Not easy to concede 4 goals in first 15 minutes but when personnel and tactics come together, amazing things can happen.
was that reality or a 1-off ?? and nobody should blame meredith-- it was all on his players infront - inept, slow-footed (flopping around like beached whales), couldnt deal with the LAFC players high-press
Certainly Vancouver didn't play well but that honestly looked like one of those nights. Deflections that happen to bounce right to LA forwards, etc. I'd look at it more as a one off for now and remain encouraged by generally better play of late.
Just like the 1-6 blow out last yearagainst the same opponent, in the same stadium but minus home fans. They got outplayed by 10 men in RSL for much of the second half but got rescued because RSL lack finishing and Cavallini put a way a chance which he didn't in the first half of this match right after the first LAFC goal. Fine lines!
an utter shambles of a team that plays with little confidence and spirit- evan bush did make a difference in goal, montero did try to get some connection going forward and godoy did his best to stop the streaming of SJ players down our flanks, jake always gives 100% regardless of the outcome and our MF was an absolute disaster EMBARRASSING!! the players are gutted, the coaching staff is gutted, the supporters have given up and the owners and FO (including axel) feign that they are 'pissed off' - the sooner the season ends, the sooner the suffering stops and decisions on the coaches and players are made the only thing that will save the Caps is a new ownership group and i dont see that happening like it did in other MLS cities - its hard to see any light in all this darkness
It says all you need to know that they won't allow Axel to fire the coach because of buy out costs, etc. That is a speculative post based on years of understanding how they run things, but there is no reasoning to keep MDS there at this point, especially if he was hired before Axel came in. Axel should want to have his own man in there or the stink will stick to him too. Ultimately, we all know the root cause. But , even with that, the on field situation should be a whole lot better. But we have had 4 straight years where much of the international signings have had to be sent packing or are underperforming and should be sent packing. One year of Axel and that trend is continuing, so he was not the savior either
GAME VS RSL- OCT 11- WIN 2-1 - MY THOUGHTS fwiw: 1. TAKE THE CAKE- when all is said and done about this game- and the Caps were ragged until the OG, they did deserve the win with some grit, determination, unity of purpose and... 2. BALDI TO THE RESCUE- MDS brought in baldisimo with about 30 minutes to play; baldi showed us some of his special passes and creativity, something no other Cap MF can do- he was a difference maker 3. LIKE I HAVE BEEN SAYING-MOTM- erik godoy stood out today, giving a performance that we havent seen from a CB in a long time- his leadership should make him our captain 4. CLANG, CLANG!!!- goalie evan bush must have a rattled brain this morning, getting bowled over twice- gotta admire his courage and willingness to keep on playing- he is a more reliable goalie than either hasal or meredith- its all about experience 5. BLOW IT HARD- ref, silvia petrescu, must have dry, swollen lips this morning- while the game was rough, i am sure 1 reason is that the teams dont have respect for his officiating so they continued the constant rough play 6. ITS THE FAR POST, DUMMY!!- poor jake gets taken for goals to open players behind him- its a constant pressure applied by our opponents- its not all jake's fault as he sometimes has to cover 2 players at once- veselinovic needs to be more aware of opponents rather than ball watching 7. DOES THIS WIN HELP ??- yes as it gives us 3 points, only 1 shy of a playoff spot- surprising, huh??!! but if you watched the entire game, you have to know that this a team shallow in confidence, belief and talent 8. I WONDER- with 1 magical MF to lead this team (aka the great alan ball in 1979), this Cap team could be a lot more cpmpetitive- alas, this ownership group would rather loose attendance revenue than take a risk and sign a $3-4 mill MF - add 2 significant players and anything is possible - these type of players add confidence and belief and raise every other players' game
I missed your game reports hotpotato. Happy to see you put one up again! Kerfoot hasn't beat it all out of you yet
i am just as surprised as you that i did the report- there still must be some lurking in my soul for the Caps and i cant figure out why- maybe i need to be beaten down even more to get rid of it if the game report made you happy, then its worthwhile - your opinions and insights are valuable
the only way kerfoot and the other 3 owners EVER, EVER show a sincere interest in the Club is when they start to loose significant money and in their collective lifes, the mirror never reflects back to themselves
I agree with your analysis that one great mid-field general would move the Caps from a bottom team to a playoff team. (Not a Cup competitor, but still.) Splashing out on a Pozuelo would be the quickest way to achieve this but I think they could find someone more in their budget who would do the job serviceably. Skill is obviously required in this player but it almost seems like the need is more just for someone with leadership to take charge and direct things in the middle of the park.
GAME VS LAFC- 2-1 WIN: 1. You get what you pay for- finally, cavallini is scoring- he should have had 8-9 by now, but at least he is winning us games 2. You cant, can you ?- you cant let him go !!!! with 3G, 5 A in the last 6 games, fredy montero should be resigned for 1 year plus an option- he assisted on both goals last night - he is such a smart player- Axel needs to get it done for 2021... if fredy wants to stay 3. To the rescue- CB erik godoy is proving himself to be the defensive leader and is always in the right place at the right time- he is playing like 1 of the best CBs in MLS 4. Roll on, BABY, roll on-- MDS has finally found the game tactics that work for this team- THE HIGH PRESS 5. I know, i know-- LAFC had a depleted roster, but i dont care... a win is a win, no matter how you get it 6. Again and again!!- MF owusu constantly gives up the ball by over-dribbling or bad passes and it causes us all kinds of trouble- he cant be a 2021 starter 7. Hit the ball on goal or pass- dajome needs a constant drill on shooting and when to shoot - his mindset is frustrating 8. Who would you take ?- referee petrescu (male and blew his whistle so often he must have lip sores) or Penso (a woman who let the game flow with some rough, but clean tackling) - she deserved to be the ref last night - gender doesnt matter as long as the person is a quality ref 9. Gotta take advantage- our next opponent is LAG, the worst team in MLS- this will be a test of our attitude and not taking the game lightly 10. A sniff is better than no sniff- at least we are in the playoff hunt and the for last 2 games, we are building a team chemistry and game tactics that are bringing us wins
I will just say that a couple of W's doesn't mean the underlying foundational problems are solved; they are not. Sorry to be sour Cava and Montero can score if played correctly. Without a better midfield they will have many dry games. Owosu and Djame are underperforming and not the answer. Axel already has poor signings in his first year here. Not a good start in my view.
you mean Owusu and dajome? you must have had a senior moment, although some seniors- like myself- are completely lucid... until my son overloads me but i agree- the Caps have some serious decisions for 2021- this is time for axel to make an impact and sign 2 impacting players, sign montero and decide what to do with MDS and his staff, adnan, veselinovic and crepeau- ITS EITHER PUT UP OR SHUT U not interested in flowery words from jeff mallett about caring for the Caps and his aim to take them to new heights
I deeply apologize to the spelling police for not looking up the correct spelling of those fellas names before typing.
GAME VS LAG- 0-1 LOSS : 1. Can you hear the Scream from MDS??- jake, damnit-- its the far post- how many times do i have to tell you ???????????????????????? stop ball watching and watch the players behind you- DONT MAGNETIZE TO THE MIDDLE having yelled that- jake must be feeling horrible, but for a professional defender to keep allowing goals on the same type of play is beyond reason- it must be 4-5 goals this season 2. POTM- Owusu finally showed me his ability in the MF- his best game, by far 3. The Wall- goalie evan bush made many critical saves in the first half - stellar performance 4. Why didnt he ??- its unclear to me why MDS didnt make earlier subs when it was obvious that the attacking players had run out of gas or were ineffective by the 65th minute- who cares if fredy sulks when he is pulled !!! giving bair 1 1/2 minutes of playing time was absolutely ridiculous for a professional coach and, if i were theo, i would be pissed at the insult- you do it when you are defending a lead, not when you need more energy on the attack 5. Is he worth it ??- veselinovic made his 12th start, thus kicking in the contract to purchase him for a reported $650 K USD- not convinced it is a good use of that kind $$$$$- i think he is an investment player and the Caps are hoping he matures in 2021-2022 so they can sell him to a euro club 6. Gotta think-- not sure that baldisimo is ready for being a starter- seems like he is a more useful sub 7. Dull, dull, dull- on the whole, both teams played- sub par MLS and its easy to see why they are or will be low in the standings - every team has a tough schedule of games so its partly fatique - it all comes down to quality and coaching and both were lacking last night A SIDE NOTE- LAG's and MLS' top paid player- chicharito- is a shadow of his former days and is packing a lot of extra weight- looks like another steven gerrard failure for LAG
Carl used to do weird subs with 1 minute left in extra time as well. I don't get the rationale behind that; what the heck are you saving it for at that point? Comparing him to Gerrard's time in LA is a major insult. I hope you are wrong; the league needs its highest paid guy to perform.
well, chicharito has played- in 2 years- a total of 19 games with a smashing 1G for sevilla and 1G for LAG - his transfer fee was near $10 mill and his salary is in the + $7 mill with another 2 years left on his contract- when he does play with LAG, the team fares much worse now if that isnt a BUST, i dont know what is !!!
That’s why you have to be careful with who you splash money on. It is almost like if a “top” player wants to come to MLS, you would be wise to be suspicious and look carefully. Chicharito is also pretty much a pure poacher and if he isn’t getting decent service in the box, he is useless even if in good shape.