Revs win with best record ever, best record in East, and won more than half their games (eat your words now Bradley) Unless someone scores 6 or 7 goals later tonight or tomorrow, then Twellman is the winner of the Golden Boot. Unless KC wins tonight, it looks like it's the Mutts in the first round.
Nice win...in ugly match. Weird. Fire made several long runs that looked like they might turn into something, only to have Parkhurst step up and turn it aside, either that of Chicago would misstep. Twellman - great shot. Great goalscorers shot. As much as the rest of the nation may think he's not the real deal, when he gets fed anwhere near the goal in MLS, it's going to go on target, and probably in. He deserves the GB. Moreno? How many PK's, 9? WTF. On to playoffs. Tighten up, get Noonan healthy, play smart - go far!!
And unless Sealy pulls some miracle goals to get KC into the playoffs - it will be hard for anyone to argue that Parkhurst is Rookie of the Year. And Twellman is really pushing to show why he should be MVP. (Although the league is on a love fest with San Jose and DeRosario - ala the NFL's love fest with Manning)
the fort sounded really good tonight, and Smith was better than I thought he'd be, but thats not saying much. I thought he made nice runs but when he got near the goal he did nothing with the ball. Also Stewart has the shiniest hair I've ever seen.
But remember that the voting is by the media, not just the selection of the MLS honchos putting out the spin. Year end awards may surprise people, we won't know until the votes are counted. But Parkhurst should be a lock having played every minute of every game this year anchoring a stingy defense that was close to a 180 degree turn around from the Revs defense last year, AND in a 3-5-2, AND with the fewest fouls by any defender in the league. Absoulutely incredible.
MT, you summed it up great! - I saw someone else point out that Parkhurst's play made Llamosa expendable, and keep in mind for a 5' 11' frame, how many defensive headers he won. Plus in that 3-5-2 he had 2 of the most erratic players based on previous years' plays (Heaps and Franchino) on either side of him. Why did Heaps and Franchino(to an extent) have very good years - was it Parkhurst, was it Reis, was it the midfield, was it Nicol? Doesn't matter - Parkhurst had to play between them as a rookie, and based on MT's points above - he is the Rookie of the Year. And right on the awards voting - it seems Connolly, Wahl, and even the stupid MLS Tracker all realize how significant Parkhurst's achievement has been. Let's hope everyone who votes has a soccer brain.
If we play KC, Kansas State plays at home on saturday and the Chefs are away. That would mean either friday or sunday. I'd prefer friday because the gridirons may not be as bad. Still, it would be better than fieldturf.
As for the game: * I did like Pepe's hustle. Much better than last week. He looks playoff ready. * Our left side looked really bad. It's too bad Smith only uses his left foot. Leonard looks like he's in 2004 form. * We need Noonan's creativity to take us over the top. Although Twellman and Dempsey played well together at times tonight, Noonan adds that extra option we need. * I wouldn't put Riley in at defense during the playoffs. * FCD just scored so it looks like it'll be the Mutts. See ya'll next week in NJ. Then again, Chivas could win tomorrow. I'd love to watch the fallout from that!!
Also, speaking of voting I loved the first 2 paragraphs and the last 2 of Connolly's article on MLSNET concerning "voting" for MLS Awards: http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20051011&content_id=45474&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp "When I cast my ballot for MVP last October, I thought it was pretty clear-cut. How could Jaime Moreno not win? My colleagues and friends that cover the MetroStars for a living weren't even voting for Amado Guevara. Yet, somehow, the Honduran international took home the trophy later that fall, despite not having a strong finish over the final two months of the season. This leads me to believe that one too many voters got it in their minds that Guevara was the MVP long before the regular season had come to an end. And once a candidate is cemented in your mind, it's hard to displace. ... You just have to wonder about one additional X-factor: Who will the people who voted for Guevara last year vote for? I shudder at the thought."
OMG, KC tied the game on a LATE PREKI GOAL!!!!! 2-2 Final. Mutts now need to win to get in. I might actually watch all 90 minutes of disgusting soccer tomorrow.
It is indeed difficult to choose what result I would prefer tomorrow. It is always fun to beat the Mutts, so that would be nice. Then again, the Mutts missing the playoffs because of Chivas (even a tie would work) would fill me with so much schadenfreude that it might be worth not getting to beat them ourselves. OTOH, it would be nice not to play on the field turf, but then again, the Revs didn't exactly own KC this year. Ah, what the heck, as W would say, "bring 'em on" and I don't care who the "'em" are we'll kick their butts and look forward to beating Chicago or DC (another dilemma, but revenge on DC would be nicer) to go to the MLS Cup final!
I'd rather play KC, I think. Decent enough performance by the boys tonight. Thought Dempsey played well, but the left side does concern me. It's gotta be Leonard and a boatload of prayer.
The "Wide Load" banner came from Weber King, who got it at a truckstop. At one point, the Revs lined up for a corner, and Twellman looked over, pointed at it, and started lauging, then gestured to Thornton to have a gander. That right there is reason enough for me to renew a season ticket. Fast first half, but the longer the game progressed, the more obvious it became the Revs were just looking to waste time and run out the clock. There was this dark haired dude in red shoes wearing #2 that I don't know who he was, but he wasn't Dempsey.
Taylor's cracking up at the "Wide Load" banner was classic. Tough night for spelling though: not only did someone screw up by posting "Matt Reiss" on the Jumbotron, but the cameras in the stadium kept displaying someone holding a sign that spelled "Rev-oultion." Oops.
I thought this may have been Smith's best game. Much more hustle from him Phillips - looked confused BUT is good when he gets the ball. We need to find a way to use him more Leonard - He did not look hurt when he got the hook and Nicol seemed to talk to him quite a bit when he came off. Could be the beginning of the end for Leonard Ralston - looked old tonight. The mind wants to but the body can't PS - I see Mapp is still a "dribbling fool"
Although Leonard seemed to be working hard, he was physically overmatched with Sanneh and Brown on his side. There was no ball movement down the left side in that first 30 minutes. I wonder whether Nicol and Mariner wanted to see if Smith's improved aggressiveness that we saw last week carried over to the left wing and would allow him to match up better against the Fire's right side. IMHO, it worked out. There was better balance to the attacking flow. Smith didn't exactly make me forget about DMB or Eddie Lewis, but his pace caused Chicago some problems and he got a few dangerous balls into the box.
At least the kid with the "Revoultion" sign figured it out and re-arranged the letters at some point during the match. The same can't be said for the jumbotron folks who displayed Matt Reis' misspelled name at least twice. That was the same kid. He didn't actually spell out the word "revulsion", that was just my phonetic rendering of the "revoultion" sign. Unless there was another one I missed.
I think Smith has steadily improved his game over the season. The last two games were by far better than his play earlier in the season. He's still not smooth but has pace, can whip in a cross and has a strong left peg. I wonder what SN will want him to do over the winter to continue to improve and if he will be an even stronger bench option next year? For sure he needs to improve his defensive abilities. I never thought I'd say this but I think Smith will be back in a Rev uniform next year---at least in peseason. The fact that he will be a full SI next year is very much against him. I like what I saw of Phillips. He sure knows what to do when he goes at players and heads towards the baseline. It's obvious he's still getting to know the other players and the MLS Style of play but I think he can play in this league---but we will have to wait and see.
Gotta love the clean sheet heading into the playoffs. Hopefully Dorman is not badly hurt. Looked as though he was grabbing his hamstring which is never a good sign. We all know how big a role he plays on this team and we need him for playoffs. Get well Andy!