http://www.mlsnet.com/content/02/spot0823bradley.html A lot of good stuff (and it's nice to see Jeff starting to write these more frequently). I wasn't following MLS in '96 and it's great to read about the United-Metros rivalry back then, especially the playoffs. These last 3 games of the year between the two struggling teams could be great. Interesting to hear the "other 9 players" of the Rapids are so tight. I wonder where he picked up that. He's wrong about Palacios in one sense though: he doesn't even play that much. A lot of other talking points, too many to mention...
The other question is which 9 is he talking about? The current lineup: Carrieri Henderson Chung Kingsley Mastroeni Titus Fraser Herdsman Kramer or the starting lineup from earlier in the season (when we played better): Spencer Henderson Chung Hart Stewart Fraser Titus Kotschau Garlick There are only 4 names in both lineups...
Another great point was about being "a fly on the wall" of the DC United locker room before the Metros game on Sunday. Totally concur!!! I want to hear Ray fire up the boys as only he can for such a huge match!!!
I just read the article a minute ago...lots of interesting tidbits. Some good points. I wish I knew more about behind the scenes politics in the Rapids locker room.
Am I forgetting something? I remember Franchino and Etcheverry postage-stamping a couple. I remember Kreis taking advantage of an awful wall setup. Help me out. I think the softest goal Zach has allowed all year was Preki's in the last home game, but that was after he stopped Fabbro on a breakaway and couldn't get his feet set up for Preki's rebound blast. I think he's had a stellar season.
Hey Jeff, while you're here, there's a typo in the fourth paragraph you should correct: "They've allowed 12 games (exactly three per contest) in their last four at the Swamp." Not a big deal of course, but it's convenient to point it out here on this thread.
Yeah astute analysis. Tim Howard had to make 1 save the entire match on Sunday. I guess that counts as an "onslaught" from a team who averages less than a goal a game. One of the scenarios on my Snickers' Scratch and Win Card was the Metro winning by shutout. Luckily they were more prescient than Bradley. I wonder if we'll see some analysis of Chicago's astounding loss to New England in front of a standing room only crowd at Naperville next week.
Armas is good - but he can't do what Pareja brings to the Burn. Calling Pareja the Burn's ball-winner and battler sounds a lot like damning with faint (feigned) praise.
Re: Re: New Bradley "Insider" You get a backpack, a fanny pack and some mini snickers bars. I had to wait in line because some guy had a scenario that had him winning if the Metro scored in minute 89-90 and he was arguing he should get a prize. Those Snickers people are tough, huh?
Re: Re: Re: New Bradley "Insider" Good thing I didn't try to argue that stoppage time in a tied game is basically overtime. It crossed my mind...
What can I say? I suck. Metros just attacked from the get-go, played wonderfully, and got the W. Analysis of Chicago-New England? Well, in a nutshell. Chicago played yet another poor game at home. They're going to rue the three points they've gotten from NE and DC in four Naperville matches. Razov and Stoitchkov each had a bunch of chances and neither could finish. With a 1-0 lead, the Fire had a breakaway and Hristo decided to pass instead of shooting. New England broke up the play. Soon Wolde tied it up off a nice pass from Twellman. The Fire's dumbass coach didn't make a single substitution -- the crowd was hollering for Vaudreuil or Walsh or Moore for Stoitchkov -- and New England's Kante scored off a corner kick in the 89th minute for the winner. Astounding loss? Only if you've drawn your 2002 Fire conclusions on their 3-1 mark against the Metro. Really, this was a pretty typical match for this club in this season. Probably why we haven't heard any Fire players "guaranteeing" a championship.
Re: Re: New Bradley "Insider" I thought both teams were poor, actually. Hudson dropped the ball by playing such a defensive lineup...against a team with a struggling defense, we should have been using 2 strikers (though I understand the threat of Ali Curtis or Roy Lassiter is so minimal it probably wouldn't have made a difference. My Snickers thing from the game had such scenarios as Martin Klinger scoring the first goal.
Re: Re: New Bradley "Insider" Jeff, I like that part about the 'dumbass coach.' Just passing through BigSoccer. Now back to work. Anyway, keep that sense of humor. Peace.
Fine - I just think the comparison to Armas is weird, that's all. "Pareja, if not MVP, surely deserves Chris Armas' annual spot on the MLS Best XI, because, really, he's become the Burn's Armas…a ball-winner and battler. Pareja's work has enabled Joselito Vaca to become the Burn's playmaker. Like Ekelund, Pareja was passed over for the All-Star game…but he deserves some post-season kudos."
Have you seen the Burn play much this year? Pareja is as feisty as they come. He's playing deeper positionally, freeing up Vaca to be the playmaker. He's very much like what Armas has been for Nowak...that's my opinion.
The burn have been the most exciting team to watch this season.....Pereja has certainly opened things up for them.....now if they could only find a way to get Ronnie O'brien on the field for 90...
Re: the Fire. I liked the part about the fans 'calling' for Walsh. Talk about the depths of despair. WE used to call for him to get off the field.
Uh, Howard, that was a joke. So was the line about the Metros attacking from the get-go. Shep Messing was absolutely killing the Metros for their display in the first 80 minutes.
I've been watching them a lot lately but Burn fans who watch game in and game out can tell me if I'm nuts. IMO, Vaca has played well, but I don't really see him as the playmaker -- and I know you aren't saying he's as good as Nowak, but for my money, you could make a case for starting ROB over Vaca. And Pareja does so much more for the team than Armas in terms of holding the ball under pressure, getting out of tight pressure, making great passes, generally being a calming influence on the team, etc. It's kind of like the debate over whether Reyna is an AM or a DM, for my money they are both just good two-way players. I could be wrong on this - I haven't seen every game this year, I just see Deering in Armas spot more often than I do Pareja (and I'm not saying Deering is as good as Armas).
How is it weird? The guy plays well defensively and is the team captain. He doesn't get on the stat sheet often, unless you count fouls, and doesn't score often but the team is lost without him on the field. But you're right. Vaca is not yet the playmaker of this team and you could argue that ROB should start. (Although I wouldn't do that just yet - ROB has been deadly coming off the bench, but with 3 games in 5 days coming no doubt ROB will start one of those. There is a debate going on the Dallas board.) Oscar does it all. Offensively, the play usually goes thru him. He can hold the ball in traffic, dribble in traffic and pass in any direction. Somehow at 34 he still has the energy to play tenacious defense. He is playing in front of Deering this season and does get in front of the ball in an attempt to disrupt the other team's offense. This year, Oscar plays O and D. Deering has been concentrating more on his defensive role. It has been working well.
Gotta agree with dark knight on this one: Pareja may have become a much more "feisty" player (definitely so!), but he still gets forward way more than Armas ever did or will...and Vaca still attacks more down the flanks than from the middle...though on Saturday he did come shooting down the middle on a number of occasions (i.e., more than in previous games). The Metros were miserable on Sunday. The only team they could have beaten was D.C. Why Hudson didn't start with two on top mystifies me. In a game where three points is a must, he played out of fear. Of course if Howard doesn't make that astounding save off Pope's header, Hudson might've turned out to be the genius after all...
This is why I think it's weird: I just don't think Armas can do a lot of the stuff you just described.