Post-match: Why Can't They All Be Richmond Kickers? - Crew @ New England - Match 8 - 4/18/26 7:30 PM

hope

 

I think we can get a win, especially if they give us miles of space on the ball and don't track our runners like Richmond.

 

I don't have much faith in this team. Lose by 1

 

Ugh.

Bonus bonus track:

 

It's Game day! Can you feel the excitement?

I am not surprised that the mood around here is not full of juice for this upcoming match. The Revs are a hodgepodge of parts that seems to be working a bit at times. We've got find a new identity just as we were starting to develop one.

If Gomes and Chambost continue in central midfield I am very worried. I worry more about replacing Chambost with Bangoura and playing Gomes higher as our offense gets even slower and defense gets smaller, though quicker and more intense.

I don't know how we're going to create any xG.

I'd love to see a full youth push, but doubt Rydström will do that so early.

 

Rydstrom is coaching for his job right now. He won't play kids unless forced to.

 

Taha might be out tonight with illness

 

Don't worry, we have Nariman Akhundzade and Daniel Gazdag!!

 

I hate this shit "coaching for his job" narrative - it isn't Europe, the team is in need of a serious injection of talent that is the fault of Nancy and Issa, and it is even worse with Abou Ali out. He absolutely cannot be held responsible and needs at least a full season, more likely a full offseason so he can get the players he wants rather than coming into a mess, so 2 windows for him and Bez to get what we need, post Issa and Nancy's shitshow. This isn't Celtic, he's in no danger, management would not fire him that fast, if they are one thing it is patient. Sigi's first 2 seasons he missed the playoffs in a field of 12ish teams.

 

No one is disputing this roster is bereft of high-end talent. The marks of a great coach are (1) flexibility to build a strategy around what he has, (2) players consistently giving good effort, and (3) a general trend of improvement as the year goes on. Note that none of these requires the coach to win matches. Sigi's teams demonstrated these things even when his results sucked.

We saw very little of any of these three things with Rydström until the game in Atlanta. Then the Crew seemed to find a formula for success. And then they came home and Henrik reverted to what hadn't worked before Atlanta. The Crew played their worst game of the season against arguably the worst team in MLS. They've scored one total goal at home in close to 300 minutes of gameplay. That's not acceptable.

He needs to show progress and positive trajectory. He has a failing grade in the things he can control and that we can evaluate as fans. We have nothing yet to say that an injection of talent would be used correctly and translate into results that align with the increased quality.

 

Picard for Herrara. Gazdag starts. Owen on the bench

 

Where's Zawadzki playing? Who's in center mid with Gomes: Sean or Chambost?
3-4-3? 4-3-3? 4-4-2?

 

What's the formation? Looks like either 4-3-3 or back to a Nancy 3-4-2-1.

----------Picard - Gazdag - Rossi
-----Chambost - Zawadzki - Gomes
Arfsten - Amundsen - Camacho - Moreira
----------------------Schulte

or

--------------------Rossi
-------------Picard - Gazdag
Arfsten - Chambost - Gomes - Moreira
---Amundsen - Camacho - Zawadzki
--------------------Schulte

Not sure, kinda weird lineup.

 

Is that the ball Grandpa Rusy used to play with as a kid?

 

Zawadzki has played out wide in the Farsi/Herrera position before.

 

Not well, from what I recall. He's a good utility player, but not as a wide guy. Dude can't cross. He has great speed, but you gotta have a ton of cardio as a wingback / full back, that's a completely different skill.

If Z starts out wide, that's just another strike against everyone. HR should've done his homework, and/or someone from the staff needs to tell him who should know (Courtois, Issa, whoever).

 

Was gonna watch Minnesota v Dallas NHL playoff game, but the Wild are crushing right now, so I think I'll hop on over at the start and torture myself in real time with the Crew.

 

For anyone not watching, that's a 4-4-2, with Sean and Rudy in the center of defense

 

What's worse, Picard's abilities as a soccer player or his hair?

 

15 minutes in and just 3 comments lol. Scintillating stuff.

 

For a shot that was about 1 yard outside the 6-yard box, he sure missed the goal by a large distance.

 

Weak foot tbf, but I'm not sure he'd do better on his left. On his first goal v Richmond, it looked like his goal from 1 yard out hit the post lol.

 

People thought Berhalter's tactics were slow, sterile, and boring.

People thought Porter's tactics were slow, sterile, and boring.

Nancy's tactics started fast, but definitely by the end the team was slow, sterile, and boring.

What do we make of HR's tactics? This team is by far the slowest (foot speed and pace of play), sterile, and boring out of all of those, and it's not even close.