Good stuff, good stuff. Perfectly satisfactory explanation as to why Rhine is starting. Now, fs Rhine pairs best with Kreis, and EJ keeps scoring highlight reel goals in practice, why does Cerritos seem to be the first choice of the bench? And yes, just knowing there's no game this weekend is putting my into withdrawls. Good thing there's a Nats game Sunday. Oh, and tell Kevin Lindstrom that he's got the Fire WAY to high in the power rankings. They've managed to beat up on the Rapids at home and a San Jose team missing like 5 starters before the game, and lost 2 more during the game. I think the Quakes ended up with only the kid they signed 2 days prior left on the bench.
Persumably it is becasue he has not been producing in games. Or maybe Cerritos is better able to come in and turn it up for 20 minutes or so. But you would have to ask Jeffries.
True. Aside, from the New England game, EJ hasn't been that useful out there. Then again, I'd say Cerritos hasn't been that useful either. (aside from the well-taken PK). I mean, has he even had a shot on goal from the run of play? I'm not criticizing Cerritos over EJ, i'm just hoping you could shed some insight as to why. (now that you've revealed to us why Rhine has won the 2nd forward job, at least for the moment) Loved the report. Thanks again. Keep up the great work! Oh, before I forget, have you heard anything about the rumored Dallas/Colorado midfield player trade? Page 4 of this thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=50247&perpage=15&pagenumber=4
Rhine having won the second forward spot is a relative term. The search is still on for a forward, and I think the stater opposite Jason will be week to week for the most part. As for the Colorado thing... I read that... I hear lots of things, but nothing specific in reguard to Colorado and the Burn.
Rhine should work better with Jason, now. He's been playing with him a LOT MORE and for a lot longer. But, what is his potential? I haven't seen any potential yet. We do need more diagonal runs. Why isn't this being trained by the coaches? Sigi's UCLA and Galaxy teams have always run good diagonals, even in the midfield when they are coming down field quickly. Their forwards and mids run S patterns when running down field without the ball. It works.
When you hear Jason talk about his "reactions" to another forward coming into camp, he mentions a few "egos" that exist in that position, including himself, of course. Out of all the 'other forwards' Jason plays with, Rhine is the most unselfish, and that lends itself well to Jason getting the ball more, as opposed to the other forwards who are used to being on the end of things. While this kind of play does not suit EJ or Cerritos, it suits Kreis, and he's the only forward 'putting it in the net' on a consistent basis. Advantage Rhine... but what about another forward coming in and *serving* Jason's game? Would the Burn management and fans be patient enough to let the new forward and Kreis "work things out"? If this new "impact" forward is to be accepted by Jason and keep Kreis from wanting to be traded - does that mean he'll have to be a more-skilled Bobby Rhine?.. does it mean that Jason is better off wanting to play with Rhine, stay mediocre as a team - in order to serve HIS ego?
It seems to me the question is answered in one, simple way. What is the average goal output of Kreis/Rhine to Kries/Graziani? If the latter is higher, then Rhine simply is the wrong man for the position. If Kries personal output went down when he was paired with Graz, but the pair as a whole scored more goals, then Kries should swallow his own ego.
"It's difficult because I can sit here and say that I'm doing decently, but the bottom line is that the team's not," he said. "I'm going to always judge myself by what the team does, so looking over it all, I'm not doing well enough. If I was, this team would be performing a bit better and we'd have a better record." Jason Kreis, from the same article. http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/sports/6010452.htm Might as well forget Kreis/Graziani.
The best pairing with Kreis El Jefe, this may need a separate thread, along with the last couple of posts here... you decide. I've inserted a "Post subject" if you want to separate this topic. From the same Star Telegram article: Kreis has started every match this season, but he has been paired with three different forwards in the seven games. Swift and coach Mike Jeffries have made no bones about the fact they are shopping for another game-breaking forward. "It's always going to be a little bit of a tense situation," Kreis said. "All of us have egos and beliefs in ourselves and the guys around us. We know he's been looking for another forward since the preseason, so we know that if you don't perform he's going to be looking for someone else and that's just life." Kreis, 30, suggested before the season that, physically, he might not make it to the 2005 season when the club opens its new $65 million soccer complex in Frisco. Seems to me we either serve Jason now and trade EJ (unless he's perfectly willing to stay here, near home, and be content with a relegated sub role until he's "The Man" after Jason steps down), or trade Jason to a club that shows promise of a championship within the next two years.
Trade Jason? Does anyone believe that EJ / Rhine / Cerritos or Mystery Man can step up and replace Kreis goals? I don't. Mystery Man maybe - if that person is the second coming of Carlos Ruiz. I don't see that happening. In 2000 Kries and Graziani combined for 26 goals (K 11 / G 15) In 2001 Kries and Graziani combined for 18 goals (K 7 / G 8) In 2002 Kries and Rhine combined for 20 goals (K 13 / R 7)
We all know that Jason's production falls off at the end of the season, no matter what the combination we've had in the past. Do we need a high profile striker to carry the load if this happens again? I would say yes. Can we find such a striker? Highly doubt it. Does this mean we won't be seeing a championship with Jason Kreis in Red and Black? Maybe not until an EJ or other combination takes over after Kreis no longer wears the Red and Black. This, of course, would take time. Do we have the patience? ... ? Hard questions, ever tougher to ponder as each season goes by with us failing in the playoffs.
Since Sigi's been in the league they have the best record in MLS. I saw one of his teams tear up a superior SMU team in the quarterfinals at SMU one year. Even the SMU players and head coach admitted that UCLA's superior offensive tactics kept SMU's defense confused. Anyway, when you are watching pro soccer games look for diagonals and you should see their value. Also, look at the times when even a short diagonal could get a player open and allow an easy way to get him the ball. Also, for L.A., it has worked well this year. That isn't why they are not winning games on an EIGHT game road trip and a lot of other trips playing in tournaments before and during the season. To me, they also have one problem like we have. Only one forward that has been effective.
Graziani's team's record in the playoffs, 1999: 3-3 Graziani's team's record in the playoffs, 2000-2002: 0-6-1
Well, we didn't do so hot in the 2002 playoffs ourselves. I am not suggesting anything - someone asked so I looked it up. By the way - what is Kreis' playoff record? 7-14-2. Our overall playoff record is 7-14-2. What's our playoff record with Graziani? 3-7-1 What's our playoff record without Graziani? 4-7-1 We've won 2 playoff series while losing 7. We have the worst playoff record in league history. What's my point?
Maybe that we need to do better in the playoffs? I guess that we at least make it every year. Perhaps that and the lack of a you suck allocation is the real reason we don't advance. When the defenses get tighter we don't have that high profile star to put the team on his back. Graziani almost could, but he alos had Jason to take some of the man marking off of him. We need another forward to step up and divide attention or a midfielder to make passes that are impossible to finish.