Crew Rd 2 Predictions (Home vs PHI)

Two teams looking improved over last year are in action tonight as the Philadelphia Union are in town to take on the Columbus Crew. Game starts 6:00 PM EST.

GAME NOTES:
CLB: Healthy so far this season.
CLB: Oduro off suspension, should play role tonight.
CLB: Crewsmas Day in Columbus, fun for fans.
PHI: Looks like missing Austin Berry today, if so? big loss.
PHI: Played Crew to draw in Columbus last year.
PHI: Maurice Edu will be in mid controlling action.

TEN PREDICTIONS

1. WIN DRAW WIN ... COLUMBUS CREW
Folks in the know like the Crew this week. Small stake on 1-0 home win. "Your Votes" also has the Crew with 42% (37% Draw, 20% Philly)

2. COLUMBUS DISPATCH ... COLUMBUS CREW
Adam Jardy does think the Union will be "more formidable test for the Crew" than last weeks DC team, but in the end finds it hard to find a reason for the Crew not to get 3 pts. Pick up a copy of the Dispatch today to read all about it.

3. BET365 ... COLUMBUS CREW
Leaning heavily on the Home teams across the entire league today. Crew no different at almost even (21/20 fav). Draw 11/5 and PHI 11/4.

4. HOME TEAM ... COLUMBUS CREW
Home teams are dominate in MLS thus far in 2014, only losing 3 games out of 16 played.

5. GOAL.COM ... COLUMBUS CREW
Thomas Floyd thinks "The outlook is better for Columbus, with Parkhurst set to play after recovering from a calf knock and Dominic Oduro ready to make his 2014 debut." Reader predictions likes Philly, however.

6. MASSIVE REPORT ... (no lean)
Pat Murphy points out that the Crew have never started a season with two wins. Give his good match preview a read.

7. WHOSCORED.COM ... COLUMBUS CREW
Graham Ruthven thinks "...Berhalter's team put down an impressive marker in the capital but now face a tougher challenge on Saturday," he likes the Crew 2-1.

8. TABLE POSITION ... (too early)
Only a couple weeks in, chill dude.

9. MLSSOCCER.COM ... COLUMBUS CREW
The "pick em" crew likes the Crew this week, 5 of the 6 going with them. Only Nick Rosano likes this one a draw.

10. WV HOOLIGAN ... DRAW
Drew Epperley is the only one this week that see's this any other way than a Crew win thinking; "Both teams have plenty to be excited by surrounding them." Score prediction: 1-1.

MY THOUGHTS

Think bigger, kid.

There's always a buzz in the crowd for home openers and that should be no different for the Crew today. Rumors have the Nordecke sold out, so the atmosphere should be hoppin' over there at the very least.

Both the Crew and Philly are improved over last year which means the soccer might be fun to watch... later this year. Since this is early in the season we will see a lot of pressing and (likely) a lot of fouls which means free(ish) flowing match from last week will not re-appear this week.

Like many on my list above I also think this will be a good test for both sides. I expect Hackworth and Berhalter to try and control the match in the middle of the pitch from the get-go today and the score line to be low and close.

A couple key things to watch for will be if Dominic Oduro starts or not (up top or in the MF) and if Philly's Austin Berry goes (injured?).

Oduro hasn't played a competitive match with the first team since February 26th against Orlando in the preseason. Speaking of the preseason, these two met early on and it was a midfield tug of war. Federico eventually put the Crew up but it took a 88th minute penalty.

MR Post: Dispatch from Orlando

Spent some time gathering my thoughts on what I saw down in Orlando last weekend during the Disney Pro Soccer Classic. Head on over to Massive Report to check it out HERE.

Crew Rd 14: Meltdown

The Philadelphia Union scored in the 25th, 29th and 31st minutes during yesterday's match against the Columbus Crew. The game ended up at 3:0 but that short six minute flurry of goals is only part of the story.



1ST HALF
MLS midweek matches bunched up near the US Open Cup can lead to some flat affairs and this one started out no different. Crew looked like a slightly slower version of their hyperactive previous two games and the Union soaked it up... just like the Crew's opponents in the last two games.

Difference this week was that Philly looked to have prepared well. Letting the Crew run all around until they made a mistake and then pounce on the counter.

25th: It worked for the most part. The first goal was set up by Matias Sanchez as he gave away a horrible pass to Philly's Brian Carroll. From there Carroll ripped off a 40 yard shot that deflected off of Eric Gehrig and in for a goal. Funny note here is that Carroll raised his hand knowingly right after the deflection.

29th: From a Le Toux corner, Carroll was able to flick it on to Williams for a flying sideways kick (technical term) goal. Meram was caught doing God-knows-what. By "God", I mean the one he facetiously mentioned having to pray too for more goals after last week's Houston match.

31st: Glauber and Tyson Wahl lazily played the ball to Le Toux who streaked down the sideline and got a good cross off to Connor Casey dome for the goal.



The final 15 minutes of the half saw a Crew side broken.

2ND HALF : THE MELTDOWN
Lots of Changes for the Crew, particularly in defense. The starting back four of:

LB Wahl : CB Glauber : CB Gehrig : RB Barson

became

LB Barson : CB Glauber : CB George : RB Gehrig

All totaled, three positional changes and a subbed player. Grizzled soccer fans that go back to the old NASL days never even saw some thing like this.

It's immature behavior from the Crew coaching staff. Not only did they overreact, they also managed to embarrass the players and the entire organization.

Needless to say but the Crew just spun their wheels with this bizarre set of changes while Philly sort of played at half speed.

Eventually the game fizzled out.

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FINAL THOUGHTS
Warzycha should face severe punishment from the organization for this. I realize this is Major League Soccer but to make changes like that is an absolute lunacy and borders on disrespecting the game itself. I wouldn't even dare do this playing a video game.

These are professional athletes. They were having a bad game. It happens.

Among the backline changes we also were treated to another sub, Ben Speas. Ben had a quiet half with 44 touches 27 passes (6 incomplete). Ben was somewhat curiously pulled for Aaron Schoenfeld. I had seen Ben play in the previous Reserve match, he seemed up to speed.

I believe Ben is being misused and under developed. He is more of a Central Midfielder than wide, where he is now placed, and the Crew can't seem to leave him in for a full 90 minutes.

Here is a summary of his starts with the Crew going back to last year:

Mins Played : Date : Game : Result
45 : 6/5/2013 : CLB @ PHI : L 0-3
65 : 4/20/2013 : CLB @ CHI : L 0-1
72 : 4/14/2013 : CLB @ MTL : T 1-1
85 : 4/6/2013 : PHI @ CLB : T 1-1
88 : 3/23/2013 : CLB @ DC : W 2-1
79 : 3/16/2013 : SJ @ CLB : T 1-1
90 : 3/9/2013 : CLB @ VAN : L 1-2
64 : 10/28/2012 : TOR @ CLB : W 1-2

In only one of those games did he finish a full 90 minutes. This can be frustrating for a player, even when injured.

What position was Justin Meram playing against Philly?

From a result perspective I don't put too much into heat maps. Sometimes players are asked to play all over the pitch. But in the case where you have two central defensive mids, seeing a right mid with a map like this raises an eyebrow and further confirms that he is a attacking player and not a midfielder (nor has he been trained properly).

I like Meram, but it does look like he was playing way out of position. It likely had an effect on Higuain, Speas, Sanchez, and Tchani. I confirmed Meram's more central roll over at ESPN FC as well...



What position is that? Now, here is Federico Higuain's heat map from the same data source. They appear to be playing in the same roll.



I'm probably digging too much into things here. The data before the three goals would be more valuable.

As for after the first of the three, what fans could see is a complete deflation of the squad and it highlights the fact that important leaders are missing in Josh Williams, Chad Marshall, Danny O'Rourke and Eddie Gaven.

Recent results have put the Crew in a tough spot.

Predictions: Crew (A) v Union

Good Afternoon,

The Columbus Crew are in Philadelphia tonight to take on the Union. Kickoff is at 7:30 PM EST.

NOTES
-CLB: Week 1 starters in Marshall, Viana, Gaven and Williams are out.
-PHI: 2-2-2 at home, 7 GF 10 GA
-CLB: 3-2-2 away, 10 GF 7 GA
-CLB: 5 pts in last 5 LLWDD
-PHI: 7 pts in last 5 WLWLD
-Fixture earlier this year saw a 1:1 draw.

PREDICTIONS

Since it is a midweek game there are less predictions to choose from but we’ll start off with Bet 365. Normal Home/Draw/Away odds see Philly favored at near evens 6/5 and Crew 12/5. Draw sits at 11/5. Again, standard line here. Which means…

Win Draw Win likes the crap out of the Crew here. Large stake on an Away CLB win (2:1) with the ‘your vote’ feature swinging Crew as well (50% Crew win, 20% Union). That said, it appears that not much attention is there for this match.

Patrick Guldan, Managing Editor of Massive Report, thinks the Union have this one by a 2:1 scoreline. “The Union can exploit defensive gaffes and Glauber and Gehrig are prone to the occasional marking errors.”

Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch beat writer, is clearly leaning Crew… “there is a sense that the Crew offers more upside than the Union.” Jardy’s ‘lean’ has been pretty reliable this year.

No picks from MLSsoccer.com or WV Hooligan for this game as of yet. Will update if they pop up.

MY THOUGHTS

Philly is a below average team with a hot goal scorer in Jack McInerney. A by-product of a team like this is inconsistency in results, which is true here with the Union.

I like the Crew in this one but there is some danger that attitudes may change if they rip off a bunch of shots early and nothing goes in. Even with that, having a hard time believing Philly can win.

Road gets pretty rough over the next month in a half. Important 3pts out there. Enjoy the game.

Rd 5: A Tie? What Do I Know

The Crew v. Union game finished knotted up at 1:1. X, for some out there.

I was in Baltimore this past weekend. I haven't watched the match yet. Here is how the Crew's Round 5 game went for me:

--Saturday, April 6th, 4:05 PM--
Hanover, Maryland. 7th Floor of The Hotel Arundel Preserve. Getting ready with other groomsmen. Fumble through Twitter for lineups for a second, unsuccessful.

--4:06 PM--
Get text from friend; "Arrieta's on the bench".

--4:06:01 PM--
Put my phone away.

Right about here I figured that Dominic Oduro got the start. Last week, during the Massive Report Podcast, I am on record stating that Jairo Arrieta is the correct choice to start up top. Arrieta had a brace the last time the Crew took on Philly in Columbus.

There are a few out there that were enammored with Oduro's performance against DC a couple weeks ago whilst Arrieta was international duty. Oduro is a 1 goal every 4 regardless of who he plays with. Arrieta was 1 in 2 last year. It's not like Oduro just started playing MLS ball this year. His record is proven and does not deviate.

I was frustrated by Robert Warzycha's decision to keep Arrieta on the bench. Exasperating the problem was the fact that it looks like he lost his starting spot because he was on international duty.

--5:25:ish PM--
After a couple drinks and waiting for the bridesmaids to arrive for pictures I turn on the game on my phone. 0:0. Watched about five or so minutes of flat play. No energy from the Crew but could have been a bad spell.

I start fielding a few questions from the other groomsmen about Major League Soccer. Most of these guys have spent significant time in other parts of the world. All have lived in South America. Another currently in Africa. The best man, from Charlotte, NC. All are fairly well off.

None seem to care about MLS but it wasn't due to not knowing about the sport... one in the group knows some of the finer details of the financial fair play in Europe and another knows about the MLS DP rule. None of them, however, pay regular attention to MLS except for the occasional DC United game (even hough one is actually a member of the legendary La Barra Brava, as my brother is.. incidentally).

"Not enough teams," one says.

"No relegation," says another. "It'd be more interesting, like other countries."

"Need more teams."

--5:50 PM--
Check Twitter. Philly had scored, wedding about to start. One of the other groomsmen's wife's water just broke. True.

--SOMEWHERE AROUND PERFECT--
The wedding is beautiful. The groom is from Maiden, NC. I went to Campbell University with him and we became close friends and have stayed in touch since. He married a beautiful woman from Benin, Africa (near Ghana) who is currently a resident at Johns Hopkins.

--8:00 PM OR SO--
Get asked by an entrepreneur in Africa who traveled back to the US for the wedding "hey, who won the game?" I check my phone. "A tie." The guy who asked is from Toledo, OH. A Browns fan. He spent significant time in Bolivia and was telling me stories about a 'classico' they have down there. Apparently booze isn't allowed into Bolivian stadiums but that didn't stop those creative enough to get it in.

In fact there was some of Bolivia's finest spirits at my table.

The speeches are given. Most of it is in French. I recall taking the groom up to early DC United games in the late 1990s. A favorite; Marco Etcheverry.

From there popular music plays and the 200+ in attendance start to dance in what is the best reception I have even been to.

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On my way back today I swung through Northern VA to see my parents for lunch. Around there I pulled up Adam Jardy's latest in the Columbus Dispatch. I see the word 'listless' and decided that I'll catch up with it when I get back to the paper waiting for me in German Village.

In the panhandle of West VA I pulled up MLS Live to listen to match (not watch!). It worked surprisingly well till it got blocked around Zanesville, OH. Dwight and Duncan weren't changing the 'listless' start.

I'll catch up with it tomorrow evening but for tonight I decided it would be interesting to jot down what I know of the match before viewing it myself.

Jairo Arrieta not starting combined with the 'listless' 1st half is almost enough for me to chalk this one up to classic poor man management by the Crew coaching staff.

----------
Just now I looked up the sub pattern. I see Arrieta came in at the half... over correction again. To the players it makes it look like he was benched for going on international duty. Same old and all of that. Makes no sense. The small 10k crowd is fitting.

How about I write a post on Helltown about this game without watching it.

Predictions: Crew Rd 5 (Philly)

Columbus plays host for the 2nd time this year as the Philadelphia Union travel to Crew Stadium. 5 PM EST start. Also, 5 PM start here in Baltimore where there may be a groomsman watching on his phone.

GAME NOTES
- Last one between these two saw 32 SHTS, 14 on target (Crew 11 of them)
- Jairo Arrieta with brace that game
- Philly bet the Crew early last year at PPL 1:0
- Philly off to better expected start, 2 wins, 2 losses
- Crew haven't lost at home in last 10 but as discussed right after last home game, Crew haven't beat anyone in the top half during that time.
- Philly isn't (expected) to be a top half team this year.

PREDICTIONS

Bet365 heavily favors the Crew 5/6, 13/5 Draw, 16/5 Union. Best odds the Crew have had in some time.

Betting aggregate site Win Draw Win is sending some mixed signals. Show Crew as heavy favorite to win but shows large stake on 1:1 Draw and the reliable 'fan vote' actually is steering Philly (31%) but Draw most likely outcome (43%).

Drew Epperley over at WV Hooligan thinks "This could easily be the game of the weekend," and that the Crew have enough to send Philly back with sad faces; 2:1.

MLS Soccer experts think that the Crew should take this one. All six MLS employees that, in fact. Confident.

MY THOUGHTS

The Union have looked much better than expected in spells and that has been enough to get them 2 wins out of 4 but in Columbus they will have to manage to put together a full game to win.

This happens to be one of the rare "the Crew should win this one" games. They absolutely should get past this Philly team at home in front of their own fans.

Considering how defensive minded away teams have played across the league this season I wouldn't expect this one to be the fast paced / up and down the field match as it was the last time these two met.

Speas, Vargas, Meram Shine in Reserve

Every so often I'll erase the commentary from my mind and just give players + (plus) and - (minus) marks during games. The mark can come from just about anything. On the ball, off the ball movement, a good run, backtracking, good cross, no-nonsense clearance. Hips, shoulders, jaw line, hair, body type, spacing, attitude, energy, communication, demeanor... Anything.

Today's Reserve Match between the Crew and the Union was a good one that ended up a 3:3 tie. Ben Speas, Olman Vargas and Justin Meram were the standout players for Columbus.

VARGAS
I came out of the match more convinced then ever that Olman Vargas is growing into a good Major League Soccer player. He is excellent on the ball and is movement and positioning benefit the whole team not just himself. It'd be interesting to see Arrieta and Vargas up top in Warzycha's 4-1-3-2 (Diamond MF).

SPEAS
The game comes more naturally to him then he probably realizes. He was playing in the middle today and by the 2nd half he was in control of it. Was it not for an incompetent ref getting in the way he probably would have had a 25 yd beauty on goal. One of his greatest strengths is the ability to cut through the middle with pace and with his head up. His effort is off the charts. His attitude is positive. Undersized but has a stout body type. This kid is good.

MERAM
Taking on defenders and with the ball at his feet, probably one of the 3 best on the team. Meram was silky smooth today, probably the best I've seen him. Also, Meram can win the team games with more minutes. PLAY HIM.

OTHER PLAYER NOTES
• Warms my heart to see Eric Gehrig out there as team Captain. Part of me wants to see Gehrig start getting time at Right Back. Miranda can't play forever and Gehrig has the best long ball on the team.

• Kevan George was started at Center Back and it wasn't all that pretty.

• Saw Chad Marshall at the Krogers downtown after the Reserve match, told him he had a good game last night. No joke, felt like a kid seeing a hero or something.

• Lucky Mkosana for the Union ran the Crew ragged. Absolutely. He is a Zimbabwean Ivy League graduate currently toiling away in USL Pro. I would expect to see more of him in Philly.

• Aaron Horton came in on as a sub and seemed frustrated. He tried, a couple times, to draw a penalty in the box but was denied. After the match he blew apart on twitter stating “Don’t even love the game anymore," and "I'm done." I'll chalk this up to immaturity for now but it highlights a problem the Crew have... too many attacking players. Horton is caught between playing up top like Arrieta and on the right, like Duka, Renteria, Meram and now Birchall.

• Columbus should really try and retain Emilio Renteria next year (my understanding is his contract is up). The better teams in MLS have talented, MLS ready players on 1st team, 2nd team, top 18 and in reserve. It bothers me that about half MLS teams have a huge drop off after their top 5-6 players. Keeping Renteria would go a long way in fortifying the strength of the overall club.

Prediction: Crew v. Union

The Crew travel to Philadelphia to take on the Union for another mid-week matchup. Wednesday, August 28th, 2012. 8:00 PM EST.

NOTES
• Two consecutive wins for the Crew have lightened the playoff weight a bit for the club but they still need around 18 points from remaining 10 games.
• Crew have 2 players in outstanding form, Federico Hiquain and Jairo Arrieta. It will be the first 90 minute Away test for them playing together.
• Philadelphia not mathematically eliminated from playoffs but they are likely out.
• PHI recent Home form very good. Last 6 matches at PPL: 12 goals for and only 4 against. 4 W, 1 D, 1 L
• Last time these two met in Philly was April 4th 2012. It was an early season hack fest (I couldn't even finish the game recap) that PHI ended up winning 1:0... also featured Chad Marshall blessing out the ref right next to a live microphone after the match.

EARLY PREDICTIONS
The betting lines are a little mixed for this one with a slight lean PHI. Bet365 has tilt towards PHI 13/10 (fav), 9/4 (draw), 21/10 Crew. None of it looks all that convincing though.

The fan voting over at WinDrawWin is heavy on the Crew. 45% win, with 25% responding Draw. That’s a 70% vote that the Crew should pull at least a point. This is a little unusual.

MY PREDICTION
Columbus is in the middle of a favorable stretch of games against below average teams. Philly, especially at home, is a better side then both Toronto and New England but only just. Even though they surged mid-season, they are also a club trying to find themselves since the ugly divorce with Piotr Nowak earlier this year.

A mid-week matchup is probably the best way to face the Union at home but the Crew are in the middle of a crowded schedule. I have already called this one a draw (I’ve already called the next 5 games) and I’ll stick to that. 1:1 is how I think it will fall tomorrow night.

Some concerns going into this one for the Crew are the switch back to the diamond midfield. I’m fully confident that Danny O’Rourke can play that spot but at what cost? That formation also calls for the right and left backs to turn into wing backs, which is a lot of running for both Josh Williams and Sebastian Miranda.

If the Crew wants to stick with the 4-1-3-2 and Vukovic is ready to go at LB, I think they should move Williams to the middle (to replace the injured Mendes) alongside Marshall. Also, with this formation, I would like to see Eddie Gaven or Higuain in the CAM roll over Mirosevic (too many goals against when he plays that position in this formation). It might be a good idea for the Crew to go to the 4-2-3-1 primary.

Still, no matter how I slice the lineup, it is a very winnable game for Columbus. The schedule gets slightly harder after this one and with the Crew still needing about 5 wins in the remaining 10 - they should definitely go for this one.

Crew Game 5, Mess (PHI)

Midfield Mess. Hack Fest. Obchodowy of Polski Piłka Nożna.

Just when I thought I'd acclimated myself to Major League Soccer I get this. 30 called fouls, 6 yellows and a handball in the box.

1ST HALF

Crew fans got to see a different attacking tandem since Emilio Renteria was left to stew on the bench. There was some improvement in attacking half play due, in small part, to Schoenfeld and Vargas pairing. Schoenfeld (after he was done injuring players, both Union and Crew) settled and showed that he was more willing to work with the Crew MF instead of just turning and attacking (a la Renteria). Vargas has already shown the ability and willingness to work the ball around as well.

If you are a Crew fan/supporter don't let that drama at the top of the Crew formation fool you into thinking that is the problem, though. It's not. The Crew middle is a complete mess.

That middle starts with the 10 shirt. Milovan Mirosevic. Crew fans have seen Bernardo Anor, Eddie Gaven, Ethan Finlay and Dilly Duka playing musical chairs around him.

For yesterday's game we saw Gaven and Finlay everywhere and Mirosevic nowhere.

.

You know what. I don't want to go any further with this game. "Close down the man with the ball" in Polish, must also mean "Chop him down".

Nowak and Warzycha have had a few years to shape their clubs into images of themselves. What you, FAN, get from these guys is what we saw yesterday. High profile coaching ego benchings (Renteria / Adu) and violent, dangerous play. If you have the wrong players for that type of game, then more often than not, those things lead to frustrated players and lack of effort.

EFFORT should never be the problem. Not in soccer, nor in life.

2ND HALF

Fouls, couple hot headed Poles yelling from the bench.


GAME OVER, NOTES

• Crew defenders defend with their hands out like basketball players. Two handed in the box yesterday. Only Gehrig was called. Outside of that, the Crew halfback and centerbacks did what was asked and played well.

• Columbus doesn't have a RB or LB capable of creating overlapping wing play that Warzycha wants.

• With the style of play Crew and Union play, I'll be surprised if either team has anyone left standing by the end of the year.

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'.

----------------------
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.

Crew in Philly Preview

Ekpo is out (card suspension) and Balchan is on the injury report. I have no idea how Balchan found his way back there. It is possible that Richard may be odd man out with Danny O'Rourke returning. As such, I have a sinking feeling that the Crew use the injury report as a confidence tool for players sometimes. Rich isn't being benched, he's just nicked up, not back to full fitness. By the way, Danny is back.

Speaking of Danny. Even though he has been out almost all year, he has been everyone's favorite person to interview. He's like the unofficial spokesperson. Which has allowed everyone to see that he's got a little crazy in him, which I like. It's going to be interesting to see how he plays tonight. His performance could actually be the key for the Crew.

Both teams are on a bad run right now, but no doubt the Union's is the more atrocious. Last 8 games: WLTTTLLT. That said, the Crew are without Gaven and in the midst of their worst form of the year.

Picking this game is like asking which kind of headache you prefer. A day long low grade headache or a skull splitting migraine that lasts a couple hours. Edge goes to day long, but I'm going to have to go with neither. Draw.
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Let's ask Danny who's going to win: "The deus ex machina of football devices pull randomness from a rancor's teeth." Okay, thanks Danny.

Mothered Philly Frustrated

Bad weather the night before the game grounded Philadelphia's flight. The day of the game Major League Soccer stepped in and charted a flight for them that only got into town a handful of hours before kick off. That sort of disruption could bother even the best pro.

I also believe that another frustration for the Union is the addition of Freddie Adu. By all accounts Adu seems like a good guy, but the decisions to bring players in isn't so much the franchises or coaches. These decisions are arbitrated by MLS offices. Bringing in a player of Adu's stature is a distraction that will take a few weeks to get over.

The Philadelphia Union are a tight group. Before Adu showed up they had only fielded 19 different players. It's a great testement to the franchises consistency and conditioning. MLS average is 26. All the top teams have fielded less then that. The worst: Vancouver (30), NY (30), and Toronto (37).

The Union played a good game last night. Good control, possession, chances. But they just seemed frustrated. Maybe agitated. Peter Nowak's post game comments suggested that.

THE CREW
A 2nd good week for Kevin Burns. Last week against one of the worst teams and this week against one of the best. He is Manos Hands of Fate this game.

The Renteria / Mendoza connection will need time. Mendoza was not involved in the game most of the time. But, to be fair though, most of the game was running through Meram on the right because he Union is very strong opposite side. That strength was multiplied last night because Le Toux was dropping back so far. Did Renteria and Mendoza cause that drop? Or was it just Robbie Rogers.

Could have been Rogers. One of his first attacking touches lead to the opening goal. Rogers had another excellent game. The guy is on a roll.

This was an intense game. And physical. Not sure if Meram was up for it but he did seem to be in the right places at the right times. I think he is a work in progress as a MF player. His natural position is up top. Benardo Anor seems more comfortable filling in for Eddie.

Hard fought win for the Crew.

Poland. Showdown. Crew. Union. Part One.

What are the chances. Piotr Nowak. Robert Warzycha. Two head coaches taking Major League Soccer teams to battle for 1st place in the Eastern Conference from the same country. Born less then a year apart, 47 years ago. And less then 1.5 hours from each other. The odds of that are nothing to nothing. It doesn't happen. But it has here.

Both the Crew and Union are having similar seasons. They aren't ripping it up offensively but have found themselves atop their conference. Strong defense and scoring when they need to. It's MLS unlocked. Spare me the West v. East stuff. Late game starts stifle the East. It's built in.

While putting the game program for this game together I starting thinking just how great it is for both Piotr and Robert. Both of them Polish national team players in the 1990s battling it out in MLS. How great is that? Where are the stories on this?

Warzycha is from Simkowice and Nowak from Pabianice. Both of them are 47 yrs old as of this writing. Robert turns 48 tomorrow. Believe it. To be a fly on the walk after this weekends game. Time to look up some 1990s Polish national team history to try and make sense of this whole thing.

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The picture right here is a good one. I've been around sports for quite sometime. This year's Crew team is a very likable one. That picture captures the 2011 Crew perfectly. Couldn't find the clean pic so I had to screen shot it from the mls site. Too good not to post for years down the road from now.

Part two of Philly v. Crew is next month. No matter how it ends up both these teams will be making noise in the playoffs for the MLS Cup. The winner is already decided.

1963/64 Poland.

Happy Birthday Robert Warzycha. Let's go Crew.

MLS True Table - May 29th, 2011

LA takes the top spot this week, ho hum. The biggest news for me was The Philadelphia Union going goal crazy yesterday scoring SIX against Toronto FC yesterday. I was able to catch that game and I think they could have been a couple more. The Crew also opened up a little, scoring 3 themselves. I was left scratching my head on how they also allowed 3 though. Outside of a just plain good game by in form Chivas USA I'm thinking the defensive collapse was a combination of things that I'll get to later.

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5-30-11: Updated table to include last nights DC United / Portland Timbers game.

MLS True Table, Extended

Now that Major League Soccer is 30% into their season I'm extending out the True Table to include per game averages in Goals For, Goals Against and Goal Difference. Relevant now as enough games have been played to give fans of their clubs a good idea of what they are working with the rest of the season.

Columbus, for one, was true to form last night loosing 1-0 to the Portland Timbers. I haven't had time to digest this game as I was welcoming in the latest edition to the Johnson household, Isaac! Congratulations Jim and Trish!

The game is running now and being dutifully uploaded for bleeno to review. I can see right off that their starting line up has been tweaked up front, no doubt in attempt to get more chances up front.

A lot of action yesterday, couple more games later today:
- I see that Helltown Power ranking favorite Philadelphia (and completely underrated in the nearly incompetent official MLS power rank) put in two against the Fire
- San Jose has fully woken up with a 2-1 win over the Revolution. Wondo, with an assist and win yesterday, is firmly on top of my player ratings. Go Wondo. In outstanding form and should get consideration for the USMNT (again).
- In another "official" MLS power ranking mystery, Houston draws with NY 2-2 (in Houston). I had Houston 5th and MLS - 10th.
- Big game later today for Real Salt Lake and Dallas. A couple of the best teams in the league.

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Edit: True Table updated to reflect games played May 22nd.