Getting beat is one thing, and it’s something Real Salt Lake fans have grown accustomed to over the years, but to get beaten by players you let go just two games into a new season is downright painful.
When Alecko Eskandarian and Atiba Harris scored goals for Real Salt Lake you just knew RSL fans were snickering in their Utah homes at players who couldn’t score for them could score against them.
SBI Correspondent Scott McAllister is among the cynical Real Salt Lake fans who isn’t sure things will change for the club in 2008. Here is his take on the club’s recent loss to Chivas USA (Share your thoughts on Scott’s piece in the comments section below):
Unfortunately for RSL fans, it’s more of the same
By Scott McAllister
There is no mistaking it. In the standings, and on the score sheet, Real Salt Lake looks to be continuing it’s grand tradition of mediocrity that has labeled this team since it’s inception in 2005.
As the years pass and the results fall where they may, two camps have emerged among the RSL supporters. There are the extraordinarily optimistic, and those that will call for mass changes – such as the sacking of the coach – once things don’t go precisely as planned.
In years past I have been parked firmly in the optimistic camp, and although I feel that my position hasn’t changed it has become increasingly more cynical.
Although this season contains a striking resemblance to that of 2007, especially the whole drawing the home opener on a last second goal sort of thing, anyone who has seen this year’s Salt Lake play can attest that there is something different about this team this time around.
The 2007 side was like a kid on a bicycle. He couldn’t believe he was starting off so well. It seemed too good to true until Carlos Ruiz and FC Dallas put the stick in his spokes during injury time of that first game, sending RSL down hard never to quite recover.
This year, Real Salt Lake could be compared to a quality cyclist who has hit a couple rough patches on the course, but who has kept his focus on the finish line and rushed to get back into the race. And there is still a lot of race left.
Gauging the outcome of the entire season on how the boys in Red and Blue perform against Chivas at the Home Depot Center would be short sided. Salt Lake has never beaten the Goats at the HDC, in fact Kenny Deuchar’s header in the 57th minute on Saturday was the first time they’ve even scored at the Goat Pen since October of 2006.
Looking ahead to this Saturday, a midweek bout with Mexican club Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup could tire DC United for their trip to Salt Lake this weekend. It will be a great test to see if Real Salt Lake can get back in the saddle and make some progress in the tables; although the cynic in me says that a good night would be if RSL could finish a few chances and do anything but lose. Here’s to hoping the cynic in me is wrong.
Good article, Scott. Thanks for taking on the correspondent role. Like you, I’m trying to remain optimistic about RSL’s season, but I do have a bit of an unsettled feeling in my stomach after the first two games. Someone needs to step up and finish chances consistently (Deuchar?); the midfield needs to maintain possession for large chunks of time and not allow easy giveaways; and the defense needs to minimize mistakes (although I feel better about RSL’s defense than their strikers and midfield at this point).
Good article, Scott. Thanks for taking on the correspondent role. Like you, I’m trying to remain optimistic about RSL’s season, but I do have a bit of an unsettled feeling in my stomach after the first two games. Someone needs to step up and finish chances consistently (Deuchar?); the midfield needs to maintain possession for large chunks of time and not allow easy giveaways; and the defense needs to minimize mistakes (although I feel better about RSL’s defense than their strikers and midfield at this point).
Listen, Jeuchar is going to get his legs underneath him and his positioning hopefully will get better. The RSL coaching has got to put him on the field where a “target forward” is supposed to play, i.e. as close to the goal as possible. He played far too much as a withdrawn forward coming back for the ball instead of parking his big tall “finishing” frame in the box.
Findley is much more effective coming on late in the game to add pace. Espindola should take his place and should be instructed to make diagonal runs to the sidelines to stretch the defense or receive a pass which he can then serve into our “target forward”.
Williams should start in midfield along with Beckerman and I would put Sturgis in for Talley and put Morales in there.
Backline of Mantilla and Bourchers with Joy and Wingert (not sold on Joy and Wingert but don’t see an alternative).
Game plan: They need to run at DCU hard at the beginning. Get the ball out to the wing quicker and good services into the box for Jeuchar. DCU with the turf, altitude and travel will be hard pressed to cover. Heck, Toronto a man down pressed them for the second part of the first half of last week’s game.
This is a real test for RSL and they can definitely win this game if they play a decent game and FINISH their chances.
This was a good write up, would have liked to see a bit more performance analysis and a few less terrible bicycle-related analogies that required way too much explanation to make sense..
But still a good start for the season.
missed in post was the fact that RSL outplayed the goats from start to finish, to the point that even the announcers couldn’t deny that RSL was the better side on Saturday, but in football the better team doesn’t always win. A roster that has 20 new faces on it from last years start, will take a while to gel, but if you have watched either match this season, you can see the talent, you can see a team playing attacking football for 90 minutes. Against Chicago a great player made a great play, at a very opportune time, such is the beautiful game. Chivas knows how to finish and mistakes by one of the “old guard” of RSL Talley in the midfield were the only glaring weakness shown on Saturday.
Hopefully the “offical” fan will spend a bit more time on the match and not waxing over history lessons.
I know you must feel beaten down by the past couple of years, but I think your article was too negative. I’ve watched both RSL matches this year and have been struck by how well the team is playing. Sure, there’s been the occasional (costly) breakdown, but for long stretches in both matches, they were the better team – well organized, decently creative. Now it’s a matter of putting together a complete game.
I think RSL is a significantly improved team, and, as a previous poster said, will surprise a lot of folks this year.
Yeah lets see RSL has 4 new starters. So give them time to gel.
I think RSL will surprise people this year. They have good chemistry and a talented midfield. Beckerman seems to have hit his stride. Their weaknesses seem to be defensive breakdowns late in the match and failure to find the last touch. Those are things that can be resolved with good coaching. I wouldn’t write off RSL just yet.
RSL is not going to be an easy win for anybody this season.
They need to develop mental toughness. Kreiss is the guy to do it.
Best of luck.
Right out of the box, with virtually an entire team that has never played with each other, RSL will have had to play arguably 3 of 5 toughest teams in the league. Who else had that schedule to start off. IF (and that’s a big if, I think predicated on their ability to finish their scoring possibilities) they can beat DCU, a 4 points after those three teams would be pretty good. I continue to insist that if the team is patient and stays the course (and finds a finisher) that they will surprise a lot of people this year.
By the way, I should also add that LA would be no better off had they not pulverized the expansion team at home.
Hey, I believe in this team. Frankly they’ve just been a bit unlucky in their first two games and have a lot of potential for upside with their current roster.
The first game was a win minus one highlight reel goal by Blanco. That goal by that player could have taken down any team in this league, it would be silly to think otherwise. That’s just unlucky.
The second game wasn’t decided until the 93rd minute and was against Chivas at their home, where they lost perhaps one match all of last season. Fact: Its tough to play Chivas in LA.
On the flip side, RSL have started off this year no worse than Houston and no one can yet gauge the strength of the opponents in their first two games. Give them time to get a few games under their belts before we put the over/under on Kreis.
I thought RSL showed promise. It’s only game two.
if the worlds only RSL supporter is writing this, who the heck is going to read it?
I think there is the talent there in Salt Lake. But I am not sure it is being utilized right. Do you know what happened to Sturgis. I thought he played very well for the U-23s and he hasn’t seen the ptich yet? Even if Ian Joy is the left back, couldn’t he push for left mid it’d make a dangerous left side? Salt Lake has been a team that isn’t consistent. They will have streaks, but they need to find it and keep it. The big question is will they put in the chances. If they do I see the game against DC being a very good one. DC hasn’t impressed me this season. Especially Gallardo isn’t worth what they are paying him and I don’t think they have the speed necessary to reak havoc on Salt Lake. The optomist in me says a draw or a 2-1 win.