Thread specific to the match, pre, during, post, whatever. Can't say I disagree with what Rapidsfan.com has to say. Even with Landon, San Jose is not very deep at all, and has lost a ton due to departures, DeRo's injury, you name it. This should be a struggling team the Rapids can take the play to and cruise to 3 points. However, will the Rapids revert back to their often schitzo ways and play like crap? Only time will tell.
This is going to be exciting because of all the story lines: 1. Schmidt starts his first league game. We get our first glimpse to see if he is for real. 2. How will Spenny do off the bench? We get our first indication of whether or not he is the Spencer of old. 3. Becks debuts at playmaker. Can he help run the team? Is this his break out year? 4. Who starts on the back line and will they hold? 5. Chung and Henderson, our twin dynamos, have been forgotten because of all the other stories. Do they pick up where they left off and torch the Quakes? I predict Rapids win 3-1, and the one coming on a silly lapse by the back line. Otherwise, Rapids control the midfield and keep pressure on the Earthquake's goal.
I'm feeling giddy with excitment for this season and I'm going to make a wildly optimistic prediction of 3-0, with goals by Chung, Carrieri, and Schmidt.
I just ran into Arturo Alvarez and Jamil Walker at the Chipotle on 16th and California. They say they have a secret weapon. Actually they didn't say that. I just wished them good luck. The Rapids should win this and have a more experienced team, but they can't come out over-confident because one thing Yallop can do is get his team to play tough and within themselves.
heard chung will be the playmaker on sat. did he ever play there in preseason? Beckerman did a good job all preseason - he should of been given the opportunity
      From Jeff Bradley's latest Boot Room:       Both coaches will definitely have their guys ready to play hard, and I agree that this will be a very close game (regardless of who wins it). -G
WARNING - GEEK MOMENT: This sounds like one of those classic Monty Python skit soccer matches, like the one where the Long John Silver impersonators have a team and play but just stand around going aaarh, aaarh. OK, Fashion, let me have it.
I was going to use that but thought better of it.And how does enjoying "Monty Python" make you a geek and you didn't think that sketch was funny?
Schmidt could become the first Rapid to score a hat trick in his first MLS game tonight. PS was he a steal on MLS Fantasy or what??
yeah, and he could be another over-hyped kid with expectations that can't be met. he might be a fantasty steal, or he might be on the waiver wire in november. give him a chance to learn, expect him to see some rough stretches, and hope he can contribute. calling for three goals in his first game is setting yourself up for disappointment. be realistic and hope he adds something to the team, but don't hope that he's the answer.
      2-1 Earthquakes win. I guess I was right.       Don't feel bad, Colorado fans. Both teams played well today, and the Rapids will undoubtedly do well this season. -G
I was pretty impressed with Zizi Roberts. Big and seems to know what he's doing. Looked a little rusty though. Did he play in the preseason much? Pablo looked good. Crawford IMHO shouldn't have been out there. 1st goal was weak. I don't know how Garlick didn't get to it. Waibel is a hack. SJ seemed to literally run down any Rapid with the ball. Rapids kinda played lousy. The opening video was pretty cheesy. Final word is "Robbed". P.S. Anyone know why we don't play for 2 more weeks? Garrett
Well I predicted 3 goals in the match! I just predicted them all for Colorado... Roberts and Scmidt both looked good out there, Carrieri was invisible...
The match report said that Grimandi was a substitute not used. Does anyone know if he was actually on the bench for this match? Or was he not there at all?
Ugy display of defense on the right flank. The two SJ goals were absurd. Zizi looked good, Pablo looked good, Stewart in the 2nd half looked good. The no call on t PK at 65 minutes was UNBELIEVABLE. Our midfield, except for Mastroeni has no clue. When did we deliver a dangerous Ball? It was fun watching LD in the first half. He was a notch above.
RE: "The match report said that Grimandi was a substitute not used. Does anyone know if he was actually on the bench for this match? Or was he not there at all?" San Jose's announcers said they ran into Grimandi at the hotel and they didn't think he was going to be available to play even though he was listed.
Well, just because a guy played all preseason and did very well doesn't mean he should play in the regular season. Soccer Genius Tim Hankinson knows better: 1. It made more sense to put Crawford at right back, send him forward at every opportunity but never really figure out if he would strand the defense repeatedly and/or just get burnt like toast by any average forward the Quakes could throw in there. 2. It made more sense to put Carrieri at outside midfielder based on one half of a preseason game against a Division II college team and a few practices. 3. It made more sense to move Chung inside based on less play than Carrieri got with the team in a game situation at outside midfield so that the whole offense was flowing through a set of players that were not used to playing as a unit. Crawford got forward though, I'm still waiting for him to get back. 4. It made more sense to play long ball down the flanks so that the forwards never even saw the ball. While this may have been the product of a team unable to move the ball through the midfield, please see 2 and 3 above. Despite all this, the team should have tied it except for the most amazing non call I have seen in some time. I pray that Genius Tim decides to go back to basics like he did in the Dallas series, buckle down into a solid 4-4-2 with the best players in positions that they can play, and let the players win. I cannot understand why he could send the team through a highly successful pre season with certain players playing certain positions then abandon it all for the first game to show everyone that he was so freaking clever and sees things no one else can see. Well, we all saw something tonight. If all those idiots in the press are right and the Rapids suck, it will not be because of our players.
O.K. I couldn't make the game tonight. So I get online to find out, and I see the line up at MLSnet. I can't tell if we came out in a 352 or a 442. From what it looks like Hankinson started Crawford in the back, and Schmidt in midfield. Is this true, or was Carrieri in midfield? Why can't game reports simply have something like the following: Rapids: 442 Garlick, Hart, Stewart, Fraser, Rizo, Henderson, Mastroeni, Beckerman, Chung, Robert, Schmidt. At least then we'd get an idea of how things started. I also can't understand why, with the exception of Rizo, the Rapids didn't start a lineup like the above.
-The defensive breakdowns that led to the first two goals were horrible. I have no clue why Crawford was playing. -Pablo looked good, as did Zizi when he got the ball. Zizi was clearly fouled in the box. Horrible decision by the ref to not give that one. Clearly should have been a penalty. -Garlick looked shaky on both goals. I still can't believe he got megged on the second.
I was pretty pissed at the ref during the game, but considering the way we played in the first half, we deserved to lose. Is it too much to ask that we don't suck at home?
Post Game Comments The Rapids were pretty stinky in the first half. I don't know who was to blame, (Crawford?), but both of the first half goals came on the Rapids right side, way too easy. The first goal shouldn't have counted since the guy was way off sides. Spencer really did well in the second half with a number of nice feeds to his teammates. ZiZi was everything he was billed to be. He was strong, they couldn't push him off the ball, and he ran hard to balls in front of him. The Ref really sucked. If that was not a penalty kick on ZiZi, I don't know what one looks like. The defender never touched the ball, and got between ZiZi's legs. If the Rapids had played in the first half like they did in the second, it would have been a different story. Of course, Landon didn't play in the second half. Chung was tireless and awesome. Schmidt did some good things, but looked like a rookie would look in such a difficult position. I was disappointed only in that it was an excellent first day crowd that had to leave without seeing a Rapids victory. I hope they come back!!!
Re: Post Game Comments Replay on TV showed the center back playing on the left side (Fraser I think, but it could have been Herdsman, hard to tell) keeping him onside. Legit goal. The PK was a blown call. Waibel didn't even touch the ball from what I could see on the replay, but his leg did tangle up in-between Roberts' legs. For the person who asked, the starting formation was: Roberts Schmidt Chung Henderson Carrieri Mastroeni Hart Fraser Herdsman Crawford Garlick Starting the second half they went to (a much more logical): Roberts Schmidt Spencer Chung Henderson Carrieri Mastroeni Hart Fraser Stewart Garlick About midway through the half Kingsley replaced Carrieri