Might as well get it on with it now. The Charge rested Pinchon(13 goals, 1 assist) yesterday againist Boston because of a left big toe injury and she is expected to travel and play againist the CyberRays this Wednesday. The CyberRays have to win this match to keep the play-off hopes alive. Philly has pretty much clinched a play-off birth and home field advantage but of course they'll come ready to play and win. We haven't played the Charge since June 1st and it was a closely fought 0-0 tie with the Charge's star Kelly Smith going down and tearing her ACL. Is Ian going to keep doing strange things to line-up? I would be shocked to see French get benched again againist such a strong opponent but Ian has done some very questionable things lately so anything goes. Anybody know if any of the 'Rays are injured(especially Alagich)? Go Rays! I hope ya'll enjoy the last home match of the season!
This match will be aired on both CN8 and Fox Sports Bay Area from 8-10pm Happy Fluffy Town time. Usually the Charge fans are good at doing their PBP's so I may just lay off that night unless it becomes decidedly pro-Charge/anti-Cyberrays then my blackass will be in here trying to put a Cyberrays spin on it. Pichon is I think out with a big toe injury of some sort. Someone please confirm this. FearM9's rant of the evening that is totally unrelated to anything here... All my teams (Beat & Freedom) are through with their travels to the Left Coast. Well I know the Beat are down in San Diego on Wednesday but I couldn't get any time off to fly down there. So I'm a lil' perturbed right now. The only thing that will make me happy is massive amounts of ice cream and chocolate syrup.
Thank you for offering to even out the PBP, Fear!! Maybe somebody here will be able to help you out, but most of the fans that post here will be at that game, cheering and yelling for the 'Rays. I believe that Pinchon's injury was not as serious as it was dubbed to be and the Charge chose to simply rest her last night(obviously not a good idea). I could be wrong and I'm going to fiddle around in the Charge forum here in a second to see what's up. The 'Rays certainly hope it's serious enough for her to miss the match againist us! Sorry to hear that your favorite teams are done with their travel. At least you can still watch the games on TV, an advantage that most of the fans around here don't have. There's always next season!
I understand that she was rested Saturday with the injured big toe and they plan to play her Wednesday against San Jose. This is from a few posts I have seen and some news story I read but I cannot find it now. It might have been in a dream, or I might have dreamed that I dreamed it or I might have dreamed that I thought I dreamed it or... Drifts back to the land of catatonia to commune with Freddie and the other inhabitants of the world of dreams.
FofF, I'm with you. I know I read that somewhere, too. I heard from a Charge fan that perhaps Pinchon's toe was broken, it was purple and swollen after the last match she played, but this is not 100% varified so until then, who knows. But I do believe that she will play againist the 'Rays and she will most likely start.
It looks like that I will be at the game instead on being at home watching it on FSBA. Plus there could be that special FearM9 dedication. Anyway, for the Rays this is a must win, and the next 4 games are going to show if this team is worthy of defending their title--hence the Champions are not going to go down without a fight, especially with 2 games against Philly and a very very crucial game against Carolina, who has owned the Rays this season. Beene is going to have to find a way to track and stop Pinchon's shots. Someone will have to figure a way to get past the Philly defense, led by Fair, with a cast of Clemens, Tietjen, Iverson, and someone named Mitts. No one broke through the last time, and the Brazilians could take a go at it this time around. What will help is the Charge wasn't able to beat the Rays last year in the smaller confines of Spartan. Maybe the team will feel a bit boxed in when they play. Beating the defending champions in their home field will further legitimize the Charge's claim as a contender. They almost beat the Rays late last year but not quite. This will make for a very interesting match, and maybe a potential playoff preview. Cheers!
I'd like to correct one of my earlier posts. The Charge have not lost two straight, they tied their last game from a 90th minute goal from the opposition. Kind of feels like a loss, though. Awesome post, Nap! You hit the key points of the game head on. Anyone want to take a stab at the D that Ian will put out?
Supposedly Mitts is out for this game and won't make the trip. Bad news for those who wanted to have their bobbleheads and Philly magazines signed. Anyway, here's who I think should play defense, not in any order. Bryan, Nanez, Alagich, Borgman, and Chastain as the librero--playing from the back, and adjusting to play midfield and possibly striker. Cheers!
Fantastic! Much as I hate to see a Gator hurt and unable to play, this helps the team. Let's hope Pinchon is out as well. We've never played againist her, she was out the 1st match of the season againist us because of WCQ for France. She, like Katia, is definitely a play-maker and big-time difference maker in matches. I guess you decided to bench French, Nap? Or are you doing more a prediction thing going without her due to her recent PT patterns courtesy of Ian? And the no Lindsey thing could be a mistake or not. I've heard that her communication hasn't been all that lately and that she's had some mental lapses. Then of course there is last week's own goal, but that has to be forgotten...eventually.
How can you get Philadelphia Magazine on the west coast? lol.... We're just saving her for next Wednesday when she stones Katia time and again. Paul
Either you had to order on phillymag.com, or of course the usual standby ebay. There is one floating around somewhere here. I don't know about cachundo but it was last seen at the Britannia Arms pub critiqued by the Aimercat! Going to be an interesting test to see if the Rays can get past the Charge defense with or without #13. There is still Clemens, Iverson, Fair, and Tietjen. Of course, it's a different game when played on an artificial surface, and the Charge have the homefield advantage on this one. This week it's playing in small box, or the Little Cauldron as Rocket Ray Hudson calls Spartan. Cheers!
There will be a few excited fans in the stands cheering for the Charge. The Charge's only trip to SJ and I don't get to see The One, The Only, The Heather . . .
Nap (or Shannon if you are lurking) or whoever else... This was from the Cyberrays site: Can someone hook a brotha up??? *fires off email*
Where the heck did you read that about Boof's communication?? She hasn't had mental lapses.. the one that happened wasn't her mental lapse.. hello.. Dawn was way out..lol.. kinda angry.. geez lets bring up the own goal..
In defense of Boof Dislaimer: The following are my opinions and my opinions alone. You are welcome to completely disagree with them and hate me for them if you want. See, we've now messed with Boof and...I'm likely to fail completely at being remotely nice in my response. Please, please skip my post if you don't want to hear me come raging to Boof's defense. To put it in perspective, it's just as bad to me as someone messing with Frenchie. I'm not meaning to get personal, but there's one comment I'm responding to that is gonna tweak it just a skosh that way, because it starts with "Ive heard". Now that you've been warned.... *SomebodyOrOther breathes...counts to ten...attempts to launch into a rational discussion.* Ok, work with me here. I'll grant the no Lindsey thing could be a mistake--looks like one to me--but what's this "I've heard her communication hasn't been all that great lately"? From who have you heard that? The players? No? Can you hear her on the field from the TV? No? When's "lately", exactly? Mental lapses? Yep there've defeinitely been some, but are you taking into consideration the games when she was sick as a dog and out there just focusing on not puking and STILL running her butt off and covering for everyone else? Yeah, she might just have a mental lapse or two then. I personally would be passed out cold trying to do that, so I'll give her some mental lapses in that instance. This is what I know: Boof is by no means perfect at central D, but she's damn good, and we need her on the field. Hey, she's 23, and still learning. Organizing the D and calling the play at this level is a huge responsibility and even complete badasses like Joy Fawcett are uncomfortable (and often ineffective) doing it. Is Boof going to make mistakes? Of course...EVERYONE is sometimes, that's just reality. Unfortunately Boof's always the last line of defense before the keeper (and sometimes just plain the last line of defense) so her few mistakes are often costly, and we all notice them. Yes, she had an own goal against Washington, on a play where she was playing in a game situation with a "rookie" (since Dawn didn't play last season) keeper for the very first time. Sorry, but in my book that's hardly the same level of own goal as kicking the ball past the keeper you've played with for years in the quarterfinals of the World Cup or something like that. Boof and Dawn miscued. It sucks. It happens. Get over it. It's as much Dawn's fault as Boof's, because her instructions to Boof were not clear. The keeper calls the shots in that situation--that wasn't Boof not being clear in her instruction to Dawn. But come on... it was ONE goal, in ONE game. When was Boof's last own goal prior to that? Anyone? Yeah, I can't tell you, either, so it must have been one heck of a long time ago. So seriously, what's up with the "I've heard that her communication hasn't been all that lately"? From who? Because if you have a direct line and specific examples, I'd honestly love to know. PLEASE, set me straight if I'm wrong. In the meantime, this is my reality: from where I sit at the games, I get great audio from the field. As much as I love all the cheering and drumming during the game, I also love when it's mostly quiet, because then I can hear Boof loud and clear. I'll admit, I'm a silly romantic about soccer, and I LOVE to hear Boof direct the play on the field when I can hear her, because it's like...part of the pulse of the game. Her directions are quick, precise, and positive. She encourages teammates, calls out the opposing plays as she reads them, keeps her defensive line intact. I'd seriously pay extra money to have a mic on Boof every game and have a headset I could listen to her on (same is true for anyone playing the same position), because I think it's fascinating to hear her call the play. Yeah, I'm a total geek like that. I just feel like I get a greater understanding of the game as a whole when I'm able to hear her. You know what I noticed at this last game that really peeved me? I had a good stretch during the second half where I could hear Boof loud and clear. This is what I heard: "Brandi! Back up and pinch in!" Can we all figure out what that means? I hope so. But this is what I saw: Brandi move UP and OUT and...WOOPS! her player ran right past her! What a surprise, Boof was there to cover for her AGAIN. Who's at fault for communication there? I saw it happen 3 or 4 times when I could clearly hear Boof's instructions and I saw Brandi completely ignore them. Yeah, that's why I'm not sold on Brandi as MVP and I'll admit it. Being the "best" player on your team doesn't give you liberty to just do whatever you want to do, and that's what we keep seeing. It's part of why I'm completely sold on Frenchie at left back over Brandi. Simply put, Frenchie, even with all her leadership and playing ability knows her role on the field and LISTENS to Boof, immediately follows directions (Boof says it...and before she even finishes speaking I see Frenchie shift and comply), and acts in a complimentary (not conflicting) way with what Boof is doing and saying. We can't have a defensive line out there with each person doing her own thing, and that's been a large part of our problem this season. The D needs to function as a unit. But the communication problems are not Boof's fault entirely if she's speaking clearly and other people are just too special or whatever to listen. Perhaps my most major criticism of Boof is just this--she won't get up in Brandi's face (or Thori's face for that matter) if she starts doing her own thing, and maybe that's something Boof'll need to work on in order to be more effective. How many times have we seen Boof, Di and Frenchie on the same page this season...and Thori and Brandi going something else entirely? I'm not making it up--go back and watch some tapes if you have them and look for it. Someone needs to check Brandi, and Boof just hasn't been willing to do it (that I've seen in games, anyway--who knows what happens in the locker room or at practice). But seriously, would any of us on here really be willing to take it to Brandi? Would even I dare go up to her and tell her what I think of her play? Nope, probably not, so I can feel for Boof there. That's a hard thing to ask her to do. Despite that possible shortcoming, I still feel that Boof's by far the best on our team at what she does. We need her on the field. Always. SomebodyOrOther's "wishful thinking" starting lineup for Wednesday: Borgman-Bryan-Lindsey-French Di Sissi-Venturini Pretinha Katia-Chastain And ICK to Heather Mitts! Am I the only person on the planet who finds her quite seriously UNattractive?? She can play soccer, but I don't really want to have to see her mug everywhere. I hope Pichon plays Wednesday. BRING IT PHILLY! The Rays can and should prove that we deserve to be in the playoffs! Edited to add: Geez, I've just re-read my post. Can you tell I'm passionate about this stuff or what? I think I seriously need to get a life. GO RAYS!!!!
There's Amy Taylor. Anyway, I'll see what I can do. I gave the last t-shirt I got to soccerhead, so I'll see if I can snag an extra. If I don't, granted, it's yours. I am not keen on t-shirts since I tend to lean towards jerseys but since you mentioned it first... I'm trying to make this one, depending on what happens tomorrow... Cheers!
I agree with Somebodyorother on her post. Lindsey has been playing well in the back and has been consistent. Except for the own goal, which came at an unfortunate time, I agree that she is covering everyone's butt when a mistake is made. I think there are times when Brandi is either 1 - doing too much coaching - 2 - doing too much complaining and 3 - not listening or working as a team player. For as much as I like Di and Thori, I think French has better service out of the back and is more threatening offensively. Thori may be faster but you also don't want to kick it out of bounds a lot! As far as Mitts - I am tired of her face too. I am all for soccer publicity, but what's with all the make-up for the games and get the camera off her when she doesn't have the ball. As seen this week, all teams can be beat. I hope we get the 3 points this week. I am not even going to bother with my hope for a starting lineup - Ian might have looked brilliant as a coach last weekend, but there are some players who should have been in the game.
Don't worry about Mitts, she'll miss the match due to the recurrence of her hip pointer she got at nats trainning camp. Big news is Charge traveled west on Monday, much earlier than east coast teams usually do.