I was asked on the ride home from the swamp if I had to blame one person for the loss, who would it be. After thought, my answer was. Bob Bradely. Quite simply Jusko is a waste - he is too slow and makes no contribution whatsoever. I would imagine that is clear to anyone that follows the game. Even someone who doesn't know the game would see that he was no athleticism and can't do what the others on the field are doing. Becasue he started Junko, Bradely passed on starting Woly or Magee. With this being our first Championship of any kind, one would think that a good coach would go with the odds. Both Woly and Magee have scored. You populate the field with the guys who have the most chance of putting it in the net. I feel that was the worst decsion, beside signing that jerk in the first place, Bob has made all season. What an obvious, stupid and costly mistake to make. What ever else Coach Bob achieves, that decsion is more than a ripple in the matrix.
Understandable Metro fans feel bitter about last night but it is not fair to start another round of bashing Mathis suggesting he was the reason we lost. Soccer is team work, one player does not make the game nor break the game. We did not win because we do not have a lethal striker, Justwalk was beat down by defenders repeatedly at goal mouth. How I wish we had Ruud van Misterlrooy. Now let's look at the bright side: 1. Bradley rebuild this team from last year ashes He leads Metros to 2nd place of E.Conf and final of Open Cup. Bradley is the man! 2. Magee, Gaven, Clark, Woly and Edgar all shine under Bradley. Guevara and Walker: brilliant picks by Bradley. Everyone else on the team deserve praises, too. Boca boys and Justwalk: did not contribute. Useless. Richie's work ethic admirable but not effective (height disadvantage) We should have kept Andy Williams. I was surprised when he was traded off. 3. We beat Earthquakes at Spartan 2-0. Which says we can beat any team if we play well. So there is still hope for MLS cup. 4. All we need is a lethal striker. Since we can not get Ruud van Nistelrooy, how about somebody like Damani Ralph? Bradley should start searching while continue to maximize Woly/Magee's potential and ready for next year's line up.
I disagree, I think Magee was intended to come on to be a second half spark, because Bradley knew the Fire would be conservative, that the chance of a goal would be low, and that the game might go into OT. Call it a tactical blunder, but its not absurd. Also, Magee has consistently been tossed around like a heroin whore at a frat party by the Fire defense. The Jusko insertion into the starting lineup gave more size and presence and more of a foil to Mathis then Magee provides. -It didn't work, fire the coach who got us here!!
Congrats on Turning the Season Around. Not trolling at all, just curious as what Metro fans were thinking the morning after. Honestly you out played us the entire match, but those 30 seconds that led to our goal. You were attacking like mad! I, too, think Mathis is done. He seemed to be frustrated and slow from the word go. How old is he, anyway? But I must give the Metros and your fans credit because you really turned your season out of the depths of hell and made yourselves quite competitive.
Re: Re: Congrats on Turning the Season Around. Doh! You are quite right. You did have the ball an awful lot.
trust me...this statement is nothing but pure ignorance. i've lived in both states and oklahoma has a lot going for it....beyond the nation's best college football program. you eastcoast boys need to travel more...you might learn something.
The Metros fell apart when they lost Howard. Walker is good but it is apparent that Howard was way better and held the team together. Maybe he is this year's MVP.
Simonbirch - "Jusko insertion into the starting lineup gave more size and presence and more of a foil to Mathis then Magee provides" Flip answer - Yeah, like putting a bridge support beam out on the field. Thoughtful answer - When would you ever consider starting anyone that makes absoletley no contribution whatsoever to a line up? Of course we have been using the late second half spark strategy and Woly for one has made it work. Pairing Mathis up top with that lazy excuse for a professional athlete more than dilutes our already limited shooting capacity. ... there were other options.(start Magee, Woly off the bench - Lissi instead of RW and Clarke playing more attacking- insert clever idea here - insert ok idea without Junko here - whatever) If you think Jusko was good, then starting him up top with Kenny Arena would have been a good match. Me, I prefer watching a game with more passion, enthusiasm and attitude. Eddie Gaven has more of that in his untied left shoelace than that big lug. This game was important. Would we have won?... don't know...would we have had a better chance with someone else instead of Junko - yes definately yes!
The criticism of Juskowiak is unwarranted. Chicago probably has the best central defense in the league with Curtin and Bocanegra. Bob was betting a big guy like Jusko would be more able to bang around with them better than a kid like Magee or a string bean like Wolyniec. Jusko has come close to scoring on multiple occasions with only a crossbar or a tackle from a keeper stopping him. Versus Dallas, in particular, he was very strong after coming in in the second half. I completely understand Bob starting him last night and he did what he could. How many chances did the midfield set up for him? Besides Gaven (who has the ability to leave opponents in the dust but seems incapable of making that final pass), who was doing anything in the midfield? Richie Williams is also getting too much blame. The man is not an offensive player. He has a strictly defined role and performs it adequately, sometimes spectacularly. Last night was no different, except for some reason he was the only midfielder besides Gaven who wanted to run forward on the attack and thus was actually in position on some half-chances. Where was Clark or Mathis? This is where they should have been. Edgar had another strong showing at left back, Leitch at right. Both are proving they move forward as well as (in Edgar's case, better than) their predecessors at their positions, and both seem as solid in the back. Jolley and Pope are lifesavers. Guevara cannot take over a game by himself - he needs to play off the rest of the midfield. Clark was too far back most of the night, especially when you have Richie on the field as well. Mathis was the biggest disappointment. Woly, Magee, and Lisi did what they could as subs, you could sense the energy level change with them in the match. All is not lost but that was a terribly frustrating performance from many of the players we count on most to provide the spark we need. Offensive frustration is nothing new for this team, but when you need to guard against counters from guys like Beasley, Ralph, and Razov, it's that much tougher to commit players forward. That's why Mathis was so key in this match and why his performance was the most disappointing. He had to be more involved. Everyone else on Metro played very average, unremarkable games. That's not enough to beat the best team in the league.
I'm not from the East Coast originally, but can you list the top ten things Oklahoma has going for it?
Chicago was only "fine-tuning" coming into this season? If trading away Nowak, Stoitchkov, Kovalenko, and Wolff is your idea of "fine-tuning," then I'd hate to see your repair bills. Do you drop a new engine into your car every 15,000 miles as a "tune up"?
Davis: 6 goals, 5 assists in 1910 minutes this season. Magee: 7 goals, 2 assists in 1702 minutes this season. It's a push, more or less. The trade worked out well for both teams.
A tough one to take. Give Chicago credit, as they were all over the place most of the night. Mathis did seem to have the effort, but his execution was off. Bad passes, could not control the ball . . . As was said earlier, he did seem to be up to his old tricks of yelling at teamates, refs, etc . . . I also agree that Juskowiak was useless. He seemed to remind me of Hurtado circa 1999 (Not being able to get around anyone, and falling when challenged). Not a good memory to recall. However, I do want to say that fromy seats in section 137 (there were probably 5 people in that section total) that the ESC was the real hero of the night. There was one time in the second half when the Metros had possesion in the Fire end and were coming forward and the ESC singing was really starting to kick in. The feeling it gave me was awesome. It made me think that we might have the momentum to score one, even if the possesion did not last more than a few moments. GREAT JOB by the ESC. Thanks.
Hi Alex Comas! Are you a free agent? We're in desperate need of a forward.....please come back! Call MFO immediately!
Most of those guys weren't available last season due to injury. The core of this team is the same as last year along with the return of injured players like Armas. I would consider what they've done to be more "fine-tuning" than a wholesale change. Only Ralph is really new to their starting 11.
studsup your a smart guy For some reason our team plays as a unit without Mathis on the field. Guevara steps up to the plate and plays a lot better, he takes the leadership role and the responsability to win the game. With Mathis out there everyone seems to play for themselves and not the team, maybe they affraid of his mouth, i don't know. A change is needed for Mathis he needs a different team a new environment, i hope this is his last year here, it must be. I really enjoyed the Open Cup games, i hope we will get to see a lot more in years to come. The team played so much better once Mathis got red carded, it was a joy to watch. I hope more people will have a chance to experience the Open Cup it is different feeling when you know you have to win to move on to the next round its a different world. Playing at Yurcak field was super, A nice grass field, no football crap lines, cozy, just GREAT!!! it was a small taste of what we could have in a few years, i hope.
according to mlsnet.com the Open Cup Final and the Rapids-Guatemala game drew the exact same number of fans, and weather , now that is interesting http://www.mlsnet.com/games/03/tracker.php?gamename=10152003_ZZZCOL&version=recap Referee: Ali Saheli Referee's Assistants: -Jose Corro; Scott McCaslin 4th Official: Ben Chouaf Attendance: 5,183 Time of Game: 1:51 Weather: Cloudy-and-55-degrees http://mlsnet.com/games/03/tracker.php?gamename=10152003_CHIMET&version=recap Referee: Kevin Stott Referee's Assistants: -Nathan Clement; Craig Lowry 4th Official: Alex Prus Attendance: 5,183 Time of Game: 1:51 Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-55-degrees
Dude...the way Mathis played was not a factor in the loss. Had Mathis not played, we would have probably lost by a larger margin. Anyone else notice Mathis constantly SPRINTING all over the field. I remeber one time when he gave the ball away to a Fire player that was about 30-40 yards away (first half). Instead of standing there and complaining, he chased the Fire player that tried to start a counter. Sure Mathis fouled him (Mathis tried to steal the ball, could have been called either way), but what would have happened had he not fouled him? Maybe if Williams was playing his position, Clint wouldn't have needed to sprint back. He saw his error and tried to fix it. Next, Clint seems as if he wants to get the ball, and work some magic. I really don't see much wrong with that, except for the fact that once he gets the ball, he has absoultely NO ONE to pass to? Why? Because no one plays WIDE. The Metros were most dangerous when Bartolomeu, Leitch and Clark were playing fancy, and dribbling the ball at defenders out wide. That's the problem. It's not a lack of offense from Mathis, but a lack of wing play. This caused Mathis to play out wide several times (not that a forward can't roam on the wing, but he shouldn't be doing that in the midfield.) Maybe this could be the reason why Mathis hasn't been performing well. In 2000 and 2001, Mathis had Chung, Ramos and Villegas to give him the ball. Guevara isn't doing anything because no one is open on the sides. I've noticed that the only time they play with wingers is in the last 10-15 minutes when they are losing. And if you haven't noticed, this is the time when they are most dangerous. I mean, Bartolomeu's dribble down the left flank in the closing minutes was the reason for that Woly had that one header (I think it was header...whatever..it was good scoring chance). It seemed that ESC was really loud in the first half. For some reason (on FSW) it seemed that in the second half they were quite and the Barn Burners were louder.
Dude, there are no could have's, and maybe's but facts speak for themselves. Mathis got red carded in the NE game, Metros finnished the Revs off, then defeated DCU, and beat SJ 2-0 away. Maybe's and could have's mean nothing. Clint is poison to the team, open your eyes.
Mathis Yes, Mathis did have a few nice runs during the match which would be great if he were running track. Damn he should be running his *** all over the place considering Arena was in the crowd...he is done here and may be done else where unless he adjusts his attitude and get back to the ol' Clint Mathis.
Not to me Howard has better reflexes and might even have surer hands then Walker. But walker has done the job and them some.Walkers goal against per games is lower then howards. Walkers distribution was better then Howards when Howard played here. Too many low percentage punts from howard. He does not do that too much any more with Manchester.
What UP K-S 3rd???? Looking forward to losing to Wake Forest EVERY year for now on . . . . j/k ACC should be good, but will miss the Big East Tourney at MSG . . .