I just finished watching the LA/Chivas game and couldn't help thinking, how much better/more dangerous would the Revs be with a guy like Cornell Glen. The guy is not a great player, he's a very good player that has characteristics (i.e. speed) that test the other team. The Revs do not have those characteristics anywhere on their roster.
Do you think Khano Smith would fit that billing? He seems pretty fast. Aren't the draft picks supposed to be fast? I do completely agree with you about the players that have gotten playing time this year and last year.
I also watched that game, and liked the CDC style of play. I don't for a moment deny that it would be fun to have a player with Jamar Beasley speed. If the team plays as badly as it did yesterday, though, it won't matter. That was a 1998 vintage Rev performance, at least on the offensive end.
Smith could help. He was looking pretty good towards the end of last season. But, to me, he seemed better on the wing than as a forward. Either way, he never got to the point of performing that way consistantly before getting injured (and he actually had some pretty bad games early on), so there's no gauranteeing he'll fit the bill when he gets back. As far as I know, none of the rookie class is known for burning speed. As rookies, they probably wouldn't be ready to step in yet anyway. I think the team needs someone from outside.
If you don't think the Refing last night was unusually poor your ********* That Wolff PK call and the noncall on the pulldown of Leonard in the box were just the highlights of how uneven his calls were last night. MLS Refs are more often than not marginal but last nights Refing was worse than usual---aka---a stinker.
I just found it funny that's all. At some point, most people have accepted the terrible reff'ing as part of MLS, and so stop using it as an excuse. The person who keeps talking about things they can control etc ... keeps using it. Like I said, just find it funny. But you did say the Revs were part of the reason for the loss so that part's correct...
I think you are influenced by very poor announcers. Granted the Wolff flop was weak, but he did beat Parkhurst, and Parkhurst did grab him to slow him down, which defenders get away with all the time, but is a foul. I disagree that Leonard was pulled down, his was a flop even worse than Wolff's. I do think if Wolff had scored the ref would have given us an equally weak call to compensate (probably when Dempsey was fouled in the act of shooting early in the second half), but Reis saved him the trouble. The Joseph card was also deserved. He had his cleats in the second player's thigh even while Brad and Greg were protesting that he missed the first player he flattened.
Oddly enough... I had to tape the game, the worst is watching a loss on tape. It is like watching as you accidently knock your aunt's favorite antique off of a shelf and it all too slowly falls to the floor and shatters while you helplessly watch. I had taped it because I had attended a roller derby match. I spoke to the captain of the losing team, a freind of mine. What did she say? "The referees were making too many calls against us..." They had lost by 20 points.
I made the call as soon as I saw Parkhurst's hand go out ... all of a sudden that being called wasn't a surprise.
The reffing was bad last night, but it wasn't as bad as the Revs were. They didn't deserve any points for that performance.