Defense: CJ played solid, IMO neway, I think he's solidifying his starting position after his hiatus. Did Gonzalo injury himself or was Dave just being a dumbass and decided to take him out? Midfield: You could clearly see that we were missing the core of our midfield as we had trouble stringing together sets of good passes. Buete is playing strong and smart, I am starting to appreciate him more on the field. The Fun-Loving Forwards: Rolfe did his thing, I was hopeing he'd fall down in the box (instead of everywhere else on the field like he did) more after contact, just because he always gets those calls. I think I like Will Johnson's possibilties better than Will John's, but my judgment is solely based on today's performances. I really want Dave to give Barret a nod at the starting spot for just one game, see what happens, and work from there. Overall, I liked the effort that we put up with mabey our C+ team with 5 of our starters missing. I really can't wait to get the whole team back to see if we can really take this league apart.
I have not seen that many people with "siemen" on their shirts since Jason Kreis fan appreciation night in Dallas.
I thought Zidane, Beckham and Graeveson did some spectacular work in the midfield in the first half. I'm glad the goals came late, but the first half was extremely entertaining despite the 0-0 scoreline. The first 20 minutes of the second half were a little drab with Zidane off, but then Chivas started taking control, and the game really opened up after they scored. Ronaldo played like he had 4 martinis and a 48 oz porterhouse at Gibson's last night and then went across the street to the Tavern looking for hookers. Maybe he doesn't deal well with jetlag?
Nah, I think he just simply didn't care. Remember, he's seen enough of Mexican futobol in his life. They already know each other. IMHO, he had least to gain from the trip.
I saw a lot of players in both games slipping on the grass a lot. I havn't heard any comments from the players but, I'm sure they have complaints. Michael Owen had a hard time keeping his footing.
I usually respect most of what Waldo has to say, but yesterday he was just making an ass of himself. Enough of the "Pretenders, not Contenders" crap. Why don't you acknowledge the fact that we were missing 6 starters? Of course we didn't look like "Contenders". And two more matches playedthan the teams below us does not constitute "a ton of more games" than the other teams. Except for New England, we would still be ahead of all of the other Eastern teams if they won their matches in hand. Poor research and commentary done on the part of the announcers and ESPN staff yesterday; think before you speak.
I heard that he was just really fatigued. That's what the Trib report said, apparently. I'm wondering why Buete came off at half-time. I think Will Johnson did well, but it was a rough game to pull someone with Scott's hustle.
Here's to hoping that the USMNT knocks out Honduras Thursday so we can have Guererro back. Boy do we miss his speed!! I thought Jaqua was only going to be out for a week or so. Anyone know how serious his injury REALLY is?
Well, I don't think it was originally supposed to be bad. But on the ESPN2 broadcast, they said that Jaqua told them that the injury felt worse and worse after midweek training. Then they said The Chan didn't want to risk losing him worse, so he benched him. It's all about Sarachan being cautious. Hopefully he'll be feeling much better by our next game.
Well we're playing Colorado next so I'm not too concerned about that game, but I do hope he's ready for the AC Milan game, not only for his sake, cause I'm sure he'd be upset about missing a game like that, but for the team's sake as well. I don't know much about Italian football, but do you think they've played much against a forward as big and gangly as Nate?
I hope this is accurate. I assumed Segares was hurt because he got a knock on his elbow early in the game and was occasionally holding it and rubbing it for the entire rest of his time in the game.
According to Nate, the bone bruise was deeper than they originally thought and it is still pretty painful.
What game did you watch? Rolfe had three great shots (one shot and two headers) on goal and Walker made three great saves each time.
Great job Sec8!!! You guys are awesome! I loved the Bring Back Andrulis chant and thanks for bringing back Why are you so Quiet!! Really classy with the blue and white and the red streamers. Keep up the good work!!!
I've been reluctant to post since the game... I have a bitter taste in my mouth for many reasons... *We should have been able to get 3 points from the Crew *If we play like we did against the Crew vs AC Milan, they could destroy us *I finished reading the new Harry Potter already *I regret divulging this much information... There were stretches of the game when we were absolutely nowhere. I think especially the last 10 minutes we were ball-chasing and hoping they wouldn't surprise us with a goal. Keeper: Thought Zach did a fine job. That goal was out of nowhere, from long distance, I think he was positioned where he should have been. And the cross that almost floated in goal in the first half (from Martino), he looked well positioned to me and did enough to get the ball over the bar. Defense: The ball was on our defenders' feet way too much as we tried to move forward. I understand we have no playmaker without Thiago, but Beute needs to move into space more often and give Jim and CJ an outlet. Jesse ran back bunches of times, but then he had nowhere to go, and gave it back to Jim, who then had no choice to launch it up. I join the masses that hope it was fatigue and not an injury taking Gonzo out. Thought Stewart looked MUCH better than his other first team appearance. Midfield: As I said, Thiago being out hurts us more as we start to play quality teams (or in yesterday's case, teams looking to impress a new coach). Mapp was good, I think to be great he would have needed to take over the game. There were large stretches where he couldn't get himself involved with the play. But that goal... WOW. Beute and Marsch are both decent D-mid's, and Beute has even found himself in good offensive spots, but both lack the eye of a playmaker. I agree that Wynalda was being WAY too hard on Will John, he had a couple great moments in the first half, but I concede he had some weak moments too. He needs a couple more games to gain confidence, methinks. Johnson was a welcomed substitute because he brought energy into the game. Strikers: I want to start a petition to buy Chris Rolfe some new boots. Clearly on his low salary he cannot afford real soccer cleats. Aside from the falling, I thought he played well. He tested Walker well, but more than once I found myself asking why he (or another attacker) was not following shots because Walker gave up a couple of juicy rebounds. Rolfe and Reiter don't work well, they keep making the same runs and don't seem to understand where the other is. If Nate can't go against the Rapids, I vote for a Barrett/Rolfe pairing. The US plays Honduras Thursday. They won't be fresh, but we will either have Armas/Sanneh available off the bench Saturday, or Guerrero/Caballero (who scored a nice goal for Honduras the other day). If we'd gotten the full 3 this weekend, I'd say a draw at Colorado is enough, under the circumstances, I'd say a win is needed to keep up with the Revs. Aaaaaaand... I am done rambling.
I believe you are correct, tought to tell now that the clubhouse has apparently invested in a communal flowvee. Either that or they passed out coupons for supercuts. I guess anything to help the rookies save money. Now about the rookies... I feel a thread coming on!
I think they meant *either* sanneh and armas *or* guerrero and cabalero will be available, since only USA *or* Honduras will advance...
Yup, it's tough to tell some of the new guys apart with that haircut. It was Will Johnson that drew the foul though...