A must win game( we can make the playoffs with some help, but rather get in on a + note) Grafer Zadie Jolley Petke Akwari Paule Ramos Davis Williams Diallo Faria
Not bad, but for this game, especially since they won't have Ralston, I would play Jeff Moore at d-mid rather than Paule. Ross Paule is the better overall player at this point, but Moore is better at taking one guy and keeping him off of the scoreboard. NE has one guy. Twellman. Put Moore on him, tell the defense to stay back and counter with the speed of our wing mids and Faria. JMac
I'm sorry but in last night's game against DC, where was our defense when the DCer broke away for the second goal? And then, a few minutues later, our defense slacked off again and a DCer almost scored a third goal! What's up with that? Our defense really needs to shape up. Poor Tim! and now Grafer!
The defense shouldn't have had to deal with those opportunities to begin with. By benching Moore, OZ gave Etcheverry way too much room, and he used that space to kill us with good passes. No matter how far Etcheverry may have fallen, he can still make a sweet pass if you give him 15 yards of open field and engrave him an invitation to pass the ball. JMac
Interesting tactical suggestion. However,I am not sure that it would work. Moore usually marks the opposing team's playmaker - mostly in the middle third of the field. He is effective because he either uses his quickness to deny the playmaker the ball, or uses his tenaciousness to make it difficult for the playmaker to turn up field (therein forcing them to make a negative, or at worse, a square pass). Twellman is an out and out striker. To mark him out of the game, Moore would need to play mostly in his own half of the field. An unfamiliar location for him, and a place where his quickness may not be as effective. In that part of the field strength, may be a more important asset than quickness. Usually a central defender like Petke or Jolley would be used to mark Twellman. But I am sure other teams have tried a similar tactic, and it does not seem to be working. So maybe Jeff Moore might be the answer. BTW, I thought Moore for Diallo or Ramos would have been a better substitutioon than Chrono for Faria in Saturday's game.
We've been 0-2 since Tab has returned as a starter. I thought he was supposed to be the guarantor of our success. Maybe he should just be a sub in this game.
We need a terrier to dog Twellman all game long. A major example is Berti Vogts switching from right back to man-marker during the Germany-Holland WC Final in '74. Early -- after the Holland goal on a pk for fouling Cruyff -- Vogts went to Helmut Schoen and just told him he couldn't contain Cruyff if he had to wait till the final 3rd to pick him up. He wanted to stick with him all over the field. The coach told him to do it. I always thought this was an incredible move in a match this big -- to switch tactics according to the situation just like that. It worked. Cruyff never had a free moment with the ball through the rest of the match -- and Vogts even got a shot on goal off a won ball. And Germany won, 2-1. Anyway, this would not be new for us. I seem to remember Villegas dogging Etch with success last season, even though Petter did not consider himself a defender. So why not put Moore on Twellman? Make life very difficult for him for 90 minutes and see what happens.
I like Moore in the defensive-mid position too much. But, you're right. Who else is there? Chrono? yeah, right. Last year, Petke would have been perfect.* If he were to dog Twelman now, he would only free kicks. Even though he got beat last game, I really like Anwari. I just think Anwari's lack of experience won't help us. *I still remember when Petke was dogging Diallo last season by throwing cheap shots while no one was looking. Vinnie Jones would have been proud.
I agree with this lineup. The big question is whether or not Diallo can run at all. Against DC he looked like the walking wounded. I don't like the idea of Twellman being marked by Moore. Moore is short def. mid. who ankle bites other teams attacking mids. He's never marked up against a target forward, let alone possibly the best striker in the league this year. It's a completely different marking assignment and nobody here knows if he'll be up for the task. NE missing Ralston hurts them more than us missing Mathis. If OZ doesn't making any ridiculously bad mistakes like he did vs. DC, then we should win this game with the above lineup.
Re: Re: Line-up vs New England.... Tweaked your post. As for the Moore for Paule idea, I don't know that it would work either, but better central defenders than Petke and Jolley have failed to stop Twellman. Why not try something different? JMac
We have to win Saturday so may be a 3-5-2 for some extra offence. Grafer Petke Jolley Akwari Paule Moore Ramos Williams Davis Diallo Faria Well, if Petke and Jolley can defend like they did in 2000, this a garenteed win for us. If we can't score at least 2 goals with this offence, there's a problem.
I don't think 3 defenders (one rookie and two guys having REAL tough years) and a keeper who hasn't played a league game in two years is the best idea in a do or die situation...... This is going to be a real tough one.....as someone said before, I don't see Diallo being able to go a full 90...we better score early....
I don't think 3 defenders (one rookie and two guys having REAL tough years) and a keeper who hasn't played a league game in two years is the best idea in a do or die situation...... Remember two things: Twellman has leaned heavily on Ralston getting him the ball all season, and Ralston's out. You also have to remember that aside from Twellman, the Revs really don't have a consistent goal-scorer. It's possible to play with three in the back. The Magpie
It kills me the people think the defense is the real problem on this team. Yeah, Petke has had a weak year and Chronopolous has played below average for the past two months. But Zadie has shown some real promise on the right side and game in, game out Jolley has been our most consistent defensive player, turning in consistently solid performances. Nelson, while being rather slow, is young and looks like he could develop well. Our problem - midfield. Re-watch games from this past season and notice how many times the opposition tears right through the midfield and is NEVER picked up. We do not have a true defensive midfielder to hold possession and transition from defense to the attack. And to say Jeff Moore should mark Twellman is crazy. A defenisive center midfielder marking a forward is almost comical. Laughable.
Well it looks like we need to throw Bablboa into the defensive mid mix for at least part of the game. Don't know what kind of condition he could possibly be in at this point, but there is talent there that you can't deny. I hope that Oz doesn't take last week as a bad starting lineup EXCEPT having had Mathis is instead of Williams at attacking mid. This week he doesn't have that option.
I never said that is was the ONLY problem, but you can't say that it hasn't been a problem.......and while I agree that the midfield has been bad, I don't think they can be held solely responsible for all of the or defensive woes.... Ralston out is a big plus for us......lets hope that Chacon doesn't decide this is the game he decides to play great in though.
Something tells me Akwari is going to get toasted again. It's going to be a long evening in any case. BTW, aren't the Metros over due to have something break there way?
I think that the key to today's game is going to be that little something extra that we can get from Tab. It's a make or break game--could be his last one for Metro--on his 36th birthday and after years of not living up to his talents, all can be forgiven if he puts in a stunner tonight. Maybe slide Balboa alongside Moore as another d-mid in front of Akwari, Jolley, and Petke? Then put Tab, Williams, and Paule behind Mama and Faria?
Couldn't agree more. The defense has never been the problem. Only one midfielder who is not a speedy ballwinner should be on the field at any given time, Take your choice.
Because of the KC/Rapids game, we only need 1 point to make the playoffs. But I still think we should go all out to score as many goals as we can. Imagine playing 89 scoreless minutes, and then the ref calls a PK in the 90th minute? We lose the game, and a possible playoff spot. There's enough offense to lead this team to victory, even without Clint. We scored 2 or more goals per game when Clint was away during the World Cup... 6 goals in 2 games versus NE during that span. Easy win!