donovan ricketts

Player Ratings: Portland Timbers vs. FC Dallas, Vol. 2

Posted on: June 17th, 2013 by Magadh 6 Comments

 

nice GOAL Darlington Nagbe Portland Timbers vs FC Dallas

There is a rumor going around that we are going to top this week’s MLS power rankings. Obviously that’s not the kind of thing in which sensible people put a great deal of stock, but it is at the very least a sign that we are steadily building up cred around the league. Before we get to the adulation, of which there will be plenty, let’s just get the caveat out of the way. Although the Dallas side which we beat on Saturday afternoon is very good and sitting atop the division, it must be said that we caught them at a good time. With Blas Pérez away on international duty and Kenny Cooper having to fly home to deal with a family emergency, they were left with only one real striker in the person of Eric Hassli. And when he did his back during warm ups they were left with none. Of all those absences the one that really hurt them was Perez. Both Cooper and Hassli are the kind of bigger, less mobile guys with whom our central defenders tend to cope pretty well. Pérez, smaller and quicker, functions well with their other pacey, technical players like Ferreira, Castillo, Michel, and Watson. Without him as the point man, and lacking a serious option toward whom to lump the ball up the pitch, Dallas was always going to struggle to get anything going forward.

 

Still they are not on top of the league for nothing and even without the aforementioned forwards they are still a very good team. We’ve given them all they could handle and then some in both of our meetings so far this season. But for a bit of gamesmanship on the part of Pérez (and some corresponding naivety from AJB) we would have taken three points out of them down in Cisco. On a sunny Saturday afternoon in the Rose City we get what we deserved. Now down to the grades.

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Timbers burn FC Dallas for three…

Posted on: June 16th, 2013 by sunshine 11 Comments

 

Yesterday the Timbers took on FC Dallas and showed their class in a crucial win against the Western Conference leaders. In what appeared to be a very open match, the Timbers controlled the pace and direction of play, when not obstructed by the efforts in an exercise in the ridiculous by the official, Armando Villareal. But despite the official’s best attempts to expose himself as a complete and utter tonk, the Timbers did what any good team should do—played their game.

Darlington lifts the Timbers to a win against Dallas.

Darlington lifts the Timbers to a win against Dallas.

And, between the histrionics and flopping, the Burn came to play too. For fans of the game you should have been delighted, and for the new recruits to the sport you were given a treat to watch--the emotional rollercoaster of free-flowing football.

 

Over the course of the game the Timbers controlled 55% of the possession, completing 82% of 395 total passes. Unlike some games, where the tactics are to focus on an opponent’s weakness by overloading the attack to one side or the other, Dallas did not have many weaknesses to exploit. Consequently, the Timbers simply took the game to them. When in possession the Timbers looked to push forward and exploit any openings and imbalances they might find. They spread the ball well, used neat open play crosses to disrupt Dallas’s defending, and developed their shape quickly to keep the ball away from Jackson and Fabian Castillo.

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The Kingston Duo fall to el Tri…

Posted on: June 5th, 2013 by theaxepdx@gmail.com 5 Comments

 

The Reggae Boyz took on El Triple color of non-glorious football last night. Why do I tell you this? I mean, if you have learned anything about this blog by now one of those items you must have learned should be that we do not enjoy the international game. reggae-boyzIf you question why, well, you only had to watch last night's match-up between the Reggae Boyz and El Tri to understand. It was one of the ugliest matches I have ever seen. Ever. It was uglier than a Stoke v Bolton or Bolton v Stoke or any match where a Tony Pulis coached Stoke may have been involved or discussed. Sadly, Reggae Boyz actually tried to play anti-Stoke tactics, but were just not talented enough to pull it off. Similarly, El Tri were more like El triple personality, waiting until the later parts of the match to use their pace on the wings. How I made it through that match...How?
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Que Sera Sera

Posted on: May 31st, 2013 by theaxepdx@gmail.com 3 Comments

 

I really don’t know what I was thinking when I surveyed this week and decided to push the player ratings off until Wednesday. sunshine pointed out to me on Monday afternoon that it sort of didn’t make sense to do them then, since our USOC match against Charleston was Wednesday night. And, of course, I didn’t work on Monday anyway, so that would have been a perfect time to get this together the right way. Then I/we could have talked about that in a timely manner.

Then, of course, my hard drive started making an odd clacking noise, which turned out to be its death rattle. If I may be allowed to digress for a moment I would like to express my annoyance at the people running HP’s customer support. The guy who helped me was quite personable, but the fact of the matter was that he was simply reading off a script (as he is, I suspect, required to do). After two hours of futzing around and trying things that I knew wouldn’t work, we came to the conclusion that my hard drive had packed up. I wish the people running this stuff could be made to understand how soul crushingly depressing it is to spend that kind of time working on a problem with someone who apparently knows less about computers than I do.

Ok, end of deranged rant. Here’s my plan. I’ve reconstructed the player ratings column that I was working on when my computer croaked. I know it’s a bit late, but what the hell. We have a lot of time until our next match. I’ll come out with a ratings column for our thrashing of Wilmington in a couple of days.

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Player Ratings v. The Whitecaps, 2013 Vol. 1

Posted on: May 20th, 2013 by theaxepdx@gmail.com 2 Comments

 

This was a point on the road against a tough opponent. Make no mistake, it was a job well done. We came back twice, the second time while a man down, and looked the more dangerous side for most of this match. The situation was not helped by some sophomoric officiating decisions particularly with regard to the shameless conduct of Camilo, who flung himself to the turf at the slightest provocation. This latter issue was especially annoying because Camilo has the skills to succeed without the theatrics, but chooses to employ them anyway. If you want a good example of why a lot of people don’t take this game seriously, look at Camilo’s performance in minute 25. Bumped by Danso, he leaps into the air and the writhes around on the turf for two minutes. The trainer comes out. Camilo is in agony. Perhaps 999 will need to be called. And then Hosanna! He’s back on his feet and ready to go. It must have been the magic sponge.

Much of the story of this match (aside from the matters griped about above) was the high line that Vancouver played, which made it difficult for us to move the ball forward and get into our system. The result was that all too often we played long ball, which really isn’t our game. Yeah, I know we scored the tying goal that way, but success is built on correct application of the system rather than hoping for moments of individual brilliance (much as it is beautiful when they occur).

1. Donovan Ricketts: He was beaten by a very well taken free kick for the first goal. It looked to me that he was unsighted on the second, and in any case there were at least two other guys much more proximate to the source of the problem who should have closed it down in the first place. Good positioning and distribution in relatively limited action. 6

5. Michael Harrington: One of the most important changes for the Whitecaps in recent matches has been the emergence of Russell Teibert as an attacking presence on the right side. The need to track him absorbed a lot of Harrington’s attention during this match, and while he mostly kept the young Canadian out of the action, the job was done at the expense of a good deal of Harrington’s usual attacking contributions. 6

98. Futty Danso: A pretty uneventful match for Futty. Except for the shout for handball early in the match (which would have been harsh if it had been given), and for getting sent off (which was a ridiculous decision). I’ve watched the relevant passage of play a dozen times now and I am convinced that my assessment of the play when it happened was correct: Camilo initiated the contact and then crumpled up like a gum wrapper. The ref was in no position to make the call and I suspect that he just blew his whistle because he assumed something had happened. I guess we’ll get to find out just what Pah-Modou Kah brings to the table somewhat sooner than we expected. 6

35. Andrew Jean Baptiste: AJB coped as well as anyone with the fact that Vancouver wanted to get right up in our collective grille. He seems to be getting more comfortable with moving the ball forward on his own and passing positively. 6

13. Jack Jewsbury: Stalwart in defense and actually got forward a few times. He did a good job of keeping a lid on Hurtado is faster now than Jewsbury was on the best day of his life (which was several years ago). He used his smarts and his instinct for proper positioning, and got the job done. 6.5

4. Will Johnson: Watch the “foul” that resulted in the free kick on which the first goal was scored. What you will see is Camilo leaping off his feet at the first hint of contact. I give him credit. He played an inexperienced official and got a result. There really wasn’t much that Johnson could do if that sort of thing was going to be given as a free kick. His blast from the right side was blocked by Andy O’Brien’s arm and Johnson duly potted the resulting penalty. On the down side (and this is why his rating isn’t higher) I think he was culpable for the Koffie goal. As Camilo (for once staying on his feet) battled with AJB, both Danso and Johnson dropped to cover a possible cross to the onrushing Reo-Coker. This left Koffie free to receive the ball on his run to the D and take a free shot before either Danso or Johnson could move out to shut it down. If Johnson had held his ground and trusted Danso to prevent the cross (which Harrington probably had covered in any case) he would have been considerably closer to Koffie when the latter took his shot. It was a small error in a play that developed very quickly, but it highlights the fact that we still have a ways to go in terms of defensive organization. 6

8. Diego Valeri: This was an off night for him, or at least so it seemed from my vantage point. He did the things he normally does: driving the ball forward and looking to pick out a pass, but his efforts lacked their usual precision. It didn’t help that, all too often we were out of system; hoofing the ball up the pitch instead of working it forward on the floor. Vancouver's high line disrupted our ability to get the ball to Valeri when and where he wanted it, but his play with the ball was also not quite at his usual level. 5.5

21. Diego Chará: Chará was matched up on Reo-Coker for most of the night and the two battled like gladiators for the full 90, no quarter asked, none given. Chará’s game has changed subtly over the last few weeks. He is ever more involved in the attack and has shown increasing aptitude for driving the ball forward and finding a pass. All the while, Chará looks after his defensive responsibilities and wreaks havoc in the middle of the park. 7

6. Darlington Nagbe: Mobile and effective while he was on the pitch, he looked good until he was injured in the 33rd minute. When he went down it looked like something to do with his leg, but he came off the pitch with the look of a man in some other kind of distress. No news yet on his condition, but it wouldn’t be a very good start to this long stretch on the road if he were not able to go. 5

9. Ryan Johnson: Of late, Johnson has had a tendency to float out to the flanks, especially on the left side. Opposing teams probably love this, because Johnson is a guy whose effectiveness declines precipitously the further he gets from the center of the box. He had some good moments, and probably should have gotten more calls than he did, but his overall performance was not as strong as it might have been. 5

22. Rodney Wallace: He might well have scored from the doorstep in the 14th minute but he whiffed on the shot. For the balance of the match he showed why it is that he has earned a starting spot. He slashed to the middle from both flanks and put himself in dangerous attacking positions. That his efforts were not rewarded (and this might hold for Ryan Johnson as well) has as much to do with the difficulties that Valeri had in making the connections as anything else. 7

11. Kalif Alhassan: He came on, not as he usually does as a change of pace for Wallace, but in relief of the crocked Nagbe. He did reasonably well, but looked a step slow. His tendency to sit on the ball too long persists. On the other hand, he ended up playing what amounted to right back for the last ten minutes of the match and got the job done. 6

10. Frederic Piquionne: In his more accustomed role he was pretty good. He held the ball up well, but for my money he frequently sat on it a bit too long. Even when we play over the top we need to retain the idea of playing quickly and in rhythm when it comes down. Piquionne kept the Caps defenders on our left flank honest, but a bit more alacrity in terms of his play would have improved matters. 5

20. Adolfo Valencia: I’m going to give him Man of the Match. Normally I would give this award to someone who played more of the match than just the last 15 minutes or so, but in this case I think it’s warranted. He has been frozen out of the side pretty much all season. Subbed on for Jewsbury in an attempt to get a point out of this match, he did exactly what was required. The Vancouver faithful were convinced that he brought the ball down with his arms, but the Caps players on the scene weren’t calling for a handball. The goal itself was brilliant. After shrugging off Rusin and getting the ball to his feet, he lost O’Brien with a neat bit of foot skill and then calmly slotted it by Knighton. Without this bit of grace under pressure there is every likelihood that we leave B.C. Place with squat. Well played. 7.5

This was a tough fight, and well worth the point. Let me just say that I loved the fact that we had such excellent travelling support. This is a team unbeaten in ten, and that’s something that we can hold on to going forward.

Magadh

Player Ratings v. The Goats, Volume 1

Posted on: May 14th, 2013 by theaxepdx@gmail.com 10 Comments

 

[This post is really off schedule. I got caught in some stuff and then was in a situation where throwing up a post on the internet would have been wholly inappropriate. Sorry for the delay. I will strive to get it together.]

That was a good win. I just want to get that out of the way, because I want to rain on the parade just slightly. That was a good win against a team that we should beat every night of the week. At this point Chivas is a shambles. They have no system (at least not one that I was able to identify) and they simply haven’t got the talent to have any kind of success in the absence of one. The scene has changed around the JW. No longer are we going into matches with little hope and less expectation. We’ve seen what this team is capable of doing, and at this point the stand is a bit higher.

Yes, that was a good win but, and this is a big but, we were very wayward at times, especially in the last twenty minutes. Even the most one-eyed of Chivas supporters must have known that at 2-0 there was no way back. We clearly knew it, and we got looser with the ball and looser in defense. That’s fine at home to the Goats, but away to the Caps (as we will be next week) it might turn out to be a different story.

Anyway, we did what we had to do and beat who we should beat. There were a lot of fine performances, and they will be the focus of the balance of this post.

1. Donovan Ricketts: I’ve said a lot of things in a critical vein about Ricketts, mostly stemming from the manner of his arrival at the club. All that is behind him (and us) now. He has shown himself to be a first rate shot stopper. He keeps his defense organized well and his timely distribution set up our first goal. Ricketts catches a lot balls right at him, which is an indication of how sound his positioning is. He’s probably not going to get Save of the Week, but he looked pretty good. 7

5. Michael Harrington: Apparently CP and I were on the same page, because Harrington was back on the left, on which he clearly feels more comfortable. He was back to his energetic and effective self, in which he was abetted by the fact that Chivas didn’t really apply a great deal of (read: any) pressure down their right hand channel. 6

35. Andrew Jean Baptiste: A better run out for him. He’s not the fastest guy on the park, but that is not the worst flaw in a center half. He’s doing a better job in terms of positioning and communicating better both with his fellow back line players and with Ricketts. It seemed to me that it helped to have Jewsbury over on that side, as he stays at home more of the time and gives AJB more effective cues in terms of positioning. 5.5

98. Futty Danso: Our 98 threw down an imperious performance, dominating the middle and getting forward effectively. He should really have put at least one of his two efforts on frame, but he did a fine job of making his presence felt in the opposing box. 7

13. Jack Jewsbury: He too seemed to benefit from being back on his more favored side. Jewsbury has effectively repurposed himself and now inspires confidence where he used to inspire angst. Not only is he playing his own position well, but his positional sense and assurance have a salutary effect on AJB as well. 6.5

4. Will Johnson: Our captain has no bigger fan than myself, but he had some moments in this match that didn’t look all that impressive. On the other hand, he had long stretches where he showed exactly what he brings to this team: intelligence, energy, and aggression. And then there was the goal. It was really icing on the cake, but it was well taken nonetheless. When he got the ball at the top of the box you could tell that he only had one thing on his mind. The shot was sublime and it created to perfect point of closure for the match. 7

8. Diego Valeri: I announced in the immediate aftermath of the game that Valeri was my pick for Man of the Match. I’ve had a lot of conversations with people about this, but I stand by my choice. There are other possibilities (one of which will be discussed below) but for me it was Valeri that really made things happen for the full 90 minutes. He was excellent on the ball, and his move to get through for his goal was beautiful. Of course, it helped that Purdy played him on. I don’t want to revel in Purdy’s error, since I thought he was a loyal (if not especially effective) servant of the club. So let’s stick with Valeri, shall we? His passing was rhythmic and incisive and it was clear that he was well up for it from the opening whistle. In addition, in case you didn’t notice, he also tracked back on defense and helped us keep this clean sheet. I don’t know what the status of our loan deal with Lanus is, but we absolutely must keep this guy in town as long as possible. 8.5

21. Diego Chará: Chará had an effect on Chivas’s midfield not unlike that of guzzling a fifth of Bacardi 151. He just absolutely destroyed them. He won lots of balls. That’s pretty much a given with him. But, as has been his wont in the last few weeks, he got forward effectively and added his weight to the offensive threat we created. With Chará in the mix in the attacking zone, the Timbers become and extremely difficult side to defend. This element of his game was seldom in evidence last year, as he was too busy trying to plug holes in the dyke. Now, freed from the need to defend every inch of the midfield, he game is expanding in exciting ways. 7

6. Darlington Nagbe: When this team is right and Valeri is purring like a Ferrari, Nagbe thrives. How wonderful it must be for him to finally be in an environment in which the full measure of his skills can be brought to bear. 7

22. Rodney Wallace: There are those of you out there who are going to say that not rewarding RodWal’s performance with the MOTM nod is a travesty. I hear you. In fact, I’ve heard a number of you since the end of the match. I thought Valeri’s overall performance was fabulous. His first goal was a perfect illustration of how things have changed for this man since last season. Under Spencer, and while Boyd was lumping around in the middle of the park, Wallace was relegated to patrolling the sidelines, attempting to get to the byline and provide service into the box. This is just not what he does. He is a slasher who likes to get at the goal. Last year, when this role was filled at all, it was filled by Songo’o. This year it’s Wallace, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s got a pro like Valeri getting him the ball in dangerous areas. His goal was sublime: power, pace, finishing, all rolled into one. The pass that he put through to set up Valeri’s goal was similarly pristine. For those who think he should have been Man of the Match, well, I don’t totally disagree, especially since Wallace has lifted his game so far from where it languished last term. 8

9. Ryan Johnson: He had a decent night, although his work in the neighborhood of the goal was not terribly productive. This match highlighted a fact of RJ’s game: he’s not all that fast (Purdy beat him in a couple of footraces). What he is is clever. He’s an instinctive striker who puts himself in dangerous places and tends to take his chances when he gets them (unlike a certain Scot of not so fond memory). A good night, but he can do better. 6

11. Kalif Alhassan: Came on for Nagbe right after the second goal and did well. His progress has been agonizingly slow, but he seems to be progressing in the system, although he still likes to spend more time on the ball than is probably good for him (or for us). 6

14. Ben Zemanski: Brought on for Jewsbury after 74 minutes, this was a good appearance for him. He’s seemed to have some trouble finding the pace and movement of games into which he’s been subbed, so this was a good environment. It was kind of like putting someone in at the shallow end of the pool, so that they can better acclimate themselves. Zemanski can do good work for us, but his is still a work in progress. 6

10. Frederic Piquionne: They put him in for the last seven minutes. I’m not exactly sure why, other than the fact that Harrington looked like he was running out of gas. The result was another snapshot of Piquionne’s finer qualities. He was good on the ball and helped keep the pressure on. 6

Once again, I think that we can all take some well-deserved pleasure out of the way this match was played and out of the result. But next week will be another matter entirely. We’ll be away to the Caps, and I would urge any of you that have access to the MLS Live internet service to have a look at their match from last week with L.A. They are the kind of team that will punish mistakes, and our next job is going to be playing a match on the road without making any.

Magadh

Player Ratings Away to Dallas

Posted on: May 10th, 2013 by theaxepdx@gmail.com No Comments

 

Eeeek! I got caught up with something at work and didn’t get loose until just now. I warned sunshine that I was going to be a bit late with the post today, but I’m sure he didn’t figure on this. I’ve been inside most of the day, but every time I step outside I scan the skies nervously for any sign of the flight of predator drones that I am sure that sunshine has out looking for me. For the next few days I’ll be dressed like this:stealth-wear

I usually like to take a bit more leisurely pace when I do the player ratings. Of all the things I write for this blog, that is the one that seems to receive the most scrutiny. This is as it should be. The player ratings are the moment at which we get to the finest level of granularity in our analysis of why games turned out the way they did. Football is beautiful in being simultaneously strikingly simply and satisfyingly complex. People have a lot of opinions about particular players, and it’s difficult to pay attention to how all eleven guys are playing as opposed to focusing on just one. In any case, circumstances dictate that I need to do this now.

I feel like it ought to be repeated that a point on the road against the league leaders is not a bad result. There is a general feeling of disappointment starting from the manager on down, because we got a lead and didn’t hold it. I’ll have more to say about the penalty that cost us the full points below, but I will say that, on the basis of multiple viewings, there was not much that the official was left with very little choice. Well, more of that anon.

1. Donovan Ricketts: Man of the Match. If Ricketts hadn’t been on his game we wouldn’t have been anywhere close. After picking up his fifth Save of the Week Award for his save from Saer Sene, and if he doesn’t get it again for his late save of a Kenny Cooper shot it will be a real shame. He’s at the top of his game and seems to be inspiring some much needed confidence among the defenders in front of him. 8

5. Michael Harrington: Not his best game of the season. Part of this was due to the fact that he was chasing David Ferreira over hill and dale until the latter tweaked his hammy early in the second half. But it wasn’t just this. Even when Ferreira was elsewhere on the field Dallas seemed consistently able to do business down their left hand side. His passing was not great and his crosses were ineffective. The shift to the right side did work at the beginning, but it may have outlived its usefulness. 4.5

98. Futty Danso: I happened to be listening to the Dallas broadcast of the match, and if I would have had to listen to them pronounce his surname “Dansoo” even one more time I might have gone off my head. This was an excellent game for Futty against an opponent that had both size and lots of speed. His positioning was good and his tackling first rate. He’s really stepped up his game since Silvestre went down and we’ve needed that to happen. 7

35. Andrew Jean Baptiste: He looked tentative and leggy for much of the match. I guess the thing one really has to talk about is the penalty. What started out as the usual give and take in the box was transformed into something else by a bit of poor judgment from AJB. If he just lets go of Perez a couple of seconds earlier, Perez backs himself into a place where he can’t do any harm and the whole problem goes away. Instead, we end up giving up one of the costlier penalties of recent times. 3

13. Jack Jewsbury: The captain emeritus has been doing his very best to make me eat my words lately. He has adjusted well to playing on both defensive flanks and he once again did a good job of shutting off the service from his side of the pitch. 6

4. Will Johnson: This was a match where the captain did a lot of little things, doing his best to drive the team forward and holding people accountable when they didn’t use their heads. You could easily overlook what he brought to the side on the night, but without his active play and willingness to track consistently in defense it would have been a much more difficult night for us. 6

21. Diego Chará: While Will Johnson soldiered on anonymously, Chará did his best to smash things in the middle of the park. He won lots of ball and turned his winnings into forward movement on numerous occasions. His energetic play forced a Dallas side used to having things mostly their own way on their own ground to advance the ball with a much greater degree of circumspection that is their wont. His courageous tackle on Ferreira late in the first half probably saved a point for us. 7

6. Darlington Nagbe: A beautifully taken goal and some aggressive work down the flanks were the highlights of his match. He seemed out of sorts against the Revs, but looked to be in much better form against Dallas. His hallmarks have become driving the ball forward in attack and looking to combine with Valeri in the box. If he can maintain this effort week in and week out he will really be dangerous. 6.5

8. Diego Valeri: Another day, another dollar. Valeri was typically active, ranging across the attacking zone and causing problems wherever he went. I can assure you that Dallas was unused to having someone attack with the kind of precision and vigor that Valeri brought to this match. 6

11. Kalif Alhassan: Kalif really looks to me to have stalled in terms of his development in the system. He’s quick and he can pass the ball effectively when he is inclined to, but he too often seems to settle for an easy option, or to dribble himself into bad places. He just couldn’t seem to get much done and that was a real let off for Dallas. 4

10. Frederic Piquionne: He had some good moments, but didn’t do the greatest job of getting the ball on frame…with the exception of the one that he put off the post, which was tantalizing. He is a big guy and can work effectively as a target man, but he lacks the mobility of Ryan Johnson and the latter’s chemistry with Diego Valeri. There has been talk around the team of his getting more some starting opportunities and it will be interesting to see if more time will lead to a more natural-feeling integration into the attack. 5.5

22. Rodney Wallace: A reversion to Wallace’s earlier role of coming on late to try to provide a change of pace. He did a good job, pushing the pace and creating chances for others. His assist on Nagbe’s goal was a perfect illustration of his quality. 6.5

14. Ben Zemanski: It took me a minute to notice that he had come in, since almost immediately afterward we conceded the penalty. Zemanski’s role of late has been to come on to try to solidify matters in a close game. He didn’t do a bad job, especially since Dallas really pressed for the win in the wake of their equalizer. He was adequate, but it is hard to evaluate his performance effectively, since it was all hands to the pumps for most of his tenure in the match. 5

9. Ryan Johnson: He was held out, in part I suspect to try to keep him fresh for the match with Chivas on Sunday, but also to give Piquionne a start. He came on late in an attempt to grab the full measure, but although he had a good moment with Zemanski in the waning minutes, he didn’t really have enough time to have an effect. 5

Magadh