I know some of the players and front office staff read these boards so let me take this chance to speak to those guys for a few. I just came back from the Open Cup match against the Battery and I've been left with a few questions that simply perplex my feable mind. Why in the world did we even bother to come down and play that match last night. As soon as the players hit the pitch for warm up's you could see there was no sense of desire on the field. You could tell the players thought this was a walk over as they proceeded to mess around with their warm up's laughing and joking without a care in the world. When the team returned for the kick off, I was amazed at the squad we placed on the field. Vaca seemed to be placed on the wing with Magee and Arena playing the central mid role and Woly with Cornell uptop. Since Amado didn't play, and yes he needed the rest, why in the world didn't we have Vaca playing his usual role of controlling the midfield, instead Magee looked like a lost boy out there getting muscled off of almost everyball. I'm not sure on the overall availabillity of Lisi but I still can't understand why in the world there was no one to control or create from the midfield. Another mind numbing question is why in the world do we never move for each other, players never make runs , communtication on the pitch pretty much consists of yelling at the ref, Bob's communication from the bench usually consists of pouty looks that a 14 yearold girl gives her father when he won't doll out any more allowance money. We're never going to compete with anyone if we can't even get the simple things done like talking amongst ourselves when out on the field of play. Also may I ask why other then Amado, no one ever attempts to shoot from the outside box ? Is this something Bob has told you the players not to do..am I to understand that we can only shoot from inside the 18' and also make sure we try and have a minimum of two players touch the ball before a shot is attempted..it sure seems that way. This isn't just from my observations from last night...this has been a two year constant thing since Bob has taken the helm, and one could even make the argument that it's been like that for years before Bob came in. If Mr. Bradley is such a coaching guru, why can't he and his players get the basics done ? Match after match it's the same problems game in and game out and nothing is being done...the product on the pitch is proof of that. To you my fellow fans keep the support going...eventually we are going to get some trophy, Atlantic Cup doesn't count in my books. To the players and coachs I'd like an honest answer to my problems. I understand we can't win them all but why do these simple aspects of football keep getting looked over and why in the world did we give almost zero effort last night ? Charleston's main defender Mark Watson shut us down last night, without having to deal with almost zero runs into his box...the guy blew his hamstring almost right off the bat in the match and we never forced him physically...just another observation that seemed like we didn't care. To Woly, your hard work is well appreciated and was super evident last night...your were the only star that shined for us.
Top post; hope some of the right people read it. Red Card makes an excellent point re: professionalism.
I was not at the game. But... Vaca's been playing on the right all year, not in the middle. Metros have scored a half dozen goals on long shots this year...we've also (Vaca especially) launched many into the seats. It's no fun to lose to A-League teams, but if you try to separate yourself from the WFAN-type "You Can't Lose That Game!" way of thinking, we had a makeshift team on the field in oppressive heat, two days after a war in Chicago. The chances were pretty good we were going to lose.
A-League teams like Charleston routinely play 2 games in 3 days and even play on back to back nights. We were playing two games in 4 days. Why are we unable to compete on the same terms as a second division soccer team? I'm sorry but I can't take an "aw shucks, what could we expect" approach to this game. We lost to an A-league team that had 3 wins in 18 games and a goal differential of -11. There is no way that you can say chances were good that we should lose. Charleston had won 3 out of 18!! They allowed 11 more than they scored!! Looking at that, I think chances should have been pretty good for a win whatever circumstances the game was played under. This is a disgraceful loss, one that only serves to further tarnish Bradley's reputation and to further establish this franchise as one of the more pathetic in league history.
** Dude come on, Metro should win this game.. No Excuses. Just another example how this team is one of the most under achieving squads i have seen in a while..
Beat the Fire, and suddenly no one will care about Charleston. I guess I just have to wait this over-reaction out another two days.
When are you going to stop making apologies for this team? A "war" in Chicago? Please. I wouldn't have even responded if you hadn't made your smart ass WFAN comment. But it's your blindness to the deficiencies of this team combined with your total dismissal of critical opinions of this team that make me want to comment.
Yeah, well, some of us have been "overreacting" for years now, others, like yourself more than likely, have made excuses for the management as they take what should be the flagship team of this league through 9 years of failure and declining attendances. With a lack of professionalism on the field, a squad in a constant state of flux, and crowds of 12,000 people on beautiful saturday evenings in a metropolitan area of 20 million, at what point are we not overreacting anymore?
Honeslty, does it even matter? They are in first place in their division in MLS, and you guys are going to complain about this worthless game. What more do you want from them, to be in first place in the entire league? I understand that they dont try their hardest every game, but as long as they are in first place you cant really complain. If their effort hurts us eventually, then bring it up but if the Metrostars dont try hard enough, well then maybe every team should do that because it seemed to get us in first place. Someone call the Revs and tell them not to try their hardest, because when you dont try you end up in first place. Like seriosly, how much are you going to crticize (I cant say it enough) a FIRST PLACE team.
Very nice reporting and assesment of team. My hat off to you for making the trip .Our team and MFO the coaching personel did not give a damn about us the fans the die hard supporters. Why not take the game seriously, ?... from the last few reports the Battery has played well in its exhibition games defeted Sunderland and they were preparing to defeat us, they took this very seriously indeed,so should have we. I have said it many times before that Bob Bradley is a good coach teacher i really belive that for a YOUTH TEAM , he should be the trainer, holding practice sessions, and focusing on the development of the young players . For us to succeed we need a Manager (as called in Europe) to lead this team, proffesional players do not need coaching but need someone who is capable of bringing the best out in them and get the job done. Bradley is not the one to lead us to greatness and Magee is just as you called him a BOY.
Your post is nonsense. Offseason, preseason, all year, professional teams are put together to win competitions during the competitve year. Why is then the only major cup tournament in the United States now called worthless by you? It is the only other domestic championship that can be won by a professional team at this time. Nonsense! I mean that in the nicest way.
A lot of Metro players shoot from the outside of the box, i guess they weren't on the field that day. Also nothing guaranties a lost more than underestimating your opponent, if they didn’t bother play to win, I don’t know why they played at all.
There are no such things as wortheless games. You are a paid proffesional, you repreresent your club, your community. You owe to give your best to them, to your fans even to your family who is watching closely. Worthless maybe was the friendly against the LIR but not this.
Was this particular Metro lineup used in order for BB to determine who to give up for Szetala? How is Kenny doing? Didn't he faint and wasn't he taken to a hospital?
Open letters to players/mgmt: Dear players/mgmt, Please ignore my letter of 7/21. I was clearly drunk. Please trade for Danny Szetela. I am now sober, and I think we need him. Love ya forever, Go Metro.
I posted somewhere on your forum the article in our paper the next day said he was NOT taken to the hospital (although he was taken away from the stadium in an ambulance) and the problem was supposedly heat exhaustion. Which I must say, was a little unusual since it happened in like the 50 something minute, right after he'd had a break at the half, and it wasn't really unusually hot that night. But it was a little disturbing to watch, he was on the ground for several many minutes and he honestly didn't move a muscle.
I thought the game in Chicago was one of the most intense MLS games I've ever seen, it was 90 minutes of hard fighting...yeah, I thought it was a war. I said it was a devastating loss, but I knew going in, with the injuries and the way Charleston plays -- they are the most direct team in the A-League, they try to win on set pieces and corners, even in their own league --that this was going to be a tough game. I follow this Cup closely every year. Then, my final point was, if you told me we'd hit a bunch of posts (Fabian apparently hit the post from inside the six) and miss a pk, yeah, we'd probably lose this game. The Battery may be having a bad season, but they're an A-League team that actually spends money on players year in and year out. Think a guy like Justin Evans or Mark Watson would play for $24,000 a year or $850 a month? No way. Those guys are certainly able to compete against the type of team we had to put on the field on Tuesday. Sucks to lose, but to think a makeshift Metro team "should" roll over the Battery, on a Tuesday night in Charleston, is pie in the sky stuff.
I agree..Im gna take MAn u as an example (yes its a longshot and a bit far fetched) I got the chance to meet some of their coaches last year for their pre season FRIENDLY american tour..Someone asked them wat they would do differently, being that this was a pre season FRIENDLY and the one coach said "nothing, we dont do anything differently...we take every game the same way, like a final, and we play to the end as professionally as possible" As a smaller team fan, Ive read a lot about how Man u scores a lot of their goals durin say the last 10min + stoppage time but u know wat? its cuz they dont give up...they take every game 200% seriously they play every game as tho its a final...ya it pisses me off roy keane set out to deliberately foul players before in his career(dunno if he still does it) but u know wat he is a great leader and a fighter he doesnt give up he doesnt like to give up...simple...u gta step on the pitch as tho every game counts, as if every game was a final... jus my 2 cents..
Dear Players/Mgmt: Please ignore my letter of 7/22. I was clearly hungover. Columbus is asking for the moon, and this is still just a kid we're talking about. I'm sober again, and I say keep Clark, keep the guys we have. Just go out there and win a cup. All the best, Soy de metro. PS> Pursuant to my letter of 7/21, how the sh!t did we lose to Charleston? That sucks.
While Redknapp deserves credit for attending, that does not give extra credence to his views or comments. Perhaps the Metros (& MLS) are taking the USOC too lightly, but since their goal is to establish a successful major soccer league in the USA, other competitions necessarily take a back seat.