Sunday, September 18, 2011

Crew Lose to Union. I don't know, man.

What I do know has nothing to do with why the Columbus Crew lost the game or why they are on such a bad run. The answer, in large part, to that is the absence of Eddie Gaven out there.

What I don't know is the status of Chad, Robbie or Eddie's contracts. My understanding is that all three are up this year. I feel like I've got to lean on Football Manager for this because our local media is asleep at the wheel. In that fake universe, William Sasquatch took over the team and let Marshall and Rogers go. I don't feel like the two Californian's want to be here anyway (in both real and fake world).

Last night we got a good look at Eric Gehrig in Marshall's regular spot. You could see that the Union saw his central position in the back as a weakness. They attacked it often and Le Toux burned him once for a goal. Gehrig had missed headers, was out of position a lot and chasing the action, nearly broke fellow rookie Heinemann's leg going for a ball and has an 80s metal hairdo. But you know what? Only one got through and Hesmer was rarely tested. Gehrig's got heart goddamnit. Can't fault him on that. I'm not saying Gehrig would be a suitable replacement for Marshall. I'm just sayin'.

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Columbus is still holding the top spot in the East and is somehow still holding onto 5th in the entire league. Even with the recent skid, Warzycha has settled into a 1.40 to 1.50 ppg average this year. The last month has been bad for the team but it's not out of control.

On that, Warzycha's career PPG average is an impressive 1.59. So he is off this year. Part of that has to do with the league he is coaching in as a whole though. 36% of the games ending in a draw. Other leagues around the world are in the mid to high 20% range.

27 weeks into last season... Bundesliga: 19.9%, Serie A: 26.4 and the PL: 30.1%.

This post has been a winding road, hasn't it. It's probably because the game last night boring. Outside of the Gehrig observations...

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NOTABLE PLAY (YAAAAWWWNNNNN):

Dilly Duka: Dude. Again? Is it me or is he trying to do too much out there? He's becoming a black hole, man. He plays with his head down and rarely looks to pass.

Danny O'Rourke: Pretty solid out there. Probably best he hung back last night but I want to see him get forward.

Rusmir: Concrete boots out there again. He was a bit off last night. Would rather see O'Rourke up there. Seeing Gardner come on for him put a smile on my face.

Robbie Rogers: A forgettable game, but not all his fault. See: Duka and Rusmir.

Final note on Josh Gardner. The coaching staff has been telling him all year that when Francis returns he will be put back on the bench. I think that is the correct way to handle it. Francis looked pretty good last night. I am hoping that Gardner finds a spot on the team though. He is a good player. I'd like to see he and Danny in the middle, both can handle box to box work.

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