10/25 Revs v Mutts, During & Post-Match Gen'l Chatter, Props and Moans [R]

Noonan looks to be a great player for the future, but I still don't think he's ROY. I place him 4th, behind Ralph, Dunivant and Clark. I DO think he's moved himself soundly in front of Magee though. Those top 4 (Ralph, Dunivant, Clark and Noonan) would easily run away with ROY in most seasons.

As for the Metros resting tactic, as I said in the pregame thread, I think it was a mistake. Not due to any momentum reasons, as I don't think winning this game mattered much, but the Metros have had problems with the Rev offense in general, and Noonan in particular all season. I think it would have been a better choice to try some new defensive strategies or lineups to see what might work better. After all, I think at least half of Noonan's 10 goals have been against the Metros- It's not that he can't be stopped, as most teams are stopping him. It's that the METROS can't seem to stop him, and it would have been a good idea to use this match to try a different method.

Overall, good match, but it's really not something to get too excited over. If the scoreline had been any less against that Metro lineup, then there would have been serious questions about the Revs.

Good game for what it was. See you in the playoffs.

 

Harmony in my Head

So...anyone agree with me that Dario Fabbro looks like Steve Diggle from the Buzzcocks?

I don't know what the score ended up being with Shep's "Bradley is a Genius" counts, but what irritated me was when he failed to tell us what the substitutions were. I had to go back and check MLSnet a half hour after the game to find out who was in the game at the end.

So...if Shep were covering the Knicks in the early 70's...would he have been going on about Bill Bradley? No need to change the script much, really.

Okay...that one sucked.

Ted

 

Dario Fabbro looks just like Steve Diggle of the Buzzcocks... does knowing who the Buzzcocks are date me?

Heard a rumor down down in Foxboro that Clint Mathis was actually hurt for this game - seemed to pick up a bruised ego.

Paul Grafer... where's Anthony Latronica when you need him.

Heaps wasn't anywhere near the box, lest it was in street clothes behind the North goal chatting with some of the fans.

The Magpie

Oh, one more thing:



Wubba Wubba Wubba...

...ungh!

 

Not sure about Fabbro - I always thought that about Ralston though!

 

Had it not been for Noonan's hat-trick (how can you ignore that) I'd give Marshall Leonard the MOTM. Really a superlative match.

BTW, anyone notice Cancella's assist on the fifth goal? A bicycle kick pass to a streaking Brian Kamler. Absolutely sublime. If you have the tape (I don't) , watch it again.

The brooding equine presence that is The Bob once more proves his genius. He wanted a loss (so the spin goes), and look how successfully he he achieved that end.

The score sounds closer than it was. The Metros got one in the run of play, and that on a laugher (deflection?) from Aiden Brown. The only other Metros chances came from scrums in front of the net. The Revs could have had 3-4 more if they'd converted more efficiently.

 

Certainly the Revs A/B team toasted the Mutts B team, more or less. But there were a couple of factors that just don't sit right.

1.) the condition of the field. Horrible. Players actually just fell down on a number of occasions, probably tripping up over clumops, etc. The football lines were a disgrace to begin with, the playing surface an abbomination. The players should refuse to play on this Belicheck-inspired craphole.

2.) A 4:00 PM start on an October Saturday guaranteed an underattended event. We weren't on nat TV and the field was already ruined, why not play at 7:30 when more people could attend? 12,500 for the final match of the season is a complete disgrace. There must be an accounting for this sort of mismanagement.

Again, both items are a slap in the face to a wonderful team that deserves far, far better. These guys play with heart, style and verve. Why tie their hands behind their backs and limit the number of fans who can actually see them?

A real shame. But all congrats to the Revs players, coaching staff and middle and lower management. The folks above have little to do with their current success. Let's hope for a good crowd in the playoffs.

JIM DOW

 

Dont Forget that Razov has a chance tomorrow too if he plays. If he gets 2 he wil win, I pray he doesnt though.

 

Unfortunately I couldn't attend the match tonight (though I caught most of it on tv). Can anyone who was at the game tell me who won the other end of the season awards that they usually give out in the final regular season game (i.e., best defensive player, community service)? Thanks.

 

Kamler won for community service; Adin Brown for Defender of the Year, Twellman got MOTY from the riders, Bud scoring champ of the revs, and I think one other award, too.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, or if I missed someone... I wasn't at my seat the whole time.

 

Ante Razov faces the Crew tomorrow, unless Sarachan sits him. Razov has 14.

 

Thanks Magpie for the laugh. I wish I had a video of the fort doing that chant, especially the "unghhh"! That was priceless.

Pat-rick Hat-trick....

 

You can give the ROY to Ralph if you want, but I'd rate all 3 of Dunivant, Clark and Noonan behind Shalrie Joseph. Why he's getting no consideration is beyond me.

 

Was at the game...though the pitch looked bad, I was also wondering if the slips were do to 'dew' on the grass as the evening went on. Some of them were in spots that looked pretty good; i.e. not between the hashmarks.

I have to say it was unbelievable to watch our own Revs, own the match for long stretches of time. The passing, the movement without the ball, swinging the ball from side to side, bringing it down the middle, etc...was just wonderful. And Cancela's double assist was one of the most incredible passes I have seen in quite awhile. It is a testament to how the team plays together. He set up the pass with a defender on his back and Kamler was making the run before Pepe even elevated to take the bicycle kick. He hit Brian in full stride dead on...if not the GOTY it should be an
'Assist of the Year'. It was a fitting cap to a whole bunch of wonderful passes. BTW Ralston's move to split two defenders when trapped at about the 40 to make a super run to assist Noonan from the 20 yard line on, I think, the first goal was a pretty nice run too!

Shalrie for ROY. He showed such poise and strength it was great. He disrupts and then has the touch and poise to distribute the ball well. Fabulous. His role as a defensive midfielder makes him less 'headline worthy', but he helped us tremendously defensively given all of our woes this season on defense; suspensions, injuries and the absence of last year's Kante.

The team today was just great. I can remember having trouble getting past 3 when counting the number of passes the Revs could string together. Today, the only reason they seemed to not get past three was because they were unleasing a great shot before they got higher!! Truly wonderful stuff. While it wasn't the best Metrostars team, it wasn't that long ago that we had significant trouble against A-league teams.

The Metrostars were very disorganized in the midfield and gave up lots of space on the wings. We absolutely killed them there.

Some concerns (minor though they are): Franchino needs to accept that he shouldn't be taking on two opponents when he has the ball, must of lost the ball about three times like that in almost the same spot on the field each time. Rusty had two braincramps today; the PK that he gave up was a silly throw myself at the feet of the guy who beat me play and he got a card for dissent. Otherwise he was very strong all night. We need him, hope the card doesn't hurt us down stream. Suprised that SN didn't take out Cancela and Kamler rather than Fabro and Noonan. However, I will defer to his judgement.

Glad to have homefield advantage for the playoffs such as it is. After we play to a 1-1 tie at Giants stadium, Bob Bradley will have wished he had it as well.

 

the 7yr old next to me was so excited with all the goal scoring that i tried and tried to get him to observe the traditional tossing of the hat for noonan's hat trick.....alas, he didn't bite.

although, i'm not sure his arm strength would've been up to the task of throwing his YANKEE HAT 30 rows to the field.....so Noonan may have never had the chance to appreciate the attempt of this young lad had i succeeded.....BUT I WOULD HAVE!


as for rookie of the year....i don't think it means a whole lot in the end. but, it comes back to the same argument for mvp in baseball. some feel it should go to the overall best player (whatever that's defined as) regardless of their team's finish (a la a-rod on the rangers). while, some feel that it should go to the person most "valuable" to their team (like would their team win without him, did the person help them on a pivotal run AND put up the performance....i guess the list is endless).

damani's output [g's + a's], imo (and i've done some digging around) didn't really come in nearly the pressure situations that noonan's came in. to me, the revs really "needed" noonan's productivity more that the fire needed damani's. in the case of shalrie, i think the revs needed him even more than noonan in many aspects.....however, to borrow a phrase.."he's not the sexy pick". he's like the bill mueller of the revs. for the sox, bm's emergence propagated a chain reaction of moves that affected nearly every aspect of the club and allowed the sox to become the team that they were. to me, that's what shalrie's emergence did as well.

however, in the end, they're going to give it to the guy who's first broke a rookie record....even if the points for both pat and d all seem a bit sosa & mcguire-ish. add to that, mls would love to "promote" the fire's "story" as much as possible (dumping vets..winning with youth...etc), so i don't see anyone beating d.r. out for this thing. i don't really know the others out there....but dunivant should be getting big props from what i've heard/read.

 

Fact is, for a team that supposedly creaks a bit with veteran years SN and staff have done a very good job in developing younger players like Leonard, Noonan and Joseph plus the "early/mid-career" guys like Heaps, Brown, Franchino and Pierce. In our current lineup that is seven out of 11, which is pretty good.

The next hurdle, after the playoffs and regardless of what happens there, will be keeping all this talent on the team.

Fine job SN, JM & MD & Co.

JIM DOW

 

For my 1000th post I'd like to say "Thank you Revs for a great season." I look forward to every game because, unlike in past years, I expect a victory.

Congrats, TnT on sharing the golden boot with the little Flopper. Razov isn't starting today, so it looks like he will not pass TnT, or even tie for the goal-scoring lead.

Finally, a comment on MLS Wrap. I've decided the Harkes is getting worse instead of better. Does he ever say anything incisive? Bring on Waldo, or that guy Chris Sullivan (?), who did a good job filling in.

 

I didn't think Joseph counted as a rookie? I can't place why, but I had thought he was ineligible. If he IS an option, I'd put him in the same category as Dunivant and Clark, with the group just a hair behind Ralph, and just a tiny bit ahead of Noonan. That said, those 5 are miles ahead of the next closest rookies (Borchers, Magee, Pause etc).