Another week, another thread. And just to be clear, I start this thread not to so much state what I think, but to read other people's thoughts. So join in and comment on what was a tough game to watch. Jaqua: 7 -- helped out a lot. vital to the team in the air Montero: 7 -- helped out in midfield well. a little too much holding on to the ball. Evans: 5 -- Not a wide player. And a couple of real brain-scratcher passes. Ljungberg: 8 -- it's sad how much pushing and grabbing and crap he is going to have to put up with in MLS. Alonso: 8 -- Helped keep the back line solid throughout a 10-man game. Le Toux: 5 -- Not so sure Sigi did the right thing by pulling him off. We missed his boundless energy, especially at the end. Scott: 4 -- Bad game, IMO. Beaten badly on the play that led to the card and the last 15 minutes he was beaten constantly. Maybe time to look elsewhere. Marshall: 5 -- A couple of mistakes, including being caught in no man's land on the pass that led to Keller's red. A lot of solid clearances, though. Hurtado: 7 -- the hero of the backline, IMO. without his solid play, KC scores more. Riley: 6 -- he was fine. not as much into attack as last week, but that's understandable, given the situation Keller: 3 -- Ummm. Someone explain the decision to take the card. Why not just let KC come down and take a shot, even get a goal, but keep your team at full strength? That decision is way below his capabilities. Dragavon: 4 -- OK in a tough situation. But let's be honest, many other keepers stop that shot from Arnaud. Zakuani: 6 -- clearly a bigger threat on the wing, which led to a chance. If he was better at defending I'd argue for him ahead of Evans. Nyassi: NR -- non-factor in limited minutes What does everyone think of the possibility of sliding Evans back to Zack Scott's spot and starting Zakuani? Possble? Am I crazy?
Jaqua: 7 -- Totally agree with Scott's analysis Montero: 7 -- Looked to still be a little sick. Really sluggish and not having the vision he showed the first couple games. Evans: 4 -- Not a wide player. Didn't look comfortable at all at the wing. Ljungberg: 7.5 -- Couldn't believe it took 70 minutes for them to call a foul with all the pushing he was taking. He played well. Corner placements weren't as good as I would have expected though. Alonso: 8 -- Helped keep the back line solid throughout a 10-man game. He was the hardest working guy last night. Le Toux: 5 -- How you pull the hardest worker out is beyond me. Scott or Evans should have come out if you ask me. Scott: 3.5 -- Last I checked Arnaud is a pretty good player. If your supposed to mark him don't give him 10 yards. Marshall: 5 -- Agree totally with Scott. Hurtado: 7 -- Played a great game. Without him we would have given up more. Riley: 6 -- Played a good game. Subdued a little from his normal role with the circumstances dealt. That one botched clearance where he grazed the top of the ball gave me a minor heart attack. Keller: 3 -- I don't think the 3 or 4 steps out of the really helped his angle much. A better player would have aired it over him and made the goal. Just dumb luck for them it hit his hand. Dragavon: 4.5 -- OK in a tough situation. Had he been a little further out of the goal he deflects it out of bounds. Made some good saves otherwise and managed to slow down play like you want when down a man. Zakuani: 6 -- Agree he's more of a threat at the wing. He'd be great if we didn't have Ljungberg, but feel he won't be used effectively this season. Nyassi: NR -- Put in 15 minutes to late. I think Evans would be better at Scott's position and get Zakuani in there. Evans definitely isn't a wing man.
Prost Amerika's rankings -- generally higher than mine, I think. http://www.prostamerika.com/soundersfc/sounders-v-kansas-city-wizards-player-ratings/
Seattle Soccer Magazine's rankings http://seattlesoccermagazine.blogspot.com/2009/04/april-11-seattle-sounders-fc-01-kansas.html
My ratings: Jaqua - steady Montero - distracted LeToux - Not enough mins. Ljungberg - sluggish Alonso - solid Evans - out of sync Scott - liability Marshall - a little more miss than hit Hurtado - steady Riley - his usual jusk-ok Keller - brain fart in 29 min
Jaqua: 8 -- Improving...much better than his first game which I thought was subpar. Would rank higher but he misses the yawning onion skin with a clanker that goes wide. Montero: 6 -- Nice free kick, but he wasn't half the player we saw in weeks one and two. Evans: 5 -- I've liked his first three games, but he was a clunker in this one and ruined a few chances for us. Ljungberg: 9 -- Showed that he can not only play great, he has some of the most subtle dives in the game. He looked hacked up much more than he really was, because he's a pro and knows how to play that for advantage. A real gem of a player to watch. Alonso: 9 -- We are exceeding expectations because of this guy. Le Toux: 5 -- I know he's a fan favorite, but I think Le Toux is causing problems, he can't seem to see the field as well as the others, and while he has great endurance, can't ball handle or cross as well as I would like. I don't think Le Toux rejoins us next year. Scott: 2 -- Terrible, terrible game. Cost us the goal, nearly cost us another earlier in the game. Marshall: 8 --Saved us several times. I didn't think he was a good trade. I was wrong. Hurtado: 7 -- Coming along nicely, needs to pass more effectively up the field, he often over or under shot the advancing pass. Riley: ? -- I don't remember him making a major mistake, but I also don't remember him making a great play either. Dragavon: 2 -- Stop that shot. You want to play with the big boys...you stop that shot.
Jaqua: 7 --worked hard and nearly made a goal out of nothing but had little help up top Montero: 5.5 --looked a step slow Evans: 4.5 --poor passing hurt attack Ljungberg: 6.5 --took it upon himself to win the game and at times didn't use his teammates effectively. Alonso: 7.5 -- best destroyer in MLS not only keyed the defense but also found his way into the attack. Le Toux: NR -- pulled too soon Scott: 3 -- beaten on too many plays, still a missed tackle on the opposite side pulled the defense out of shape on the goal so missed mark not entirely Scott's fault. Marshall: 5 -- decent but not spectacular Hurtado: 6.5 -- excellent tracking back broke up several Wiz attacks Riley: 4 -- got too far upfield in second half and pulled the defense out of shape. Keller: 3 -- not what you expect from a keeper of his quality. Dragavon: 5 -- gave up a goal but stepped up big in a tough situation. Needs to work on his positioning if he wants to make the squad. Zakuani: 6 -- could have used some of his speed down the flank earlier in the game. Nyassi: NR
There seems to be two camps, regarding Ljungberg's performance on Saturday. One side thinks he played great and suffered some due to thuggish KC defending. The other side thought he was slow and selfish on the ball. Count me on the side that was unimpressed with Ljungberg's play. He was ineffective, to be more specific he was slow and selfish on the ball as others have pointed out. I was hoping he would be subbed out earlier. At this point I'd take Zak or Nyassi at 100% fitness over Ljungberg at 80-90% fit. especially when down a player.
I agree for the most part. But then again, for a guy who has been out of action for 9 months, coming off surgery, hasn't practiced much with his teammates, doesn't have his stamina yet, tweaked his knee the week before, and is new to the league, .... he looked like an average MLS player. Once he fixes these things he will be dominant.
I disagree with the Ljungberg comments. I caution fans not to expect too much. Ljungberg can be a vital cog in the matchine -- providing great passes and movement, particularly in tight spaces. He already makes passes that others cannot. But he is just one player of 11. What some describe as "sluggishness," I consider experienced decision-making that leads to slowing the game down and creating quality opportunities. Notice I said "quality opportunities" and not just "opportunities." If you want Ljungberg to grab the ball and run down the field creating a quick attack straight at the goal, like Robbie Findlay or something, you are going to be disappointed. That's not what he does, nor is it what he should do, IMO. It's all about ball control, possession, precision passing and, if others join in, creating openings that lead to chances that actually have a chance to be goals. The work he did with Reilly in the Toronto game, which led to the Zakuani goal, is a prime example. Actually Blanco in Chicago hears similar criticisms -- that he slows the game down, that he is too slow for the rest of his team. I always argue he is doing exactly what he should do. Soccer, at its best, isn't a "fastbreak" game. IMO. You see more of that in MLS than in many other leagues because the defenders and goalkeepers aren't as good. But the teams with the precision passing, ala Baros-Schellotto and Blanco, are those that seem to do best.
LOL sometimes I wonder if you're a real supporter Before the above quote, you said this: how dare you sir, how dare you! Well, now after reading your sig "I am loud, opinionated, and really ugly" I know you're just really, really, really honest
I think what some people meant by 'sluggish' or 'slow' was meant to describe his decision making, not the speed at which he physically moves. At least that is what I meant. He often held the ball too long and lost possession. A few times he thought he could move past defenders and did so with no sense of urgency, consequently he was closed down with some ease. He is clearly not 100%, this includes his decision making not just his physical attributes. I agree with you that he CAN be vital with passing and movement but he was not, in my estimation, effective last Saturday. I doubt you need to explain too to many people that soccer is not a 'fastbreak' game, no need to talk down to people
Sorry. Not my intention at all. I have read a lot of comments from people on other threads where they talk about quickly moving down the field and taking more shots. So I guess I thought I was talking to a mentality I have seen before -- particularly, as I mentioned, among many hardcore Fire fans when talking about Blanco. I certainly don't think I know more than everyone else on these issues. I just think Freddie was particularly good on Saturday in the holding of possession and the slowing down of the game. For most of the second half we took the game to KC and I think that is directly attributable to Alonso controlling the deep midfield and to Ljungberg keeping control and creating chances with good passes and by earning a massive amount of fouls from a team that couldn't do anything but hack him down. How KC didn't end up with more yellows for all that hacking and tripping and pulling I will never understand. I will say that I think Freddie tired near the end and probably should have been pulled out at about 70 minutes instead of 80. But he played very well, IMO, and is one of the big reasons we didn't get killed for being a man down.
This wins the thread, well dont Scott. Blanco is incredible to watch and makes the Fire substantially better. Ljunberg does the same for us, probably even more so.
Blanco is over hyped, more so than Beckham. Maybe a year or two ago he was worth the trouble. However, most MLS defenders know his tricks now. His assist and goal production will severely drop off this season. Freddie will be even better as he gets more playing time. I can't wait to see him and Fredy play together with full confidence. --- WestSeattle, my post (#12) above was meant in jest.
Pretty funny comments on some of the ratings, all these ratings would have been better if Evans was either on the bench or in the middle. Fact was he wasn't on the bench and was put wide but kept pinching into the middle. Sounders had no width or speed down the wing. Seba doesn't beat people off the ball but makes up for it in engine and tenacity. If Seba is on one wing then the other wing has gotta force the issue and take people on. Best possible combo would be Zak on one side and Sanna on the other, but only if they improve their combined defense. Seba stays on for now because of the better two way (defense). Evans has to stay in the middle or sit. Scott got beat, who is better in practice, then Scott starts and hopefully learns his lesson about pinching in and leaving his mark. This loss is all on Sigi in my eyes.
No worries, I didnt take it personally. I disagree on Ljungberg's performance this past weekend, however, I do think he can and will perform at a high level...let's hope consistently. As far as Blanco is concerned, I agree. I would be very happy if Ljungberg was as productive and influential as Blanco. I think any MLS team should be thrilled to have him on their roster.