Here is some video courtesy of Behind the Shield of part of my interview with Fabian Espindola at practice today. As usual, click the HQ button for better video. Enjoy.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
VIDEO: KIR Interview With Espindola
Thoughts from Practice: Tue, May 5th
I was able to attend practice today. Nothing earth shattering, but it was my first chance to see Fabi back with the team. Here are some tidbits:
1) I got a look at Nick's finger. It does look pretty nasty. I wasn't able to speak to Nick or the trainer, but I'm not sure Goff's report about a fracture is accurate. Everyone I talked to on the sideline was unaware of that.
2) Fabian looks thinner than when we last saw him. However, when I talked to him he said that he was in Buenos Aires for a couple of weeks before coming here and he was working out but he still isn't fully in game shape.
3) Speaking of Fabian, he does seem glad to be back and feels very comfortable with this team. He also said I'm hear with "my friends" as he pointed to Javi, Jamison, and his new friend, Luis Escalada.
4) Chris Seitz was in the middle of pre-game warmups with Portland when RSL took the field last week against Colorado. After his game was over he checked the RSL score on his phone and was "bummed out" about the result but he didn't notice anything else. A short time later he received a text from Rimando's wife, Jacqui that said "where are you"? He then checked the boxscore and saw the substitutions. His immediate concern was, of course, for Rimando as he discovered what had happened.
5) Seitz feels that he is ready to go, and stated that his recent 3 90-minute games in USL were very "timely" to help prepare him for the start tomorrow.
6) Bomma wouldn't confirm his starting position tomorrow, but if practice is any indicator it looks like he'll get the nod along with Seitz and Beltran.
7) According to Andy, he feels like there are some similarities with Javi's game (both are distributors and like the ball at their feet) and the team won't play much different. He said that if he is selected for the start, he has had some good work in preseason and to this point, but he'll have to see if he has 90-minute match fitness.
8) Of course, Kreis wouldn't discuss the starting lineup other than confirming Seitz as a starter. When David James pressed him about Williams being the likely starter, Kreis threw out the fact that Grabavoy has been the most consistent and typically earliest midfield substitution in our 6 matches this season. Talk around practice was that Grabavoy is a capable creative player and not to rule him out as an option, however, most seem to assume that it will be Andy.
9) I was curious about Grabavoy and how he fits, so I asked around practice and here is what I heard: Despite playing some D-mid in San Jose, Ned's game has been that of an attacking player as evidenced in his time at Indiana, with the Fire reserves in the PDL, and with the LA Galaxy and Columbus Crew in MLS. He can play out wide, but likes to tuck in centrally. He can also fit into a playmaker role.
Scouting Report: LA Galaxy
In anticipation for the upcoming match against the LA Galaxy on Wednesday, here is a scouting report courtesy of Zac Lee Rigg. Zac is a writer and editor for Goal.com, who puts together the MLS Team of the Week and provides numerous "news" items for the website. Zac is based in Southern California and logs a lot of time at the Home Depot Center between the Galaxy, Chivas, and National Team training. Here is Zac's insider perspective on the Galaxy:
Formation: 4-4-2
Style of play: The Galaxy's recent play reminds me of a Hector Cuper or a Gerard Houllier side. Two banks of four protect the goal, and two are strikers left to their own devices up front. After conceding a league-leading 62 goals last year, head coach and GM Bruce Arena is more concerned about shoring up the defense than emulating last year's league-leading offense. In the last two weekends, he's made progress in setting out a sturdy squad that won't be broken down easily. Expect plenty of solid play, perhaps lacking in creativity.
Strengths: LA has two main strengths. Their names are Landon Donovan and Donovan Ricketts. Landon continues to be the elite striker in the league, capable of beating any team on his own when he's in the mood. He has scored or assisted every last one of LA's seven goals this season. Ricketts has been a revelation in goal this season. He makes the outrageous saves, he makes the simple saves, he organizes the defensive line, and his impressive distribution leads to quick counterattacks.
Weaknesses: This is a side that finished tied for last on points in 2008 and only a couple days ago picked up its first win in 2009. There are plenty of weaknesses. I'll highlight two. Firstly, the defense lacks pace. Omar Gonzalez and Greg Berhalter have been improvements on the defensive end, but the speed of Robbie Findley and Yura Movsisyan will surely give the sluggish pair problems. If the defensive line sits too high, expect there to be space behind that can be exploited. Secondly, the midfield lacks creativity. Both wide midfielders, Chris Klein and Eddie Lewis, are aging and slow. Among the central midfield options of Jush Tudela, Dema Kovalenko (who RSL fans should know a thing or two about), and Stefani Miglioranzi, none are going to offer much offensive drive. The disconnect between the midfield and forward lines will hamper the Galaxy's offensive endeavors this season.
Players to watch: The two Donovans. Shut down Landon Donovan in attack, and you've kept a clean sheet. Beat Ricketts in goal and you've done what's only been done twice in four games. Movsisyan has been wasteful with his chances this year, and it's possible Ricketts could frustrate him further.
Monday, May 4, 2009
RSL's lineup on Wednesday
With the announcement of a 1-game suspension for Jamison Olave meaning that he'll miss the Galaxy matchup on Wednesday, and with Olave's red card suspension and Rimando's injury - Real Salt Lake will be forced to employ a few different faces out on the pitch at Rio Tinto. So what does coach Kreis do? Who fills in those spots? And does the change in personnel force a slightly different style of game?
First, the easy one - Rimando's replacement. Two choices, Seitz and Reynish. Reynish is actually highly thought of in this organization and although he gave up a goal on Saturday, it wasn't one that you'd expect a keeper to stop. However, Seitz is clearly the air apparant and the one that other teams have had their eye on wondering how they could pry him away from RSL. Besides Kreis has already indicated that he'll be the starter.
Next, Olave. Really only two choices here, Russell and Horst. The decision really comes down to which 2nd year player Kreis has more confidence in - Horst or Beltran. I think Beltran, and you should expect to see Russell slide into a central role with Beltran filling in at wingback.
Finally, the tough one - Morales. I think there are 3 options here, Williams, Grabavoy or Mathis. The problem with Mathis is that he's played so well out wide, and you'd still have to backfill at that position if you move him into the middle. One could argue that Grabavoy would be a better fit for the style that RSL plays, with lots of movement and quick passing, but I'm not sure that he's really gelled with his teammates on the field. Bomma brings a different style, holding the ball getting into position just outside the box, using his footwork. Both are attacking players, but Andy is more of a goal scoring threat, whereas Grabavoy will likely do more of the dirty work. I'd guess that it'll be Andy, but I wouldn't be surprised either way.
Numerous other options exist - flat midfield with either Mathis or Alexander in holding roles, a 4-5-1 to try to ensure a possession game, even Espy in the starting lineup wouldn't shock me. However, with 3 key players out, I assume that Kreis will try to keep as much the same as he can.
What are your thougths?
Espindola Back
Although I missed practice today, I understand that Espindola made it into town over the weekend and participated in practice. As I understand he will likely be in the 18, but probably will not start against LA on Wednesday.
Edit: James Edward has some additional details on his blog at the DNews. He is also reporting that Rimando will be out 2-3 weeks, with Seitz getting the start in his absence.
"Striker Fabian Espindola went through his first training session with Real Salt Lake on Monday, and looked good enough to coach Jason Kreis that he'll likely be in consideration for the 18-man game day roster on Wednesday against visiting Los Angeles. Espindola said he's thrilled to be back with RSL, especially since he hasn't received a paycheck from his former club in Venezuela for the past three months."
Another Road Game, Another Loss
Do 6 games, make a trend? If so, RSL's trend is to be dominant at home and dominated on the road. The team is 3-3-0 on the season with 3 wins at home (all against Eastern Conference teams), and 3 losses on the road. However, that doesn't tell the entire story. The real story is that Real Salt Lake has played sensational at home and played awful on the road. If they had been competitive in their road matches, I don't think many eyebrows would be raised, but this makes you go, "hmm".
For a team that was leading the league in goals and shots per game to suddenly play a game in which they only manage 7 shots (3 by Kyle Beckerman from long range) and 0 shots on goal is shocking. Even though they played nearly 50 minutes down a man, you would expect a team as potent as RSL to manage at least 1 shot on goal.
So what's the reason for this road futility? Or has the home dominance been a fluke? And more importantly, can they turn things around away from Rio Tinto?
One thing to point out is the level of competition on the road versus at home. Although New York appears to be a struggling team, both of their other road opponents were pretty good. Seattle has surprised everyone with the quality of play to start the season, and don't look now but Colorado is actually starting to put things together.
On the other hand, the home opponents may have appeared to be quality teams, but RSL caught them at the right time. They played Columbus in the middle of a stretch of mostly road games with an unhealthy Robbie Rogers. They played a decimated New England side missing several starters and DC was missing Moreno and Ben Olsen who have been critical at times for that team in wins this season. Future home games will not come so easily - including this Wednesday against the LA Galaxy.
To me there is one simple reason for the awful performances on the road: early goals (17th minute in Seattle, 2nd minute in New York and 11th minute in Colorado). Although I'm not sure how many they'll win on the road this year, I believe that RSL would be competitive on the road if they stop giving up early goals. For this reason, many teams choose a "weather the storm" approach on the road, but unfortunately that just isn't in this teams DNA.
As for the match itself, RSL exhibited poor marking, poor passing in the midfield and bad judgement at times. For the second straight game against their rivals, Pablo Mastroeni has shut down playmaker Javier Morales. Olave's red card sealed their fate. And the team could not generate any attack. Next.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Rocky Mountain Cup: Round 1
![RSLshield_thumb[2]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0C2715GX9S0/Sfy2PShKdCI/AAAAAAAACMs/hO7wf3ZP_3M/s1600-h/RSLshield_thumb220.gif "RSLshield_thumb[2]")
Real Salt Lake at Colorado Rapids
Saturday May 2, 2009 7:30 PM
Dicks Sporting Goods Park
KUTV 2.2/Comcast 111, KALL 700
INJURY REPORT
Colorado Rapids -
Questionable: DF Ty Harden (Hamstring), DF Cory Gibbs (R Groin)
Real Salt Lake -
Out: DF Ian Joy (L Hamstring strain)
DISCIPLINE SITUATION
Colorado Rapids: None
Real Salt Lake: Javier Morales (suspended with next yellow)
Position breakdown:
Goalkeeping: Colorado has two keepers this season that are an upgrade over the adventure that was Bouna Coundoul last season. However, Preston Burpo is the least affective of the two, but has had the starting nod while Matt Pickens recovered from injury. Pickens is back now, but Burpo is still the projected starter which is good news for RSL. Real Salt Lake will be without Chris Seitz in reserve as he is once again on loan – this time in Portland. However, he shouldn’t be needed as Nick Rimando has proven to be rock solid over the last couple of years.: ADVANTAGE: RSL
Defenders: Colorado hasn’t had a clean sheet this season, giving up 1.3 goals per game this year, and 1 goal per game at home. RSL has given up slightly over a goal per game this season, but 2 per game on the road. However, the addition of Robbie Russell appeared to really solidify the backline for RSL last week. Borchers and Olave are solid in the middle, and Olave’s athleticism will help counter the similar attributes of Cummings. Wingert and Russell are good on the outside, but get forward frequently exposing the team to counterattack possibilities. The Rapids have two injuries in back that will affect them with Gibbs and Harden out. ADVANTAGE: RSL
Midfielders: Clark on the left side is a tremendous talent for Colorado, but he sometimes lacks in quality. Cooke on the right is probably the best crosser of the ball in the league, but the lack of athleticism gets exposed in this league. Mehdi Ballouchy had a couple of good stretches earlier this season, but he had another stinker last week. Of course, Pablo is a real anchor in the back, and proved last season that he could single-handedly shut down Morales. On the other side, there is no questioning the quality of Morales and Will Johnson, but Clint Mathis has been Real Salt Lake’s best midfielder this season. And ex-Rapid Kyle Beckerman has been picking his spots to get forward this season. With the danger that Colorado creates up top he may need to stay home more in this one. ADVANTAGE: RSL
Forwards: Similar inconsistency has existed for both sets of forwards. Conor Casey is probably the most consistent of the bunch with 4 goals this season. For RSL Robbie Findley also has 4 goals this season as both players netted a hat-trick in the same week. The other forward for each team is a bit of an enigma. Yura Movsisyan is constantly creating danger with his physical skills, but has struggled putting them in the net. Omar Cummings also has tremendous physical talent, but the Jamaican also has not proven an ability to be a consistent scorer for the Rapids. ADVANTAGE: DRAW
Intangibles: The Rapids hasn’t shown the knock-out home turf supremacy that they would like to over the last season or so, but RSL has been entirely dreadful on the road. Coaching may fall in RSL’s favor, since the Rapids coaching staff is still a work in process as they put into place their style of play. ADVANTAGE: Rapids
This will be an interesting contrast in styles as RSL will play up the throat with their tight diamond midfield which relies on possession and crisp passing. The Rapids will try to get the ball out wide and use the width to their advantage. I think the talk from RSL about a different approach on the road is just that, mostly talk. I don’t see this coach or this team changing their aggressive approach much. Unfortunately RSL has not shown anything on the road and until they do, I can’t favor them against good competition. My bet: 2-1 Colorado
Friday, May 1, 2009
Will Johnson on Jared Montz Podcast
Will Johnson talks about playing in Europe, the MLS, and RSL. Jared Montz Podcast
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