Another Date With Destiny Across the Mountains

The only good thing about the weekend shakeout is that the Rapids still hold their playoff destiny in their hands. The problem is, they have been doing that for many weeks now and they still need a win in their final game on the road against arch rivals Salt Lake to achieve it. Gary Smith said a few weeks ago, from memory after the home tie against San Jose, that God forbid it would come down to another end of season climax with Salt Lake. Well, it has, and the Rapids will require a herculean effort, not a little luck and loads of offensive skill to get what they need.
I am in agreement with Gary Smith that this time cannot be faulted for lack of effort. The way they train, the work rate during games. This team works hard, every one of them. The bitter truth is, however, that all the injuries to wide midfielders have exposed a lack of depth on the wing and service to Cummings and Casey has suffered as a result. As much as it pains me, my mind has gone back this weekend to the bitter defeat in Chicago. Yes, the Rapids did win two games immediately after that, at home to Toronto and Houston. But, both those games were won by tight 1-0 margins. And what has happened since then? Defeats and draws only. In the Chicago game, the team looked far more penetrating offensively and I don't see any coincidence in that Jacob Peterson and Jamie Smith played that day. When the team is more penetrating, it gives Cummings and Casey more confidence to take the opportunities they will get. When such opportunities are so few and far between, it can add to too much pressure on too few scraps.
The Chicago game also cast a black cloud over the team. As much as they had to put it behind them (and they did with the two victories immediately afterwards), what would they give now to have kept that 2-0 lead with less than 20 minutes to go? If they had held onto that lead, they would be in the playoffs now. Ifs and buts, I know, but that was one traumatic defeat and it would be hard for a human being not to think about that when so much is on the line this Saturday.
The one piece of further good news is that nearly all the playoff aspirants are on the road Saturday. Minus Real Salt Lake, of course. RSL could still squeeze in with a victory against the Rapids and results elsewhere, unlikely as it is, going their way. That is the bad news. Dallas looked speedier than the Rapids Saturday and hungry after their amazing run in recent weeks. Real Salt Lake would likely have been an easier prospect than Dallas until the results at the weekend gave them just a glimmer of hope.
Realistically, the team as it is cannot be expected to go past the first round of the playoffs even if they make the postseason. But to make the playoffs is still very important for this team going into next season. After those two victories against Houston and Toronto, it seemed almost a given that the Rapids would get in the playoffs. But four points in six games and an attack weakened by so many injuries have clouded the issue and made October 24 across the Rocky Mountains another date with destiny. Imagine what spector that would be to carry on your shoulders if the team doesn't make it into the playoffs when so few points were needed as long as six weeks ago.

Soumare v Fire; Other Notes From Abroad

It was a great experience to go to another MLS stadium last weekend, not least because we were hosted by the Fire Supporters Club who looked after us grandly. I wanted to share a few observations picked up over the weekend because I think they are of interest to all soccer fans. Maybe we could even learn some things from them.
You are probably indifferent to the fate of Bakary Soumare as he is a Chicago Fire player (well, he was up until today anyway). However, I had the pleasure of meeting him and the manner in which we met was one of the reasons why the MLS is better for soccer fans than any of the European leagues.
As one of the weaker leagues financially - that may be a bit of an understatement - MLS players are not as coddled by agents and clubs and can go about their lives in a relatively anonymous way. That allows them to have ready access to the fans that would be unthinkable in Europe or similarly unlikely here in leagues like the NFL or NBA. Money clearly destroys any consistent and genuine interaction between fans and players.
As many of you probably know, Soumare, a Mali international, Chicago regular and MLS All-Star, had fallen out with the Chicago coach, Denis Hamlett. Whatever the rights and wrongs and whoever was at fault over their altercation (there are more than two sides to every story), Soumare showed genuine love for the fans that help pay his wages. He turned up to the supporter tailgate on Sunday to hang out with them and say his goodbyes. The fans loved him and are desperately disappointed he is leaving. As he told me and as was confirmed today, Soumare is moving on to play for Boulogne in the French first division. "It has all worked out for the best," he said to me Sunday, while acknowledging that he will never have such a relationship with the fans in France. "I know most of these guys by first name and by face and we text each other every day." I thought it was a very honorable gesture to turn up and say such goodbyes. Clearly, he had little to lose as he had fallen out with the powers that be but he could just have easily stayed away. Here's the MLS/Chicago Fire announcement on his move.
http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090826&content_id=6629654&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
Some other observations. The Chicago Section 8 fans are a passionate lot. They have a very nice spot behind one of the goals that is all theirs and they make a lot of noise and generally get under the opponents' skin. There is no doubt in my mind that they were a prime reason why the Fire came storming back to get the victory. Some good chants too. "You're going home in a Cook County ambulance" to an injured Pablo Mastroeni was one notable one. They didn't stop until Pablo dazily stood up after a long time on the ground. It was explained to me, later, that Cook County Hospital has or had the worst reputation in all of Chicago for emergency care. But, before you start thinking they are treated better than the fans in Colorado and that everything is hunky dory in Chicago, I heard many stories over the weekend that were so simliar to what I have heard here. I'm not going to go into any detail here but, suffice it to say, without fans there is no club and the clubs can do so much more than they do because they very often don't really get that.
There were a lot more Latino fans than in Denver. Granted, they have Blanco to follow but we should have more Hispanic fans at Rapids' games than we do. I liked the fact that every public announcement at the game was also said in Spanish.
One thing I didn't like and which is endemic to many US sports events. When you say you are going to have a minute's silence for fallen heroes, you really should back it up and have a minute's silence. Not 20 seconds at halftime when people are too busy eating and drinking to pay any attention. And don't then suddenly come out at the end of those 20 not so silent seconds and offer a pizza to eat for just $2.99. For all of England football fans' faults (witness this week's West Ham Millwall problems), fans there do generally respect a minute's silence, the silence lasts a minute and it is done at the start of a game before fans get too involved. If you really want to honor people's sacrifice, it would just take a few easy steps to try and do it properly.

Not My Kind of Town Today

Greetings from a sunny Chicago. I should be looking out on Lake Michigan basking in a great win for the Rapids but a crazy last 20 minutes put paid to that. The team is a few blocks away no doubt also musing on the one that got away. I shouldn't think there is much happy conversation over the scrambled eggs this morning.
A poor penalty decision (where have we read that before?) changed the whole nature of this game. Kosuke Kimura made what looked like a perfectly good challenge on Cuauhtemoc Blanco but the referee, with the trigger happy nature of most officials in this league, saw fit to award a penalty. Blanco put it away and the Rapids, despite their best efforts, went into self-destruct mode.
No point in going on too much about how the Rapids should have done better in that last quarter because nobody knows that better than the players and the coach and they will be hurting this morning. They will know that the difference between a team with playoff hopes versus a team realistically challenging for the MLS Championship is in being sure to win in situations like yesterday. 2-0 up with 20 minutes to go against a team depleted by injuries, suspension and internal dissent has to mean victory but it didn't. Now, they approach a tough game at home to Houston with a different mentality. Instead of the confidence engendered by a victory on the road against Chicago, they will go into Sunday's game knowing that a win is vital for morale as the postseason gets ever closer. They will regroup in Colorado this week, recover from this kick in the guts (but not today), prepare and eventually enter Sunday's game in a better frame of mind than they find themselves this morning. It's the nature of the human mind to do so and pro athletes need that as much as anyone.
A few positives to end up on:
Omar Cummings - wonder strike for the second goal and ability to shake hands with the officials at the end of the game despite the turmoil of the final 20 minutes.
Kosuke Kimura - must be a shoe-in at right back for the rest of the season. Another energetic game in both attack and defense. Blameless for the penalty.
Matt Pickens - played a great game in goal and cannot be blamed for any of the goals.
Jordan Harvey - some great defense right at the end with an apparently game-saving goalline clearance at the death before the final goal. Consistent as always.
That's not to be negative about any of the other players - it's just that those players stood out yesterday, for me anyway. Next week will be different players making the outstanding contributions, that's how it goes. Onwards and upwards. I'll post some other random thoughts and observations later about my time in Chicago (some interesting observations thanks to the generous hosting by a great supporter section here in Chicago).

No Dousing But a Draw Would Be Nice

The Rapids fly to Chicago tomorrow for the first of two pivotal games against top flight opponents. While Gary Smith only cares about the minimum 40 points for a playoff spot at the end of the season, he knows that remaining undefeated against Chicago this weekend and at home to Houston next weekend will be key to confidence going forward into the home stretch.
Clearly, the team has to focus on the Fire first. Chicago may have been beaten at home by LA during the week and they may be missing players due to injury (McBride, Segares, Ward), suspension (Thorrington) and internal disagreements (Soumare) but this is a team that ripped the Rapids apart in midfield in the July 4 home defeat. A team that has plenty of depth. "They have a multitude of good young players who can cause serious problems; there is no shortage of quality," Smith said. Let's not forget some of the older players such as Mr. Blanco either. The Fire will, however, undoubtedly be weakened by the absence of McBride and Smith will be hoping the team exploits that.
For the Rapids, apart from long-term injuries to Colin Clark and Julien Baudet, the squad looks healthy. Baudet could be available for selection within the next two weeks but not this weekend or next. Jacob Peterson, who had injured his knee in training the same day Clark sustained his ligament damage, is good to go. I would see a similar back four to the Chivas game but with Ugo Ihemelu probably coming in for Kimura. For once, Cummings and Casey will get to play together again upfront. Expect LaBrocca and Pablo to start in the middle with Smith and Peterson out wide.
I'll be in the Windy City covering the game for www.mlsnet.com. Can't wait.

Rapids Outclassed in First Half

The Colorado Rapids fell to their second straight defeat and their first at home this season as offensive class from the visiting Chicago Fire won the game in the opening 45 minutes. The Rapids are now facing a mini-crisis which they need to get out of quickly and my concern is that they may not have any strikers to get them out of it. I have a feeling that Conor Casey was booked right at the end of the game yesterday for dissent and, having already got a yellow, that may mean he is out of next week's now vital game against Dallas. However, I haven't see this reported anywhere else so I may be wrong. What I do know is that the Rapids desperately missed Omar Cummings, especially as Casey was not in the form we are used to.
The game was won in the first half. A seven-minute spell gave Chicago the two goals. The first was beautifully executed and, on reflection, was only what had been brewing for a while. John Thorrington had been dominant in midfield and he and Chris Rolfe had been causing a lot of problems for the Rapids. Another crisp passing move in midfield saw the ball eventually reach Brian McBride who chested the ball expertly to Mr. Blanco. A perfect pass and a great finish by Marco Pappa to fly past Matt Pickens in goal. A second goal followed, just seven minutes later, when nobody picked up Wilman Conde from the corner and the game was largely over.
Colorado did fight back well in the second half and could have had a penalty when Casey went over in the box just minutes from time. But, in truth, they didn't deserve it and Chicago were the better team. Not all was doom and glooom. Terry Cooke, making a rare start, was busy all 90 minutes and created a couple of lovely passing moves in the first half. His crossing in the second half, unfortunately, was not quite at the standard he would like and, with Casey off form, little was actually created in terms of scoring chances in the second half despite the dominance in possession. Next week's home game against Dallas is taking on big proportions.

Gargoyle Blanco Helps Fire to Win Over Rapids

Do you want the good news or the bad news? The bad news is that we lost. The good news was that this was so much better than last week. The Colorado Rapids certainly bounced back from last week's poor performance against San Jose. They played with far more intensity and better creativity. The nagging doubt in the head is that, when they go down a goal, it always seems so hard for them to get back in the game. We did it against Kansas City but there remains a question as to how consistently we can do that.
The line-up was different. One forced change with John DiRaimondo out with an ankle sprain. Pablo Mastroeni made his first start of the season and played with great intensity as usual. It was almost a relief when he was subbed because he looked like he may get a red card. The Rapids were incensed at the end of the first half with Chicago's number 25 and Pablo baited him throughout the second half when he was on. Tom McManus came in for Omar Cummings and continued to play with great heart just as he had done against San Jose. Congrats to him for his first goal in the burgundy and blue. Kelly Gray, who had impressed in last week's reserve game, came in for Kosuke Kimura. A little tough on Kimura who seemed to be making the right back spot his own.
We made some poor defensive errors and the defense was practically non-existent on the second goal. But I think we lost the game in the midfield. Blanco may be one of the ugliest of people (we thought he looked like a gargoyle - Blanco is a gargoyle, Blanco is a gargoyle, la la la la, la la la la; maybe we can get a song going when he visits DSG Park?) but he was more creative than his counterpart on the Rapids, Christian Gomez. His pass was instrumental in the first goal and he made a number of creative moves to make chances for his teammates.
To be honest, a draw might have been a fair result and we almost clinched it in the end with Herc putting the ball just wide and Bouna almost creating the greatest moment in Rapids' history when he came up for a last second corner and just headed over. Can you imagine if that had gone in? He would never have stopped talking about it. And neither would the fans. But it wasn't to be. We move on to a big game next weekend against DC United who seem to be getting back to the form we all know they have.