Frequent readers of the review know I like to put together a "power ranking" every now and then (I try to do every week, but it doesn't always happen. Now that every team has gotten started, here is the first Royal Ranking for the MLS season:
15-Dallas (0-2-0) - Handily beaten in both their games. Could be a long season.
14-Kansas City (0-2-0) - Everyone's favorite soccer-playing-minor-league-baseball team with a rough start.
13-Los Angeles (0-0-1) - Scored a controversial tie in week 1 against DC.
12-New York (0-1-1) - Got a home tie against the injury ravaged Revs after getting dismantled by Seattle.
11-REAL SALT LAKE (0-1-0) - Extremely poor all around against the expansion Sounders.
10-Houston (0-1-1) - Falls in a shootout at San Jose.
09-San Jose (1-0-1) - Get the win against a middling Dynamo squad.
08-Colorado (1-0-1) - Protected the home turf against KC.
07-DC United (0-0-2) - Probably should've beaten LA, get the draw against the solid Fire.
06-Toronto (1-0-1) - 1500 fans head to Columbus to prove they are the classiest in MLS.
05-Chivas TST (2-0-0) - 2 wins, but against poor opponents.
04-Columbus (0-0-2) - 2 ties in games they probably should have won for the reigning champs.
03-Chicago (1-0-1) - Eke out a road tie at DC after an easy win at Dallass.
02-New England (1-0-1) - Manage a road tie against the energy bovines even while injuries reduce them to starting the fat kid sitting in the 57th row.
01-Seattle (2-0-0) - Two very convincing shutout wins, but can they do it on the road?
I hate to put the expansion team first, but they have earned it after those first two games. I will be curious to see, however, if they can keep the momentum going.
Also, on a quick side note, RSL's own Mr. Kyle Beckerman will be joining ESPN.com for a live Q and A tomorrow starting at 1 pm (Mountain). Should be some interesting stuff.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
2009 Game 1: Wait, who is the expansion team?
Wow. After all that talk about how the players now knew the system and how much better RSL was going to be this year, they went up to Seattle and laid a complete egg against the expansion Sounders in losing 2-0. If you didn't know better, you'd have thought RSL was the expansion team and Seattle was a 2008 playoff team. Ugly stuff to start the year as RSL continues to prove they can't play on the road.
First half grade: D+
Seattle obviously still had a boost from the crowd and the newness of it all and they came out and took it to RSL. Beltran was continuously abused down the flank and finally paid for it when Zakuani faked him out of his shoes and put a pass to an unguarded (thanks Nat) Nate Jaqua for a goal your blind great-grandmother could have scored. 1-0 at half.
Second half grade: F
RSL needed to come out in the second half and put their stamp on the game and really take control. Instead, they continued to fling long ball after long ball upfield to no one in particular. Kreis then inexplicably (and therefore about the norm for him) took out Findley for Williams, who a) showed he shouldn't be playing as a forward, and b) should've come in for Yura if he's going to play as a forward as Yura had an atrocious game. Soon after, Fredy Montero sealed it with a long range strike that seemed to take Nick off guard. 2-0 Seattle, and from that point on, RSL seemed to give up with the exception of late sub Raphael Cox who became easily RSL's best player on the field late.
Full Game Grade: F
RSL certainly looked like a team playing its first game of the season. They also looked like a team that struggles on the road. And for much of the match they looked like a U-14 squad. Ugly.
Positional grades:
Defense: B-
Midfield: F
Forward: D+
Player Grades:
Nick Rimando-6 Played well, but loses a point for the Montero goal.
Tony Beltran-3 Awful. Burned for the first goal and couldn't complete a pass.
(Raphael Cox 84)-7 Was the best player on the field after coming on.
Jamison Olave-8 Without the big O, RSL loses 5-0.
Chris Wingert-5 Shaky stuff from Chris.
Nat Borchers-5 Takes partial responsibility on both goals.
Kyle Beckerman-4 Too many late, swiping tackle attempts. Easily could've gotten a red.
Javier Morales-4 Poor first touch, terrible corners. Never put himself in the game.
Clint Mathis-7 Beautiful vision. Probably his best game since coming back.
(Jean Alexandre 89)-6 Not much time to do anything.
Will Johnson-6 Very up and down all night.
Robbie Findley-6 Good passing and took the few opportunities he got.
(Andy Williams 74)-5 Looked lost out there, needs to impose himself on the game.
Yura Movsisyan-4 Almost a 3. Blew about 3 golden opportunities, gets way too cute with the ball and turns it over too much.
Ref grade (B. Toledo)-5
Not good, but certainly not into Alex Prus territory. Some uneven calls and some very soft yellows.
Coach grade (Kreis)-4
Didn't seem to know what to do once RSL got behind. Did nothing to turn the tide at the half.
RSL Man of the Match-Jamison Olave
Made numerous big plays in the back. The one black mark was the stupid yellow he picked up on a needless shove on Montero.
Assclown of the Match-Dan Sheldon
It was nearly Montero for his whining all game (and for putting the nail in the coffin), but it goes to Sheldon for his sparse, monotone "play-by-play". If you are calling the game and getting completely shown up by the color guy, it's time to find a new profession. Is this really the best channel 2 can do? Can we get Bill Riley back in there, please? Hell, I can do a better job and I'll do it for much less than they're paying Sheldon, I'm sure.
And now for a new segment to the Review, it's time for "What We Learned":
1) RSL (and Chivas TST) were completely shafted when they came into the league. They shared an expansion draft and the Superdraft. Meanwhile, Seattle signs players from its USL team and then gets the expansion and Superdraft picks to itself. What a joke.
2) RSL seems to have come into the season a bit overconfident. Hopefully this result will humble them a bit.
3) Jason Kreis has a looooooong way to go before he can compete with the likes of Sigi Schmid in the coaching department.
4) RSL STILL cannot play on the road, and now apparently can't play on turf anymore either.
First half grade: D+
Seattle obviously still had a boost from the crowd and the newness of it all and they came out and took it to RSL. Beltran was continuously abused down the flank and finally paid for it when Zakuani faked him out of his shoes and put a pass to an unguarded (thanks Nat) Nate Jaqua for a goal your blind great-grandmother could have scored. 1-0 at half.
Second half grade: F
RSL needed to come out in the second half and put their stamp on the game and really take control. Instead, they continued to fling long ball after long ball upfield to no one in particular. Kreis then inexplicably (and therefore about the norm for him) took out Findley for Williams, who a) showed he shouldn't be playing as a forward, and b) should've come in for Yura if he's going to play as a forward as Yura had an atrocious game. Soon after, Fredy Montero sealed it with a long range strike that seemed to take Nick off guard. 2-0 Seattle, and from that point on, RSL seemed to give up with the exception of late sub Raphael Cox who became easily RSL's best player on the field late.
Full Game Grade: F
RSL certainly looked like a team playing its first game of the season. They also looked like a team that struggles on the road. And for much of the match they looked like a U-14 squad. Ugly.
Positional grades:
Defense: B-
Midfield: F
Forward: D+
Player Grades:
Nick Rimando-6 Played well, but loses a point for the Montero goal.
Tony Beltran-3 Awful. Burned for the first goal and couldn't complete a pass.
(Raphael Cox 84)-7 Was the best player on the field after coming on.
Jamison Olave-8 Without the big O, RSL loses 5-0.
Chris Wingert-5 Shaky stuff from Chris.
Nat Borchers-5 Takes partial responsibility on both goals.
Kyle Beckerman-4 Too many late, swiping tackle attempts. Easily could've gotten a red.
Javier Morales-4 Poor first touch, terrible corners. Never put himself in the game.
Clint Mathis-7 Beautiful vision. Probably his best game since coming back.
(Jean Alexandre 89)-6 Not much time to do anything.
Will Johnson-6 Very up and down all night.
Robbie Findley-6 Good passing and took the few opportunities he got.
(Andy Williams 74)-5 Looked lost out there, needs to impose himself on the game.
Yura Movsisyan-4 Almost a 3. Blew about 3 golden opportunities, gets way too cute with the ball and turns it over too much.
Ref grade (B. Toledo)-5
Not good, but certainly not into Alex Prus territory. Some uneven calls and some very soft yellows.
Coach grade (Kreis)-4
Didn't seem to know what to do once RSL got behind. Did nothing to turn the tide at the half.
RSL Man of the Match-Jamison Olave
Made numerous big plays in the back. The one black mark was the stupid yellow he picked up on a needless shove on Montero.
Assclown of the Match-Dan Sheldon
It was nearly Montero for his whining all game (and for putting the nail in the coffin), but it goes to Sheldon for his sparse, monotone "play-by-play". If you are calling the game and getting completely shown up by the color guy, it's time to find a new profession. Is this really the best channel 2 can do? Can we get Bill Riley back in there, please? Hell, I can do a better job and I'll do it for much less than they're paying Sheldon, I'm sure.
And now for a new segment to the Review, it's time for "What We Learned":
1) RSL (and Chivas TST) were completely shafted when they came into the league. They shared an expansion draft and the Superdraft. Meanwhile, Seattle signs players from its USL team and then gets the expansion and Superdraft picks to itself. What a joke.
2) RSL seems to have come into the season a bit overconfident. Hopefully this result will humble them a bit.
3) Jason Kreis has a looooooong way to go before he can compete with the likes of Sigi Schmid in the coaching department.
4) RSL STILL cannot play on the road, and now apparently can't play on turf anymore either.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Just in time for First Kick '09, the '08 Season Grades!
Ha ha ha, boy am I late with this one. But with no further ado, here are my final grades and such from the 2008 season:
Top 5 Grades (Season & Playoffs, minimum 15 games):
5-Dema Kovalenko 6.04167
4-Jamison Olave 6.06423
3-Robbie Findley 6.08344
2-Andy Williams 6.12655
1-Nick Rimando 6.66667
Honorable mention goes to Chris Wingert, who missed the list by approximately .0001, and Will Johnson, whose 6.41667 would have made the list but he appeared in only 12 games for RSL.
Regular Season Heroes (min. 15 games):
3-Robbie Findley 6.058
2-Andy Williams 6.180
1-Nick Rimando 6.633
Not surprisingly, since the playoffs were only 3 games, the top 3 are the same on both lists.
Clutch Performers (Top 3 Playoffs, min. 2 games):
2 (tie)-Nat Borchers and Javier Morales 6.667
1-Nick Rimando 7.000
All 3 players had a nice playoff run and it shows here.
Manliest Men (most RR Man of the Match awards, regular season and playoff):
3-Jamison Olave 4
2-Nick Rimando 6 (5 + 1 playoff)
1-Javier Morales 6 (4 + 2 playoff)
Although it was a tie and the top, I give the award to Javi for getting 2 of his 6 awards during RSL's playoff run.
And now, the awards no one wants, the low scorers for 2008:
Nerves of Butter (Lowest Playoff Scores, min. 2 games):
3-Robbie Russell 5.333
2-Clint Mathis 5.000
1-Kyle Beckerman 4.667
Russell parlayed an atrocious Conference Final into a 3rd place showing, while Cleetus and Kyle each made a solid run of subpar form throughout.
Season Suckers (Regular Season only, min. 15 games):
3-Kenny Deuchar 5.621
2-Ian Joy 5.333
1-Yura Movsisyan 5.106
Even some very clutch goals couldn't save Yura, who killed himself with some terrible early season form and way too many missed chances and selfish plays.
Big Loads (Reg. Season and Playoffs, min. 15 games):
3-Kenny Deuchar 5.6333
2-Ian Joy 5.3165
1-Yura Movsisyan 5.1732
Again the full season and regular season awards mirror each other. Let's hope that Yura can be in good form all season this year and not just for the last 6 games or so.
Based on all this, with some help by my own subjectivity, here are my Top 3 RSLers of 2008:
Honorable Mentions: Borchers, Williams, Wingert
3-Jamison Olave
Made some big mistakes at times, but was overall a beast in the back and his 4 Man of the match awards were double what any other defenseman got.
2-Javier Morales
Had a midseason dip in form that hurt his score (only 5.79), but when he was on, the team usually won. Plus, even with the rough patch he still came up with a (tied for) team-high 6 Man of the Match awards.
...and your 2008 Royal Review RSL MVP is:
1- Nick Rimando
What can I say? RSL's most consistent performer not only kept "super-prospect" Chris Seitz bolted to the bench, but he also won all 3 2008 grade awards as well as tying with Javi for most Man of the Match awards. It's hard to argue with that kind of performance, even if it was from a goalkeeper and not a field player. Congrats Nick Rimando!
And now, in about 6 hours, your 2009 season!
PS-If you want to see the grades for every player, for every game, I have uploaded them to http://drop.io/royalreview for you to download or just look at. They are in Excel format, bothe the new version and in a version for Excel 97-2003. Enjoy!
Top 5 Grades (Season & Playoffs, minimum 15 games):
5-Dema Kovalenko 6.04167
4-Jamison Olave 6.06423
3-Robbie Findley 6.08344
2-Andy Williams 6.12655
1-Nick Rimando 6.66667
Honorable mention goes to Chris Wingert, who missed the list by approximately .0001, and Will Johnson, whose 6.41667 would have made the list but he appeared in only 12 games for RSL.
Regular Season Heroes (min. 15 games):
3-Robbie Findley 6.058
2-Andy Williams 6.180
1-Nick Rimando 6.633
Not surprisingly, since the playoffs were only 3 games, the top 3 are the same on both lists.
Clutch Performers (Top 3 Playoffs, min. 2 games):
2 (tie)-Nat Borchers and Javier Morales 6.667
1-Nick Rimando 7.000
All 3 players had a nice playoff run and it shows here.
Manliest Men (most RR Man of the Match awards, regular season and playoff):
3-Jamison Olave 4
2-Nick Rimando 6 (5 + 1 playoff)
1-Javier Morales 6 (4 + 2 playoff)
Although it was a tie and the top, I give the award to Javi for getting 2 of his 6 awards during RSL's playoff run.
And now, the awards no one wants, the low scorers for 2008:
Nerves of Butter (Lowest Playoff Scores, min. 2 games):
3-Robbie Russell 5.333
2-Clint Mathis 5.000
1-Kyle Beckerman 4.667
Russell parlayed an atrocious Conference Final into a 3rd place showing, while Cleetus and Kyle each made a solid run of subpar form throughout.
Season Suckers (Regular Season only, min. 15 games):
3-Kenny Deuchar 5.621
2-Ian Joy 5.333
1-Yura Movsisyan 5.106
Even some very clutch goals couldn't save Yura, who killed himself with some terrible early season form and way too many missed chances and selfish plays.
Big Loads (Reg. Season and Playoffs, min. 15 games):
3-Kenny Deuchar 5.6333
2-Ian Joy 5.3165
1-Yura Movsisyan 5.1732
Again the full season and regular season awards mirror each other. Let's hope that Yura can be in good form all season this year and not just for the last 6 games or so.
Based on all this, with some help by my own subjectivity, here are my Top 3 RSLers of 2008:
Honorable Mentions: Borchers, Williams, Wingert
3-Jamison Olave
Made some big mistakes at times, but was overall a beast in the back and his 4 Man of the match awards were double what any other defenseman got.
2-Javier Morales
Had a midseason dip in form that hurt his score (only 5.79), but when he was on, the team usually won. Plus, even with the rough patch he still came up with a (tied for) team-high 6 Man of the Match awards.
...and your 2008 Royal Review RSL MVP is:
1- Nick Rimando
What can I say? RSL's most consistent performer not only kept "super-prospect" Chris Seitz bolted to the bench, but he also won all 3 2008 grade awards as well as tying with Javi for most Man of the Match awards. It's hard to argue with that kind of performance, even if it was from a goalkeeper and not a field player. Congrats Nick Rimando!
And now, in about 6 hours, your 2009 season!
PS-If you want to see the grades for every player, for every game, I have uploaded them to http://drop.io/royalreview for you to download or just look at. They are in Excel format, bothe the new version and in a version for Excel 97-2003. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Quick Update
Ah yes, MLS 2009 has begun, and our (well, at least my) hometown Real Salt Lake take to the field starting this Saturday! I'm hoping to have a short game preview (no promises) later this week. I do promise, however, to get my final 2008 grades up BEFORE RSL takes the field this weekend. I've got one more game to rewatch and then it is done. Anyway, it should be an interesting season; I can honestly see RSL anywhere from 1st or 2nd in the West down to 5th or 6th. I think we'll learn a lot this weekend. Also, I hope to get my predictions back up and running, but after the embarrassment of last week's results on mfls.com, that remains to be seen!
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