They looked absolutely fantastic! The Jeckyl and Hyde nature of this team is killing me! But all due respect to the boys in blue and especially for shutting out the highest-scoring team in the league! -EDIT- I wanted to say also how great the Cauldron looked AND sounded!
Not in last place, and it feeeeels so gooooood.... I'm trying to decide what our formation was today - 4-2-4? A 4-2-3-1 with Josh up top? It seemed to take the whole first half to sort out who should be doing what offensively, but once it started working, it really started working. Apart from the beautiful cross from Herculez for the first goal, and Davy's absolute freaking should-be-GOTW bomb, Abe had a couple of good chances he couldn't do anything with, and Claudio should have put one away right after he came in. Dare we say it was exciting and attacking? I wonder how many plane changes are involved when traveling from Zagreb to Kansas City. Beckham pretty much mailed this in, which didn't stop all the little girlies from screaming for him. Donovan was equally crappy, that flight from Chicago to KC must have been grueling. One final thought: Roger Espinoza has game. It's raw, but he has game. Final final thought: 26,000 in the stands is good. If we can convert 6,000 of them into Wizards fans, instead of Beckham chasers, then Hillcrest Road will be a happy place to be.
What was that stench in Arrowhead today..... Must have been the Galaxy. Great game from our new additions. Gomez has a great foot on crosses and corners and his hustle is a welcome addition. Beautiful shot by Davy. 2-0 = Happy fans Go Wizards
Imagine there's no Beckham, it's easy if you try. Every team below us, above us only sky. Imagine there's no people, cheering for LA.
That thing was absolutly gorgeous! I miss the vantage point we had at Arrowhead but I can defiantly see why they wouldn't let us play there anymore, I don't know if I could last a whole season with all that construction. That smell was pretty rank but all in all it was a good game, good crowd, and great result.
So... Lopez didn't get the start and when he came on in the second half I though he looked crappy. He wasn't reading anyone well at all, flubbed a shot in front of the net, and didn't seem like he was running as much as a late sub should. I dunno, maybe I'm being hard on him but he looked like a mediocre player out there at best. Thought Wolff looked better, Arnuad has played awesome these last three games, and I've been really impressed with Espinosa lately too. I'm loving this not having to worry about Pore coming onto the field thing.
And after we've torn up the field. Good game overall, we looked good. Conrad and Wahl did a good job of shutting down Donovan and Buddle, at least after they kept Donovan from getting behind them early in the first half. Thompson had a decent game, he did well of getting the ball and holding it up, he should have finished that chance in the first half, but I'm liking what I've seen. Gomez I definitely like, the assist was the least he deserved. Now I know what people mean when they say Beckham looks like he doesn't really care, he didn't really have much of a part tonight at all.
Hercules Gomez -- We've got him. LA doesn't, but probably wishes they did. Abe Thompson -- Great work ethic, really opened things up for Wolff. Tonight's lineup -- would not have thought of putting Davey and Jack in the middle, but it worked! Espinoza is really elevating his game. If we can make the playoffs . . . Lopez -- Maybe DPs aren't all they are cracked up to be. Is this the end? Beckham -- cynical fouls and wiggling butt at the crowd - $22. Crappy free kicks - priceless. Donovan -- Bayern Munich? Maybe he can be a ball boy for Bayern, at least then he can use his hands.
Just watched the replay of the Arnaud goal on the highlights from MLSNet.com. Holy Freaking Crap GOTY? I'm really a fan of Abe - I like players who can hold up play like that... and get the flick-ons that he was getting too. Even if he doesn't get any goals (which I think he was unlucky to not have gotten one today... nerves? dunno, but we know he can score them so I'm not worried). Gomez was also very good as well... _LOVED_ that hustle when he took the ball off of Beckham's head and almost broke out. If the field wasn't so short and wet I think we would've been able to use him with balls into the corner more, just a very difficult play to make on a shortened field which was already short to begin with that was playing as fast as it was. Jewsbury in midfield was fun to watch again. I love to see him take shots... he does well in the back but doesn't get to try his luck too often and that really is a shame. Espinoza - I like the kid already and can't wait to see him next year with a year under his belt... he sees the field very well and has got the skills... honestly think he could become a replacement for Marinelli. The ref - hey, I had my complaints about him during the game but he did let things go, for the most part... didn't let things get out of hand and was fair. Thought he did a good job. Can you believe that handball on Donovan? That's actually quite sad to see... he is a role model for so many kids and to blatantly cheat like that... I feel sorry for Beckham. Some of his crosses were perfect with nobody on the end of them. Not that I minded, of course, but it's got to be frustrating for him. Not that I think he really had a great game either, but there's no question he's a level above the rest of his team, for the most part. Great game, great Cauldron. i am one happy Wizards fan right now.
I'm really surprised, b/c he started off the year so well, seemed to be doing everything right and the team couldn't hold up their side of things... now he looks all out of sorts. I do think he was running enough though - just wasn't reading people at _all_ and therefore didn't make runs b/c he didn't realize he needed to make them. Didn't seem like an effort thing at least, for me at least.
Just saw the highlights on FSC, both goals were very nice. Wolff's through his legs and inside of the foot, very nice, and then Davy's was just fantastic, comparable to Kerry's last year.
At the post-game press conference, Marcus Moore of channel 9 asked Beckham about all the rain and the field conditions... Beckham's reply? "I'm used to the rain. I'm from England."
LMAO!!! That might just have to be my new sig. Funny stuff. Lopez - Bench him. We are SSOOOOOO much better without him giving away the ball every 2 touches. Davy - DDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMNNNNN! GOTY! Herc - I think we have a new dead ball taker. Great stuff. Abe - Everything but a goal. But they will come. Josh - YEAAAAAAHHHHH! But we still need more from you. Def - 2 shots ON GOAL for the LA Galaxy. 2 SHOTS! I don't care how jet lagged they were, that's a priceless stat. 1 shot per 45 minutes of play. CO - I think you found you're new starting line up. PLEASE don't change it. I want to see more of this next week against TFC. At risk of sounding like a typical KC "next year will be better" fan, well, I if this new starting line up shows us something the rest of this season, I want to see it back in full force next year, with maybe a new DP or something. C'Mon Wizards!
So did I, and I just have to ask. Are there any plans to kick worthless Metrosports to the curb when we get the stadium? This high-school level broadcasting is really starting to get embarrasing! After DAVY'S goal, they immediately showed Wicks, Josh, coach Onalfo, Wicks again, the crowd, the Cauldron (which looked AWESOME!)...THEN Davy!
Looks like a win. Tastes like a win. Feels like a win. Sounds like a win. Smells like a win. Wait...no...that's rotting grass and stagnant rainwater. Well 4 out of 5 ain't bad. I think it's still a win.
We won and it is great. Two goals and two new players who made a difference but we were playing a team that is as bad as we were. Are we playoff bound after a single win over a bad team? Doubt it. Do we need more quality in the mid-field (I am still not sold on Espinoza - a better game but come on he was gassed after the 70th standing with his hands on his knees) -- but then standing in that barnyard smell should have made everyone puke - not just S....n I hope it smells as bad tomorrow - throwball players will be rollling in it....
I think playing the Galaxy is exactly what we needed right now. We found the one team in MLS that is worse than we are. What's sad is that they have the likes of Donovan, Beckham, and Eddie Lewis, and they still suck! I like both of our new acquisitions, even though Abe really should have put one of his chances away. Even if we don't make the play-offs this year, I at least have some hope for next season. Yeah, I agree. Fortunately I was able to watch the game on HDNet. Even though Marcelo Balboa annoys the bejesus out of me, it was nice to watch a Wizards game with professional-looking production. (The HD is really nice too.) In general I think Americans just haven't figured out how to present soccer on TV. From clueless cameramen to announcers who never shut up, it can be painful if you're used to watching the much more subdued European style of presentation.
It is not just Metrosports that is bad. ESPN splitting the screen to show baseball on the larger inset - or showing the coach or a player walking and then having the camera drift to relocate the ball - keep the camera on the ball and the action and if I had wanted to watch baseball or football I would not have tuned into soccer.
That would be great. FSN lacks for programming anyway. The one major problem is that the Royals and Wizards would have games on the same nights.