Second Chance For Rapids To Clinch

On Wednesday night we needed help to clinch a playoff spot and we got it, but failed to do our part.  Now we need no help.  Win and we're in.  We're also in with a draw or loss with help but lets just get it done ourselves.  Toronto is our opponent tomorrow and they're fighting for a playoff spot with both DC and Philly lurking.  Kickoff is at 7:30pm and its going to be wet.

Player Availability:

OUT: D Lalas Abubakar (concussion), D Sam Vines (hamstring),  M Kevin Cabral (arm)

Not great that Lalas is still in concussion protocol, hopefully he's getting better.  Might Cannon be pushed into starting?

With how tired we looked on Wednesday I'm assuming some heavy rotation.  Keegan and Cole get to start on the bench.  Its not great but it needs to happen.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Mihailović and Bassett (off the bench).  Toronto is not a good team, we should be able to beat them but the rain and the number of games will make this a sloppy tense affair.

Rapids Flatline in KC

Last night Colorado came out flat and never woke up.  Armas decided to go with no rotation other than Michael Edwards in for the injured Lalas Abubakar and the tired legs showed from the opening whistle.  There was no urgency or energy in the side and KC took full advantage, scoring in the first 10 minutes.  Poor passing, weak clearances, and sloppy giveaways would continue the rest of the half but the Rapids managed to hold it together and go into the half only down one.  KC would put hopes to sword coming out of the locker room though, scoring in the 49th minute and the 69th minute to put the game out of reach.  A brief flicker of hope appeared when Mike Edwards got his first professional goal in the 75th minute but KC snuffed that out by scoring their 4th in the 82nd minute.

The only good news is that Austin, Dallas, and Seattle all failed to win so we didn't lose ground in our quest for a playoff spot and a top 4 finish. We clinch a playoff spot with a win over Toronto on Saturday OR a draw and Dallas not winning and Austin loosing OR a loss and Dallas not winning and Austin loosing.

No Man of the Match, nobody earned it.

Rapids Could Clinch A Playoff Spot Tomorrow Night

With the right set of results, namely a Rapids win and Austin and Dallas both not winning, Colorado will clinch a playoff spot tomorrow night.  Getting some of those results will push clinching to the weekend, while getting none of them will take out any chance of clinching this week.  To do their part they'll need to go to KC and face a team on the edge of elimination.  A loss for the Sporks would put them at least 11 points back with only 4 to play.  Kickoff down I-70 is at 6:30pm tomorrow night.

Player Availability:

OUT: D Lalas Abubakar (concussion), D Sam Vines (hamstring),  M Kevin Cabral (arm), F Darren Yapi (red card)

Yapi being officially listed as out suggests that either the Rapids didn't appeal his card or that it was denied.  On further review I'm starting to think there's a strong possibility the ref saw something from his angle that wasn't visible from any of the camera angles.  Regardless, we'll be without him.  Abubakar being out will likely force Cannon into starting even if that wasn't the original plan.

If Cannon isn't ready it will have to be Michael Edwards that steps up to fill in for Lalas.  Otherwise the rest of the lineup is pretty clear, with Fernandez and Larraz spelling Harris and Ronan.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Navarro.  I think we're better than KC and should win this, but our missing players and the number of games in a short time is building up and eventually it will bite us.  I think its this game when that happens.

Get Downhill And Stay Downhill

I stole that title from Matt Doyle's weekend roundup because its a great description of this game and the Rapids in general.  Colorado kept pushing, got an early lead, gave it back, and then kept going to find a second goal.  Portland had a number of good chances, so its not like we were dominant in this game, but as always, we didn't hear no bell and eventually came out 2-1 winners.

The opening goal was a good example of Doyle's line.  It starts from a Keegan throw-in and goes through a 20 pass sequence where everyone but Navarro touched the ball before ending up in the goal through a Lewis spin and shot.  We just kept pushing the ball forward and cycling it around until the Timbers defense broke.  A nice snap shot from JLew who has certainly flourished under Armas.

Of course we still have some of the same problems we've seen against Portland this season.  Their goal was a carbon copy of ones scored in both of the prior games.  A corner kick headed on to the far post where an unmarked attacker puts it away.  Rosenberry was looking around after the goal like he expected somebody to take that player, but as the furthest outside player I kind of feel like he was Keegan's responsibility and the captain just watched him run by while focusing on a different attacker.

The winning goal was a masterclass from Djordje and Rafa.  A gorgeous free kick by Mihalovic was placed where only Navarro could get to it and he rose up and put it inside the near post where nobody was stopping it.  Very pretty.

Random Thoughts:

• The stats look fairly even in this game, but it felt like Portland had the bigger chances.  Steffen came up huge on multiple occasions when the Timbers had him one on one.  Better finishing and we probably lose this by multiple goals.
• Can we talk about Jackson Travis for a moment?  Kid balled out on Saturday.  If he keeps that up he'll push Vines for his starting spot next season.
• Conner Ronan was named MOTM and rightfully so even if I didn't pick him.  Probably his strongest game this season, he was really sharp with his distribution.
• I didn't predict Cannon would start, but I'm a little surprised he wasn't in the gameday squad.  Gotta figure he has a big role on KC on Wednesday.
• So lets talk about the biggest negative on Saturday, the Yapi red.  Needless to say it confused everyone watching either in person or on Apple.  It doesn't look like anything.  Word that I've gotten is that the ref saw a punch to the back from Yapi.  There is some kind of contact there but I can't see a balled fist or any force.  It would also be out of character for Yapi.  That said if there was a fist it take what appears to be barely a foul to a clear red.  I'm sure if the Rapids have any belief that Yapi didn't punch him they'll appeal, but if they don't or we find out the league told them they would consider the appeal frivolous (which carries some additional penalties) then there's a good bet that there was more than met the eye in that confrontation.  If they appeal and its a standard denial (non-frivolous) then it probably means there's not enough proof to overrule what the ref thought he saw.
• The Rapids will clinch a playoff spot with wins over KC and Toronto this week, or beating one of them and having Dallas and Austin drop a game.
• With two assists Mihailovic is now just one behind Diego Rubio's team record of 23 goals + assists in a season.
• With a goal Navarro is now only 2 behind Rubio's team records 16 goals in a season.  He's also only 4 behind Rubio's goals + assists record.  Both of Rubio's records were set in 2022.
• The win takes Colorado up to 3rd overall, winning the tiebreaker with FSL.  The tiebreaker is most wins where Colorado leads by 1, or in other words, by holding the Rocky Mountain Cup.
• Speaking of the Cup, some shots from the post-game drone show celebrating the RMC win:

Man of the Match: Zach Steffen.  Kept us in the match with huge saves.  Good to see him going from his hot Leagues Cup run bak into league play without a drop off.

The Final Section Of Whitewater Begins

7 games, 5 weeks.  That's what's left of the regular season.  It starts tomorrow at the Dick with the Portland Timbers in town.  The Rapids have 3 games this week, if they were to win all 3 AND have Austin lose a game they would clinch a playoff spot.  That's going to be tough given our results so far this year against the Timbers.  We all remember we started the season in Portland and lost 4-1, and we started the Leagues Cup in Portland and lost 4-0.  Will home cooking and altitude make a difference?  Kickoff tomorrow is at 7:30.

Player Availability:

OUT: D Sam Vines (hamstring),  M Kevin Cabral (arm)

Reports from practice suggest Vines might be out a few more games.  Good thing we got Cannon signed.

I think at altitude and with a 3 game week that Cannon comes off the bench tomorrow and then starts in KC at lower altitude.  Travis gets the start tomorrow.  Larraz/Harris/Lewis get the nod over Ronan and Fernandez.

Prediction: 2-2 draw, goals by Navarro and Bassett.  Portland seems to have our number and coming off the weird schedule we've had I think they steal a point (or worse).  We're better than them, but not by much, and they know how to score on this back line.

Rapids Get A Cannon Back

Straight from the Rapids Twitter account

I was planning to write a post tonight on how we skipped the transfer window this summer, but then the Rapids flipped that plan on its head.  Tom Bogert was the first to report and Braidon Nourse of the Post has also confirmed that the Rapids have signed U.S. National Team defender Reggie Cannon.

Lets start with the how.  The window closed almost a month ago, but that only closes the window for transfers.  Free agents can be signed up until the roster freeze deadline which is later this week.  Reggie Cannon spent last season with QPR (and we'll get into his transfer history a bit later) but agreed to a termination of his contract.  That was announced on August 30th but Bogert is reporting it was agreed to and executed before the MLS window closed.  That means he was a free agent when the window closed and is eligible to sign with MLS.

Now the who.  Cannon is a 26 year old right/right-center back.  There's some belief he could play left back as well but he's better on the right.  So this is an obvious replacement for Bombito between Rosenberry and Maxso.  He got his start in Dallas before moving to Europe and has had 28 caps with the National Team, but none since 2022.  Like Vines, Steffen, Mihailovic, and even Bassett, Reggie is coming to Colorado hoping to work his way back into the National Team.  Obviously whatever the case for that Taylor, Armas, and Smith are making, its working.

As mentioned Cannon came up through the Dallas Academy (like a couple of other former Rapids) and spent a year at UCLA before signing for the first team in 2017.  He appeared 67 times for them before being sold to Bovista in Portugal 4 years ago yesterday.  His new club got into a lot of financial trouble and to this day still owes Dallas part of the transfer fee.  Reggie appeared 83 times for them but went unpaid for a while and eventually walked away from his contract, thinking they had breached it.  He signed with QPR last summer on a free and played 21 times in the Championship for them.  Earlier this year FIFA ruled that Cannon did not have the right to leave his Boavista contract and now owed the club a significant amount of money in compensation, but they also ruled that Boavista owed him his missing wages.  And they still owe Dallas the transfer fee.

Nourse's report is that the deal is through 2027 with a club option for 2028 so he'll be around for a while.  Bassett, Vines, Navarro, Mihailovic, and now Cannon are under contract through 2027.  That's the core of the team through the next few years.  He is already in Denver and will be available for selection potentially as soon as Saturday.

This was an unexpected move, but one I like.  While I'm not entirely sure that a long contract will work in our favor I'm willing to give it a chance.  This gives us needed depth on the back line (I'm guessing Abubakar gets the start on Saturday with Cannon working in during this upcoming 3 game week).  Plus signing as s free means no extra money spent so at most he's costing us $700K in TAM per year.

Out To Ruislip To See Wealdstone FC Again

Long time readers may remember when I went to London in 2019 I headed out to the suburbs to see a National League South match at Grovesnor Vale.  Well the last week of August my company sent me to our London office.  Monday happened to be a bank holiday so after getting some work done in the hotel room I headed out to Ruislip to catch Weqaldstone FC for the second time.

In the 5 years since I had last seen them they had been promoted to the National League (Level 5) after winning the National League South during the abbreviated COVID season of 2019-2020.  They are the only(?) semi-pro club at that level, or another way of phrasing that is that they're the best semi-pro club in the country. In their four seasons since they've hovered in the bottom half of the table, finishing between 13th and 19th.  This season looks like their toughest challenge with many picking them to be relegated.  Going into the match I attended they had played 4 games with no wins.

Not much had changed other than with the Piccadilly Line undergoing some depot work the only Tube line running to Ruislip was the Metropolitan line. 

Once you make the 10 minute walk to the Vale you see the same sort of entrance as before

And the stadium has the same small "high-school football" feel to it:

There are more seats now than there were in 2019, which seated areas now on all 4 sides of the pitch.  Another upgrade was in the media suite, seen in 2019 and now:

The game was fun, the Stones were facing AFC Fylde who had come down from Lancashire with 30-40 fans.  The home team scored early (an attempt to get a photo of the celebration while I was eating):

But of course the real appeal of non-league is being able to get up close to the game.  Some shots from the fence around the field:

This is the player tunnel, which kind of folds out to prevent fans from walking along the endline while the players are passing from the locker room to the pitch:

The lone goal held up, giving the Stones their first win of the season.  Unfortunately the two games since has seen a draw and a loss, which means they're on 5 points after 7 games and 22nd of the 24 teams (4 are relegated).  The 20th team is AFC Fylde who also have 5 points but a better goal differential (by 1) and 1 less game played.  19th is Boston United on 7 points.

I also picked up a few souvenirs, a program, a fan magazine about non-league football, and a new kit for my collection.  I'll be rolling with the Stones regardless of what happens this season and I'll be back out to Grovesonor Vale on a future trip!  (Or wherever Wealdstone is, as they're working on plans for a permanent ground they own)

Time For Some Apologies

Rapids Doom Themselves, Hire Chris Armas

The Rapids have been immediately written in ink at the bottom of the standings for 2024, as nobody believes Armas is capable at coaching at this level

In what world does this look like a resume that will succeed at one of the least supported clubs in MLS?  The only thing he has going for him is that he's likely cheap and desperate.

The idea that Armas is a finalist for Colorado just reiterates that this organization is deeply unserious about being competitive.  The near universal response to this news across MLS social media tonight is sympathy for Rapids fans that might have to put up with their club hiring him.

...Armas would be very poor choices that would set this team back even further from the hole they're already in.  No other team would even consider them for the role

Pretty brutal huh?  That's not a roundup of what fans and columnists said about the Armas hire.  All of that is quoting posts I made about it.

Oops.

So yeah, I owe Chris, team President Padraig Smith, and Sporting Director Fran Taylor apologies.  I'm sorry, I blew it.  What Armas has done this year is nothing short of Coach of the Year worthy.  I didn't see this coming (in my defense, neither did anyone else).

Not only has Armas improved results on the field with the addition of some good players (Mihailovic, Steffen) he's also gotten better performances out of Rapids who were on the roster for the awful season in 2023.  Before his injury Kevin Cabral, who had 8 goals and 6 assists in 3 seasons, was already at 5G/4A and heating up.  There was an outside chance he would be a 4th double-digit scorer for the club this season.  Jonathan LEwis has tied his career high in assists despite only getting 3 league starts.  And Oli Larraz went from not having a contract to being an every game starter.

The Rapids are on pace to score 67 goals this season, which would smash the club record of 62 set in 1998.  That was back when there were 12 teams and the Shootout was still a thing.  Its already our third highest scoring season with 2019's 58 goals in 2nd.  We are on pace for a top 10 worst season defensively (oddly our worst defensive season was ALSO 1998) but right in line with the last couple of seasons which means Armas has greatly improved the offense without making the defense worse.

Most importantly though is the attitude of the locker room.  Last year the team's heads would get down as soon as they fell behind and you knew they weren't coming back.  In total in 2023 the Rapids earned 7 points from games where they trailed at any point.  In 2024, with 7 games still to play, they've earned 19 points.  And that doesn't count the Leagues Cup results.  I didn't hear no bell is an accurate description of the squad.  For whatever we seem to play even better off the back foot.  That mentality is directly from the coaches.

A Rocky Mountain Cup.  3rd place in the Leagues Cup and a CCC spot.  Almost certainly a playoff berth.  This is going to go down as a successful season (assuming we don't Coug It over the next few games and miss the playoffs) and that's largely due to what Chris Armas has done both individually with players and the team as a whole.  Well done coach and once again so coach, Smith, and Taylor, my apologies for being so wrong and blasting you on the hire.

Colorado Tops Dallas, Again

Its been over 2 years since Dallas has been able to beat Colorado, and the Rapids have now gotten points out of 7 of the last 8 matchups between these teams.  There were times in the second half where it seemed like that streak might end but the Burgundy Boys came up with the last two goals of the match, including a stoppage time winner, to take all 3 points.

The teams traded early goals that were parried back into play.  First Steffen spilled a ball right to a Dallas attacker, and 5 minutes later Dallas returned the favor, parrying a ball right to Navarro's head.  The score would remain 1-1 until the middle of the second half.  in the 66th minute a very well struck through ball sliced open the Rapids back line.  That would have been ok except a miscommunication between Maxso and Abubakar left Musa unmarked in the box and he didn't miss.

At that point the question was if the Rapids had anything left after their Leagues Cup run.  A hot humid night in Dallas with two weeks off waiting on the other side, nobody could blame Colorado for just playing out the string.  But like always this season, they didn't hear no bell.  Djordje drew a PK and stepped up tot take it.  This time however, it was saved.  Cole was crashing the box though and crossed the saved ball back in front of net where Rafa got his second goal of the night.

It wasn't over yet though.  Into stoppage time Mihailovic flicked a ball through for Yapi to run onto.  Dallas keeper came out to challenge for it but Yapi was able to get a thigh on the ball and chip it over him for the late winner.  Its Yapi's 3rd goal this season and second stoppage-time winner this month (he got the winner versus Toluca as well).  Colorado completed the smash and grab and headed home with 3 points.

With the win the Bodmer Line is down to 0.0 as the Rapids have hit the average number of points, 44, for the 9th place and final playoff team.  The last 7 games should be about positioning now, with a target of a top 4 finish and home playoff game.

On the individual record front with his brace Navarro is on pace to hit 16 goals and tie Rubio's team season-scoring record from 2022.  Mihailovic is on pace for 25 goals and assists which would beat Rubio's team single-season record of 23, also from 2022.

The Rapids are now on a much needed two week break and will have no official training this week.  Next up is a home game against Portland on the 14th.

Man of the Match: Rafael Navarro.  You get a brace, you get Man of the Match.