Manchester United manhandles the All-Stars!!!
by Milo S on Jul 30, 2010 5:19 AM MDT
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Okay Soapboxers...I watched the MLS All-star game last night and knowing Denz he watched the Sounders game.
So, I will give you my "two cents" on the game. Just look at the title of this post! Yes, that is it! Man U beat down the MLS All-stars. I have to give the All-stars some credit where credit is due. They did turn up the intenstiy after going down 0-2 at the '12 mark The only problem I saw with the MLS squad was that they really weren't in sync with each other...granted this was the first time that they had played together.
I know one thing, Man U is the real deal! They are such a great and efficient attacking team. What is scary is that they didn't play four of their top players because of the World Cup layover.
We all knew that the All-Stars would have there hands full with this Man U team, but it really did look like Man U was too much for them.
If you weren't sitting down at the start of this game then you would have missed the first score for Man U. Italian-born Frederico Macheda scored off of a lazy pass from New England's Alston to our very own Olave within the first 25 seconds of the match!
And at the '12 mark, 18-year-old Macheda scored again with a header off a corner kick, which made the score 0-2. The MLS All-Stars had a great opportunity near the end of the first half when Juan Pablo Angel's blast was saved by Van der Sar. And at half, Manchester United was up 0-2.
The second half started off well for the All-Stars with Houston's very own Brian Ching scoring on a header off a set piece at the '64 mark. It wouldn't last long with Man U countering and scoring two more goals within nine (9) minutes. The third goal hit the back of the net by Darron Gibson who perfectly placed the ball in the upper left corner of the goal and Tom Cleverley's unbelievable ball handling score for the fourth goal of the match. Cleverley's goal was so fantastic that words cannot describe it.
More after the jump
Why you should watch Seattle vs. Metapan instead of the MLS All Star Match
by denz on Jul 28, 2010 3:57 PM MDT
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This isn't a knock on the All Star Match, I wish I would have been able to make it down and cover it for you all, but rather it is to embrace the "trophies not friendlies" mentality. If there is a match that matters it should be treated as the priority by the fans, the players, the coaches, the organization, and the league over those that might look good as ticket sales but mean nothing long term.
Last night we saw two very interesting matches, first was the TFC vs. CD Motagua in which both teams played as if their lives depended on the outcome (which was a 1-0 win for TFC). TFC's line up was Frei, Attakora, Cann, Garcia, Usanov, de Guzman, De Rosario, Nane, Barrett, Peterson, and White. It was in fact one of their strongest possible lineups. The teams battled and it was Chad Barrett who gave his team a one goal lead heading into the second leg of this aggregate goal series.
The second match was also interesting but for a very different reason, it was the LA Galaxy vs Puerto Rico Islanders. LA stated a mixed lineup: Saunders, Berhalter, Lewis, DeLaGarza, Leonardo, Birchall, Donovan, Franklin, Gomes, Buddle, and Gordon. A solid mix of starters and reserves, but the result was a 4-1 win by the Islanders. Now the first two goals by the Islanders were solid goals, but LA had been the better team, but it was clear at the halftime break that LA wasn't playing well and everyone watching (including the commentators) could see it.
more after the jump:
A quick look at numbers for Real Salt Lake
by denz on Jul 27, 2010 9:47 PM MDT
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OK, no graphs today just a quick look at the numbers:
31 points from 17 matches- at the same pace RSL would end the year with 54 or 55 points and clearly in the playoffs. In both 2008 it took RSL until week 23 to get to this point, and last year it took until week 24.
RSL is tired for most goals scored in MLS with the LA Galaxy, both have 29 goals scored. RSL hit this point in week 20 last year, and in week 23 in 2008.
RSL's defense is much improved, they have given up just 14 goals, tied for 3rd best in MLS. Last year after 17 matches RSL had given up 21 goals, in 2008 they had allowed 19, the number is the lowest total the team has allowed thru 17 matches in their history.
Real Salt Lake is chasing the LA Galaxy (40 points-18 matches) and the Columbus Crew (34 points-17 matches) for the Supporter Shield, they are also waiting to see who the final two teams in their CONCACAF Champions League group will be. It is going to be a fun couple months as we watch Real Salt Lake continue their journey towards another MLS Cup and whatever other trophies they can claim.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
Week 17 Major League Power Rankings
by denz on Jul 26, 2010 8:56 PM MDT
1 comment
Well it was a light week of MLS action, with just 5 matches and 3 of them ended in draws. Only Columbus and Seattle were able to get wins and each have moved up the rankings.
16. DC United (-1)
No MLS action for DC United this weekend, and yet with Chivas doing well on the road against RSL, United moved down the rankings. United sent just one player to the MLS All Star match, Jamie Moreno, in what many believe is a more honorary selection by the comish to honor one of the all time greats in MLS. Up next will be a trip to Rio Tinto Stadium to face Real Salt Lake and their 19 match home unbeaten streak.
15. New England (-1)
Well it might just be that New England should consider a move down south of the border, they went 3-0 in their SuperLiga group. That doesn't help their 4-9-2 record in league play, and up next for them is a trip to PPL park to face off against the Philadelphia Union. The Rev's need to find some offense their 13 goals scored is 3rd worst in MLS.
more after the jump:
RSL 1 - Chivas USA 1 video highlights and post match comments
by denz on Jul 25, 2010 9:48 AM MDT
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Here are the match highlights via mlssoccer.com
and the video of the post match press conference:
I will be posting a full match review later today.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
RSL 1 - Chivas USA 1 - quick thoughts and post match comments
by denz on Jul 25, 2010 1:19 AM MDT
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Well it was clear that Chivas came in looking to play a very defensive mindset and would try to score of quick counters using Braun as their target. They did exactly what they came into do, get a result. RSL didn't play poorly at all, they clearly controlled possession and were the better team between the 18 yard boxes, but inside the area both sides were able to get one ball into the back of the net.
I know some people are going to dislike this next part, but you know that I try to be honest and that I call things as I see them. I thought Kyle Beckerman played a great 60 minutes, as an individual player he did almost everything right but you could tell that after missing a couple months that they style and understanding of the midfield had changed and I believe it will take a couple matches back for everyone to get used to playing with each other again.
The stats clearly show that RSL was the more aggressive and attacking team, a 20 to 5 advantage in shots, a 8 to 2 advantage in shots on goal and I would estimate a 60-40 edge in possession, but the score board is what matters and that ended 1-1 as RSL didn't lose any ground to LA but failed to take advantage of a match where they could have closed ground on the Western Conference leaders. Enough from me, here are the comments of RSL head coach Jason Kreis:
Overall thoughts on the match:
"If we could play the game between the teams, we won that one didn't we? Unfortunately, you have to count the number of times it ends up in the back of the net. I think that quality was lacking just a bit for us. There were a couple of opportunities where I thought we could have done better, and maybe we should have done better. And obviously we made a mistake in front of our goal, but we win together and lose together. It would be easy to stand here and say ‘I can't believe Nick Rimando would make that kind of mistake,' but the converse of that is ‘I can't believe our midfielders and forwards didn't put more goals in.'"
On the result:
"I'm not disappointed with the results; I thought we did everything necessary to get a win. I'm very pleased with the guys' effort, energy, mentality - everything they did to the best of their abilities, and I can't ask for anything more."
On the return of Captain Kyle Beckerman:
"He was good. He was in the right spots, maybe a little bit rusty. He lost a few more balls than he typically would, one or two, and that's more than he usually does. I'm very pleased that he made it through 60 minutes with no problems, and we'll see how he is tomorrow."
On Ned Grabavoy's go-ahead volley in the 67th minute:
"It was fantastic. It was one of those strikes that gets me to jump off the bench."
On Chivas USA's equalizer from Jesus Padilla:
"The ball was struck hard at Nick [Rimando], and I think he said he blocked it down in between his own legs and into the back of the net. That doesn't happen often, and I'm sure that now that it's out of his system, it won't happen again this year."
More comments from RSL players after the jump:
Who is the best GK in MLS for the 1st half of the season?
by Milo S on Jul 24, 2010 5:39 PM MDT
1 comment
Now fellow Soapboxers, I've been "chompin' at the bit" to write something concerning the goal keepers in Major League Soccer. I understand that the MLS is rated something like the 88th best futbol league in the world, but I just don't see it! Our league is very competitive and on top of that...I think we have some of the finest goal keepers in the world today. I know how people think that all the top goal keepers are in the other futbol leagues throughout the world, but that is not the case here.
We have a couple of GKs who I think are ready to take it to the next "proverbial" level! I will give you Soapboxers some insight on the three or four GKs that I think are above and beyond the rest in MLS. I would love to hear your insight and opinions concerning these particular GKs and if you have a different GK you love...let us know!
These GKs have been placed in alphabetical order so as not to release to you in the beginning who I think is the best GK in MLS:
Kevin Hartman, FC Dallas: Hartman has played in 11 games this season and all 990 minutes in net. He has saved 32 of 39 shots on goal and given up only 7 goals; which constitutes a 0.64 goals against average (GAA). He has five (5) shutouts on the season and his record this year is 6-1-4. I have to admit I have only seen the RSL game when he played in net.
William Hesmer, Columbus Crew: Hesmer has played in 16 games this season and all 1440 minutes in net. He has saved 51 of 64 shots on goal and given up 13 goals; which constitutes a 0.81 GAA. He has seven (7) shutouts for the season and his record this year is 9-3-4. I have to admit that I have only seen maybe two of his 16 games this year.
Donovan Ricketts, L.A. Galaxy: Ricketts has played in 17 games this season and all 1530 minutes in net. He has saved 48 of 58 shots on goal and only given up an amazing 10 goals; which constitutes a league leading 0.59 GAA. He also has a league leading nine (9) shutouts for the season and his record is 12-2-3. I watched the ESPN MLS Game of the Week on Wednesday and saw him give up 20% of his goals (2) on the year against a formidable San Jose Earthquake squad.
Nick Rimando, Real Salt Lake: Rimando has played in 16 games this season and all 1440 minutes in net. He has saved 47 of 60 shots on goal and only given up 13 goals; which consitutes a 0.81 GAA. He has seven (7) shutouts for the season and his record is 9-4-3. I have seen nearly every game of Rimando's season and he has played very, very well.
After the jump I discuss with you all who I think is the top GK in MLS.
And the winner is:
by denz on Jul 24, 2010 1:38 PM MDT
3 comments
OK, while the response to my contest wasn't impressive in numbers it was impressive in quality (for the most part), and picking a winner wasn't easy. Those who know me, know that I am not nearly as mean as I act, so I am not going to pick a winner, and while I can't give each of these people tickets to tonights match, I am going to give them my tickets to a match so let's do it this way:
7-24 RSL vs. Chivas - Mr. Slick
7-31 RSL vs DC United - Salt Lake Kiddy
Either 8/14 or 8/18 RSL vs Crew or RSL vs Arabe Unido - 15 to 32
Each of you presented great stories of how being an a fan of RSL has impacted your life.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
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