Defensive gaffs and giveaways look a lot less serious when they aren't actually in our box where a defender plays, but up top in the midfield.
I wonder how happy Jonny Walker was to get out of there with only a 1-0 score. 1 year ago we torched him for 6. Ouch.
How do the crew fans put up with that crap? Start yelling fire the coach, or show some life or something. The players didn't show any heart.
Ah, it was good to see DC on TV again. Feels like it's been so long. But, man, that was an awful awful win for DC. I think we saw some very large problems emerge in our defense in this game. Boswell did not provide guidance or stability in the middle of the defense. Prideaux got beat way too many times. And Dema (even though a midfielder) also looked outclassed by Henderson out on the wing. Wilson played solidly and made some great moves offensively. I was quite impressed with him yet again. Carroll was faily invisible, but I think acquitted himself fine. I think the problems in the back were with the defensive line (Boswell), not with Carroll. Gomez played well as usual, but... I don't know. I always want more from him than he delivers. Moreno was strong at times, but was frustrated in the final third moreso than I expected. Gros played very strong in the first half and faded badly in the second. What happened Josh? Nana loves to attack, but he has absolutely no touch. That hurt us at times, as I could have seen Eskandarian, Quaranta, or Adu (if a forward) controlling the ball more effectively and putting a shot on goal. Adu played well, but passively as always. He has great control and vision, but rarely uses it going forward. Does he not like to attack goal, or has Nowak beaten it into him that he shouldn't just turn and run at defenses? Surprised at the sub at halftime, to say the least. Stokes looked pretty bad out there. He is gangly, and very grabby. This means he gets dumb fouls called on offense to stunt attacks, and scares the crap outta me on defense when he grabs a player and you expect a PK to be called. Him at offense didn't work very well: he just doesn't have the speed or composure to run past defenders. And he looked out of sorts in midfield. Wish I could say he looked confortable at the back, but he did at least look most at home there (and was most effective in a back four). Jamil Walker had a couple of nice runs, but DC had already bunkered by the time he came on (at halftime!) so he didn't get many chances to work with a dynamic midfield. Good run to set up a goal but it was luck that made that one go in. Simms didn't have much time (10 minutes), but also didn't do anything spectacular. He played decently and didn't make any mistakes. Again, why did he get called into MNT camp in the spring? I don't see it, but I wish to god I did. Oh, and Rimando is MOTM. He's been solid for several weeks now (no idea if he's to blame for any goals on Wednesday) and made a great instinct save on the PK as well as on the Rodriguez(?) short corner shot early in the game.
Looking at the bright side I wonder what ths win/loss record is for teams that are playing their second road game in three days. I don't care how bad C-bus is, I'd bet the winning pct. is below .100 league-wide. And we got the win. I'm sure we played better in Chicago. We looked listless out there for long stretches. but... We got the win.
When I saw Stokes placed in at midfield I thought "This just might work." He's pretty good going forward and at midfield he won't be quite as much of a defensive liability. Unfortuately, he didn't play well. He made poor passes, poor crosses, fouled all over the place, and generally looked awful. The biggest problem is that he doesn't appear to have soccer smarts. Someone like Boswell probably doesn't have Stokes' physical tools but he is a much, much smarter player. Perhaps DC is hoping they can educate Stokes but I don't know, I think it is time to give someone else a chance.
That was my thought watching the game. You have to wonder if the Crew players are actually trying to make it happen by their own actions. This is going to be interesting to watch as the season progresses.
I don't think Freddy being subbed out was because he was sucking as much as it was to shore up a defense that was a step away from handing the game to the Crew. There were far too many yellow jerseys camped on our front porch, and defense is not Adu's strong point. On the other hand, when Freddy left, Gomez made his presence felt.
This game wasn't ugly at all. After Prideaux's giveaway late in the game we strung together 42 consecutive passes and had the Crew fans booing their own team. The only ugly part was the minute or two in the 1st half where Nana cost us the goal when he ran offsides to knock in Dema's shot (which almost certainly would have gone in on its own) followed by the PK call against Wilson. But St. Nick punished El Loco with a lump of coal. Dema had trouble with Henderson and I think bringing on Stokes to play right mid was a smart and effective move. Didn't think Freddy played poorly but he may have been the odd man out on the tactical move. Thanks to Comcast for allowing us to see the game, but please instruct the cameramen to keep the cameras trained on the ball. How can they miss something as basic and predictable as a PK?
This game to me showed that Freddy and Gomez in the middle at the same time cannot work in the long term. It may work in spurts, but usually Adu gets forced out wide, and he is definitely not at his best there. Gomez played well throughout; I don't think Freddy getting subbed out changed how Gomez played.
Here's a thought no-one has mentioned about having Stokes out there. Columbus puts a lot of good targets on the field for corners and crosses: Buddle, Wolyniec, Marshall, Fraser and then Knox Cameron. Who do we put out there to match up with those guys? Boswell, and um... err.... well.... uh.... a cardboard cutout of Ryan Nelsen? Stokes was a liability in many ways at outside minutes. But I think in terms of 11 players, it was a good guy to have out there given the tactical aspect of the Crew's height--especially if Nowak makes his full contingent of subs and then a defender goes down.
I'm sure it doesn't help that one of their teammates, Ante Razov, threw a season long hissy fit and got his wish- to be traded. Was it any wonder that it was the newest Crew players- Henderson, Wolyniec, Schultze, and Rodriguez- who seemed to have almost all of the passion?
The defense was shakey, particularly in the first half. In that sense subbing in Stokes was good (for height as JoeW said), but not just for getting another defender in. That sub also got Dema into the middle and thus he could get away from the relentless pressure Henderson-of-the-bionic-legs was bringing down his side.
Freddy stunk and Henderson was torching Kovalenko on the wing. Nowak took out Freddy, put Kovalenko inside and put Stokes on Henderson. Very smart tactical moves.
The game was kind of boring, Crew played like they have no heart. When Martino was red-carded, he was like, "Oh well, at least I have off next game."
I disagre that Freddy stunk. He played solidly, but did not push forward aggressively (although I rarely if ever see him do that). Agree that moving Dema inside COULD have been a good move, but Stokes was pretty darn awful out there in the right mid position.
Bingo. This was a purely tactical sub. Had Clyde Simms been match fit, he would have started and Adu would have come off the bench. But, as Clyde took a knock in training on Thursday (and subsequently didn't practice yesterday) it was either start Adu or start Stokes out wide. I think Nowak wanted to see how the game panned out seeing as the Adu-Gomez-Moreno combo got us out to a two goal lead inside of 10 minutes the last time we played Columbus. Once Nowak saw the gaping hole in midfield behind Adu and Gomez, he had to make the change. This obviously won't do Freddy and his precarious ego any good at the moment, especially coming off of a subpar youth World Cup. However, it's not about stroking a prodigy's ego, it's about gaining points and this move helped us gain 3 points. Freddy will be fine.
ok.. its my first post.. but im not pulling any punches... First off anyone that thinks stokes had a good game....huh?!? all the man does is give the ball away, and that was a great cross he had right to walker.. i suppose its better to have him giving the ball away in the attacking half than in our own box. but come on, he is so unsure on the ball it ridiculous. his feet just don't follow his brain.. speaking of giving the ball away, let's move on to carroll. ok all he has done for the last 2 years is give the ball away, he is good at winning balls in the back but what good is it if he just gives it up two steps later with a horrible long ball played to no one. last year you could argue that their wasn't anyone to fill that role, but now we have simms. Someone please tell me why carroll, who will never even get a christmas card from arena much less a call up, is playing ahead of someone who already has more caps than anyone named carroll ever will have.. and not to mention simms is better on the ball, faster, smarter, bigger, and a smarter player. where to next... ahh novak. ok, he won a championship, but the team took their turn if a recall after a players only meeting led by nelson and stewart.. and those 2 were the leaders last year with jaime. this year without those players who were coahces on the field.. how are they playing.. i like novak, he gets the guys prepared and practicing well but he is stubborn. i understand he wants to reward players who practice well... but you know what.. some guys just play better in games and some guys cant replicate practice form when the pressure is on, case in point stokes, all we heard pre season is how well he was practicing.. then games and he is lucky to not be playing indoor IMO. like i said i like novak's preparation and view of the team but he has been making some very questionable decisions.. like starting carrolll game in and out with simms on the bench.. putting stokes in for freddy.. are you kidding? how bout sticking with alecko for his 0 for 30 game streak.. a break earlier in the season could have helped him out instead of keep throwing him and yanking him out at halftime.. and then there is freddy... one game and out freddy.. give the kid a freaking run.. a run where he plays 90 4 or 5 games in a row.. its the MLS for god's sake.. nothing matters til september.. give him a chance.. he'll throw alecko and carroll in week after week.. good game or not.. freddy plays excellent.. starts the next game.. has an iffy half.. on the bench for 4 its ridiculous..its like watching timmy roy @ man u.. they kept making mistakes cuz they were trying too hard.. one mistake and they knew they were sitting.. GIVE FREDDY A RUN.. what's the worst that could happen.. he shows he's not ready yet? big deal.. yanking him every game or throwing him in for 20 min at the end isnt a big boost either.. on the bright side.. wilson is a find, boswell has been great.. still waiting for the rookie slump... showing signs lately but i think he'll be good.. and please get better namoff... .soon!!! and for the love of god.. throw benny back wide when he comes back.. he played one game wide and looked great.. then back to the middle and he just looks a bit lost... and since i know im gonna get slammed on this.. note that i am a huge DC fan from day one, im just venting my frustration because i know we have the pieces to be on the top of the table, they are just not in the right places in the puzzle.. i don't think novak should be gone either, yet, he just seems like he's trying to prove to people that he sticks to his guns.. when he should just play the team that gives the best chance of winning.. regardless of practices, prior half of the last game, or what the weather may be like.. lets get the ball rolling boys.. GO UNITED!!!!!! anyone that reads this whole thing.. .you got my props
I saw a half. I'll catch the 1:30AM replay on CSN. The half I saw? The " thanks Chad, you'll be on our Roster next season!" half.