Hoping for some positive carryover from the USOC win over FCD. Give Tzionis, Vujnovic, and Duke some significant PT.
Duke I expect will be back at RB unless Zusi is actually ready to return, in which case giving Duke a break wouldn't be bad since he played 102 minutes on Wednesday. Tzionis played all 120 so I'd suspect he's not starting tonight.
Portland is in a bad way too. I think we can win this one, though I've been wrong most every time this season.
Other than the howler of a set piece leaving a man wide open I thought they played well. Disappointed Hernandez, Tzionis and Vujnovic did not start. Hope they get real minutes in the second half.
This looks like SKCII vs an MLS first team. The roster is soooooo bad its incomprehensible. Thing is, they could lose 10-1 and nothing will change. Zero pressure on PV and dogshit product on the field
Russell's goal was really nice. Everything else was very bad. I'm not even sure what the fix really is. I think our midfield is too thin to push the fullbacks so high in possession. I don't know a way to fix that without trading a winger in for another defensive midfielder (which we don't have). Or just work much harder on training these young guys as defenders first. Duke got painfully schooled by one of the craftiest wingers to ever play in MLS.
It truly is amazing how the game changed from the first half to the second. First half KC didn't look amazing, but they were the better team, had 1 moment of poor marking on a set piece. Second half was an unmitigated disaster. The defense didn't slide over/6 didn't slide back to cover for Duke/Ndenbe pushing forward and Portland just exposed again, and again, and again, and again.
Ture but I'm wondering why not start the 20 and 23 year old players who can recover faster to bring their energy for the first half and get a lead and then bring on the veterans to finish the game off.
The problem with this club is its leader. PV was most successful when the college draft was the primary player mechanism. Now, his academy is not producing enough impactful players for the first team. His foreign player aqusitions hit is 50/50 at best. He makes rash, personal feelings based, player decisions like sending Mauri home with no replacement. I have personal accounts of others. He is absolutely awful with MLS trades and free agents. His tactics are rigid and inflexible. His inability to make in game adjustments is U12 level. His use of substitutions is poor. The problem is, KC media is full of PV apologists. This board is full of PV apologists. The Cauldron waits at their bus and sings to this group of "professionals" after they took 6 goals in one half. SIX GOALS IN ONE HALF. Their bus should be pelted with dog shit, not sung to.The ONE supporters group that actually calls the team out when they suck is actively suppressed by the Caludron and club management because they say bad words and hurt JFRs feelings. CRITICIZING SKC IS NOT ALLOWED. So....here we are. Let's all talk about the open cup and how awesome it is to beat MLS2 rosters.
To witness a team scoring 7 goals against your team is almost surreal. In a sport between professional players, it simply shouldn’t happen, even if your team is down a man. JFR almost couldn’t find the words last night to explain what happened. This team is completely broken and I feel very badly for them because you know they are out there to play their best and win. Are the players really that bad or is the direction and decisions of the leadership so awful that a debacle like this could happen?
In the first half, other than the poorly defended set piece, the only real negative was Roger's play. This is all eye test and I did not look into stats, but he was a net negative for the team. Not every touch was bad, but he was just overall poor enough to really stand out in a bad way. He may simply be showing that not only is he not a 90 minute player, but he may be an absolute liability whenever he's on the field.