Well, well, well, things are starting to tighten up around the old MLS Western Conference Table. 1-LAFC 45 2-ATX 41 3-Minn 34 4-RSL 33 5-DAL 32 6-NSH 31 7-LAG 30 8-PTFC 30 9-SEA 29 10-VAN 26 11-HOU 25 12-COL 24 13-SJ 22 14-SKC 20 7 teams for 5 playoff spots with 3 teams with an outside chance of getting into playoff contention with a possible late season run with a 9th playing RSL this weekend. RSL really screwed the pooch with their late run of form. 3 points against San Jose seems like an absolute must with the schedule as it plays out through the end of the season. 3-1 RSL what the heck.
RSL's 4th out of 14, San Jose is 13th out of 14, they're a mess, we beat them 2-0 last month when they came to town. We should run over them like tiny ants. Crush their souls like so many cardboard coffee cups. SJE 2 - 1 RSL. Because we're RSL. Okay, so metaphors aren't my strong suit.
Christian Espinoza If RSL shuts him down, they stand a chance. If he's allowed to have a game, RSL loses. It's Minnesota and Reynoso all over again
That’s for the spelling lesson. And since Wando can’t score a goal on us (or three) then I don’t give a ********.
Ah man! Another typo?! I guess that's what you get for trying to type out a quick response on the toilet at work
we won't have Ruiz, which means either Caldwell or Besler will start next to Loffelsend. I am curious if Julio is fit enough to be considered a starter again or if Pablo isn't going to tempt fate on that again. XI expected: Cordova Savarino Meram Loffelsend Caldwell Chang Brody Silva Glad Herrera MacMath
Ok, I don't do this much because I'm still admittedly a noob but here's a lineup option for SJ. 3-5-2 Savarino Cordova Brody Luna Loffelsend Caldwell Herrera Silva Holt Glad MacMath 4-3-3 Meram Cordova Savarino Luna Loffelsend Caldwell Brody Silva Glad Herrera MacMath I think that Luna needs an opportunity to eclipse expectations. Amirite? Probably not a game you mess with the formation but I do like the idea of the 3-5-2. Not enough defense? Thoughts?
The passing diagram in the FCD game was about as much of a 2-4-4 as you can get. The 3-5-2 pivots to a 5-3-2 very easily and actually offers more defensive cover than the 2-4-4 that Pablo has had the team play. So, saying it offers not enough defense, to me, seems completely backwards. I'm a very strong proponent of the 3-5-2 - especially for this roster. The talent is mostly wide players. We don't have a midfield that would be considered dominant in any fashion or overly talented. They get the job done, mostly, but it's not where Pablo should funnel possession or his system. The 3-5-2 listed above is exactly how I'd go about this game. On paper you could call it a 3-4-2-1 with Luna and Savarino sitting underneath Cordova and allowed to roam. That said, I don't see Pablo dropping Meram or Chang, let alone both. The aforementioned style of pinging the ball wide rides heavily on those two being the width in front of Brody and Herrera. Pablo rides those two players HEAVILY to get things accomplished. I fully expect the same 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 setup on Saturday. I fully expect a loss, too.
I went back and forth on Chang and Meram in place of Brody. Can you put either of them in instead of Brody and expect to have any type of defensive help down that side? The only reason I kept Brody in was for defensive cover. I would let Herrera bomb forward with Caldwell and Brody helping underneath in front of the back three. I want to see Luna get some minutes. He looked like a different player in the very few minutes that he had in the last game than his time in the last two appearances. You could put Meram in for Luna which may be a "stronger" starting 11 and then bring Luna in early and Chang for Brody if you're behind and/or are looking for a goal late. You could also bring on Julio for Cordova for a spark or for a pesky defender late or Julio for Caldwell if you are trying to add scoring opportunities. But as you know, I'm the last guy to ask about tactics. 3-5-2 Savarino Cordova Brody Luna Loffelsend Caldwell Herrera Silva Holt Glad MacMath
I was a fan of the 3-5-2 and was hoping to see it again by now. The problem seems to be that the tactics aren't really changing even if the formation changes. I don't know why the only offensive strategy seems to be cross in the ball when we don't have a player that can do anything with it. Cordova might be the best option for that strategy, but why is that the strategy being used? Surely there's another option? I like the 3 man backline because then there's actual subs off the bench that can impact the game. Rubio, Sava, Julio or Cordova can play up top. Meram, Sava and Luna can play underneath the forward(s). Schmitt, Brody, Herrera, Chang and Meram can provide the width. Ruiz, Jasper and Caldwell are well suited to a 2 man d-mid setup. All 4CB's work with 3 in the back and Holt looks best in that formation, somehow. RSL basically hasn't looked very good for the last 8 games. They beat some teams at the bottom of the West and that's about it other than lots of disappointment. Hoping to see Pablo adjust something, because whatever it is he's wanting the team to do isn't working.
IMO Meram can benefit from a game’s rest. This one is a good time to do it. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Julio get the start. SJE, at home, isn’t going to park the bus. Julio’s speed can be more successfully used than we see against teams at the RioT.
There are some damn fine players - and good strikers - coming into the league here in this window. Austin is about to have the best strike duo in the league, having acquired Sebastian Driussi's old strike partner from Zenit to play alongside him.
Well ******** me! The rich get richer. This is the kind of talent that is really hard to come by in January. Also, to lure to SLC. Damn.
Normally I go into a match like this with some hope and confidence we can come up with a result but not this time. I see us going down by 2 or more goals.
I hear the “not so great” KSL.com livestream works abroad. @boris9678 would know best. Maybe @Ismitje too?
With a VPN set to the region I almost always use RSL on KSL with good success. No annoying ad blocking necessary or extra subscription signing in or around. If I’m desperate for a free stream I can’t access the firstrowsports is sometimes a good back up if you can deal with annoying ad pop up’s.
https://video.ksltv.com/rslonksl @SoccerMan94043 That's the direct link. You can always check it now to see if it works, it'll just play last weeks game. 30 minutes before kickoff is when pregame starts. If for some reason you have the feed playing before then, you have to refresh it or it'll keep playing the old game
Thanks! When I was routinely traveling for work, I had a VPN for this purpose... but covid and no travel that is gone and this is a one time vacation so not going that route now.