Revs Fire Post Game Thread

I think our only hope is that Arena doesn't play any or maybe one of the Revs on the 16th and lets the others play with the Revs in the triple header.

 

A couple of thoughts before I head on over to the pre-game thread for the NE-Dallas game.

One - Chicago is not chopped liver. They've been one of the four best teams in the league pretty much the entire time.

Two - you're on the road. That isn't easy. Don't let winning in Columbus give you the impression it is.

Three - It's one game. Don't let one not-so-hot result color what has been a very solid season. Fight through the Gold Cup, but when the time comes, you'll have your big guns.

Four - the depth issue? On the road is where your depth is going to be tested the most. Frankly, if you told me my team (whoever they were) would have to play the (at the time, based on standings) No. 2 team in each division, on the road, back to back, without the team studs like Dempsey, Noonan, Ralston, I'd be happy being in both games and while not satisfied, I'd at least be understanding if they only got a point.

I'll talk more about what I think of your team in the pre-match thread, but as you can see, I see reason to worry about Saturday.

 

I just have to say the Revs were appalling last night. I stopped watching in the 50th minute because it was too awful. Latham was the worst player I've seen in a Revs uniform. Joey was pathetic. Smith continues to be a spectator.

I cannot understand why the Revs don't have a decent third striker instead of Smith. Welton is still playing in the A League. He'd be an improvement.

There, I said it.

 

Wow, it takes another team's fan to put things in perspective. Consider what we might have been saying in advance of these two road games any year prior to this one. Getting one point out of two road games against two of the better teams in the league during the Revs "traditional summer swoon" would have been cause for rejoicing not consternation. Thank goodness we are even in a position to be complaining at this point! In any case, the Revs are a single point away from tying their total for all of last year...and that was good enough to make the playoffs!

 

I think Smith and Latham were the main problem last pm. Riley, Dorman, and Franchino are all defensive players, Ralston and Noonan balance them out offensively. But Smith can't make plays like Noonan, and Latham played very conservatively, trying more not to make a mistake than to make something happen (which is typical for a first time starter). Consequently we had no attack. I think Cassio would have been helpful in this game. Riley is a defender, not an outside mid. He did a lot of good defending last pm, but on offense he is very tenative and slows down too much to be dangerous. Parkhurst did misread the cross on the goal, but still had a solid game. Cancela has been a disappointment this year, failing to have the impact on games that his position requires. Not a suprise given his skill set and the lack of a real left outside midfielder. I actually think Alex Pineda Chacon would have been a better option in this system, at least as a backup for Dempsey (although I acknowledge that Cancela is a "better" overall player than APC particularly in a 4-4-2). Seeing Vercollone get a run was good. The kid is a herky-jerky frenetic style player, but I think he brings good energy into a team.

 

My top three Wankers of the match:

K Smith - I never want to see him on the field again. He's a total waste of time and space and simply can't play at this level. I thought TnT was going to kill him last night with his wild, 0% chance of scoring, shots. No anticipation and NO GUTS. I'd rather see Jamie play then him. Please, No Mas Smith.

Riley - All the early season hype has now worn off. Poor crossing and very poor defensive tracking back, in fact, he's just not that good. He left Heaps and Parkhurst exposed all night long. Earth to Riley - you must play some defense in that position.

Joey - Well we now know he can't play any kind of center mid. Horrible game

Nicol is getting a real thing about Cancela. He pulls him every game and I'm starting to believe the rhumors that are saying he's trade bait. He can do no right in SN's eyes.

Good news -

Vercollone - played well and for my money, would start over Riley next game

Edozien - played well. I remember on one play, a player was driving the net hard, along the end line and the announcer said it was Smith. I knew that was wrong because to drive that hard, into traffic, would require more Testosterone then Smith has available. It was Edozien

 

Didn't Riley re-injure his hamstring in practice this week, making him questionable for the game?

Yet he played the full 90. His speed wasn't there, but his game wasn't that bad.

Latham, on the other hand, was completely invisible.

Joey was horrible. A Revs player would have 3 guys around him, drop the ball back to a wide open Joey, and he'd turn it over.

Thankfully Shalrie will be back for the Toros game.

All in all, I saw a lot of effort out there, but no teamwork. They just weren't on the same page all night.

I'm with Monty: our bench is over-rated. Chicago totally out played us (SOG 9-1? Are you kidding me?). And yet, if ML stands 6 inches to his left, we escape with a 0-0 draw. Or Edozien's header goes 6 inches higher, we escape with a 1-1 draw.

We are coming home, should be a big crowd with the triple-header, and the Revs should be hungry after 2 disappointing outings.

 

Punishment for thinking Riley wasn't bad, is to watch this game all over again and again and again. Riley was CRAP!

You must have watched a different game. Too many players jogging to the ball. It looked like a U12 girls game, where the players really didn't want to be first to the ball. They put in just enough effort to get there second. See... Riley, James ... Smith, Khano ... Franchino, Joey ... etc. Speaking of U12 players, it was interesting to see Latham switched to the Coach's side for the start of the second half. Nicol must have thought he couldn't think for himself ... all game long.

This is not the normal Rev team, but the Revs WITH big crowds still scare me. We will most likely be playing without most of our offensive guns, and the replacements are trash.

We DO have a GREAT MLS team, all 9 of them.

 

After reading everything posted I have to say that I'm in agreement with most everything that's been said. Smith and Latham need to be replaced ... immediately. Riley hasn't really been the same since his injury. He has definitely lost his speed, but maybe once the full team is back he will be able to rest and recover. He did look better on the left side however.

Also, a lot has been said about Leonard being out of position on the corner, and that maybe true, but IMHO Leonard had a great game. The PK was crap and other then that he played a good game, had good passes and protected the left back well. He's a versatal player. There aren't many of our folks that can move into a different position and hold his own.

 

Not that anyone expected a thing of beauty in the midfield. But when you're missing a Steve Ralston, a Clint Dempsey and a Shalrie Joseph, that's what you get.

That goal shouldn't have happened. To me, it appeared that Parkhurst was more in position to make a possible stop. They were all pretty much flat-footed on that one.

Edozien should get a crack in the starting lineup.

Pepe should have never come out of the match. Maybe he is ticketed to go...

Matt Reis is, indeed, The Man. I like his fire, too.

Justin Mapp impressed the hell out of me. He brings a lot of pressure.

 

Just a couple of comments:

* I actually thought the Revolution played quite well in the first-half... much better than they've looked in previous weeks. There was good movement on and off the ball, strong passes, and some nice touches.

* It's furustrating to watch Khano Smith. He probably had some of the Revs' better chances to score last night, but his shots looked hurried and accuracy suffered as a result. But more than anything... he just doesn't seem to be on the same page as his teammates, and it's clear the learning curve is <b>very steep</B> at this point. On the ball he seems to take one touch too many, and off the ball he's not making runs into good supporting positions. As a result, Taylor Twellman really looked the desperate man last night, and I think the old Taylor Twellman would have been much more demonstrative in his frustration.

* Reis had a strong game, and I absolutely love how he told off the ref. after the PK. Wasn't the smartest move, but I think it served a purpose. Was also interesting to hear that Adin Brown was back in town for a visit, this according to Brad Feldman during the telecast.

* I thought Parkhurst had a good game last night, and on the goal, it wasn't as much a case of losing his man, but rather, making a poor play on the ball. It looked like he was expecting the ball to beat or otherwise get by Segares, but the Fire player (much to his credit) got a nice shot and quick shot off.

* Man Rolfe is a good looking young player. He's got a bit of year-one Taylor Twellman in him from the look of things.

* I can't tell you what's up with Edozien. I've seen him in the Reserves and he's a markedly different player in those games, playing more like Cancela and entirely unselfish. In the various MLS matches I've watched him in, the composure and touch has just not been there.

* Did anyone find some of the comments made about Cancela a bit cryptic during the match? Lalas said something a bit into the program that cancela pretty much needed to show his real ability and quality now.

* I thought the officiating was of poor quality last night.

It's unfortunate, and it's not as if the Revolution didn't have their chances, but the game came down to a matter of just a few plays last night, and was otherwise a pretty even contest. Give credit to a good Chicago team that should only be better when their players return, but we now need to look ahead to Dallas.

The Magpie

 

i thought that was in reference to Cancela being someone who had to step up and make a difference in this game because we were short so many starters.

 

Good move bringing Edozian in, but for Cancela?
It's got to be gut-wrenching to come out of that game, while someone like Khano Smith stays in.
It was good to see Smith a little more active in the first half. Unfortunately his repertoire is limited to get the ball and go to goal. That's his game. That's what he does. Smith is a park player.
This team has the horses to win the championship, but the depth is not there.

And as far as i'm concerned , you can have your Concacaf Gold Cup.
Is there a purpose for this tournament besides giving Lanny Donovan an opportunity to pad his stats against powerhouses like Cuba and Canada?
Maybe we should Conor Casey if it was worth blowing out his knee and likely losing his job in Germany.

 

I would ask the Chicken Littles who've been posting here to remember how a game like yesterday's used to go back in the day. I forget whether it was last year or the year before, but we played the Fire out there one time while missing a similar number of players and got hammered (I believe it was 4-1, with the 1 coming in injury time). Hell, the '03 playoff game in Chicago looked pretty similar to last night, and we were missing only one regular starter that I recall.

 

I'm not too upset that we lost since we were missing so many of our best players, however I was disappointed in the following:

- Cancela taken off in the 66th even though he is probably the best player on the field for us. And it keeps happening. What is SN thinking?
- Khano Smith has been nothing short of useless and yet plays the whole game.
- Riley didn't play so hot, needs to defend more and cover better. Is it me or did he seem really slow when trying to get to some of the balls?
- Latham was invisible, Vercollone played much better.
- Franchino does not help our team by being a starter, especially when all our players are present and healthy (such as Avery John). Doesn't make sense to me why he always gets the start. Gives away possession way too often.
- Edozien should start over Smith.

 

Not putting too much stock-in-faith in the play or results of this game; but one area that I would be concerned with is Franchino's value to the team.

I feel as though he no longer fits the dynamic that moves this team forward. Who can replace him proficiently?

 

In the left back position, Avery John can handle it competantly. In a defensive midfield position... well, take your pick: Joseph, Dempsey, Dorman et al

 

I agree with the Magpie here, what we needed for points were good team defense and possession. We had that in the first have in the second half it was the possession was not there and it resulted in to much presser on our defense. The key to the game was a rare tactical error when SN took Cancela out of the game. If you go back I think you will see that when the revs MF started turning the ball over Cancela would somehow find the ball, hold it and start a good sequence of possession. He was the stabilizing force in our midfield and we he came out our midfield wilted.

 

First, since Fire fans have suffered seeing our team's rosters shredded by various national team call-ups for six years now, I can definitely sympathize with your comments. Add injuries to the call-ups and there were times in the run-up to 2002 that Bob Bradley had to call up A League players like Amos Magee just so we didn't forfeit. Fire fans know only too well how much it sucks, but CONCALAF need to go bilk more money out of people willing to pay to see their national sides' B/C teams duking it out.

Second, if you look at the missing players on both teams last night, ours were mostly on defense (although Thiago and Jaqua might have helped our attack) while yours were almost all in midfield. You didn't have the magic triangle of Ralston/Noonan/Dempsey being backed up by Joseph. That's why your possession wasn't what it normally is. And we had Brown and Curtin waiting to replace Sanneh and Caballero and Marsch to replace Armas so our missing players didn't hurt us as much. When Twellman or Smith got the ball they were faced with veteran players and not some 20 year-old kid off the bench.

And yes, the officiating was piss poor last night for both teams.
Still, a one goal loss on the road in mid-season isn't usually a tragedy especially when you have three games in hand on your nearest competition. Other than the chance for some marginal players like Griffin and Latham to get some playing time and for their respective coaches to assess their performance, there's not really much to take away from this game.

 

MOTM - Reis by far. Kept us in the game the whole match and showed great competitive spirit. I loved how, after saving the PK, he said to the ref "You Lucky Duck!"

TnT - Unfortunate not to have put one or two of those chances away. Still, he worked hard and made the 2nd efforts needed to at least get the ball back to another player on the team.

Parkhurst - Iceman

Heaps - Held his own mostly despite being on his heels a lot.

Leonard - Respectable, see Heaps

Franchino - Besides Smith, he frustrated me the most. Funny how he is quoted as saying nobody was holding on to the ball. Seemed like all his passes were easily intercepted or were difficult ones at best for a receiver to get.

Latham - Not very sharp but I'll give him a pass

Edozian - Had some good moments. At least he seemed to be hustling.

Riley - Still learning but it's a drop for sure from Ralston

I thought we might eek out a point but considering the lack of fluidity and possession, the result didn't surprise me.