Biggest Test Of Casey's Tenure Tomorrow

L....A.....F.....C

One of the only teams as hot as the Rapids comes to Commerce City tomorrow night, in fact they're so hot people are talking about the possibility of LAFC setting league records this season.  On this 6 game undefeated streak the Rapids haven't faced a top team yet, LAFC is it.  As a Friday night game the kickoff is a bit later at 8pm which means the tailgate will start at 5.  Its Friday night so the game is on Univision with Marcelo Balboa and company.  If you want your dose of Richard Fleming I hear he will be making an appearance at the tailgate since he has the night off.

Injury Report:

OUT: D Kortne Ford, D Deklan Wynne

QUESTIONABLE: M Sam Nicholson, M Jack Price

Disciplinary Report:

ONE CAUTION FROM SUSPENSION: M Kellyn Acosta

Unavailable:

M Nana Boateng - Personal issue

F Jonathan Lewis - U.S. National Team

No Nicholson or Price will make this a difficult task.  Presumably we'll see the likes of Wilson and Shinyashiki in their place.

This seems pretty obvious, given our player status.

Prediction: 2-0 loss.  We're improved, but we're facing the best offense and the best defense in the league and we're undermanned.  As long as we don't embarrass ourselves anything beyond that is a bonus.

Silly Season Rumor Roundup

With transfer windows opening across the world over the next month or so, including in MLS, and managers being hired and fired we've got a whole swath of silly season rumors to dig through.  First though, the one bit of news.  Today the Rapids traded an international spot for the rest of the season to Montreal for $100K in GAM.  With Rwatubyaye on loan to the Springs we had an open slot and apparently no plans to use it, so why not get something for it?

After that, the rest of this is rumor and speculation.  We'll start with various manager rumors (one hilarious) and then move on to players.

• Aitor Karanka rules himself out of any MLS job.  He had been linked with the Cincinnati job and was my top pick for the Rapids job if we looked outside MLS/US Soccer.  It was always a long shot but I'm happy to know he's not going to be coaching against us.
• Anthony Hudson is linked with the open Newcastle manager position.  No, that's not a joke.  Reports are they're at least talking to him this week.  I can't imagine they're seriously considering him, maybe his father put in a word or something, but there's nothing in his track record that suggests he's worthy of a Championship position, much less an EPL one.  Newcastle is poorly run lately though, so I suppose its not out of the question, but if they hire him it will be the most ridiculous move since Venky's fired Big Sam.
• With no other rumors it still appears Fraser is the leading candidate to fill Hudson's old position running the Rapids.  The curious thing is why it hasn't been announced yet.  Either the negotiations are taking longer than expected or there's another name in play.  At this point I'm not sure if its not better to wait until the offseason, its unlikely Fraser is going anywhere until then.

On to the player rumors.  These are all rumors of players leaving from various sources, no credible rumors of players coming to the Rapids.

• Diego Rubio has been linked to Liga MX's Cruz Azul, by way of a Chilean TV station.  Diego's brother played for them many years ago and some discussion makes this sound more like a rumor leaked to appease fans than any serious interest, but it is out there.  If there's a decent offer for him the Rapids should take it.  Rubio has struggled to fit in a bit here and if we could quickly turn him around for a good transfer fee that would be a smart piece of work.
• There are many reports linking Danny Wilson to League One side Oxford United.  This sounds like almost a done deal and the Rapids would be smart to take it if it lets them off without any additional salary payout.  Its no secret Wilson was a big signing that hasn't paid off, and getting out from the remaining $750K on his contract through the end of 2020 would be a win for the team at this point.  It would also be good for Wilson as talk is his family is dealing with some issues that would be helped by being back on the other side of the pond.  This would be as close to a win=win for everyone as we can get.  Today's trade of an international slot might be an indication this is getting done, as his transfer out would give us a free slot again.
• Per Richard Fleming's commentary during the Vancouver game, there have been multiple inquiries again about Kellyn Acosta.  That's all the details we have so far, and this is a tricky situation.  Any sale through the end of next season gets split 50/50 with Dallas, so the number is going to have to be high enough that half of it is worth losing a young midfielder in the middle of the season, one that's currently on a long-term deal.  My guess is that we're talking somewhere in the $3-$4 million range (so the Rapids would get $1.5-$2 million).  I'd be surprised if anyone is offering that.  If they are, the offer merits serious consideration.

Like I said, the silly season.  If I had to make predictions I'd go with; Fraser becomes Rapids manager in the next month, Hudson is never mentioned again by Newcastle, no real offer for Rubio is ever made, Danny Wilson leaves in the next month, and Acosta hangs around at least until the offseason.

Rapids Hit Troubled Waters In Canada

A post-Hudson start and a pre-Casey finish left us with a 2-2- game where both teams probably feel like they could have won.  As we saw in a prediction from Friday...

This has a annoying draw written all over it, where both teams will come out of it thinking they left 2 points on the field.

The Rapids could have, should have, been up 3 in the first 30 minutes.  Not finding the third goal came back to haunt us in a second half where we looked like Hudson's Rapids than Casey's.  An odd decision to only use one sub, and that being 16-year old Seb Anderson, while multiple Rapids were dead on their feet led to the inevitable late tying goal.

• After a less than stunning USOC outing the team followed it up with some poor play and poor decisions in this one.  Casey seems to be losing a bit of his magic touch.  I'm not saying that he's failed, I'm just saying we need to pump the brakes on him becoming the long-term manager, at least until the end of the season.
• Rubio picked up a red card that cost us the game against Vancouver last time, this time he makes a stupid foul that creates the Whitecaps first goal off a PK and changes the momentum right before the half.  This is a bad pattern.
• A bit of a soft foul and a great free kick for Vancouver's second, but you felt that goal was coming oe way or the other.
• Big credit for how the team played in the opening 30 minutes.  The Whitecaps were struggling just to clear their lines.
• Rubio was in the right place at the right time which is what you want from your striker.  I'm not sure he didn't steal a Olympico from Mezquida though, that might have been going in on its own.
• Stunning ball movement on the second goal.  Kamara-Mezquida-Kamara-Shinyashiki got the ball from midfield to the back of the net in 10 second.
• Mezquida picked up two assists in 20 minutes, his best start of the season.
• The undefeated streak now goes to 6.  Can we keep it up against LAFC on Friday?

Player of the Match: Kei Kamara.  Got an assist on the Shinyashiki goal, and Andre later apologized for "stealing" the goal from him (though I'm not sure his header would have gone in).  He had another great shot go right off the post as well and generally ran over the Vancouver defense.

Water Meets Water In The Frozen North

The Colorado Rapids (water formation) head north to restart the season against the Vancouver Whitecaps (water formation) in what would be a wet game if it were here in Colorado but will be dry under the dome in British Columbia.  This is the second matchup between the teams here after the 'Caps came to Commerce City and turned Casey's first game in charge into a loss.  They've been hot since then, but the Rapids have been hotter.  How much will the break have cooled off either team?  Kickoff tomorrow is at 8m and the game is on Altitude.

Injury Report:
OUT: D Kortne Ford (season-ending injury); D Deklan Wynne
QUESTIONABLE: M Sam Nicholson

Unavailable:
M Nana Boateng - Family issues
F Jonathan Lewis - U.S. National Team

Losing Kort for the season hurts, but we've been playing without him all year so on a game to game basis we've already dealt with his absence.  Lewis being gone and Nicholson being unlikely to play is a bit of a problem though.

None of the eleven starters I'm confident about, but Bassett or Rubio could be replaced by Mezquida and which one of the three starts behind Kamara versus on the right is up in the air.  Otherwise why mess with what's been working for us?

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Kamara.  Vancouver's offense is horrible, but our defense isn't great.  Their defense and our offense are pretty middle of the road.  This has a annoying draw written all over it, where both teams will come out of it thinking they left 2 points on the field.

Not The Way To Return From Break

The Rapids announced today that Kortne Ford has undergone another surgery and will miss the rest of the season, which means he missed all of 2019.  While this isn't exactly shocking, as it was starting to feel like this might be the end result of the season for Kort, it is none the less disappointing for him and the Rapids.  Over the last two seasons he'll have played in just 15 games and at age 23 that's some serious development time he's missed.  He'll need to come back strong in 2020 or its quite likely his peak will be a MLS role player.

Second Verse, Same As The First (Again)

Does this sound familiar?  The Rapids talk about taking the USOC seriously this year, host a match against a lower-league side, got outplayed, lost their cool, and lost.  Its pretty much a Rapids tradition at this point, except for the years when we don't host and lose to a lower-league side.

I could break the game down but why?  Instead just a few things to consider.  If we were really taking this seriously why didn't Tommy Smith, Kellyn Acosta, Sam Nicholson, or Andre Shinyashiki start?  I'm shocked that I'm even saying this, but if Smith starts we likely win that game as he doesn't pick up Sjoberg's dumb double-yellow.  Or if we have more attacking skill we're not defending a one goal lead into stoppage time, only to give it away.  In the end, the Rapids treated this like they always have, as a nuisance.

Some Rapids USOC stats:

• The Rapids are 9-11 all-time against lower-league competition in the USOC now.  They're 4-7 against MLS competition.
• The last time the Rapids hosted two USOC games in the same year was 2014 (ending with the infamous Atlanta game).
• The last time the Rapids played more than two USOC games in the same year was 1999 (ending with the loss in the finals to Rochester).
• Hat-tip to the Rabbi for this, the Rapids have been eliminated in back-to-back years by lower-league competition three different times.
• Rochester Raging Rhinos (twice), Chicago Sting, Richmond Kickers, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Minnesota Thunder, Seattle Sounders, Orlando City, Atlanta Silverbacks, Nashville SC, New Mexico United -- The roll call of lower league teams that have beaten the Rapids in USOC play.

Cross-Border Battle In The USOC

Tomorrow we take yet another shot at the U.S. Open Cup, a competition that barring our run to the final in 1999 we've never done well in, and rarely take seriously.  This year our first opponents are the USL expansion side New Mexico United from just across the southern border in Albuquerque.  Last year we went to Nashville and lost to their expansion USL side (without getting a shot on target), lets hope we don't repeat the experience tomorrow at home.  Game time at the Dick is 7pm and season-ticket holders got a chance to get a free ticket while they're $10 for everyone else.  General Admission, west side only, and enter through gate G (next to the team store).  Eighteen76 will be closed for this one.  No radio broadcast but ESPN+ has all the USOC games this year.  No idea who will be on the call.

Injury Report:
OUT: D Kortne Ford; D Deklan Wynne
QUESTIONABLE: M Jack Price

Unavailable:
F Jonathan Lewis - U.S. Nats
D Sam Raben; F Matt Hudley - Cap-tied to Colorado Springs Switchbacks after playing in an earlier round

On top of that official news we've seen some evidence on social media of other players being unlikely to play.  Based on his Instagram account Kei Kamara appears to be on vacation in Athens, Greece while MLS tweeted a video today of Tim Howard's visit to league HQ in New York City.  So its probably a safe bet neither of them will be in the 18 tomorrow.

As always I refuse to make a lineup or score prediction on our Open Cup game, because what the organization says about how seriously they're taking the competition and what they actually do come game time tend to not match up.  I assume we'll see Irwin in goal, guys like Shinyashiki, Vines, and Bassett get lots of playing time, and a couple of senior guys for some leadership but who that is and how they line up is a big question mark.

If the Rapids beat New Mexico, which they should, they would likely play their Round of 16 game next Tuesday/Wednesday before heading to Vancouver to restart the league season post-Gold Cup break.

13 points in 5 games!

For the first time since the early part off the 2016 season the Rapids have 4 wins in 5 games.  With the 5 game being a draw in Philly that's a nice 5 game undefeated streak to go into the break on.  This one was a bit different than our other recent wins, it felt more like the 2016 team which would get a goal and bunker for the 1-0 win.  Colorado only had just under 38% of the possession but actually outshot Minnesota 10-9 (3-2 on target).  A typical Kei goal got him to 8 this season, more than anyone scored last year.  He's on target to be our first player to score more than 10 goals since C+C Goal Factory put up 27 combined goals en route to MLS Cup in 2010 (14 for Cummings, 13 for Casey).

Random Musings:

• On replay that was probably a foul on Mezquida that waved off his goal.  Keepers get a lot of protection and he went in fast with studs.
• All credit to Tommy Smith for going from a waste of a roster spot to an adequate MLS CB.  I'm not sure he's worth TAM yet but he's not a liability on the field either.
• Some (a lot?) of that is due to the play of his defensive partner, Lalas Abubakar.  Its been a while since an in-season pickup has had this much positive effect on the team.
• I really like Casey making minimal changes to a successful lineup.  Only what was forced (Lewis being away, Rubio and Wynne being injured) by outside circumstances was changed otherwise he's sticking with what's working.  Which is largely "playing players in the positions they're most comfortable with".
• There isn't a ton to talk about in this game.  Colorado essentially dared Minnesota to beat them and they couldn't.  Every time they got near the box the Rapids would break up t he attack (or often, Minnesota would break it up for them with bad touches and passes).  The couple of times United came close Howard was there for the stop.
• We have next weekend off before we head to Vancouver in two weeks but between now and then we have one, maybe two, U.S. Open Cup games.  New Mexico is in town on Wednesday and if we beat them we'll likely play pour Round of 16 match the following Tuesday.

Man of the Match: Kei Kamara.  Not only for the goal, where he once again showed he can out jump any two defenders combined but also for his work rate and willingness to defend.  He had a save near the end of the game that most forwards wouldn't have been back for.

One More Game Before The Gold Cup Break

Minnesota Loons...Canada Loonie, same thing right?

Tomorrow is the last league game before the two week Gold Cup break.  Colorado come in riding a 4 game undefeated streak while Minnesota has lost their last two.  Lets see if we can keep those two streaks going.  An odd place for Rapids supporters to be, optimistic!  Game time tomorrow is back at the normal 7pm so the tailgate starts at 4.  Fleming and 'Celo have the call on Altitude.

Injury Report:

OUT: D Kortne Ford

QUESTIONABLE: D Deklan Wynne; F Diego Rubio

Unavailable:

M Nana Boateng - Family issues in Norway

F Jonathan Lewis - U.S. National Team

The info about Boateng was in today's Backpass in the Denver Post.  That explains why we haven't seen him yet this season.  Given the long break coming up (USOC game aside) I'm guessing we don't see Wynne or Rubio and we let them rest and heal.  Given that:

This seems like the most logical choice for a lineup and I'd be pretty surprised if we saw anything else, barring an unknown injury or something.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Kamara and Shinyashiki.  I think our current form and home advantage will give us enough to put us on top in this one.  Minnesota's offense is as good as ours and their defense is better, but that's heavily weighted by our horrid defense in the first 10 games of the season.  A stable back line has greatly helped balance the team and will see us enter the break on a 5 game undefeated streak.

U.S. Open Cup 2019

I didn't get to cover this during my busy week last week, but the Rapids found out their Open Cup opponent last week.  They'll host the expansion New Mexico United of the USL Championship.  Lets not get our hopes up about playing a expansion team, we saw how that went last year.  New Mexico is currently the top of the Western Conference and second overall in the Championship, so this will not be an easy match.  The match is next Wednesday at 7pm.  In a very smart move the Rapids have given a free ticket to the match to each season ticket holder, so we may see a decent attendance (relatively speaking) for this one.

Unrelated to all of that, there was a rumor this week that Mexican side Cruz Azul was interested in Diego Rubio.  From the comments it seems this is more talk to appease the fanbase than serious interest, but Diego's brother did play for Cruz Azul in 2007.  If its more than talk and there's an offer that isn't insulting the Rapids would do well to seriously consider it.  Rubio has shown flashes but hasn't settled in as much as some of our other new additions and may end up being extraneous in the long run.

Rapids Finally Move Out Of Last Place

4 games, 10 points, and out of the cellar!  A game the Rapids would have draw, or even lost, a month ago was an easy win on Saturday night.  A somewhat ugly first half by both teams ended with Shinyashiki putting just the right amount of touch on a ball to find the empty half of the net.  The second half was solidly controlled by the Rapids but a great ball over the top combined with a misjudgment by the defense led to Cinci leveling the score in the 72nd minute.  The old Rapids would have folded at that point and been happy to hold out for a draw.  These Rapids went right back down the field and took the lead back in a minute, then added to that lead 9 minutes after.

Random Musings:

• Abubakar is fearless and will run over anybody to prevent a goal (though he was one of the ones beaten on the Cinci goal).  I don't know if he's that good or he just looks good next to what we've seen this season, but either way he's clearly the defensive MVP so far.
• You never like seeing somebody have to come off due to injury, especially in the first 20 minutes.  Hopefully Wynne is ok, and Vines stepped up after a few bad touches to start.
• Acosta and Price are starting to remind me of the old Pablo/Larentowicz combo.  Pablo and Ginger Ninja were more destructive while Price and Acosta have more creativity but both duos had the same job, Sit in front of the defense, stop anything coming through the middle, and get the ball to the attackers.
• Kamara needs a goal.  He hasn't had one in this 4 game undefeated streak.  We don'tr want him dwelling on that PK miss against FSL any longer.
• Nicholson gets the crap kicked out of him, over and over.
• In each of the four games in this streak a player has come off the bench and scored.  Casey has a great read on the game right now.

Man of the Match: Andre Shinyashiki.  Seems to be a universal choice as he was named MOTM at the game and he was included in the Team of the Week by the league.  He had a great opening goal and showed some impressive soccer IQ in his distribution.