Moreno, yes vs. LA. Mathis, yes at Columbus. Guevara, yes vs. Chicago. Mathis, no vs. DC. Guevara, no vs. Dallas. Mathis, no. vs. Dallas. From 100% to 50% in the blink of an eye. Not only three straight misses, but three straight at huge moments during home games. Uggh. To be completely fair, Mathis' two misses were the worst...missing in the 45th minute of a huge home game vs. DC when we're down one, and missing in the 88th minute of a tie game... Those are choke-jobs. Clint, we love you, but you're not getting it done when it counts most. Please do something Wednesday.
Re: Re: 10/11/03 Metrostars vs. Dallas pre-game, PBP, post game [R] I don't know about anyone else but I'm gonna start calling him WEHARA!
True, Mathis was not what he has been, but he must have been exhaused from all the tracking back he did. He foiled at least three real scoring opportunities for the Burn. He was a team player yesterday. If he can just combine that with his touch of old, he will be the most complete player he has ever been. Who I really feel bad for was Juskoo. He was making great runs, posting for other players and generally getting into the positions he needed to be, but was not getting the service from the other players. Sure, he is slow, but he is smart. I am looking forward to Wednesday and seeing him in better shape for the payoffs. Off topic, great comedy after the match getting the discount Open Cup tickets. The MFO announced there would be tickets after the game on a cash only basis. Of course, as the guy in front of me said, who has cash after a $7 coffee? They were using the old swipe method to keep up, but it was a mess. At least they are promoting it.
and i'm going to start calling Mathis a**hole........ hes not going anywhere to europe or wherever he dreams; his pk was worse than diallo's last yr nick rimando in late august and watching TV he didnt have the consideration to even look at the ESC or utter "sorry" like he would have done in '99-00 -i'm sry i know i shouldnt say this because of all the great memories mathis has provided us; but to me, ever since he was yelling at a teammate (Diallo) at LA last yr for something that was his fault i just never thought of him them same -we have woly and magee; i hope you recover mathis... and GO METROS!
A designated taker would raise that percentage. Find a guy that can do them, and stay with him. At least until he starts to miss. Mathis shot straight at the keeper. I guess Mathis felt he was going to guess a side.
i agree that a set guy, hit or miss, would raise our %, usually that 'guy' missing one is an anomaly, but right now it's just pathetic...we'll be able to argue over whoever takes the next one no matter who's chosen, but i think he should go back to one of the guys that missed today...the MJ analogy is a good one, but not mathis (or anyone else) has been close to an MJ for us this season...that said, mathis right now is best suited to take them, as much as i hate saying that, simply bc he's still our best shooter...
switch Gaven and Mathis. Gaven is much more willing to attack 1v1 than Clint is. this team hardly ever creates chaos in the 18 and Gaven is good enough to do it. every1 says we need the old Mathis back that wanted to go right to goal everytime. well hes not going to do that anyway so theres no point in giving him that position when every1 knows he doesnt play like that anymore. Although he didnt play that well last night Gaven was pretty good attacking in the last few games. drop Clint back to play more like Reyna. With Gaven uptop the midfield wont be clogged unless he backtracks like Clint will do anyway. Guevara and Mathis didnt seem to get in each others way in the 2nd half when they were both playing mid so it should work again. Mathis seemed so useless early in the season at mid because at fwd we had Moreno and a really bad Magee. they made Mathis look amazing by comparison, so we needed him up there. now all our fwds have improved a lot and theyve all proved they can handle the job w/o him. as a whole the team played 100x better in the 2nd half when Gaven and Mathis switched. i think Bradley will try it out at least once more.
This was a horrible game overall. The defense was the only thing that was positive really. In the first half, Clint looking for the lob over the defense so he could get a quick 1 v. 1 with the 'keeper, but no one provided him with the service. How do I know? He was constantly aligned with the defense in a way that he could easily recieve the lob, not be called offsides. I'm guessing that because he never was passed to, he constantly moved back into the midfield so that he could get the ball. In the second half, Mathis played more withdraw, like some parts of the second half. I thought he created some nice one touch passes. Only problem was that the middle of park was too crowded. Gaven was great. Looks like the future Tab Ramos. He dribbled past everyone like crazy. Magee played great as well. He do dribbled very well. Jusko did great. It seemed that the Metros changed their style exactly when he entered the game. Another thing I noticed is that the Metros need some wing play. Versus San Jose, they got plenty of that. But last night they didn't, on the right side at least. Much of their scoring oppertunities came from the left side, due to the flank play of Gaven and Bartolomeu. And of course, Walker's save was tremendous. On the flip side, our PK shots were not. They weren't placed badly, they just needed more speed on the ball. Base on these observations, this is my line-up for Wednesday:
This was a horrible game overall. The defense was the only thing that was positive really. In the first half, Clint looking for the lob over the defense so he could get a quick 1 v. 1 with the 'keeper, but no one provided him with the service. How do I know? He was constantly aligned with the defense in a way that he could easily recieve the lob, not be called offsides. I'm guessing that because he never was passed to, he constantly moved back into the midfield so that he could get the ball. In the second half, Mathis played more withdraw, like some parts of the second half. I thought he created some nice one touch passes. Only problem was that the middle of park was too crowded. Gaven was great. Looks like the future Tab Ramos. He dribbled past everyone like crazy. Magee played great as well. He do dribbled very well. Jusko did great. It seemed that the Metros changed their style exactly when he entered the game. Another thing I noticed is that the Metros need some wing play. Versus San Jose, they got plenty of that. But last night they didn't, on the right side at least. Much of their scoring oppertunities came from the left side, due to the flank play of Gaven and Bartolomeu. And of course, Walker's save was tremendous. On the flip side, our PK shots were not. They weren't placed badly, they just needed more speed on the ball. Base on these observations, this is my line-up for Wednesday: ...............................Walker.............................. .....Jolley...........Addo.......Pope.........Bartolomeu... ................................Clark............................... .....Guevara................Gaven...................Digi.... ...............?............................Mathis................ In this line-up, we get some solid central defense from Addo and Pope. On the wings we have Jolley and Bartolomeu who can play defense and add some offenseive push as well. Clark at D-mid. Guevara can play on the wing and add some creativity there (AKA Ramo's role). Gaven at central mid. Digi on the wing. Then Mathis and one of the other forwards. Jusko looks like a good option, but Woly and Magee have brought success before.
Re: Re: Re: 10/11/03 Metrostars vs. Dallas pre-game, PBP, post game [R] [/QUOTE Isn't that what Metro did? Moreno wasn't around to take pk No. 2 of the year. Mathis wasn't on the field when Guevara took PK No. 3. Mathis was back for No. 4...and he missed. So, up steps Guevara, who misses No. 6...Back to Clint...who misses No. 6. Magee? Jusko? Jonny? Bueller? Good grief, Clint. [/B][/QUOTE] The best field players might not be the best pk takers. It might just be a MaGee or even the keeper like Walker. Like the best players don't always make the best coaches. Richie
Glad it's "your" lineup, 'cause it ain't gonna be Metro's. Think the coach is just gonna take Jolley and play him in a spot he hasn't played all year? And why do people still clamor for Addo? Has anyone paid attention to his play? Geez, good think Addo's dad isn't the national team coach or maybe people would notice that he...uh...isn't good.
We better pray the Open Cup final doesn't go to PK's. On the last PK, I would have liked to see Jusko give it a crack. As a veteran professional, I would expect his effort to be better than anything we have seen from Mathis or Guevara. (I think I'm remembering correctly that he had been subbed in already). Also, how long has it been since the Metros scored with Mathis on the pitch? If I am remembering correctly, it has been almost 4 games. No goals tonight, no goals against DC on Sunday afternoon until after Mathis' yellow, no goals on that Thurs. night against DC, no goals against Columbus until Mathis was subbed off in OT and no goals against New England until after Mathis was subbed out. This is a very bad trend. I don't think Bradley has an option but to keep playing Mathis as his potential upside is far greater than any other player. However, I would be very surprised to see Mathis on this team next year. Not only will Mathis want to go, but I think the Metros front office will be ready to see him go.
Some thoughts: Guevara's PK was very well-taken. Great save by Countess. Mathis' PK was right down the middle. It would have been hard for Countess NOT to save it. It's time for all the Metros to start practicing PKs. In a few weeks we might need them. As much as I defend Clint, he had a very poor outing and his comments after the game were dispiritng. Dude needs to get his head in the game. But at least he's psyched for Wednesday. Gaven was outstanding and has solidified his starting role: the quickest guy on the field, some inspired passing and a great clear of a certain goal off the goalline. Juskoviak also showed a lot as a sub. Unlucky not to have scored, and showed some vision that the rest of the offense was lacking. Woly and Jusko both play similar roles as target men, so they're interchangeable as far as I'm concerned. Both provide a good spark off the bench. The field itself seemed like it played quicker than in other games this year. Is it at all possible that the Giants had the turf mowed down a litle? Bounces seemed higher and the ball seemed to roll faster. Or maybe i'm going insane. Also, the soccer lines on the field were almost invisible. It's ridiculous to try to watch a game when you can't see the damn lines.
anyone know where ricardo clark was tonight?? didnt see his name in the box score as playing or sub not used. just wondering if anyone had any information.
I noticed the same thing. Definitely appeared like the ball was taking higher hops than ever before. If anything was done to the FieldTurf, it won't help the NY Giants pathetic offense. Some observations: 1. Pretty stupid to be bringing up Addo in a match where we can't score against a team that's 5-18-5. 2. Bringing back DiGi won't help. Bartolomeu replaced him in the lineup with the hope that it would help infuse some more offense. 3. Penalty kicks have always been a problem with the Metros. Just ask Petter Villegas. 4. How low has Clint's career gone downhill when the nicest things fans can say is "well, he kept his emotions down....at least he didn't elbow anyone in the back of the head again". 5. I would have liked to have seen Wolyniec play the full 90 minutes. Yes, he was tired, but it's hard to pull another last second miracle when you're on the bench.
Why not use that line-up? The current line-up hasn't won them any games, so why continue using it? Addo played great last night. He filled in for Pope perfectly.
IIRC, had Addo not fouled the Burn player, it would have been a 1 v. 1 oppertunity for the Burn. Dallas earned a PK, missed it, and the Metros walk away with a point.
Probably overdue. The kid has played very well but has tailed off over the course of the year. He is 20 and in his first professional year. If he plays him in the open cup I hope he gives him one of the Revs games off too.