From this year's MLS coverage and the matches I've seen it's apparent that there are SO many new, untried and/or incompetent PRO referees. Especially this year, where with 2 weeks left I'm still seeing refs I've never heard of previously. And they disproportionately affect match outcomes.
MLS refs really seem to be stratified into layers of relative quality, from Top Veterans down to Incompetent Rookies. I think it'd be very interesting to see a chart of that "Layer cake".
The ref, Alexis Da Silva, was an embarrassment. He allowed the Austin keeper, Brad Stuver, to waste at least five minutes by delaying nearly every goals kick. At least twice, Da Silva failed to order Austin players to leave the pitch for the required two minutes after being down more than 15 seconds with injuries. His foul calls were wildly inconsistent. In short, he ruined the match. Unfortunately, this happens all too often. But the gross ineptness stands out in stretch-run games when so much is at stake.
Don Garber clearly doesn't give a damn even though poor refereeing is a major black mark that damages the league's reputation.
Only this team can take the gift that Wednesday was shaping up to be and turn it on its head. Overall, they played fairly well and had a high xG -- just couldn't put their chances away, and that would have pulled Austin out of their turtle shell. Miller made a mistake in not clearing well. We should have been able to overcome that mistake at home. Credit to Austin for playing like their lives and careers depended on it - to the point of doing the s - housery, starting very early in the game. And no credit to the referee, who was inconsistent.
I agree, Moreno was off and not contributing. Ayala was good on defense, but I thought he was off offensively. I didn't think Chara was all that great either. And Miller had his worst game, for sure. It's like, you pick one of Araujo or Miller, and they find a way to make a mistake. Araujo has been fabulous offensively, though. This looked like a first choice 11, and it didn't get the job done. I think they looked past Austin or thought they would be a gimme. They just need to take it one game at a time, and not think about the playoffs or positioning.
Nah, we’ve had plenty of wake up calls already this season. We have 2 matches left. We make the same mistakes we made at the beginning of the season. This isn’t the growth arc people hope it is. Three steps forward, two steps back is progress, but we could have taken 4 or 5 steps forward and 1 step back if the coaches focused more on whole team coordination and cohesion. Neville said he prioritizes attacking and would rather win 3-1 than 1-0, or something to that effect. But a good team has to start 1-0 not 0-1, especially at home against a team even lower on the table. We are a mediocre team on balance, right where we deserve and should be expected to be on the table: mid.
I’d be less annoyed at the lack of defensive consistency if we were making improvements beyond Mosquera defending more and Ayala and Bravo returning to fitness and form. It’s too soon to judge Surman obviously, but I’d think he he were considered an immediate improvement he’d be getting minutes. Instead he’s a development project for a team that has shown little ability to develop defenders, especially centerbacks. Our best arrive fully formed. Too many improve elsewhere after we’ve failed them. But our FO doesn’t identify the problems or acknowledge them, and hasn’t taken obvious steps to correct them. I’m beating a dead horse but why was slow ass Kamal Miller brought in to play a high line on the left? Because Zuparic was out of favor/form? Look how that’s worked out. Araujo is our other beat CB but now he’s riding pine for Miller. McGraw had a better season than Zuparic last year for an even worse team, but he’s mostly been put in positions to fail, defending the space in behind Mosquera from much faster attackers, with a backing that doesn’t communicate or organize effectively.
I’d at least like to hear and see the FO recognize the problems and make adjustments. Instead they either don’t see the problems themselves or are going above and beyond to defend the egos of professional athletes above improving the team. When the personnel changes, the tactics stay essentially the same, and rhetorical results are predictable, it’s pretty pretty pretty discouraging.
I wish I had more confidence we’ll make the right moves in the next couple of transfer windows. We don’t have much information to go on though, and Neville doesn’t have enough credit in the bank when it comes to defense.
Well, at least they kept it to one goal last night. That's improvement, isn't it? Ha ha!
We did have a lot of chances and could have won but our offense let us down, in my opinion. Overall, yes, the defense really can't be counted on to win the game, unless they are jacked up like they were when they played Seattle.
Surman probably rates pretty well. I'd guess he's not playing simply because that might cause a rift in the locker room. I'm sure there will be opportunity for him next season. We're stuck with what we've got for whatever is left of the season.
RE: "McGraw had a better season than Zuparic last year for an even worse team, but he’s mostly been put in positions to fail, defending the space in behind Mosquera from much faster attackers, with a backing that doesn’t communicate or organize effectively."
I don't know what will happen to McGraw in the future, but your statement about him failing to defend the space behind Mosquera says it all. He can't do it. Zup can, and Araujo can. Unless he gets faster and better on the ball, he will have trouble finding time on the field for any team.
Our offense was uncharacteristically self-conscious last night. They are normally good. But I don't think it was entirely about mentality or just over-complicating things. Jeremy is right about how they're better in transition. Austin parked the bus. A good/great offense should be better at breaking down defenses. Even to the extent that it is about mentality, coaching should have an influence on that. Drill drill drill breaking down a packed defense that fouls you all the time with an official who doesn't make calls and it won't be so jarring.
I want to be optimistic about Surman. Knowing nothing, he deserves the benefit of the doubt, even if our FO doesn't have a great track record with CBs. These are professionals though. If he's just flat out better, they need to play him. Competition is good. I think you're right that ego plays into it, but it may be more about Ned's and Neville's than players. Our best CB pairing right now is Zuparic and Araujo or Zuparic and Miller. They aren't going to want to sit Miller when Bravo is healthy because they brought him in special for his mythical left foot. There's sunk cost fallacy and a bias involved. This is setting aside that absolutely none of our CBs are good at playing the high line Neville keeps trying.
With respect to McGraw, "can't" is the operant word there. He's got the will, he just lacks the way. He's just not fast enough. Weirdly, I thought he was faster than he apparently is. I keep second-guessing my impression. Didn't he play right back for a time? Anyway, players are going to have "mentality" problems and make mistakes if they keep being asked to do things they aren't physically up for. Mental errors are more likely to happen when in uncomfortable or unfamiliar situations. If someone has the potential, those situations can be learning opportunities. If they don't have the capability, it's just demoralizing and frustrating. We've seen it happening at other positions as well. Williamson might be a good example. We've seen how good he can be in the right situations. We aren't putting him in those situations. His opportunities often seem to come in bad circumstances. Maybe Paredes too. Some rise to such occasions, and that's great. But it isn't necessarily fair to expect that or to put undue pressure on them. Why can't we just align the system to the players until we have the players for the system? If we're making a short-term sacrifice for long-term gain, be transparent about it.
Thanks, Jeremy.
From this year's MLS coverage and the matches I've seen it's apparent that there are SO many new, untried and/or incompetent PRO referees. Especially this year, where with 2 weeks left I'm still seeing refs I've never heard of previously. And they disproportionately affect match outcomes.
MLS refs really seem to be stratified into layers of relative quality, from Top Veterans down to Incompetent Rookies. I think it'd be very interesting to see a chart of that "Layer cake".
The ref, Alexis Da Silva, was an embarrassment. He allowed the Austin keeper, Brad Stuver, to waste at least five minutes by delaying nearly every goals kick. At least twice, Da Silva failed to order Austin players to leave the pitch for the required two minutes after being down more than 15 seconds with injuries. His foul calls were wildly inconsistent. In short, he ruined the match. Unfortunately, this happens all too often. But the gross ineptness stands out in stretch-run games when so much is at stake.
Don Garber clearly doesn't give a damn even though poor refereeing is a major black mark that damages the league's reputation.
great writeup Jeremy.
Only this team can take the gift that Wednesday was shaping up to be and turn it on its head. Overall, they played fairly well and had a high xG -- just couldn't put their chances away, and that would have pulled Austin out of their turtle shell. Miller made a mistake in not clearing well. We should have been able to overcome that mistake at home. Credit to Austin for playing like their lives and careers depended on it - to the point of doing the s - housery, starting very early in the game. And no credit to the referee, who was inconsistent.
I agree, Moreno was off and not contributing. Ayala was good on defense, but I thought he was off offensively. I didn't think Chara was all that great either. And Miller had his worst game, for sure. It's like, you pick one of Araujo or Miller, and they find a way to make a mistake. Araujo has been fabulous offensively, though. This looked like a first choice 11, and it didn't get the job done. I think they looked past Austin or thought they would be a gimme. They just need to take it one game at a time, and not think about the playoffs or positioning.
Nah, we’ve had plenty of wake up calls already this season. We have 2 matches left. We make the same mistakes we made at the beginning of the season. This isn’t the growth arc people hope it is. Three steps forward, two steps back is progress, but we could have taken 4 or 5 steps forward and 1 step back if the coaches focused more on whole team coordination and cohesion. Neville said he prioritizes attacking and would rather win 3-1 than 1-0, or something to that effect. But a good team has to start 1-0 not 0-1, especially at home against a team even lower on the table. We are a mediocre team on balance, right where we deserve and should be expected to be on the table: mid.
I’d be less annoyed at the lack of defensive consistency if we were making improvements beyond Mosquera defending more and Ayala and Bravo returning to fitness and form. It’s too soon to judge Surman obviously, but I’d think he he were considered an immediate improvement he’d be getting minutes. Instead he’s a development project for a team that has shown little ability to develop defenders, especially centerbacks. Our best arrive fully formed. Too many improve elsewhere after we’ve failed them. But our FO doesn’t identify the problems or acknowledge them, and hasn’t taken obvious steps to correct them. I’m beating a dead horse but why was slow ass Kamal Miller brought in to play a high line on the left? Because Zuparic was out of favor/form? Look how that’s worked out. Araujo is our other beat CB but now he’s riding pine for Miller. McGraw had a better season than Zuparic last year for an even worse team, but he’s mostly been put in positions to fail, defending the space in behind Mosquera from much faster attackers, with a backing that doesn’t communicate or organize effectively.
I’d at least like to hear and see the FO recognize the problems and make adjustments. Instead they either don’t see the problems themselves or are going above and beyond to defend the egos of professional athletes above improving the team. When the personnel changes, the tactics stay essentially the same, and rhetorical results are predictable, it’s pretty pretty pretty discouraging.
I wish I had more confidence we’ll make the right moves in the next couple of transfer windows. We don’t have much information to go on though, and Neville doesn’t have enough credit in the bank when it comes to defense.
Well, at least they kept it to one goal last night. That's improvement, isn't it? Ha ha!
We did have a lot of chances and could have won but our offense let us down, in my opinion. Overall, yes, the defense really can't be counted on to win the game, unless they are jacked up like they were when they played Seattle.
Surman probably rates pretty well. I'd guess he's not playing simply because that might cause a rift in the locker room. I'm sure there will be opportunity for him next season. We're stuck with what we've got for whatever is left of the season.
RE: "McGraw had a better season than Zuparic last year for an even worse team, but he’s mostly been put in positions to fail, defending the space in behind Mosquera from much faster attackers, with a backing that doesn’t communicate or organize effectively."
I don't know what will happen to McGraw in the future, but your statement about him failing to defend the space behind Mosquera says it all. He can't do it. Zup can, and Araujo can. Unless he gets faster and better on the ball, he will have trouble finding time on the field for any team.
Our offense was uncharacteristically self-conscious last night. They are normally good. But I don't think it was entirely about mentality or just over-complicating things. Jeremy is right about how they're better in transition. Austin parked the bus. A good/great offense should be better at breaking down defenses. Even to the extent that it is about mentality, coaching should have an influence on that. Drill drill drill breaking down a packed defense that fouls you all the time with an official who doesn't make calls and it won't be so jarring.
I want to be optimistic about Surman. Knowing nothing, he deserves the benefit of the doubt, even if our FO doesn't have a great track record with CBs. These are professionals though. If he's just flat out better, they need to play him. Competition is good. I think you're right that ego plays into it, but it may be more about Ned's and Neville's than players. Our best CB pairing right now is Zuparic and Araujo or Zuparic and Miller. They aren't going to want to sit Miller when Bravo is healthy because they brought him in special for his mythical left foot. There's sunk cost fallacy and a bias involved. This is setting aside that absolutely none of our CBs are good at playing the high line Neville keeps trying.
With respect to McGraw, "can't" is the operant word there. He's got the will, he just lacks the way. He's just not fast enough. Weirdly, I thought he was faster than he apparently is. I keep second-guessing my impression. Didn't he play right back for a time? Anyway, players are going to have "mentality" problems and make mistakes if they keep being asked to do things they aren't physically up for. Mental errors are more likely to happen when in uncomfortable or unfamiliar situations. If someone has the potential, those situations can be learning opportunities. If they don't have the capability, it's just demoralizing and frustrating. We've seen it happening at other positions as well. Williamson might be a good example. We've seen how good he can be in the right situations. We aren't putting him in those situations. His opportunities often seem to come in bad circumstances. Maybe Paredes too. Some rise to such occasions, and that's great. But it isn't necessarily fair to expect that or to put undue pressure on them. Why can't we just align the system to the players until we have the players for the system? If we're making a short-term sacrifice for long-term gain, be transparent about it.