As TG already pointed out, I don't think you can compare that game because of the injuries. Additionally, it was at that postage-stamp of a field. The game will play completely differently in Dallas. And what is more, who were those teams you held so scoreless? But ultimately, the point is this - a defense doesn't defend alone. It is a team effort. As we saw ad nauseum in 2003 and somewhat in 2004, if you have no midfield, your defense is going to get hung out to dry. You have Mullan and Chung on Saturday. We have Simo and O'Brien. I'll take the latter and spot you a midfielder.
Nash Cerritos seems like the best way to go. It is less of a change for Cerritos to move back, Nash brings an X-factor plus good size/speed. Clark has been working so well in his new role, why disrupt it?
well we have only lost 2 games all season, but back on topic, I think a very important factor is going to be how SJ holds up in the heat. 3 games in 7 days is never easy, you might have to dig deep in your bench to keep fresh guys out there, because its going to be hot like landon when they play that new backstreet boys song, in dallas. zing
Ah, good. You have missed the Quakes player who is playing the best in the midfield at this moment. Yes, the game will be different in Dallas than in San Jose. However, the Quakes have had success against in the past in Dallas on a larger field.
Man, that was so bad, I almost had to neg-rep you..... But he does make an interesting point. The heat will get to you - all the more reason why the midfield issues are going to hurt you, imo.
I agree. This is my biggest concern. With the injuries and Gold Cup callups, our bench won't be deep. The Quakes were tired at the end of Wednesday's game. However, there was definately an emotional let down from the LA game. I expect the emotions will be higher playing the first place team.
Ricardo? Not worried about him. Ronnie alone can handle him and any other middie you got all by his own self. You really haven't seen how strong Ronnie has been since the game against you guys - he has absolutely exploded. Too bad this one isn't on the tele. As for you guys having success in Dallas - that wasn't the current San Jose team, and for damn sure wasn't the same Dallas team.
Wow. I hope he explodes on Saturday... Since I haven't had the "privilege" to watch Dallas recently (and won't this Saturday), what do expect your lineup to look like?
Good Lord...how many times do we have to go in there and close that barn till it stays closed for good?
Well, if he does, good for him. Ronnie and Simo have gone up against better midfields and done just fine, thank you. And I'm not saying this sight unseen for Clarke - I know he is a good young player. But I've also seen how Ronnie has been playing of late. As far as lineup, see the Practice Observations over at 3rd Degree.
Easy, tex. I wasn't implying that. I didn't say you guys weren't playing well without them. Teams can still play well without marquee players in their lineup. I'm hoping that goes for us as well. It should be a good test for us. We can obviously win without Ching, but theres no evidence thusfar that we can or can't win without Davis and DeRo. Oh and pssst; Don't you guys have your own thread for this?
Yeah, but everyone on there agrees that we are going to smack you around for 90 minutes.....this is more fun.
It is always a bit more of a discussion when you're talking with someone who has a different set of facts and opinion. While I wouldn't characterize our board the way T-Gator does, most of the opinions and facts tend to be coming from the same perspective. You guys will know more about our team (and what to listen for during the game) and we'll know more about your team (and what to watch for during the game) after these discussions. It certainly will be interesting to see.
Plus, your discussion board seems to be talking more about baseball and local events rather than the game. I hope your team is as focused as your boards. Of course, when your in first place, everything is hunky dory...
As opposed to the obviously on topic threads in this forum like "random grberish" and "what's that horn thing".
I think our starting lineup will depend on whether Dom wants to play conservatively and go for a tie (in which case I'd expect him to play O'Rourke and Clark in the middle; they would be the strongest defensive center mid combination). Or, if he wants to try to kickstart the offense (with the loss of Davis, DeRo, and Ching) then he might get more creative and do one of the following: 1. Put Nash in at forward, move Cerritos back (but then we have no forwards off the bench to come in late) 2. Put Chung in the middle, and put Russell on the left wing; bring Nash in off the bench earlier to sub for Moreno/Cerritos Given that Dom seems to be relatively conservative, particularly about making changes to the lineup after a win, I'd expect either the O'Rourke option, or #2 above. Thes make the fewest changes to the current starters and where they are playing. It will be interesting to see who Dom decides to take on the road.....he really has to decide before he travels what his approach is going to be. If he's going to play more conservatively, then he probably takes the more veteran players on the road, or the rookies who have some playing time: Starting 10 from last night (no DeRo) plus: O'Rourke, Cochrane, Aloisi, Nash, Hart, Russell But, if he is ready to give a shot to another young player after seeing how Nash could contribute, it wouldn't be a bad time to try Wondolowski in there. He's leading the Reserve team in scoring (I think he leads the league in scoring, even though it's not shown on the stats on mlsnet.com....based on the match reports, he has 5 goals and 1 assist in 8 Reserve games). In that case, the extra 6 guys might be: O'Rourke, Cochrane, Nash, Russell, Wondolowski, Aloisi/Hart
And the sun shines out of your armpits Seriously, your first place will be challenged, so may the best team win
But you gotta give it to us. The majority of SJ posters at Big Soccer are very well versed of the subject. I am quite impressed with analysis upon analysis, pre and post matches. Heck, I'm sure Dominic cruises the boards for ideas and see what analysis we come up with and what we, the fans think of a previous and future matches (okay, so maybe not, but you get the point). As a matter of fact, I think most posters at BigSoccer can give Allen Hopkins a run for his money! Did you see how horribly written that article was about the "Donovan Got No Respect" in the Galaxy site? What an atrocity! As for the random gibberish, I have to tell you that we also appreciate variety.
Hello....San Jose lost 3 starters in that game, you lost 1. If anything I would have expected Dallas to pounce on San Jose after Mullan, Ching and Dayak all left the game. But our defense even then was playing well. Since then we've added a healthy Danny Califf to the middle, moved Ricardo Clark to defensive midfield where he is really looking solid, and put in Kelly Gray at Right Back. With that lineup, in 7 games, they have given up 2 goals. THAT'S why we are thinking it will be hard for Dallas to score. It will definitely be challenging for San Jose to score, but the Quakes do play better than many MLS teams on the road, and they have been in every game this year. The only losses this year have been by 1 goal, so nobody has dominated the team. THAT'S why we are thinking it will be a close, hard fought game.
As do we...which was my point. What you guys don't see is the amount of analysis and discussion that takes place on The Inferno board. There is a lot more activity on there then on BigSoccer. And I agree with you, it amazes me how much more versed the fans on here are then are the supposed "professionals". If you have GolTV then you've probably seen American Soccer. Every week I hear them make some ridiculous statement that would have been avoided with just a few minutes of research.
After seeing 4 players go out with serious injuries, you don't think people start taking their foot off the pedal and start playing conservatively?? For most of these guys their health is their paycheck....you don't play around with that. I have to admit that the results are impressive. But as my good buddy Drum'r stated earlier you can't just look at the defense in a bubble. Not having any offense can have a serious negative effect on your ability to hold the ball. Without Davis and DeRo, I don't think you can say this is the same team. Which means your backline will be facing a lot more pressure then they are used to.....particularly with FCD's offense. Sure, it might be tight...but I don't think you go into any game like this expecting to keep FCD off the board....that's just silly.
I would, but you obviously didn't understand what I was referring to. The "as do we" comment was in response to the poster that said, "we appreciate variety".
I don't think that TG is saying it is going to be a white-wash - frankly, until we get Ruiz and EJ back, or until we get another couple of results like we did in Colorado with the young guns, that isn't going to be expected. But. We've played better teams with less and won, so we have reason to be confident. Interesting point about San Jose on the road - that is something I had not considered, but your win in NJ points to it.