Transfer Window

 July 11th, 2022:

“It's folly, really, to look at these deals in isolation,” Smith began. “This is not the last deal we're going to make in this window. This is the first of what I certainly believe is going to be a very active window for us, and I think really what has to be done is it has to be judged in terms of the total package of what the overall situation looks like, what the roster looks like when we're finished making those moves.”

 “I think when I look at the chances we're creating, I still think we can look at our overall attacking area and say, ‘Okay do we need to bring somebody else in that's going to give us another cutting edge in the attacking third?’ That is something that we're looking at,” Smith said.

“I think long-term we're certainly going to look to bring in another center back to challenge, and we are also now are looking at bringing in an 8 to reinforce the midfield. So from my perspective, it's really about looking at the overall group and what we've got for this year – but also what we're planning for in next year as well.”

“We can buy players down, we've got a lot of flexibility,” Smith said about their DP situation. “We've built up a war chest over the past little while in terms of GAM as well.”

July 28th, 2022: 

A reminder, in case you're not sure how much time is left in the transfer window:

Rapids Drown In Seattle

Its been a rough day, following a rough Rapids match, which is why this is going to be short and sweet.  After taking an early lead Colorado once again feel flat on its face on the road, and its hard to see how this season is anything but a write-off after a performance like that.

Going to skip random musings and just hit some highlights.  Starting with the nice work by Rubio to set up Lewis for the goal.  Barrios gets his only notable contribution of the match on it as well.  At that point, up 1-0 and with a red card coming, the Rapids should have gotten out of my hometown with a point at worst.

The Seattle goal was a mess by the officiating and a mess by the Rapids defense.  Yes the foul call was questionable (at best).  Yes the ref allowing the free kick from 20 yards away was a significant mistake  (so much so that PRO issued a statement today admitting the ref screwed up), but that doesn't excuse getting beaten by a 65 yard cross-field ball and a simple pass for goal.  This is the 5th time this season I believe the Rapids have given up a goal after the 40th minute of the first half.   A lack of mental discipline on defense is killing us.

The red card was a joke, but time-wasting was something emphasized by PRO to the players as a focus this year.  We saw Danny Wilson pick up his fifth yellow last week due to it.  Rowe could hardly argue he didn't know what he was doing intentionally flipping the ball over the adboards.  Do stupid things, win stupid prized.

At that point the Rapids should have bossed the game.  But in reality Seattle out played, out shot, and out scored Colorado while down a man.  That's the 5th time this year we've played a man up, and we've lost 4 of those matches.  The book is out on Colorado, we can't break down a low block.  Get the lead, drop men behind the ball, and watch us struggle.  Its been a problem going back a season or two now and is the biggest flaw of Fraser's strategy.

After this we need a win in NY next week.  A reminder (because I forgot) the game is no longer on Saturday night because RBNY is hosting Barcelona for a friendly and our game was rescheduled for next Tuesday.  Between our game on Saturday night and that match RBNY will have played 3 matches (league match on Sunday night, Open Cup seminfinal coming up on Wednesday night, and the friendly against Barca).  Hopefully they're tired and we're rested.

Man of the Match: Jonathan Lewis.  Scored the goal and saved one off the line.  A +2 on the scoreboard overcomes the rest of his play when up a man.

Colorado Heads To A Beautiful Night In Seattle

Tomorrow night in Seattle is going to be one of those nights that make it worth living through 8 months of rain, warm, sunny, and great views.  Hopefully the Rapids ruin the fans night by taking 3 points home with them.  Its going to be tough but both sides are missing players so the opportunity is there.  Kickoff tomorrow is at 8pm, just 13 more games to go on the Altitude blackout.

Injury Report: 

OUT: M Ollie Larraz

QUESTIONABLE: M Jack Price

Disciplinary Report:

SUSPENDED: D Danny Wilson (yellow card accumulation)

ONE CAUTION FROM SUSPENSION: D Lucas Esteves

Yeah, MLS was slow in updating the disciplinary stats last week, so we didn't know Wilson was one yellow card away from suspension heading into the Galaxy match.

I think we're going to wear burgundy tomorrow night with Seattle's home green, that's what we did last year, but its two somewhat dark colors so the league may change things up.

On the lineup though, with Wilson out I really expect one of two things.  Moor with Priso in front of him, or more likely IMO, Vallecilla with Warner in front of him.  I don't think we're ready for Vallecilla and Priso yet, that's a lot of youth.  I'm leaning towards Vallecilla and Warner because of the turf, I think Moor is unlikely to start.  The turf is also why I think its unlikely we see Price.  Other than that its pretty much the lineup that's been working for the last few games.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Rubio.  I'm not ready to predict a road win yet.  Seattle has struggled, not scoring in the last 3 matches, but they're still Seattle.  I think our recent improved play and Seattle's confusion means we can steal a point but that's as far as I'll go right now.

A Much Needed Three Points

The Rapids continued their streak against the Galaxy on Saturday night, its now 8 games against the LA side without a loss.  Colorado came out and controlled the game early, going up 1-0 before the Galaxy got a shot on frame, and almost going up 2-0 before VAR waved it off.  Yarbrough made one big save and that's all the Rapids would need to win the game and get back in the playoff hunt.

Random Musings:

• Great start out of the gate with Zardes getting a good look at goal in the first 10 minutes, only for an LA defender to clear it off the line.
• Danny Wilson had a great match and it started early with covering for a teammate's bad giveaway and taking away a golden opportunity for LA.
• A quick hit on the counter for the Rapids opening goal.  Zardes doesn't show up on the scoresheet but he dragged a couple of defenders into the box, leaving the lane open for Lewis to setup Rubio for the long shot.
• Colorado had a quick second with a Zardes header off a corner kick but VAR waved it off.  Lots of confusion about this call.  Rosenberry was clearly offside when Zardes headed the ball, and the call was he interfered with the keeper's view of the ball.  On replay it seems a bit ticky-tack but I can't call it a bad call.
• The second goal was Lewis capitalizing on a bad LA giveaway and a nice backheel to set up a Zardes goal that counted this time, and put the game away.
• Ralph Priso got his first start since the trade and had a good argument for man of the match in the first half.  Obviously a small sample size but you can see why Fraser wanted him in the MLA deal.  He came off at half because he wasn't fully fit yet, especially at altitude.
• Always good to see Drew Moor get time.  I have to double check but I think we've never given up a goal after he's come on as a sub since he returned to the team in 2020.
• The Bodmer Line is down to 1.43 pts/game, 1.71 if we want to feel confident about our chances.  Still a big hill to climb but achievable if we play like we did Saturday night.
• Next up, a trip to my hometown of Seattle.

Man of the Match: Gyasi Zardes.  There are plenty of candidates from this game.  Wilson, Lewis, Yarbrough, Rubio, and Priso all made cases for themselves.  I went with Zardes though because he essentially scored two goals and had an unofficial assist on the other one.  Its the type of game we were expecting when we acquired him.

Must Win Game Tomorrow Night

Fraser and the Rapids won't say it, but tomorrow night is essentially a must win for our season.  Anything short of 3 points against the Galaxy and we'll have to play the rest of the season at a higher pace than we played all of last season.  Our July-September last year was that good, we would need to repeat it.  Kickoff for this crucial 6-pointer tomorrow night is at 7pm.  Note, I-70 Eastbound is closed this weekend so you'll need to keep that in mind if you're headed to the stadium.  if you're watching on TV, well, only 14 more blackout games to go.

Injury Report: 

OUT: M Ollie Larraz, M Jack Price

Rapids 2 played tonight and Vallecilla and Markanich started, so the backline is pretty set.  Beitashour started the last two games so I think he gets the rest and Rosenberry/Esteves go on the outside.  Priso gets his first start after Warner was less than impressive this week, and Lewis went 90 inboth games this week so he gets the break while Nicholson and Barrios start.  The play was probably to rest Zardes but you don't want to take him off after he found his scoring boots on Wednesday.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Rubio and Barrios.  Mainly predicting a win because I don't want to see our season over in mid-July, but we haven't lost in the last 7 matches to the Galaxy.  At home, with no travel between games, I think we can edge this one before a tough road trip.