I'm furious that St. Dunc only got a 6. Hell, that head shot he layed off of Ralph deserved at least a 10! A money shot like that in a game needs to be rewarded.
8 20/03 Cunningham I suspect he's happy to have Edson Buddle back. I've never seen an explanation of your scale; I know that in Europe some guys go 1 -10, while others go 1 - 8. If, as I suspect, you are a 1 - 10 guy, then I think CUnningham was a 9. He took personal responsibility for making the entire offense work, and the players around him, particularly Martino, responded. He was, quite simply, a leader. He continues to grow into the role he kept saying he wanted but, once he got it wasn't all that sure how it worked. To his credit, he's learning and growing into a top player who has mor than a stepover and speed. 6 11/04 Martino I usually think Kyle flops on the ground much more than he needs to, but today all of the calls that went against his opponents were well deserved. His effort to challenge Logan Pause and win the ball allowed Cunningham to convert for the second goal. Actually, while I agree with your scoring I disagree on your comments. I think the problem is that we haven't seen Martino on teh ground enough the past year. Recall his rookie year, when he looked like the second coming of Claudio Reyna? He got knocked around like a pinball. But it was because he was being aggressive, sticking his nose into tough situations and standing up to the hits, but holding the ball and making the plays. Last year and earlier this season, he played like the ball was a hot potato - he couldn't get rid of it fast enough, and his one touch, backpassing and playing with his back to the goal (NOT his game) kept him from getting knocked down but was a reflection of how he had changed his approach to the game. Last week to some extent, and this week to a greater one, he looked more like his 2002 persona: hold the ball until the pass developed, even at the expense of taking the hit. And the Logan Pause ball was very cool to see - he took advantage of the fact that Pause was playing more to hit Martino than to play the ball, and Martino made him pay. 7 13/03 Wingert I'm giving Chris credit for a shot when he hit the crossbar in the first half. Stingy sir, stingy. 7 16/03 Elliott While taking all those corner kicks, Simon must have wondered just how the Crew were going to score off one. Jim Curtin was his usual monster self in the air and he has at least 4 inches on Edson Buddle. While most of his corner kicks were well taken, none proved very dangerous. This situation is an example of A) Why we aren't scoring on set pieces and B) What an imbecile Coach Stupid is. When everybody in the building, on TV and in countries around the globe knows that you have one and only one CK play - Elliott to Marshall - it makes it infinitely easier to defend. Coach Einstein might want to consider developing a couple OTHER options on set pieces. It's called keeping the defense honest, something which has never been All Star Coach Druler's strong suit. 6 11/01 Paule Some all-out defensive effort in the first half helped shut down the Fire. Made very few mistakes. Backing him out of the offense, where he's been ineffective, and into the defense, where he was VERY effective his first year, seemed to logical to hope for. 7 11/02 Fraser Solid all around. His lack of speed really does show sometimes, though. Fortunately, we're developing alternatives. 7 12/01 Akwari Got beat once toward the end of the game, but very good overall, with excellent passing. Now here's a kid who does everything you ask. He's a "natural" center back, who filled in VERY well between Dunseth and WIlliams eras last summer. This year he goes three games for Herdsman on the right and comprts himself admirably, This week he moved to the left and played a solid game. Versatility and vision on the ball - he'll have a job for years. 6 14/06 Oughton Tenacious defending. Duncan was a slide tacklin' mama a la Maisonneuve. Duncan Oughton played like a flashback to his rookie year. Not surprisingly, he was in there, at last, in the position he mostly played that year. Some connection? You be the judge. I like the guy, always have, but he's not a man-marker, he's a d-mid, and a pretty good one with a nose for the ball and the fire to back you down. Next time he shows up running the flank as a ball-crosser, let's just jump the fence and beat Andrulis senseless. 8 25/02 Baldomero Toledo (Referee) Some of the Fire supporters don't think so, but the only man on the field who out shined the Crew was Baldomero Toledo. Perhaps Buddle was slightly offside on his goal, but if he was, he was only barely offside-a good noncall. Absolutely. Attacker gets that call. It's something MLS has been harping about to the AR's all year. All Crew bias aside, it's just flat the right call, and screw what that imbecile Max Bretos thinks. (cont) Supposedly Cunningham fouled Whitfield before he was red-carded for the reprisal, according to the FSN announcers, but I don't think so. And I certainly don't think Toledo deserves any blame for not calling Buddle on a supposed foul on Whitfield in the 28th minute, although Kenny Stern certainly did. Absolutely correct analysis. Another strong job, PV. Thanks.
I think eight is the glass ceiling of HPI ratings and once it's shattered the players will go barging through, arm-in-arm, assuming their rightful place in the world of ratings. Or something.
The only question is how the good/bad plays relate to the final ratings that Vancouver hands out. For example, Paule has 11/1 for a 6 while Frazier has 11/2 for a 7. Is it the quality of the good plays? Then how can JC be an 8 when he finished 1 of 4 solid chances? Or how can Buddle at 1 in 3 be rated high? Just trying to understand.
from Bill Archer... I've never seen an explanation of your scale; I know that in Europe some guys go 1 -10, while others go 1 - 8. I believe I am using a SoccerAmerica-type scale. 5 is average, with a normal distribution from there, on a 1 (0 actually) - 10 scale. I must admit, because the Crew won, the scores were biased a bit upward. Had they lost this same game 0-2, and it was entirely possible, the ratings would have been biased downward a bit. But, hey, this is a team sport, and results count. If, as I suspect, you are a 1 - 10 guy, then I think Cunningham was a 9. He took personal responsibility for making the entire offense work, and the players around him, particularly Martino, responded. Cunningham has consistently tried to be the leader all season, and has tried to shoulder the scoring load for the Crew all season. In several games his touch has let him down and in others the service, but he has consistently tried to be "the man". The FSN announcers were right when they said Cunningham has been inconsistent, because his performances, if not his desire, have been. I think the problem is that we haven't seen Martino on the ground enough the past year. I'd rather not see Martino on the ground. One of these days he is going to get hurt. He is the second most fouled Crew player behind Cunningham and the tenth most fouled in the league, but he hasn't really seen that much of the ball. He has 35 fouls suffered in 13 games, versus 43 suffered in 22 games last year and 79 fouls suffered in 22 games in 2002 (4th in the league). The conventional wisdom in 2002 was that Martino was holding the ball too long and allowing himself to be fouled too much. He followed that up by getting rid of the ball sooner in 2003, to his credit. Whether or not he holds the ball too long, and I don't think he does, I just think that sometimes he goes down too easily, and if I was an opponent, I might feel a need to complain about it. Martino went down just as much as usual in this game, but they were all legitimate fouls. I'm giving Chris credit for a shot when he hit the crossbar in the first half. Stingy sir, stingy. This wasn't meant to be a back-handed complement. Really, it was a dig at the FSN announcers, who did not give Wingert credit for a shot. Whether in fact it was a shot or a pass, it was well hit. This situation is an example of A) Why we aren't scoring on set pieces and B) What an imbecile Coach Stupid is. Hey, it's not his fault Michael Ritch hasn't panned out. Oughton, Wingert, Paule, Martino, Lagos, Testo, Akwari, Buddle, and Cunningham all have the potential for knocking the ball in. Jeff Parke is one of the most dangerous headers in the league and he is Buddle's height. Elliott would probably prefer having Marshall and McBride on the field, however, because those other guys, with the exception of perhaps Buddle, just aren't going to get it done most of the time.
Paule's glass ceiling is at 6, and he hasn't broken it yet. Actually, I rate based on my count of good/bad plays, primarily, but adjust the number on subjective criteria. His 11/1 score surprised me, but I just didn't think Paule made enough of an impact in the game to deserve a 7. Perhaps a review is in order. I thought JC, Buddle, and Fraser had far more of an impact on the game than Paule did. Should I give Paule a 7 but Martino a 6? Yes, the quality of the good plays is a factor.
This is assuming that the only type of corner kick out there is a high crossing ball into the box. If you don't have the horses in there to win a highball, you need to be more innovative. Try some set pieces that don't rely on guys winning head balls, there are plenty of them out there.
I was rewatching the first half of the game, and even though it didn't work, I liked one of our free kicks. Instead of Elliot trying to connect with somebody's head or going straight for goal. He played a nice pass instead about 15 feet to his right where Duncan tried to blister a surprise shot from about 5-10 yards outside the box. The shot was terrible, but I love the idea. It took them all by surprise.