Post-match: Give 'Em Hell (Is Real), Lads - Crew @ Cincinnati - '25 MLS Playoffs: Round 1, Game 3 - 11/8 6:00 PM

Were you around for Ian Woan, Miroslaw "Pornstache" Rzepa or Mark "Yellow Card" Williams?

 

They spent more on Gazdag than all three of those guys combined.

 

I actually thought we punched above our weight in the series. Cincy is a loaded team. They spent almost double than what we did for comparable moves (dp9/ inter league transfer), and then still signed brenner at the close of the window. They used like all their GAM. Their roster could be a disaster moving forward, but they sold out for a cup
this year. We didn’t do that. But we played
Well enough to steal wins in both away games. That said, their guy scored his chance and ours didn’t.

a few thoughts:

If gazdag missed the chances Picard had, the entire crew fandom would have exploded. Picard seems to be Brendon Aaranson outside of mls right now, a skilled player with tons of energy and little strength who does everything but get on the scoresheet. No goal contributions despite starting down the stretch is rough. I like him but it’s the goals will come era with him now.


-gazdag was rough for most of the season, but junk time like this seems like a good time to use him. He almost set up the tying goal with a nifty touch in the box. He just hasn’t shown enough to have warranted more time.

- Rossi was clearly not 100%. That sucked.

-probably one of the worst defensive performances I’ve seen form arfsten for the crew.

-Nagbe lost almost every 50/50 duel for the ball in the air. Some let to dangerous buildups for Cincy.

- Ultimately, brenner scored his looks
And we missed ours. Nancyball was tremendous at putting the right guys at the right times. But thier talent scored their looks
And ours didn’t.

- proud of how the team fought. I’ll miss watching nagbe.

 

I blame the defensive problems on 2 things: 1) nancy sends so many guys forward, and 2) Chambost and nagbe cant cover ground very well on defense. We dont get the ball back as quickly as we did with Aidan, so we are more exposed in counters and giveaways

 

both attack and defense failed. we scored something like 20 fewer goals in 2025 than 2024, while also conceding at least 10 more goals.

in 2 seasons we went from a cup winning team that had depth to a average mls team with no depth. What the ever loving fcuk are we doing

 

Spot on.

On July 12th ... FC Cincinnati blew a 2-0 lead at home to the Crew, lost 4-2.

From there to now ... they only allowed more than 1 goal twice in league games. And they won both of those games on the road 3-2.

They learned.
They locked down.

The Crew went on to give up 3, 3, 3 in losses.
4 in the win at Atlanta.


Crew went back to Cincinnati twice.
Scored 1 goal in 180 minutes.

And Noonan outmanaged Nancy in the second half tonight.


That series could be replayed 10 times and FCC wins 8 or 9.

If Nancy thinks this roster is close ... shame on him for stubbornness. And delusion.

 

3) For the second straight year, Nancy and Tall built their entire plan around an ancient Rudy Camacho anchoring the backline.

 

Out of all the things to complain about this season, this is #1 by a country mile. He was a huge problem last year, it was clear in the playoffs v Red Bulls that his legs had gone (and he was slow to start with). Then he got hurt and did nothing. I was fine with Z being moved back there (I still think that's his best position long term) but then we didn't replace him in midfield. The solution was to take a guy I was calling Shambust at the start of the year into that spot. He was a crap #10, and while he's better as a #8, I still don't think he's good enough. I was fine waiting an extra window for Ali, but is this FO really only able to sign one big player at a time?

This is a gigantic offseason for Issa. He's had his full year now, he knows what the issues are, zero excuses.

 

Yep. The fist 66 minutes were great. We could have been up by more. The last 33 were not.

We generally played well. Dominated possession without creating too many clear chances in the first half (the one off the line and JRRs shot). Just didn't finish and made one defensive mistake too many.

But there were some defensive issues and turnovers, Cincy just didn't cash them in until the winner. Arfsten git abused defensively multiple times, Moreira once early and then in the goal after Chambost's turnover for the goal. We had some other dangerous giveaways that a swarming D covered for early, a couple by Taha, who got rightfully yanked before halftime.

I'll still maintain if Ali was available,,we advance. Or maybe even a fully healthy Rossi.

We certainly have some heavy lifting to do in the offseason. IDK if the Haslams are willing financially.

1) Gazdag has to be offloaded/bought out. Even with Ali out, Nancy played 5 attackers before him (Rossi, Taha, Picard, JRR, Lappalainen). We need a top shelf DO creator/scorer. We don't have one. There is no Cucho/Guille/Zelarayan/Pipa. Too early to tell if Abou Ali can be a top shelf forward (McBride, John, Cunningham, Kamara, Zardes). But even if so, he isn't a creator.

2) Replacing Nagbe (& Morris) in CM. Chambost is fine but not exceptional. He circulates well, but isn't real disruptive nor creative. And if Zawadzki is anchored to the backline, he's also our inly reliable puece in CM. Taha is OK when we need a goal, but not strong enough.

3) Another CB or two. Camacho replacement. Someone to free Zawadzki up so Moreira, Amundsen, and the CMs can get some rest. And some RC help, too.

4) Get stronger & bigger all over the pitch. We struggle in the air and in duels. A lot of our guys are undersized, not very strong, or both. Ali will help some. Zawadzki, Amundsen, & Chambost are fairly scrappy. Nagbe is fairly strong. But Cincy out scrapped us. And it wasn't lack of effort. They were just bigger & stronger.

I am still fairly bullish in Taha & Picard, but you cannot pencil them in as starters. Get an attacking DP to start next to Ali & Rossi. A third CF. At least two CMs, one who has to start often. And at least one CB to replace Camacho.

 

Just one note that nobody has mentioned, namely that they, we, everybody knew perfectly well that Rossi was far from 100%, so they started knocking him around as soon as he got off the bus. It was brutal.

I'm really learning to hate those guys.

 

We actually don’t have a open DP spot but we do have a u22 spot

 

Maybe we got lucky and they focused on wrong guy, i thought Herrera was off but it’s really impossible without the perfect angle so therefore you have to go with the call on the pitch

 

Agree but don’t think they will bail on Gazdag this early. How he starts the season will be telling. If he can’t start (not by default either ) And contribute then maybe things change. The cm & cb additions are 2 years late already!

 

As we've all probably said, "You can tell how long someone's been a fan when they say who the team's biggest rival is"

I'm not yet on the "Cincinnati is the biggest rival" bus. In an alternate universe, it'd be damn interesting if Dave Greeley never ruined Shitcago and they still brought 400 Polish thugs to every game. Likewise if TFC still brought fans in big numbers. (But, then again, that "rivalry" would almost require someone to find the Trillium Cup. Was it even mentioned by the FO in the buildup before the game?)

If you ask me, Cincinnati is more of a nuisance who stole some Crew fans, but if they jumped ship, maybe it's not entirely inappropriate to question their loyalty. They could still be driving to Columbus to see a team who won three MLS Cups, two Supporters' Shields, one US Open Cup, various other awards and was, not that long ago, one of the best teams in CONCACAF and probably top 20-25 in the world.

But hey, someone put a sign between our two cities, so...when in Rome?

 

Well, yesterday in the Rheinland Derby, My Gladbach had 36% possession and was out shot 19-9. And won convincingly 3-1 (the xGoals were 2.98-2.22, so their shots were better even if fewer).

Goal the ball (my only good sports result of the day).

 

I'm really, really proud of our guys. They played hard. They played well, all but the final piece of course, again. IMO, there is not another coach on the planet who would have gotten so much from this roster. We've seen what Nancy can do with a quality roster. It's extraordinary. It's a rare opportunity to get a coach like this. I sure hope the Haslam's and FO don't squander it. But, I look at the Browns and our last two years, and I definitely have my doubts now.

Losing Mr. Nagbe hurts. Who's gonna hold the ball now? My God.......

I feel bad for Max. His last two games in Kentucky were horrific. Like, there was something wrong. I sure as hell hope he's better than that.

Watching Sean Zawadski grow into such a strong, reliable CB has been wonderful to watch. There's my happy thought.......

 

Some of our best chances at the end of the game came from Sean spraying balls into the feet of players in the box. Thats a nice quality to have from a CB. Just needs to practice anticipation on crosses and perhaps communication.

 

His pace is a real plus for the position. Needs to get a little stronger, but he can be a Miles Robinson-lite type defender.

 

I agree with whoever said if Wessam was on the field we would have advanced.

So many big chances but no real goal scorer on the roster.

 

We've got several guys who need to hit the weight room big time for the next few months. Taha is certainly one. Matan managed to be effective because despite his size he was very strong, particularly his legs. Picard could take a lesson.

And as you say, Zawadzki could use some more upper body strength as well. And JRR cant approach Zardes levels until he can go body on body with some of the CB's in the league.

 

Yes, I was 'around' well before those 3 clowns ever stepped foot in C-Bus. Season ticket member since 96, and put money down in 95 to secure a team in Columbus....The things that make Gazdag so much worse than your 3 examples; his freakin' $2.5 million/year salary, his previous major success in Philly, and sharp drop-off here, and he was expected to be a starter and leader in C-Bus, and he ends up being a bench warmer and late game sub. Taha and Chambost are now starters, Gazdag watches from the sidelines... Woan, Rezpa, and Williams came here with virtually no fanfare late in their mediocre careers, were not expected to lead the team, and were not near the top of team salaries.