at fault for chicago's firat goal. He also got torched more than once, when his best attribute is supposed to be his speed. Watching him battleship turn in the back because he literally cannot kick the ball with his right foot is painful. Unpopular opinion, but with the 3 in the back it should be Romney on the left and Omar in the middle
One other thought on the game - could our lazy PA announcer at least ask someone how to pronounce Shaqiri's last name correctly?
I would not have an issue once we dump Omar to obtain another CD like Romney, if someone is available at the same salary level, much better if younger (think a defense Buck type) ready to step in when Farrell is ready to be a back up (due to age). The new CD should be a mix of Joe Franchino and Shalrie, skilled, able to pass forward, not afraid to take on one on one play and large enough to be an informal enforcer when Gil is fouled 5 times in the first 3 minutes of the game.
Revs didn’t win but at least the Celtics did. like many of you I was glued to the radio on the way home and was able to get home just in time for the last few plays… I found out today that my daughter was recording the final play (figured you might find it amusing) https://youtube.com/shorts/swuou8o7Ztg?feature=share
Andrew may have gotten beat but it was Makoun's flub that started the whole sequence. A classic example of a goal given up from a mistake upfield.
And then last night happened. To the Revs game ... just a disappointing result. Yes, they came back twice, but down 2-0, and then 3-2 to a team that averaged just 1.2 goals per game was awful. Defending was terrible all around. Great goal by Buck. Nothing new here, but this team is different with Carles playing and not. Till that Buck goal, we were lost. Thankfully they gained some momentum from it and tied it before the half. But then back down again in the second. Credit to the 27k that showed up. One of the louder crowds I've experienced at Gillette.
Not only did we tie a bad team at home (never a great thing), but we also failed to win what was by far our most winnable game in a tough patch of games. A few positive takeaways: -With Gil starting on the bench and creativity levels generally low, we managed to score two goals off set pieces. It's encouraging to see them grind and find different ways to get the ball in the back of the net. -Buck's goal was fantastic. So was his general play. Even his giveaways were miscommunications rather than obvious errors, likely coming from finding himself further up the field and not expecting people to be running in behind. He'll learn -- and what a talented baseline to be starting from as the learning process begins! -That was the first time Jozy looked remotely like the guy who spent a decade as one of the most talented players in the USMNT pool. Ironically, he scored with what was his worse touch of the game. After that, the movement and layoffs were excellent - just what we'd hope to get from an aging-but-savvy star. I'll still groan next time he's subbed on, but a few more of those lovely layoffs and I might admit he should have a (minor) role on this team. When it comes to negatives, it's all about the defense, right? Defensive depth looked like a weak point from the start of the season, but now it's more obvious than ever. Romney was a hell of a signing, and pushing Farrell into a backup role was great - but it's now starting to look like Farrell would ideally be even farther down the depth chart. And Makoun is just not very good with the ball at his feet.
Yes, but as mentioned, this was his 2nd bad game in a row. It's really unfortunate, he's a fan favorite, deservedly so, but just has never been able to become a reliable steady presence for very long. Yes, in fact, it played out exactly as the opposition report on Blazing Musket (from a Fire reporter) suggested, based on Chicago's strengths and weaknesses. - they can and do score - they have big trouble holding leads - they have equally big trouble defending set pieces Just a really big failure to secure 3 points with tougher games on the horizon - especially when we clearly scored enough. I agree that Jozy had some nice holds/layoffs after scoring - maybe he just needed a confidence builder. And, yes, his finish was ugly, but we don't credit players for almost finishing, so we shouldn't denigrate them for almost not finishing. Other than Buck, this seemed like a going back to the veterans lineup for the Bruce. Some good plays by Ema, but I think we're seeing why he's more effective off the bench than starting. Unfortunately that's the only real option right now.
Makoun really does need to be with R2 right now. Hes just not skilled enough with his feet for MLS, and thats not even his biggest flaw! The backpack to Shaquiri is 100% mental, and he's been good for 3-4 of those lapses every time he's on the field.