Skundrich, Samake, Pines, Durkin should not be on the roster at all. Djeffal should not be playing much.
AC/DC's song It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock n' Roll) describes our current predicament.
Well, it only took a shattered wineglass and 25 minutes of me ignoring the TV for us to score. Birnbaum remembered which goal to score in. For the record, I don’t have enough wineglasses left to save this season. Just sayin’.
That said, we’ve looked a bit better this half. Berry maybe could’ve done better and Taxi was a little unlucky. This game could become interesting.
Montreal running a clinic on how to retain possession and kill time. We couldn't dream of stringing together 10 passes.
Meh. Montreal deserved that. More clinical in finishing, more professional in closing out the game. They deserved it, we didn’t.
They could've played with 9 men and as long as Wanyama was one of them, they'd win. Total domination by that guy, tip of the cap, but United never answered. You have to make him pass it quickly, not stand over it and rip you apart. Some tactics, some dumb play, but really poor.
I watch the matches now until we give up a goal, then come to the PBP thread to see if we caught up. It was a short night.
That starting line up was horrible. Hopefully, it provided Rooney with one last look at what he has, before the new guys come in. The midfielders and outside backs are not good enough. The central midfielders do not have the soccer IQ to read the game and block passing lanes, but they also lack the athleticism/strength/tenacity/guile to be good in the tackle without fouling. Canouse can sleep well. His starting spot should be safe. He has his weaknesses, but h is still far better than Durkin or Djeffal. Too bad we lost Moreno and Felipe. Even they were better than the pairing we saw tonight. When we are building out of the back with our triangle of GK+ the two central defenders, there was no one in front of them in the starting line up with the confidence and skill to receive the ball and turn upfield to either take on defenders or complete a forward pass. Durkin, Skundrich, Djeffal, and Samake were not effective in transition. They either played the ball backwards or turned the ball over. Najar is a better option at R back. It looks likes Rodriguez may also have the ability to show for the ball in the midfield and contribute in transition. I am looking forward to see how Morrison fits in, as well. The defense looked fragile. A good part of this is due to lack of chemistry due to frequent line up changes, the transition to a new system, and the frequent turnovers in the midfield. However, it must be said that Pines looks scared and never inspires confidence. His footwork lets him down. As a result, he frequently looks off balance (the giraffe on ice skates phenomenon) and falls to the ground way too often. Your central defenders need to keep their feet, as they are obviously the last line of defense. In addition, he does not look comfortable with the ball at his feet. He is good in the air, and he makes several great recovery runs or last ditch tackles whenever he plays. However, he has not shown that he can be relied on as as starter. Again, I can only assume that this was a last look at certain players. The only fringe player to seize the opportunity and increase his stock was Odoi-Atsem. He had a few mistakes, but read the game reasonable well. He effectively used his speed to thwart several counterattacks and he defended space well. He also managed to contribute in the final 1/3.
So, back in my air-conditioned house, drinking a Suntory whisky and soda and trying to put together coherent thoughts about this game. I tried to watch the game as Rooney would, trying to figure if there are any pieces in this dog's breakfast of a roster that are useful for 2023. My group of I've seen enough, they're not even valuable depth. 1. Samake -- no speed, no thought and ball watching on the second goal. 2. Pines -- he wants to get an advanced science degree -- start tomorrow Donovan. That gaffe at the opening whistle was just sad. Not only did he cough up the ball, but he almost tackled the Montreal player. I was thinking, "great, DOGSO in the first minute and DCU plays the rest of the game with 10 men." 3. Skundrich -- utterly lacking in basic trap, pass and run. 4. Djeffal -- no vision, absolutely no defense and looked utterly clueless. My group of "maybe there is something there". 1. Durkin -- his defense is poor and his vision is not good. He finally found Hopkins with a long diagonal at about minute 60. Montreal had been doing that to DCU all night, you think Durkin would have realized that maybe that's a good way to open up a defense. 2. K. Smith -- he's not great, but he's no worse than Robertha and must cheper. He also plays like he gives a shit. 3. Romo - he's better than Kempin and probably a useful backup to someone better. My group of they should be here in 2023. 1 Taxi 2. Rodriguez -- in his cameo he showed both hustle and some off ball movement 3. TKDP 4. Hopkins 5. Berry -- better than Estrada from the jump and with Kamara leaving at the end of the season, a useful piece. 6. Najar On the drive home, alone, because my wife had better sense than to go out in 99 degree heat, I finally came to the realization that i'm done as a season ticket holder. I've had some form of season ticket since 2000, I've had good times at RFK and Audi Field, but the good times are becoming scarcer and scarcer and the memories recede in time. This team is not worth the couple of thousand dollars in tickets and $30 per game parking and overpriced stadium food any more. I have Apple TV, I can watch them next year from the comfort of my home. If I feel like it, I can buy individual game tickets. But I'm done as a season ticket holder.
Djeffal got worked, but it's not all his fault. He was left alone to deal with Wanyama, Kone, and Djordje. Durkin is taking up Gressel's spots, it's job abandonment.
One thing i want to mention, Taxi was playing higher than he was supposed to inbthe 1st half. He and Ted were supposed to be co-"10'"s but with the understanding Ted would go wide left in attack but Taxi often went to high and there was no connection from D-mids to the attack. And since thise guys are bad passers anyway it was like we had to separate disconnected teams out there. Montreal pressured the wings and we had no outlets except hopeful balls over the top. Montreal was great at stretching the field. They had players on both sidelines. Ted was essentially taken out of the game by their wide player forcing him to defend often and not allow him to transition to attack. Lots of coordination issues in transition. Quite a mess. The group at the end was far more dynamic.
Sitting in the south end, up at the 22nd row, there was a nice breeze blowing. It must have been 10 - 15 degrees cooler than down on the ground. When that front passed, the wind really picked up and my hat blew off, and people were getting stuff in their eyes. It really wasn't bad.