Once More Unto The Breach Dear Friends

For some reason the idea of watch another Rapids game this season reminds me of Henry V encouraging his troops into one more attack.  Its a rough job, but they wouldn't call us fans if it was easy. ;)  Tomorrow we get the Whitecaps coming to town, a team that's also looking to turn their season around.  Join C38 for a post-work happy hour starting at 4, with kickoff at 7.  Altitude TV for those who can't make it.

Player Availability:

Injuries:

OUT: D Kortne Ford (L MCL sprain); D Marlon Hairston (right knee surgery)

Discipline:

SUSPENDED AFTER NEXT YELLOW CARD: F Dominque Badji

No changes there, but the real question is will there be changes in the starting XI?  Vancouver is missing Watson to national team duty and has one player out and one questionable.  My guess at the starting XI:

I really hope I'm wrong, but I expect Hudson to make small changes and be stubborn about his system and his guys, namely Boateng and Wynne.  If he does actually make changes, starts Serna and Gashi in the midfield, we might have a chance to end this downwards spiral.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Badji,  If Hudson makes real changes we can win this game, but like I said, I don't expect him to.  Vancouver is a bad team though, so even our bad team can get a point.  A point isn't enough though, and this result (should it come to pass) essentially ends our season on June 1st.

A New Low

To be frank, outside of Edgar Castillo, this team is crap.  The team didn't belong on the field with the Timbers on Saturday and regardless of how close the score looked, the Timbers didn't worry about the result much into the second half.

They had a great first goal (helped by a poor play by Danny Wilson) but their other two goals were just ripping apart a Rapids backline that it not MLS quality.  Both goals were started by horrible passes from Boateng.  Both could have been stopped if Wynne, or anyone else, had marked the back post.  As we've seen all year, that didn't happen.

After the game Hudson said, in multiple ways, that he feels that we were competitive and we're just a few tweaks away from figuring it out.  We're not.  Even with a healthy Hairston and Ford taking Boateng and Wynne's spots that still leaves a questionable Wilson, a midfield that has no consistence or creativity, and a set of forwards that coming into June aren't fit, other than Badji.

I'll be honest, this feels like a new low as a Rapids fan.  This is the second worst losing streak in team history.  The worst is a game longer and a much larger goal differential from 2014 (it ended with that 6-1 debacle in LA).  But that was the end of a season with a rookie coach with some hope we'd figure things out in the offseason (we didn't, but I didn't know that them).  This time we're 11 games into the new era of the Colorado Rapids and it feels like there's not light at the end of the tunnel.  I can't see KSE allowing another manger change (note, I'm not calling for Hudson's job, yet) since they're still paying Pablo through the end of next year and they'd still have to pay Hudson, so they won't pay a third manager.  I don't see them firing Smith (again, not calling for his job, but getting close) since they just gave him the permanent position.  Without any sign from the FO that a change in direction is coming, I have ton assume things aren't going to get much better for a long time.

Really, any hope we have rides on Friday night's game.  Currently the Bodmer Line* sits at 1.65 pts/game.  Losing on Friday would push it to 1.72 over the final 22 games.  In our best season, 2016, we played 34 games at 1.71 pts/game.  Failing to beat Vancouver at home on Friday means it would take a miracle run to make the playoffs.  I have no belief that a team that can't beat Vancouver at home has a miracle run in them.  Essentially the season would be over by the first day of June.  This is not the improved "Rapids Way" Smith talked about.

* - The Bodmer Line is the rate the team needs to gain points over the rest of the season in order to reach the average number of points the 6th placed (and final playoff) teams have accrued in the 7 years the league has played 34 games.  That's 46.5 points.  Names after C38 Grand Poobah Mark Bodmer, who helped me refine the idea.

Man of the Match: Edgar Castillo.  The only one that looked like an actual MLS player out there for 90 minutes

Rapids Try To Snap Losing Streak By Snapping Trees

Any chance to salvage this season starts tomorrow with the first of 4 out of 5 at home.  Portland comes to town on a roll so it won't be easy.  Game time tomorrow is the normal 7pm so the tailgate starts at 4.  Altitude TV for those who can't make it.

Player Availability: 
Injuries:
OUT: D Kortne Ford (L MCL sprain); D Marlon Hairston (right knee surgery)

Discipline:
SUSPENDED AFTER NEXT YELLOW CARD: F Dominque Badji

Despite not appearing int he injury report Johan Blomberg has already been announced as the guest for "Tailgate Live"  in front of Eighteen36 tomorrow during the pregame, so we know he won't be available.  Portland has 4 players out and 1 questionable.

Sadly I don't expect many changes despite a lineup that's not working.  Maybe we see Gashi start, maybe we see Serna instead of Blomberg (but I doubt it) but that's about all I expect.  No Aigner in the 18, no Boli starting.

Prediction: 2-1 loss, goal by Badji.  Portland is scoring about half a goal more per game than the Rapids while giving up about the same number.  I expect it to look like a close game, the Rapids won't get blown out but I think the Timbers will largely control the game.  Colorado makes it interesting but in the end its another loss.

Rapids Visiting Old Friends For USOC

The USOC Round 4 draw was held today, which is the stage that MLS teams enter.  The other Colorado teams were eliminated in earlier rounds, including Colorado Springs earlier this week.  This left Colorado to be placed geographically in a wide E-W group stretching from Salt Lake to Nashville and also including KC.  The good news, we were drawn against USL side Nashville SC while FSL and Sporing KS play each other.  The bad news, we're going to Nashville for the game.  Date and time have not been set but we know it will be June 5th or 6th.

Nashville is in their first year as a USL team but its in preparation for an already awarded jump to MLS in 2020.  They are coached by one Gary Smith, the best coach in Rapids history.  To help him build out this new squad he brought some old hands in to help, Matt Pickens and Kosuke Kimura.  I would have loved to have been drawn at home to welcome all three back to the Dick.

I don't hold out much hope for this draw.  Historically the Rapids have never put much effort into the USOC.  Add to that a road match against a team facing their first ever MLS competition and wanting to make a splash and three key players who want to show their old team what they can do and the odds are not with us.  I expect Hudson to treat this like the CCL, a glorified friendly, and I expect a loss and a short end to our USOC run.

Well, that sucked

At least I hope Saturday was rock bottom because if we're still falling I want to just impact and get it over with.  The team was outclassed in every way.  Out coached, out played, out hustled, the Rapids didn't belong on the same field as NYCFC, or any other MLS team this weekend.

We've lost 5 in a row while being outscored 12-2.  The last time we lost 5 in a row was this time last year, and that was by a combined 7 goals.  To find a 5 game run this bad you have to go back to the dregs of 2014 and that 14 game winless run which included a 7 game losing streak that was capped off by the embarrassing 6-0 beatdown in LA.

This team is a mess and I don't see a long-term plan for getting better.  We have multiple players starting that belong in USL, a coach and a high=priced attacker who can't get along, and injuries and fitness issues keeping our best players off the field.  This season is likely already over, 4 of the next 5 at home might save up, but only if we win them all.

Man of the Match:  Anyone who watched all 90 minutes of that match (I didn't).