We all witnessed another ugly, ugly display of football this evening as we took on the USL's Charleston Battery.
Is this a reason to be concerned? I've read a lot of negativity on the RPB forum towards our guys and I truly believe that we, as supporters, are looking way too much into pre-season matches. A true supporter wants his team to win every match they play - and we do indeed want and expect this. When we don't win we start ripping into the players. None of us have any idea about what is going on behind the scenes. According to Mr. Beirne, Paul Winsper said we shouldn't expect much this week as he is getting the players in shape and having them play on dead legs. Interpret this however you want - but given Winsper's experience in fitness training - this might be a useful tactic rather than a blatant attempt by MLSE to cover up for a lack of success on the pitch.
I don't think the alleged "Maybe next year!" motto of MLSE is the case with TFC. I doubt our European coaching staff would accept this because in Europe the football isn't about money - it's about the success of your club. In basketball and hockey, if your team isn't doing well you don't go to games. Support in football is 100% different. Would a true Derby County supporter talk about his team being crap, skip the home matches, and be second guessing the support for his club - simply because they are last in the Premiership? Not at all.
Why are we getting on our players' backs when the middle of the field was being controlled by a 19 year old who will get very little playing time, and Kevin Harmse (who will be on the bench behind Edu and Robbo next Saturday)? Even Collin Samuel and Todd Dunivant were at centre midfield in this game! Unless you are expecting it to be like against Columbus next Saturday - don't be too upset.
Let's look at Charleston's two goals from the game. Our two most experienced defenders were brutal on both of them. Marshall should have covered better on the first while Brennan was completely flat-footed on the second. Imagine, on the second goal, it had been a trialist who was caught flat-footed. We would have been calling for his head.
Why don't we focus on the positives from this game? For example, Kevin Gall. He was strong on the ball and made wise decisions with it. I saw numerous occasions where he made smart plays to Samuel or Cunningham who were not reading the play. He impressed me this game more than Brittain has all week. His run at the end of the game - though it amounted to nothing - shows he has confidence in his touch and his speed. He had nowhere else to go with the ball, so rather than just hit it back to a defender he turned and attacked. As well, why aren't we talking about Dichio's immediate presence in the match as soon as he came in? He nearly scored with his first touch of the match.
How much do pre-season results mean? Click here to look at MLB's spring training standings. Notice the top team in the AL? The Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Notice the bottom team in the AL? The Boston Red Sox. I'm willing to bet anyone that the Red Sox will finish ahead of the Devil Rays. But do the pre-season statistics show this? Not at all.
The Quakes won the tournament - and have just scored in the first minute against New York. Click here to look at their current roster. Yes, this team has some good players. They have a proven goalkeeper and an excellent right midfielder. They do have an okay starting eleven. If one player on this team goes down though, they are as screwed as we were last year.
I was sky high last year when we beat the Red Bulls at this tournament. The first month of the season brought us all back down to earth.
The lack of success at this tournament does not mean we are going to be a joke next week against Columbus. Do I want TFC to win every game - pre-season, friendly, regular season? Absolutely. We all do. That's why we are all so pissed off when it doesn't happen. Not winning a pre-season game does NOT mean we are screwed.
One more thing to add: we were without Carl Robinson, Marvell Wynne, and Maurice Edu. Three starters who generally contribute a lot to the team. Robbo has been unimpressive this tournament - but do we really see this carrying into the season? I don't. Though some are still not sold on him.
Anyways, I hope we sign Brittain to fill that hole on the right and I hope Kevin Gall comes our way as well to add some depth and competition up front. For me, he was very impressive tonight. Keep in mind some news that might come up regarding Amado Guevara as well...
Is this a reason to be concerned? I've read a lot of negativity on the RPB forum towards our guys and I truly believe that we, as supporters, are looking way too much into pre-season matches. A true supporter wants his team to win every match they play - and we do indeed want and expect this. When we don't win we start ripping into the players. None of us have any idea about what is going on behind the scenes. According to Mr. Beirne, Paul Winsper said we shouldn't expect much this week as he is getting the players in shape and having them play on dead legs. Interpret this however you want - but given Winsper's experience in fitness training - this might be a useful tactic rather than a blatant attempt by MLSE to cover up for a lack of success on the pitch.
I don't think the alleged "Maybe next year!" motto of MLSE is the case with TFC. I doubt our European coaching staff would accept this because in Europe the football isn't about money - it's about the success of your club. In basketball and hockey, if your team isn't doing well you don't go to games. Support in football is 100% different. Would a true Derby County supporter talk about his team being crap, skip the home matches, and be second guessing the support for his club - simply because they are last in the Premiership? Not at all.
Why are we getting on our players' backs when the middle of the field was being controlled by a 19 year old who will get very little playing time, and Kevin Harmse (who will be on the bench behind Edu and Robbo next Saturday)? Even Collin Samuel and Todd Dunivant were at centre midfield in this game! Unless you are expecting it to be like against Columbus next Saturday - don't be too upset.
Let's look at Charleston's two goals from the game. Our two most experienced defenders were brutal on both of them. Marshall should have covered better on the first while Brennan was completely flat-footed on the second. Imagine, on the second goal, it had been a trialist who was caught flat-footed. We would have been calling for his head.
Why don't we focus on the positives from this game? For example, Kevin Gall. He was strong on the ball and made wise decisions with it. I saw numerous occasions where he made smart plays to Samuel or Cunningham who were not reading the play. He impressed me this game more than Brittain has all week. His run at the end of the game - though it amounted to nothing - shows he has confidence in his touch and his speed. He had nowhere else to go with the ball, so rather than just hit it back to a defender he turned and attacked. As well, why aren't we talking about Dichio's immediate presence in the match as soon as he came in? He nearly scored with his first touch of the match.
How much do pre-season results mean? Click here to look at MLB's spring training standings. Notice the top team in the AL? The Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Notice the bottom team in the AL? The Boston Red Sox. I'm willing to bet anyone that the Red Sox will finish ahead of the Devil Rays. But do the pre-season statistics show this? Not at all.
The Quakes won the tournament - and have just scored in the first minute against New York. Click here to look at their current roster. Yes, this team has some good players. They have a proven goalkeeper and an excellent right midfielder. They do have an okay starting eleven. If one player on this team goes down though, they are as screwed as we were last year.
I was sky high last year when we beat the Red Bulls at this tournament. The first month of the season brought us all back down to earth.
The lack of success at this tournament does not mean we are going to be a joke next week against Columbus. Do I want TFC to win every game - pre-season, friendly, regular season? Absolutely. We all do. That's why we are all so pissed off when it doesn't happen. Not winning a pre-season game does NOT mean we are screwed.
One more thing to add: we were without Carl Robinson, Marvell Wynne, and Maurice Edu. Three starters who generally contribute a lot to the team. Robbo has been unimpressive this tournament - but do we really see this carrying into the season? I don't. Though some are still not sold on him.
Anyways, I hope we sign Brittain to fill that hole on the right and I hope Kevin Gall comes our way as well to add some depth and competition up front. For me, he was very impressive tonight. Keep in mind some news that might come up regarding Amado Guevara as well...
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