Random Off-Season Thoughts: 1/21/08

This draft was one that surprised many people throughout the MLS. RSL ended up coming out with MF Tony Beltran (UCLA), DF David Horst (Old Dominion), MF/F Alex Nimo (US U-17), and MF Brennan Tennelle (UCSB). I’ll break this down pick by pick.

•  Tony Beltran: He’s a good pickup, but I think we could’ve done better with the #3 pick. He wasn’t at the combine, which caused his stock to go down tremendously. I’ll bet he still could have been available at #14. However, this pick is a good one. He’s small, but speedy. Tony’s a skilled and versatile player. According to Kreis, we’ll be using him as a right back, but he can also play wide-mids as well as a defensive mid.
• David Horst: Supposedly a solid center back that will provide some defensive depth back there. He won’t start right away, but expect Horst to get some solid minutes as a defensive sub. This kid will be excellent in a few years, and I think that he’s the provider for some defensive security in the future.
• Alex Nimo: This kid is the pick I’m most excited about. He’s only 17, but Nimo is considered to be the next Freddy Adu. for RSL fans, that sounds depressing, but Nimo’s got one thing that Adu sucked at. He’s got the moves, but is impossible to knock off the ball. He lacks size, he lacks age, but he is the player of the future. We may even get to see himn a little this year as a midfield sub.
• Brennan Tennelle: This is the pick that nobody knows anything about. However, this kid is supposed to be excellent according to Gaucho95 over at BigSoccer.

So with these new additions, I’m finally beginning to see some depth evolving on our team. This new-found depth needs to be utilized in the best possible way, placing skilled players where they belong, something which doesn’t always happen with Real Salt Lake. I think the best way to do this is with a new formation. We’ve tried the 4-5-1, which was a disaster in every way. The 4-4-2 has been our best possible solution, but has produced just as much as the 4-5-1. That’s why I’d suggest the 3-5-2:

Rimando

Beltran….Mantilla….Joy

Beckerman…Sturgis

Cordoba…………..Espindola

Morales 

Findley…Movsisyan 

 

This lineup actually gives me a positive outlook on the team (gasp!) I think that with the dual D-Mids, specifically Beckerman and Sturgis, it will provide a chance for even a 5 man back line as well as a three man front (Morales, Findley, Movsisyan). The thing that worries me the most about this lineup, though, is the chemistry that has to be formed with all of the newcomers. Luckily, Kreis was provided with a preseason this time, and that gives time for the chemistry to develop.

 

With all these new acquisitions, I’m wondering why we’ve failed to pick up a target forward. I feel that Movsisyan and Findley (basically being the only two strikers on our roster) are unable to carry all of the scoring burden. They are the new Jeff Cunningham. Garth Lagerway agrees with me:

• “We got a wide back, we got a center back, we got a two-way midfielder in Tennelle and we got a wider midfielder in Nimo,” Lagerwey said. “We do feel we got a good package of guys. Maybe the one thing we didn’t get is a striker, but we’re looking abroad to see if we can pull something like that together.” 

Look for a forward signing soon, or at least hope for one.

 

I’ve been wondering why the signing of Ian Joy hasn’t been publicly announced. It’s all over in Germany, but RSL hasn’t released anything even mentioning his name.

 

The new uniforms were unveiled at the draft. I like them. http://aycu28.webshots.com/image/38467/2004550895731245509_rs.jpg

Just an hour from draft time….

The draft is coming up in about an hour, so I think I’d better get some speculation going. With the recent signings of Olave, Joy, and Cordoba I think we have pretty much solidified our defense. Midfield is looking good on paper, but the chemistry will be difficult to find with all the differing play styles. With the forwards, we do seem a bit short. Unfortunately, the forward pool in this draft isn’t very deep. If Virginia Tech forward Patrick Nyarko is still available at #3, I suggest we scoop him up instantly. It is believed by many that Kansas City will pick up Nyarko with the #1 pick, but with their recent signing of Colombian forward Ivan Trujillo, that is looking doubtful. Another player I am very interested in is UConn’s Julius James. He’s a big kid who impressed at the combine, and I think he would be a much better choice over the poor-tempered UC Santa Barbara defender Andy Iro. If it’s a midfielder we go for, I’d suggest one of two to drop at our feet at#3. If Kreis and Lagerway choose to perhaps strengthen up the bench in the midfield look for a pickup like USCB’s Eric Avila or the United States U-17 star Brek Shea.  Also, new kits are revealed today. I doubt much change will happen, but It’ll be interesting to see. 

A Quick Jersey Design

This is the design I created for our away uniforms next year. I do hope to see a stripe, as well as the circle logo in our uniforms soon, so why not start now? I’ll be making the home set later tonight.

Possession Problems

Surprise, surprise, another loss. This one feels horrible though, unlike some of those of the past. We deserved to lose by much more the way we played. The thing that hurt us the most was our lack of possession. Chivas controlled the ball for minutes at a time, while we seemed to watch them take over. Then, when the ball was stolen by us, we would lose it within the first two passes and Chivas would possess for another few minutes. This is something we haven’t seen from RSL a lot this year, but it brings back horrible memories. Time for the players:

•  Chris Seitz: Seitzy still needs some time to develop. I don’t feel that either of Cunliffe’s goals were his fault, however, Nagamura’s goal caught Seitzy off-guard. He made some good decisions though.
• Carey Talley: Carey is horrible and has been all year. His touch sucks and his single mindset seems to be “Forward is not an option.” I still don’t understand what the coaches at RSL see in him. Now that Sturgis is healthy, Talley should be traded away, or even just waived. I’d rather have Atiba at D-Mid.
• Kyle Beckerman: Beckers was the best move RSL made this season, easily. However, tonight he wasn’t exactly outstanding. But he still played well. He was just a little silent in this game.
• Ritchie Kotschau: Ritchie was at fault tonight. He doesn’t need to be playing, and he shoulen’t be. He’s fine as a back-up but you can’t ever start him.
• Chris Brown: I never like his play, but he always seems to score. I’m fine with that second part. Other than scoring, Brownie does nothing for the team.
• Fabian Espindola: A great pick-up for RSL. He should play here until some foreign powers have interest in him. He is that good. He’s got great moves and is speedy as hell. He should not have been subbed off.
• Chris Lancos: He didn’t appear to do anything wrong. He actually played well. I’d like to see him off the bench more often.
• Willis Forko: I’ve waited so long to see him play again, and now I understand why he was in Jason’s doghouse. He just wasn’t a great defender last night. Two goals were partly his fault, the first being the most evident. He just needs to learn to step up at the proper time.
• Matias Mantilla: another solid pickup for RSL. He’s a strong member in the back and will help when Pope goes goodbye. We need someone to pair with him so that our central defense will be solid.
• Robbie Findley: Robbie’s touch wasn’t at par tonight, probably because of the conditions. But his speed is awesome, and we need to keep him here.
• Andy Williams: Andy is a pioneer of this team. A pioneer who can actually play. He’s got awesome moves and his vision of the field is unmatchable. We can not let him go easily.
• Atiba Harris: Atiba’s size is an advantage that his touch makes up for. That touch improves and Atiba suddenly becomes one of the best players for RSL.
• Chris Wingert: I didn’t like Wingert when he first came to Salt Lake. But now I see his value. He’s got great crosses, he’s not a bad defender, and he just sees the field in a great way. I hope we keep him around for next year.
• Yura Movsisyan: Yura played amazingly this game. If this game alone is not enough to keep him around for next year, then I don’t know what is. He showed his skill on the ball, his speed, and his wisdom of the game. However, his shots need some help. Like that one in the 87th minute that just needed to be on goal in order to go in.

The individual players overall did well, but it was the team effort that wasn’t there. One thing I saw that  I liked was the fact that we didn’t give up after going down by two. We fought back and nearly tied the game up. This is a positive of our coach, Jason Kreis. John Ellinger would have never motivated the guys to fight back. Kreis has made a lot of changes, this is the one I appreciate the most. We may lose, but at least we keep the fight.  NOTE: The end of the year is close, and player moves have to be made in the offseason.  RSL made one this past week by releasing Jack Stewart. This move is a good one for the future. Jack sucks and we don’t need him anymore. This clears up a bit of cap space ($41,000, more than we pay Robbie Findley) that could be used to pick up someone great.

RMC – Pablo = LAME!

It’s that time of the season again….that time when we go up against our arch-rivals the Colorado Crapids. Now our favorite player, Pablo Mastroeni, won’t be making the trip, so we’ll have to do without. Luckily, we have a new player rivalry, that of Kyle Beckerman vs. Mehdi Ballouchy. They switched spots earlier this season and are out to prove themselves to their former team. My vote goes towards Beckerman, but probably only because he plays for us now. So now we get to our keys…First off, we have all three Argentineans back, but we lost Esky. Will the team’s ever-changing chemistry  effect their play? I certainly hope not… Second, the Beckerman vs. Ballouchy face off. They’ll be playing on eachother, and the winner of this battle will severely effect the outcome of this game. Lastly, RSL’s defense needs to be strong. Last game, LA’s second goal was from a defensive breakdown. We can’t have that happening against Colorado. So here’s the lineup: 

Rimando

Kipre Pope Mantilla Kotschau 

Talley

Espindola Beckerman

Morales

Findley Yura

 Not a bad lineup at all in my opinion. Look for FIndley to join Morales as a second A-MID so that we can play Yura as a target forward. Expect to see Williams, a Brown (likely both) off the bench. Prediction: 2-1 RSL goals from Beckerman and Yura.

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Join up, Yura.

Well, it appears as though RSL has added a new player just before the deadline. Former Kansas City forward Yura Movsisyan joine RSL today, being traded for its natural 3rd round selection in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft and its natural 1st round pick in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft and a portion of a player allocation (Adu allocation) to Kansas City

This move is awesome. We finally picked up a target forward. He’s tall, big, and has scored five goals already with very little playing time. Look for Yura to get a lot more minutes with RSL than he got in KC. We need him. I love this move, and we didn’t even give too much away.

Welcome Yura, please improve front line. Please have a Robbie Findley-esque debut.

Read the article here.

Piling up the L’s!

Yeah, another loss, surprise! Really, I was expecting this, though I was surprised with our play. So this is, how you say, a “moral victory” (Coach Jason Kreis). I really was impressed with our play, but DC just showed us up. The ref didn’t exactly help, due to the fact that if a player fell down it was a yellow card… Both PK’s were horrible calls. Esky’s was a crappy shot. I feel like Beckerman’s touch lacked severely, but for some reason he scored in his worst game this season. Talley is still awful, Pope didn’t even play (see below?) Kipre’s level of play is dipping quickly. Findley was invisible. Why did Brown start? Mantilla is still solid, but quite the hothead. Kotschau made all the right choices. Wingert looked awesome. He beat guys, and got into the offense well. Espindola is awesome on the ball. Morales’ fitness is getting better, along with his game. Rumor is that Pope (who has not played recently) may be on his way to Columbus. Article Here! My writing level has gone down considerably, and I think it is due to the continuing mediocrity of this team. Hmm… Win against TFC, please! 

Who’s to blame?

Today will have to be a short entry, I’m kind of busy, so bear with me. We lost, just as I predicted, by one goal. Honestly, I think that the fault goes to our central defense. That includes our aging captain Eddie Pope, and our new addition, Matias Mantilla. They just weren’t good communicators. Jaqua killed them. Kipre was worked on all night by Corey Ashe. Rimando was not to blame at all, for anything. Next game I’d expect to see K. Brown in front of C. Brown again. Kyle played a lot better than I’ve seen Brownie play in a while. Great goal from Espindola and Brown, even if Espindola’s was a little cheap shot.  Talley should not be on the field. I don’t care if he scored. He’s horrible. Get well soon, Nate Sturgis. 

Three in a row is doubtful…

Well, we have another match tonight. This time, though, it’s a tough opponent. We’re playing the Houston Dynamo, Mike Jones’ favorite Western Conference leaders. I really am doubtful of this game, despite the fact that Houston is super injury plagued. I just don’t think we have the momentum for three in a row yet. We’ll lose this one, but it won’t be horrible. We’ll move on and win at least three more games this year. Lineup:

 Rimando

Kipre Pope Mantilla Kotschau

Beckerman

Espindola Talley

Morales

Eskandarian Findley

 Prediction: 2-1 Houston goal from Morales.

 

Side Note:

Chicago recently waived their Brazilian midfielder, Thiago. This guy is speedy, and I believe that we would do well to pick him up. He would use an SI, but we can move Kipre to a YI to make room. Honestly, I think this would be a great move for RSL.

We won… twice…

This is the strangest feeling ever. Not only did we win for the second consecutive time, but we also came from behind to get that win. What a great four days for RSL. I have to say, though. This game was not the greatest play we’ve shown in a while. I happened to be watching the game at a friend’s house, who is not a soccer fan (but has HDNet, thank goodness). I looked over at him several times and found he was yawning, not from the daily fatigue but from the slow pace of the game. He said, “This is getting boring, why are we watching the REEAL lose?” Just a few minutes later, however, Robbie Findley entered the game. He scored minutes later, and my nonsoccer friend’s yawning ceased. The game was exciting again. He watched for another four minutes, when Eddie Pope slid the ball into the back of the net, my friend stood up and said “I didn’t know that REEAL has ever been ahead before, this is awesome!” It was a celebration of sorts, but it brought interesting perspective. Real Salt Lake’s results are being noticed. Sure, it’s two wins, but my friends whole family was excited for Real (none of them are soccer fans, either). I think I’ve helped bring some new fans into the fold, and hopefully they’ll attend some games. As for our play, the parts which made my friend yawn, I was not impressed. We started slow. Most of the game seemed to be possession play in our defensive half. LA was able to exploit that, and ended up getting several chances in that first half. The second half, which brought fresh legs, made it exciting. For the first time ever, our subs made a positive difference. Robbie, Andy and Wingert all played very well. The thing that makes soccer exciting is the fact that things can change in an instance. When Robbie scored that goal, my positive feelings came back, and the first half was in the back of my mind. And then Pope. Then came the time wasting, which reminded me of Ye Olde Ellinger Days. Bunker ball, something no RSL fan wants to see, because we all know where it leads. And now for my player reviews:

1.  Nick Rimando: Man of the season for RSL. I’m so glad we got him back from NY, instead of starting Seitz right away. He’s a great shot-stopper, the best GK in the league now. Brilliant.
2. Ritchie Kotschau: Quiet all game, but didn’t make many mistakes, so I’m fine with him.
3. Eddie Pope: Screwed up on the LA goal, but payed for it with his own. Solid still, I’m sad to see him leave after this year.
4. Mati “The Stud” Mantilla: As his newly added nickname suggests, I love this guy. He’s a last second find for Kreis, but it’s a good thing he was found. His clearances are excellent, he’s great in the air.
5. Jean-Martial Kipre: This kid is speedy, and a quality defensive player. Marcelo mentioned that he will be great for RSL in the future, and I agree.
6. Carey “I’m old, and that’s the only reason I’m on the field” Talley: Talley has been poor this entire season. Get well soon, Nate Sturgis.
7. Kyle Beckerman: Had an average game, but his average is better than most’s. Way to go Kyle.
8. Javi Morales: Didn’t stand out as he did against KC. He still gave a great show.
9. Fabian Espindola: Fabi Espy had a good game, but looked dead the entire time. Give him time to get in shape and he’ll run past everyone in MLS.
10. Chris Brown: Not a good game, for the second consecutive. What does he have that Robbie doesn’t?
11. Alecko Eskandarian: Esky’s best show for RSL this season. He was running off the ball, had some excellent shots. It really is too bad that his shots don’t go in more often.
12. Robbie Findley: I’ll give him the MOTM. He provided a spark, and scored a great goal. LA shot themselves in the foot by trading this guy away. Losers!
13. Chris Wingert: I never liked him as a starter, but I guess he’s an alright sub.
14. Andy Williams: played another great game. I was expecting him to chip LA’s backup, Cronin, but my dreams were shattered when the final whistle blew…

Honestly, I don’t think the team effort was that great. We sure are lucky we were playing LA, though, cause any other team would have killed us with that number of opportunities. Now I have a week to hold on to this winning streak, because we play Houston next. A week to rest, then work.  And now, ESPN ranks RSL at #12 in the league, for the first time since we beat the Crapids in 2005.