Your grouping and this "middle" group requires more analysis. Here's mine with salary considerations; Pierce ($48,522)- End of Contract -Has made it clear he want's to be paid ~ $100,000 ....and if healthy is worth it. Try to re-sign him. Franchino ($81,110) -End of Contract and coming off 2 surgeries.Try to re sign for less $ or release. Heaps - re-signed in 2003 (Salary Guess ~$45,000) Need to find a RB so he can become a good role player off the bench. Kamler - re-signed in 2003 (Salary Guess ~$75,000) Release. Getting older and slower and injury prone. Baker - signed in 2004 (Salary Guess ~$45,000) Good Bye. Was TI and would become SI due to age. Leonard ($24,000) Good upside, a bit small, but keep him for his speed and low salary. Brown ($145,833) Too much upside and posible transfer $ to let go. Dorman (Salary Guess ~$35,000) - Good upside as TI - Keep him Brillant (Salary Guess ~$45,000) Good Bye. Was TI and would become SI due to age The biggest overalll weakness is team speed which makes Noonan good trade bait. Close behind team speed is the back line. I like Pierce, and John has shown well, but RB and LB are weaknesses and one reason why I believe Nicol is forced into such a defensive style of play. We will have money available with JMM & Carlos being sent to pasture.
I have a bad feeling that this game will end 1-0 after 90, tying the aggregate at 1-1. After 30-minutes of golden goal, it will go to PK shootout. Unfortunately, Ralston can only take one of the PKs, and we lose the shootout 3-1. I hope I'm wrong.
If that happens then you can turn your full attention to the Carryball season Actually, I'm thinking you've called this one "spot-on" (pun intended). I'm sure SN has had the guys practicing their spot kicks but I would give the Keeper nod to the Crew and the Revs have not done well from the spot this season. I sure hate games decided that way.
Just checked out the the projected lineup on the Rev Web Site and they have #24 Adin Brown playing on the left wing in a 3=5=2
Statistically speaking, the Revs have 0% of winning (Not that I am saying that Revs are actually going to lose). My deduction comes from following statistic: Since the induction new playoff system last year, there have been a total of 7 completed quarterfinal series. In all of those 7 quarterfinals, the teams with higher seed always advanced to the next round. In other words, the teams with lower seed have 0 of 7 chance to advance. Hopefully, Revs will change the chance from 0% to 12.5% tomorrow. My prediction: Crew 2-2 Revs (a.e.t.)
As the days have gone by since last Saturday every Columbus player has grown at least three inches, added several tricks to their repitoire and gained 25% more speed, at least in my mind. At the same time, they need to attack and score goals so there should be space to exploit on the full-size pitch. I do think that the Revs dodged a ullet, several actually, by neutralizing the height advantage that the Crew possess. While Columbus players pumped ball after ball into the Revolution box their front runners rarely made contact. That would seem to be against the odds, at least played out over 180 minutes. given that there were a number of cards in game #1 I wonder how many players from the winning team, whichever it is, wil have to sit in the semifinal. Shalrie Joseph admitted that they were sending a message in the first few minutes last sat. Can they afford to do that again? Finally, this may be Cancela's last game here. I hope against hope that such isn't the case, he is a marvelous player who does the things that one pays money to see, but regardless, I'd just like to say, "thank you Pepe, you are a class act and have given me a great deal of pleasure watching your stylish game while you have been here. Please, please stay, watching you team up with Ralston, Dempsey, Joseph, Twellman and Noonan is the best part of seeing any Revs game." JIM DOW
Good luck Revs. You've got a whole lot of short-term supports a ways down I-95 today who all want to see another match at RFK.
That assumes that Nicol makes the personnel decisions. It is not at all clear to me that this is the case. Its not even clear Nicol will return, even if the Revs win today.
I also think Cancela's days are numbered, and also will miss him. While I usually quickly tire of Paul Gardner's anti-British and his patronizing attitude toward American soccer, I agreed with a recent piece he wrote (where?) in which he said that tactical fouling was degrading the game. I'm guessing that the knock on Cancela - if you'll excuse the play on words - is that he can be taken out of the game if he is repeatedly fouled. Imaigne if he got the protection from the refs as, say, Donovan. Cancela can really play. I was heartened to see that my little buddy Valenzuela won't be doing the Rev match, since he reffed the DCU hackfest. That was an interesting match in that I think DCU is the club that Bradley was trying to build with all his imports. Gomez is a great player, and their free gift, Adu, is becoming the player everyone thought he would be. (I say "everyone", but of course there are still DCU fans who insist that they were forced to take him despite his being a marginal contributor.) I think the Revs may well win. Unfortunately there is already a chorus of boo-birds on the BS boards who say even if we win, we don't deserve to win. All I can say is, if we we lose, that's the way it goes. If we win, then mo' better for us, because we beat a good team fair and square, and we advance the way MLS teams have always done. Call it the second season if you want; the Crew have their Supporters' Shield and they deserve it. The play-offs are a different beast. If they want to advance, they have to win. If anybody doesn't like it, @!#$%^&* them.
Add me to the list of those hoping (and hoping and hoping) that Pepe stays with the Revs for next season. To me, he's the most fun player to watch on the team. I always feel like good chances can be created at any given moment when he's out there. Please keep Pepe!
I hope the Crew don't folow suite from all the other top seeded teams. KC made a nice comeback, DC destroyd the metros and LA topped the rapids. The revs have the hardest series in the playoffs, and I think it will be a close battle, but i can see us winning this game. We need to play to their level, need to stare at them in the eyes and just realize that they are just another soccer team stnding in our way of the cup. We may be small, we may be the long shot, but if David can kill Goliath i think we can beat the crew, and show the rest of the MLS teams that your regular season play means nothing once your in the playoff and if you lose you lose and if you win you win, so lets go Revs!!! RRRREV-IT-UP
I think it was in the New York Sun Soccer Gets Rough on Both Sides of the Pond - October 26, 2004 http://www.nysun.com/article/3818 but you have to sign up for access