OK – we’ve had some highs and lows all in a short span of time. The euphoria in Revsland that followed the destruction of Houston now leads to the depths of despair following the waxing at the hands of Chicago.
The Revs probably aren’t as good as the three-goal margin of victory of the Dynamo, nor are they as poor as the 4-0 scoreline against the Fire would have you believe. As with so many things in this game and this life, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Chicago appeared the more motivated team right out of the blocks last Thursday. You think perhaps longtime assistant-turned-head-coach Denis Hamlett maybe brought up the fact that the Revs had knocked the Fire out of the layoffs three years running? Anyway, the Revs never really had a chance to answer the first goal. Baldomero Toledo’s harsh interpretation of the Laws of the Game on Jeff Larentowicz’s studs-up-but-not-malicious slide into Brandon Prideuax meant the Revs went down to 10 men early and never recovered.
So, now the Revs will be without Jeff for Wednesday night’s affair in Kansas City. And Taylor Twellman. And Steve Ralston. And perhaps a couple other guys too with Wells Thompson still dinged up and Chris Albright listed as Questionable.
So what do you do if you’re New England? Sit back in a defensive shell and hope for the best?
No way! Roll dem bones. Unleash the fury. Run KC into the ground.
Yes, the retooled Wizards sport a spiffy 2-0-0 record after defeating D.C. 2-0 and Colorado 3-2 in their opening two games at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City (Kansas, not Missouri, woohoo! No more Arrowhead Stadium!).
And while the Wizards looked very good in defeating United, I have to say their passing and the overall tempo of the game against the Rapids was somewhat pedestrian. Two of KC’s goals came off of set pieces. Inexperienced outside backs Michael Harrington and Jonathan Leathers looked unconvincing and… inexperienced (hello? Khano and Sainey, are you reading this? Run at them!). Jimmy Conrad is always rock solid (and scored two goals vs. the Rapids), but his central defensive partner – Tyson Wahl – is maybe still not the full package relative to some other defenders around the league.
Sure, “The Louse” (and I meant that in the most complimentary way), Claudio Lopez, is a bigtime player with a resume that includes mucho successful stints in Spain, Italy, Mexico and his native Argentina. But Lopez is 33 now – can he bring it night-after-night? He scored a great goal vs. United, but was practically invisible against Colorado.
Also, is Carlos Marinelli really as rejuvenated as he looks now that he has Lopez and Colombian striker Ivan Trujillo playing in front of him? Marinelli played at a level below the sum of his parts last season, especially versus New England. A large part of that is that he dislikes playing against Shalrie Joseph and the toughness the Revs’ deputy captain brings to the contention area of the field. But the Marinelli clearly has skill and vision and with Lopez playing smart up top it could maximize Marinelli’s potential. That duel could really be the difference in Wednesday night’s game: Joseph v. Marinelli.
So this is my theory – if you’re New England, why sit in and let KC keep the ball? Unleash the terror that is the Gambino Connection, the Ken-Saine-ly fast, second-year men Mansally and Nyassi! And Khano Smith. And Kheli Dube. Turn the affair at CAB into a trip around the basepaths that would make ex-KC Royal Willie Wilson proud.
Then again, some will counter, that’s easy for me to say. It’s probably wiser for the Revs to batten down the hatches and look to counter punch. But really, who is to say which approach makes for better odds for New England? And you just want to see the fast, new guys run at people with the ball….
In any case, as I alluded to above, I’m really pleased to be going to a smaller building. Much more than Gillette Stadium, which gets a great noise on game day, Arrowhead was so cavernous that I never once went to a Wizards game there where you could say there was “atmosphere”. Already, in the first two matches at CAB, you can see that has changed.
Will the Revs go with a 4-4-2 on Wednesday? Will Hilgenbrinck get the start?
Don’t know, Kevin. Going to a back four helped the Revs keep things tight in the second half in Chicago but will Nicol do that for 90 minutes? With the injuries and suspension to Larentowicz, SN could play it conservatively. But as you can tell from my blog entry, I’d like to see New England go 3-5-2 to try and exploit the flanks. Hilgenbrinck gave a credible performance vs. the Fire so we could see him again.