Cup of Coffee and a Newspaper
With two weeks until the next game, I think we'll have some time to explore multiple issues on this site. Which is nice. Here's the quick news for the morning before I delve into other topics...
FORMATION CHANGES? Goff reports that the United brass see problems in the defense. That being said, the final graf is not reassuring:
"At the end of the day, you shouldn't give up four goals in our house -- it can't happen -- and it's not the result of not planning or not signing any defenders in the offseason," Kasper said. "We think Devon is going to take off and John is still a very solid sub, in our mind. Will we, at some point, feel the need to sign another defender? Quite possibly so."In short, there are problems, and we have bandaids, but we think we may have missed the boat.
Personally, I maintain that the 3-5-2, when properly executed, can still work for this team with its current personnel. That being said, there's a thin margin of error there, as we have seen, and while the 3-5-2 can work, you have to wonder if another formation wouldn't give United a better chance of performing well. To his credit, I believe that Tom Soehn feels like he has to give all of his players the best chance to succeed that he can for every game, and if he feels that a 3-5-2 given him a 50% chance to win, and a 4-4-2 gave him a 70% chance, he'd flip in a heartbeat (please excuse the oversimplification of tactics).
LATE REVIEWS: QuarterVolley - "This is unacceptable."
COLUMBUS JUST GOT HARDER TO BEAT: Yes, this would make them better. I imagine this guy feels like his beat just got a bit more fun to follow.
Labels: 2007 Season, Analysis, Columbus Crew, DCU, Links, Media
posted by D @ 9:10 AM
4 Comments:
I think we need to consider the possibility that our fade down the stretch last year was due as much to other teams figuring out how to play us as it was to fatigue...and by picking up right where we left off, without making any tactical adjustments, we're playing right into the hands of our opponents.
Olimpia and Chivas didn't have us scouted nearly as well as our MLS competition, so we weren't as exposed in those games...now we're into the league season, and until Soehn makes some changes, we're just going to see more of the same.
Ed: Very astute point. It is naive to think that everyone in the league is stupid and would never adjust to us. Well pointed out.
Not sure if anyone soaw on Soccer365 De Rosario is not signing a new contract in light of the new DP era (even just Adu pay level)...interesteing to see what happens. Maybe Houston will up his pay...maybe Toronto would put ina bid?
I agree with you, edthered. Blaming all of our shortcomings at the end of last season on tired legs was just wishful thinking. I only say that now with presbyopic hindsight. Maybe the coaching staff believed the same thing. If everybody took a few months off and got a nice nap, we could go back to the days of 15 game winning streaks. That's obviously not the case.
I have to admit that on Sunday I was pretty down in the mouth about the 4-2 result. Then my partner reminded me that it's better to start slow and hoist the cup than to fade down the stretch. I know that sounds simple enough, but it really cheered me up.
Now maybe this is premature, but while I was brooding, I also started to wonder what it would be like if we just continued to lose. Without getting into tactics, I'm pretty sure there's a way to right the ship (3-1-4-2 with BO at the 1). However, what if this ship was just too old and too thin in all the wrong places? Maybe this isn't the forum to discuss the implications of a 13th place finish, but the thought crossed my mind.
This is a team and a fan base that have really never had to deal with adversity. Yeah, there were a few lean years (00,01,02) when we were at sixes and sevens, but we never really sucked. I think that a small amount of sucking might be an unpleasant, but interesting experience. In this area, it's always interesting to see the number of Redskins fans quadruple after two wins in a row and then decrease by a power of ten after a Cowboys debacle. Would the same thing happen if DCU drops its first five? six? seven?
Most people reading this blog are fans through thick and thin, but you never know what mediocrity will bring from the casual fan. Also, it might be nice to actually have the kind of rivalry with RBNY where they have some remote chance of winning the occasional contest.
On second thought, no thanks.
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