The on-field ref was absolutely infuriating. I generally give refs more leeway than most analysts and commenters to counteract my own home-team bias and because I realize it's an impossible job to do perfectly. But this guy was repeatedly, objectively wrong in game-changing situations, and his obfuscating, defensive, and disingenuous replies to the pool reporter's questions only reinforced the opinion I took away at the end of the match. He should not be allowed to referee another MLS match until he changes his attitude and demonstrates a sincere desire to call each match fairly.
I'd like to know what happened to the rule announced at the beginning of the season regarding players who go down and stay down during the match having to exit the field for a couple of minutes? I've seen it enforced in multiple matches before seeing it ignored completely last night.
Last night was an interesting night of football for us. Got to watch LCFC lose in Hartford, and then the Timbers create that ridiculous draw. On most nights I would believe that the referee's performance in the a Timbers game was the worst ever, but that was before I put up with this in the LCFC game:
Having a player tossed after the ref told him to fuck off beats having a player tossed for accidentally stepping on a player's head!
That said the Timbers refs were abysmal.
Interesting rankings I think I mostly agree, though likely would have given Bravo higher marks. And Moreno lower.
Also, can we please be done with the silliness of starting Crepau ahead of Pantemis.
To quote you, "He’s doing the best that he can with all of the structural problems in the defense." Yet those same structural issues existed when Pantemis was in the nets and he managed to get several shutouts.
Refs: Worst job EVER from a PRO crew; every bit as bad as the early-season replacement 'crew' who had clearly never met before taking the field.
Player ratings: Aruajo just plain 100% at fault for the PK AND the break that led to it; he closed on Zup's guy, didn't move over when Zup called him off, and that made him too late to even try a tackle. That was a no-brainer PK.
Zup: He was decent, but no way does a CB deserve 7.5 when your team gives up 2 goals on corners.
I usually don't like to think about the reffing too much, because it can cover for mistakes, but there is no question that the reffing in this game left a lot to be desired. You covered it all really well, and there is not much to add.
Your point about being happy with comebacks at this stage is spot on, too. As much as that game was entertaining from a neutral perspective, I suppose, I did not particularly enjoy it because I wanted to see us crush St. Louis.
The result aside, obviously our attack is amazing and Evander is something else. Too bad the fans didn't start chanting MVP after that free kick. The defense is what it is. I think we'll see Kamal back with Zup and that's probably the best pairing. I had voted for Araujo and Zup, but Araujo makes too many mistakes. I think he's really good offensively but he needs to be more mistake free to be a good CB. I think he's got more of a RB mindset where you can afford to make a mistake or two. And I actually think Araujo would be a good RB or an outside CB in a three back system. If Kamal messes up, then it will be Surman time.
As for the goal keeping, I prefer Pantemis. I hate to bag on Crepeau, because he is a great guy. I just think that throughout the season Pantemis showed much better all around, and especially on set piece defense. It occurred to me that we solved the set piece dilemma during Pantemis' run. Correct me if I am wrong there, but I just don't remember getting scored on in those type of situations. I'll check that out at some point. It will be interesting to see what Phil does there. Yes, defense is a team endeavor, but you have to take a look at every position when evaluating the defense, and in my opinion, the goal keeper is the most important position on the defense.
Mora was outstanding and I wholeheartedly agree with MOTM.
It's crazy we didn't have more goals.
I guess I just need to get ready for some wild, high scoring games.
I believe your thoughts on the Pantemis things is exactly right. We were better defensively with him in goal. We can talk all we want about how Crepau's distribution is better, but great distribution when you're allowing four goals is not a positive.
Crepau is likely a very good keeper, he's simply not a good keeper for the Timbers.
Is it possible for the Timbers to appeal the two cards considering how extreme they were? Also, those answers to the pool reporter's questions were about as disingenuous as they could be.
Thanks for an excellent analysis of the most insane game I can recall at Providence Park in my 10 years of devoted attendance. "The Paradox" is the perfect headline for the match and the season. As for St. Louis, they've emerged as a rival worthy of despising.
As for the ref responses to post-match questions, the word that springs to mind is arrogance. That's a predictable outgrowth of an organization that lacks accountability and doesn't care a whit about fans and helping them understand baffling calls. Not that Don Garber seems to care about the glaring lack of quality refereeing.
The on-field ref was absolutely infuriating. I generally give refs more leeway than most analysts and commenters to counteract my own home-team bias and because I realize it's an impossible job to do perfectly. But this guy was repeatedly, objectively wrong in game-changing situations, and his obfuscating, defensive, and disingenuous replies to the pool reporter's questions only reinforced the opinion I took away at the end of the match. He should not be allowed to referee another MLS match until he changes his attitude and demonstrates a sincere desire to call each match fairly.
I'd like to know what happened to the rule announced at the beginning of the season regarding players who go down and stay down during the match having to exit the field for a couple of minutes? I've seen it enforced in multiple matches before seeing it ignored completely last night.
Last night was an interesting night of football for us. Got to watch LCFC lose in Hartford, and then the Timbers create that ridiculous draw. On most nights I would believe that the referee's performance in the a Timbers game was the worst ever, but that was before I put up with this in the LCFC game:
https://youtu.be/ShzcE_Z0oks?si=0GR_yWjZoK18If5C
Having a player tossed after the ref told him to fuck off beats having a player tossed for accidentally stepping on a player's head!
That said the Timbers refs were abysmal.
Interesting rankings I think I mostly agree, though likely would have given Bravo higher marks. And Moreno lower.
Also, can we please be done with the silliness of starting Crepau ahead of Pantemis.
To quote you, "He’s doing the best that he can with all of the structural problems in the defense." Yet those same structural issues existed when Pantemis was in the nets and he managed to get several shutouts.
Yes! I'd like to hear the arguments for Crepeau.
Agree about Bravo and Pantemis has earned the starter's job.
Refs: Worst job EVER from a PRO crew; every bit as bad as the early-season replacement 'crew' who had clearly never met before taking the field.
Player ratings: Aruajo just plain 100% at fault for the PK AND the break that led to it; he closed on Zup's guy, didn't move over when Zup called him off, and that made him too late to even try a tackle. That was a no-brainer PK.
Zup: He was decent, but no way does a CB deserve 7.5 when your team gives up 2 goals on corners.
I usually don't like to think about the reffing too much, because it can cover for mistakes, but there is no question that the reffing in this game left a lot to be desired. You covered it all really well, and there is not much to add.
Your point about being happy with comebacks at this stage is spot on, too. As much as that game was entertaining from a neutral perspective, I suppose, I did not particularly enjoy it because I wanted to see us crush St. Louis.
The result aside, obviously our attack is amazing and Evander is something else. Too bad the fans didn't start chanting MVP after that free kick. The defense is what it is. I think we'll see Kamal back with Zup and that's probably the best pairing. I had voted for Araujo and Zup, but Araujo makes too many mistakes. I think he's really good offensively but he needs to be more mistake free to be a good CB. I think he's got more of a RB mindset where you can afford to make a mistake or two. And I actually think Araujo would be a good RB or an outside CB in a three back system. If Kamal messes up, then it will be Surman time.
As for the goal keeping, I prefer Pantemis. I hate to bag on Crepeau, because he is a great guy. I just think that throughout the season Pantemis showed much better all around, and especially on set piece defense. It occurred to me that we solved the set piece dilemma during Pantemis' run. Correct me if I am wrong there, but I just don't remember getting scored on in those type of situations. I'll check that out at some point. It will be interesting to see what Phil does there. Yes, defense is a team endeavor, but you have to take a look at every position when evaluating the defense, and in my opinion, the goal keeper is the most important position on the defense.
Mora was outstanding and I wholeheartedly agree with MOTM.
It's crazy we didn't have more goals.
I guess I just need to get ready for some wild, high scoring games.
I believe your thoughts on the Pantemis things is exactly right. We were better defensively with him in goal. We can talk all we want about how Crepau's distribution is better, but great distribution when you're allowing four goals is not a positive.
Crepau is likely a very good keeper, he's simply not a good keeper for the Timbers.
Is it possible for the Timbers to appeal the two cards considering how extreme they were? Also, those answers to the pool reporter's questions were about as disingenuous as they could be.
Thanks for an excellent analysis of the most insane game I can recall at Providence Park in my 10 years of devoted attendance. "The Paradox" is the perfect headline for the match and the season. As for St. Louis, they've emerged as a rival worthy of despising.
As for the ref responses to post-match questions, the word that springs to mind is arrogance. That's a predictable outgrowth of an organization that lacks accountability and doesn't care a whit about fans and helping them understand baffling calls. Not that Don Garber seems to care about the glaring lack of quality refereeing.