New England Revolution vs. DC United | 2020 MLS Match Preview Dylan Butler Revs have take 7 of 9 points from DCU this season, but DC currently on a 3-game winning streak and tied on points with Chicago for the 10th and final playoff spot in the East.
Id settle for the team looking like it all got told the same plan in the attacking 3rd (And the plan had better not be lob 20+ crosses into the box against Donovan Pines with only 1 Rev in the 18)
Wow, epic game. Not very Revs-like, but still. I was really pleased to see how aggressive the Revs were, and when they can finally get all those guys -- Bou, Gil, Buksa, Bunbury, Buchanon -- prowling about the box, they're a constant menace. But defensively, this one was a step backwards, and hopefully an aberration.
Revs remain undefeated with 3 DPs on the field. The Revs are in 6th place, but that is as high as they can go. They still could fall as low as 8th. Chicago helped on Saturday with a late tying goal to steal 2 points from Nashville, but the expansion team is 3 points back of the Revs with a game in hand (Dallas on Wed). They play @ORL on decision day. NYRB, also 3 points back, host Toronto, while Revs play at Philly. TOR and PHI are tied for first, fighting for Supporters Shield, so here's hoping the Revs help TOR capture the shield and not PHI. Ideally, Revs and RB both win, giving PHI the shield on GF tie-breaker. If the season ended today, Revs would play Columbus in the first round.
This week I watched some replays with other team's broadcasters - it seems so simple to 'cover the game', comment on the tactics team's are using, etc. Instead we can this mindless interplay as when Feldman seemed to be trying to goad Davies to trash one of the DC subs (like it wasn't clear enough when he said he didn't favor him?). Bottom-line, WHO CARES? And that applies to %90 of what they say. The Revs organization seems to be blind to how amateurish their broadcast makes them look. It's like they think their audience is a bunch of adolescents - more interested in some mindless bickering than the game itself. And, while I'm ranting: When DeJuan Jones pulls up and needs to be subbed, on what his injury is, Feldman says "we're told not to speculate". Uh, whose telling you not to speculate. Does not every other broadcast team in the world speculate on what a player's injury is? Not to mention that it was pretty easy to tell when Jones reached for his hamstring. Reminding the audience that you are just an in-house mouthpiece is never a good idea. One more rant about the broadcast: clearly the broadcasters are watching in 'real time' while viewers are getting a few second delay. Feldman keeps calling scoring plays, so that he's giving the result before we see the action. You already get a pretty good idea what the result is as a player is winding up to shoot. It is a horrible gaffe, it is happening over and over. How many times did we hear about Hamid making a great save before the shot was off?
Yet again, McNamara is bowled over as a team scores and the goal is allowed to stand. I think that's 3 games in a row now! - Gil took a significant leap in this game; really great news to see him progressing - OTOH, Nguyen seemed to have little influence when he came on. When he was off the ball, he was barely jogging when we had the ball in the attacking third - he seems to lose interest when he's not directly involved in the attack. - Great to see Buchanon influence the game so much. He's been a revelation this year. How many of us thought he would be a breakthrough player this year? Without much for attacking threats on the wing, he's pretty close to indispensable IMO. - Clinical finishing twice by Teal - at times he can be so composed, while so often he lacks the calmness to finish under pressure. - I'm almost glad (okay, I am) that Gil missed the PK, because of the clinical finish of the rebound by Buksa. How many people blast that 10 feet over the goal? - Speaking of 10 feet over the goal, is Büttner ever going to get a rebound shot on goal? For a guy who has played at the top of the Premier League, he hasn't even come close to putting one of his quality follow-up chances near goal. - I was really hoping for Bou score. He's been in a mental funk and really needs to 'see one go in the net', as they say. - tough to see the OG from Kessler, even if it wasn't scored that way. The OG at the other end underscores how impossible a situation a defender finds themselves in when they have to play a low cross between them and goal.
When Buttner blasted that "shot" over the crossbar last night, I just shook my head. For a guy who is fairly accurate with his crosses, to not put shots on frame from 25 yards out is mine boggling. Someone needs to talk to him about the mental aspects of taking the shot. He needs to be thinking top corner, not blast it at goal.
I think the shot you're talking about was with his right foot. Normally, I'm not pleased to see a shot go that far off target, but it was his weak foot, and this team has a problem with players holding back because the ball is not on their dominant side. They shouldn't, because they are professionals, and they are not paid to play with one foot, but ...*sighs* Go Revs.
The difference between normal and the game Feldman missed this year was night and day. If they are serious about upping their game in all areas as an organization, the play by play man needs to change sooner rather than later.
Wiebe and Davies cover two plays from the Revs/DCU game: Penalties for NYCFC, Toronto and Seattle prove controversial in Week 22 | Instant Replay November 2, 2020 mlssoccer.com
Couldn't agree more - he does goad a lot, but this time the goading was especially persistent on this one DC player - what was the deal there? And I understand the desire to have a dialogue with the color person - but when Brad is always asking Charlie's "what was that?", "was that a foul", "was that offside" - it actually makes Brad look a ton less knowledgeable than he should be as the play by play guy. I think back to Adrian Healey - he was a master of making a soccer observation because he knew and understood the game that then got the color person involved instead of Brad's way. Agree on this one too - why does Brad vocalize this everytime - even if he is told not to speculate? Who is saying that to him or Charlie? Is he trying to cover his own reputation because management is telling him that? Amateurish - c'mon guys - you gotta be better than this!
Charlie obviously knows the game but he goes off the rails with too much shouting enthusiasm at times.
One of the big problems, I think, is that Brad is his own boss. He's got no incentive to change things up, because he's deaf to his own voice. That's less of an excuse re: Davies, but it probably bleeds over there too.