I agree with this. Erpen only had two "Why are you off your feet?" moments, and he managed to win the ball on one of them. This game was very strange. DCU is lucky to be going back to RFK at nil. Part of that luck is that neither team seemed particularly well managed. I am not reassured by this performance, but not depressed by it either. The need to be better is balanced by the fact that I know we can play better. We just need to start on that.
I guess I'm glad we got the tie. ?? But again with Nowak's subbing...putting Walker in with 4 minutes to go? I'm not sure what that accomplishes. Maybe popping in Bos for some height, pull out Wilson and slide Erpen to the side (yeah, switch Brandon over then) at the 75th or so. Or put some speed in then. We just looked too sloppy and disjointed out there to not mix it up a little. Carroll looked good. No one else on our team comes to mind when I think of good after watching this game.
Oh, I was thinking it might be turf because of how bright the NFL markings looked. Anyway... I'm gonna slightly contradict myself on the disallowed goal. I really think we would need a reverse angle to see what the official saw. There was a little pushing between Namof and his mark, and Namoff was the first one with his hand up waving for a foul. Curtain definitely crashed into someone, but Hall was pointing to the center, not straight ahead. Barrett had what looks to be a very small push-off on Q in the center, and Hall may have thought it was more from his angle. Plus, I'd like to see where Barrett's right hand is when the ball comes in. From the back, it looks like Q is moving (or being pushed) away from Barrett. The ref would have had an upclose view on that. Finally, he definitely blew the whistle as, or a split second before, Barret hit the ball. So Hall had made the decision regardless of the outcome of the play. My conclusion: There is inconclusive evidence to overturn the call. Chicago is charged with the timeout. Freekick DC United. At least it's not something important, like the MLB playoffs.
duderinos we didn't give up any goals, thats cause for celebration we also didn't score any goals, thats cause for concern a cushion would have been nice coming back home to RFK, but i look at it the way catolica played us, nowak is being more and more professional about his gameplans, the last 3 reg season games were all warmups and scrimmages for him, and tonite, his goal was to comeout with a draw, knowing he can/should/more motivated to/place other word for use here/ win at home, he made this game meaningless, which is what you should do if you're the road team, knowing the home team likes to come out firing, and the one at home, a little more flavorful saying that, i'm not sure about the walker sub, and i would rather have seen clyde simms come in, and shore up some defense not sure about the humiliation on adu tonite, although i'd do that too if i was the coach cuz i'd be an A**hole of a coach if one of my players did that
Ok, I'll say it. 0 shots on goal. It's a good thing Freddy weren't out there, or he'd be getting blamed for the stagnant offense.
I love Freddy but face it unless we were playing a crap team like the Crew or RSL do you honestly think he would have scored?
First off, I'm saying that goal should have counted. Bad call. But, like Brian above, we watched it on TiVo countless times and we finally came to the concencus that Brian Hall blew the whistle because of the linesman. Let me explain. Without knowing definitively whether or not the flag was raised by the asst. ref, it seems clear from the replay that Hall looks in the direction of the asst. ref and blows the whistle just as Barrett heads the ball into the goal. In watching Brian Hall, I clearly see him pointing in the direction of the asst. ref and awarding the free kick. The only conclusion we came to was that Jesse Marsch pushed Gros into Rimando just as the ball was being delivered by Armas. To me, the call was made on Marsch's push which was spotted by the asst ref. All we need now is some sort of confirmation that the flag went up for the foul. As for the game itself, well, Ray Hudson couldn't be prouder of this road performance. Zero shots on goal. I can't remember the last time a United team didn't register a shot on goal. Had to be during 02' or 03'.. As for the Adu fiasco (which seems to be getting worse now), if he indeed was given an opportunity to apologize for the timing of his comments and he blew it off, then so be it. Take your suspension. I know this comment is laced with a touch of hyperbole, but he may have played his last game for United. And if so, that's too bad because his immaturity caused this to happen.
I have been keeping my mouth shut in regards to Erpen and Boswell since starting the initial Erpen vs Boswell thread, but I have finally got a chance to watch enough of Erpen's struggles to come to a conclusion - both players are young guys that are not ready to be the defensive anchor that they need to be for a championship level club. Here is my take on both players - Erpen reads the game defensively very, very quickly. His style is to cut off the chance before it becomes dangerous. He can do this very well, often breaking up plays without even touching the ball by stepping into spaces before the attacking team have a chance to react. Unfortunately, when you play this way, you have to concentrate at a very high level every game, or you get exposed. This is Erpen's problem. If he is not at his best, things can fall apart dramatically for him. That's not good at this time of year. When he is on, in my opinion, he is a much better defender than Bobby. When a team plays in a playoff format, you can't just "be on" some games and not others. In addition, Facundo has got to protect the ball better offensively. His excellent defensive anticipation is usually enough to bail himself out of bad situations, but one of these days he may not be so lucky, or he may be having an off day... Bobby, on the other hand, is a much more consistent player, but his A game is far below Erpen's. Where as Erpen cuts off the chance before it becomes dangerous, Bobby stays more at home, often giving the other team space in front of him to operate. Fans may leave the game thinking "None of the goals were Boswell's fault" but a lot of the other teams chances come because of space that Boswell surrenders with his less ambitious approach to the position. In addition, defensive midfielders have to work twice as hard defending all of that space in front of the defense. Has anyone else noticed how much better Carrol and Olsen are playing since Erpen has started in the middle? The few times that Boswell wasn't able to "stay home" with the comfort of defensive support, he was burned badly in open space in games vs Los Angeles and New York as well as a few others. There you have it. Two guys. Neither one the answer at the moment. My initial enthusiasm for Erpen was based as much on my disatisfaction with Bobby as a defensive anchor in the middle as anything else. The own goals never bothered me. I just saw them as a slump that a consistent guy like Boswell would work his way through. Unfortunately though, it is not enough for Erpen to play well when he is on. A central defender has to be effective every game in a playoff format. Poitr has got to figure out how to get the most of the two. I don't know how he plans to do it, but I hope that he is able to come up with a solution. I believe that how he handles it will have a big impact on DC's fate in the playoffs. One last point - can we stop refering to Erpen as the guy who just does bicycle kicks and flash? While I understand people's legitimate frustration with his inconsistency, let's actually pay attention to what he is doing before we dismiss his contributions.
Finally finished watching the game. (And thank u to all who did the PBP. I am out of rep to give.) Must say it was difficult to stay awake after I've known the result. Rimando was....quite entertaining. And I so wish Esky was out there.
What a great analysis. You've said what I couldn't. I really think Erpen is going to be a great pick-up for us in the future.
Ugh. Not a single shot on goal. I really can't think of anyone who played well with the exception of Brian Carroll. Wow, when your workhorse defensive midfielder is the team's best player on the field - its got to be ugly. We were very lucky. While Chicago hardly got the better of DC, they did do just enough to get a 1-0 result. I have looked over the "goal" several times and still can't see the foul. However, I would note that angles make all the difference and something that doesn't look like a foul from one perspective is obviously a foul from another. DC has now played three poor games in a row. From this point on only winning counts.
Havent posted in a while. One of the most boring games of all time. And I have seen a lot. Especially the first half. Snoozeville. I went to Baileys to watch the game too. The Adu controversy: I dont like either one of them, Adu or Nowak. I think Adu has a point, but needs to keep his mouth shut. Its more of his age and not mature. Nowak, has a ego and its bruised, and decides to teach Adu a lesson. They are both wrong. I think we should of hired Sigi before the Columbus Crew hired him. I dont like Nowak, and Sigi is a very proven coach.
And winning MLS Cup in your first season with a team that had done diddly squat in the four previous seasons doesn't prove anything?
Benny's presence sorely missed in the middle of the park. Props though to Namoff for playing in an unfamiliar role and choosing D over moving forward. The penalty non call canceled the corner header, as a DCU fan, i'll take it- should have been a draw any way you slice it, unless you account for Brian, who made quite a "save". Overall boring game to watch- too bad this situation is perfect for Freddy. He doesn't like his role, but he is the best late game offensive sub in the MLS. Too bad he doesn't like his role...
I am very surprised that all of the experts on this board missed the tactics that denied the ball to Mapp and Thiago much more frequently than Chicago would have expected. Excellent teamwork in our half, but it cost us offensive flexibility and some quick counters. I thought the draw was a fair result but that Chicago held the advantage in chances squandered. The defending on the FKs and corners toward game's end was awesome by our guys -- well done (now just clear the effing ball, OK?)! Sara-can invented quite a weird formation to play at home and then he pulled their most dangerous player, Rolfe, for Barrett???? Thanks, bud-dy, I'm quite pleased you gave our guys a breather. Rolfe was the only guy for fire who consistently was able to beat his man. Fire's defenders collapsed well centrally and our guys didn't stay wide the way Coach was encouraging them to do. We'll see many more crosses into the box at RFK, or there will be substitutes playing the flanks. Kovalenko's yellow should have meant a yellow for whoever elbowed (however unintentionally) Tino, even though Tino mouthed off to Hall earlier and took a ridiculous yellow. Jaime gets hacked repeatedly at the start of the game with no card for professional foul, tackling from behind or persistent infringement. One of our guys makes contact with a diving fire player and a foul is immediately blown. Fire makes contact with a United player and a foul is blown maybe once out of every two-three ocurrences. Hall made at least one make-up call that I saw. A very uneven performance from suposedly one of North America's best referees. I appreciate that he tries to let the play flow, but tonight he interjected himself too much into the match. Terry Vaughn was 4th arsehole tonight and witnessed Hall's no-call on the PK. That was a more egregious foul than the PK he gifted cumblowus in 2004 on surferdude's dive. Fvck you, Vaughn! Great show of support by the Barra tonight! You guys (and Charlotte) did us proud! Time to take care of business at RFK! GM
Well, I guess you can't just step it up because it's the playoffs. The same team showed up last night that showed up for the Metrostars game and the Columbus game. What you saw last night is what you're likely to see next Sunday as well. Prideaux and Erpen in the back worry me. Erpen is clearly talented, but twice Rolfe made him look like a rec league player. Prideaux simply makes at least one bone-headed play a game. Happily none of these miscues cost DC last night. Wilson can have his moments as well, but his pace allowed him to counter Mapp. Otherwise, the problems stemmed mainly from continuing to play a 3-7-0 with little or no speed on the field. There's a reason that most successful teams include someone(s) who stays high, poses a threat to the defense, and can finish. True, Chicago played defensively, but with no real striker in the DC lineup, crowding the midfield is sufficient to cut off almost all real threats to goal.
clearly not a red card offense. DOGSO does not apply with the ball and offensive player out wide like that, running away from the goal. And that tackle from behind thing has never been consistently called as a red card.
Food for thought. I hadn't made the connection yet. You guys actually thought the game was dull? Frustrating, yes, but I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. To the travelling supporters, way to represent!
Last night i thought they should have brought on Walker earlier. This morning I REALLY think they should have brought Walker on earlier. He dosen't have the best shot, but speed kills, maybe another Catolica situation where he blunders one in.
http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_events_news.jsp?ymd=20051022&content_id=46510&vkey=mlscup2005&fext=.jsp "Fire frustrated about disallowed goal" article on MLSnet. Contains quotes from the Flames, but doesn't really solve anything. Marsch on the next game: "It's going to be a much more difficult task with them having Ben Olsen back and being in D.C., but nothing is easy in the playoffs. I've learned that over the years," he said.
And if there was a "DC United frustrated about uncalled penalty" article, we'd have bookends. Brian Carroll's goal line clearance was, in retrospect, the play that saved the game. And as I recall, he did it with a great deal of composure - settled the ball of his right leg, then cleared it - none of this flailing about and whiffing the ball that I saw Erpen do last night on a few occasions. And if he needed a head-to-gead game against Armas to show Arena he was worthy of a trip to Germany, he certainly didn't hurt himself.
I just don't understand why Simms doesn't start last night. I am definitely a Simms fan and for the life of me can't figure out why he doesnt get more playing time. A center midfielder goes down last night with an injury and rather than playing a US natl team capped player (this year) we put an outside defender in that spot and play a very shakey outside defender to cover the back.... Don't get me wrong, I think Nahmoff might be our best defender and I have complete faith in the guy....but leave him in the back. As for the rest of the game...our one sub came too late...way too late and for what seemed to be the entire second half they didnt seem to try very hard.