. . . ummmmmm I would love to help, but I am too busy getting my mustache styled at the Willowbrook Mall . . . .
Well, as I saw it, Clint nearly sprung two Fire players on breakaways with crappy passes. He frustrates me so much. Geez, at least Jusko and Woly got a sniff of the goal last night. And I'm not defending them much, either. Clint had nothing. Not a single threatening move or pass for 79 minutes.This happens way too much. I'd say "play him in midfield" but he loses the ball way too much, I'm not sure that's the answer either. At any rate, I'm still going to look back at the "Miracle Metros" who won all these games late. We've got one more tournament to play.
I think the problem with Mathis at this point is that he is just overanalyzing too much, instead of just reacting to the situation. He is thinking too much, trying to make the perfect pass, when we don't need that. I personally feel that his post-game comments show, that his slump has gotten to him. Compare the quotes of this game, to the ones he gave last year after the Zambrano incident, and during the WC in response to Arena, especially after he played that well in the warm up matches (stupendous germany match, cracker of a shot against Ireland, etc.) At least he's trying. His lack of scoring chances against Dallas wasn't because he didn't put the effort in. He made at least 6 very long runs, where if the ball had been put in the air, Mathis would have probably been free on goal. He also made some defensive stops. By the end, we subbed in Magee and Jusko, and Mathis was playing in the midfield with Gueverra. Hopefully he gets his confidence back. That's what's key, because he has not been able to be the fulcrum of our offense recently (not that we've played well recently except for the SJ match). He needs to get his head back into the game. We will not go far with Woly and Magee starting up top. I like that they work hard, but them simply making runs is not going to magically score us goals, and solve the midfield problems.
i love watching edgar play. he moves the ball so beautifully and i love seeing him go completely past a man. i also love to see them go into an area i can't see and wonder who will win the ball and edgar pop out with it. when i get my new metro jersey, i'm definatly putting his name on the back. i saw he got injured last night but i didn't see how it happened. could anyone fill me in if they don't mind. o and one last thing. i loved listening to the esc. when i was walking into the stadium, i heard them singing and playing drums and my heart lifted. you guys kick ass
And I'm going to look at them as the team that spent all of these games being unable to score for 89 minutes, only to squeak out a tie. I love Bob, he's done a great job with our team, but I think lauding them as the cardiac kids masks the fact that in a lot of those games our inability to score during regulation- especially during that nutty 45 minute thing called a first half- is pretty annoying to watch. Especially for the home fans. Woly hitting a world class cracker in stoppage time is great, but winning 2-0 by scoring early and holding the lead is also allowed in MLS rules. Look at these stats: We've played 14 home games, getting 19 points (5-5-4) of a possible 42. That's the second worst record in the league, behind only Dallas. We've scored 16 home goals, worst in the league (DC is next at 17). We've allowed 17 home goals, about middle of the pack, but we're a negative 1 goal differential at home, again worst in the league except for Dallas. We can all call the marketing department crap for not having more fans at the games, but the team has to take a bit of the blame on that as well. I brought 3 fans to the first game of the year, we lost and they haven't been back. A friend of mine brought two new soccer fans to the game on Saturday, they tied in a very forgettable game. There have only been a few games of those 14 that would make anyone want to come back to the park. You could argue that of our three best played home games, two of them were played at Rutgers. Our road record is the second best in the league (6-3-5, 23 points with a +5 goal differential), and that's something to be very proud of, especially from a young team that has spent a large part of the year switching lineups and juggling new players in and out. No one can doubt our team's hustle and grit, and that's shown up in the road record. But again, how many of those goals were scored because we were fit playing against weaker teams? Maybe our conditioning has been key, who knows. Bradley should get credit either way for putting a team that doesn't quit on the field every night (first metro coach to ever do that), but as the coach the blame lands on his door just as squarely for being a .500 home team. The question remains why we can't score at home, why we can't play better at home. I guess we'll all chalk it up to Mathis, injuries and some inconsistent play all around, but losing the open cup final 1-0 at home was a fitting microcosm of the season. A lot of effort, a lot of chances, but no goals and a home loss. It doesn't matter who played better or who attacked more, at least to me. They celebrated a trophy in our house because we couldn't score 1 goal in 90 minutes at home, and that's what I'm taking away from the game. Yes, it's great we made it this far, but surely 1 goal at home wasn't too much to ask.
Jamison, I can't argue any of your points. You are very right. Metro '03 are a seriously flawed team, but I kind of accepted that a while back. Now, I just sit back and pray that they can pull something out. I'm angry with the lack of scoring, and missed penalties, especially at home. I'm frustrated that Mathis has not scored on a single bomb all year. I'm still cursing that Juskowiak header off the bar vs. Dallas because, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking that maybe that could have gotten his confidence going. We have to bleed for goals every single night, no matter if we're playing Dallas or Chicago. So, I agree wtih you, Jamison. But, what can we do now except hope this team has one or two Hail Mary plays up its sleeve? You know our playoff games, no matter whether we finish #2 or #4, are going to be excruciating nail-biters. We haven't had an easy game all season, why expect one now? So, I remember the Miracle Metros and continue to pray. And I do this knowing, we'll have some new, important players next season. We'll have Mathis-Moreno-Howard money to work with. Hopefully, we'll have the same competitive drive, but more talent. But that's for next year.
In a nutshell. You can't simply shrug that off, saying 'that's soccer, the ball is round,' etc. ad nauseum. The result unacceptable, and I, for one, have had enough. Eight seasons of mediocrity! It has become a habit with this club, regardless of personel changes. I have yet to buy a season ticket for '04.
Yeah, but look how much better the mediocrity is getting! Kidding. I've put this game behind me (or tried to, anyway). I reserve the right to be pissed for 24 hours, then you have to move on. I will be there Saturday, of course, cheering for the boys. Wednesday brought me back down to earth, yet again, but life as metro goes on. I have accepted the reality of the 03 Metro vistula got long ago. My tirade above aside, there have been some great moments this year (both games in DC, the game in New England, Wolystuta and the 2 USOC games) and next year should be even better. Looking at Chicago beat us lets you know that Bradley can find winning players. If he can find a few more for us this off season, I do think we will end up on the right side of one of these games, hopefully next year. I think we're at the beginning of a good run, we just have to be smart about not phucking it up (getting over priced "names" that don't produce or decepticon lazerbeaking the coach into quitting). Being a fan means you occasionally take one in the nuggets, and we took one Wednesday (but just look how small that loss looks when compared to the Red Sox loss last night). I won't give you some "no pain, no gain" speech about how you can't get the reward of winning without the risk of losing, but we all know the deal. It's easier to not care than to suffer, but the suffering is what it's all about. I honestly believe we will eventually win one, and I hope you and I will both be there to get sh!tfaced that night and call in "champions" for work the next morning.
For the field of dissary and rubble that OZ left, yes we have come far. There are lots of positives. Gaven, Woly, Magee, Lissi, Pope, Guevara... Bradley, Rico is starting to play with killer ball control Walker- who woulda thought that we'd ever get a keep to stand in for Timmy and do so well. However, it is very frustrating to see such a lack of shots on goal and such poor finishing game after game. Faria used to take like five shots to get one goal and then he went bonzo afterward, cheering on the fans. He even got a card for excessive goal celebration. Not hyping him, just remembering how often he was able to shoot. Yes, we can display that never say die attitude, we can pull out a tie or a one over win at the very end. But is it too much to ask to see the boys have a go at the damn goal once in a while.... in the first half. Is it too much to ask to see at least one person rush the box when somebody else takes a shot, all the time every single shot. Results come from goals and then only (PKs withstanding) from shots taken. We really need to start pulling the trigger more! The team that really wants to win shoots more. It's just that simple. I'm not talking strategy here, just effort where it really counts.
Hey cow chip... How is it living in one of the most pathetic states in the country. The other night you got me when I was pissed, now I am just laughing at your poor miserable existance. You are very good at repartee, right.. The fact remains that you have nothing constructive to say. Most likely you are angry cause your best buddy Timothy McVeigh is gone.
Re: Re: Post-game, Post-mortem. (R) Well if ever there was a reason to put this thread out of its misery, this last gem from Mr. Segroves is it.
And you are shocked that the post that you incited is still going on...go home and *#*#*#*# your sister like the rest of your neighbors. You say McVeigh is a New Yorker, but all of your comments make it clear that you two are kindred spirits
What we have also learned is that all you do is troll. You don't have a purpose in life. I looked at the last 20 posts for the fire and you aren't there.... Go ahead, try and come back.... Come on gag factor
Im not even a Metro fan, but as a fan of the league, I would implore you to stick with it. Fans like yourself, who actually CARE about their team and have passion for them, are exactly what the league needs. As a fan of the NYRangers, NY Mets and Tampa Bay Bucs (born and raised in NY, lived in Tampa for 7-8 years), I cannot TELL you how satisfying it was when those teams won. If I heard the chant "NINETEEN FORTYYYYYYYYYY" ONEEEEEEEEEEE MORE TIME .............. i would have gone crazy. So go ahead and buy your tickets. Curse me out when you see me show up in NY for a game, and come and curse me out when you come to the ones at RFK. But don't give up.
Re: Re: Post-game, Post-mortem. (R) One on one is being a coward..Excuse me *#*#*#*#*#, but one on one is how men deal with issues, not by being such a wimp that they have to post all messages to a group....Oh no this is what he said to me... Grow up...what i was trying to do was get a personal problem off to where it belongs...as a one on one...but apparently you can't handle that..