Sunday, July 25, 2004
Take Three!
As if the Crew hadn't gotten their "go for one" philosophy perfected the past two weeks, the Hunt Park outfit put together a third straight draw, this time 0-0 against the Colorado Rapids. Despite a more offensive starting line-up than past weeks (Manny Lagos manning the left flank in place of Chris Wingert), the Black-and-Gold were unable to put the ball past Joe Cannon. The final of my nerves for the lack of heart on this team came with ten minutes remaining when once-stellar-and-now-useless Brian Maisonneuve was brought on in place of Kyle Martino and was told "send it to the corners and kill off the game" by Mr. Wakka-Wakka-Wakka himself. The recap:
*NO BALLS! This team lacks a saq. Colorado made two subs at the half in search of offensive firepower and had to spend their third midway into the second half due to an injury to Joey DiGiamarino, so naturally we should have been able to add attacking players in order to take over the game. WRONG! The bench yesterday consisted of David Testo, Eric Denton, Maisonneuve, and Chris Wingert. ONE offensive-minded player out of four substitutes available, with Testo replacing an ineffective Edson Buddle around the hour mark. Thus, with a 0-0 game and a Rapids side out of subs, we literally CANNOT push the attack in any meaningful way due to not having the players available to get it done. THAT decision rests at the top, which means....
*Fozzie must GO! No more chances to mess this team up! We jumped to second place in the Eastern Conference as a result of the single point (moreso because DC got manhandled by Dallas and the Metro decided to take advantage of our contentedness with draws to deliver a win against Chicago and move five points out in the East), but that does NOT get this bum off the hook for his lack of knowledge, lack of tactics, and lack to juevos. He has consistently played defense-first this season, has continued to play Buddle despite his lackadasical attitude towards fitness and play, and will NOT take chances when three points seem to be available for the taking. A winning attitude starts in the locker room and MUST be exhibited by the manager in who he plays, who he has on the bench, and how he wants his team to play. Sadly, that attitude has been non-existent for the past two years and it's high time a change be made lest we miss the playoffs again.
That's it. Nothing more to say about the match or this team. If you're thinking about going to Wednesday's game against Dallas, take my advice and save your money (unless you're one of those who just HAS to see Danny Szetela's debut) because you can probably have more enjoyment for your dollar than the two hours you spend being put to sleep by this squad.
*NO BALLS! This team lacks a saq. Colorado made two subs at the half in search of offensive firepower and had to spend their third midway into the second half due to an injury to Joey DiGiamarino, so naturally we should have been able to add attacking players in order to take over the game. WRONG! The bench yesterday consisted of David Testo, Eric Denton, Maisonneuve, and Chris Wingert. ONE offensive-minded player out of four substitutes available, with Testo replacing an ineffective Edson Buddle around the hour mark. Thus, with a 0-0 game and a Rapids side out of subs, we literally CANNOT push the attack in any meaningful way due to not having the players available to get it done. THAT decision rests at the top, which means....
*Fozzie must GO! No more chances to mess this team up! We jumped to second place in the Eastern Conference as a result of the single point (moreso because DC got manhandled by Dallas and the Metro decided to take advantage of our contentedness with draws to deliver a win against Chicago and move five points out in the East), but that does NOT get this bum off the hook for his lack of knowledge, lack of tactics, and lack to juevos. He has consistently played defense-first this season, has continued to play Buddle despite his lackadasical attitude towards fitness and play, and will NOT take chances when three points seem to be available for the taking. A winning attitude starts in the locker room and MUST be exhibited by the manager in who he plays, who he has on the bench, and how he wants his team to play. Sadly, that attitude has been non-existent for the past two years and it's high time a change be made lest we miss the playoffs again.
That's it. Nothing more to say about the match or this team. If you're thinking about going to Wednesday's game against Dallas, take my advice and save your money (unless you're one of those who just HAS to see Danny Szetela's debut) because you can probably have more enjoyment for your dollar than the two hours you spend being put to sleep by this squad.
# posted by The Armchair Pundit @ 10:53 AM 
