Out of curiosity I went back and counted who gave away possession during the first half of the last Rev game. I didn't count reasonable shots or decent passes into the box. The results were 59 give aways, 26 were on long balls. By player: Brown 11 (all long) Heaps 3 (2 long) Lamossa 2 (both long) Franchino 6 (4 long) Joseph 4 Cullen 6 Ralston 9 (2 long) Kamler 0 JMM 7 Twellman 6 What really stood out was how many times (at least 90%) Brown's long kicks ended with the other team. I suspect this is a team problem, not just Brown's fault.
So did Pierce not give away possession at all during the first half against LA, or is that just an oversight on your part? If he really didn't give away the ball, then either he never got it or his distribution isn't as bad as the prevailing wisdom says it is. Without reviewing tapes, my impression is that when he chooses to make short passes on the ground, he does fairly well. But when he tries to hit long balls or crosses, he's atrocious.
This doesn't shock me. Adin's distribution is pretty good when he can throw it, but when it comes to playling a backpass or thumping it long, he leaves a lot to be desired. Are you also counting at least twice when he booted it long along the sidelines out of bounds? At least if he thumped it up the middle to create a 50-50 ball in the other team's half, it's far better than either a giveaway or a throw-in (for them) at midfield. If he is to be seriously considered for the Nats, this is an area he must improve upon. Tom
Sorry. Pierce gave it away 6 times, 5 were long passes, 1 a rushed clearance. Your impression is correct, Pierce failed on almost every long pass he attempted, as did Franchino, Brown, and Lamossa. Ralston's giveaways were mostly innaccurate passes, many of Twellman's were poor touches (under some pressure). Joseph seemed the most dependable passer. Kamler had few chances but made no mistakes when in possession. Again this was the first half only.
Pierce's problems stem from lack of confidence with the ball. When he gets it, either it's a first time clear upfield, or he runs it to the safety of the sideline, while giving ground to the faster forward pressuring him. He runs out of space and is forced to send it as far as he can before running out of touch. The forwards chasing him overplay him to the sideline, because they know he won't change direction. He doesn't stop the ball and cut back, he doesn't change speed or direction, he doesn't look behind himself to find other options and he doesn't work the ball into open space to create more choices. It's tunnel vision, and it invites pressure every time he gets the ball. Franchino is only slightly better. Between the two of them, they are like the antithesis of Leonel Alvarez or even Daniel Hernandez, both masters of shielding and opening space with minimal movement. As for Brown booting it up field, I don't quite get it. Even for teams that are good at that, it's still a low-percentage play. The Revs should have enough confidence with their passing to work the ball out of their own end, in the process pulling the opponents up and spreading them out. The long punts and goal kicks allow the opponents to congregate in a pack where the ball arrives, allowing Lalas and Califf and their like to hammer away at Twellman and Moore. In Brown's defense, many of the back passes were bouncing balls (including one waist high) that he did not have time to settle.
Nice stuff. It's about what I expected...any idea how many passes were made by each player, though? I noticed Ralston giving away alot of passes, but he also attempted many more passes, which was part of the reason. Part of Brown's problem was the inability of the Revs to win 50/50 balls in the air in midfield. Joseph, in particular, had a hard time winning balls. Strange, as he was probably the biggest man in midfield for either team. A note on Pierce - his clearances and passes were bad, but his free kicks(under no pressure) were excellent. Much better then Franchino and Moore, who I think in general are very good on set pieces but were awful in this game. Lee
Here's the good news. In the second half the Revs gave it away only 24 times (Again not counting reasonable shots, emergency clearances, and final attacking balls into the box). 11 were long balls; 7 by Brown (out of 10 kicks), 2 by Joseph, 1 each by Pierce and Lamossa. Heaps gave away 2 throws and 2 passes, Ralston lost the ball three times (and had another three balls into the box that were slightly off but I didn't count). Everyone else lost one or less. It is noticable how much play goes down the right side with Heaps and Ralston involved. Also Ralston is often given the ball in tough positions so his turnovers are mitigated by the high number of touches he has and his effort to turn them into attacks (although his accuracy is still below last years standard).