Don't piss and moan about Garlick vs. Cannon. That is done. The Rapids real nemisis in this game was the ref and themselves. Once that first goal went in, they were demoralized. They got it together for Spencer's goal, and it was unfairly taken away. CC had two off the woodwork. Bad all around. Bye bye Tim Hankinson.
I'm inclined to try and find someone to blame for this, but the fact is, the Wizards finished the few opportunities they got in this series and the Rapids didn't. I had three hours to think driving back to my hotel after the game and maybe in the next few days I'll post some thoughts, but for now it¡¦s just these¡K The Rapids ability to score consistently is limited and almost non-existent when their opponents let the Rapids dictate the attack. The series was over 3 minutes in when the Wizards scored on Tuesday. At that point they could sit back and effectively eliminate the only real ability the Rapids have to score, namely the quick counter. The Rapid were also just play unlucky, how many posts and cross bars have they hit in the past months, at least two more tonight. Plus another called back on a foul No blaming the ref tonight, it's time to look inwards When did the back pass to the keeper become legal again? Whoops, sorry that was a crack at the ref. Seriously, I thought the ref tonight was as good as I've seen in MLS, not good, mind you, just as good as I've seen. No, it's not the Ref's, it's the Rapids. This was my first time sitting (actually standing) with the Rapids faithful, the drums, flags etc. I had a lot of fun and it was great to see the energy and enthusiasm continue for the entire game. Kudos' to Pablo for tossing his shirt and Cannon for throwing his gloves to the percussion group. Also to Crawford, Kingsley and Blake for coming over to acknowledge the fans after the game. Oh, and Garlick was not on the field, I assume he was back home, hopefully with a healthy wife and new baby. I'm guessing 1/2 the 10k listed as the attendance, were disguised as empty seats. The crowd was smaller than Tuesday night.
I just wanted to drop in and take my hat off to the Rapids fans that came to KC for the game. Aside from the result I hope you enjoyed yourselves in KC and have a safe trip home.
Yes but you have two fans who were on the trip who decided to run there mouths after the game walking back to there cars. You don't talk crap after a loss you put your head down and walk quietly back to your car. Agian nice showing and hopefully you will make the trip next year as well.
Calling off Spencer's goal ended the season for the Rapids. It was a terrible call - absolutely horrible - and Valenzuela (ref) had no business making it. Spencer was right in screaming his head off. Chung really looked like he was struggling out there. Hendo didn't have much of an impact, and what the hell and where the hell was Zi Zi playing? I thought Beckerman and Mastroeni actually played pretty well. Beckerman, tonight, was placing dimes at players' feet all over the field. Mastroeni was well positioned and showed some true class from his position. The defense was disorganized and scattered all night. Hart, Fraser, and Kotschau to me look out of their depth at the MLS level. Maybe it is the system they are playing in, I am not sure. Borchers looked OK, but not as good as other games I've watched him in. Hankinson should be dismissed.
Ya, I think it IS the system. I mean, Talley, Zavagnin, Garcia et al... that is not a more talented group than our midfield and defense But Gansler has them playing as a unit. They all have a role and they play it (Meola was good, better than either of our keepers, I mean he was GOOD). But KC comes with a plan. We don't seem to have an idea of how we are going to play, or even who we rely on. The keeper contreversy, Is it ZiZI or Carrieri? Two very different styles of players. Is Zizi a forward or a defender? Where is Darryl Powell in all this? Good teams play and force a reaction. All year we have been tinkering with line ups in response to the whims of Hankinson. Who looked good in practice, or who on the other team needs to be marked, or some other intellectual adjustment. I think you need to find a system that works for the personel you have and go with it. Hanki always seemed to be looking for the magic bullet.
Hankison should be given the BOOT! Well the season ended the way it started... with disarray,disfunctional coaching, and disappointment. Like I stated before on these boards , I respect all the members of the Rapids for getting as far as they did despite Tim's poor coaching. I hope he's finished with the organization and look forward to reading about it when it happens. This club deserves BETTER!!! As far as the match last night, everything has been said, I like the way"Gut Bomb" summed things up.
Well done Rapids fans I want to add my compliments to the Rapids fans who made the trip. You guys were loud and proud and probably deserved better. We'll complain about Talley's effort which crossed the line. You would be right to complain about Spencer's goal. Both should have counted. Again, congrats on your fans showing at Arrowhead. Good luck next season. You have an impressive team that took it to us in the first half, but the first goal took away a lot of your momentum in the second half.
Holy Crap! You guys can send Hendi back our way to KC if you think he has no speed. Our management made one of the biggest mistakes ever when they traded him (and Preki) away. He has phenominal speed and boat loads of endurance. We had a two edged sword on the field with him at one wing and Klein at the other. I'm sure other CO fans will agree you are an idiot.
I scouted the game for the Galaxy's next opponent. What a crazy match - could have gone either way. That's playoff soccer, when it comes down to crucial calls. I actually feel bad for Cannon - what a terrible way to return to MLS play - especially since he had such a good rep and record before. The coaching decision really put him in an awkward situation.
2 posts for Carrieri, Spencer goal called back, Chung blows a sitter... (Hey, where is that guy who was all over Chung's junk??? If you watch those last two playoff games, you could make a case for calling him "Black Sox"...) We had the run of play for 70% of the game... And all the pinheads looking to sub Carrieri in for Henderson must do crank, Carrieri isn't going to be playing both ways, plus the service to Henderson the past two games was downright disgusting, No speed??? *LOL* along with the trillion longballs to Spencer, it's amazing we mustered anything at all. ZiZi Roberts was in there to play with his back to goal, that's where he makes things happen, Talley almost put one in for us, because ZiZi slipped through 3 guys... Should have won this games... KC isn't impressive at all, and we didn't lose because of personnel... Kreonke better clean house within management, make this place an even more attractive place to come play. I think we should start making a shortlist for coaching replacements, and GM's...
BTW-> Replay is a beautiful thing, and so was Beckerman's clearance off the line... that ball wasn't over... no make up, just that the linesman should have been in the center off the park instead...
it was nice to see the nice turnout of the road warriors , enjoyed talking to the peolple that showed up to our tailgate...come back anytime you will always be welcome.... by the way after watching the repaly spencer's goal was good..............in the mls we need better officiating
If you haven't seen the movie "Almost Famous" (especially, the "Bootleg" extended version) you may want to skip to the next paragraph. Do you recall the seen where Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) is dancing slowly around in circles in the high school auditorium? That is the what immediately came to mind at about 6:15 as I watched Chris Carrieri, hands in pockets, alone, slowly move round in the center of Arrowhead Stadium. Scuffing the turf, in slow motion, walking around in circles. Blake and Kingsley were knocking the ball back and forth towards our side of the field. Vallow was getting warmed up in goal. Chris was alone, no one within 20 yards, no ball, swaying, back and forth, scuffling around. It was very odd. Ok, back to the game, more observations. -The Wizards had maybe 75 subs warming up before the game (okay, maybe not 75, but way more then the Rapids have during home games). -The Rapids momentum, which was bicycle kicked in the groin at the end of the first half, was not regained until mid point in the second half. -The first 20 minutes in the 2nd half, the Rapids offensive consisted of sending long balls directly to the head and feet of Wizard players. -Pablo played very well, and smart, in the last two games, okay, except maybe for the first 30 seconds of game 1 -The Rapids work rate in the first half was phenomenal, I'm not surprised it didn't last. Henderson was all over the place, most effectively getting back on defense so... -Henderson should replace Hart at right back. More in another thread -I thought ZiZi played better than given credit for here. He should have had an assist on a Chung goal. -Lack of finishing quality (dare I say easy) chances has been a problem all year and most notably the last two games. -If Chung nails that first goal, the Wizards are forced to push up and the game changes completely. -Of course if the Wizard guy doesn't volley that corner from 8 feet in front of the goal into Nebraska, the game would have been over sooner. -It was right in front of me, It was not an attempt to clear, it was a controlled pass back to Meola. My daughter thinks it rolled into the goal, I was too busy yelling "BACK PASS...BACK PASS" to notice. -The season is over, on to other things, like What Went Wrong and (with apologies to the Clash) Should They Stay or Should They Go now.
Chazz - Sorry another lengthy post, I hope you will bare with me. In hindsight It may not have been my best decision to include that thought. I was unable to edit it after reading your posting. Perhaps the 1400 miles of driving the past two days clouded my thinking. If I offended anyone (especially CC) I apologize. As for this: "You have taken every opportunity you could to "RAG" on Carrieri this season but this is pathetic". I think you have me confused with someone else. I've searched this forum for all posts I've made offering opinions on carrieri. Yes I've ragged on CC a few times recently (3 times total, all in the past month) but the majority of them have been positive. My comments are based on what I see and as you can tell, I've seen a lot of positive contributions from CC, but not recently. I found a couple of other references but I offered no opinions. Since I couldn't search on "CC" I browsed through most of my other posts concentrating on those that might including opinions. I don't think I've missed any. November 4 "I thought Zizi was more dangerous that CC, but considering how impotent CC was, that's not saying much." October 10 "Not a good match by CC or Spencer and ZiZi was worse" October 3 "Agreed, CC had one of his worst games the other night" October 1 "Was CC tripped in the 2nd minute in the box?" September 18 "yes Chung was wiped out. Earlier, he also blew a really good chance on a nice short cross from CC" September 2 "The defense has tightened up ...That is certainly true. ...Thor is the primary reason for the defensive turn around. Plus CC coming back and cleaning up the garbage late in the game " August 16 "I think the Rapids benefited from some favorable officiating, except for CC's goal called back for off sides, not real sure of that one." August 12 (referring to a Henderson volley) "Yes I recall a wonderful full volley early in the season, that went a bit high, one that would have been every bit as good as the one CC made which won goal of the week." July 16 "Zizi sits as CC and Spencer have become very dangerous" July 4 Trade? In order - Henderson (better then most below but he might get us something in return) - Fraser (ditto) - Rizo (I like him, but I'm the only one so ditto) - Trembley - Crawford - Blake - Hart - Sleeth Leave the rest alone June 28 I thought CC was dangerous but couldn't get and didn't make any breaks for himself. June 30 "this whole CC vs Spencer late game sub thing is tricky. Except for a defensive sub (I wish) or he's wasted, I think CC should be in the game until the end. Of course... It's clear to me that the Rapids don't have a possession game and pretty much rely on quick counters to score which is where CC is at his best. Why sub him?" June 25 "Great 2 goals, outstanding run/control/pass by CC resulting in A Spencer dummy " June 9 - being shorter than CC, I can make short jokes "I'm thinking since we need some height up front, let's switch Frazier and Stewart with Carrieri and Spencer" May 31 "CC was deservedly the man of match. He worked his butt off and forced a lot of hurried passes"
Replay... So let's replay all of the posts after we were shut out twicw by LA with the exact same defensive scheme that the evil Pizz used on us.....At least our overall goal score was 1-3 this year, not 0-5 like last year. I blamed Hankinson and I made light of our 'smurf' front line gnawing at the knee caps of the LA defensive back. Can we just "cut and paste" all of that painful revelation and move on? Or maybe go though it again. LA/KC Defense: let the Rapids midfield look world-class between the 20's then bunker them in without room to drop/cut before the goalie comes forward. Since there is little or not header threat, this is OK. Clog the lanes. Sit there and they won't score without the really sick left by Chung, or the goal-of-the-year dipsy-doodle by Spencer. Oh, yeah, once or twice a season someone gets in a header. This year it was Bortchers. Bad luck or it'd been KC 3-0 in goals. Yoda's Response in 2002: Geeze, we need Musa. This was Titus's fault anyway! Here in 2003, let's see who is to blame. Well that DAMN Cannon, certainly this is all his fault. And, of course, our defense. Well what was the offense thinking. For heaven's sake. Golly! On this very forum pre-season, there was a protracted discussion on the merits of getting a tall forward (zizi-like) to force the defense to actually defend the entire pitch, and to improve midfield play, so we would stop waiting for the defense to set up their bunker before we tried to exploit turnovers or score on fast breaks (these ARE our strengths, after all). For 2004, we need a new coach. We need some better schemes. For 2004, we have good players already. Powell, Cannon, and Roberts are pretty much new for next year anyway, eh? Stewart'll be back. Trembly, too. See ya next year. Go Nuggets! RLH
My $.02: - Henderson did not have a bad game. He was all over the field and while not contributing enough offensively, was continually getting back on defense to help disrupt KC. - Chung played the worst game I've ever seen him play. No hustle, no commitment and a horrible miss in front of goal. His jersey wasn't dirty and it looked like he didn't sweat. When the season is on the line, it's time for players like Chung to get "stuck in." He was awful. - Beckerman played a great game, just like game 1. He was as accurate as you can get with his passes and got off some good shots and was dangerous going forward. He has really come into his own this year. Now, he just needs a coach. - Hart played is best half of the season but couldn't continue it in the second half. He made a number of timely tackles and was at the heart of the Rapids goal. He should still be on the bench and not starting. - Zizi was okay. I'm still not sure where his best position is but he looked good on the ball in midfield and almost snaked through three guys for a goal. BTW, keepers can save back passes like that, I guess. - Hankinson really is clueless. The Rapids are down by 2 and he finally sends CC on but as the game continues makes not other attempts to get goals. By not take Ritchie off and get Kingsley on or anybody. Losing a game 2-0 and having two subs left doesn't show that you tried everything to get a draw and extra time. He, like Chung, should have left everything on the field, exhausted every option. I was amazed as time wound down and there was nothing left from the coach. Pathetic. Think about this, the Rapids started the season 1-6-1 and ended it 0-4-4. Sorry, but those are the games that matter, not the middle ones. Look at KC. They went on a NINE game losing streak in the middle of the season but are now on a 7 game unbeaten streak. Peaking at the right time I think they call it.
Good points. Kind of reminds me of April Heinrichs in the USA-Germany semifinal of WWC '03. A coach completely out of their element, unable to make strategic changes, pulling out the wrong players (or not at all) or sticking with guys (or gals) who clearly weren't having their day, or pulling the trigger to stimulate the team. It's the end of the season, you are staring at a 2-goal deficit. Short of the keeper, every offensive option/sub should be exhausted. What did Frank Yallop do when San Jose seemed to be down a seemingly insurmountable 4 goals against LA? He emptied his bench (although he waited until the 75th minute to start subbing. Then again, that's the most effective time to sub, when guys with fresh legs can really make a difference). Even subbed in a guy in the 89th minute that tied the game in the 90th (Chris Roner). He wasn't afraid to make changes because the ship was going down unless he didn't. Hanki's inaction reminds me of Titanic when the string ensemble kept playing as the ship was sinking.
I just remember during the game turning to Greenie and saying, "Is that all Hanki's got? Subbing Carrieri for Hart? That's it?" I was at a complete loss. Though, the CC for Hart sub was better than bring on Musa 'freakin' Shannon last year. Hell, I would have settled for Musa if it meant at least an attempt at getting a goal.
Hankinson using only 1 sub was no surprise at all. Except for Carrieri (or Zizi when Chris starts), there isn't a single player on the roster that can consistently make an offensive impact coming off the bench. "Major" acquisitions were all defensive: Powell, Rizo, Cannon. And the young players that proved they can play? Defensive. Younger talent like Schmidt and Blake were left to rot on the bench; the former despite his preseason explosion, the latter despite his performance against Gautemala and the simple fact that Hankinson had no other option. And why should we have expected it would be any different this year? Hankinson hasn't had an impact attacking player available as a sub in any of his three years at the helm.