Oh my God I agree with Khan on something. Lets not let a couple victories get our hopes up too much. This team still needs a above average playmaker. I don't know what the're going to do as the european fifa transfer window closes 8/31. What ever happened to the pascal bedrossian signing. Maybe the fire had second thoughts that he wasn't much of an improvement.
Dammit! He's not Wayne Rooney, if I've said it once I've said it a hundred times, he's a Roy Keane clone. Rooney is a punk wussy when compared to Keane. There were no cheap shots with "Keano", it was controlled mayhem in the guise of one of the better midfielders to ever play the game. I still believe that a conversion to the midfield would be a cracking move for Barrett, he's got all the tools to put the fear of God into field players and keepers alike - just like Roy did.
My positive thoughts... Zach FINALLY made a couple difficult saves. While, I haven't seen every minute of every game with the lack of TV coverage this year, I've seen most. Someone pointed out a couple weeks ago, that Zach has made very few if any difficult saves this year. Well, he finally made a couple. Hopefully, we'll see some more. Herron FINALLY scored on a breakaway. Nuff said. My negative thoughts... We were DAMN lucky to win. Those of you saying Dave was bunkering with a 1 goal lead have the wrong attitude. In his mind, he wasn't bunkering to prevent 1, he was bunkering to prevent 2. I don't like so many defensive subs as others have pointed out. I don't need to beat that horse. Here's my biggest complaint about the subs. Ok - so Dave wants to play a 5-4-1 for the last 20 minutes. Why the heck do our midfielders have to turn that into an 8-1-1 or 7-2-1 at best. How many times did you see one big long line of defenders across the 18 the no midfielders out in front of the back line. Heck, on one of the score chances that NE missed, Chris Armas was the last man back. When we go to that 5-4-1, our Midfielders have GOT to keep their shape and keep disrupting the lanes in the MIDFIELD - that's why they're called MIDFIELDERS. If you look at good bunkering teams, they don't just drop 6 or 8 guys back. You can get 8 or 9 guys behind the ball without conceding 3/4 of the field. Make them swing back into their own half, not be able to swing the ball back and forth across the field without even taking it out of the attacking third. You have got to maintain your shape with those late defensive subs.
yep and yep. This is exactly right. We surrenderred the patch 25 yards out in front of our goal. The Rev's were just teeing it up out there. And you're also right about Dave's plan to "close this out". That little bastard was playing for the TIE.
It may not be popular, but you have to admit that Sanneh has played 3 very good games in a row now...for the first time in a Fire uniform.
I agree that Sanneh has been playing well lately. We should all be glad that he's doing well now and hope his form continues instead of complaining that he didn't used to be as good. He's still not the Tony of the Portugal days, but he's great for an MLS player.
He has his moments. I wouldn't say that he's "great for a MLS player". He'll need to do more than string 3 good games together to get me to say that.
This is true. I especially like the way he plays the long ball (50+yrds) right to the player's foot. It's very Plotkinese.
The problem and complaints about Sanneh don't have to do much with his playing when he is healthy, it is the fact he can't seem to stay healthy long and his huge salary keeping the fire from adding a great player.
O contraire, mon frere. My complaint most definitely does concern his play. First, I'm on record from the beginning of the season saying that a healthy Sanneh would be a terrific asset in central defense. A good guy to teach Sega and Stewart (It was beginning of the season - insert Dasan now) how to play as professionals and not be stupid puds. That said, we're starting to see Sanneh's value as a defender. He's very good. My beef is what he does after he wins the ball. He just hoofs it forward to no one in particular. Usually, that ball comes back to him again in about 15 seconds in the form of another attack but the cause and effect appear lost on the man. Too many balls to the melon, I expect. You guys can debate Mapp vs. Thiago in attacking Mid all night long, but it doesn't mean shit as long as der hoof-meister is in the back. We could have Riquelme in the middle -- doesn't matter if all he does is stand there and watch the lufthansa balls flying over his head -- postmarked for some lonesome traveler who is never seen, nor heard. That's my poetic way of saying Nate has never touched one of those balls. You see, in Dave's view of the soccer world, Tony and Nate are bookends. They are equal halves of a perfect pairing. You got a big target forward, and you got a defender who can hit the ball 70 yds. Splendid. Wake me when it's over.
I believe that is correct. Armas played a ball forward into space for Herron to run onto. I think we'd all agree that there's a big difference between a midfielder putting a 30 yard lob into space toward a corner for the relatively speedy Herron, and a defender hitting a 70 yard ball into the general dierction of the statuesque, loping Nate Jaqua. One is "hopefull", the other is "hapless"
Two observations: Nate has done better holding possession on the wing than in the middle, likely because he's got a little more space out there and more options for outletting the ball, with two strikers working ahead of him. The other observation in that Sanneh is the most effective Fire player at serving a long crisp pass. Too many balls out of the back balloon up to the front. Sanneh is able to hit them hard and precise over long distances. Jimmy is sometimes pretty good at this, too, but nobody else seems able to hit a long ball that doesn't give the opponent's backline ages to set up to either win the first ball, or deny any options and win the second ball. Maybe Sanneh had an off day on Saturday, but overall, he's the best we have for serving long balls out of the back. Now, whether the Fire is best served by this tactic is certainly a worthwhile topic, but then the issue is the support the front runners have, rather than the initial service.
Plus, he's facing the goal now, which he clearly prefers. Nate never did adjust to playing with his back to the goal, and he'll be the first one to tell you that.
IMO, this is lamentable. I don't believe Jaqua will ever be a special player facing the goal or on the wing. He may be "OK," just not a special player. OTOH, unskilled oafs like Crouch and others have shown the world that they can be effective at the highest level. That in just winning the genetic lottery, players like they can be an asset. Here's hoping Jaqua may yet learn how to do what Crouch or McBride or others can do before too long.
I'm totaly in agreement - and you've correctly identified the topic on my mind. To me saying Sanneh is the best at serving long balls is akin to pointing out that Thiago is our best freestyle juggler. Totally true but largely irrellevant in the context of game play. If Sanneh delivers those low hard volleys into the corners when speedsters like Barrett, Herron, Mapp or Carr are actually making the run, then it MAY help - provided they can finish 1 v. 1 chances or hold the ball and wait for the cavalry. So far, we've done a pathetic job, IMO, of connecting those passes to an opportunity. Nate simply doesn't have the speed to get to the ball if it isn't played right to him. My comments about DS stem from his documented affinity for route 1 football. I believe that HE believes that Sanneh will hit Nate and that Nate will either turn or hold. It isn't happening - never will. Nate is efective on the right because he recieves the ball with no one on his back. He gets more opportunities to turn and run at defenders, which plays to his strength. What seems to exacerbate the situation is that we've taught our forwards to check back into the midfielder's passing lanes - working with them to try and retain balls in the mid and spring attackers out of the pack. This is our BEST strategy, IMO, given the kind of ball control players we have. But with the forwards checking back, no one is deep to sprint after the long balls. Believe me, I'm happy to see Sanneh playing well and in the lineup. But, he's got to cut back on the pointless hoofing!
To add another Sanneh concern to the mixer.....mine is that although he adds tremendous value in the middle in terms of defensive stability, his pushing-up and crossing value on the wing is lost.
Very true. I always think of perhaps the best overlapping run in the history of soccer in 2002. Having said that, he is too old and brittle to make those types of runs with any consistency. We should, however, move him out wide when we are behind and need to push up. Of course, that is near the end of the game, and he may very well be spent by that time just playing in the center.
I'm fairly certain, that the reason we struggle at times in an offensive mode, is because we're rarely in an offensive mode. If Dave could spend some time in practice, say 10-15 min. working on offensive plays and set plays, we could watch games with enthusiam instead of angst, if Dave turns them loose, at this point, we could really do some damage to our opponents' self esteem. The coaching staff spends too much time being concerned about what our opponents will do. We need to ignore other teams and just play our game, if we play the way I know we're capable of, it does'nt matter who we play because we'll win. If we score, our attack should be sustained and not diverted, this is the beautiful game, let's keep it that way. Q.When should we pressure teams with our defence? A. When they cross the halfway line. Q. When should we attack? A. As soon as we have the ball. Q. How many should we attack with? A As many as possible. Q. Why haven't we done this sooner? A. I don't know. Q. Should we let players know where they stand in reguards to playing time? A. Of coarse, they're men, they should be treated as men. Q. Should the supporters section be allowed to have flares? A. Yes....We're The Fire! And can you sign this waiver...... Q. A. Take us to the semi-final biches! Go Fire!!!
Very nice. Interestingly, though, one of the hallmarks of Dave's earlier days with the Fire was substantial pressure in the opposing half. That's where Thiago's goal came from last year (every Fire fan should know the one I'm refering to). These days it seems we do far to little pressuring until the ball gets in our half.
As a general rule, of coarse if there's a back pass to the keeper, pressure can force a poor kick, and if you lose the ball up top, you don't just turn your back and say, "oh, shucks" and stare at the grass. I'm not familiar with any of Dave's hallmarks. I do know that he inherited a great squad that has carried him a long way.
Sorry to butt in here, but congrats on the win. You guys wanted it more. Well, maybe the hunger was equally piss-poor in the second half, but overall... If the league decides to suspend Barrett, I hope they don't wait until the night before the next MLS game to do it. That's typical of how they've been handeling the Dempsey suspensions.
Anybody catch Nicol saying that the Fire's back three was "three of the slowest guys in the league?" Ahem?