The Revs are coming off a forgettable performance against Columbus and there's talk of Joe Max Moore returning from his red card suspension in an attacking mid role. Will this create problems for the Burn defense? Will ROB repeat his performance at attacking mid and cause the Revs defense problems?
I usually don't go out on a limb, but the Burn will win this game easily. Look who we have coming to town; Taylor"The Tool" Twellman and Joe"I have a hyphenated last name" Max-Moore. If we can't beat these guys, I will be ashamed. They have no midfield and their defense is at best suspect. My prediction: Burn 3-Revs 0. EJ will bag 2 goals and Suarez the other. I am buying beer for everyone at the stadium.
Oddly enough, despite all the years of Revs futility (including this one), I believe that we have a worse record against the Revs than against most teams. For me the difference will be whether we can improve on the pitiful passing and possession game we displayed last week. We've got the creativity and talent to run these guys off the field. We just have to take care of business with the basics. Hopefully we're a little more used to the field this week. Count on the Revs to bunker cravenly and play for a tie from the beginning. I agree that Johnson will score in this game.
I posted this in another thread but what the hell... is anyone else not really impressed with the "competition" this season. I keep seeing all these ties and they are boring me, there just aren't many teams outside of Columbus and L.A. (kinda) that I see giving us problems. Seems like theres something missing you know? Anyways, onward to the Revs., should be an easy win. I think we need to get major revenge for last year, 2 pitiful losses. Keep Taylor "the tool" under wraps (umm, a little better than Ruiz please) and we should kill them.
It's crunch time for the forwards. Rhine, Kreis, and whoever they put on in the 60th have to SCORE GOALS. 3 would be good. 4 would be better. Until Rhine and Kreis start putting up some numbers, I'm not saying they'll kick anyone's arse.
I don't care how bad they looked Saturday, we're not going to put 4 or even 3 past a bunkered Revs defense and Adin Brown. I expect New England to bounce back from Saturday, as Nicol is a pretty good coach. Burn 2, Revs 1.
I also think this will be an easy game for us. I guess the only change in the line-up is EJ for Rhine. I've always felt EJ needed to get some starts, I hope he takes full advantage of them. I'm kind of worried about our GK's because it could very well be that we may have to find a 3rd GK for this game. I read a report today about us trying to aquire a Rochester GK or something like it. Matt Jordan anyone?
Missing a link. I imagine Joe-Max will play as a playmaker along with Harris. Still there is no midfield linkage between Moore-Harris (attacking mid) and Cullen and/or Hernandez (defensive mid) and wing midfielders weren't effective until the second half. Plus leaving Twellman as a lone striker will not work especially against Suarez and Morrow. The battle of the flanks IMHO is the key to this match. If Chivas and Vaca can get pass the overlapping fullbacks of Franchino and Heaps and Kreis and (I perfer) EJ can get the goals going, then we should be able to get the 3 points. I hope O'Brien will be a effective as his last match against the Galaxy, but he will have his work cut out against Hernandez and/or Cullen.
I'm seeing a potential problem in our middle defense. Joe-Max Moore will be hyped up after having his "homecoming" debut ruined by poor officiating, so I'm seeing him dragging Chad into diagonals and Noonan/Harris/Twellman benefiting. And Noonan is an unknown that could be very dangerous. I'm not sure about Ryan's man-marking skills yet, and I see a possible problem in 'less-than-healthy' goalkeeping. This could be a tough one.
Agreed. No MLS team has put 3 past the Revs since July 24 of last year, with Sommer, Downing, and Rooney in the line-up against the Rapids. Your work's cut out for you.
Maybe, but I'd rather be in our shoes trying to score against a good Revs defense, than in NE's shoes, trying to score with that pitiful excuse for a midfield.
A bunker will be very effective against the Burn. Mark Kreis out of the game, let Rhine's first touch fail him, and kick the ball as far as you can when you get it. A bunker almost never works. The Burn has the talent in the midfeild, and especailly the wings, to create chaos and good chances. The question is whether enough of those chances are converted, and how effective New England's counters are. I do not think this one will be easy.
If the Defense plays solid like they did against LA(with the exception of the fluke goal), then the Burn should get at least one point. I would like to see a Davis/EJ combo upfront maybe late in the game if the game is still tied.
I think the outcome will depend heavily on whether the Burn are able to score early and force the Revs to come out and play. By the same token, if the Revs get an early goal, the Burn will have their work cut out for them. Having Cerritos, Kreis and EJ all available will help, and the fact that O'Brien and Chivas aren't afraid to shoot from distance. Lets hope DJ is healthy.
So much analysis. Come on fellas, let's just say the Burn will win. That is all that matters. Keep it simple. As Toby Keith says , "We are the Burn and We'll stick a boot in your ass, cause that is the Burn way." Enough of my rant.....can't wait till Saturday. The weather is looking good and we should have a full house.
The Revs are palying suck-ass soccer right now and if we don't beat them at home that tells me we are in for big trouble this season. I hope they put Joe Max up top with Twellman and leave Ralston alone to figure out how to get the ball from the backline to the forwards. He's teh only guy who can pass the ball consistently. Chivas needs to shut him down - we'll see if that happens. If they put Joe Max as an attacking midfielder with Twellman and Wolde Harris up top, we could have a tougher time. Heopfully they'll be too stupid to figure that out. To quote Bill Walton, the Revs defense was "terrible" against the Crew. If they play like that we shoudl be able to slice through them, even Rhine of EJ coudl get a goal. And I swear, if that blond thug Franchino slides into Ronnie O'Brien with a two footed studs up tackle I am going to go ballistic. Deering, if you're listening, you are there to make sure O'Brien, Vaca and Chivas don't get their legs sawn off.
Why are people so knee-jerk? "if we don't beat them at home we are going to be in trouble this season." Give me a break! It's a long, long season.
Why? Because the Revs are playing like crap right now and if we can't beat a crap team at home then it does not bode well. We should have beaten LA but outside of Ronnie O, no one could finish and then we pulled two bonehead defensive plays on the same play and gave up the win. That worries me. I expect the Burn to win every game - but especially home games against crap teams.
Did you see him against LA? I'm absolutely sure he will start this Sat. Jeffries job is at risk this season so he has to start EJ. Why now? because Cerritos is almost ready to come back, Rhine sucked last game, theres talk about another forward comming in, and all Kreis did last game was stay off sides. Its due or die time for EJ. Every team in the league wants him, so if Jeffries doesnt start him this saturday EJ will for sure have to be traded.