I like smackin' 'em

As Jayne Cobb smacked the cows in Safe so must the Rapids smack the FC Steers from Dallas on Sunday.

They finish their homestand at The Dick facing Dallas on Sunday. The game is at 1:30 MDT. It will be followed by the Colorado U-19's taking on the Colorado Rush U-18's.

Here's the injury report:

OUT: DF Mike Petke (R foot); GK Justin Hughes (L groin); MF Nico Colaluca (L groin); QUESTIONABLE: MF John DiRaimondo (L ankle); DF Jose Burciaga Jr. (R foot); MF Pablo Mastroeni (illness); PROBABLE: DF Kosuke Kimura (R foot)


My lineup prediction:

Burpo
Ihemelu - Erpen - Harvey
Mastroeni - LaBrocca
Peterson - C.Gomez - Clark
McManus - Cummings

I think imura's injury is really hampering his ability to play defense and Clavijo will sit him. In today's Post article Clavijo said that Cooke has to play his way onto the team. Given Peterson's lack of play over the last few games I don't know what he's waiting for, but I'm guessing whatever it is it hasn't happened yet and Peterson will start. I expect Cummings and McManus to start up front, with a halftime sup of Casey in for whichever one looks to be having the worse game.

Critical Matchup: Cummings & McManus vs. the Dallas defense

Last week we saw a complete inability of our strikers to get involved in the game until McManus blasted his Goal of the Week shot. That needs to change this week. Dallas' defense looked pitiful two weeks ago against LA, a team we beat 4-0 to start the season. Cummings and McManus need to work to get space and take advantage of the weak back line.

Keys To Look For:

• First half play. I've been hammering this every week, and we haven't shown up yet. If we continue to play flat in the first half we'll be in holes we can't dig out of, like last week against Chivas.


• Burpo's play. The reports out of the USOC game against LA said that Burpo did not look good. We'll be relying on him for at least 4 league games and a USOC match and he's going to have to step up.


• How our defense handles Kenny Cooper. He has as many goals as the next 3 Dallas players combined. If we take him out of the game Dallas' offense will be hurting.


• Can Pablo and LaBrocca handle Rocha? He's Dallas' midfield general.


• How does Clavijo balance the league needs vs. the USOC needs Wednesday night? Will he hold some players back for the USOC game, or go all out on Sunday?


• Patience and build-up in our offensive play. We do best when we don't bomb the ball over the top of the midfield.
  

Prediction: 2-1 win. The change from Bouna to Burpo will cost us a goal, but we'll take advantage of Dallas' defense and get 2 for the win.

And now for something completely different

OK, this is one of those occasional non-soccer posts I mentioned when I started View From the Couch. I just wanted to promo my sister and brother-in-law's BBQ blog. They do a weekly BBQ every Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day and Bobby-Q has all the highlights. Along side various BBQ discussions there are some great BBQ recipes.

(Picture: My lovely sister Shannon Yuen at the Ballard Farmer's Market in Seattle)

Rapids leave Galaxy seeing stars

OK, so no play-by-play as I said I might, but the Galaxy blog Sideline Views did a nice one that you can review. The Rapids were lucky not to go down 2-3 in the first half as the post saved Burpo on his Rapids debut 3 times. The second half was more balanced and as the half wore on the fitness of the Rapids took over. Finally in the 82nd minute Casey broke through and got a goal off a Cookie cross.

I think our experience helped as well, the only player in the starting 11 without game experience this season was Preston Burpo, who was just acquired. That allowed us to mentally stay i nthe game when LA tired.

We now face KC on the road next Wednesday at 6pm MDT. No word on what kind of coverage will be available. The winner of that match will enter the USOC proper.

U.S. Open Cup (Qualifying) Starts Tonight!

The Rapids start their U.S. Open Cup campaign by travelling to LA to play the Galaxy tonight. The game is at 8:30pm MDT, and the LA Galaxy website says that they'll have audio of the game available. That's as close as we'll get to live coverage as the early rounds of the USOC don't merit TV coverage. I might, MIGHT, try to do some type of play-by-play here if I feel up to it, but there will be play-by-play going atBigSoccer in the Rapids forum.

The winner of tonight's match goes to KC on June 4th for the final qualifier, the winner of that match gets into the USOC proper.

Weekend Roundup 5/24-5/25

Colorado Rapids - My game wrapup is here. The West continues to be any one's to grab, with LA moving just 2 points in front of the Rapids, who are tied with Dallas for 2nd. We're tied with RBNY and Dallas for 6th overall. We have the 4th best offense (tied with Columbus) and we're in a 4 way tie for the 3rd best defense.

The Rapids face the LA Galaxy in a USOC play-in game tonight in LA. 8:30 MDT.

Queen of the South - Saturday was the biggest day in the history of the 89 years of Queens football. The Doonhamers travelled to Hampden Park to face Rangers in the final of the Scottish Cup (Scotland's FA Cup), their first appearance in the final. Prior to this season their best finish in the Scottish Cup was in 1950 when they lost to Rangers in the semi-final.

QoS took the game to Rangers early, having the better of the possession in the first 20-25 minutes. They were unable to capitalize however, and Rangers eventually exerted control on the match and made Queens pay for not taking advantage. In the 33rd minute American DaMarcus Beasley (aka RunDMB) was barely fouled outside the area and made a meal of it, drawing a free kick. Kris Boyd stepped up and sent a curling ball into the upper corner of the net to give Rangers the lead. 10 minutes later the Doonhamer's defense had a Keystone Kops moment and allowed RunDMB to follow up his own corner kick with a shot under the goalkeeper to double the lead just before the break. At the halftime whistle the question wasn't who would win, but how much would Rangers win by?

Apparently the boys from Dumfries had a different though though and came out of the locker room determined to prove that they belonged on the pitch with Rangers. They attacked from the halftime whistle and put Rangers back on their heels. In the 50th minute O'Conner brought the ball down the right side and got it into the box where Stevie Tosh managed to get his pelvis on it and redirect it into the back of the net. 3 minutes later Rangers were whistled for a foul and Robert Harris sent a beautiful cross in. Jim Thompson got above 3 Rangers defenders to put it away and just 8 minutes into the second half Queen of the South was back on level terms. Rangers were caught by surprise and Queens pushed for the winner, but it never came. Rangers finally got control of the game again and in the 72nd minute Kris Boyd got enough of a head on a RunDMB corner kick to give Rangers the lead, and eventually the win. The game was not sealed until the final whistle as QoS got one final chance on a free kick outside the box, but the Rangers wall did its job to preserve the win.

While Queen of the South lost the game they proved to everyone watching that they deserved to be out there. Against a non-Old Firm team the Doonhamers probably would have walked away with a win, showing that they are a force to be reckoned with in coming years. This brings their most successful season ever to a close, and they look forward to the UEFA Cup next year, where they'll enter in the final qualifying round.

Tenerife - Another late goal sent CDT down to defeat, this time at home to promotion challengers Real Sociedad. They took the early lead, only for Tenerife to get back on even terms by the break. Sociedad would get the winning goal in the 80th minute, sending the canary Island club even closer to the relegation zone. With 3 games remaining CDT is just 4 points clear of relegation in 13th place.

You Lost Today Kid, But It Doesn't Mean You Have To Like It

The Rapids created San Jose Game Version 2.0 Saturday night, deciding that they could take it easy versus a "weak" team like Chivas, and got burned for it.

The first half was more of the same from the first halves of this season. Uninspired play, slow ball movement, and a general lack of aggression. Chivas took full advantage by scoring before halftime. The defense decided to do a Keystone Kops act as Ihmelu chose the head the ball to nowhere instead of playing it safe and putting it out, Kimura was beaten to Ihemelu's header when Kimura had the better position, and Erpen's indecision let Jesse Marsch tee up the shot he wanted and put it past Bouna for the 1-0 lead.

The second half was more of the same from the Rapids. Long balls over the midfield with the hope that Herculez Gomez or Cummings could run onto them. It never really happened, and atrocious marking on a free kick by Herculez led to a wide open header for Sueno MLS winner Jorge Flores and a 2-0 lead for Chivas. Kimura attempted to come over in support for Herculez but got there too late, I have no idea why Herculez was assigned to man-mark a forward on a free kick. Tam McManus entered the game and brought the only agressive play we saw all night. He was rewarded for his efforts with a 40-yard bomb into the upper corner of the net that may still be rising. Goal of the Week easy, except for Beckham's 75-yard empty net goal will get all the kudos. McManus' goal is goal of the Year material. That's as close as the Rapis got though, going down to defeat 2-1.

Keys to the Game review:

• Other than the San Jose game, we've done well at home this year with 3 wins. We need to continue that dominance at home and make The Dick a hard place for other teams to play
  Instead we decided to play the gracious hosts and let Chivas have the run of our field. We paid for that mistake.
• Do we show up in the first half? We've scored 1 goal in the first 45 this season, and in many games we just seem to be going through the motions. That needs to end.
  Again, we failed to start playing from the opening whistle.
• Last week was the first time Chivas came back to win after being behind in their history. That's not something the Rapids have been very good at in recent years either. Getting the first goal is critical.
  Another failure, giving up the fist goal and not being able to come back to get a point.
• Clavijo talked after the FSL game about how Cummings' role needs to be as a striker in the box waiting for service, not trying to generate the chance himself. Can Cummings be disciplined enough to wait up top, and can the rest of the team get him the ball in a dangerous situation?
  Well Cummings waited in the box, but the only service we gave him was long balls over the top. That didn't play to his game at all.
• Can our thinned out back line keep Chivas' offense in check?
  Nope, bad defensive effort all the way around
• Can Clark continue to improve? He had 2-3 great moments each game, but he's still running himself out of the play at times
  Clark who? Our wings were invisible in this game.

Critical Matchup: Pablo Mastroeni vs. Sasha Klejistan - Sasha was contained, but offensively Pablo, and the whole midfield, added nothing to the attack. There's only so long you can absorb pressure before breaking. In the halftime interview Pablo said "We can't pass to save our lives!" so at least he saw the problem, even if he couldn't do anything about it.

Fact of the Match: So far this season every game we've lost, but one, has been by one goal. Every game we've won, but one, has been by more than one goal.

Random Observations:

This team looks like its on the cusp of falling into a long downwards spiral. We have a team that doesn't play in the first half, two losses at home to teams we should have beat, and now we're losing Bouna for 5-6 games. It could get ugly.

Christian Gomez, where were you? You got marked out of a game by Paulo Nagamura? Really?

Even though he was invisible most of the game, I can't believe Clavijo subbed him out. We spent big money to get him as our offensive general and to pull him down one goal is ridiculous.

Jacob Peterson is invisible. Start Terry Cooke!!!

Likewise I think Tam McManus showed tonight that he deserves to start.

I don't know if the long ball strategy was called for by Clavijo, or the team just couldn't figure out anything better to do, but you can't bypass a midfield as good as the one we put together.

A final word about the HORRID announcing team on Altitude. It's MAHS-tro-eni not MAHS-tree-on-e. It's Goo-zan, not Goose-en. And the color guy who said that Bouna should pick up a pass from Erpen instead of playing it with his feet should be fired for not knowing the backpass rule.

Man of the Match: Tam McManus - The only player who showed desire out there, and his goal was Goal of the Year stuff.

That Belongs In A Museum!

No, not the Cross of Coronado, Chivas's coach Preki. ;)

The Rapids continue their homestand at The Dick facing Chivas USA tomorrow. The game is at 7:30 MDT.

Class VI is holding a head-shaving charity event for St. Baldricks Foundation at halftime. More information about the event can be found here.

Here's the injury report:

OUT: DF Mike Petke (R foot); GK Justin Hughes (L groin); QUESTIONABLE: MF John DiRaimondo (L ankle); DF Kosuke Kimura (R foot); DF Jose Burciaga Jr. (R foot); PROBABLE: MF Nico Colaluca (L groin)


My lineup prediction:

Bouna Time!
Ihemelu - Erpen - Harvey
Mastroeni - LaBrocca
Cooke - C.Gomez - Clark
McManus - Cummings

Yes, Bouna is here for one more game, contrary to earlier reports. He leaves Sunday for Senegal. With so many injuries to the back line I think Clavijo will stick with 3 in the back and bring in Harvey for the injured Kimura. We may see Keel instead of Harvey. 5 in the midfield allows us to get LaBrocca and Clark on the field. Gomez didn't perform well enough against FSL to knock McManus out of a starting role yet, but Tam's time to claim the role is getting short.

Critical Matchup: Pablo Mastroeni vs. Sasha Klejistan

Its hard to pick out the Critical Matchup this week as I don't know which players will be allowed to play for their teams before the USA-England friendly on Wednesday. It sounds like most players are being released back to their teams though, so I'm going to assume both Pablo and Sasha play. With Chivas' injury situation the offense, what they have, is really running through Klejistan. If Pablo shuts him down it will be difficult for Chivas to get on the board against Bouna, who will want to have a good final game before heading off for Senegal National Team camp.

Keys To Look For:

• Other than the San Jose game, we've done well at home this year with 3 wins. We need to continue that dominance at home and make The Dick a hard place for other teams to play


• Do we show up in the first half? We've scored 1 goal in the first 45 this season, and in many games we just seem to be going through the motions. That needs to end.


• Last week was the first time Chivas came back to win after being behind in their history. That's not something the Rapids have been very good at in recent years either. Getting the first goal is critical.


• Clavijo talked after the FSL game about how Cummings' role needs to be as a striker in the box waiting for service, not trying to generate the chance himself. Can Cummings be disciplined enough to wait up top, and can the rest of the team get him the ball in a dangerous situation?


• Can our thinned out back line keep Chivas' offense in check?


• Can Clark continue to improve? He had 2-3 great moments each game, but he's still running himself out of the play at times

Prediction: 1-0 win. I think we'll keep Chivas' offense in check, but I wouldn't be surprised to see us struggle on offense ourselves. Still, with the home advantage and the healthier lineup I think we pull it out.

Trade Official

The Rapids have released information on the trade. We sent Kelly Gray and Jovan Kirovski to San Jose for Preston Burpo and a 4th round pick next season. No word yet on how the salaries will shake out.

Major Trade! Out with Kirovski, in with Burpo!

A San Jose website is reporting that the Earthquakes will announce a trade with the Rapids tomorrow. Jovan Kirovski and Kelly Gray to SJ for goalkeeper Preston Burpo.

No word yet on how the salaries will be covered, but regardless this is a solid trade for the Rapids. We get rid of the biggest waste of salary on the team and a defensive backup we appear not to need in exchange for a backup at our weakest position, goalkeeper. As detailed in my last entry, Bouna Time! leaves this week for the Senegal National Team leaving us with just MLS pool keepers as options to start i nthe pipes. Burpo gives us a quality MLS-backup to use until Bouna returns. And in a weird coincidence, he's current backing up Joe Cannon, the same position Bouna was in before he became the starter.

Good job Rapids Front Office!

Rapids News and Notes

With the excitement of the Rocky Mountain Cup and ESPN2 game there were a few announcements over the last week that should be highlighted.


Bouna Time! Leaves for Senegal
Bouna leaves for Senegal's World Cup Qualifiers this week. He'll be gone for at least the next 5 league games, plus the two U.S. Open Cup matches. His backup, Justin Hughes, is still fighting a groin strain and according to Clavijo he won't be ready until mid-June. Until then we're going with MLS 'pool' keeper Chris Sharpe. Sharpe spent training camp with the Rapids, after spending last year rehabbing from a broken leg in Denver last year. The Rapids own his rights but he's signed as a pool keeper, available to anyone in the league who's short a keeper.

This is obviously a significant loss for the Rapids. While Bouna can turn crosses into "Adventures in Goalkeeping" at times, and his habit of going walkabout can make for some...interesting...plays, he's one of the best shot stoppers in MLS, and has become one of the leaders of the Rapids. Replacing him with a player that has had 0 minutes of MLS playing time could lead to some confusion in the back. It will be up to Erpen and Ihemelu to keep the defense organized and keep the pressure off Sharpe as he settles in.

The Dick to host a World Cup Qualifier in November
This is great news. The U.S. (assuming they beat Barbados) will play the winner of the Guatemala/St. Lucia series on November 19th at The Dick. This is the final game of the semi-final qualifying round. The top two in the four team group (Expected to be the U.S., Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, and Guatemala) move on to the final round of qualifying. No details on tickets yet, but they'll go fast once announced.

Rapids play Rapids U-23 in Boulder tonight
The Rapids will face their U-23 team in Boulder tonight. This is part of a annual series where the Rapids play the U-23's a couple times a year in Boulder. The game is at 5:30pm and tickets are $10.

Rapids face LA, KC to get to the U.S. Open Cup
With the new "qualifying" system MLS instituted last year the Rapids have to play two MLS sides before actually entering the U.S. Open Cup. The first game will be in LA on May 27th, with the winner to play in KC on June 4th. The winner of the June 4th will enter the USOC proper. The good news for the Rapids is the game in LA is the night before the U.S. plays England in England, so David Beckham and Landon Donovan will not be available, but we may lose Pablo Mastroeni as well. The second game at KC, should we win, will be tougher, but we have the advantage of having plenty of players with experience this season, while KC will probably have to call on reserves that have seen little or no playing time. Besides the honor of winning the Lamar Hunt trophy the USOC winners also get a berth in the new CONCACAF Champions League.

Weekend Roundup 5/17-5/18

Short Roundup this week with only 2 teams in action. Blackburn Rovers and Ebbsfleet United have completed their seasons so will be dropped from the Roundup until late summer.

Colorado Rapids - My game wrapup is here. The West finally found a backbone, taking 2 of 3 from the East this week, while LA crushed defeated Dallas. This leaves the Rapids alone in first place in the West and tied with NY for 4th overall in MLS. We're tied with Chivas for the 4th best offense and with Columbus and Toronto for the 3rd best defense in the league.

Queen of the South - Off until Scottish Cup final vs. Rangers on Saturday.

Tenerife - CDT headed to the North of Spain to face 15th placed Racing, and ended with a scoreless draw. Not much of note in the game. This is Tenerife's 10th draw in 20 road games, and 7th straight game without a win. With the draw they fall to 11th place, one spot behind rival Las Palmas. They are 6 points above 19th, the first relegation spot, with 4 games to play.

And That, Gentlemen, Is How We Do That

Just as Gene Krantz and Jim Lovell got Apollo 13 back safely to Earth when failure wasn't an option, Christian Gomez and the Rapids took care of their job last night, sending FSL back to the West side with a 2-0 drubbing.

The Rapids continued their first half malaise, and while they may have had the better build-up, FSL had the more dangerous chances. No one person played badly, but the team as a whole seems to need 45 minutes to all get on the same page.

The second half was dominated by the Rapids. FSL only got one significant shot on goal, saved nicely by Bouna Time! while the Rapids kept the pressure up. Finally in the 65th minute Herculez found Clark streaking down the left side. This wasn't new, and Clark was beating Beltran like a drum all night. Clark took the pass and put a low cross into the box, out of the reach of Rimando. Cummings was able to race in and beat former Rapids Nat Borchers to it to redirect it off of Rimando's shin and into the back of the net. The Rapids continued to control play, and after a series of passes holding possession in the 82nd minute Herculez tried to chip the ball past Mantilla. Much like Ihemelu last week, Manitlla played the ball with his arm, and got called for the PK. Christian Gomez stepped up and sent Rimando the wrong way to put the final nail in FSL's coffin. The Rapids walked out with a 2-0 win (as I predicted) and a 3 point lead in the Rocky Mountain Cup.

Keys to the Game review:

• Its FSL, our rival. The team's attitude from the opening whistle should be to shove the ball down their throats and don't stop for 90 minutes.
  The first half looked just like the San Jose and Houston games, so we really didn't shove the ball down their throats. Luckily we weren't punished for our weak opening.
• FSL has not gotten a point on the road, and only scored 2 goals. The Rapids need to shut down their offense and keep pressing them until they collapse.
  The FSL offense looked pretty ineffectual. While Bouna made some adventures out of some crosses, they only threatened the goal twice. Once Kimura came back to clear and Bouna made a good stop late in the game on the second chance.
• The team needs to keep their emotions in check. Pablo has a history of picking up cards for dissent in this series, and we saw the bench get out of hand last week.
  Good job by the team of keeping in control. If fact it was a calm affair for an RMC match, with only one yellow card being handed out, to former Rapid Chris Wingert.
• The winner of the game takes sole possession of first in the West, at least for a couple of days. Its a big start to a 3 game home stand against the West for the Rapids. We need to set the tone in our stadium.
  The Rapids will stay in first at least until next week. If Dallas beats LA they will share first place for the week.
• Short list this week. There's no acceptable result other than a win in this game.
  Done and done.

Critical Matchup: Pablo Mastroeni vs. Kyle Beckerman - While Kyle was obviously the leader for FSL, with no support our midfield was able to keep him contained. We did such a good job that Pablo was able to push forward more than normal, which led to a pretty awful shot by him in the first half. ;)

Fact of the Match: Kyle Beckerman has played all but 21 minutes in the history of the Rocky Mountain Cup.

Random Observations:

I think I've figured out what I don't like about Cummings. He doesn't look up to see the pass. If he gets the ball he's going to go right at goal until he's completely stopped, then look for the pass. Clavijo's comments after the game reflect similar feelings. As long as the team is aware of it and uses Cummings appropriately its not an issue.

Christian Gomez is making the trade look better every game. I may be force to eat my words by the end of the season.

Third formation of the year, shifting into the 3-5-2 this week. I'm not sold on 3 in the back against a good team, but it worked against FSL.

Jacob Peterson seems to have regressed some. Terry Cooke should get his starting job back when he's healthy.

Hopefully Bouna's time with Senegal will help him on crosses, he's turning a number of them into "Adventures in Goalkeeping".

Some great runs of possession late in the game. Its not often a Rapids team gives the fans an excuse to start the Ole' chant.

All in all, a great night at The Dick. I even picked up one of the Bouna Coundoul banners that were on the 16th Street Mall before the season. A $75 donation to the Rapids Community Care Foundation gets you your choice of a banner, based on what they have left.

Man of the Match: Colin Clark. He was dangerous down the left side, made Beltran look bad, and got the game-winning assist. There are any number of possibilities though, Christian Gomez, Omar Cummings, Facundo Erpen, and Kosuke Kimura were all considered.

Failure is NOT an option

Gene Krantz' famous saying from Apollo 13 was created for the movie, having never been uttered by Krantz during the actual Apollo 13 mission. Gene felt in described the atmosphere at NASA so well that he used it as the title of his biography though. Its the mindset the Rapids should have for this game.

The Rapids are back at the Dick facing FaKe SaLt LaKe, the yahoos from the West side of the Rockies, tomorrow. This is the first Rocky Mountain Cup match of the year. The game is at 7:30 MDT on ESPN2.

Here's the injury report:

OUT: DF Mike Petke (R foot); GK Justin Hughes (L groin); DOUBTFUL: FW Conor Casey (L knee); MF Nico Colaluca (L groin); MF John DiRaimondo (L ankle); PROBABLE: MF Terry Cooke (L hamstring); FW Jovan Kirovski (R groin)

And the discipline report:

SUSPENDED: - FW Tom McManus; Asst Coach Gary Smith

My lineup prediction:

Bouna Time!
Kimura - Ihemelu - Erpen - Harvey
Cooke - Mastroeni - C.Gomez - LaBrocca
H.Gomez - Cummings

We'll stick with the 2 forward formation, as Gomez obviously plays better with two attackers in front of him. Cooke looks like he'll be healthy for this one, but if not Peterson will start. Gomez has been the first option off the bench up front, so I assume he'll slot in for the suspended McManus.

Critical Matchup: Pablo Mastroeni vs. Kyle Beckerman

Former Rapid Beckerman is FSL leading scorer with 3 goals. He learned everything he knows about destroying the center of the midfield from Pablo. These two know each other very, very well, and the winner of the matchup will be based on who wants it more, there won't be any surprises in their games.

Keys To Look For:

• Its FSL, our rival. The team's attitude from the opening whistle should be to shove the ball down their throats and don't stop for 90 minutes.


• FSL has not gotten a point on the road, and only scored 2 goals. The Rapids need to shut down their offense and keep pressing them until they collapse.


• The team needs to keep their emotions in check. Pablo has a history of picking up cards for dissent in this series, and we saw the bench get out of hand last week.


• The winner of the game takes sole possession of first in the West, at least for a couple of days. Its a big start to a 3 game home stand against the West for the Rapids. We need to set the tone in our stadium.


• Short list this week. There's no acceptable result other than a win in this game.

Prediction: 2-0 win. FSL isn't significantly better than last year, and the only reason they claimed the Cup was Clavijo's lineup fiddling. We'll take the game to them early, get a goal in the first half, keep the pressure up until we get an insurance goal, and ease off. We should win by 3, but with the short week I think the team will be happy with a 2 goal win.

And in closing I leave you with this:

Rocky Mountain Cup Week!

This is what we're playing for:



Game 1, Thursday Night, 7:30 pm, at The Dick.

Weekend Roundup 5/10-5/11

Colorado Rapids - My game wrapup is here. The West continues to roll over for the East, while FSL defeated Dallas. This leaves the rapids in first place in the West, tied with Dallas, though they are only 7th overall in MLS. We still have the 4th best offense and 5th best defense in the league.

Queen of the South - Off until Scottish Cup final May 24th.

Blackburn Rovers - Just when it looked like Blackburn's European hopes were back everything came crashing down. Facing a Birmingham City team that needed a win at home and help from other results to escape relegation Blackburn rolled over and gave away its European chances. The game was close for most of it, with Birmingham scoring in the first half and Rovers equalizing right after the break. Everything fell apart in the last twenty minutes though as Birmingham struck 3 times. The result wasn't enough for either side as Birmingham was still relegated and Blackburn missed Europe.

Aston Villa did draw their match, so a win would have been enough to claim the Intertoto Cup slot. Instead Blackburn finished the season 7th, 29 points behind the champs, 7 points from the UEFA Cup spot, and 2 points from the Intertoto Cup spot.

Tenerife - CDT hosted the Sporting, who are pushing for promotion. Tenerife had the run of play with Gijon only getting two chances. Unfortunately they made them count, while the home side couldn't find the back of the net, and Tenerife fell 2-0.

With the loss they are officially out of the promotion race, and they are actually closer to the relegation zone. With 5 games to play they are in 9th place, but only 6 points from the first relegation spot.

Ebbsfleet United - Ebbsfleet had their day at Wembley in the FA Trophy final, facing Torquay United who had been bounced out of the promotion playoffs earlier in the week. Both teams went on the attack from the opening whistle and had numerous chances, but none that found their way into the goal. Torquay was called for a penalty kick and former Torquay striker and fan whipping boy Chris McPhee stepped up to take it. The penalty was saved much to the delight of the Torquay fans. Their celebration did not last long though as just on the verge of halftime Ebbsfleet broke down the right side, crossed the ball in, and McPhee got on the end of it to give the Fleet a 1-0 going into the locker rooms.

The second half saw more end to end action, with Ebbsfleet having the grater of the play. Torquay threatened on a number of occasions though, and only a headed ball that went right to keeper Lance Cronin kept them off the scoresheet. They finally ran out of time though, and Ebbsfleet lifted the FA Trophy for the first time in their history. With the victory Ebbsfleet ends its season on a high note.

Now witness the firepower of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL MLS team!

Yes, much like Admiral Ackbar and his Rebellion fleet, the Rapids walked right into the trap game in Houston. Unlike the successful Rebellion though, the Rapids did not have a Han Solo or a Luke Skywalker to hit the Dynamo at their weakest point. Instead Ugo Ihemelu played the role of Darth Vader, committing a stupid penalty late in the game, costing the Rapids any chance of a result.

Once again the Rapids decided that MLS games are only 45 minutes long, and pretty much took the first half off. Pretty uninspired play by the Rapids was matched by equally uninspired play by Houston in the attacking third. Ching got in 1v1 against Bouna and managed to not only chip him, but also chipped over the crossbar. It was only a matter of time before the Dynamo managed to put one on frame, and sure enough, Ching got behind the last line of defense again and was 1v1 with Bouna. I don't know how he stayed onside on this one, but without a decent angle from Fox Soccer I have to assume the AR made the right call and the Rapids blew the trap. Bouna decided to try to meet Ching outside the top of the box and play the ball away with his feet. Proving why he's a goalkeeper and not a forward Bouna completely whiffed on the play, and Ching had a wide open look at an empty net for his first goal of the season.

The Rapids showed up to play in the second half. Slowly gaining control of the game and finally getting a pay off. Christian Gomez made 3 cuts, being stopped twice, before playing a through ball past the heart of the Dynamo defense. Cummings raced in and slotted it home to draw the game at 1. For the next 15 minutes the game was wide open, and either side looked like it might take the 3 points. Then just as the Rapids started looking like they were about to go into a shell to protect 1 point on the road, disaster struck. On a throw-in by Houston Ihemelu stuck his arm out to play the ball. The referee appeared to signal that it hit his chest, but after a reaction from the Dynamo players and supporters, called for the penalty kick. Post-game replays show it as a textbook example of playing the ball with the arm in the box, good call. Dwayne DeRosario stepped up and put the penalty away for his first goal of the season, and a Dynamo win.

Keys to the Game review:

• We're going on the road to face a team looking to snap out of its funk. Can we keep the pressure on, or like the San Jose game do we get overconfident?
  The first half looked just like the San Jose game, and Houston took full advantage. We woke up in the second half but the damage was already done.
• How does the new backline play? Ihemelu seemed to settle things down last week, does that continue?
  The back line kept allowing people to get free in the first half, but tightened up in the second and kept Houston from having many chances at goal. Of course Ihemelu's brain fart threw that all away.
• Will somebody step up and claim the role of go-to guy in the box
  Nope, more of the same. Decent play until the forwards get involved. Cummings got the goal, but I still don't see him as the go-to guy.
• The first goal seems to be even more critical in this game than normal. If Houston gets it they have a lead, at home, over a team they usually dominate. If we get it Houston might continue in the funk its currently in.
  And the first goal domination continues. Through the Rapids game last night, no team that scored first had lost in MLS (San Jose became the first later in the evening)
• Who starts on the wings?. I'm guessing Cookie and LaBrocca, but Clark and Peterson have made their cases as well.
  Cookie was slated to start, but picked up a hamstring injury in training in Houston friday night. Peterson started in his place, with LaBrocca on the other side. Peterson was invisible most of the game.
• Was Christian Gomez's play last week an aberration because he was facing his old team, or does the 2 forward formation really help him?
  The two forward formation does seem to help, as Gomez was more active this game, and once again used some nice ball handling to set up Cummings for the goal.

Critical Matchup: Pablo Mastroeni vs. Dwayne DeRosario- Pablo kept DeRo in check all night, and other than the PK he wasn't a significant part of the game. Great job by Mastroeni in shutting down the strength of their midfield.

Fact of the Match: The Rapids have yet to get a point when allowing their opponents to score a goal.

Random Observations:

I know there's a lot of support for Cummings, but I don't see it. It seems like he's great when he gets on a break, but if he has to create the chance himself he doesn't have it in him. I'd like to see Casey or Gomez start in his place next game.

Somebody put out an APB on Jacob Peterson, because he went missing around 7:30 local in Houston yesterday. Pretty quiet night from a position we needed more from.

Christian Gomez should not be taking free kicks and corners. I don't know if there's an injury problem or not, but he's having a hard time getting any elevation on his set pieces.

I was all set to give player of the game to Ihemelu, and then he pulled one of the more idiotic stunts I've seen. I recognize that he had a Houston player breaking into the box, but in a case like that you have to throw your body at the ball and hope, not play it with your arm.

Two ejections from the bench this game. Assistant Coach Gary Smith and Tam McManus (after he was subbed out) were both ejected for dissent. I'm all for passion, but somebody needs to step in and calm people down before it gets to that point.

The officiating wasn't great, but we have more blame to lay on our lack of play in the first half than we do on the officiating.

Next week is a must win. Not only is it a Rocky Mountain Cup match but the winner will be in first place in the West, at least for a couple of days.

Man of the Match: Pablo Mastroeni. Second week in a row for Pablo. He completely shut down DeRosario though and when everyone was popping off somehow managed to avid being carded.

Its a Trap!

I had planned to do a Star Wars spoof to open this write up, but thanks to Comcast disconnecting me for 24 hours for no reason I've got to get this up quickly.

The Rapids are in Houston facing the Dynamo tomorrow. The game is at 6:30 MDT on Fox Soccer Channel. As always the supporters groups are watching the game in downtown Denver at the British Bulldog.

Here's the injury report:

OUT: DF Mike Petke (R foot); GK Justin Hughes (L groin); MF John DiRaimondo (L
ankle); DOUBTFUL: FW Conor Casey (L knee); QUESTIONABLE: MF Nico Colaluca (L groin)

My lineup prediction:

Bouna Time!
Kimura - Ihemelu - Erpen - Harvey
Cooke Mastroeni - C.Gomez - LaBrocca
McManus - Cummings

According to today's Denver Post article, the Rapids will stick with the two forward formation, and either go with a 35-2 or a 4-4-2. I think Clavijo will start with what worked last week, with the slight change of Peterson for Cooke, for more veteran leadership on the road.

Critical Matchup: Pablo Mastroeni vs. Dwayne DeRosario

Right now Houston has no offense and are hoping to get healthy against a team they normally beat up on, the Rapids. DeRo is the key to the Dynamo attack, and keeping him quiet will go a long way towards keeping the Dynamo offense off the board. Remember, the Rapids have not gotten a point out of a game where they've allowed the opposition to score.

Keys To Look For:

• We;re going on the road to face a team looking to snap out of its funk. Can we keep the pressure on, or like the San Jose game do we get overconfident?


• How does the new backline play? Ihemelu seemed to settle things down last week, does that continue?


• Will somebody step up and claim the role of go-to guy in the box?


• The first goal seems to be even more critical in this game than normal. If Houston gets it they have a lead, at home, over a team they usualy dominate. If we get it Houston might continue in the funk its currently in.


• Who starts on the wings?. I'm guessing Cookie and LaBrocca, but Clark and Peterson have made their cases as well.


• Was Christian Gomez's play last week an aberration because he was facing his old team, or does the 2 forward formation really help him?

Prediction: 2-0 loss. We seem to play poorly against the Dynamo, and its about time for them to finally get the win. I think this has trap game written all over it, and I think, much like Admiral Ackbar and the Rebellion, we fall for it.

Fifth of the way there, where are we?

We're 20% of the way through the season, so I thought it would be a good time to take an early look at where the team is, how it compares to previous seasons, and what we can expect (or hope for) down the road.

I've gone back and looked at the first 6 games for the last 3 seasons. I chose 2005 as a starting point because it was the first year of the Clavijo era and because the only player remaining with the team from prior to that is Pablo Mastroeni. It should be noted that in 2005 and 2006 MLS played a 32 game season, so these numbers aren't quite at the 20% mark, but I didn't think that adding in the stats for the first 36 minutes of game 7 made much sense. ;)



As you can see, in every category the Rapids are off to their best start under Clavijo, and are doing so with only 3 home games compared to 4 the last two years. Goal differential is positive for the first time, we have double digit goals for the first time, and we're at .500 for only the second time. The Rapids are actually off to their second best start in their history (They had 10 points after 6 games in 2002).

Looking at the team position by position:

Goalkeepers: Bouna Time! is back this season, and in good form. He had a bad day in Kansas City, but other than that he's been on his game, and saved us from losing some games, while making some of the losses better than they were. This all comes at a price though, as his play has gotten the attention of the Senegal National Team, and he'll be missing games in May and June as he joins the team for their World Cup Qualifying campaign. The Rapids will go with either Justin Hughes, if he's recovered from his groin strain, or Chris Sharpe, one of the MLS 'pool' keepers who's rights the Rapids own. Both are untested in MLS, and Bouna's absence will be a big loss for the team.

Defenders: We've used 7 different defenders on our 4 man back line so far this season, and its been a bit of Jekyll and Hyde at times. There have been some games, like the most recent game against DC, where you wonder if DC would ever get a goal, and then there's games like the Chicago game where attackers were unmarked all over the box and Bouna had to come up big on multiple occasions. Some of this is due to inexperience, as Keel and Kimura have gotten significant time in place of other injured players, and some of it is the tactics that Clavijo likes to use, pushing the wingbacks forward into the attack. Now that everyone but Petke is healthy we can start to determine our best back 4. I think it will be Kimura, Ihemelu, and Erpen, with a platoon of Burciaga and Harvey on the left. Burciaga gives the team more of an attacking presence, with the loss of some defensive cover, while Harvey is more defensively oriented. Based on who is playing left mid and the tendencies of the opposition to attack down the right side will lead Clavijo to start one or the other.

Midfield: Midfield has been the strength of the team so far this season. Our youth movement is in strong effect in the center of the park, as Clark, LaBrocca, and DiRaimondo have all gotten significant playing time this year, and have shown that they deserve to be in the mix of the starting 11. Cristian Gomez had a breakout game against Dc last week, and hopefully that will be the jump start he needs to be the dominant #10 he was expected to be when he was brought in this past offseason. Terry Cooke is still Terry Cooke. He's going to get the ball, find some space, and cross the ball in. He's probably still the best crosser of the ball in MLS, outside of Old Spice. Clavijo switched from a 5 to a 4-man midfield against DC, and it worked well. I expect we'll see some experimenting over the next few games as to which mixture works the best.

Forwards: Here's the real enigma on this team, who can stake a claim to being a MLS-caliber starting forward? Omar Cummings and Tam McManus have been the starters so far this season, and both of them have shown some good things, but haven't claimed the spot as their own. Herculez Gomez has gotten a lot of play off the bench, but hasn't done much with that time. Conor Casey is coming back from injury this week, and a starting spot is his for the taking. I think its notable that of the 10 goals the team has scored, no player has more than 1 goal.

Bench/Reserves: A real positive with all the injuries we started the season with is that our bench/reserves got a lot of experience. Now we have capable backups at most positions that have gotten some playing time. The big concern is goalkeeper, but that will be a trial by fire when Bouna leaves. The reserve side has picked up where they left off last season and remains undefeated since 2006.

Coaching: I've long been critical of Fernando Clavijo, but I have to give him credit this season. He's avoided his rotating roster compulsion, and for the first time in his 3+ years he started the same lineup for 3 games in a row, and then extended it to 4 games. He made a few changes in game 5, which didn't pay off as well as he would of liked, then made a complete formation change before the DC game last week, and it resulted in complete control of the game and a 2-0 win. Hopefully he can see he has a solid core of starters, and keeps them together as much as possible going forward.

Overall the Rapids are on pace for 45 points this season, which for the last 3 years would be good enough for 3rd place in the West. At the moment though they are tied with Dallas for first place in the West. The East has been hammering the West in their matchups, which has allowed the Rapids to stay in front with only a .500 record, helped along by being one of the only teams in the West to be able to stand up to the East, going 2-0-1 against them.

We now start a set of 4 games against Western Conference opponents, 3 of the at home. That stretch will go along way in determining where we end up at the end of the season.

Ballouchy has an Immunity Idol

OK, I promise, no more Survivor references after this. ;) After my post yesterday the Rapids Front Office announced that Petke will be staying on the disabled list for the time being, so nobody needs to be cut from the roster this week. Ballouchy (or whoever is the odd man out) is safe for now.

Who goes this week?

The coach is speaking, and its somebody's time to go this week. Right now the Rapids have 19 first team players with a MLS roster limit of 18 players. Casey and Petke don't count towards the limit since they are on 6-week IR. That 6-week period ends on Saturday though, so somebody will have to be cut from the senior roster.

To try to find out who might be likely to go, I've combined the game-day rosters and injury reports for the first 6 games this season. This will give us an indication of who is being used and who seems to be surplus to the team's requirements.



As you can see there's a handful of players who have been available for games, but not even made the game-day roster. I think that those players are the most likely ones to be dropped from the first team. Of this group two names stand out, Mehdi Ballouchy and Jovan Kirovski.

Ballouchy was brought to the Rapids last year from FSL in trade for Kyle Beckerman. The move was expected to give us a more dynamic midfield, but Ballouchy largely disappointed last season, and has found himself replaced by Christian Gomez. Ballouchy is also taking up one of the Rapids 8 international roster spots.

Kirovski came to the Rapids from LA in 2005 in exchange for a 1st round draft pick. He has been a favorite of Fernando Clavijo's, retaining his spot in the starting lineup when most would agree that his play hadn't warranted it. He's alternated from the attacking midfield role to forward, without really excelling at either. Its notable that even when the Rapids were low on healthy strikers early this season Kirovski wasn't considered. His contract is also been reported to be guaranteed, so even if the Rapids cut him they are still on the hook for his $220K.

My guess is that Ballouchy is in his last week as a Colorado Rapids player. Kirovski will be kept around for his "experience" and "veteran leadership". Also this organization has a history of keeping personnel who are under contract, figuring that if we have to pay them they might as well stay with us, even if there are better options.

There are a couple of other possibilities. The Rapids could demote somebody to development status and git rid of one of the current 10 development players. Somebody like Omar Cummings would be the most likely candidate, if he still qualifies. The other possibility is that a player goes onto 6-week IR. Last week's injury report only listed 4 injuries. DiRaimondo, who was reported to not be that serious, Hughes, who is starting to see time in reserve games and will be needed in a couple of weeks when Bouna Time! gets called up for his National Team, Casey, who's been seen training with the team and playing in reserve matches, and Petke, who's news has been quiet lately. If anyone goes on IR for another 6 weeks, it would probably be Petke.

Still, my money is on Ballouchy being shown the door in the next week.

Weekend Roundup 5/3-5/4

A short roundup this week, with 2 teams having pretty much wrapped up the season.

Colorado Rapids - My game wrapup is here. The rest of the West played each other this week, resulting in 3 draws. The Rapids vault back to the top of the conference, tied with Dallas for 1st. We're tied with Dallas for 6th overall in the league. We have the 4th best offense and 5th best defense in the league now.

Queen of the South - Off until Scottish Cup final May 24th.

Blackburn Rovers - Just when it looked like Blackburn's European hopes wer gone the weekend turns everything on its head. Rovers apparently thought this game would be a pushover and weren't at their best. Pitiful Derby County made them pay as they went ahead 1-0 in the 19th minute. It took until just before halftime for Blackburn to level the score. Right after half Blackburn took the lead, then finished off COunty with a 3rd in the 77th minute.

The win, combined with Aston Villa's loss to Wigan puts Europe back in play going into the final weekend of the season. Blackburn has to go on the road and beat Birmingham and they need West Ham to get at least a draw against Aston Villa. That combination will put Blackburn into 6th and the Intertoto Cup spot. Other combinations could result in Blackburn finishing as low as 9th.

Tenerife - For once Tenerife didn't give up points with a late goal. Instead it was goals early in the second half combined with a PK miss that doomed CDT. Facing the league leaders on the road, a loss isn't a surprising result, but you would hope for better play than Tenerife exhibited. With the loss CDT drops back to 9th, 13 points from promotion with 6 to play. The league is so tite that Teneife could finish anywhere between 2nd and 22nd still.

Ebbsfleet United - Week off, witht the final game of the season Saturday in the FA Trophy final.

Players divided from United lead Rapids to victory

The Rapids had their most dominate performance since the opening match, while DC continued their run of play at altitude. Clavijo made 4 changes to the starting 11, benching Cooke, Clark, Keel and Burciaga in favor of Peterson, Cummings, Ihemelu, and Harvey and switched from the 4-5-1 to the more traditional 4-4-2 with LaBrocca taking up Clark's spot on the left. I questioned this change at the beginning of the game, but the Rapids proved me wrong.

The first half was dominated by the Rapids, outshooting DC 6 to 3, but the teams only combined for 1 shot on goal in the half. Still the Rapids were the more aggressive team, constantly pushing the ball into the attack, and if it weren't for some poor touches by Omar Cummings the Rapids probably would have managed a goal.

At halftime I was concerned that we had let DC stay in the game by not capitalizing on our dominance, but the team continued the pressure into the second half. In the 53rd minute Christian Gomez started a run down the left side, put a gorgeous spin move on Clyde Simms to get free for a pass, and led Jacob Peterson perfectly. Peterson didn't disappoint and first-timed the ball into the top of the net for the 1-0 lead.

The Rapids regressed to the 2007 Rapids for the next 10-20 minutes, allowing DC to dictate the play and being forced into defending their own goal. The Rapids finally got some possession in the attacking half and won a corner. Before the corner was taken Terry Cooke was brought on to replace Jacob Peterson. The Rapids showed patience after the corner and the ball pinged back out to Christian Gomez who found Cooke at the top of the box and on his second touch of the game he floated in a perfect cross that Erpen got his head on and put DC away with a second goal. After that it was just a matter of killing the game off.

Keys to the Game review:

• Can we get out of our funk? So far this season we've played worse each game, cratering out with the San Jose game, and bouncing back a bit in Chicago. Still we haven't played a "good" game since KC, and we haven't dominated since LA.
  That would be a yes. The Rapids controlled the game from start to finish.
• How does DC play at altitude? They haven't won in the Rockies since 2005, and they haven't won in Colorado since 2000, a span of 8 games.
  DC continued its unimpressive play at altitude
• I said it in the critical matchup section, but Christian Gomez has to start taking control of this team
  2 assists and good control of the match, especially in the 2nd half. His free kicks were awful though.
• Along those lines the early book on Gomez in Colorado seems to be hit him hard early and take him out of his game. If that continues, can he work past it?
  DC really didn't play rough with Gomez, but then again, DC didn't really play well at all. ;)
• Is our defense more organized? San Jose and Chicago made the defense look like a USL side, save Bouna Time! Can they get their act together?
  This was well done, the addition of Ihemelu really kept the defense more organized, and Kimura and Harvey tracked back well after getting forward into the offense.
• Can we get Cooke and Clark equally involved? Particularly in the second half of the last couple of games the field has been tilted to one side or the other, leaving the counterpart all alone on the other side, usually open, but never getting the ball.
  Well neither Clark or Cooke stated, but the Rapids did do a better job of switching fields and keeping everyone involved.
• McManus has looked good in his playing time so far, but so did Cummings early. Can Tam continue or will he fade?
  McManus did not have a particularly good game, he had a hard time linking up with Cummings. The Rapids are still trying to figure out who should be starting up front.

Critical Matchup: Christian Gomez vs. Gallardo- Christian Gomez came to play yesterday. He controlled the midfield, and kept the Rapids pressure going. Meanwhile Gallardo had almost no impact on the game. Hopefully this is the kick-start Gomez needed.

Fact of the Match: In their 3 wins the Rapids have outscored the opposition 7 to 0. In their 3 losses they've been outscored 3 to 7.

Random Observations:

Great job by the whole team in controlling the game, that's what we need to be doing.

Bouna had is quietest game so far. The only significant play he had to make was punching out a DC kick in the first half. Great job by the defense in keeping the pressure off of Bouna.

Ihemelu looked good at central defense, something I never felt comfortable saying last year. I think a tandem of Ihemelu and Petke might be very solid.

We were a bit lucky that DC had no offense, as our lack of finishing could of hurt us. We only had 3 shots on target, even though we outshot United 17-5. Somebody needs to step up and become the goto guy in the box.

Christian Gomez earned his unofficial DP status this week, for the first time.

If we move to the 4-4-2 we need to find a spot for Cooke. Putting him on the bench for one game as a wake up call is fine, but he's too good to not have on the field.

If LaBrocca can hold down the left maybe we can try Clark up front for a game.

I'm not sold on Harvey at left back, he tracked back better than Burciaga but doesn't have as much offense to contribute. Some competition for the spot is good though.

Its going to be difficult to figure out our best 11 right now. Most of the team that's started has had some really good games and some really bad games. You'll see more on this in a post later in the week.

Man of the Match: Pablo Mastroeni. A bit of a surprise, given the good play of Christian Gomez, but I think Pablo's return to the lineup the last couple of games has really solidified the midfield, and he really kept DC from getting any kind of dangerous attack going.

Rapids Attempt to Divide D.C.

The Rapids are back to the friendly confines of The Dick, facing D.C. United on Sunday at 1pm MDT on Altitude and Telefutura.

Here's the injury report:

OUT: FW Conor Casey (L knee); DF Mike Petke (R foot); GK Justin Hughes (L groin); MF John DiRaimondo (L ankle)

My lineup prediction:

Bouna Time!
Kimura - Keel - Erpen - Burciaga Jr.
Mastroeni - LaBrocca
Cooke - C. Gomez - Clark
McManus

I don't think we'll see many changes quite yet. Next week, when Casey and Petke become available I could see a formation shift, but for now I think we'll continue in the 4-5-1 while people get healthy.

Critical Matchup: Christian Gomez vs. Gallardo

This isn't a head to head matchup, but its a matchup of the two "DP level" players. DC traded for our DP slot and gave us Gomez, and its time for him to produce. A PK and 2 assists in 5 games isn't what anyone was looking for when Gomez was acquired. There's no better time for him to step up and show his value than playing against his old team and outplaying their DP.

Keys To Look For:

• Can we get out of our funk? So far this season we've played worse each game, cratering out with the San Jose game, and bouncing back a bit in Chicago. Still we haven't played a "good" game since KC, and we haven't dominated since LA.


• How does DC play at altitude? They haven't won in the Rockies since 2005, and they haven't won in Colorado since 2000, a span of 8 games.


• I said it in the critical matchup section, but Christian Gomez has to start taking control of this team


• Along those lines the early book on Gomez in Colorado seems to be hit him hard early and take him out of his game. If that continues, can he work past it?


• Is our defense more organized? San Jose and Chicago made the defense look like a USL side, save Bouna Time! Can they get their act together?


• Can we get Cooke and Clark equally involved? Particularly in the second half of the last couple of games the field has been tilted to one side or the other, leaving the counterpart all alone on the other side, usually open, but never getting the ball.


• McManus has looked good in his playing time so far, but so did Cummings early. Can Tam continue or will he fade?

Prediction: 1-1 I don't see this disorganized defense keeping DC off the board, but at the same time DC has historically played pretty poorly in the Rockies. Gomez will want to make a point against his old team and will generate at least 1 goal. This game is a real toss-up and I wouldn't be real surprised with any result, but I think a draw is most likely.

Who's On First?

You're getting a double helping of View From the Couch today. My preview of the DC game on Sunday will be up this afternoon, but I wanted to make some comments on today's Denver Post article.

When the Rapids announced the hiring of assistant coach Gary Smith this past offseason, a lot of people were wondering who the Englishman was and what his credentials were. Coach Fernando Clavijo and assistant John Murphy were among them.

In a move that could have been read a variety of ways, manager director Jeff Plush appointed Smith to Clavijo's staff

"I think there was probably a small breakdown in communication between Fernando and Jeff," Smith said.

Plush said in March that he was taking more ownership of personnel moves with the club and was not worried if appointing an assistant coach was normal practice. His concern was getting a strong coach in Smith.

"Who hired him is frankly irrelevant," Plush said.

Now I'm no fan of Clavijo's, but even I have to feel for him in this situation. You're given control of a team, but you don't even get to have a say in your assistants? And if there was any question about the rumors of a split between Clavijo and Plush, this pretty much confirms it. None of this is a reflection on Smith, who has been thrown into a bad situation, but this doe snot bode well for long term planning in the coaching staff. Probably another sign that Clavijo is gone at the end of the season unless he wins the MLS Cup.

There are few fans of the 4-5-1 formation Clavijo has favored this season — himself included.

The Rapids don't have a striker who suits the role, nor does attacking midfielder Christian Gomez have any experience supporting a lone striker.

Its things like this that drive me crazy with Clavijo. Suddenly we find out he doesn't like the 4-5-1, even though he used it all preseason and every report out o camp was that it was something he wanted to do.

If he never liked the 4-5-1, why use it? You can claim injury, but we had Peterson and Cummings that have been healthy pretty much all year. That's 2 strikers, plus McManus who was with the team but not eligible until the 3rd game. That leaves you nothing on your bench, true, but that's usually the reason most teams carry more than 2 true strikers going into the season.

If Clavijo liked the 4-5-1 and has changed his mind, then just say so. I doubt anyone would fault him any more for than then his "I don't like the formation I decided on, but I was forced to use it line", and at least it would be honest. The way its phrased now it just sounds like spin.

Jovan Kirovski is healthy but remains buried in the depth chart. Kirovski is fourth or fifth at striker and behind Gomez and Mehdi Ballouchy at attacking midfielder, Clavijo said.

Clavijo said Kirovski, 32, reported to training camp overweight but was fit when he strained his hamstring a week before the season opener.

Finally some good news! Jovan has never been successful in MLS, and he shouldn't see the field this season. I have to winder if he'll be the one who's cut next week when Petke and Casey come off of IR. My money was on Ballouchy, but after these comments...

Weekend Roundup 4/26-4/27

Interviews this week delayed my Roundup. Hopefully good things will be coming my way soon though.

Colorado Rapids - My game wrapup is here. The West continues to lay down for the East, so with the loss the Rapids only fall to 3rd behind Dallas and LA. We're now with our next opponents, DC, for 9th overall in the league. We're tied for the 4th best offense in the league now, and the 6th best defense.

Queen of the South - QoS wrapped up their league play on the road at Dunfermline, but it appears they left their game in Dumfries. The team was obviously looking forward to the Scottish Cup final and UEFA Cup play next season, and they went down 4-0, there worst defeat of the season, against the only team they failed to beat this year. There's not much to say about the game, by all reports it was bad from start to finish.

Queen of the South finishes the season in 4th place i nthe 1st Division, with 52 points and a +4 goal differential. Its the best finish for the team since their return to the 1st Division. They were 24 points from the leaders and only promotion spot. They now have a month off, which will include training in Spain, before facing Rangers in the Scottish Cup final on May 24th. If they win they will enter next year's UEFA Cup in the 1st Round, if they lose they will enter it in the 3rd Qualifying Round.

Blackburn Rovers - Rovers kept their slight Intertoto Cup chances alive with a win over Pompey, on a Roque Santa Cruz strike in the 74th minute. The first half was short on any kind fo real chances, taking 41 minutes before either team got a shot on target. The second half opened up more though, and Blackburn pushed the game, with numerous dangerous chances before Santa Cruz put the winner away. Friedel came up with a big save in stoppage time, and Rovers went home with 3 points.

With just 2 games to play Rovers are 8th, 4 points from the first Intertoto Cup spot that Aston Villa currently holds. Goal differential favors Aston Villa, so a win or 2 draws by Villa or Rovers failing to win either of the last two games would eliminate Rovers from any shot at Europe. Blackburn will finish somewhere between 6th and 9th.

Tenerife - Yet another goal late in the match costs Tenerife points. This time Albacete drew level with a goal in the 76 minute. CDT was unable to get the game winner after holding a lead for over half the game. The loss of 2 points at this point of the season really hurts as they fall 10 points behind Sporting in the final playoff spot. Tenerife is 8th with 7 games left to play.

Ebbsfleet United - In front of their largest home crowd of the season Ebbsfleet laid an egg and gave up 3 early goals to Oxford. They scored inside the opening minute to immediately take control of the game, and followed it up with strikes in the 20th and 28th minute to leave the 'Fleet wondering what hit them. After that it was easy for Oxford to keep their defensive shape and keep Ebbsfleet from getting back in the game. The 'Fleet scored in the 50th minute, and threatened heavily for the next 15 minutes, but it wasn't enough and Oxford went back to their ivory towers with the 3 points.

With that the first partial season under control of MyFC came to an end for Ebbsfleet. They finished 11th in the Conference with 69 points and a +4 goal differential. They were 12 points from a promotion playoff spot. They have the coming weekend off before Torquay United at Wembley in the FA Trophy final on May 10th.