MATCHDAY GUIDE | Revs at Columbus Crew (July 23, 2022) By Jeff Lemieux Monday, Jul 18, 2022, 09:35 AM My big concern here is Cucho Hernandez. The new DP has played in 3 games, started only 1, for 137 minutes, and already has scored 4 goals. Josef 2.0? Cucho Hernandez wants "to make my own history" with Columbus Crew By Dylan Butler Monday, Jul 18, 2022, 12:24 AM Cucho is so good, they traded Miguel Berry to DCU, this after trading Gyasi Zardes to COL in order to make Berry their #1 striker. Plus, he has re-ignited Lucas Zelarayan, who has 1 goal and 5 assists in those 3 games.
I have a feeling Cucho will continue his hot streak when he meets our defense, so we need to simply outscore them and get some more big Petrovic saves. Easy-peasy!
I think it will come down to whether they are going to high-press us. We've been playing conservative-minded defensive mids who are unable to move the ball through pressure and invite more pressing. That means fewer attacking opportunities and more defending - which increases the odds of individual defensive breakdowns. I again hope to see Kaptoum, at least, back in the lineup. I also wouldn't mind seeing Lleget in one of those dmid spots (maybe that's the way to find a spot for Vrioni, with Bou/Gil/Borrero).
Here is one line-up Bruce Arena should consider starting against Columbus on Saturday: ---------------------------------------Petrovic------------------------------------------- Bye-----------------------Farrell----------------------Kessler------------------Jones -------------------------------McNamara--------------Polster------------------------- Lletget--------------------------------------Gil----------------------------------Borrero ------------------------------------------------Bou----------------------------------------------- Both Tommy McNamara and Matt Polster have been good this season. And they tend to play good defense and are good at helping the Revs build the ball out of the back and through midfield. Polster also is a good ball-winner, and McNamara has a good positional sense. However, it’s important that Polster avoid turnovers in bad spots. Potential Substitutions 1. Traustason and Boateng Last Saturday against Philly, Arena took out Matt Polster at half. I understand his decision, especially given that Polster was coming back from a concussion. It’s important that Polster’s career not be threatened because of not having fully recovered from the concussion and/or because of suffering another concussion shortly after the one he suffered a few weeks ago. Moreover, Arena replaced Polster with Arnor Traustason, who played right midfield, and dropped Sebastian Lletget to central midfielder, underneath Carles Gil and next to Tommy McNamara. If I had taken Polster out at the time, I may have done the same thing Arena did. For one, Lletget has been a good central midfielder in MLS. Further, against Philly, Lletget played solidly at central midfield. For instance, he had two good passes in the build up that led to Gustavo Bou’s goal. However, Traustason was a mixed bag in the match. On the one hand, he had a pass that was part of the build up that led to the Revs’ goal, and, right before Bou scored, Traustason had a good run that pulled a defender away the spot from which Bou shot. Here is a link to the goal: https://www.mlssoccer.com/video/goa...ustavo-bou-new-england-revolution-61st-minute Right before Bou takes the shot, Traustason's run drags Philly’s center-back Stuart Findlay away from the area that Bou ended up shooting from. However, Traustason also made some mistakes. For instance, in the 74th minute, when Gil dribbled down the left flank and tried to pass the ball to Bou in the middle for a shot, Traustason ran down the right flank and ran all the way past the endline and was slow to get back on defense. Philly counter-attacked and exploited the space that Traustason had vacated. Although a shorter version of Traustason’s run may have been reasonable, he shouldn’t have run all the way past the endline and then been slow to get back on defense. The Revs were nursing a one-goal lead in the 74th minute. Then, in the 77th minute, Traustason had a very bad pass -- an unforced error -- that was intercepted by Philly’s Stuart Findley. Traustason’s turnover eventually led to Henry Kessler’s foul in the box, which resulted in a penalty kick. The question I have: Against Columbus on Saturday, should Arena put in Emma Boateng before he puts in Traustason? I probably would. Boateng has been good this season and has tended to be better than Traustason at creating chances. Moreover, although Traustason has normally been good at not making important mistakes, he did (as mentioned) make a couple against Philly. If Arena were to bring in Boateng for McNamara or Polster, he could then move Lletget to central midfield next to McNamara or Polster (whichever one he leaves in), move Dylan Borrero from left midfield to right midfield, where Borrero has played solidly for the Revs, and play Boateng at left midfield, where his crossing with his left foot is an asset. 2. Maciel Against Philly, it was very important for Arena to take out Borrero when he did. Borrero was injured and indicated that he couldn’t continue. So, Arena took out Borrero, put in Maciel at defensive-midfield (next to McNamara) and moved Lletget to left midfield. However, I think Arena should have instead done a straight swap, namely Boateng for Borrero, and kept Lletget at central midfield. Lletget was playing well at central midfield. Moreover, Boateng has been good this season. He’s been a difference-maker. For instance, he has 2 goals and 3 assists in only 578 minutes of play. Maciel has been quieter. Moreover, with the exception of the game against Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Boateng lost his mark at the end of the game, Boateng has been good defensively. However, against Philly, it’s not as though Maciel played badly. He passed the ball well, completing 12 of 12 passes in 26 minutes. But I see Boateng both as more reliable and more dynamic than Maciel at this point. And Lletget is a good central midfielder. If, against Columbus, Arena puts only one of Maciel or Wilfrid Kaptoum on the gameday roster, which one should it be? And should Arena leave off one or more of Omar Gonzalez, Traustason and Damian Rivera? I’m not sure. One question I have: Is Giacomo Vroni ready to play any minutes against Columbus? Here’s what the bench could look like against Columbus: 1. Earl Edwards 2. Jon Bell 3. AJ DeLaGarza 4. Maciel or Kaptoum 5. Boateng 6. Traustason 7. Rivera 8. Altidore 9. Giacomo Vroni or Omar Gonzalez
Going along with what @rkupp said I think Kaptoum definitely needs a place in this game, whether starting or subbing. I looked back at the last game we played in Columbus. Here was our lineup from that game, where you can swap Borrero for Tajon and Lletget for Maciel with him and McNamara trading places for our likely starting 11 I think for the bench you leave Rivera home and take both Kaptoum and Maciel. I know that leaves no attacking midfield sub on the bench but we probably need to have both of Maciel and Kaptoum available as options. I read that Vroni is only ready for clean up minutes in this game. He hasn't played a match in a few months.
I disagree - more on McNamara, but Polster as well. I think they hustle and work hard and are responsible, but limited in vision, technical ability and ambition. We have a potent attack, we just don't get it enough chances because things bog down in the defensive midfield with this duo. Additionally, I think our defense spends more time under pressure and doesn't get to step up because the ball is played back whenever someone steps in front of these guys.
Last year at this point, I went in to every game thinking "What will they do to win this game?" This year, I'm going into every game thinking, "How will the defense f this one up?" I liked last year better.
Preview | Revs close three-game road swing in Columbus, visit Crew for another six-pointer By Jeff Lemieux Friday, Jul 22, 2022, 10:58 AM
1. Revs' starting line-up for tomorrow So, it sounds like your starting line-up would be similar to mine, but you might have Borrero starting at right-midfield/right-wing and Lletget starting at left-midfield/left-wing. Or would you consider switching them and starting Borrero on the left and Lletget on the right? I would. For the Revs, Borrero has played some on the right. For instance, he played there for 16 minutes against Vancouver on June 26. And I remember him being solid-to-good on the right. But he has been more impactful on the left. For instance, for the Revs, he has scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist, all while playing left midfield/left wing. Here is the assist, which was to Bou against Kansas City on June 12: https://www.mlssoccer.com/video/wat...u-s-flashy-finish-puts-revs-up-at-sporting-kc Here’s Borrero’s first goal (which was against Minnesota on June 19): https://www.mlssoccer.com/video/goa...an-borrero-new-england-revolution-53rd-minute Here’s his second goal (against Cincinnati on July 3): https://www.mlssoccer.com/video/goa...an-borrero-new-england-revolution-30th-minute He also hit the crossbar while playing left midfield last weekend against the Union: https://www.mlssoccer.com/video/hig...-union-vs-new-england-revolution-july-16-2022 The sequence starts at minute :36. When playing left midfield, Borrero is very good at cutting in on his right foot. 2. Kaptoum or Rivera? As far as Kaptoum, I can see the case for having him on tomorrow’s gameday roster instead of Damian Rivera. But I might argue for Rivera by a hair. First, Kaptoum has been solid for the Revs this season when he’s gotten minutes. But Rivera has been at least solid almost every time he has been on the field this season, including scoring the Revs’ first goal against Miami on April 30. Here: https://www.mlssoccer.com/video/goa...mian-rivera-new-england-revolution-1st-minute However, on July 3 against Cincinnati, Rivera played 21 minutes at the end of the game, and he and Petrovic made a mistake that led to Cincinnati’s game-tying goal. Here’s a link: https://www.mlssoccer.com/video/goa...nner-souza-da-silva-fc-cincinnati-73rd-minute Moreover, other than that game, Rivera has not played significant minutes for the Revs since their US Open Cup loss on May 25. In contrast, although Kaptoum was not on the Revs’ gameday roster last weekend against Philly, he has played significant minutes for them in 7 out of their last 9 games. And he’s played reasonably well. For instance, he has tended to complete a high percentage of passes. So, maybe Kaptoum should be on the gameday roster ahead of Rivera. I struggle to decide. I like that Rivera scored that terrific goal in his first cap for the Revs. As for Kaptoum, he’s been more of a regular for the team over the last two months. A lot for me would depend on how each of them has looked in practice. My feelings say Rivera, probably because of his explosiveness.
I agree with you that both Polster and McNamara have limitations. Neither is particularly quick, and neither has the technical ability of, say, N’Golo Kante or Toni Kroos. Also, Polster has made some problematic mistakes such as turning the ball over in bad spots. But they’ve had good seasons. Polster has played in 16 games, with 13 starts. He has 1 goal and 2 assists. He has completed 88.5% of his passes out 814 passing attempts, fourth best on the team. McNamara has played in 19 games, with 16 starts. He has 1 goal and 1 assist. He has completed 87.1% of his passes out of 715 passing attempts, sixth best on the team. Both players also have been solid at helping the team retain possession and progress the ball out of the back and through midfield. Now, should Bruce Arena try to acquire another central midfielder who could start ahead of Polster and/or McNamara? I’m open to it. It would be great if, for example, the Revs had a Michael Bradley or Darlington Nagbe. Perhaps two players Arena should consider acquiring are Costa Rican internationals Celso Borjes and Yeltsin Tejada. But would they be improvements over Polster and McNamara? Also, Sebastian Lletget can be a good central midfielder in MLS. Could Arena acquire Andreas Guardado and -- similar to what LAFC have done with Gareth Bale -- use TAM and/or GAM so that Guardado is not a DP? I don’t know. However, for the sake of argument, let’s say that Polster and McNamara have not had good seasons in 2022. Who should Arena start instead of them tomorrow? I don’t think anybody. For one thing, they have good experience in MLS and have been at least fairly dependable players for the Revs. Kaptoum and Maciel have much less MLS experience, Kaptoum has given the ball away in bad spots a couple times, and Maciel sometimes isn't impactful. But I agree that Arena should monitor Polster and McNamara closely. If they are not good enough to help get the team into the playoffs, Arena should give Lletget more minutes in central midfield and play Boateng more on the wing. Or maybe Arena should try to acquire another winger, with the idea of having Lletget as one of his starting central midfielders. Is Mathew Hoppe worth considering? He had some good moments for the US national team in the 2021 Gold Cup. Costa Rican international Joel Campbell is another player to consider. He could play on the wing for the Revs, which would allow Arena to play Lletget as a central midfielder. Campbell is playing with the Liga MX club Leon right now. However, Campbell sometimes lacks the intensity of some of the other Costa Rican players and can sometimes be invisible. But he did score the winning goal for the Ticos against New Zealand, which got them into the World Cup.
We still cannot score goals. Im not sure if we had any serious chances? They gave us 2 shots on target. I may have missed it if we did. Dont win many games with only 2 shots on target. Neither Bye or Jones are very good at crossing and even if they did get one in....Jozy is not going to put his head anywhere near a collision. Altidore is useless IMO. I hope Argentina bites. Anyway, thats our forward line and that's why we can't score
A few thoughts: Good result considering the anemic lineup I have no use for Traustason. I've given him the benefit of he doubt but he has rarely show much of anything. Wouldn't be sad to see him go. What does Arena have against Boatang? He should have been the sub for Macnamara but Arena again brought in Mariel, who did nothing. Boatang is an offensive threat that we needed if we were going to come away from this game win 3 points. When I saw Altidore in the starting lineup as a sole striker, I knew we weren't going to score. Wish I was wrong. Didn't see much from Vrioni but it was limited minutes in his first game. I at least liked his hustle. Hope Bou and Borrero return back soon as they are sorely needed. Is Arena ever going to play Rennicks again? Surely he was a better option than Altidore. Thought Jones and Bye reverted to last year- a strong game for Jones and the opposite for Bye.
Same. With Jozy and Arnor in the starting lineup, I immediately thought a 0-0 draw was the best we could hope for. Sure enough, the Revs only took one shot in the first half. They had a nice 4 on 4 break, but it looked like a 3 on 4 because Jozy was one of the 4. Of course they didn't even get a shot off. Even after he came out, Brad asked Charlie what he thought of Jozy's performance. The only positive Charlie could come up with was that Jozy lasted 80 minutes. The only positive I could come up with was that he drew a few fouls. Lletget was the Revs MOTM. Solid effort from him. Vrioni didn't do much, but he had more positive touches in his 25 minutes than Jozy had in his 80. No brain farts from the defense this week. And there were some across the league, like the Rapids' Yarborough taking out Morris in the box when Morris had no chance of getting to the ball (led to game-winning PK), and Kelyn Rowe throwing a ball over the sideline for his second yellow card. Speaking of cards, I don't know how Columbus made it through that game with no yellow cards. They should have had a few for simulation at least.
Speaking of cards, I don't know how Columbus made it through that game with no yellow cards. They should have had a few for simulation at least.[/QUOTE] Good question. Hope MLS does referee reviews and disciplines because he was awful, especially the first half. What was the comparative “calls against” count, Crew v. Revs. Crew’s game seems to be ‘drop like daisies’ and ‘play the ref...’
The ref was awful, but with Petrescu, that's the norm. The offense, as has been noted, was anemic. Defense was surprisingly OK, but we got away with some luck as well. A couple of the things I walked away with ... again though has to do with our announcing crew. Brad "scolding" Charlie for not agreeing with him about a foul earlier in the game. His job isn't to agree with you. On a free kick early in the game, Brad says the Revs defense handled it well ... then goes on to show that the Crew player for a clean header and just mistimed his jump sending it into the stands. I really wonder at times whether we're watching the same game.
Brad's an embarrassment. If he weren't his own boss, his job would be on the line. It's a shame, because I actually think Charlie's been improving as a color guy - he's still got work to do, but Charlie seems to be developing his ability to explain how things are unfolding. Brad, on the other hand, has never moved past homerism, and he still can't do the basics of actually covering the play by play.
A few random thoughts: Well, the Revs didn't lose! When Farrell was 1 on 1 late in the game, my thought was don't you dare go to ground! The Revs had 2 shots on goal, with an XG of .2. That's pathetic. On the bright side, the defense did a decent job. When Vroni went into the game I was surprised at how big he was. He's got some size to him, so hopefully, he can fill Adam's heading role in the box. The Revs need something.
Defensively, I think the team did better... I agree no brain farts, and I think Kessler redeemed himself from last week. Farrell was solid. But I think Jones thought the Revs were wearing the white uniform this week. The attack died with his giveaways so many times! Looking forward to a combination with Gil, Bou, Borrero, and Vrioni on the field at the same time somehow.
I think Bruce went into the match playing for a draw and this time they at least delivered defensively. Can't fault the backline because nothing wound up in the net, but the shots were 17-5 against. Agree with the earlier comment on our crossing as it applies to Bye. He sucks at it. Also his first touch caused them to blow that 4 v 4. In general the first touch of several revs players let them down too many times last night. They should just release Jozy because once Vrioni takes his minutes he's going to become a malcontent. Also I agree, what does Bruce have against Rennicks? At least he'll hustle and attempt to put some pressure on the backline. If Bruce were playing for a win Boateng would have been in there. And Columbus may have been vulnerable because they were out of gas the last 20 min, but I also think Bruce watched the Cucho highlights like the rest of us and playing on the road in front of a packed house, took the more conservative approach. I'm OK with that being just a couple of points out of the playoffs coming in. Nice bounceback games from the 2 Central Defenders and our Keeper remains a stud. Not a bad night overall.
The most important thing to me going into last night was finding a way to get a clean sheet. This was even more critical once Borrero and Bou were taken off the table as options. There was no question we were going to struggle to create chances without them and with Vrioni on his limited minute debut, so 0-0 is a fine result in that respect. But with 13 games left (7H, 6A), the importance of 3 point results going forward is huge. They have a ton of games left against teams above them in the standings so they can control their own destiny, but they are going to be under a lot of pressure to get wins as often as possible so I really hope they can get their first choice lineup on the field pretty much from here on out. I'd also like to see another addition to (or a certain subtraction or two from) the squad, but doesn't seem like much is going on in that area. Also, did anyone else notice on our chance in the 66th how wide open Jozy was on the back post and when Bye didn't cross him the ball, he had a little hissy fit?
I am unabashedly on Team Brad these days. Why the heck not? He’s one of us. He misspeaks occasionally (Monty, I thought he was teasing Charlie, not scolding him), but I am always entertained. BTW, Charlie is much improved.. Due to a blackout issue, I had to watch the PHL-NER match on Philadelphiaunion.com. JP Dellacamera is definitely more polished than Brad, but the analyst made the whole package substandard. And don’t get me started on the cesspool of broadcast talent on ESPN+ Not sure what the AppleTV deal holds in store for Brad, but if this is his last year, I’ll miss him
I don't have anything against Brad personally, and I don't have any reason to complain about his behind-the-scenes work for the Revs. But he's not a play by play guy. And honestly, while I do get the appeal of "he's one of us," I wouldn't want any of "us" in that job either. Give me a Derek Rae or an Adrian Healey (or someone in that vein - obviously they're too big for us now) any day. The color guy can be the flair, a la Paul Mariner.