Speaking of Rage… (Semis Rd. 1 @ Chicago)
By: Max J. | October 25th, 2007No, this has not been my soapbox for a few schedule-horrific months now. But, like Jon, there is a rage inside right now that defies time constraints, so here we go.
We were screwed, and we were always screwed. Ever since Emilio and Jaime flopped to the turf last week, this series was Chicago’s to lose. Not because of the lack of finishing, or the loss of Jaime’s experience, but because of Tom Soehn. I won’t fault him for his decision to play the two last week, nor will I call him a lousy tactician after this past season. But Tommy is quite literally the ONLY person on the planet who thinks that United can play 90 minutes of bunkering soccer, and that in the end is what cost us.
Say what you want about Burch’s ball-watching, or Vanney’s vertical jump issues, but neither of them cost us the game. The death sentence was the 4-5-1, a combination of every possible nightmare for United: no attacking options, unfamiliar roles, conceding the initiative, relying on mistake-free defense. From the outset, Tommy revealed a) exactly what his goals were, b) exactly how we were going to play, c) that we were scared, and d) that he’d learned nothing from our failures in bunkering littered across this season. Who blew the mark or made the bad play was irrelevant, since the costly error was inevitable either way. And since United was forced to play catch-up with ailing players instead of dictating terms, the second half was nothing but a thinly veiled confidence building exercise. Yes, we pushed up in Chicago’s half, but for all of the threats produced, a junior high ropes course would have been just as effective.
The only thing worse that watching United in action tonight was knowing that the lineup, the defensive mindset, and the failure were almost pre-ordained. Fans, almost all of us and certainly all the ones I heard from, were hoping against all evidence that we wouldn’t fall into the same idiotic trap from the Chivas game. But there, right off the bat, was that shocking team sheet, and Tommy bears full and sole responsibility. Especially for a good coach, this was a stunning and inexcusable mistake.
There is one game left, I know. But as far as I’m concerned, this series is all but lost. The one thing I thought United needed was a goal. Even in a loss, one goal would have snapped the curse mentality once and for all and maybe built some momentum. Not only was that out of reach, but the presence of Jaime and Emilio produced nothing of consequence. Now United returns to RFK knowing that our biggest guns have already been used to little effect. I can’t expect much from next Thursday, and I don’t think I’ll be surprised.
(Last note: Hopefully, with all the games on national TV, a decent training schedule at the moment, and Jon’s indulgence, I’ll be back around here more often in the coming weeks. I will be back in DC and at RFK for MLS Cup, and if anyone wants to raise a beer, let me know.)
 |
MLS Forums | DC United Results |  |
 |
Category: Post-Game
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share
      |
Comments are closed
Home 
