Comments on The DCenters: Debriefing for Match 13.04: Columbus Crew

Hi, and sorry I couldn't be there/run into you.Spo...

2008-04-20T10:09:00.000-04:00

Hi, and sorry I couldn't be there/run into you.

Spot on about Wells. That was not the first time this season we've seen him have essentially fatal difficulty communicating with the back line. This shouldn't be hard to work out, and I'm not opposed to Carvallo as a solution.

I'm also very, very unhappy about Emilio. I don't see a lot in Beaky Dyachenko either, but I'm not opposed to giving him a start or two up front to get Emilio the message that he needs to break through whatever's fogging his brain. If he has instructions to do things with his back to the goal, that's one thing. Those instructions don't include "get abused and fall down" or "procrastinate through any reasonable chance of a decent shot."

I'm not as unhappy as you and some others about Fred. I'm seeing a lot more spark there this season. I agree with you about the creativity deficiency, but I'm wondering if there was something to the notion that he was awfully tired for all of last season (from not getting much of a season break).

Oh, and the Frankie takedown was way totally a penalty. There was another takedown that didn't resonate so clearly, and there was a not-particularly-artful Fred-dive. But it's surely charming that a Social Security recipient like Frankie can manage to wrestle Emilio to the ground. I hope he's easier on his walker.

Of all of it, the thing that disappoints me most is one I haven't mentioned, but others have; why isn't some of this fixed yet, especially the backline communication problem? I have always been convinced that Soehn has little clue of how to coach a defense. I do not wish to be unkind, and not all of The D Conditions (which I accept as The Law, of course) have been clearly met. But.

Honestly, we didn't deserve to tie that. Sure, the...

2008-04-19T15:39:00.000-04:00

Honestly, we didn't deserve to tie that. Sure, there should have been a penalty, and sure, the ref was HORRENDOUS on both sides, but really, we flat-out sucked in general. With the exception of Martinez (who may give Ben Olsen a run for his money for my favorite player) and a decent showing from Gallardo, we were terrible. Ugh. All I have to say is that we need a decisive victory over the Mormons to gain some momentum and confidence. And maybe a team bonding night. There's no chemistry.

Jeremy - I agree. And asking our DP to adapt to "M...

2008-04-18T16:50:00.000-04:00

Jeremy - I agree. And asking our DP to adapt to "MLS style" would be the easier path. But I'd rather stretch the team to step up to something better -- even if it's rough in the short-term, and risky overall.

D - Thanks! Now sing it with me... "Always look on the bright side of life..."

;)

I think Jair is a one of U.S. Soccer's best. He's ...

2008-04-18T16:41:00.000-04:00

I think Jair is a one of U.S. Soccer's best. He's close up on plays, has a strong personality, and a lot of courage. He's the one that saw and took back Gomez's handling to tie DC last year in the Chicago second leg when other refs might have let it go.

I have no doubt if he saw a PK, he would call it, and pull red if he had to. I think he calls a looser game than some other centers, but I think he calls a good game.

We will see, however, if U.S. Soccer says anything in its Week 4 memo next week.

RKE- I like your take on it, and I still am optimi...

2008-04-18T15:38:00.000-04:00

RKE- I like your take on it, and I still am optimistic, just frustrated. If it works out the way you are thinking, we will all celebrate, I just don't see any growth at all yet.

Unfortunately, you missed the whole point of my qu...

2008-04-18T15:34:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, you missed the whole point of my question about Gallardo. He does have the vision to see "Hey, if I put the ball here and Emilio runs on to it, we've got a sure fire goal." Unfortunately, he has no concept of where Emilio is actually going to run. What good does a perfect pass into space do if no one is there. Communication and understanding go both ways, and there is definitely fault on the side of the rest of the team. However, all I hear are people saying "Oh yeah, I see what Gallardo was thinking. That would have been a great play if..." Gallardo just doesn't get that he isn't playing with the Argentine World Cup Team and isn't adjusting his "vision" to take account for the abilities and instincts of his actual teammates.

RKE: That's the best case I've read that anyone ha...

2008-04-18T15:18:00.000-04:00

RKE: That's the best case I've read that anyone has made for optimism. Bravo. Now to con myself into believing it.

Call me weird, but I'm still optimistic. That game...

2008-04-18T15:10:00.000-04:00

Call me weird, but I'm still optimistic. That game could have gone either way, and losing to Columbus this year isn't as embarrassing as it would have been last year.

I think the crux is still how the team reacts to Gallardo. He's like a chess-master, playing his passes a step ahead of the game, always predicting.

The problem is, our players are accustomed to getting beautiful passes placed right at their feet.

Gallardo is placing them where their feet are about to be. But last year's Emilio doesn't trust it -- he stops his run and turns around, expecting the ball at his feet. Instead it's a few yards ahead, past the defenders and out of play.

When Emilio and company get their heads in line with Gallardo, the team will improve dramatically -- even evolve to the next level.

I think that's part of why Quaranta looks good -- he's not biased by what Gomez used to do so well, and he's predicting the play.

Moreno is not a runner, so he's forging something different, and challenging Gallardo to change his game. He's a distribution center up front -- a safe, go-to spot on the field that Gallardo needs to learn to trust and use.

So I guess I see this: Gomez was brilliant because he brought the best out of a great MLS team. Gallardo is trying to bring a great MLS team up to higher standards. It hasn't clicked yet, and currently it doesn't look pretty.

It's risky... Maybe it won't work. But if it does, we'll be singing some happy chants later in the season.

What I saw of it (and the replay on the bi g scree...

2008-04-18T14:13:00.000-04:00

What I saw of it (and the replay on the bi g screen) I would probably say DOGSO red and PK... to Hejduk for +1.5 goals. I CANNOT believe Hejduk made it through that game without a yellow card much less red.

Fred played A-mid in Oz, I believe. Might have pl...

2008-04-18T13:23:00.000-04:00

Fred played A-mid in Oz, I believe. Might have played in the hole for some games, too. I don't think of him as a target man though, which is what we really lack.

Gallardo's problem is that he's making great insti...

2008-04-18T13:21:00.000-04:00

Gallardo's problem is that he's making great instinctive passes that United players either don't read or do read and can't get to or do read and do get but can't do anything with it.

Gallardo is the least of the problems.

D, it was great running into you last night.

P.S. I was just thinking about this - What about ...

2008-04-18T12:26:00.000-04:00

P.S. I was just thinking about this - What about Fred as a striker? He has the work rate, the speed and skill to beat defenders and that tendency to work in the box. Wasn't Fred a forward in Australia?
Were I Tommy Soehn, I'd take Emilio out for a game and put Tino on the wing and Fred up front with Moreno. I think both Fred's and Moreno's ability to beat at least one defender might enable them to break through defenses as a team. But if I were Tommy Soehn, the team would probably be 0-0-4 and wouldn't have beaten Harbour View, so take it for what its worth (nothing).

I seem to be a little more frustrated than everyon...

2008-04-18T12:15:00.000-04:00

I seem to be a little more frustrated than everyone else. Maybe I got my hopes up after the Toronto and second Pachuca games.
Simms - we may have been over excited about, BUT I still think he shows a lot of potential. If he can get his touch down, I feel like he will be worth the hype. Great energy, but I also like his instincts. I think D once talked about his defending instincts, but I like his attacking, particularly 20 yards out or so. I like that he's willing to shoot from that range, and though he hasn't been successful yet this year, the ball doesn't end up closer to the corner flag or the upper deck than the crossbar like so many shots from distance (see Emilio's ranged attempt last night). Nor does he wait for the defense to form in front of him before he tries a shot, how many blocked shots have their been this year because the ball was held two or three seconds too long? But he doesn't always shoot either, I think his vision and finding open players shows strength as well.
Gallardo - I think plays well, sort of. There were so many good passes that he made with no one on the end of them. He's not clicking with the team, not just Moreno, I think. Maybe that's something that will come with time. If not, something needs to be done, it is true that some of his "great" passes become simply turnovers because there is no one to receive them and that cannot stand, DC will not win games like that.
Emilio - What the hell happened?
Wells - There's been some good play, but he's leakier than the kitchen in my first apartment. I don't know if its nerves. Most games we've seen poor communication between Wells and the defenders - how is this not fixed yet?
McTavish and Burch - Not to lump them together, but, well, I am. I think Burch and McTavish both have moments of brilliance and are going to help the team on the field, but I think their spots are up for grabs to anyone who can demonstrate consistency. With those two, play ranges from "God, I love that" to "Umm, where was that supposed to go?" and it varies not by game but by possession which makes it hard to get a rhythm going. I would rather see Tino get more playing time in place of one of these guys. At least for now.
Dyachenko - I have never seen what anyone sees in this fellow. Maybe we could use a Peter Crouch stand-in to finish chipped balls, if the other strikers had the work rate of Kuyt, but Emilio and Moreno are out of shape. I don't see how he will ever fit into the DC attack.
There's more, but this post is getting lengthy. I know I am supposed to have learned from last year, but I'm getting dangerously close to start-in with the "sky is falling." This game did not indicate promise of better things to come - it was better than RSL, but if they had played worse Soehn should really just have promoted the reserves in their entirety. Last night I think DC looked like a team that will finish the season in the middle-to-bottom half of the East and may or may not get the last playoff spot. I don't think its a talent gap, but I really don't know why the team looks so dreary (to me) as a whole.

The word that stands out to me in defining Moreno'...

2008-04-18T11:52:00.000-04:00

The word that stands out to me in defining Moreno's work for the Crew is GRIT.

United doesn't have it right now... and it shouldn't be blamed on a missing Ben Olsen.

Altough I see it at times from Quaranta, which is encouraging, Martinez is the only one out there that looks like he is in it to get the job done at all costs.

To get results we're going to need a real gut check from all sides to earn that ugly goal or break up a run that beats 4 players before our goalkeeper wanders out of the net. Then we'll start earning points against teams that United may be more technically and individually superior.

My lasting impression from last night's game was h...

2008-04-18T11:51:00.000-04:00

My lasting impression from last night's game was how often our guys were watching the ball and waiting for it to come to them only to see a streaking yellow shirt come and gobble it up first.

That exchange between Martinez and Wells was a def...

2008-04-18T11:41:00.000-04:00

That exchange between Martinez and Wells was a defining moment of the match. My friend sitting next to me immediately commented, in a resigned tone, "Well, I hope we start Carvallo in the next game," and I could only nod my head sadly in agreement. I would prefer that Zach succeed, and I'm more than willing to allow him a couple of strikes along the way, but that was just an inexcusable schoolboy play. It's little wonder Martinez was steamed afterwards and (so far as I could tell) for the rest of the match.