Kansas City vs Houston (Sat Mar 7, 7:30pm CDT) [R]

Discussion in 'Sporting Kansas City' started by vividox, Mar 2, 2020.

  1. Inca Roads

    Inca Roads Member+

    Nov 22, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I think all three of Kinda's lost dribbles happened in the first 15 minutes. Once he got his swagger together, Houston had no solutions for him. That's not to say that he didn't take some unnecessary risks in bad positions though.
     
  2. vividox

    vividox Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 10, 2005
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Wow, did that really happen? We looked unreal last night. Pulido and Kinda may be some of the best pick ups in the league, and we finally figured out how to use Shelton. Martins is a huge improvement over Sinovic (sorry, Seth) and... wow. That was one of the best one-off performances I can remember in awhile, all against a Houston team that should, in theory, be way, way better than they showed last night.

    I know we're only two games in and this kind of rout isn't sustainable week after week, but god damn it's hard not to be giddy right now. This team is fun.
     
  3. BenDover

    BenDover BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 4, 2010
    Rio Verde, AZ
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Should have been 5-0 because Gerso’s goal was legit. Every time they showed Tab Ramos on the sideline he looked completely shell shocked. I started feeling sorry for him (but just a little..). SKC looked very good last night beating a very bad and hapless Houston team. There were good performances all around, but Martins surprised me the most. The guy now really looks like the threat they originally wanted for the outside back position. Fun game to watch on TV, but I really missed being at the park.
     
  4. vividox

    vividox Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 10, 2005
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    God, our third goal. Russel muscling the ball down the wing, getting a ball over to Pulido, then Pulido servicing Kinda for the poke... it wasn't the prettiest of goals - each pass came under pressure - but that made the link-up that much more amazing. We're finding passes and making dangerous situations out of nothing. And Kinda was giving me some Preki flashbacks with that cheeky poke.
     
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  5. lukeD

    lukeD Member+

    Jul 7, 2011
    Olathe
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Team looks great and the new players look amazing. Shelton is much improved over when he left. Martins looking like one of the best left backs in MLS.

    Only negative is that the new concessions weren't ready for the HUGE crowd.
     
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  6. vividox

    vividox Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 10, 2005
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I always got the sense that we just didn't know how to use Shelton the first time around. Or maybe that he didn't have the people around him he needed to be successful. Either way, he seemed like a talent we'd wasted. I was sad to see him go and surprised/excited to see him come back. Shelton/Pulido/Russell is looking mighty fine right about now.
     
  7. Inca Roads

    Inca Roads Member+

    Nov 22, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Agreed, Shelton is definitely looking better than I expected him to. Late on he could have had a second goal if he attacked the back post, which is my biggest concern with him as a forward--he's not great at knowing when to crash for a goal. But the amount and control and stability he offered us out there on the wing was great.

    Also, seeing Shelton, Russell, and Pulido all interchanging freely was terrific. I hope they attempt more of that. Russell and Pulido are always willing to go wide for a play, it appears, and Shelton is a serviceable nuisance at any forward position. Add Gerso and Salloi to the mix, and we have a very fluid and talented forward line.

    I do worry a bit about Salloi though. I think he's fallen well down the pecking order (not unfairly), so I'm afraid that the career he was building two years ago probably will never really materialize. Still rooting for the kid though.
     
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  8. lukeD

    lukeD Member+

    Jul 7, 2011
    Olathe
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wondering what the midfield will look like when Gutierrez returns. Looks like we have 5 good mids to use in a rotation this year.
     
  9. KC96

    KC96 Member

    Mar 2, 2013
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    For the second Sunday in a row, I find SKC leading the Supporter's Shield standings. And for the second Sunday in a row, I will say again (in hopes of appeasing the Soccer Gods)

    I'm not greedy and would be happy for SKC to find itself here only one more day this season.*

    *On Oct. 5th
     
  10. KC96

    KC96 Member

    Mar 2, 2013
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I could see Gutierrez at the 6 to go with Kinda and Espinoza as first team starters.

    So flexible. We could go (nominally 10,8,6)
    Kinda/Gutierrez/Busio, Espinoza/Busio, Gutierrez/Ilie
     
  11. KC96

    KC96 Member

    Mar 2, 2013
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    #36 KC96, Mar 8, 2020
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2020
    I always liked Shelton. His holdup play, physical toughness, speed, height, were all on display last night, and this was no different than his last tour with SKC.

    In his prior tour with SKC though, I thought he was not aggressive enough in wanting to score. When he gets the ball in dangerous positions, it seemed like he was always too-unselfishly "pass first", or "wait and hold up so our attackers can come forward" and we saw this at least once in the first half last night.

    Shelton's biggest value so far is he obtains the ball in threatening locations (or makes his possession threatening), thus creating opportunities for others on the field.

    However, that value is maximized only if he can actually score - and not just be a decoy magnet. Otherwise defenders would just keep taking an early physical or mental half step "backing off" to cover another angle/pass/player, knowing Shelton wasn't "really" going to finish.

    Thus, I was very happy to see second half Shelton take a powerful shot on goal when in a dangerous position. And of course his "early in the season" first goal yesterday now announces "with results" that he is goal dangerous so far in 2020.

    This is great, as it puts opposing defenders on notice that they have another thing to truly worry about when playing SKC's offense.
     
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  12. KopRules

    KopRules Member+

    May 31, 2011
    Beautiful South KC
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    One of my personal favorite sayings in beer league soccer is “a yard down, is a yard back.”

    With that in mind, if Zusi isn’t required to juice our attack, we may effectively paper over his deficiencies in defense this year. In my view, Zusi’s biggest weakness in defense is range — asking him to cover turf is like leading with your chin. I’m all for the RB attacking to pin down a LW, but if the attack doesn’t need Zusi to unbalance the field (or if Martins can do it), I suddenly have way fewer issues with Zusi at RB than I did 2-3 weeks ago. At least, that seems like the percentages play to me.

    As a SKC fan through the years, I feel as if we/PV have overly-rated the RB position as an attacking necessity. But, if RB can focus more on defense, we might be able to develop some cohesion along that back line. I’m not saying Zusi shouldn’t ever attack, but for goodness sake the man doesn’t have the wheels, so let’s plan accordingly and let attackers attack and defensive players defend *assuming hopefully* that is an option for this team.
     
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  13. KopRules

    KopRules Member+

    May 31, 2011
    Beautiful South KC
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Also, I want to say that Jacob Peterson has been a good analyst so far. Admittedly, the bar I set isn’t high, but im happy to have a guy in the booth that is on the recent side of the Wizards/SKC timeline and can relate things accordingly. He doesn’t over-talk or say dumb things. Generally i feel like his content is relevant and he doesn’t overstate things. I don’t really notice him too much so far, and I’m okay with that.
     
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  14. Spassapparat

    Spassapparat Member

    SKC/Werder Bremen
    May 14, 2017
    just wanted to mention as well that we already have three goals after set pieces this season. Is that more than all of last season? definitely feels like it to me.
     
  15. vividox

    vividox Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 10, 2005
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Exactly. Using him to supplement a sustained spell of possession and pressure is very different than relying on him to start something that may or may not get turned around on us. Taking that responsibility off Zusi's plate gives us huge returns in defensive stability.

    It's something PV will need to be mindful of as the season stretches on. At some point the goals won't be there and it'll be easy to fall back on the old catalyst RB role. My concern is that could be our downfall in tight, evenly-matched games.
     
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  16. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Okay, I've tried to cut and paste the Kinda lost dribble map. He lost the ball twice in really bad positions. I was so excited I had not considered that, so good point, but as Inca said, he got better as the game got on. Also, no idea if the map is going to appear, it isn't as I write; Nope it does not, so edit to add the link.

    upload_2020-3-10_10-16-15.png
     
  17. Inca Roads

    Inca Roads Member+

    Nov 22, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Yeah, the high press looked like it surprised him early on. He may have been lulled into a false sense of "plenty of time" by Vancouver. Hopefully he's learned his lesson that teams, even the poor ones, will often press pretty aggressively in this league (not sure if pressing is as viable in the Israeli league). That is, learned it before it was against a really strong team and the scoreline suffers for it!

    Once he found his rhythm, though, Houston had no answer. Incredibly fun to watch, and he might be one of the cleverer gets by this team in a long time.
     
  18. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Is this the time to move Salloi? I know, he's a low point, but he has a history in this league that would make him at least intriguing. Nashville might be kind of desparate, and Miller might be a nice addition.
    I'm a big believer in Salloi, but I'm also a believer that players not playing won't stay around, or be happy, for very long.
     
  19. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Is Zusi's problem range or is it more specifically quickness. True, that means he doesn't get back as quickly, so that is a problem mitigated by playing a bit deep, but his first three steps are taking longer than they used to, and his problem in Vancouver was when he was toasted down the line, to the touch line, it had nothing to do with being out of position because he was upfield. True, v Houston, he didn't have that problem, but McNamara, while a fine player, is not a speed merchant.
    I agree, limiting his attacking runs is a good idea, but I still think he will cause problems when we play against folks who burn up his side of the field. jeebus, Gerso would leave him for dead, wouldn't he?
     
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  20. Inca Roads

    Inca Roads Member+

    Nov 22, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    He's in my opinion in a "step up or get out" place in his career. If he can't find a way to take minutes away from at least Gerso or Hurtado somehow, then he's just gonna rot. He's not a big cap hit, though, right? So the team probably is fine letting him stew as a talented backup for now.
     
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  21. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    He has a problem in this lineup. Salloi won't easily replace Gerso, which isn't a statement about respective quality as a statement about what Gerson brings. he's a great late game sub for us. his speed is always a killer, but late in the game he's throwing defenses into a panic. Salloi is the sort of player who needs time to find pockets within a game, and then can do some very cool things from those spaces. I don't know that Salloi works as a sub. but he is still very cheap and as a maybe spot starter, he's a bargain.
     
  22. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He’s not a cap hit at all, he’s a HGP.
     
  23. lukeD

    lukeD Member+

    Jul 7, 2011
    Olathe
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    [
    I agree. I don't see him taking minutes from Gerso or Hurtado. Gerso is a legit MLS starter and a good change of pace from Shelton or Russell. CF is a different animal, and Salloi's skill set isn't suited to playing that position.

    I wonder how he would do in the midfield. I don't know about his tackling, but he has the technical quality to play as a CM.
     
  24. Inca Roads

    Inca Roads Member+

    Nov 22, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Him displacing Hurtado would be more like subbing out Pulido and putting Russell or Shelton in the middle with Salloi on a wing, in my opinion. So I think very clearly those two are still combating for a spot, even if it's technically not the same spot.
     
  25. lukeD

    lukeD Member+

    Jul 7, 2011
    Olathe
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ah...that makes sense. Shelton/Hurtado are nice backup CFs.

    Peter really changed the dynamic of the forward line by adding two starting quality players to the group.
     

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