WC First Road Trip of 2013:Houston, Chivas, San Jose

This article from Russel Berrisford prompted me to start this thread:

http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/03/14/still-plenty-to-prove-for-the-whitecaps/

I agree with Berrisford that how the WC play away from BC place this year may well give us an indication of how far this team has come, and imo, may tell us how successful they'll be late season and even into the post-season. This road-trip gives them a stern test against two strong teams (Houston & San Jose) who play different styles, and a team (Chivas) that I think the WC should beat, with their current line-up.

Imo, the WC new-found pace may be the element that pushes them beyond 3 wins on the road this year. Last year, as Berrisford mentions, they defended like crazy away from home, and hoped to come away with a tie or a 1-0 win. This year, speedsters like Mattocks, Hurtado, Manneh and midfielder slike Kobayshi, Reo-Coker and an improved Koffie will give them the ability to counterattack much better than ever before. Having watched the first two home games, I predict that Mattocks will be at his best away from home this year--or at least until he finds his place in a more possession-oriented game--and that Huratado and Manneh will see more minutes on the road.

What do you think?

 

Hurtado should never have had to defend those balls in the first place. Where were O'Bien and Rusin? They should have been down low cutting out those balls.

 

I'd like to see Knighton in as well. I've always preferred his presence in the box to Cannon's. Camilo's free kick was fantastic--very unlucky not to score. BTW, that's the second time in consecutive weeks that the WC have hit the post twice on the same play from a dead ball situation. The other one I'm thinking of was Rusin's header against that hit the post twice and the keeper in the face. At some point, those are going to start going in.

I was disappointed in NRC's performance as captain. Didn't have the jump that Miller did when he wore the armband.

Chivas up next. They seem to be an improved side from last year (if you discount their first one against Columbus).

 

I thought this article in Prost Amerika was bang-on in rating the WC players against Chivas:

http://www.prostamerika.com/2013/03/25/whitecaps-player-ratings-vs-houston/78994

If they address the issues brought up here, I think they should do well against Chivas, who play three at the back.

One thing baffles me: It seems no matter who they put on the back line, or who's coaching the team, the WC continue to have defending set pieces as their Achilles heel (?)

I was disappointed with NRC's comments after the game about finishing. While he has a point, I don't think it's a good precedent for him to set--criticizing the play of other players when he himself wasn't exactly stellar. A bit too Robson-esque for my liking.

 

Here's the line-up I'd like to see on Saturday against Chivas (4-3-3 or 4-4-2, however you want to look at it):

------------------Knighton-----------------------
Lee--------O'Brien---------Rusin---------Rochat
------------------Davidson---------------------
Reo-Coker-----------------------Koffie----------
------------------Kobayashi---------------------
Mattocks-------------------------Camilo--------

2nd half energy subs: Miller, Hurtado (Camillo, Mattocks)
2nd half shut-down sub: Watson (Kobayashi)

I like this line-up (even though Rennie's yet to start Koba in the #10 role) because it gives us the best of all possible worlds:

• 4-3-3 for the attack, with some combination of Mattocks/Camilo supported by NRC/Koffie/Lee/Rochat, with Koba acting as field marshall
• 4-4-2 for the defence--a compact midfield, with opposing attackers having to run the gauntlet of some combination of twin pitbulls NRC/Koffie, and then Davidson--regardless whether they come through the centre or the wings--before they even get to the back four. But with Kobayashi at the head of the Diamond mid, the possibility of a counter that springs Mattocks/Camilo, supported by the aforementioned is always a very real--and dangerous--possibility.
• Knighton gives us a more intimidating presence and assurance on set-pieces, and his distribution is far better than Cannon's.
• For the subs, what can be worse for the last 20-30 mins of a game if you're a tired defender than having to deal with Kenny Miller doing his best impersonation of the Tasmanian Devil, and Hurtado trying to prove he can beat Mattocks' in a 50-yard sprint?

 

Even more embarrassing: a team no one goes to see was made to look good by a WC team that couldn't connect three passes for most of the game. Awful.

 

I have to think the main problem at the moment for the WC is tactical, and that comes down to Rennie. Imo, he needs to realize the following:

1. Mattocks is not a target forward, and his talents are wasted when he's employed holding up the ball. He should be played within a formation that allows him to make diagonal runs across and through the opponent's back line, where he can pick up passes on the run and finish like he did against Houston. Most of the goals he's scored have been ones like that.
2. Kobayashi is the key to both the WC possession play and service to forwards. Playing him out wide, and encouraging him to move to the centre when he can/wants to, means he spends time on the wings and wears himself out moving between the positions. When he has the ball on the wing, his options are limited, and opponents can easily isolate him--his strength is clever passes on the graound, not crosses from the wing. We saw that isolation a few times against Chivas, but it's happened every other game so far as well. Most of the WC goals this season have come from--or through--Kobayashi when he's been in the middle, with the ball at his feet. He holds the ball up far better than any of the WC forwards, and is the best passer on the team. He needs to be told to stay central, and given licence to move the ball as he sees fit. That way, he can dictate the flow of games. If Rennie doesn't do that, the WC will struggle to score goals, and their possession/passing play will continue suffer.
3. On a team full of young players, and veterans who have not played much together (some of whom--like NRC and Koba, arguably--aren't even fully game fit), it's foolish to base the team's style on free-flowing football, based on positional-interchange. Far better to give players clearly defined positional roles first, have them play those roles, let the chemistry and interplay develop, and then encourage them to become more free-flowing when they've attained a level of comfort. Don't believe me? That's how (with some luck, granted) Montreal won their first four games, and why TFC occasionally now looks respectable. The coaches of both those teams have given players clear roles and positions to play. We've seen that when the WC play in close proximity to one another (as against Columbus), the passing and possession are wonderful. But against Chivas, the forward-charging of the left and right backs, and the constant interchange between the six midfield players served only to pull players regularly out of position and passing range from one another, isolating them as easy targets for an active Chivas mf, and often exposing Davidson and the centre backs. Good decisions come from player fitness, but also from a clear understanding of team play--in othr words the positional play of all the other players around you. Until the WC are all mature enough, comfortable within MLS, and know each other well enough, encouraging free-flowing football will only lead to chaos, and frustrating performances like the one against Chivas.

The last two games have shown me that Rennie himself still has a bit to learn as a coach. Honestly, I'm surprised by his mistakes, imo they're fairly basic. I hope he learns quickly, and has an open enough mind to deploy his players based on their individual and collective strengths, not a rigid, pre-concieved plan.

 

Mattocks, OK, but Koffie too ego centric? What colour was the sky in your world this morning?

It was still blue on this planet (Earth), the planet where Koffie isn't egocentric, but a young player who has played hard even when other piss-poor players and a lousy coach (1st year, mainly) couldn't remove their digits, and through the new coach learning the ropes in MLS (a process that still continues imo) decided to change the formation and much of the team through last year, and now can't seem to understand what everyone else who's kicked a ball can see--that a player like Kobayashi should be in the middle of the park, and that Reo-Coker's MF partner should be Koffie, not Teibert. Through all that change and turmoil, Koffie's started most of the games for the WC, and has had less off ones than most other players on the squad--not once complaining about a thing. In fact, o all this turmoil, and occasional idiotic rumours that he'll be sold to the highest bidder somewhere in Europe, his response was to sign a 5-year contract extension and take out Canadian permanent residency, saying he was happy here in Vancouver--never once giving credence to the aforesaid rumours that he'll head to Europe for a big-money payout (unless the WC sells him for its own Piotr Nowakian reasons).

Wow. Koffie....... ego-centric. I'm headed outside to check for locusts and boiling seas, just in case my above rant was off-base.

 

I agree with the inconsistency bit. I think that's normal for most young players, though, with a few exceptions. What causes youth to equal inconsistency probably varies player to player. You may be right about Koffie's reasons. I think he's level-headed enough, though, to even out eventually. The fact he's settling into Vancouver and Canada is a good thing for that, I think. I also like Rennie's carrot/stick approach. There has to be a taste of hard reality at times to keep him motivated.

 

Just read this game review on AFTN. Hilarious--especially the Reo-Coker--Lenhart--O'Brien bit:

http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/c...l-San-Jose-v-Vancouver-played-out-on-Facebook