The Crew is Crazy (Not in a Good Way)
By: Chris |
2 Comments
Benjamin Franklin once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
If that’s true, then the coach and attacking players for Columbus’ MLS side are certifiably insane.
Fellas: No matter how many times you take the ball down the wing to the corner and cross it in hoping for someone to miracle it into the goal, it ain’t gonna happen. Not the way we’ve been playing for the past month or so.
Here’s an idea (keep in mind I’ve been a defensive player for my whole life so I might be missing something): Take the ball from the defensive third of the field into the attacking third, and then attack the goal. Cram it down the defense’s throat. Go right at them, forcing them to make decisions and mistakes. Put as much pressure as possible on the opposing fullbacks and keeper. I know that when I play the game that pisses me off, I’d much rather have the time to get set and evaluate what’s happening and where the attackers are. I’m pretty sure the guys who get paid to play feel the same way.
There are two main ways to score in soccer, or any sport for that matter: Hope for the defense to screw up and allow a goal, or force the defense to allow a goal by making them uncomfortable. And for God knows how long the Crew have been using the first method. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team News
DC 1-0 Columbus: Post Game
By: Chris | 6 Comments
The Crew outshot United 8-2 in front of 16,000 rain soaked fans last night at RFK Stadium.
None of The Massive’s shots found the net.
Columbus, who needed the win to secure their second-straight Supporter’s Shield, played as sloppy as the marsh-like field. There was little spark to be found all night, and the few times The Crew threatened to score the chance was squandered.
The defense, for the most part, played with the same passion and aggressiveness that has brought them so much success over the past two years. No man went unmarked, and overlapping runs down the wings were plentiful.
However, without the help of a well balanced attack or a sturdy midfield, they were hung out to dry. It was a mistake by the midfield that led to the lone DC goal – though Danny O’Rourke nearly killed himself trying to clear the ball off the goal line, but he was a half step too late.
Robbie Rogers finally played the game we all know he can play, taking the ball into the attacking third with authority and doing with it as he pleased. Too bad none of his crosses found a friendly target and his one shot was saved, although just barely.
I usually don’t place blame for losses, because very rarely can one person be blamed for an unfortunate result in a sport like soccer, but I’m going to throw this one squarely at the coach’s feet. We need to stop playing the wings so much and take the ball straight at the opposition. The entire league knows our style by now, therefore our style must change. We have the weapons for an all-out attack, why not go for it?
After all was said and done, our team left the field left muddy and bruised but not down and out. Columbus is still the Eastern Conference champ, still has a 92% chance of winning the Supporter’s Shield, and is still one of the most-feared teams in the league. All is not lost.
But backing into the playoffs usually isn’t a great way to get there. Here’s to hoping that our boys regain The Massive next week when New England comes to Columbus for the league finale.
Category: Team NewsNew England 0-1 Columbus: Post Game
By: Chris | 9 Comments
(I’ve been really busy trying to find a day job lately, so this post is going to be short, sweet, and to the point)
The Columbus Crew made the trek to Foxboro to take on the New England Revolution this past Saturday. They won. Gino Padula scored his first ever MLS goal in the 34th minute. Emmanuel Ekpo got a questionable red card. Steven Lenhart and Emilio Renteria are super good forwards, they need to play more. No one got injured. Fake grass sucks. The victory clinched home-field advantge for the Crew throughout the playoffs.
Highlights can be found here.
The Crew travels to the nation’s capital this weekend for their final regular-season road game, taking on DC United.
Also on Saturday night, the US Men’s National Team secured it’s trip to the 2010 World Cup by defeating Honduras in San Pedro Sula 3-2.
Category: Team NewsColumbus 0-1 Seattle: Post Game
By: Chris | 1 Comment
Excuses, excuses.
We can talk about Robbie Rogers having a bad ankle.
We can talk about not having Chad Marshall or Frankie Hejduk.
We can talk about not having the right guys in the starting 11.
We can talk about the opposing team turning the penalty spot into a divot.
We can talk about bad officiating.
We can talk about a lot of things, but like my dad says: “Excuses are like assholes – everybody has one and they all stink.”
The simple truth tonight isn’t that we got outplayed or outworked or out-anything. It’s just that we lost a game. It happens to everyone, and there is nothing anyone can do to change it. No one goes undefeated.
Yeah, there were a lot of dark spots for Columbus as they lost last night to visiting Seattle, and I listed most of them already. You can add to that list that everyone on the team has forgotten how to finish, the tendency of our forwards to flop when the defense gets physical, the fact that our national team winger has no testicular fortitude this year, or that our MVP DP had a brain fart.
But even if you could somehow wave a magic wand to fix all of those issues and bring our guys back to full-fitness, we’re still going to lose a game every now and then. It’s just the way the world works. Sorry.
Yes, this loss hurts more than others. I would have loved to have seen our boys win 3-0 as if to say to former coach Sigi Schimd, “Hey look, we’re better than your new team.” I would have loved to have taken a six-point lead over Houston in the race for the Supporter’s Shield. I would have been ecstatic to extend our home-unbeaten streak to 25 games. It would have been great to see our new coach out-coach our old coach.
But alas, that’s just not the way the cookie crumbled.
I’m not going to get angry (I’m looking at the table and staying positive) because the kids over on BigSoccer are complaining enough, but I will say this: Christ on a bike why did we have to lose to them, at home? I know everyone loses but c’mon? To Sigi? At our place? I don’t think his ego can bigger, not unlike his belt. Ugh.
I hate losing.
Category: Team News
Crew Stadium is the New Fenway Park
By: Chris | Add Comments
Well, at least that’s what Drew over at WVHooligan says:
7. Crew Stadium – Being the original it gets a little more love from me. I know it lacks a lot of goodies but at the end of the day I think it will end up being the Fenway Park of MLS. Though in some thoughts I don’t know how good of a thing that will actually be.
Those of you that know me, and I mean really know me, know that Fenway will always hold a special place in my heart. And to see The House That Lamar Built being compared to the Un-Official Cathedral of Baseball warms the cackles of my heart.
Category: Team NewsChampions League – Crew 1-1 Saprissa: Post Game
By: Chris | 2 Comments
Well that was a real kick in the balls.
After dominating Saprissa for 91 minutes, holding a 1-0 lead for most of that, the Crew gave up a stoppage time goal and settled for a 1-1 draw with the Costa Ricans in last night’s Champions League match.
To say that Columbus “gave up” the late goal is a little bit of a misnomer, because in actuality Saprissa stole it, fouling no less than two Crew players while trying frantically to get the ball into the net. See for yourself, (horrible) highlights are here.
There really isn’t much that can be said. Columbus dominated for the majority of the game, only to have a goal stolen in the closing minutes. I’m not usually one to blame a bad result on officiating, but in this case I’ll make an exception: These refs sucked. All night, and for both teams. It was just miserable.
Oh well, Columbus can still advance to the quaterfinals on October 20 when Saprissa gets spanked at Cruz Azul or Columbus wins (or ties) at Puerto Rico. It just would have been nice to clinch at home, in front of the most die-hard Crew fans. All 5,000 of them.
So it’s back to league play this weekend, as Sigi Schmid brings The Sounders and Drew Carey to the House That Lamar Built. This game is going to be huge, and everyone knows it. Apparently, the Polish Missile gave Sir Sigmund the Rotund a ring last night, and Fake Sigi has all the details.
Oh, and by the way: According to Sean Mitchell the Crew can clinch the Eastern Confference this weekend if we beat Seattle and a few other stars align.
Bring it on, Sounder Scum.
Category: Team NewsColumbus 2-0 Los Angeles: Post-Game
By: Chris | 3 Comments
On a stormy Saturday night in Columbus, 21,000 fans packed into Crew Stadium hoping to see one of two things: 1) A Massive win extending an unbeaten streak to 24 games, or 2) David Beckham. I’m not going to say who was in the majority, but I will tell you that only one of those groups got what they come for.
I don’t want to focus on the fairweather fans too much, because bandwagon jumping is the eighth deadly sin and those guilty of it should be ignored, but what Crew defender and hometown boy Danny O’Rourke said needs to be repeated: “I think it is pathetic that fans buy tickets just to come see (Beckham). Come out to the regular games, you know?…I wanted to keep my mouth shut about it but it’s embarrassing. Credit to the Nordecke. I don’t know what it is with everybody else.” Well said, Danny O.
Now, about that game that most people came to watch: The Crew were straight-up dominant.
It was as though they took notes as Cruz Azul were dominating them on Wednesday night and then put those newfound skills to use against LA on Saturday. Fast, abusive forwards? Check. Controlling midfield that can distribute at will? Check. Defense that chokes opposing advances and bends but never breaks? Check.
Watch the highlights. You’ll see a Columbus team on cruise control just playing their game and an LA team that was frustrated all night long.
The most surprising thing about the Crew on Saturday wasn’t that they won so handily, it was that they did it without their big names. Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Robbie Rogers, and Alejandro Moreno were on the bench, while Chad Marshall was out with an injury. Alejandro did come in as a sub in the 68th, for Emilio “I’ve Got More Muscles Than You” Renteria, but he could have stayed on the pine and no one would have missed him. This team really showed their depth, using two guys who have never started an MLS game to knock off the best road team in the league.
Coach Bob: “We don’t have reserves. We have 23 players right now that can step up anytime.” If that isn’t the best thing a fan of any sport can hear from a head coach, I don’t know what is.
So the Crew kept rolling and, thanks to a helping hand from everyone else in the league, became the first team to clinch a playoff spot. The Massive now holds a 3-point lead in the race for the Supporters Shield over Houston, and has a 5-point lead in the Eastern Conference over Chicago – with one fewer game played than both of those teams.
October is going to be a busy month around MLS, with six points separating second place from eighth and the playoffs looming. But, here in Cowtown, we’re on our way to some more hardware while everyone else fights for second place.
[Quotes via Shawn Mitchell]
Category: Team NewsA Letter From the Author
By: Chris | Add Comments
Dear Readers,
I want to apologize to everyone for the lack of activity around here for the last few weeks. When the economy touched me I lost my computer (I was using an office-issued laptop for non-office work) and I’ve been strugling to find a way to post ever since.
But that won’t be a problem in a few days, because my mi madre has taken pity on me and is handing me down her Thinkpad. So after Saprissa gets its clock cleaned by the Crew on Tuesday night, all will be back to normal here.
Actually, I’ll probably be posting more, since I don’t have a day job to keep me away anymore.
Anyway, thanks for staying tuned.
-chris
Category: Team NewsColumbus 2-1 Houston: Post Game
By: Chris | 1 Comment
This past Sunday, in front of a handful more than 14,000 sun-scorched fans, the top two teams in MLS squared off for the right to be called numero uno.
It quickly became evident that these two teams are not fond of each other because things got heated right away. To say that the game was physical would be akin to saying that a hurricane is windy – it just doesn’t do it justice. But, these guys are all professionals and they kept their tempers (mostly) in check for the better part of the match and just played the game.
And boy-oh-boy did they put on a show: 19 total shots, 27 total fouls, quite a bit of taunting, a little bit of trash-talking, and a last minute penalty kick to decide the winner. If the people of Columbus were let down by the Ohio State Throwball performance the night before, this was exactly the kind of chippy, all-or-nothing match they needed to see. At least one set of champions in this town can play inspired football.
Frankie Hejduk got the scoring started in the 34th minute with a header from a nearly impossible angle, thanks to a long cross from an ailing Gino Padula. The cross would have sailed off into space had it not been redirected by a Houston defender, and there was Frankie – in the right place at the right time, again.
After a flury of close calls and near misses, the Dynamo were finally able to find the net in the 80th, thanks to Brian Ching serving a ball up for Cam Weaver. Columbus had once again reliquished a late-game lead, but this time the Nordecke was not dismayed, for we are Massive and no one can beat us at home.
As the clock drew closer to full-time, tempers really started to flare. In the 83rd, there was a psuedo-fight between them and us, resulting in red cards for Adam Moffat and Ricardo Clark. The two players walked off the field talking to each other, but I’m nearly certain they weren’t making post-game dinner plans.
In the 90th minute Houston defender Geoff Cameron decided that it might be a good idea to yank Columbus’ Alejandro Moreno to the ground inside the box, but the referee disagreed. Eddie Gaven took the ensuing penalty shot and gave The Crew a 2-1 lead it would not relinquish. Needless to say, the crowd went wild.
In the 93rd, super-sub Steven Lenhart dribbled the ball into the corner closest to the Nordecke and nearly incited a riot. You see, as Steven was fighting off two Houston defenders trying to keep the ball in play those defenders got the bright idea to rough Steven up. Not a good call, fellas.
I’m not sure if a wise man ever said this or not, so I’ll go ahead and give some sage advice to all of the budding athletes out there: Never, EVER, beat up on the home fans’ favorite young player when you are less than ten feet from the most boisterous, most rowdy, most likely to come-out-there-and-rough-you-up fans in the stadium. I’m pretty sure that if just one punch had been thrown at our beloved Cabbage Patch Kid, the stands would have emptied and quite a few of my friends would be facing assault charges. Thank God Steven scared those defenders away on his own, I don’t have enough money to bail that many people out of jail.
All in all it was a good night. Columbus extended their home-unbeaten streak to a Massive 23 games and took sole possession of first place in both the Eastern Conference and the League. Yeah, so Robbie Rogers is still playing a little scared and refusing to go one-on-one with anybody. And yeah, so we had only three (3) shots all night. And so what if our back line looked flimsy at times. We’re on top of the league and sailing towards our second-straight Supporters Sheild.
If you ask me, it doesn’t matter how many question marks this club has, because so far there have been answers for all of them.
Highlights here.
Category: Team News
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