Crew v. RBNY Preview (Such as it is…)

By: Jeff | April 6th, 2007

Well, it’s go time. And not a minute too soon. I was a day or two away from a feature on the Crewzers.

Columbus Crew v. Red Bull New York
7:30 p.m. EST
(TV: MSG will carry this, as well the Columbus Sports Network - can’t imagine what else ClbSN could mean)

Rather than find stuff up my ass - or on BigSoccer boards (which reside somewhere near the taint if I’m not mistaken) - on tactics and personnel, I’m just going to key off MLSnet.com’s official preview and throw in some general observations on the first contest of what will no doubt be the Crew’s glorious, glorious season. I’ll start addressing details of that sort once a few games give fans and observers something with which to work.

Injuries of Note

Crew - Defender Chad Marshall seems like the only big deal; it’ll be interesting to see how Sigi adjusts. I see Stefani Miglioranzi on the gimp list, which makes one wonder if LA didn’t ship the Crew a lemon (at least the kits are the right color). Danny Szetela’s presence on the list - due, apparently, to the “opposite groin” to Miglioranzi - gets me wondering if he’ll ever be whole.
Red Bull - Taylor Graham’s out, which could mean that Ives Galarcep’s guess about Seth Stammler in the back four may pan out - that goes double if Jeff Parke’s hamstring isn’t yet healed (which gets mention in the text, but not the injury list*). Mike Magee is also out, but, as with Miglioranzi and Szetela, that’s about as unexpected as the sun being up around noon.

* I’m wondering how far to trust MLSnet.com’s injury list. I read Ricardo Virtuoso was hobbled (BigSoccer), but there’s no mention of an injury so I don’t know what to think. Just something else to learn I suppose.

Overview

With my reputation as a prognosticator riding on a good season for the Crew, I figure they could do worse than the Red Bull for an opener. Expectations that the latter may struggle to score this year only brighten the picture - though Columbus’ more recent preseason results show this may cut both ways. Speaking of the preseason, though, it’s tough to argue the Crew didn’t look the sharper of the two teams; a trip through the Bulls news archive (starting with March) shows a fair number of scoreless ties and a last-gasp win against the Charleston Battery sprinkled in with a loss here and there.

Between the comparative records and the seemingly modest list of injuries, I have to say I like the Crew’s chances tomorrow night. Don’t know when I’ll be able to see it, though I’ve heard rumors, like many of you, that Direct Kick offers a free preview this weekend. And I’ll take any chance I can get to watch a game on a big screen as opposed to a little one.

Whenever I watch it, I’ll be back that day or the next to jabber about what I saw. And I’ll expand on these previews in the future - adding, say, a section on “hot players” for the Crew and players to watch for on the other team. All for now on this one, though (and I’ve got a good excuse for that). Have a good weekend.