What do you say about a team that needs just one point in the final 3 games to clinch a playoff spot and winds up getting none? It's immature and lacks leadership that's what. I think that was said somewhere during last night's broadcast so it isn't exactly an original thought. This is one of the worst collapses by any team on any level I've ever witnessed. It hurts even more because even though I follow other local teams this is the one I care about most. This team has been drastically revamped since 2000. To my eyes it's been drastically revamped since last year too. It has some good young talent. At times during the year half the players on the field were either rookies or first year players and the players with more experience hadn't played together very long. This is going to lead to inconsistent results. It's lacking players like Valencia, players who when you're down a couple of goals in a road playoff game or are playing a good team for your playoff life will step up. Sometimes just kicking the ball around isn't good enough, you have to have the confidence to believe you're the one who's going to get the job done. Mathis should have been that guy, instead he's been injured or recovering from injury most of the past 2 seasons. That's a big blow to any team. Until the Metro get a player or players with the physical skills and the mental toughness to assume responsibility for getting it done in tough spots it really doesn't matter who's on the roster or who the coach is. Getting outscored 6-1 in the final 3 games and getting 0 points from them is just ridiculous. Maybe going through this will help some of these younger guys realize just how hard attaining success on this level is and to never take it for granted. Maybe one or some of them will grow into a leadership role.
I am not sure which young guys you were referring to, but Akwari and Davis were never given the chance.
Davis played until he came up with a chronic sore foot and Akwari has been a pro for what a month or 6 weeks?
If it doesn't happen soon fans, the media -- you name it -- will simply ignore the team and, by extension -- the league, seeing what many still view as the misguided attempt to implant professional soccer in the garden of US sports. MetroStars are just not good enough to take seriously. In fact, many resent them being foisted on the public as a professional, first division team. Didn't the NY Giants go through a horrendous streak in the 40s or 50s? The fans demanded action to make the team a respectable competitor, and the owners finally wised up. The NFL was still a struggling league at that time, with nowhere near the following of basball. Our situation is much the same; it has been for every season except 2000. We at least need to have a team worthy of respect and admiration -- a couple championships wouldn't hurt; I assume they would follow such a team, eventually.
The Giants went 30 years (56-86) without a championship and fielded some pretty horrible teams during those years. The league realized the the owners were at war with each other and hurting the franchise inserted George Young to run the football operations. That's how bad the Giants were: the league hired them a GM because the owners couldn't agree on much. He hired Bill Parcells (who many wanted to fire after his first year) and drafted Lawrence Taylor one of the best players of all time as well as Phil Simms. However, through it all, the Giants played to sellout crowds and had a long waiting list for tickets. They still do. That is a testament to the popularity of football compared to soccer in this area.
Totally non-Metro content ... who got the school to put up an absurd amount of money to expand its football stadium to be just like a "big-time program" and then abandoned them just as the program was about to take off under his command. I would have been more impressed with him if he had taken the Giants head coaching job when they offered it. Instead he pledged his "undying support" to BC and then turned around and screwed them anyway. Good coach? Yes. (Well, at least he used to be....) Good man? He lists just below Frank Leahy as one of the all-time BC traitors.
obie I suppose you and I have differing opinions. Coughlin made me a believer by doing the following: Going to Penn State and beating them my soph year Going to Notre Whore and beating them when they were #1.
Can't agree with you more, and you have to consider that we lost 2 games to a team that had the least number of points in the league, tied for the least number of wins, and had not won a road game to that point in the season (IIRC). I can't imagine a team playing with less heart or passion. Total choke job. The only thing I can compare it to is the Jets going 8-4 and losing their last 4 a couple of years ago to miss the playoffs. We went from 7-7-2 to 11-15-2. Nothing sucked more than the last 2 months. We beat the best team (LA, statistically), with the best goalie (statistically on GAA) and the best defense in the league 5-0, but then lose to DC twice in 48 hours. My only hope is that with some German training and a full season Mathis will finally put up a season like the one Ruiz did this year. Mathis has 29 goals in 56 career Metro stars. Ruiz had 24 in 26 games this year. Ahem. Put down the smokes and start chipping in, cleetus. Stay healthy all year, and work for that fat bosman transfer cash next off season.