Post New England, Pre Chivas

New England Reaction:

With the short schedule for RSL this week, this is going to be a double post of sorts. First, the "game" that RSL played over in Boston. Just like you would expect, RSL showed why it is one of the worst road teams in the league. Going into a game against an opponent with half as much rest, RSL looked the less composed and more tired squad for pretty much 80 minutes of the game. Of course there were stretches where RSL looked like an actual competent soccer team (findley off the post) but there was too much bad to make this a point deserving game for RSL.

Player Evals:

Rimando: B
It sucks when he gets so little help in front of him, but I felt he could have done a bit better on one or two of the goals. A cross should never come into a keepers 6 yard box without him being there to meet it, and Rimando has to learn to actually block the ball away from goal if he cant save it. Too many times Rimando gets caught ball watching on crosses, and when a shot comes in he pushes it to the center of goal rather than away or all the way across the frame.

Wingert: C
Awful, it seemed as though all of the New England attack came down his wing. Its sad we don't have Ian Joy anymore because he would be a starter (well with most coaches) a long time ago.

Russell: D
Seriously one of the worst matches I have seen from any RSL player (that includes Mr Horst shit himself). Russell should be in contention for man of the match... for new england.

Borchers: C
He seems to struggle without a physical presence like Olave supporting him. He too got burned on the goals quite a bit, too much ball watching.

Beltran: B+
One of the few bright spots for the team this game and really this season has been tony. He did his job on the right side of D for RSL. Its too bad he was surrounded by incompetent players in the D.

Beckerman: C+
So this guy goes and works his tail off for the nat team. That nat team wasn't exactly super stars, at the most it was a bunch of high quality MLS players. So where is that work and consistency in the RSL kit? very strange to me that he disappears to much with this team when he was standing out with the other.

Johnson: C
For claiming this was a big game, Johnson sure seemed to disappear for LONG stretches of the match. He was huge for us last season when we made the final push, but has become less and less effective this season.

Javi: C
He wasn't having the greatest of matches for the short time he was on, and its hard to say how it would have gone. But being an RSL fan/supporter, its pretty easy to see how it very likely would have gone. Hope he gets feeling better, if he does in fact have a groin problem, don't expect to see him for 2-4 weeks.

Espy: B+ (MOTM)
Espy showed once again that he will do the work that is needed from him, and then some. I feel bad for the guy since he is on a team that plays "attacking soccer" yet gets no support around the 18.

Findley: C-
Lets just admit it people, Findley is not that good and is in a slump right now. I think my 8 year old brother could have put that one away that he rang off the post. Why he decided he had to take 3 touches after getting the ball from Reis is beyond me. But if Findley was on any other team, he would never start. His speed only works late in games when he is fresh and the D is not... but don't expect JK to realize this EVER.

REK: B
I thought Khalifi did alright. You can tell he is still adjusting a bit to the team, but it was a much better performance than his last game (and that wasn't that bad in my opinion). His crosses are, as advertised, pin point... we just cant finish them.

Andy: B-
For how many minutes he had to put in, Andy did quite well. Towards the end, it seemed he and Espy were the only ones willing to work off the ball to make something happen. That is a pretty pathetic thing to say considering his fitness level compared to everyone else.

Ned: B
Didn't really get much, but was there for the lone RSL goal.

Campos: B-
The guy doesn't impress me with his feet (which he is supposedly great with) and he isn't a very big threat in the air despite having a couple inches on most players... its confusing to say the least as to why JK and co were so big on this guy.

RSL: C
Awful awful AWFUL night. Not exactly the raping I was thinking that it could easily have been, but to allow some guy named Dube to get a hat-trick on us... that's pathetic in the very least. Jason, better start getting that resume prepared.


Chivas Pregame:
This Wednesday we host Chivas USA (sadly not the real one yet) in what is a must win game if anybody wants to take this team seriously for the rest of the season. Before the New England game people were saying that we needed to get at least 6 points out of the next 3 matches, well that means a win here and a win at Kansas City... Do I have my doubts, of course I do, but I still think this team has that fighting spirit somewhere (in Germany) to win some games.

Nothing about this game gives me any hope of an RSL win though. A short week, a cross-country travel back home, a total lack of heart lately, and we cant seem to finish anything in front of goal (even if its wide open) unless the other team puts it in for us... The one thing to look forward to this game is what JK will do with Yura and Mathis. Rumors are they both are on the outs with the club, what does this mean for this game? Who knows.

Starting XI will likely be:
Rimando
Wingert Olave Borchers Beltran
Johnson Javi/Andy Beckerman
Espy Findley REK

If Javi can go (I highly doubt it) then I would expect to see Andy out there despite him not being a 90 minute guy. Personally, I think if you don't get the win this game, its time to start mixing up the lineup and figuring out who you want to keep for next season and who should go.

Prediction: RSL 1 Chivas 1

And JK gets a nice gift from me against Chicago

Cheers,
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