According to the soccer365 interview with Mastroeni, the Rapids are moving away from Hankinson's (wonderful) short-passing game to employ more long ball. This "black and blue" stuff is a bunch of SH:T. Colorado stood out for having green jerseys. They were classic and cool, not Euro-wannabe. Colorado also stood out for the style of play Hankinson brought with him from the Mutiny - which did not depend on El Pibe. Was creative possession soccer not playing in Denver? I thought they had good attendance. It was nice to see a team in green passing the ball around, and MLS' onfield product needs all the diversity it can get.
what does colorado's style of play have to do with the colors they wear? and wouldn't you think they would change styles with the loss of el pibe and no other number 10 on the team?
Can't fit square pegs into round holes. The coach thinks his talent is better suited to a different style of play. Only time will tell if he is right in that respect, but that's exactly the call they pay him to make. Better that he make the adjustment than try to force players to play a system they are not suited for. Those skin tight green uniforms were butt ugly. The black and blue can't be any worse. Maybe they are Earthquake wannabes?
two words my friend. target forward. zizi roberts will knock them down and spencer and carrieri will put them in. the rapids have always lacked hieght up front so that explains the short game. now they have a stud up front, so one would assume that they plan to use him. don't worry, i am sure that they will still be an entertaining squad. they will just lob them into the box more often.
i thought counce was an idiot for changing the colors but the new unis look pretty good. still, his philosophy that changing to 'black and blue' would make the team meaner still seems pretty stupid to me. though with grimandi instead of pibe in the middle of the pitch, they probably will be meaner.
Counce seems to think a lot. He thinks because he played soccer in college , he's a soccer guy. I think he's more of a lame marketeer wannbe. Link here: http://www.soccer365.com/_365_Interviews/page_123_47494.shtml The new unis look good, I'll give them that. But anyone can copy one of the most famous teams in the world - its hardly original. But this whole black and blue thing strikes me of MLS 1996 or 1997 in the heydey of the Logan era. Its putting the cart before the horse. Its slick packaging when the emphasis should be the product. They may sell more shirts - but only because you needed to be in shape to wear the Kappa shirts. It won't make one bit of difference on the field or sell one extra ticket. But at least it seems they lost that hideous and HUGE water stream badge.
First of all Hankinson's 3-6-1 at the Mutiny was beautiful. Is playing Dominic Kinnear at marking back fitting a square peg in a round hole? Sure. Hankinson himself has a nice style which he replicated at Colorado, and it's been great to have a team like that in the league. They have the personnel, with or without El Pibe. Heck even Henderson knocked it around with Miami. But a team with Mastroenni, Chung, Grimandi, Carrieri, Spencer, Trembly, Fraser... is perfectly suited, 'cause Tim Hank built 'em that way.
Agreed, agreed and agreed. It's like when Columbus was established as "America's Hardest Working Team" when the only player they had was probably Doctor Khumalo, (ironically.) It's also a lot like when the great Seattle Sounders switched from blue green and white, to "Red, White, Black and Blue," in response to their new football meathead ownership, and died within one season. Seems like a GM who's eager for his club to wear black and blue as a symbol of their new on-field ethic could help make player acquisitions like Grimandi (infamous blade) and Zizi (long ball target) which effect your style of play. But whether the marketing can influence a team or not, "Black and Blue" is a shameful standard to bear. And for a league with one green team struggling to establish its own identity in a crowded sports market and the vast soccer cosmos, the colors change is a stupid move.
I don't think the Raps style will change completely. But they had no crossing game last year, except for set plays when defenders came forward. Having Roberts will allow them to add some pieces that were missing. The lineup last year was always given as a 4-4-2 with Valderrama listed as a forward, but we all know he wasn't. Hankinson's lineup was really a 4-2-3-1, with two holding mids, Henderson Chung and Valderrama attacking, and a lone striker (Spencer or Carrieri). The plan was to keep the ball on the ground and go at goal from the corners of the penalty area, not take it deep into the corners. That's why Chung and Hendo were both in the top 10 scorers last year as midfielders. With a true target player up front, the wing mids won't have as much attacking responsibility and can stretch wider looking to play into Roberts. Removing El Pibe and adding Zizi allows Hankinson a lot more flexibility. BTW, the new unis are nice, but I thought it was good being the only green team in the league. Oh well.