I know Hassli is going to "come good" very soon

Just look at Fernando Torres today

slamo said: The narrow mid really leaves guys stuck without support on the wings in the defensive and middle third. A lot of long speculative balls are just clearances essentially. It is more extreme on the left with Jordan and Jay when he covers as neither has the offensive skill to gain their own space. Without Alain the opposition is really able to close off the box - when the Crew let Jordan walk in to 20 yard range and shut down the options what should have been a good goal scoring opportunity turned into a counter. Matt's opportunity came with bounces while surrounded by three defenders and YP scored off a bad cross. Other than that - nothing. Without our diamond of defense (Cannon, Bonjour, DeMerit, Davidson) we would be getting our asses handed to us day in day out.

Good analysis.

I thought DeMerit was dreadful last night. His mistakes could have proved costly on several occasions and he was getting completely burned by a rookie for the first 56 minutes.

GoF said: I thought DeMerit was dreadful last night. His mistakes could have proved costly on several occasions and he was getting completely burned by a rookie for the first 56 minutes.

First half Shoulder barged off a ball down the wing which left an open headed cross which most strikers would bury. Beat on a header from a corner kick which resulted in a shot off the crossbar. Got beat at the 18 where the shot just went wide. Better second half.

Feel like we are riding our luck, at least the breaks are going our way this season.

Chris said:

mayday said:

GoF said: I thought DeMerit was dreadful last night. His mistakes could have proved costly on several occasions and he was getting completely burned by a rookie for the first 56 minutes.

First half Shoulder barged off a ball down the wing which left an open headed cross which most strikers would bury. Beat on a header from a corner kick which resulted in a shot off the crossbar. Got beat at the 18 where the shot just went wide. Better second half.

Feel like we are riding our luck, at least the breaks are going our way this season.

The problem of course being luck tends to even out over time.

Perhaps this is make up luck for some of the terrible breaks we had last season?

I thought Harvey was absolutely dreadful. DeMerit was bad but at least he cleaned it up in the second half. Harvey was responsible for at least 5 chance-ending giveaways, as well as numerous other bad passes and terrible clearances. Can't wait for Rochat to come back.

Honestly, we were not only lucky to get any points, we deserved to give BACK points we already have earned. What a terrible, horrible game to watch.

I thought Watson and Omar were our brightest players. Koffie strong again in the middle.

Neeskens1974 said: Again far too many speculative hoofs when in possession. Not many available players when moving forward, pace coming to a complete standstill in (where else?) midfield.

Not much passing on the deck - y'know, the basic stuff. I don't know why this isn't being hammered in.

This is it really. I'm thrilled that we are earning points but I have no idea what sort of system we are developing because nothing has developed over our 8 games. I'm not particularly being negative I just haven't seen any progress in regards to moving the ball up the field. Pass the ball on the ground..... anyhow, our defenders are a joy to watch.....except for.....If you were an opposing coach and you saw a left side that was Harvey-Watson-Salgado vs a right side of Lee-Koffie-Le Toux, where would you direct your attack......The ball was at Harveys feet alot and I don't think that benefits us. Can't wait to see Rochat back in our lineup.

mayday said:

GoF said: I thought DeMerit was dreadful last night. His mistakes could have proved costly on several occasions and he was getting completely burned by a rookie for the first 56 minutes.

First half Shoulder barged off a ball down the wing which left an open headed cross which most strikers would bury. Beat on a header from a corner kick which resulted in a shot off the crossbar. Got beat at the 18 where the shot just went wide. Better second half.

Feel like we are riding our luck, at least the breaks are going our way this season.

Ah, just a difference of opinion then...if Jay was "beat" on the long corner that lead to the bicycle kick then I'm thinking we have different standards of being "beat". Geez.

slamo said:

mayday said:

First half Shoulder barged off a ball down the wing which left an open headed cross which most strikers would bury. Beat on a header from a corner kick which resulted in a shot off the crossbar. Got beat at the 18 where the shot just went wide. Better second half.

Feel like we are riding our luck, at least the breaks are going our way this season.

Ah, just a difference of opinion then...if Jay was "beat" on the long corner that lead to the bicycle kick then I'm thinking we have different standards of being "beat". Geez.

Well, DeMerit was marking Marshall, jumped for the corner and didn't get it, and Marshall put an easy ball back into the middle for the bicycle kick off the bar. I think my standard must be closer to mayday's. Do you think he did well on that?

slamo said: I'd ask what else could he have done?

Exactly. All too often I read complaints/concerns about something our players should have done / didn't do, and often it completely ignores the fact there's another team on the pitch working against us.

I'm not talking about poor giveaways and things our players do on their own. Sometimes the other team is just better. Did anyone blame Keller for Hassli's goal last year?

Brenton said: I thought Watson was very industrious in breaking up some Columbus possession but he mostly ran around a ton and looked busy without getting a lot done. 60% passing accuracy, 50% in the final third, is pretty poor.

Christ, his passing is really poor for a midfielder. He has good stamina and what not, but if you can't pass, that's not a good sign.

ynwasouthside-did you get up on the wrong side of bed or something?JMD is not the savior and he makes mistakes but you really took what I said WAY out of context.If I gave you that impressionetc.then that is my bad.Just wanted to have an honest exchange of views.Thanks for letting me express my thoughts but I won`t continue as it may be taken the wrong way.I am glad that you brought it to my attention.Peace!

slamo said: Net side - pressured him. The guy is 3 inches taller. He couldn't have done more. There was no wide support so it was a good set play that was defended fine. It would have been a run away goal of the week. I'd ask what else could he have done?

Not a lot. Maybe read the path of the ball better earlier? It was very well played by Marshall.

I'm quite sure JMD is a strong defensive midfielder.

But we're essentially playing with 5 in the back because JMD barely moves above the back four. That's great in defense, but I'm not sold it's the answer. > slamo said:

Yes. Exactly. I think Rennie is building an approach that involves asking a lot of the two CB's and JMD to spot in the middle. This has proven to be unbeatable except when Jay had one bad game and then again when Martin had a bad game. If either has a "bad" game I'm pretty sure we've given up several goals. Gersh tends to leave his man - Gavin's long bouncing shot being a perfect example - he drifts out of the game for a second and his man is net side - either he fouls or... Matt likes to get forward and take people on - so like Gersh - loses possession too frequently. As much fun as YP is too watch and despite how good he is - with 7 goals in 8 games (2 off set pieces - 3 if you count the SJ throw-in) more often than not his offensives forays end in 4 players running at three defenders. Personally I'd say without Joe, Jay, Martin, and JMD we'd be at the bottom of the west.

I agree with you, but I'm starting to get the impression you're a big fan of strong defensive football. ;)

You've heralded the hard work and smarter defensive play of Chiumiento, and are now singing praises of the big four in the back.

While I agree that Jay, Joe, Martin, and JMD have been good, my question is this: How the heck do we consistently win against the good teams in this league? We're on less than a goal a game so far this season. And we've played a few dreadful teams. While it's great there's some defensive responsibility from all 11 players, if no one is willing or able to turn and attack we're in for a long and boring year.

Outstanding. Wish we could tailgate near BC Place like that

ETA: I know this isn't the "Crap on Eric" thread, but he looked pretty happy to me at the end of that video.

Mmm, cevapcici. That's good eating. I've only had the Croatian variety. I'm sure the Serb version is good too, just slightly inferior. ;)

ynwasouthside said: Mmm, cevapcici. That's good eating. I've only had the Croatian variety. I'm sure the Serb version is good too, just slightly inferior. ;)

So that's how you spell it! I've only had the Serb variety, due to all our Serb friends. Why don't I think that they would agree with you on which one is better? Better not get into a discussion on which (Croation vs Serb) rakia is better, since I've got a couple of bottles (as presents) of their home made hooch.