A Real World Review: May 5, 2008

A Real World Review

A Review of Week 6 for RSL

(Courtesy of Jeremy Horton, aka "I Believe in Kreis")

This Weeks Results: 4-0 Win over San Jose (Open Cup), 2-2 Draw with LAG
Record: 1-3-2
Points: 5

Key Developments: RSL plays well but still finds a way to give up points.

What's right in the Real World: Javier Morales had the breakout game a lot of us have been waiting for. His touch was sublime, he was strong on the ball despite Joey Franchino's thuggery, his crossing was pinpoint, his vision was good, and he made solid decisions. Nat Borchers and Jamison Olave continue to impress in the center of the back line and did a great job keeping Donovan and Gordon contained. Tony Beltran played with a lot of confidence in his first start, despite the mistake that led to the first LA goal, but he is an intelligent player and will learn not to be too cute that close to RSL's goal. Matias Cordoba made some nice plays in limited minutes. Dema Kovalenko looks like a great fit at defensive mid. And finally, Fabian Espindola and Kenny Deuchar have separated themselves from the pack at the forward spot - they are working well together and are finishing chances.

What's wrong in the Real World: The reserve forwards (Robbie Findley and Yura Movsisyan) continue to be highly disappointing. I don't have a lot of confidence in RSL's ability to get a late goal from a substitute right now. Findley continues to show poor touch and is invisible a lot, while Movsisyan's finishing is beyond bad and his lack of vision and passing is killing promising opportunities. The USOC match aside, Beckerman has had two subpar games in a row - I don't believe this team can provide a consistent 90-minute effort without him on his game. And finally - I feel like we've been saying this for four years now - RSL continue to make one or two costly mental errors each game that opponents are capitalizing on. RSL need to learn to put teams away when they have a lead, get up by enough that you can absorb a few mistakes/bad calls, or learn to not make so many of those mistakes.

A brief look at the week ahead: FC Dallas @ RSL. The lack of results have put RSL in the unenviable position of having what I would consider to be a must-win game very early in the season. Unfortunately Dallas is not the team you want to be facing in a must-win game. They are a very good technical team and will try to possess the ball - a good formula for finding success on the road. RSL will need to find the defensive bite in their midfield to limit Dallas' possession. Shutting down Kenny Cooper will also be key.

Final thoughts: While RSL have done an admirable job at addressing a lot of needs in the offseason, I still see a glaring one remaining that nobody seems to be talking about. In the two home draws this season (vs. Chicago and LA), there have been some common denominators. First, RSL dictating the play most of the time. Second, solid defense.....but here's where it starts to go downhill. Third, the inability to finish good chances. Fourth, one or two key mental mistakes, and fifth - the part I want to talk about - a player for the opponent who can make you pay for those mistakes. We saw Cuauhtemoc Blanco make RSL pay for essentially its only mistake of the match. And we saw David Beckham make RSL pay - twice - for its two big mistakes.

Every team makes mistakes - there's no perfect soccer team out there. What RSL have never had is a player who can make opponents pay for their mistakes. RSL haven't had a player who is nearly automatic on free kicks or can consistenly deliver late goals in close games when the pressure is on. In other words, RSL do not have a "go-to guy".

Perhaps in the future RSL will use their DP slot on a player like this. But in the near term, this player will likely have to emerge. My hope would be Espindola emerging as RSL's hero when a late goal is needed. But until that happens and somebody steps up, RSL will likely continue to get burned for their mistakes while allowing their opponents' mistakes to go unpunished.

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RSL -vs- LAG Match: May 3, 2008

REAL SALT LAKE -vs- LA GALAXY

Saturday May 3, 2008

RSL:2, LAG:2

RSL's fast start slowed by Beckham ->MLSnet/John Coon

POST GAME QUOTES (Courtesy of RSL Communications)

REAL SALT LAKE HEAD COACH JASON KREIS

On the lack of goals after halftime:

“I was surprised. Both teams had plenty of opportunities and you would have thought there would have been more, especially with four in the first half.”

On David Beckham’s first goal of the night:

“The play is a non-issue if a defender clears that ball out. He chose to try a pass when it should have been cleared out and it happened to go to David Beckham, who put it away quite nicely.”
On the change of formation and his substitution pattern in the second half:

“When we’re at home we’re going to go for wins, and when we’re away we’re going to go for wins. I think that’s going to be the mentality of this team. We’ve got a group of guys that can handle it and a group that can embrace that aggressive mentality.”

On the play of GK Nick Rimando
“He was there when we needed him the most and there to make the special saves. I think there were one or two saves in the second half that were really special.”

On the 25,500 in attendance at Rice-Eccles Stadium:

“I thought it was a fantastic crowd and I thought we disappointed that crowd. I thought we should have, could have, done better in that match to thank them for coming out and supporting us because they were fantastic.”

REAL SALT LAKE MF JAVIER MORALES

On getting the two first half assists:

“I feel really good. I was very happy with them, but I would have liked them more if we could have won.”

On his duel assists tying him for the League lead with Beckham:

“It’s just a statistic. I’m just trying to do my best for the team and trying to get us a win at home.”

On giving up the two-goal lead:

“I think that they have players, like Beckham, that have a lot of virtue. They kind of came back through the ability of one player, and that player just beat us. The first goal really took us by surprise, and the second one just happened so fast. I think we have to look at the positives in that we played a pretty good game overall.”

REAL SALT LAKE MF DEMA KOVALENKO

On the back-and-forth second half and the result:

“They had chances. Nicky [Rimando] came up big for us. We had a couple of good chances too. It’s soccer, it’s football; that’s that way it goes. You create chances and you score, you win the game. You don’t score, you lose, you tie; it’s what happens. That’s why it’s the best game in the world.”

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH RUUD GULLIT

Overall thoughts on the match:

“After the game there was a feeling that we should have won this game, but if you saw the first 20 minutes, you know, it was incredible. I think that the most difficult part is we tried to practice on turf, but nothing is like this turf, therefore players had difficulty getting into the game. We did things I didn’t think we’d normally do, but after the 20 minutes this team battled back. This team should be very proud of itself, how they fought for this. It was a good result; if you’d ask me before the game if I’d settle for a draw, I would knowing the circumstances.”

On the Galaxy’s struggles in the first 20 minutes:

“If you don’t mark and you give space to the opposition, everyone can play a good match. We were too wide open, too much space between the lines and the players, and it was frustrating to see from the sideline. Finally, finally, they got it.

“Salt Lake knows how to play on this pitch, they play every two weeks on it; that’s a huge advantage. The fact that, after 2-0, we just recovered so well it was incredible. I saw [us] all of a sudden digging in, not giving any space, and [RSL] had difficulties getting behind us. In the second half, we also changed some things to get tighter and that made it even more difficult for Salt Lake. I thought we had opportunities today to win this game if not for some good saves by their goalkeeper. I’m happy with the result.”

On the play of MF Landon Donovan:

“He still had the opportunities to score goals. I think Landon played an excellent game. Of course you can’t score every time, but he was getting in position to score. For me, Landon played a very good game.”

On the quality of David Beckham’s goals:

“I think the first goal was the best one. On the dead ball, you have time. On the first he passed the ball to the far corner. That tells you his quality. Before it was Landon, now it’s David.”

LA GALAXY MF DAVID BECKHAM

Thoughts on the match:

“It was a good game in the end. I think we started off terrible in the first 20 minutes. We didn’t close after them as a team and we got scared of them. And then a couple of tackles started going in and we livened up and we started getting back into the game. I scored the two goals, of course, but it was the work that was done before that that created the enthusiasm for the team. At the end of the game, we would have been happy with a win, and so would they, but as far as 2-2, it’s the right result.”

On his first goal:

“We started coming back into the game just before then and when you’re coming back into the game it’s important that you keep your eyes on the play. It was my turn to score the goals tonight instead of Landon, but it’s important that all the players take a part of scoring goals and winning games and getting the team back into the game. So tonight it was my turn and I’m sure in other games to come it will be other players that do the same.”

On whether he still gets excited when approaching a free kick:

“I’m like a little kid every time a free kick is given on the edge of the box. The excitement comes into myself and most of the time I can score them. Recently I’ve had a couple which have hit the wall, but tonight I was happy with the free kick and also happy with the first goal. But like I’ve said, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

On the play of RSL tonight:

“Every one of their players contributed tonight. It’s hard to pick players out because personally I look at how the team played. They’ve got good togetherness and they’ve got some good players on their team. Overall their team played some good football and worked hard, so you’ve got to congratulate them.”

LA GALAXY FW LANDON DONOVAN

On coming out of the game with a tie:

“Given the first half-hour, we’ll absolutely take it. I would say we had some chances to win the game, they also had quite a few chances too, so a tie was probably fair in the end.”

On MF David Beckham’s two goals:

“He was terrific. Not only that, he could have had a chance to score another one, and could have provided a few assists still in the game for us. But when we needed him he stepped up and made a difference. That’s what you hope to get from him, and that’s what he gave us tonight, and he was terrific.”

(click to enlarge)

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Daily Update: Saturday May 3, 2008

Real Salt Lake: Beckham's back, but RSL wants a win this time -> Deseret News/James Edward
"I wouldn't say it's do or die critical, but it's pretty dire that we get these two wins at home," said RSL midfielder Andy Williams, referring to next week's home match against FC Dallas. "It will help us get back in the thick of things in the West."

Galaxy-Real Salt Lake Preview -> Yahoo Sports
It took only five games for Landon Donovan to match his scoring output from all of last season. On Saturday night, he’ll try to help the Los Angeles Galaxy move into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference for the first time in almost three years when they visit Real Salt Lake.

RSL: VIPs get an update on stadium -> Salt Lake Tribune/Martin Renzhofer
Friday, Beckham, as well as Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber, were guests of RSL owner David Checketts, who pronounced the new soccer-specific stadium 70 percent completed, including the canopy designed to shield the east and west sides of the stadium bowl.

Audio: David Beckham at the RSL Stadium -> AYL Soccer

Real Salt Lake: New stadium impresses Beckham -> Deseret News/James Edward
"I'm very proud to be here, very proud to be representing the Galaxy," said the L.A. midfielder, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Friday. "I'm very proud to be here two years after when I first heard the plans and saw what was going to be built. It looked special then and it looks even more special now.

VIDEO:David Beckham Checks out Progress on RSL Stadium -> Fox 13 News

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A View From the Other Side: RSL -vs- LAG

Real Salt Lake versus Los Angeles Galaxy

from the perspective of TrickHog (aka Patrick)

The L.A. Galaxy come into this game on a high, having soundly thumped their big inter-city rivals, Chivas USA, last week in a 5-2 romp. However, the team has struggled in the early part of this season, and shouldn’t feel too confident coming into Rice-Eccles stadium. In their only other away game so far this season, the Colorado Rapids crushed them, 0-4, so it remains to be seen how they will respond to this away game. Additionally, the Galaxy have played poorly the past few seasons on Turf fields and have a couple players with knee issues that might be prevented from playing because of the turf.

Any discussion of the Galaxy so far this year has to start by bringing up the disparity between the offense and defense on this team. Five games into the season, no team has scored more goals than the Galaxy, but, conversely, only one team has allowed more goals – the Galaxy even in goal differential with 11 goals for and 11 goals against. Landon Donovan, after being quiet in the opening match, has burst open the floodgates, with 8 goals in 4 games.

They say it takes a village to raise a child and I say it’ll take the entire RSL team to defend Donovan. Donovan has scored all of his goals playing as the withdrawn forward, which gives him space to face up against his defender and get a running start. And there really aren’t any defenders in this league with the foot speed to keep up with him as he makes those slashing runs. Right now, in one-on-one situations, Donovan is torching his defender, and with the improved service Beckham brings to the field, Donovan is putting them in the back of the net.

I think RSL needs to sandwich Donovan between their backline and midfield, assigning a midfielder to body him up and prevent him from getting the space he needs to operate. Yes, that might leave more space for Edson Buddle or Alan Gordon, but I think that would be the best game plan for RSL – keep Donovan (8 goals) contained and hope that Gordon (2 goals) or Buddle (0 goals) doesn’t beat you. Another reason to keep two bodies near Donovan is to close space quickly when he has the ball – his outside shot has really improved this year and he’s hitting with accuracy right now with either foot.

On defense, the Galaxy have been on rocky ground, showing some glimpses of quality defending, but invariably having at least two lapses in organization and shape in each game resulting in goals for the other team. Going into the season, we thought that the lack of speed in central defense would be our weakness, but the fact is most of the goals scored against us have resulted from defensive breakdowns – blown assignments, failures to properly clear the ball out of danger, and failures in one-on-one marking.

The one bright spot on defense has been the play of rookie Sean Franklin. The 4th overall pick by the Galaxy in the Superdraft, Franklin is the right back of the future for the Galaxy. But we’re living in the now, where are central defenders are old and slow, and Ruud Gullit has inserted Franklin into the center of defense, giving us an injection of speed and aggression that is needed. Yes, Franklin has made some mistakes, and will undoubtedly make more as the season grinds on, but his play in the back has been a revelation. At a generously listed 5’10” and 155 lbs., he makes Michael Parkhurst look like a giant, but Franklin’s speed, positioning and hops (he can get up pretty when challenging headers) have made him a serviceable central defender. He’s not the long-term solution (for example, see him get bodied off the ball by Brian Ching on Houston’s second goal a couple weeks ago) but until the transfer window opens, I think we’ll see Franklin in the center of defense marked up with the quickest forward on the other team. Against RSL I’m sure we’ll see him marking Robbie Findley.

As far as the Galaxy lineup is concerned, if players are performing well, Ruud likes to keep the lineup consistent, so I would guess we’ll see the same starting XI as last week:


---------------------Cronin
Klein-----Franklin------Xavier------Vanney
---------McDonald-----Franchino
Beckham-------------------------Randolph
-----------------------Donovan
----------------Buddle

The only question is Xavier. He skipped all the pre-season games played on turf (as well as some of the games late last season on turf). He’s got bad knees, and it’s not clear if he skipped the turf games just to give him some more time to get fully fit, or if he won’t play on turf games at all. This game will finally tell us which it is. If Xavier doesn’t start, expect Vanney to slide over and Michael Gavin come in as the left back. Hopefully, Xavier can start, because, despite his early season blunders, we will need his aerial ability against Dr. Duechar. If the central defense tandem is Franklin/Vanney, look for Duechar to really have an impact on this game.

Look for the Galaxy to play tough through the middle with the tandem of Franchino and McDonald. The Galaxy midfield has looked much more organized since the arrival of Franchino. Although the trade to bring Franchino was derided by most of the Galaxy faithful, the fact is prior to Franchino on the pitch our goal differential was –4. Since he’s been on the field, our goal differential is +4. That’s probably not all due to Franchino, but his midfield presence has contributed.

And I won’t bother talking about the contributions of David Beckham, because everybody already knows what he brings to the field.

This is an important game for both teams. With the East so strong this year, finishing in one of the top 3 spots in the West is the only guarantee of making the playoffs, so a game against a West opponent is truly a “six point game”. I won’t bother making a prediction, but when the Galaxy is involved, it’s always a safe bet to predict a high-scoring game.

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A Real World Review: April 28, 2008

A Real World Review
A review of Week 5 in MLS
This Real World Update brought to you by: chronicrslnewb (aka Darin Hoopes)

This Weeks Match Results: 4-1 loss at DC United
Current Record: 1-3-1
Points: 4

Key Developments: RSL’s struggle to find results continues.

What's right in the Real World:
There have been a few mistakes, but there is no question the defense is improved this year. Borchers deserves a great deal of credit here (I hadn‘t even heard of him before this year), but I also believe it is due to the defense being more organized. If you are going to build a successful team that will perform consistently over the long term I believe the defense is the best place to start. We still have a long ways to go, but the play of the defense leads me to believe we are headed in the right direction. In order for us to start getting results we cannot afford a step backward of any kind in this area. Rimando’s continued solid play is definitely worth mentioning here as well. He hasn't had to do as much as last year, which is nice to see, but he has played well.

What's wrong in the Real World:
The midfield is having some struggles, but I’d like to talk about our greater struggles at forward. Deuchar and Findley continue to be an unproductive pairing. They are showing no signs of progress. You would have thought that Deuchar would be flicking headers for Findley to run on to, but it’s just not happening. I am baffled every time I see Deuchar running for a ball out wide while Findley is positioned in the middle. Findley still looks much better coming off the bench. He is not showing signs of developing into much of a multi-dimensional player at this point. He is frequently giving the ball away when he is isolated against a lone defender. How much longer will the coaching staff give him a chance to develop as a starter. I would have preferred to see Movsisyan get the start and then have Findley come in off the bench. I am really hoping that Espindola gets healthy soon.

A brief look at the week ahead:
San Jose Earthquakes at Real Salt Lake (LHUSOC) - During the DC United post game coverage on KSL Coach Kreis indicated that we would see some players get their first opportunity to play this year. No surprise there. I think it is likely that Cordoba and Seitz will be given a chance to start. A couple of other players should be given some game time as well. It will be interesting to see what the players will do with the time they are given. The team needs a solid win here.

Los Angeles Galaxy at Real Salt Lake - The Galaxy’s lineup is disjointed at best and their results should be inconsistent and streaky throughout the year. Donovan hit a hat trick on Sunday and also scored two goals in their previous match. LA will be coming into Salt Lake with some upward momentum. RSL’s offense has struggled to finish it’s chances in every game except the home match against DC. That gives added importance to the defense stepping up and keeping Donovan, Beckham and Co. in check to give our offense more time to give us a lead. Things could get ugly if LA scores first.

Final thoughts:
I seem to view every upcoming match as an important one that will reveal a lot about the character of the team. Well, guess what? I think the next three home games are very important, if not crucial, and will tell us a lot about what the rest of the season will be like. Some of the players, as well as Jason, appeared as though they had been emotionally kicked in the gut after the DC match. Up to this point it always appeared as though they still believed in themselves after every match. There are signs that they may have begun to question themselves. If they can pull it together and do whatever it takes to get a win in each of the next three matches it will be a very important step in developing this team‘s belief in itself. Ties are just not acceptable.

There was talk about RSL having turned the corner after the 4-0 win over DC at home. After this Saturday’s 1-4 loss at DC there has been talk of this being the same old RSL. I think the truth is somewhere in between. I have an overly optimistic history when it comes to RSL. However, I was not ready to say that we had turned the corner after the game against DC. I thoroughly enjoyed that game and it was a great feeling to win 4-0, but it was one game. I am not going to be throwing myself off the ledge after losing to DC at RFK either. Don’t get me wrong, I was unhappy. Every game is a big deal to me. Sometimes I wonder how healthy it is to be as hooked on RSL as I am. I do, however, agree with the idea that you shouldn’t get too high during the highs and you shouldn’t get too low during the lows. Our painful history over the past three years makes it especially difficult to be patient, but I still believe we are headed in the right direction. I know there will be people who disagree with me and I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t think that someone who says something critical about the team is somehow less of a fan. Whatever your opinion, one thing is clear. This team is going to have to prove they are for real by getting results.

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Morning Update: Monday April 21, 2008

IT'S ALL ABOUT TACTICS

"I think the coaching staff takes full responsibility for us sitting back, perhaps we should have pressed them from minute one." -> James Edward's Blog

A REALSLFAN OPINION: We saw tactical errors work in our favor when DC came to town. I believe they worked against us as has been reported in Toronto. If you break the elements of soccer into three elements: skill, effort and tactics - I believe that we have shown that we may have 2 out of 3 on our side this season. At least 2 out of 3 elements are up to playoff level of quality. This team has made an upgrade in the starting lineup. For the most part, all of the starters are now of MLS quality. In addition, there is some depth there so that we can now have some confidence in players brought in off of the bench. We have also shown that we are giving pretty consistent effort on the pitch. There have not yet been any significant letdowns where the team has appeared to give up.

The real question is whether or not we will have the tactics element that will allow us to compete for an MLS playoff spot this season. This is Kreis' big test this season, and will be the measuring stick against which he is judged as a coach. He won the battle against Soehn a week ago at home. This past weekend was unfortunately a big knock against him. Can he/we rebound this week and fight a good tactical battle against DC?

To go along with this question is one of formation: Is the 4-4-2 the right formation for us? We looked pretty good playing the 3-5-2 in the second half against Toronto. Can that work consistently? Will we see it in spots late in games going forward?

In addition, there is a question of style. What is our playing style? What kind of team are we? Are we a counter-attacking team like Chivas who pounces on opportunities and mistakes quickly? Are we a team like the Galaxy that uses well-placed long balls to Beckham to coincide with well-timed runs by Donovon? Are we a team that uses Deuchar as a gather and distribute type of target forward to get the ball to the other attacking players? Will we see the fluid, tight passing (Latin style) that was promised in the offseason? So far this season, we have yet to see a style fully emerged. I believe as Garth said, this is typically "established by your midfield", and we have been fairly erratic in the midfield to this point. Javier Morales has not yet established himself as our creative leader on the pitch. Hopefully this will change on Saturday.

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