Post-match: Henrick Saves Crewsmas - Crew v Chicago - Match 3 - 3/7/26 7:30P

Ah and the worse news is Nashville is up next and is going to pound this team into a fine paste, so we should probably enjoy this point while we can.

 

Possible that the Crew gameday staff forced Early Renewal literature into their hands on the way out.

You know ... committing to 24 games/2 seasons of excitement like tonight.

 

They went pragmatic and tried to win on corner kicks. Arteta ball

 

Feels like you are the current front runner for Realest Crew Fan of the Year.

 

One sub?
The quality is lacking. That sums it up.

 

Did we rehire Caleb Porter? Honestly couldn't tell this game.

 

Welcome to the nightmare scenario that some of us were talking about all the way back in the summer 2024 transfer window. "We won Leagues Cup, we don't need more signings" turns into "it's hard to buy talent in the winter" and then you wake up one day and Amar Sejdic is your starting midfielder and Taha Habroune and Rudy Camacho are having to play a full 90 minutes. The Crew have been complacent and poorly run for the better part of two years and this is what that looks like. What is most concerning is this is just the start of the spiral. There is a real possibility that this team is out of contention before they can even start to fix the roster. Enthusiasm has cratered and the upcoming calendar change is going to make attending games less appealing.

ccc

 

It's basically the same team as last year but they play much worse. The whole vibe seem negative as well. Unless someone can identify a cancer in the locker room, I'd say this is a coaching issue.

 

Last year was a mirage. They over-performed the reality because they still had Nagbe. This is who they really are.

 

But the Crew don't have Gabriel and Saliba.

 

Nagbe left a big hole; that's definitely true. But beyond him, the others just seemed to have wanted it enough to outperform last season, don't you think? I don't see that fire in any of them so far this season.

 

I'm old enough to remember the Issa wars of 2024/25. I was told he had a plan and we were just being selective. Maybe, just maybe, he just isn't a good gm.

 

Have you seen the bench? Im in the crowd that thinks our roster isnt very good. Sometimes though you need fresh legs. And it drives me crazy when we get towards the end of a game, needing a goal, and there is no 2nd or 3rd gear. Just the same slow possession passing that gets them nowhere. Esp at home. Saw it with Gregg and Nancy too.

 

Seemed liked they only drilled defense in practice, which is what i requested, but i didnt think theyd give up the attack that much. We sent 3 mayne 4 guys into the box in regular playm last year we usually sent 5-6 into the attacking zone. Cant play relationism if your 3-4 attackers arent near each other. Waiting to see the pass and heat maps. Too many times a player flicked on to the near post, while the player ran far. Needs more time.

The dinked balls into the box arent gonna work tho. That doesnt need more time.

Here are the heat maps, one from last game and the second from tonight. Way less compact in the qttack.

 

I’m not either, though my prediction was we’d be mid-table in the East, on the bubble for the playoffs. So my expectations were never very high.

Our defense was better last night. I’m guessing Rydström had seen all he could take of us coughing of horrific goal via counters in games 1 and 2. So mission accomplished in that sense, I suppose.

Overall, though, despite what looked like similarities between how he plays and the system Nancy used, the players are acting as though most of them aren’t in the same page. Passes going awry, or just shitty passing in general. Field players aren’t remotely anticipating one another. Really, it’s just crap soccer, right now. The coach isn’t getting his players to learn his system, or maybe his “worked in Sweden” approach isn’t going to translate here because it’s a faster, more physical league.

Taha really looks out of his depth, which is not what we needed from a guy who’s don’t so well with various national youth teams. I think he has some promise going forward, but defensively, he’s useless, weak, naive.

Sejdic was fine, but he’s a low tier MLS journeyman. Subbing in Picard for him doesn’t move the needle much.

The elephant on the subs bench is our 3rd DP, of course. That situation is untenable.

Anyway, it’s a long season. We need Gomes in CM, who’ll hopefully bring… something to our ability to control the tempo of the match. He’d better. Gazdag has to go and a 3rd DP worthy of that status brought on.

 

This team is playing a system? I know what Rydstrom wants to do, but it certainly hasn't translated yet. Nancy's tactics took a while too, but at least it was clear what the team was trying to do from the start. Right now, the team looks nearly identical to last year, which isn't a compliment.

 

Well, if we have to wait for big reinforcements until the summer, this could be a pretty shitty first half of the season. I've not been super inspired by this team, or particularly the coach, just yet.

 

No, defending counters was still bad. Schulte had to make a 1v1 save, a near point blank save from a wide open header, and Moreira blocked a shot that looked like it might sneak inside the post.

Everyone deserves blame, but my favorite whipping boy Camacho, the supposed central anchor of this defense, was nowhere to be found on any of these chances.

We should've lost this game. Yeah, Arfsten should've scored once, but any decent team converts two out of three quality chances that Chicago had. Shocker, having three CBs in their 30's that aren't exactly fleet of foot, playing a high line, isn't ideal.

 

Isn’t saying we’re identical to last year being generous? I mean, most of last year we were lacking Abou Ali, and we still got results and played reasonably attractive, possession based, soccer. Announcers still refer to us a club that loves to possess the ball - and we know that Rydström, like Nancy, values possession - but it’s so evident that we’re not really capable of playing that way any longer. Nagbe’s departure has left a vast hole in midfield. I can’t blame Rydström for that. I have my doubt whether Nancy would be doing much better this season, without Darlington.

Is it just me seeing this, or does Camacho revert to desperation slide tackles far more than is wise for a CB? In the first half, he left his feet (totally failing to win the ball) in Chicago’s half of the pitch. WTF?

 

I feel like im crazy to say I dont think Taha has been that bad the past 2 games. Yeah he gives the ball away and can have his pocket picked. But he is willing to try to make things happen. His underlying numbers are pretty good, including his defensive actions; although, 2 of those from last night came from him winning the ball back after his own turnover. He cant control a midfield rn, so henrik shouldn't give him the assignment he had in portland.

As far as the attacking system, I never saw a consistent attacking shape. Most teams look like a W in the attacking third. We never really held the ball in the attacking third and even less at the top of the penalty arch to really see what the plan was. Part of that was Chicago's fairly physical backline and DM, and the other part is we didn't send anyone into the attack.

 

I'd be okay if I never saw Hugo Picard take the pitch for the Crew again.

On a side note, I took the Olentangy Trail back up to 5th Ave after the game. The beady eyes reflecting off my headlight next to the homeless encampment was fun.