tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198732413882406269.post2173916042875500351..comments2023-10-14T19:01:03.490-04:00Comments on The Fullback Files: Reality Check on Memory Lane | a DC United Match ReactionAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14548145598767127627noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198732413882406269.post-12989409250045754422011-04-22T11:47:09.690-04:002011-04-22T11:47:09.690-04:00@Sean
Return of the libero? This, combined with my...<b>@Sean</b><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/sep/22/football-tactics-trends" rel="nofollow">Return of the libero</a>? This, combined with my unrepentant love of the Ajax/Dutch 4-3-3/3-4-3 hybrid, is what sets my heart all atwitter when Jakovic steps out from the back line with the ball. Of course, half the time he tries too much and coughs the ball up in bad spots. But still...<br /><br /><b>@Landru</b><br />True about Fred, though he doesn't make the <i>forward</i> runs (to get in scoring positions he'll predictably blow) as often as he did the first time around (part of my complaint about the Metrobulls being able to keep everything comfortably in front of them). <br /><br />I saw a little more of the old style movement in the second half when he was getting wide and behind Miller (before he got pushed into the middle when Quaranta came on), and it stretched the Bulls (both vertically and horizontally) more than in their relatively comfortable first half, opening those gaps that allowed Boskovic to unleash his series of tries.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198732413882406269.post-66548127471444303902011-04-22T09:53:59.372-04:002011-04-22T09:53:59.372-04:00It was the far corner of the field from me--I was ...It was the far corner of the field from me--I was so incensed that I never actually looked at who Rodgers swung at, so I stand corrected (and will update and credit over at home). Thanks.<br /><br />You're right, it's not just Dax standing around. I singled him out because he's standing at the center of my mental picture of things that suck. The one guy I don't think is standing around is (kill me) Fred.<br /><br />You're all right that Branko's not a pure 10. My point is that he's a better 10 than the guys we're using as one.<br /><br />My troubles with the Google have been through the latest Firefox--I have unrelated trouble at work, where the browsers aren't kept updated and there are bizarro filters.Landruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11954074164878242561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198732413882406269.post-60261315181096628162011-04-22T09:13:46.472-04:002011-04-22T09:13:46.472-04:00I'd agree that Branko's not a #10; he coul...I'd agree that Branko's not a #10; he could be a deep-lying playmaker, though, in the Pirlo mode, with Simms as his destroyer partner (the Gattuso role).<br /><br />Playmakers keep moving away from the goal to find space. How long until we're talking about whether a sweeper can pull the strings?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13636252400013702060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198732413882406269.post-11360357699598988042011-04-22T08:29:56.632-04:002011-04-22T08:29:56.632-04:00It was Jakovic that Rodgers took a full swing at. ...It was Jakovic that Rodgers took a full swing at. It's heavily underlined in my notes with an added scrawl (cleared of obscenity here) regarding the inconsistency of issuing a warning, then failing to follow through with punishment (any parent knows the consequences of that ;-). Rodgers didn't connect, which probably kept him in the game, but with that ref who knows? I agree that he didn't much affect the result, but I found the disparity between this ref's calls and what's been going on in the rest of the league vis-a-vis the rough stuff pretty remarkable (so I remarked on it).<br /><br />Good point as well on not moving to the ball. It wasn't just Dax. Way too many guys were waiting around, not just for the ball to arrive, but to make runs into forward space as well. Instead, they just hung out in existing pockets, where the Bulls were more than content to let them have the ball, as long as it was in front of them and easily defended. Shades of late Soehn-era stagnation there.<br /><br />As for Boskovic, I'm in the "not a #10" camp. He doesn't demand the ball enough to be a true puppet-master. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. True #10's are a dying breed. Boskovic is more of a complementary player than an orchestrator. I still worry that his languid approach isn't suited to the hurly-burly of MLS. That said, he certainly was more effective than McCarty and really should have had a goal.<br /><br />(Out of curiosity. Are you using Internet Explorer?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198732413882406269.post-64039867915938594882011-04-21T23:30:10.236-04:002011-04-21T23:30:10.236-04:00The slow buildups and ensuing backpasses are reall...The slow buildups and ensuing backpasses are really exhausting. I had hoped we were rid of that after the departure of the departed, and until tonight, the incidence of enthusiastic backpassing had been dramatically reduced under The General's regime. <br /><br />I would also add to the molasses problem the idea that 11-year-olds know enough not to stand there and hope that the ball arrives at their location, unlike, say, Dax McCarty. About whom I have nothing more to say here--we said it offline, and I'm not going to badger you. I am very confident that you'll get there. Excruciatingly confident.<br /><br />On a related not-exactly-Dax note, I had a spirited bicker with bDr during the game regarding Branko's ability as a 10. My point is that we haven't seen him play there for more than 20 minutes at a time--we won't know until he actually gets the job and goes with it for a time. While my point is valid, it wasn't exactly championed by the amount of time that Branko spent playing in back of Clyde Simms.<br /><br />I would be happy, at this point, to turn over organizing the defense to you. Someone's got to, and my personal record in that area is somewhat astonishingly horrible. <br /><br />While the referee's incompetence had nothing--maybe even less--to do with the result, his failure to book Luke Rodgers, let alone send him off, for punching Korb(?--I think it was Korb) was appalling. He obviously saw it--he ran down the field to chastise Rodgers, and it was Rodgers' second warning. <br /><br />I'll be less polite at my place.<br /><br />(Note: There's something strange about my browser's interaction with your comments--same thing happened again, but I was prepared and had copied my text before committing--hah! Weird.)Landruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11954074164878242561noreply@blogger.com