Rapids v. Sounders, Sat. April 20, 4pm P/I/P

The argument hasn't changed because the on-field results haven't changed, thats why I'm so incredibly frustrated. I feel like I've already identified the real problem a long time ago, and every other smaller issue with this team revolves around the bigger problem.

As for the "make everybody on this board have the same sentiment", I feel like the FO needs to be under the same kind of pressure and receiving the same kind of bad press that they were getting during the later Hankinson and later Pareja years. Hell, even Gary Smith was getting more pushback in 2011 (a team that suffered extensive injuries, played in the CCL, and still made the playoffs) than Pareja is in 2013. Why is this guy special? He shouldn't get a free pass because of "newness", that window has closed. He's had time to build a squad, he's had time to acquire players that work in his "system", and its about time we started seeing signs that we're not just throwing away another year. Acquiring young players is one thing, having the ability to actually develop and lead them is another thing entirely.

If he starts winning consistently, I'll eat my crow and shut up. If he finally gets fired for being terrible, I will shut up.

 

Meh..

Smith's a distance memory. How long are we gonna get the argument, "things are crap, but look Smith would have..(mind read)...."? And, Quinn's a broken record!?

The youth can be exciting, but I don't remember being promised the opportunity to watch a reserve team develop against first team players. If that's the plan, I guess it's going well, and it's really fun.

 

Are we sure he's not?

 

I keep seeing references to OP getting his players for his "system".

Am I the only one seeing a style completely different (kick and run) then what he repeatedly stated was goal ("Joga Bonito") when brought on. That to me is the biggest coaching, FO failure of this whole deal.

 

Um, how else are we going to measure improvement or the lack of it under Pareja other than comparing it to where we were under Smith?

I'm happy to leave the Smith debate in the past, but when trying to determine if we've moved forward in any category under the current leadership the baseline is going to be the prior leadership, regardless of who that is.

 

What if they don't pan out? Potential, if they have it, basically means you haven't done much yet. At the end of the day, its about W's and L's, not how old you are. If Smith's teams were older, but more successful, so what? Given our age, not sure how many brownie points that equates to, or if it means we have some dynasty with multiple cup wins on the horizon. If we win another Cup, and we did it with a bunch of 30-year olds, thats ok with me.

MLS Cup win or else. Nothing less. No excuses.

 

I haven't been around long enough to know of Hankinson or any other coaches before Smith. I was in KC paying more attention to the WIZ. Unfortunately, I don't think those of you that have followed the Rapids since day 1 have ever had much of a good team to get behind. 2010 was mediocre up until the lucky final run (although the strike duo was fun to watch.) That being said I have no idea how you or we can change it. Maybe Andy Dufrane the FO everyday with a letter stating the discontent and pressing for change. Doesn't seem Kroenke is that interested though so I'm not sure how well that would work. You will more than likely just have to wait for the Rapids to get so bad that the top folks finally decide to scrap Bravo/Pareja and move on. Then you have to rely on them improving on this mistake which doesn't leave one with much hope. Or maybe you can get the C38 folks to raise enough money to buy the team and make better decisions with FO/coaching staff. So you can hate on peoples optimism for the club to get better with Pareja/Bravo while being optimistic about KSE cleaning house and providing something better. Doesn't seem to be much difference to me.
I'm obviously, still too naive and dumb to feel like Pareja has had a full team of his first choice players to build some chemistry around. He came in late with left over crap from Smith and got a few new players. This year he was able to clean out the rest of his undesirables and hand pick several new players. Now he has lost many of his ideal players to injury before ever really getting started. I'm not sure if there is a coach out there in MLS or elsewhere that can come into a team of such mediocrity and make them winners or live up to some of these standards. It would have been nice if the wholesale changes were done in the first year so that this team wasn't so new to each other, but, it didn't. This year we still have a team full of guys that have never played with each other and several that have never played in the MLS. All I really want to see is a 90% healthy team play together for several games and see if they really can or can't hack it. It sucks having to wait for the youth development to catch up at the senior level, but, at least they do look promising.
Unlike several people here I thought the team played well Saturday, but, they just couldn't capitalize on their chances along with some unlucky post hits. I understand why the Sounders are so happy to have their first win, but, don't understand how they think they really deserved it or that their problems are over. Their team really looks bad this year and Saturdays win shouldn't have given them such confidence.

 

I'd rather measure Pareja against the league and the time he's coaching in, but if measuring against Smith is what counts.... it's really no better than how he's done against the league.

1. 1.43* PPG v .933 PPG
2. .96 GPG v 1.11 GPG
3. .82 GaPG v 1.22 GaPG
4. 19 GD v -7 GD

BUT....BUT.... BUT! The team's younger. And, Smith would have.... (and dismemberment has his own facts)
Hey, we'll get a trophy for youth.
*Didn't tease out 10 games from 2008. Sue me.

 

The Rapids were 2nd in the league in goal scoring, and the "lucky" run began the day Mullan came to Colorado in a trade that sent Mehdi Ballouchy away recording only one loss from September through to the finals. The hot steak was more than just the playoffs.

 

Great, I say there are places where the team is improving, that its not all crap. People ask where. I say our younger player. People say who cares that doesn't matter.

No, this board isn't negative or in a rut at all.

(Damn, I remember when I was the negative one people used to complain about. )

 

A hot streak that without playoffs left them in 7th place or something like that. Yes dumb argument considering there are playoffs for teams to eek in but still not stellar. I like that you bring up Mullan because to me he was the "rabbit's foot" that got us the cup. Amazing that the guy has won it 5 times, unforunately, his luck was only good for one year with the Rapids.

 

The cup run was a fluke...the sooner yall realize that, the happier you will be

 

Agree completely, to spell out how:

1. Cap space- younger is usually cheaper.
2. Reduced injuries- Don't Laugh, Youth is more resilient, take your pick of sports studies.
3. Quick endurance "bounce back"- when we hit them on schedule, 2 games in a matter of days is no problem.
4. What I will call coachability- willing to adapt to new roles/ styles.

 

Agreed. Its not all crap. And it prolly never has been, with any coach.

Young players like Irwin and Brown have impressed me.

'Well at least we (currently) don't have the wooden spoon'? Maybe not, but seems like the goal posts - like jumpers - have shifted.

 

It would be insane for it to be any other way. I wonder if OP is even upset anymore after losses.

 

1. No experience
2. Misjudged caliber
3. Being misled into different roles and styles
4. Cheaper for a reason
5. Learning how to lose early and often
6. Sending a message of cheapness to the fanbase

 

Only way this over top ball from midfield or defense is going to work is if we put nothing but pace and strength up front good luck.

 

So Buddle and Brown then?

 

Wouldn't you have to redo the math for this comparison by leaving out the stats for half of Smith's lineup including all his scoring options?

 

So right when the game started , Zakuani was lined up at LW and 108 gave him some cheers and claps and he turned to us and gave some applause and thumbs up back.

Then we immediately switched back to a Rapids chant. I think we did our bit for him and he seemed gracious about it. So that was a positive from Saturday.

 

brown yes. but buddle no. harris no. they just can't get to this random bounceing balls fast enough. seriously i think op's playing to much fifa. more then me. which i havent touched in months.

 

Kudos to who ever started that "Steve Zakauani" chant. I think it was Bishop. Negative rep to those who booed Zakuani in the second half. I think it might have been due to the increasingly silly booing of a random player. I know it seemed to get under Sheanon Williams' skin but in my opinion it sure makes 108 seem like a bunch of ignoramuses that know nothing of soccer. (Which of course is not true.) Pick a player who has earned being booed and give him hell all day long, but the for me the random booing is embarrassing. Sorry, I know that I'm sounding like a bit of a D-bag here, but I needed to get that off my chest.

 

Why would that make anybody happier? Does it somehow make Pareja have a less poor record?

FYI, Bayern had two first choice starters absent when they crushed Hamburg 9-2 back in March. Last Saturday Bayern beat Hannover 6-1 with six of their first choice starters absent. The week before that they skated past Nurnberg 4-0 with a whopping nine of their first choice starters absent. All that also occurred while simultaneously shutting Juventus out of the Champions League and embarrassing Wolfsberg in the Pokal. Bayern is arguably the best equipped squad in the world to deal with injuries, and comparing them to any MLS squad is apples and oranges.

 

The booing started years ago and it wasn't random. It was always aimed at a player that had earned it. We were always throwing some heckles to whoever was in ear shot and if we felt we were getting an effect out of them, we'd ramp it up and eventually start booing them. And of course if a player was being a jerk on the field they would earn the wrath of the boos.

I don't know where the booing went wrong but somewhere along the line people just interpreted it as booing the RB or just booing a random player and from there it's taken a life of it's own. Unfortunately. I think it just came about through the number of newbies and supporters who don't understand the flow of the game as much. It was never meant to be random.

And yeah, I don't know who all started booing Zakuani (though it happened towards the end of the first half, not the second cause he wasn't on our side in the second), but it was silly and classless. If you're gonna be a bully, be a bully on a mission.

 

Well, I was with you right up to here.

And in the second half we were booing Yedlin, who deserves it just due to the Flock of Seagulls hair style he's sporting.