RCTID Making the Grade: Episode 3 @ FC Cincinnati
Who has watched Money Ball? Statistics don't lie, in fact, they can win you leagues and possibly championships! So let's look at a quick stat: three games into the season and the Timbers are already at a 2-goal differential per game. Unfortunately they are on the wrong side of that differential:
I will say that I was NOT expecting to start this blog with the goal of seeing how many players could reach "F" status. But a train wreck is a train wreck, and eventually it gets cleaned up and fixed and moves forward and it is still a really, really great source of conversation around the water cooler! So let's begin that conversation, shall we?
Looks who is standing there! Dairon gets his opportunity to shine! If you look at last week's episode, I will note that I forecasted, and I quote: Dielna for Cascante, Moreira for Valentin, Melano for Ebobisse and Paredes for Chara (if Flores starts I'm going to throw a styrofoam brick at the TV).
But I also like the fact that Gio only has one forward on the bench. Of course it's Ebobisse, but there is a much better balance...
And so just like Gio, three weeks in let's mix things up and save the best for last (apply heavy sarcasm)! Drum roll please...
Lucas Melano = D+
Dear Lucas, your LAFC spot was fabulous, it gave me hope that we could create and put the opposing defense on their heels. But let's talk about that Cincinnati game shall we?
Sooooo disappointing. He had a wonderful opportunity to run circles around Waston and Hagglund (oh wait, did Waston just.... crap!). What I saw wasn't what I saw sub on in LA last week. There was hesitance, there was difficulty in finding space, there was... not much really. I expected much more but what I saw wasn't even average, especially given the opportunity he had being in the starting lineup. Show us something, don't show us nothing...
Sebastian Blanco = C
I know he was on the pitch, the line up says so.
Diego Valeri = C-
Donde esta el Maestro? He had one free kick that I was thinking was set up to be just one of those moments that turns the entire season around. And then he sent it sailing...
Dairon Asprilla = C
Another opportunity... wasted... OK, Richey made one heck of a save coming back across the goal but at what point do you excuse a point-blank miss like that? When you are trying to win a position battle you need to make a difference, and Asprilla had chances but no difference was really made. He has more springs than anyone on the pitch and we made zero use of that. I wish he had done more, I really wanted him to break out of whatever shell he's been in since entering the MLS (when there isn't a PK shootout...)
Bill Tuiloma = C
I'm pretty sure he was out there... somewhere... Oh and that shot at 32'... WHAT A SCORCHER! And what a save from Richey, damn! I don't necessarily fault Tuiloma, I just wouldn't have stuck him out there with a bunch of other new faces. It should have been him or Parades with Polo-Guzman. Where exactly was he that second half?
Christhian Paredes = B-
I do like this guy. I feel like he gave the Timbers some life early and helped win some balls and create some opportunities. His presence was lessened in the second half and I'm not sure why. Meaning, something changed where Cincinnati owned the Timbers for the first half of the second half (third quarter anyone?). I would love to see Paredes back on the pitch with Guzman and Polo flanking him. But Chara is back and so you don't really have a choice to make there. Oh and by the way, the Chara streak is alive and well.
Jorge Villafana = C-
He was solid. Nothing more, nothing less. Not entirely happy about the space he was giving Mattocks but he did hold his ground and didn't let the quicker Mattocks get around him. And we should give Mattocks some credit for doing something other than shooting, I mean, that was an intentional pass across the box (and yeah, that's five of those types of goals so far...). I appreciate his work up the line and trying to create some offensive opportunities.
Claude Dielna = D-
That first goal was on him and then I don't know if I saw a lot of chemistry between him and Mabiala. The center defense has to take command and I don't know if we have a commanding personality back there yet (yes, I'm including Mabiala in that assessment, he was better with Ridgie barking the orders). His presence was not unexpected, but I would have thought that getting some more speed and presence on the edge would have been better. Oh well. And apparently he is going to the same barber as Asprilla and Tuiloma.
Larrys Mabiala = F
You get a silly second yellow you get what you deserve, apologies to our best defender but come on, that was a very basic move by Manneh to shift in front of the lumbering defender and let their momentum take you down. Even I've won PKs that way (yeah, I used to be able to beat the defense down the line). Larrys knew what was coming but I think he was done and wanted to get sent off... If that says anything.
Zarek Valentin = D-
Is anyone else tired yet of the defense always knowing which side to go down if they want to get a step on our defense? Valentin is solid, yes, but he's not quick or fast (comparatively). I do think he is quick thinking but he provides little to no offensive fire power and push down the right side. During possession-based build-up he is fine, no complaints, but you don't see him sprinting down the line onto a through ball like you do Villafina...
Jeff Attinella = C-
At some point the keeper needs to be held accountable as I would say there haven't been a whole lot of golazzos during this run. He has had some nice saves (four to be exact), but I will say that he tends to move too far to the edge of the box when he needs to hold the middle and trust his defense to defend the edges. OK, yeah, that defensive trust is admittedly missing but you can't compensate for an entire back line in disarray...
Andy Polo (subbed on for Asprilla at 66') = C+
Because I am writing these out of order, you will need to see my thoughts down below under Guzman's sub, but in short, I would have enjoyed seeing a Paredes-Polo-Guzman triangle at center mid. When you are subbing in at a 0-3 deficit, that is no easy task.
Jeremy Ebobisse (subbed on for Melano at 67') = C
Really not much to say here. He didn't show me anything new, I'm still not sold. I'll always be on his side but he really needs to make himself a presence or else we need a DP up top...
David Guzman (subbed on for Blanco at 79') = C+
I don't agree with subbing out your center midfield when your defense is in disarray. Unless you think that is the problem. But I don't think that was the problem. I don't think the Tuiloma/Asprilla experiment created any sense of hope and I wish that Paredes could have played with the central stalwarts of Guzman and Polo... I think Guzmann should have been subbed on earlier and let Blanco work with some of the institutional wisdom on the team.
Giovanni Saverese = D-
There is mixing things up and then there is overdoing it. I would have limited the number of changes to 3, maybe 4 given the Chara situation, but Gio came out with 5 lineup changes including a change at center defense and a complete overhaul at the center midfield. Way too much change to capture any previous mojo and so you saw the result which, when I saw the starting lineup, made sense.
And you're down 0-3, so how about trying a 3-5-2 and letting Ebobisse and Blanco go at it for a bit???
I had no sense of dread or hope going into the match, I just wasn't confident we could win. A point would have been nice, but dang Gio, 10 goals in 3 games...
Extra Credit... Turf Wars & Audi (non Inny) Index
I rather enjoyed the challenge of trying to figure out which way the ball was going to bounce off that turf. Is the stadium sitting atop one of those vortex's you find in southern Oregon or Sedona, AZ? Weird. And I'm not sure where the team goes next. It needs defense, but it needs to start putting the ball in the back of the net!
Does anyone read the Audi Index off of the MLS site? Guess who the high point getter was for this match??? Mathieu Deplagne. The highest Timber was Valeri and I gave him a C-... Just goes to show, emotion and expectation can really impact an impression!
See you in Cincinatti!
I have no idea why, but my natural instinct is one 'n' and two 't' in this lovable city's name. Let's just say spellcheck has been having a field day! Apologies Cincinnati!
We wanted it to be different, but it wasn't, was it... Watch the highlights again, I mean, the Cincinnati highlights...
As always, comments welcome below!
- Goals for = 4 (1.33/game)
- Goals against = 10 (3.33/game)
I will say that I was NOT expecting to start this blog with the goal of seeing how many players could reach "F" status. But a train wreck is a train wreck, and eventually it gets cleaned up and fixed and moves forward and it is still a really, really great source of conversation around the water cooler! So let's begin that conversation, shall we?
I mean four out of five in trying to read Gio's mind isn't that bad is it??? Yeah, whiffed on Moreira, but I think his time is coming (and at least Flores didn't start). I will say that I was very surprised at the Polo/Guzman combo being replaced by the Asprilla/Tuiloma pairing. I mean, are they some kind of wonder twins or something??? Shape of... A win!!!
But I also like the fact that Gio only has one forward on the bench. Of course it's Ebobisse, but there is a much better balance...
And so just like Gio, three weeks in let's mix things up and save the best for last (apply heavy sarcasm)! Drum roll please...
Lucas Melano = D+
Dear Lucas, your LAFC spot was fabulous, it gave me hope that we could create and put the opposing defense on their heels. But let's talk about that Cincinnati game shall we?
Sooooo disappointing. He had a wonderful opportunity to run circles around Waston and Hagglund (oh wait, did Waston just.... crap!). What I saw wasn't what I saw sub on in LA last week. There was hesitance, there was difficulty in finding space, there was... not much really. I expected much more but what I saw wasn't even average, especially given the opportunity he had being in the starting lineup. Show us something, don't show us nothing...
Sebastian Blanco = C
I know he was on the pitch, the line up says so.
Diego Valeri = C-
Donde esta el Maestro? He had one free kick that I was thinking was set up to be just one of those moments that turns the entire season around. And then he sent it sailing...
Dairon Asprilla = C
Another opportunity... wasted... OK, Richey made one heck of a save coming back across the goal but at what point do you excuse a point-blank miss like that? When you are trying to win a position battle you need to make a difference, and Asprilla had chances but no difference was really made. He has more springs than anyone on the pitch and we made zero use of that. I wish he had done more, I really wanted him to break out of whatever shell he's been in since entering the MLS (when there isn't a PK shootout...)
Bill Tuiloma = C
I'm pretty sure he was out there... somewhere... Oh and that shot at 32'... WHAT A SCORCHER! And what a save from Richey, damn! I don't necessarily fault Tuiloma, I just wouldn't have stuck him out there with a bunch of other new faces. It should have been him or Parades with Polo-Guzman. Where exactly was he that second half?
Christhian Paredes = B-
I do like this guy. I feel like he gave the Timbers some life early and helped win some balls and create some opportunities. His presence was lessened in the second half and I'm not sure why. Meaning, something changed where Cincinnati owned the Timbers for the first half of the second half (third quarter anyone?). I would love to see Paredes back on the pitch with Guzman and Polo flanking him. But Chara is back and so you don't really have a choice to make there. Oh and by the way, the Chara streak is alive and well.
Jorge Villafana = C-
He was solid. Nothing more, nothing less. Not entirely happy about the space he was giving Mattocks but he did hold his ground and didn't let the quicker Mattocks get around him. And we should give Mattocks some credit for doing something other than shooting, I mean, that was an intentional pass across the box (and yeah, that's five of those types of goals so far...). I appreciate his work up the line and trying to create some offensive opportunities.
Claude Dielna = D-
That first goal was on him and then I don't know if I saw a lot of chemistry between him and Mabiala. The center defense has to take command and I don't know if we have a commanding personality back there yet (yes, I'm including Mabiala in that assessment, he was better with Ridgie barking the orders). His presence was not unexpected, but I would have thought that getting some more speed and presence on the edge would have been better. Oh well. And apparently he is going to the same barber as Asprilla and Tuiloma.
Larrys Mabiala = F
You get a silly second yellow you get what you deserve, apologies to our best defender but come on, that was a very basic move by Manneh to shift in front of the lumbering defender and let their momentum take you down. Even I've won PKs that way (yeah, I used to be able to beat the defense down the line). Larrys knew what was coming but I think he was done and wanted to get sent off... If that says anything.
Zarek Valentin = D-
Is anyone else tired yet of the defense always knowing which side to go down if they want to get a step on our defense? Valentin is solid, yes, but he's not quick or fast (comparatively). I do think he is quick thinking but he provides little to no offensive fire power and push down the right side. During possession-based build-up he is fine, no complaints, but you don't see him sprinting down the line onto a through ball like you do Villafina...
Jeff Attinella = C-
At some point the keeper needs to be held accountable as I would say there haven't been a whole lot of golazzos during this run. He has had some nice saves (four to be exact), but I will say that he tends to move too far to the edge of the box when he needs to hold the middle and trust his defense to defend the edges. OK, yeah, that defensive trust is admittedly missing but you can't compensate for an entire back line in disarray...
Andy Polo (subbed on for Asprilla at 66') = C+
Because I am writing these out of order, you will need to see my thoughts down below under Guzman's sub, but in short, I would have enjoyed seeing a Paredes-Polo-Guzman triangle at center mid. When you are subbing in at a 0-3 deficit, that is no easy task.
Jeremy Ebobisse (subbed on for Melano at 67') = C
Really not much to say here. He didn't show me anything new, I'm still not sold. I'll always be on his side but he really needs to make himself a presence or else we need a DP up top...
David Guzman (subbed on for Blanco at 79') = C+
I don't agree with subbing out your center midfield when your defense is in disarray. Unless you think that is the problem. But I don't think that was the problem. I don't think the Tuiloma/Asprilla experiment created any sense of hope and I wish that Paredes could have played with the central stalwarts of Guzman and Polo... I think Guzmann should have been subbed on earlier and let Blanco work with some of the institutional wisdom on the team.
Giovanni Saverese = D-
There is mixing things up and then there is overdoing it. I would have limited the number of changes to 3, maybe 4 given the Chara situation, but Gio came out with 5 lineup changes including a change at center defense and a complete overhaul at the center midfield. Way too much change to capture any previous mojo and so you saw the result which, when I saw the starting lineup, made sense.
And you're down 0-3, so how about trying a 3-5-2 and letting Ebobisse and Blanco go at it for a bit???
I had no sense of dread or hope going into the match, I just wasn't confident we could win. A point would have been nice, but dang Gio, 10 goals in 3 games...
Extra Credit... Turf Wars & Audi (non Inny) Index
I rather enjoyed the challenge of trying to figure out which way the ball was going to bounce off that turf. Is the stadium sitting atop one of those vortex's you find in southern Oregon or Sedona, AZ? Weird. And I'm not sure where the team goes next. It needs defense, but it needs to start putting the ball in the back of the net!
Does anyone read the Audi Index off of the MLS site? Guess who the high point getter was for this match??? Mathieu Deplagne. The highest Timber was Valeri and I gave him a C-... Just goes to show, emotion and expectation can really impact an impression!
See you in Cincinatti!
I have no idea why, but my natural instinct is one 'n' and two 't' in this lovable city's name. Let's just say spellcheck has been having a field day! Apologies Cincinnati!
We wanted it to be different, but it wasn't, was it... Watch the highlights again, I mean, the Cincinnati highlights...
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