Meola--5.5 Some keepers would have stopped the header. Far post looked weak all game, but that's partly due to how much space San Jose had. Agoos--6 Average. Parke--6 Average; but I would like to know where he was on the breakaway when Gaven was the only player left defending. Mendes--7 A strong game strengthens his grip on a starting spot. Suarez--7 Gets a goal, gave some crunching tackles, and generally made the right side of the pitch look better. Why was he subbed out for Leitch? Is he not healthy? Magee--4 Needs to increase his speed if at all possible. Lisi--5.5 Non-factor. Gaven--6.5 Played two-way much more than usual. Never looked dangerous though, and he was the man marking both SJ goalscorers on those plays. SGR--6.5 Very good ball skills, lots of hustle, but doesn't have Guevara's vision. Shep was right that he should have been playing in the middle. Razov--5 Didn't get the ball. Unclear exactly whose fault that is since Ibrahim seemed to get a good number of touches. Ibrahim--5 He gets to the ball, but he can't do much with it. He may be fast, but he isn't fast enough to get the kind of time he needs to do something with the ball. Bob Bradley--5 He almost looked like he was going to cry at some points; he must see his coaching position flip-flapping out the window since his team played some dreadful soccer. Commentators--6.5 Right on the target that SGR needed to be in the middle, but we heard you the first time, all right? No need to say it every 10'. But maybe that way Bob will hear you? Final Thoughts: This team cannot create space to save its life. San Jose looked like they were high school kids playing keep away from a bunch of 10 year olds, and yet the MetroStars could barely complete a pass because they kept kicking balls to closely marked players. Look at the field around the 45'--there's oodles of space in the middle of the field and yet nobody running into it! Too many MetroStars passes are to stationary players rather than to space into which a player is moving. Practice all week should be playing two- touch soccer with the passes into space. Chung looked great out there tonight--he was always a class act with the Metros too, and I hope he picks up the MLS cup this season (assuming the Metros don't turn it around in the second-half of the season with a healthy Djorkaeff and Guevara), because he deserves it.
What? Gaven and SGR played as good as Parke? And honestly, do you ever give a rating better than 7? Mendez and Parke did all they could all game, and you could tell how frustrated Parke was getting when he realized he was practicially doing it all on his own. Gaven and SGR were non existent, and Gaven is in the middle of a strech that includes his worst three professional games of his career.
Yes. SGR provided whatever midfield presence we actually had. Gaven's 6.5 is partly because he improved in my opinion over last game by playing two-way much more than usual (for him). I'll agree that Parke probably had a better game than Gaven, but I still want to know where Parke was on the second San Jose goal. A basic guide to my ratings: 4--abysmal 5--should ride the pine 6--deserves another start 7--another team would realistically seek to trade for this player 8--Star 9--Super-Star So its true that I don't use 1-3 and 9-10 except in really exceptional circumstances. Do you really think that any of the players on the field tonight were realistic trade bait? Mendes came closest tonight. Parke and Mendes both looked very weak on through balls though. Fact of the matter is that the Metrostars are a slightly below average side, hence the 5 and 6 scores.
I was at the game last night and Suarez was the worst player on the field last night. Yes he created an own goal, purely by luck... he was crossing. We continually exploited the left side of the field and routinely beat him 1v1. Not only that he's a cancer with the rest of the team. After the first goal, where he missed his mark, he an Fat Tony got into it. Everytime there was a breakdown in defense it looked like he was blaming the rest of the team. On a team that does't seem to have much chemistry, are Suarez and Fat Tony really the answer?
Thanks for explaining your scoring system since you are the only person on the planet using it. Normally a 5 is a good solid MLS level performance with 1 representing the worst performance ever witnessed and a 10 the best performance ever witnessed. Most ratings should fall between 3-8 as they do with Soccer America and other publications ranking player performance.
He hurt his knee in his first half collision.. that's why he wore his knee in a brace when he came back on the pitch after the half..
I was at the game and was one of the few fans who was cheering for NJ (er... against SJ). My friends and the ppl behind us were all really, really impressed w/ Lisi, not that he did exceptionally well, just that he's got talent and seems to be one of the few "true #10" type players in the US. We also thoroughly enjoyed watching Ibrahim for the first 60 minutes, until he faded to non-factor status. I think last night was more of a case that SJ is starting to come together really well, so much so that I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they make it to MLS Cup if they keep things up and stay injury free. As an objective spectator, I thoroughly enjoyed last night's match. Quality soccer from both sides. It would've been even nicer if ya'll had been at full strength. (btw, where was Yuri?) At least ya'll should be happy that you're better than the Galaxy.
I was at the game aswell, and I think that the Metrostars midfield doesn't comeback and help their defense at all, that's exactly why we had players like Wade Barrett joining the attack, and really being a threat. Sorry guys, but Gaven and Razov where non-existent, but i appreciate an effort on Gaven's to comeback and help out on D, but he's an offensive player, and really can't do much on offense when he's busting his tail coming back and helping out on defense, and when he's the only player doing so. This Abbe Ibrahim kid has a tremendous work-rate and shows good ball skills, but tonight Califf and Robinson where just too much for him. But props to the Metrostars for finding a gem. I'm really impressed with Mendes and Parke, they look really young and energetic. What amazes me is how Mendes plays with virtually no grabbing or tugging and is still as effective as Parke, who often times is practically hanging on the opposing players back. I've glanced at the Metrostars board before and i've seen you guys don't really like Mark Lisi, i'm surprised because i was really impressed with the way he can pass, but just like Magee and Galvan Rey he didn't come back to help the defense at all, which is why i think he was subbed out for a more defensive player in Danilo Da Silva. I can tell you guys don't really like Magee and i can see why, he was really non-existent, and took alot of stupid dives. This Seth Stammler guy looks pretty good, why doesn't he get more minuets? I think you guys lacked a holding midfielder tonight. Sorry if i offended anyone but i'm just stating my opinion
Some on this board don't like Lisi. Others know better than to get them started, so we just stay quiet about Lisi. This goes 4X for Michael Bradley.
How baroque of you! Yah, Stammler's in his second year here, and you've just seen about as much of him as we have. Only Bob knows if he can play or not.
he seems fast though, sorry for jumping to conclusions, i don't know much about the Metrostars, i'm trying to learn more, i'm new to the MLS fan scene
Yeah, there's a reason why I don't post much with this handle...haha. Anyway, Lisi is an above average player in MLS, but he is NOT a defensive/holding midfielder. Last season, he was played out of position on the wing and injured and still managed to make a number of quality assists, but he is just terrible as a defensive player. I love the Metros, but I often hope that he will end up with a team that need his skill set more than we do.