Well it is that time again. Saturday on ESPN2 versus the Crew. Hopefully we make a better showing this week than we did last Saturday or against the Burn. Thoughts on line ups/ tactics?
I was hoping that Boca would just stay on the field and take the place of the Rapids on Saturday. What a surprise!! I can't find anything on the Rapids site telling me who is and who isn't available Saturday. They haven't even decided yet who got the red card against Dallas in the USOC. I will be there screaming and hoping for a win, but when I look at who is currently available, I don't think strategy or formation is going to make a difference. It is pretty hard to guess about a lineup when it seems like the whole team is injured. I expect to see Hanki on crutches soon!!!!! Maybe some insider can grace us with what is currently happening!
Player availability for the Crew match is no different than it was for the Open Cup match against the Burn.
I'm going with 0-0 ... we're going to come out and not get into the Columbus box. But we're going to have a concerted effort not to let them score as we play the game to get a tie so that once again we can try to get through our injuries that never go away.
Rapids will win 1-0. The Crew stink almost as badly as the Rapids and at altitude, they will struggle.
To make the fans wallow in our misery with hankinson still the head coach, I say that the rapids will win 1-0 on an own goal by columbus..............again.
I can't imagine this being a pretty game, especially if the Rapids come out playing for the tie again... Still, I see 3 points for the Rapids and Hanki keeping his job through the end of the season. I wonder if Crew fans want to lose and get rid of their coach as much as we do? I know there's a movement over on their boards to boycott matches until Andrulis is fired, but that seems counter productive.
Actually it's funny you mention boycott ... because I was wondering if it would be effect to organize a boycott of one of the Home games being broadcast on Altitude ... would KSE wake up if they only saw 3,000 people in Mile High? Trouble is ... most Rapids fans wouldn't know there was going to be a boycott ... nor care.
Boycotting when they broadcast a game seems counterproductive. I'm happy that ASE is coming along and will be able to fill in missing gaps in Rapids coverage. I think it's a good thing. I'd hate to give Kroenke the wrong impression. ASE = More Rapids games on TV (hopefully) = GOOD. On to more important matters, such as Saturday's Losers Bracket contest between the befuddled Buddle and the unsuspensful Spenny. I'd like to say "something's gotta give" but of course, this is soccer, so it doesn't. Martino does NOT have to finally find a consistent creative form in the midfield. Spencer does NOT have to finally get a cheeky backheel through to someone who actually knows what to do and overcomes their surprise enough to do it. Buddle & Cunningham do NOT have to figure out how to act more like San Jose's Ching and Donovan. Cannon does NOT have to continue to be the best keeper playing soccer right now (easier to say, what with the rest of the world on vacation and all). Hejduk does NOT ever have to stop running away from Europe. The Rapids do NOT have to get healthy. In fact, they won't be. Columbus does NOT have to.... well, you get the idea. Final tally: 1-1, an inconclusive result. I don't see any reason to expect that the Rapids can put together a sexy passing game. I do think Columbus could string a few together and Buddle could long-leg it in (hence their tally). Oh, and I was kidding about Cannon. He wants to bring it I think. Cheers, BilFish
Except Bill ... the games they are broadcasting are HOME games ... so if we're good little fans ... no one will be watching anyway!
Hey, I'm willing to take baby steps and would be satisfied with simply getting the back heel to a member of the Rapids. That would be nice change. I lied. Screw the back heels, flicks and other circus maneuvers. I said it last year and repeat it now. I want to see a fine assessed for each attempt!
Trolling every so often on the Crew site, I can guarantee you that they are just like us in regards to coaching. They definitely want to get rid of Andrulis yesterday. Maybe we could trade, though both teams would lose in that event.
So I have been off the planet for a few days, and I come back and the Raps are playing at 3 PM today? Did I know this? Is this some kind of schedule adjustment? It is on TV, at 3 pm, against the Crew without Pablo, etc. Should be an interesting attendance number. I'll be there, even if I am there by myself. I will wave to you if ESPN zooms in!!
Spencer sucks. How many times did he one-touch right into the defender today? He's not the playmaker he once was - he should have been the only forward pulled at the half. And Henderson is the only one playing with any guts.
That was an excellent game . 225 people in the stands, no hope in hell of ever scoring, Digi starts at left back so Katschau can sit, DLT gives Cannon a hospital ball and then Cannon gives it right back to him. What a mess. Henderson worked hard, Cannon saved our asses; if that was LA or SJ they put 5 in the net. Or if Frankie could cross the ball lefty we would have been in trouble. Borchers and Crawford were decent in the middle. Beckerman wasn't as bad as usual. Spencer is struggling. Peguero had some very nice flops in the second half. Chung in the middle at half speed isn't so good. DLT is counting the days until he is shipped off to Chivas USA, he does not look happy.
Unfortunate, but true. Actually, I think Cannon, Crawford and Borchers are showing some heart as well. The rest could be replaced by the Boulder Rapids Reserve and no one would no the difference.
Reprise of the yawn. The best part of the game was it never did rain on us. Might have been the smallest crowd of the season. Cannon saved our butts again with a couple of great ones. Reprise of the rocket header into the waiting arms of the other keeper, this time off the head of Pedro. Reprise of the 0-0 game. I'm not sure the reason for the halftime subs. Pedro for Perez, Cila for Rey. I would have preferred Cila for Spencer. The Crew pretty much were given free reign in the midfield with the Rapids countering, if you could call it that. I thought Crawford may have been the best Rapids field player. Nat played well, Hendo had a great cross for naught. Yes, lots of hospital balls by the Rapids players today.
Once again the poor offense produced many shots, but no goals. The Rapids need to STOP ATTACKING DOWN THE CENTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Play on the wings for Christ sake! Every time they play in the center, the ball goes to Spenny or Pedro, who have at least 3 defenders around them. They can't turn and put a shot on when they are surrounded. This forces them to make those weird passes and they then lose possession. They ALWAYS have more dangerous chances when they play a ball from the wings. Colorado center midfield is crap. They couldn't distribute a good pass to save their lives. They need use Henderson, Chung, and DLT on the wings to send in crosses. They also could work on shooting from distance. Not every goal has to be within 5 friggin' feet of the goal.
Typical Rapids soccer this year: Columbus moves to 1 forward and the Rapids counter by moving from 3 players in the back to 4. Brilliant!
If there was ever a match that demonstrated our weaknesses, it was today. Spenny is someone I greatly admire, but in the current system, he is pretty worthless. If he was in a system where someone else was in the middle, and he could run onto the ball and shoot, he might be alright, but in a system where he has to bring the ball down with his back to the goal, and turn and do something with it, he just can't do anything. Digiamarino was like a cone on defense. Cunningham went around him like he was standing still blindfolded. The same could be said for DLT. He has many good skills, but he is so slow that when we put him at right back, he is tremendously vulnerable. Beckerman is okay, but that is all. Still way too many passes to no one. Cannon was fantastic as was Crawford. Time and time again, Cunningham tried to get around Crawford, and every time he made him stop and back up. The Crew have to be kicking themselves because they had some tremendous chances during the last 15 minutes, but they seemed to be afraid to shoot. When they did shoot, Cannon was always there to stop them. It could have really helped us to get the three. I am so sick of 0-0 matches. Is KSE ever going to figure out that something needs to change? I sure hope so!!!
I read this post and didn't understand it til I saw: http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20040724&content_id=9420&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp We never played 3 in the back. The back line was: DLT--Borchers--Crawford--Digi until Digi came out. The it was DLT--Borchers--Katschau--Crawford. We played a 4-4-2 the whole time, and when Spenny dropped deep we were in a 4-5-1. This is Hanki giving the media a f'ing story so it doesn't look like we were playing for a nil-nil tie at home, which we were. I swear to God, there was a guy in the row right behind me sleeping. He was SNORING.
Sounds a pathetic game...... Glad I missed it. The really sad thing was that the people in here called a 0-0 draw and they were right! (Not like it was that hard to do though)