What is astonishing is that, with the exception of Bou, all this energy and skill and determination has been utterly revealed by having the right man as leader. These are the players Brad had, but this is not the team Brad fashioned.... .... Let's remember this the next time a manager refuses to accept responsibility for his team and instead blames his players.
Exactly. And what is that Arena (and Lapper before him) did that changed things? Tactics? Putting people in the right spots (including spots they've never played before)? Delivering the right messages on the training ground and in the locker room ("You do you," Lapper told them; not sure what Arena tells them)? Another question -- does Friedel deserve any credit for putting together a talented team (even if he didn't know how to lead the team)? He got Bye and Jones and Buchanan in the draft -- a pretty good haul for two years without a top 5 pick. Its weird to see it now, but the team BF and Burns built is actually pretty good, with a good coach. Or is parity so engrained in MLS that Arena (or another good coach) could take over any MLS roster and get into the playoff mix? Jon Martin and Sachem07 were saying Friday that Orlando has good players but seem disconnected . . . could Arena walk in there and turn them into winners? And finally, isn't it nice to be thinking about what happens on the field instead of gnashing our teeth in rage over the failure of the Krafts to give us a team worth thinking about?
Welcome back, Doc! Gil and Bou look good together, and can't wait to see as their chemistry continues to get better. I know Turner's save didn't count as the guy was offside, but it was a fantastic save nonetheless. His reaction time is amazing. This team shows so much offensively, but the defense still scares me. Delamea was fantastic though, but the amount of giveaways right at the top of the box is petrifying, and as mentioned earlier, will result in pulling the ball out of the net next week. I posted this about LAFC on Twitter the other day... Wow, their numbers are amazing. 10 points better than anyone else (with 2 games in hand). +36 GD. 59 scored in 22 games. I’ve said our defense hasn’t been tested much recently. Well here it comes.
Great to have you back, Doc. If you can believe it, I, too, have moved over to the light side. The post-Friedel/Burns turnaround with this team has been nothing short of amazing!
In the Friedel era I'm not sure I would have even bothered to set the DVR. What a train wreck that would have been. It will be fun to see how two of the best coaches in MLS history set their teams up to go after each other. There are a couple of things that work in our favor here. (1) Several LAFC players will be playing in the heat of Orlando on Wednesday at the All-Star game. Not Gil. (I'm not bitter.) Hopefully, Athleti runs them into the ground. (2) Cross country trips are always going to be tough. (3) Turner was seriously pissed that his shutout streak ended. His shot stopping has been unbelievable recently. I expect he will want to get a new streak going. Should be a fun game.
Doyle dedicates the first several paragraphs to the Revs: Armchair Analyst: All 24 MLS teams in review | Week 21 analysis July 28, 2019, 6:02PM EDT Matthew Doyle Including this gem:
I've been calling them the Bizarro Revs (as in the Seinfeldian sense). They are everything that previous Revs' teams weren't. My first thought on seeing Delemea's new 'do' was that after scoring last week, he'd gone Hollywood. When Diego scored that ripper, I could almost hear Arena thinking - yeah, I knew that's what that kid can do. That was kind of a microcosm of how he's put players in position and given them the support to do what they do best. I thought with his subs, that mostly he wants to keep players #12-16 on the roster engaged and involved. There are a bunch of guys who have been pushed out of [full-time] starting roles, but he's letting them know they are still in the mix. I'm okay with Ecuadorian Delorian (if it's only when he scores) because it means he's scoring! Of course, I always think - it's Ecuadoran, not Ecuadorian - but that doesn't rhyme. You had to think O'Connor told his guys to be ready at the start of the halves, because the Revs have been scoring early - yet they gave up really early goals in both halves. Boa's calmness in the box after receiving his 1-2 was what made the goal. He had clean, simple touches, took the instant to look up and had the keeper at his mercy - and he didn't blast the shot, rather he hit a 3/4 ball that was perfectly under control. - And, Doc, don't know if your 'reader' shows you the reps, but you've been piling them up from just about everyone here!
So, he's not a pro. What I noticed is that back in the Friedel months this spring, Clyde kept hinting pretty clearly that he knows these players and all of these guys are WAY more talented than we are seeing and therefore the problem is [listener fill in the blank: the COACH]. He was trying to be diplomatic but, he knew...
He did stumble a bit in the last show, but generally he's been better than that. After the last Friedel game, you could hear him struggle because there was literally nothing positive that could be said. Of course, then Hardy got off on the 'blame the fans' tangent.