That was ridiculous. It was bad enough when they showed Jonathan Kraft, but at least that was quick and you could actually see him
My brief thoughts 1. It was interesting to be able to hear the coaches. Arena (I think) yelled a lot at Kessler ("Henry, get up!") and then Rennicks when he came on 2. Turner is a stud 3. I didn't think we got much out of our fullbacks. Jones struggled early then mostly sat back and Buchanon wasn't his recent self. I read Buttner was healthy; in retrospect I might have started him over Jones 4. Gil is also a stud. In a game which Columbus mostly controlled I remember him freeing Buska for such a good chance, sending Pollster in on a quick free kick restart and getting Bou a free shot from close. 5. I really don't understand the subs. At some point in an elimination game, down a goal, you need to go 3 in the back and put another attacker on. In addition I though Lee would have been a big help in trying to maintain possession. 6. Great playoff run, but today Columbus was the better team.
I honestly wasn't disappointed. I've got the same feeling as 2002 -- we lost, but we showed so much improvement over expectations. Armando Villareal -- he's been around a while and always calls a physical game. Unfortunately, this seems to be what PRO wants as more and more young officials seem to be in this mold. While she's standing back to us, looking out the door for someone. If there's a need to show the owner, or sideline reporter (NBCSB does this a lot with Naoko), at least go to a double box. From your keyboard to God's ears on 2021 on every level imaginable. Caicedo will help at DM, but he's not the total answer there. The real linchpin is whether Gil returns or not -- if not we've seen what this team's offense looks like without a playmaker.
Yes good game! The Crew are a great team and I expect them to win it all this year. Good luck in the final!
Entertaining game in ways. I was hoping for more out of the boys but they never gave up. The core of this team is good. For the most part the talent level of MLS has past a few players like Caldwell. I suspect by the end of the week we will have a better idea of who is staying and who is going. I hope the Revs look to start upgrading right away. Never been a Caicedo fan but he may have made a difference last night in place of Caldwell. Not sure he can be counted on next season after missing a season with a knee injury. Tommy, for all his hustle, was terrible with his passing. Not sure Polster is the answer at DM either. I'd imagine that on Bruce's Xmas list is a DM, couple CB's, maybe a RB and a couple attacking players.
Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if he had been doing his weekly pre-game interview with 98.5 for the Pats game. Not judging him here, but that's the normal time when they do it. Anyway ... regarding the game. I thought that Teal/DeJuan and Scottie had some kind of contest going to see who could have more giveaways. The passing was atrocious. No pace on so many of them, and quite a few hospital passes as well. Let's be honest, we should have been down in the first half. We played mostly like garbage (we reverted to the 8 seed at the wrong time). Diaz was blistering past Jones, there were easy balls going over the top (or through) of our center back pairing. We barely could get the ball into the Crew half. And yet ... I thought we could have stolen this one at the end. We had some chances, but man Bou had a tough day today. Of course, I still think Buksa should have passed it to him in the first half, but the way Bou was shooting, he might have put that ball into Row 30. This team will live and die off Gil's return next year. It's that simple. Also, if we can somehow get Buksa off the DP money (using TAM/GAM or any of the other fictitious sounding MLS Bucks), we need help/backup for Gil in the middle.
I didnt think Scott was that bad and I am not a Teal fan, BUT we have no offense with Caldwell and Polister in there at the same time. None ... and once again it showed and yet Arena sticks with that. I wish he would shift Bou outside for Teal and put Lee in Bou's spot. But noooooo Lee rots on the bench cause he is not a DM. I agree with Buska totally. He is not good enough to be a DP and Id like to see somebody with more skills and speed up there. If he cant be moved then maybe a 60 min sub would work. All in all, Arena did very well with what he has to work with. We are only a couple of players away from being much, much better. If Arena signs some better people, ditches those he won't play (I dont mean Lee), we may go further next time. We have the best goalie in the league IMO, out defense is good with everybody healthy, Mids we need some work, and forward as well. Lets see what happens
Tough ending, but I felt like we were playing with house money. Overall, we were depending on Turner way more than we should have needed to, but the defense gave up one goal - that's acceptable. At the other end, we had enough chances that we should have put at least one away - we didn't. Sometimes that's how the game goes. I was impressed how we turned the game around in the end and had them under the gun. Had it been Gil instead of Polster on that final kick, I can see that ball floated over the crowded penalty area and goalkeeper out of position and settle right into the net. Ah, the whims of the football gods ... There was another chance that is normally the kind Bou blasts into the net that he totally flubs. Aggh. Jones had his struggles and he was put through the wringer a few times - he's got ability and will get better with experience, but this was a tough task for him. Polster was a step too late on a couple of plays and one of them cost them. Still, even then, it was an incredible pass and classy finish that was needed. For the most part, our defenders were warriors, doing anything and everything. Even though he played on the edge a bit, it was a tremendous game by Farrell. When, early on, we gave up a ton of corners, we handled them well - showing a lot of progress from not too long ago. Buchanon seemed a little more tentative than usual - he had some opportunities to go 1v1 with Cbus' left back and instead played for possession. To me, even with a tough start, the story of this game was just the failure to finish any of our 6-7 quality chances.
I can't really add much to the discussion here because everything everyone is saying pretty much echoes my own thoughts on everything - we were outclassed on the day, we didn't play our best, our weaknesses were exposed, the substitutions were head-scratching, there are deficiencies on this roster that need addressing, and all I want for Christmas is a guarantee that Gil and Turner will both be on this team in 2021. I would also say this...at the outset of this season, before the dark times, I wanted to see a top four finish and a reasonable playoff run, perhaps an Open Cup run. I didn't think we'd be MLS Cup winners. Our MLSisBack run, which is kind of like the Open Cup for this year, got cut short by Gil's injury. The nature of the season - mostly again because of Gil's injury - impacted our finish in the table. But what they showed in the playoffs was what I think we all expected out of this team at the start of 2020. I think this team has a solid core that they need to protect and build on. It is going to be a long short off-season, I really can't wait for 2021.
I feel like I watched a slightly different game than people here did. The best 3 players yesterday were Turner, Farrell, then Buksa. Gil had an off game, and Bou forgot to wake up yesterday morning. Everyone else struggled, but theyre all basically role players and thats the expectation. Bruce's tactics need as much criticism as his subs. He played 2 slowish CM and had them sit deep and just let Columbus possess the ball in the middle of the field. If you do that, you need a 10 who will at least provide a small amount of pressure, and Bou isnt that. Then his in game management was just as bad as its been all season: he doesnt react to his opponent, he just tries to make whatever has worked for him recently work again. In this case, hoping Bou or Gil create a goal and just defending like hell, even down a goal in a elimination game. Its an upgrade over Heaps and Friedel, but its still a huge weakness. Fortunately we have Bruce the GM, who actively tries to assemble an embarasment of riches to draw from and cover up Coach Bruce's in game weakness by just fielding a better team.
Turner is signed through 2023 at $200k/yr. The only reason hell leave is if someone pays us a lot of money.
I noted this on Twitter when it happened. Polster has been the main cause of quite a few goals the last few weeks. He seems to not backtrack and loses his man repeatedly, and repeatedly, that's wound up in the back of the net.
Are you sure you're following the right player? Down the stretch in the regular season Polster hardly was playing and often didnt come into the game until afer the opponent had scored their goals.
“Hey Dad! It’s Johnny. John. Kraft. Your son. Yes!. Um, I’m at the stadium and I dont see the team. The patriots, are they playing here? In Columbus. No? Where? But you said...um..okay”
iI am aware that he was part of the scramble of Artur's goal. The part I take issue with is the bolded quite a few goals the last few weeks. He didnt play enough down the stretch to be involved in quite a few goals, and in the playoffs the defense wasnt exactly a sieve. Look back at the last 2 regular season games. The 3 we conceded to DC were with Caldwell and Tommy as the CM pair. Then against Phili Bruce started Caldwell alone at the base of a wide diamond 4-4-2. He needs to be on the field before people start pointing to him as the culprit of goals, let alone quite a few
Yes, he was late in tracking, BUT it took pretty pinpoint, creative passing to expose it. There are thousands of little plays in a game where defenders aren't perfect and things don't end up in the net - the ones that don't get noticed. That being said, I don't think the Revs lost because they gave up one goal - I think it was because they didn't finish their chances. Also, significantly, Columbus kept us on our heels much of the first half, denying the opportunity for us to get the early lead that served us so well in the PHI and ORL games - so when we did need to score, it was against a defense prepared for it. I think if Buksa's shot of the post goes in, the rest of the game plays out much differently. I think they will. The big question is how welcoming the Revs will be to such offers (now that Arena is in the house). We know they pretty much dismissed offers for their stars previously, but I think Arena is much more of a player's coach and will respect their opportunities to go on to bigger and better things. And, it sounds like they've got some keeper prospects in the pipeline. As for Turner, that salary is low enough that he could probably force the issue by sitting out - it's not like he'd be losing millions. I think if there's an offer he wants, Arena will be wary of the Revs reputation for not being a player's team and will be inclined to make an accommodation, as long as the team gets fair compensation (which should be considerable, because of his value and the length of the remaining contract).
I think the Revs should up his salary again to what he's currently worth now. Don't wait until his contract runs out. If they dont so something to fix it, he for sure will walk when his contract us up, like most stars we've ever had have. Cut one or two dead woods and channel the money to Turner.
I think the Revs would love to do that, but from what Turner's said/done, I think he wants to go higher (and he's got the Euro passport).