Pre-Game Thread: Sat. 9/8 - Dynamo v RSL [R for previous games]

Mullan is hurt now? Wahoo. So, if I'm not mistaken, any or all of the following may not be available for this game:

Waibel
Mullan
Davis
Holden
Ching
Dalglish

Did I miss someone? Should I add Cochrane to the list or is he good to go? Given the fact that nearly every team shooting for the SS has games in hand over us and/or more points, I'm pretty much forgetting about it for now. If it comes back to play based on other results, fair enough but it seems too far away now. What we really need to do is concentrate on winning the West which won't be an easy task given Chivas USA's 4 games in hand. The last thing I want to do is go to LA for the WCF...that scenario reeks of payback. Anything less than a win against RSL and this home stand will have to be considered a failure.

 

While it may be 'College Night', I think these are only around UH. Are these being posted/advertised anywhere else (Rice, for example?) Just curious into how well the AD Department for the Dynamo is doing...

FYI, the back of the Daily Cougar has an awesome version of this that covers the whole page. Pretty sweet.

 

As if there's another college in Houston. Pfft.

 

Hey Guys and Girls, I will be missing out on the Game Saturday night due to a pressing military matter that will have us working this weekend( LATE). We need to beat the ever loving tar outta RSL. Bandido next time a player talks smack or does something goofy in your direction throw one of the 5 star guys at them, hahaha.

 

With all these injurs what does our staring squad look like? Are we gunna see any rookies?

 

Cheers for that, which is good news!

 

OK, so I just heard about this in the last couple of weeks and apparently, if you have one of these slingboxes you can watch games and programs that are showing at home when you're out of town or at work or anywhere on your computer. I think you can also give close friends and family (people you trust ) access to your slingbox and they can watch those local programs from wherever they are. So here's the link to the website:

http://us.slingmedia.com/page/home

I'm gonna read more about it.

 

Given the current situation in the standings, this is a must win IMHO. Anything less than 3 Points is unacceptable even with all the injuries.

Come on you Orange!!

 

Chivas and DC gave us a break last night. There is no choice, but to capitalize on it with a win this weekend.

 

Part of me wanted DC to win because deep down I think the Supporters Shield is going to be very very difficult to win after our last two results. Regardless a Chivas USA draw doesn't really help us. They still have three games in hand and now a two point deficit.

 

It helps us a lot more than a win would have. If they draw all of their games in hand, they'll have a one point lead on us when it all evens out but we play them one more time too. I'm more than OK when Chivas USA draws...especially when they do it at home.

 

I have a slingbox and it is awesome! I use it when on vacation and at work. It is also how I catch up on all the stuff I DVR while at work.

 

It sounded like a great way for some of our remote fans (England, for instance) to be able to log into the slingbox of a friend or family member and watch a quality image on their computer. Sure beats radio feeds and game trackers!

 

True but it also means giving access to my internal network at home. Something I would be unsure about even to myfriends. Mainly because they are not very computer literate and I don't want them mucking up my DVR. If there was a way for me to just stream the broadcast then I would be more open to doing it. Let me research that a bit today.

 

No kiddin. I can't believe they gave up two goals at home, much less tied. That was bizarre, especially the Shitvas 1st goal. Perkins and his CCC Syndrome....

 

From the game report on MLS, here's the injury status:

I'm still pretty sure that they made a mistake, and it should be Steve Wondolowski, not Chris, who has the ankle sprain. Also, these injuries are typically reported on Tues/Wed during the week, so they are not always the most up to date. But, if we believe this report, then it's pretty much the same people available to play as last week, except that Jaqua is available and Ashe may not be. The good news is that it looks like Mullan should be ok.

So, there are really 13 or maybe 14 players to choose from in the starting lineup:

Onstad, Wells
Barrett, Cochrane, Ianni, Robinson, Mulrooney
Clark, DeRosario, Mullan, Jaqua, Ngwenya, Wondo, maybe Ashe


Assuming Dom was happy with how Cochrane played right defender, then I would expect to see this lineup;

Onstad
Cochrane -- Ianni -- Robinson -- Barrett
Mullan -- Mulrooney -- Clark -- DeRosario
Ngwenya -- Jaqua

Off the bench: Wondo, Ashe if healthy


But, if Dom wants to get a bit more offense from the right back spot, maybe he would put Mulrooney back there and go with:

Onstad
Mulrooney -- Cochrane -- Robinson -- Barrett
Mullan -- Clark -- DeRosario -- Ashe/Jaqua
Ngwenya -- Jaqua/Wondo

Off the bench: Ianni, Ashe/Wondo


I would prefer to see more offense on the field, and to me that means putting Mulrooney in at right back. I think Clark and DeRo in the middle of the field also create much more offense than Mulrooney/Clark, and also like DeRo in the midfield better than at forward. I guess we'll see tomorrow night.

 

can't wait for this match. I say we injure a few more guys, who cares about the score

 

As an RSL fan, let me be the first to say Boooooooo! I am looking forward to a good match - injury free.

 

I really don't like this lineup, but it's the one I expect to see. Ianni, for whatever reason, had kind of an off-day (understatement...Dom was screamin and cursin him out...jeeze). The right side of the D is just way to inexperienced. That's what's great about having Waibel or Mulrooney there: both are vets and smart (especially Waibel). Any idea who will be on the LM for RSL? Should we worry?

Ditto here. The only difference I'd make is put Jaqua as ST and Wondo on the left. For the XI, he's proven to be a better MF than ST. This would definitely give the offense a bit more umph...something we really need as we haven't been hittin the net lately. I still would like to see Dom and/or Spence sub earlier and, if we have the game in hand, let some of the rookies have a shot. See what they can do with 5-10 minutes. At least, those that are promising (Hayden, Chewie, etc)

 

Blackpool FC fan here wishing you all the best for the game on saturday.
Hows Dalgleish? Is he out for long?

 

Welcome, southshorepool and thanks!

Paul is recovering from surgery on his ankle and we've had reports that he should be back sometime this month. Don't know how fit he will be though after all this time not playing. We're keeping our fingers crossed - we miss him!

 

Wasn't he out for 3 weeks? Seems like ages ago now.

And hello SSP!

 

I've been impressed with the speed Waibel's shown a few times this year, it seems like he has two new legs. Otherwise I agree, they're both good at exploiting their own strengths to get the job done. Well, except when Mulrooney freaks out and does one of those long back passes to the goalie. That usually creates more excitement they he wants.

(Aside about RBs:
Somewhere else I complained about the lack of quality right backs in MLS, I guess I forgot about Frankie Hejduk. He's about the only RB in the league I'd consider as part of a trade. Only downside is his ability to get hurt... but right now it wouldn't stand out too much on this team. And who would we giveup anyway?)