European Overview

I haven't done an update on the various European teams I follow for a while and with new seasons getting ready to kick off I think now is a good time to take a trip around the continent.

Blackburn Rovers: Blackburn has certainly moved up to my "second" team after seeing them a couple of times in person.  In 2017-18 they promoted back to the Championship and last year they settled into mid-table for most of the season.  A late season dip had some fans a little worried about relegation but they turned it around and finished 15th.  In the offseason they've improved the squad and somehow kept star attacking midfielder Bradley Dack.  I think hoping for a playoff spot is a stretch but a finish just behind that (7-10th) is not out of the question.  They open the season on Saturday hosting Charlton Athletic.

Queen of the South: The Doonhamers had a rough year last season, with manager Gary Naysmith parting ways with the team before the relegation playoffs.  Yes, relegation playoffs.  Despite having one of Europe's leading scorers (Stephen Dobbie, look it up) the team suffered through a two month losing streak after the holidays.  They finished 9th but won the relegation playoff and stayed in the Championship.  Dobbie is back this season with a new manager and a rebuilt team, but the early start has not been great.  They were eliminated from the League Cup in the first group stage this month.  Their first league game is Saturday at Arborath.

CD Tenerife: The Chicharreros had a pretty typical season for them, settling in above the real relegation danger in the Spanish Segunda division but not much higher than that.  14 of the last 21 seasons have gone about the same way.  Tenerife brought in defensive reinforcements this offseason, including former Barcelona keeper Adrian Ortola to deal with their 50 goals allowed last season.  They start the season at Real Zaragoza in two weeks with their big home derby against Las Palmas on Sept 8th.

TSG Hoffenheim: In Julian Nagelsmann's last season in charge of 1899 the team stumbled a bit.  a solid 9th place finish is nothing to sneeze at but it was certainly a drop from the 3rd and 4th places of the prior two years.  They also finished 4th in their group in the Champions League, which meant a direct drop out of Europe, not a shift to the Europa League.  This season the biggest change is at manager, with wunderkid Nagelsmann moving on to RB Leipzig and being replaced by former assistant Alfred Schreuder.  After finishing with the 3rd best offense in the Bundesliga last season the team has doubled-down on the attacking strategy, bringing in multiple wingers to bolster the attack.  A little good news for German football fans today, after this coming season the Bundesliga rights will move from FOX to ESPN+.  Hoffenheim start the season with an away cup match at Wurzburger on the 10th and their first league match at Eintracht on the 18th.

English Non-League: After two trips to England where I learned a bit about non-league football, and actually saw a non-league game, there are two non-league sides I'm keeping my eye on, in different but equal divisions.

In the National League North I'm watching Chester FC.  Last season was the first back in the North for the Blues after relegation the prior year and after a quick start they finished just short of the promotion playoffs in 9th place.  They had a run of bad luck with weather and cup matches rescheduling a number of games early in the season (a bad storm all but destroyed the operations center of the stadium when the roof failed, forcing many postponements) leading to a very congested fixture list and a reallocation of resources.  This season they have some new investments lined up and there is hope that they'll be pushing for promotion back to the National League.

In the National League South I'm watching Wealdstone FC, who I saw play at home in April.  That loss to Dulwich Hamlet seemed to end their playoff hopes but a great run in the last couple games, including a miracle set of 4 results on the last day got the Stones into the promotion playoff.  As the bottom seed they had a long road to promotion but their miracle run continued for a bit.  They first went to Bath and won 3-1, then went to Woking at took a 2-0 lead in the first half.  The magic ran out at halftime though, with Woking scoring 3 times in the last 15 minutes of the match and knocking Wealdstone out of the playoffs.  There's hope for a return trip this year however.

So that's the circuit, from Dumfries to Tenerife to Hoffenheim.  Who knows, maybe I'll add a Greek team soon. :D

Timbers & Homegrown Game

I decided to wait on the recap until this afternoon's Homegrown Game was played in Orlando, since Vines and Bassett would likely be involved in it (and they were).  First Saturday though, which did not go well.  The transformation of San Jose under Almeyda is nothing short of stunning and they worked us over for 90 minutes.  A couple of lucky deflections tuned what could have been a 4-0 loss into a 3-1 loss with a goal for Rubio.

The defense was awful on all three goals.  San Jose basically waltzed into the box and had their way with our back line.  Abubakar had the own goal on the first but had he not touched it San Jose would have scored it anyway.  The other two goals were embarrassing to watch as SJ attackers dribbled circles around us.  Meanwhile on the other end of the field nothing much was happening.  The stats show 5 shots on target but honestly, other than the deflected goal, I don't remember any of them.  San Jose having 2/3rds of the possession sounds like a more accurate reflection of the game.

What we've seen over the last month is an example of how thin this team is.  When our best XI are on the field we can compete with anyone in the league (especially at home).  If we lose 1 or 2 though we revert to a very Hudson looking team that is repeatedly beat by most MLS teams.

Man of the Match:  Diego Rubio.  He had the goal and 2 shots on goal.

This afternoon's homegrown game in Orlando featured both Sam Vines and Cole Bassett starting the second half, with Vines wearing the captain's armband.  Both played very well and were dangerous early, combing for a dangerous attempt on goal that was parried away shortly after they came on.  The play drifted away from them through the half but the Homegrowns tied it up in the last minute leading to a PK shootout.  The Chivas U-20s were not very good at it, missing all three attempts.  Vines scored the first PK for the homegrowns and Bassett won the game by scoring the third kick.

All The Young Punks

The final song on the Clash's second album

Colorado has found its way to San Jose for tomorrow nights match with the Earthquakes.  Really at this point the main thing the Rapids are playing for are the career opportunities of the young players.  With some luck they'll rock the casbah in California tomorrow but a win isn't really going to get them any closer to the playoffs.  Kickoff is a late (for us) 8pm on Altitude.

Injury Report:

OUT: D Kortne Ford; D Deklan Wynne

QUESTIONABLE: F Kei Kamara

Availability Report:

UNAVAILABLE: Sebastian Anderson - U.S. U-17s

Kamara was a late scratch last week with a back injury that seems to have continued.  Howard had to leave last week's game with an injury but is apparently good to go this week.

We could see Rubio out wide and Bassett underneath if Nicholson isn't ready to go or if Casey wants to play more of the young punks.  Otherwise this seems to be the obvious lineup.

Prediction: 2-1 loss, goal by Shinyashiki.  The team feels a little out of sorts right now, I'm not sure if I can put my finger on why.  I think the injuries and absences over the last month has caused them to lose their rhythm.  I don't see them getting it back this week with Kei unlikely to play.

The Real World Keeps Getting In The Way

Sorry about the lack of coverage in recent weeks, the real world keeps getting in the way of my posting.  Well, that and the Tour de France. ;)  Long stage today and I have enough time to watch almost all of our recorded coverage so I can play catch up on some things (if anyone is still reading).

First to the NYCFC game.  I think this game really showed the difference between a solid and deep MLS team and the Rapids who are pretty close to a quality XI but are paper-thin. Starting Sam Vines, Cole Bassett, and especially Seb Anderson really shows our depth is lacking.  While the first two (particularly Vines) have shown they are ready to play at this level I'm not sure either one is a lock-down starter yet.  Anderson is certainly not and we saw that Saturday night.  Great pressure and positioning to get a goal, but also poor decision making to be behind the play and draw a red card.  If Sam Nicholson is starting instead of Seb there's no red card.  Of course there's no guarantee of a goal either.

The other talking point from the game is the claim that the winning NYCFC goal was offside due to the initial pass that Abubakar intercepted going to an offside player.  It wasn't.  I'm actually a little frustrated by Casey leading with that at his post-game press conference because there's no way he could have seen it from his spot on the sidelines and making such a strong claim that it was offside was just wrong.  Let's break it down:

• If you watch the video clip on the Rapids website or MLSSoccer.com you'll notice the replay of the goal cuts in maybe a quarter second after the ball was played.  At that point the NYCFC attacker is onside due to Tommy Smith being closer to the goal than he is.  Now its possible that Smith made a Usain Bolt-like sprint from behind the attacker in that quarter-second but its unlikely.  I'm 99% confident that the attacker was onside when the pass was played.
• But lets assume I'm wrong and he was offside.  Its not a foul to be offside.  Its a foul to be involved in the play from an offside position.  The current directives from FIFA on offside interprets "being involved" as playing the ball or challenging for the ball.  Challenging for the ball is defined as being close enough to play the ball and attempting to do so.  When Abubakar heads the ball the NYCFC attacker is a step or two behind him and not close enough to challenge for the ball at that moment.  Thus at that moment he is not currently involved in the play and is not offside.  Now I know what you're going to say, "Abubakar only played the ball because of the offside attacker" and you'd be right and I'd agree, that should be enough to be considered to be involved, but its not.  Its a stupid interpretation but its the one currently being used.  We saw the same calls being made with the same reasoning at the U-20 and Women's World Cups this summer.

So for two different reasons the attacker was not offside.  All that said, the ref didn't have a good night but he did get the two key calls (the red and the goal) correct.  But he missed a clear foul and yellow against Nicholson late, he let a couple of other incidents go that should have been called, and in general left everyone frustrated.

Player of the Match: Howard/Irwin.  They both had great games and Irwin had to step in quickly for the injured Howard.  So I'm giving it to both of them.  Good news is that Tim is not on the injury report this week.

On to other news.  First I need to track back a couple of weeks as I never discussed Nana Boateng being release from his contract.  Honestly it wasn't a surprise considering he has been back in Sweden all season with family issues.  Reports are that he agreed to terminate his contract for free so the Rapids get back the rest of his cap room this season (a little over $150K).  This works for him to as by being released before the window closes he can sign as a free agent anywhere, presumably somewhere closer to home.  Boateng never really worked out here, after a few early flashes the serious injury to his back in 2017 really change him as a player and set him back.

His release, along with Kortne Ford's full season injury, ensures that no player signed between the end of the 2016 and 2017 seasons will play a minute for the Rapids this year.  Names like Aigner, Da Fonte, Perez, an Hamilton along with those two are a list of missed opportunities (or in Kort's case, injury).  There are a lot of reasons the Rapids aren't a good team right now but one of the big ones is that fact that we essentially took a year off from improving the team and we're still suffering for that.

On a more positive front our youth movement is starting to pay off.  Reportedly we received another bid for Cole Bassett from Germany, and Sunday is the first day we could accept it under FIFA rules (Bassett turns 18 on Sunday, the youngest age a player can accept an overseas transfer offer).  My bet is that we hold on to him a bit longer but next week could be interesting.  Both Bassett and Vines were included on the Homegrown Game roster for next week's All-Star festivities, they'll take on the Chivas U-20s on Tuesday in Orlando.

Also some good news for Anderson after he became what we believe to be the youngest player in league history to get a red card.  He's been called into the U.S. U-17 preliminary camp for the U-17 World Cup in Brazil on Oct/Nov.  Now getting called into the camp doesn't mean he's going to go to the World Cup but its a positive sign in that direction.  That camp starts tomorrow for a week and a half and the U-17's will play USL sides Orange County SC and LA Galaxy II during the camp.  Seb was already going to miss this week's game due to the red card, but being called up for international duty puts that on hold until he's done.  So he'll miss the game in SJ and the Montreal home game for Nats duty, then he'll be suspended for the home game against San Jose once he returns.

Last, but hardly least, we still don't have a full time manager.  I've heard multiple rumors that Robin Fraser is the guy but nothing concrete or verifiable.  Over the last few games we've see the "new manager" bounce run off of Casey and while the team is still improved, there have been a couple of games and a few decisions that are starting to show what Casey still has to learn.  I'd like to see the FO either name a new manager or make a public statement that Casey has the rest of the season.  This limbo is annoying.

Stool Pigeons In Town Tomorrow Night

The Rapids are facing NYCFC, aka the Pigeons, this week.  Before their recent two game losing streak they were the hottest team in the league, going 12 games undefeated.  Due to games in hand they only sit 7th in the East but on a pts/game basis they have the second best number in the other conference.  They have the second best defense in the league (buoyed a bit by that lack of games) and a middle of the road offense.  Kickoff tomorrow is at 7pm with the tailgate starting at 4.

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

Disciplinary Report:
SUSPENDED: M Kellyn Acosta; F Diego Rubio

Well, that's not fun.  I expect we'll see much like what we saw in Portland.

I do think Price might start.  He's started before when he was Questionable and my guess is the turf in Portland is why he didn't start last week.  If he can't go I expect to see Bassett.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Lewis.  This feels optimistic, I can see NY getting more than one goal but I don't know that we have more than one in us.  Lewis will get a bit of revenge on his old team and hopefully a point for his new one.

Portland & Arsenal Review

Ok, I spent the weekend with my parents and nephews so I didn't see much of either game.  I had the Portland game streaming on my phone behind me, so I was able to pick up the big moments but not the general feel of the match.  Seems that we were our own worst enemy in that one.  Credit to Tommy Smith for owning his own goal the next day.  The PK was unlucky but absolutely the right call, despite some claims to the contrary.  Going in everyone would have been happy with a draw but it seems more like 2 points dropped after the game (much like the 2-2 draw in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago).  That faint playoff hope that some fans had (not me) is gone now.

As for the Arsenal game, there were no surprises.  A bunch of U-23 and reserve players for Arsenal are much better than the Switchbacks and Rapids reserves.  Anyone who was upset about the lineups wasn't paying attention to the scheduling of this match.  This was never going to be more than what we saw on Monday.  I saw we, but I didn't see more than 5 minutes of the match.

At this point there are only two, maybe three interesting questions left to answer this season.  1. Can we beat FSL by 2 goals in a month or so and win the RMC back?  2. Who will be the manager?  Maybe 3. Do we get a permanent deal for Abubakar?  Everything else is just experience for next year.

Rapids Head To Sunny Portland

I have family visiting this weekend (from Portland of all places) so you're getting the game preview a day early.  A much better forecast is expected in Bridgetown than Portland faced when they opened the season here during Snow Clasico III.  Kickoff this weekend is a late 9pm start on Saturday, with Centennial 38 hosting a big watch party at the Celtic, along with the Denver Gunners on a early pregame for the Arsenal friendly on Monday.  Fleming and 'Celo will have the call on Altitude.

Just a note, unless/until their status changes I'm no longer going to list Kortne Ford and Nana Boateng as unavailable every week.  Just assume they're out and I'll update if that changes.

Injury Report:
OUT: D Deklan Wynne
QUESTIONABLE: Jack Price

Disciplinary Report:
SUSPENDED: M Kellyn Acosta (2 games, 1 for yellow card accumulation, 1 for the red)
ONE YELLOW FROM SUSPENSION: M Jack Price; F Diego Rubio (gets a game knocked off if he's clean this week)

Well, no Acosta and probably no Price is going to make the midfield difficult.  Luckily Lewis is back with the team after the Gold Cup and Nicholson seems to be healthy.

We could see somebody like Blomberg start over Bassett but otherwise I feel pretty good about this guess at the starting XI.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Lewis.  This is a little optimistic and a one goal loss would not be surprising.  Portland has had a busy week though with a game last Sunday and an Open Cup game in LA last night, so they're going to be a bit tired even at home and I think we can steal a point off of them.

Revs Wash Away Rapids Undefeated Streak

A game marred by not one, not two, but three lightning delays turned into a 2-1 loss for the Rapids.  Honestly its hard to take much of anything from this game with the start stop nature of the game.  An hour delay to kickoff, then play 28 minutes, then a delay, then play 7 minutes, then a delay, then play 10 minutes, then an 8 minute halftime, then a full second half that ended after midnight leaves a game where it was impossible to get into any rhythm.

About the only thing I took from it is that Diego Rubio is lucky he scored.  His complaining to the ref, diving, and otherwise petulant play is only worth it if he scores.  Otherwise the theatrics are more a detraction than an addition to the team.  Before the goal I was thinking that his contract i going to end up feeling very long if we have to put up with this every game.

Man of the Match: Any fan that made it to the final whistle in the stands.  I am very, very glad my anniversary kept me home Thursday night as that looked miserable to experience.  Anyone who saw all 90 minutes live is the clear man (or woman) of the match.

Jameson Night 2019

Yes tomorrow is Independence Day, but we play a game on the 4th every year.  We only get Jameson Night every other year, when the Revs are in town.  Hopefully most of you have Friday off (I don't) and can enjoy a night of Irish whiskey, soccer, and fireworks.  Kickoff is at 7 and it will be a full house in the stadium and at the tailgate, so be sure to get there early.  For those of us who can't make it, Fleming and Balboa will have the call on Altitude.  I say us because, as always, I have a better offer for July 4th.  Celebrating my 21st wedding anniversary and my wife makes better company than my fellow C38 yahoos. ;)

Injury Report:

OUT: D Kortne Ford

QUESTIONABLE: D Deklan Wynne, 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 changes since Friday other than Wynne being upgraded to Questionable.  Price was Questionable last week and played so I assume we'll probably see him tomorrow night.

That's the lineup we used last week to beat LAFC, I don't see Casey changing what worked.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Kamara and Shinyashiki.  4th of July and Jameson Night is too much for New England to overcome.  They're improved under Arena, but not as much as we've improved with Casey.  The undefeated streak stretches to eight as we go into a few extra days of break before the difficulty level goes up.

Rapids Ace Casey's Test

The Rapids went into Friday night's game with nobody expecting them to win (including me).  The expectation is that the league leaders, even down a few men, would come into Commerce City and handle the, until recently, league doormats.  Instead the Rapids were the ones handling LAFC, keeping them contained with really only one good  look at goal, and once again scoring on a set piece.  With the win Colorado extends its undefeated streak to 7 games, second only to NYCFC's current 11 game streak in the league this season.  Nobody has picked up more points in the last 7 games than the Rapids though.

Random Musings:

• I've been on the "give Casey all year to see if he can do the job" bandwagon so far, and really I still am, but we just shutout LAFC and beat them on a Danny Wilson goal.  If Padraig Smith had announced Casey got the full time job today it would have been hard to argue against it.
• Two months ago today we were mired in a 9 game winless streak and had real concerns of putting up an all-time league worst season.  Now we're averaging just under 2 pts/game with Casey at the helm and fear nobody.
• Scoring right before the lightning break concerned me, I thought we'd lose our focus going in to the locker room up 1-0.  We almost did, as LAFC got a great look in the first minute after the break, but otherwise we stayed focused and locked in.  Credit to Casey for keeping the team on point during the delay.
• Somehow, despite the best offense in the league and a pretty good Rapids offense, there was no shot on target in the first half.
• Howard looked good again Friday night.  His xGoals has dropped to .71, which is still middle of the road for the league but a big improvement from the dip it took in May.
• Credit to the whole back line.  They got the stops when it mattered.
• Outside of Wilson's goal the only other shot on target by Colorado was from Shinyashiki.  Kamara seems to have cooled off a bit from his hot start but its great to see others stepping up.
• I hope Price isn't seriously injured.  No idea how he was the one who got carded on that play.
• On to Jameson Night on Thursday!

Man of the Match: Sam Vines.  He took the run-away MVP candidate and put him in a little box all night.  Vela has one shot, off target, all game and it came from the middle of the field.  In fact the whole LAFC team only got one shot off from Vines' side all night and it was saved by Howard.  Probably the best game he's played as a Rapid, and he was rewarded by being named to the MLS Team of the Week.