NJURY REPORT: COLUMBUS CREW — OUT: FW Jason Garey (R ankle sprain); MF Cory Elenio (L hamstring strain); DF Frankie Hejduk (R hamstring tightness); QUESTIONABLE: GK William Hesmer (L knee sprain); PROBABLE: DF Chad Marshall (facial contusion); MF Robbie Rogers (L hamstring tightness) … CHICAGO FIRE – OUT: FW Peter Lowry (L knee sprain); FW Calen Carr (L ACL tear); DF Daniel Woolard (R ankle sprain); DOUBTFUL: DF C.J. Brown (R quad strain);
QUESTIONABLE: DF Wilman Conde (L hip flexor strain); PROBABLE: DF Gonzalo Segares (R quad contusion)

The Crew and Fire shared the honors in their two reglar season meetings last season. The Fire ended the Crew’s US Open Cup run last season with a 3-2 victory in extra time. Of course, the Crew got their revenge on the Fire in the Eastern Conference Finals in the playoffs with Chad Marshall’s header to win it.

The Crew should be buoyed by the likely return of Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers to the squad. Frankie Hejduk is still not ready however and first choice keeper Will Hesmer is very questionable. Hopefully the returns will be enough to earn the Crew their first victory of the season.

The point of this long winded, babbling rant is to say that this weekend the Crew will be missing a few players due to international duties. As one of the biggest “club over country” guys on this web site, situations like these result in me banging my head on the wall and nervously looking at injury reports from countries where my team’s players take the field. Frankie Hejduk, Alejandro Moreno, and Duncan Oughton will all be missing this weekend’s match against TFC (Total Fucking Crap amirite?). Pat Noonan will also still be out due to a lower back injury and Robbie Rogers is listed as questionable, but if what Robbie said during the fan forum is true, he will be good to go. Adam Moffat is not listed in the injury report and might be available for this weekend’s match. Moffat of course scored a cracking goal against TFC last year. After Emmanuel Ekpo struggled last weekend playing in a center midfield role, Moffat, a natural center mid and as a Scot a holder of the ability to “Get Stuck In”, might be a better fit for the Polish Rifle’s center midfielder.

TFC will also be missing players due to international duty. The Canadian Reds will be without Amado Guevara and Carl Robinson as they report for Honduras and Wales respectively. Crew fans should be warned, this is not your father’s TFC (well, since I guess they are only three years old, your older brother’s TFC?). As shown by last week’s impressive 3-2 victory over Kansas City, Toronto can put the ball in the back of the net. While perhaps their best offensive threat Guevara will be gone this weekend, Crew fans should not expect a hapless TFC to only get scoring opportunities on penalties and then miss then (Mo Edu…double as fun now that he is on Rangers haw haw). Toronto’s weak point is still their back line and hopefully Guillermo Barros Schelotto, a healthy Robbie Rogers, and company will be able to exploit it. A big game will be needed from Gino Padula, who seemed to have a shaky game in Houston, and Danny O’Rourke, who might be replacing Frankie Hejduk at the right back spot. They need to own the wings to let Schelotto and Rogers have the room to be creative and show the flare and skill they have. I see Toronto scoring first and then the Crew coming back in typical Crew style and putting three unanswered goals on America’s Hat.

Who: Houston Dynamo (2008-1st in Western Conference, Quarterfinals of the MLS Playoffs)
What: Matchday 1 Crew- 0 pts. Houston-0 pts.
Where: Houston, Texas-Robertson Stadium
When: Saturday March 21st, 8 PM Eastern

So Garber and co. must really be having a laugh with this one. Rumored to not be the biggest fan of the Columbus MLS franchise and handing the MLS Cup to “Captain Guillermo Barros Schelotto” (direct quote from the ceremony) despite the fact that Frankie Hejduk is actually the captain, when the Don saw this tie on the first day of the schedule, him and the boys must have had a couple of knee slaps and gut busting laughs. Nothing will hinder a cup defense like sending the holders to one of the best teams in the MLS home pitch. Ok, so maybe my time as a Celtic fan has made me a bit paranoid. Perhaps Garbes (can I call you Garbes?) was looking for a match up between to of the top teams in MLS to highlight opening weekend and perhaps thought that Ohio has a tendency to be a bit chilly this time of year. You quit your rational thought, there is no place for that on this blog! Anyways,…

Saturday night will certainly be the pick of the MLS openers. The top two teams of the 2008 MLS regular season facing off. Schelotto vs. Holden, Hesmer vs. Onstead, the match-ups are certainly tasty to a neutral fan, but to a Crew supporter it’s mind numbingly stressful.

The big news of Houston’s off-season was the departure of Dwayne DeRosario. The Canadian international went back home to the Great White North. The loss of DeRosario is a big one, as the attacking midfielder netted 7 goals for the Dynamo and was the center of Houston attack. Kei Kamara was brought in this off-season and Houston fans hope Kamara can replace some of the offensive spark that DeRosario brought. Luckily for Crew fans, Kamara will be suspended for Saturday’s match.

The Crew will still have to deal with striker Brian Ching. The US National Team member is always tough to deal with, but it will be interesting to see how Ching’s performance is without DeRosario on the field. With DeRo gone and Kamara suspended, the Crew will be able to focus on Ching and hopefully be able to shut him down.

On the injury report, Houston will be missing defender Eddie Robinson because of knee problems. For the Crew, Pat Noonan is the only one listed, due to his back problems. Adam Moffat is not on the injury list, but I would not expect the Scot to start on Saturday as he continues to recover from last year’s knee problems. Expect Emmanuel Ekpo to get the start in the midfield for the Crew. Other than Ekpo, I would expect to see a line-up similar to what the Crew used last season. Alejandro Moreno will most likely be the lone striker, with Schelotto, Carroll, Rogers, Gaven, along with Ekpo.

Saturday will be a tough first test for the Crew. Houston will be a pretty good indication if the Crew are operating with the same magic that they did last year. Any points taken from Houston on Saturday will be good points, but for some reason I believe that the loss of Kamara will give the Crew the edge. Without DeRosario the Dynamo lose some attacking prowless and their replacement will not even be there. I see the Crew winning 1-0, with a late Alejandro Moreno goal.

Last week’s game against the Rapids was the first without Rogers and Ekpo. Sigi debuted a 3-5-2 starting line up with Lenhart up top with Moreno in his first start. Hejduk was moved from defense to the midfield as the fifth man. With Schelotto playing a bit back compared to most games.  I thought it made sense to formalize Hejduk’s position in the midfield since he’s been playing up there for a month. But with Hejduk out does the 3-5-2 still make sense?

Possibly. If they keep the 3-5-2 Jason Garey is going to be as effective as Lenhart up top. In Colorado, Schelotto was teamed in the midfield with Miglioranzi, Gaven, Carroll, and Hejduk. Rookie Corey Elenio looked sharp in the two international friendlies if Sigi wants to make Hejduk’s spot offensive minded. Ezra Hendrickson could get the nod for his experience and a more defensive mindset. 

Brad Evans took a knock to the ankle in Denver and may not be available. Miglioranzi played 45 minutes against the Rapids with Evans playing the other 45. I think bringing a fresh midfielder in at the half is great idea if they both understand that they’re expected to give 90 minutes of effort in 45. Elenio could be kept back for the second half.

If they go back to a 4-4-2 I think we still see Garey up top and Schelotto in center midfield, but Ezra’s a shoe-in on defense, although Jed Zayner seems to have Sigi’s eye.

Enticingly, Sigi barred Shawn Mitchell (everyone really, but Mitchell’s pretty sure he just means him) so that line-up and tactical decision don’t make it into the press before game time. Evidently Sigi felt like the 3-5-2 change should have been hard for the Rapids to adjust to, but since it was in theDispatch before game time, they came out ready to defend against it, effectively shutting down the Crew’s plan of attack. Could Sigi have some nefarious plan of attack up his teutonic sleeve?

Houston made a decent showing when they came to Columbus, showing good attacking play in the second half, although Columbus handled everything they brought. The Dynamo seems to improve measurably as their seasons go on, and they’ve made a good showing in SuperLiga this month. They’re still only a middle of the pack Western Conference team at this point, but they should not be taken lightly. Two factors that may contribute to a Columbus result are that Houston might show some fatigue from their SuperLiga match being just 4 days ago and, All-Star Dwayne DeRosario is out. 

Against Chicago Sigi had Brian Carroll mark up Blanco. Carroll had his best performance of the season. Brian Ching has 7 of Houston’s 19 goals. DeRosario is the only other player with more than one goal. If Carroll can mark up Ching as effectively as he did Blanco, the Dynamo could be done. 

Finally, Columbus has struggled in their attempts to control possession. If they can concentrate on holding the ball and working quality chances forward – play they’ve shown capable of – Columbus could turn a match they probably should tie into a win. 

Columbus is without Ekpo and Rogers as they prepare for the Olympics. That may take some of the sting out of their attack. It looks like Sigi is making some interesting adjustments. I usually describe the Crew’s formation as a 4-4-2, but it’s more like a 4-4-1-1 with Schelotto playing an advanced midfielder-slash-secondary forward role. It will be interesting to see the Crew with Guillermo dropped back a bit into the midfield with Moreno and Lenhart (or Garey) as the more tradition second forward. It looks like they’ll also move to a 3 man back line, to end up with a 3-5-2 that looks different than anything we’ve seen this year. 

I endorsed the idea of a 3-man back line after the Rapids visited Columbus in June and again after the Fire visited Columbus on July 5th.  It just formalizes the role Hejduk has played for the last two months and puts everyone on notice that they need to step up for it.. 

Hopefully the Crew can add another example of the East’s general dominance over the Western Conference tonight before the high altitude takes the air out of their game. I think we’ll see a 2-2 draw. 

On offense, Kansas City has the longest scoreless streak 409 minutes in May and June versus the Crew’s 371 minute drought in the same time period. Those are the 2 longest this year. And that seems to be the bigger part of the problem for the Wizards: they can’t get on the board. Their goal per game average is .93. On the road it slips to .63. If you look through the offensive statistics you’ll find several different Crew players over and over in the top ranks for generating offense: shots, goals, assists, corner kicks, streaks… But Kansas City only has Claudio Lopez and Jack Jewsbury showing up here and there. That’s why they’re bringing Josh Wolff back after he spent 2 years in the Bundesliga second division.

Despite the team’s troubles, Lopez is formidable, and could really make a turn for the Wizards if he and Wolff can make a connection. There’s a good chance of that happening eventually. Wolff’s international and cap experience makes him a good partner for Lopez, but I doubt they connect by Thursday.

KC’s big hope: the Crew defense gives up another early one, and then they have trouble closing the deal on offense. I’ve said enough about defensive issues in Columbus. Some of it’s bad luck, but not all of it. If the Crew can hold possession in the first 15 minutes and not give Kansas City a chance to score it would go a long way toward a win. Getting a goal in the first half should basically put KC to bed. They’ve never won when they conceded the first goal, and they’ve never won when down at the half.

or:

Salty lake of tears
Yellow team victorious
Hejduk removes shirt

There are a lot of parallels between the Crew and the Fire. For one, the Crew is only 2-3-2 since May 17. The Crew had 4 games without a goal from 5/17 to 6/7, but have scored 8 goals in the 3 games since. The Fire hasn’t scored a goal since June 10, but even with those 3 goal-less games they maintain the best goal differential in MLS at 9, compared to Columbus at 5. Icredibly, Columbus and Chicago failed to score against the some of the same teams: both failed to produce against San Jose and Chivas USA during their goal droughts.

The Crew seemed to keep faith during their goalless streak, proclaiming in every interview that the goals would come. It’s hard to read the mind set of the Chicago side, even if Chad Barrett seems a little shaken by his failure to score. Still, it’s probably better for the Crew to assume the worst: Chicago wants to do the Crew at home like Columbus did Kansas City: a homestand shaming. With Sigi Schmid out this week for his daughter’s wedding, I’m curious to see how Robert “The Polish Rifle”
Warzycha directs the Crew, especially how he manages substitutions and halftime adjustments.
Mexican legend Cuauhtemoc Blanco plays a similar role for Chicago that Schelotto plays for Columbus: a veteran playmaker who can control play and create chances. Managing Blanco is a critical detail for Columbus this week. Defender Wilman Conde has recently stepped up to join Gonzalo Segares as stand outs in the back and should provide strong pressure against the Columbus attack.

Tomasz Frankowski, Chad Barrett, and Chris Rolfe provide attacking options up front, but offensive play has had trouble gelling and seems to get broken up in the midfield. Andy Herron left Columbus to start 2008 with Chicago and is competing for the starting spot in the attack. However, Herron went out after 16 minutes last week and won’t play this week due to a concussion.

A real standout for Chicago, even during this tough stretch, is South African midfielder John Thorrington. He has a strong presence on the field and transitions well from offensive to defensive play. Still, Chicago’s weakness seems to be in the midfield. They give up a lot of possession here, and haven’t been able to control the tempo of their recent games.

To win, Columbus will need to focus a little more on possession than in previous weeks and still be ready find opportunities for the quick, dangerous attacks and counterattacks that have led to many of this year’s goals. Controlling the midfield, especially winning 50-50 balls and aggressively pressuring Chicago in the middle third could really unlock the game for Columbus.

The game is not without risks. Denis Hamlett is likely to have noticed that Colorado was able to out-shoot Columbus last week, and were especially effective when they moved quickly out of the middle third, essentially chipping balls into the attacking third and hoping for the best. Columbus will need to sort out whatever defensive issues left men unmarked and the defense out run. Fatigue seemed an issue last week for the defense, which can be somewhat rectified if the Crew concentrates more on possession.
Similarly, defensive clearances and midfield play focused on moving the ball into the attacking third as quickly as possible as last week’s game moved to a close, even when Columbus was up a goal. The Crew lost possession too easily and allowed the Rapids offense to press the Crew defenders as they struggled with fatigue. Again, focusing more on possession and building to chances out of the midfield should help bottle up the Chicago attack, as well as soften their admirable defense.

Look for Hesmer to calm his play this week and to work on more effectively directing the defense. Danny O’Rourke should look strong on the left, but will need to mark his man carefully, and challenge aggressively as play approaches the defensive third, trusting Iro and Marshall to back him up. Hejduk will deliver. Iro and Marshall are building a rapport in central defense, but there seems to be some difficulty coordinating activities with Brian Carroll.
I am a huge Brian Carroll fan. He hasn’t gotten a lot of attention, but he has an impact that casual fans might not appreciate. Carroll has done so much to strengthen the Crew’s defensive profile, knowing where to be when to break up attacks as they develop. He fights for every ball. On the offensive side, Carroll has been effective in distributing balls down the line, as well as find ways to capitalize on balls dropped to negative space.
As the defense has retooled and Brad Evans has taken a persistent spot upfield of him, Carroll hasn’t quite sorted out his role whereas in the season’s original lineup he was always in the right place at the right time. I’m hoping that, again, shifting the focus slightly toward possession, Carroll can play a pivotal role in a victory.

Schelotto, Moreno, Rogers, and Ekpo should be able to provide some potent attacks, but will need to stay in step with one another. I’d like to see them mix up their pace of attack: taking the time necessary to craft solid tries developing out of a probing midfield in some cases, yet punching through to breakneck crosses in other cases. Brad Evans, and to a lesser degree Emmanuel Ekpo, need to hit their stride in the first half rather than into the second half as they often do. Evans should focus a bit more on pressuring Chicago when they possess the ball in their own half. He clicks well with Schelotto in the second half but needs to be ready from the first whistle.

Possession and tempo can win this one for the Crew, but I’m nervous about it. The Crew needs to be ready from the opening whistle and on every restart. Chicago will be hungry, so the Crew need to set the tone early and to get exceptional support from the 12th man that is Nordecke. I want 3-1 Crew, and will get it if Columbus executes. Chicago, though, will be playing for the win. If they’re up, it will be a serious challenge.

There has been a glut of player and coach interviews this week, and to a man they seem focused and on point.

Being a new voice, I need to say how impressed I’ve been by ability of Schmid, Warzycha, Lapper, and Kirillov review each game and respond to the weak spots in the Crew’s game. One example: Early on in the season, Columbus was fifty-fifty on balls served forward by Hesmer, at best. He hit for distance with no clear strategy for holding possession or moving to attack. By the time they faced New England, Hesmer still hit for distance, but the field players were arranged on the right side from the center circle to the top of the Rev’s penalty box. The improved on the rate of possession on Hesmer’s kicks, but that change coincided with the goal drought…
Against L.A., Hesmer pitch the ball to a defender and counted on them to advance the ball. I like that focus on constant improvement.

Some of the things I’m looking for against Colorado have already been discussed. There is a clear need to do better on kick off and on restarts after goals. That’s been true all season. It has typically taken the Crew 20 minutes to get the rhythm of the game, where they need to set the tempo from the first touch. The Galaxy helpfully underscored this problem.

In the first half against the Galaxy, there were flashes of genius and clever play from Schelotto, Moreno, and Rogers that didn’t grow into fully-formed chances. There were too many balls that went all the way across the box with no Crew players to take the shot. We’ve struggle a bit on personnel with a fourth attack player. Moffat is missed. But with Sigi not having a ninety minute player here, I’d like to see them intentionally burn an attacking midfielder in the first 45 minutes. My charge to Nico, or Ekpo, or Gaven would be: Don’t pace yourself. Somebody has to get to these balls early and try to convert. Evans takes about 60 minutes to get his stride. I’d insist he get it done in 45 as he continues to start in a central position. Alternately, I’d look for the experienced Oughten to see the opportunities when they arise and make the right runs. He should be game fit soon, although his caps will limit his availability.

We create a lot of corner kicks, but haven’t had the quality crosses or on field formation to capitalize on them. I think we might see a new formation tonight with someone on the back side of the box to field loose balls. I’d also like to see some creativity on the crosses like the brilliant free kick against the Galaxy where Schelotto went to Hejduk instead of across the box, which led to a goal. I think we might see changes here tonight.

Also, I’d happily trade some of those corner kicks for shots on goal.

On defense, I still worry about errors from O’Rourke, and his ability to keep his head after he’s made an error. He actually recovered well against LA despite the high cost of his one real error and his one imagined error.

More importantly, against Chivas and L.A. both the defense seems to concede the entire field from the center circle to the top of the box if the attack player holds onto the ball. I was worried about the fast forward passes Beckham – Donovan have made so brilliantly, but those were handled well. Instead, we struggled against slower attacks. I actually expect to see the back line give Colorado thirty yards to define their attack and allow some unearned, but dangerous chances.

Finally, I think we’ll see the 4-4-2 most of the game with a switch to 3-5-2 for part of the second half. I think Sigi has as much as said so. The difficulty with starts and restarts requires that 4-4-2 for a good portion of the game.