Earlier this month, New England suffered a serious thrashing at the hands of Columbus. Reaching the tenth of eleven games in a punishing 38-day stretch, an absolutely gassed Revolution stood little chance against the league’s top team. The Crew out-shot the Revs 27-4, forcing goalkeeper Matt Reis into making nine saves. (Almost makes a 4-0 scoreline look tolerable, considering…) MVP candidate Guillermo Barros Schelotto did the most damage, registering a goal and two assists. But looking back, it’s easy to see how Columbus picked apart an ailing opponent.

The Revolution played a 4-4-2 on September 9th. Coach Steve Nicol would reason that a flat back four would provide a more solid defense, but most Revs fans would beg to differ. With four in the back, Michael Parkhurst and Jay Heaps both played as central defenders –  a role Parkhurst is not used to sharing. This less familiar partnership causes inevitable errors in communication. Not only that, but Chris Tierney started at left back. Personally, I like the rookie and think he shows a lot of potential… but as a midfielder. His inexperience leaves him vulnerable as a defender, and he is prone to getting beat when it comes down to a footrace. And as far as the offense was concerned, Khano Smith was paired with Taylor Twellman up top. As frustrating as Smith can be, he can be a real threat on the left flank. But he needs the time and space to make his crazy, winding runs. And lastly, New England was without Steve Ralston. The Revs’ captain demonstrated his influence just five days later, registering a goal and two assists in the game against Chivas USA and earning MLS Player of the Week honors.

That said, this is easily the most significant of the Revolution’s five remaining games, and there is no doubt that they will come out of the gates flying. A potential playoff game-like atmosphere could present a true home field advantage, and paired with the revenge factor, may add real fuel for the fire. But the biggest key? If he plays, smother Guillermo Barros Schelotto. GBS sat out Columbus’s last game with a hamstring strain, and is still listed as questionable for Saturday. Gillette Stadium’s turf may be taken into consideration, as could the risk of further injury so late in the season. The Crew have already clinched a spot in the playoffs, but the Supporter’s Shield may still be at stake. Perhaps the Revs can expect to see a GBS appearance in the second half, need be.

Expect a good game Saturday night. New England is 1-1-0 against Columbus this season, the first game proving that they can defeat the Crew (away, at that) when closer to full strength. And in the last game, two goals came from Columbus forwards riding the offside line or just plain catching the worn out Revs without enough numbers behind the ball. This time around, the Revolution is rested and should better eliminate those scenarios. And with two legitimate forwards and Steve Ralston back in action… My prediction? 2-1 New England. Let the race for the Supporters’ Shield begin.

The two teams last met in April, and New England suffered a frustrating 1-0 loss at home. Despite out-shooting the Rapids 17-4, the Revs allowed a goal on a set piece (a common occurrence during this portion of the season) and blew several quality scoring opportunities. But that said, it was three days after an away game at Kansas City and the Revs were without three key veterans in Chris Albright, Steve Ralston, and Taylor Twellman. Not to mention the chaos that ensued when then newly signed Argenis Fernandez was subbed in, pushing Khano Smith out to the right…

But this meeting is as good a time as any to reverse the Colorado curse. New England does not typically fare well in Commerce City. With a dismal all-time record of 3-11-1, the Revs tend to cite the travel and mile-high altitude as the cause. Well, what better way to battle that than with nine days of rest?

With Gabriel Badilla back in the fold, New England will likely deploy a 4-4-2. Steve Ralston may start up top as the recuperating forwards continue to work toward match fitness, but ideally (though not necessarily likely) a second half substitution could see a move to a 3-5-2 with Ralston sliding back into the midfield and Kenny Mansally or Kheli Dube coming in at forward. Either way, the Revs need to put the ball in the back of the net early on, before the thin air fatigue sets in.

Today United announced that Carrick had broken a bone in his foot.  The injury was discovered after Carrick was unable to train again today in preparation for tomorrow’s Champions League match against Villareal.  X-rays identified the problem, which will take four to six weeks to heal.

The loss of Carrick, who played in each of Manchester United’s Champions League matches last season, makes Paul Scholes and Anderson the choice central midfielders for Ferguson, though the recovery Owen Hargreaves and team leading scorer Darren Fletcher are each likely to factor into Ferguson’s decisions.

Robb Heineman is one of the five principal partners who make up OnGoal, the ownership group of the Kansas City Wizards.  Heineman is the CEO of Ongoal and the chief spokesperson for the organization.  Today Heineman posted the following statement on the Wizards official blog, Hillcrest Road:

So one of the hardest aspects of all this is determining what’s “politically correct” to say about your team when they’re in a slump. Obviously, it’s not like we’re oblivious to the fact that we haven’t been very good lately. I’ve tried to do my best to read the blogs, boards, etc. and try to get a sense for what people are thinking…..and largely it’s pretty tough to disagree with the sentiment.

I guess at this point the only plea I can try to offer is the fact that we WANT to win badly. Right now that’s not translating all that well….obviously. What may seem to be a haphazard approach is anything but. Our mentality is win now, win later….at the present time “win now” isn’t going as planned.

What I want to make sure we don’t do is BS our fans. We need to make sure our narrative is matching what you’re seeing on the field. Our mantra of attack, attack, attack isn’t what we’ve delivered and we’re aware of it. Our veterans are incredibly committed to this team and this town and we’re spending the time and effort to fix this.

You don’t have any reason to, but I’m going to try to ask you to believe in the program….sleep hasn’t been much of an option lately, and i’ve shot my mouth off that this town is dying for a winner. it is…..we’re going to get this program positioned to deliver a first class product…..please feel free to put me in the crosshairs up until the point u feel necessary to pull the trigger….

Most fans will appreciate Heineman’s honesty and transparency.  How many owners blog? How many owners even know what a blog is?  Heineman hired Peter Vermes and Curt Onalfo to build and guide a team to wins, playoffs, and eventually championships.  This tandem is in their first full season to carry out Heineman’s mission and the Wizards have regressed.  There have been flashes of the attacking vision they have touted, but since the first half of the Chivas game in early August the Wizards play has been horrible.  The Kansas City midfield, particularly in the center positions, is utterly punchless managing no consistent final third penetration.  The midfield has provided extremely poor service to the army of players who have taken a turn at forward this year.  The latest moves to acquire forwards Josh Wolff, Abe Thompson and Herculez Gomez will not translate to goals or wins if the KC midfield continues its dismal play.  Carlos Marinelli has been a bust,  judging by his play, Kerry Zavagnin seems to have retired well before his announced official retirement at season’s end, Sasha Victorine can’t stay healthy (and can’t really play center mid anyways),  and Kurt Morsink is hardly the answer either.  Vermes and Onalfo are responsible for the success or failure of this season since they are the soccer minds tapped to construct and guide the team.  Still, Robb Heineman in very commendable fashion takes the blame squarely on his shoulders. 

It is unlikely the Wizards will make the playoffs this year, but it is equally unlikely that Robb Heineman will let the status quo linger for much longer.  

FC Dallas, a team who has put out such great players as Jason Kreis, are having the hardest time this season. Early on in the season they let go of their coach, Steve Murrow. As of now, they are currently sitting tied for last place with David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy with 26 points and a 6-9-8 record. DC United is having a slightly better time with 32 points and sitting tied for 4th in the East with a 10-11-2 record. Though the stats show a difference, I think that this game is definitely going to be played close to the end with the game ending probably with an 0-0 or 1-0 score. DC is going to be looking for a win in this match due to their sad lost last week in San Jose.

The match up is Saturday, September 12 at 7:30pm on Fox Soccer Channel.

From there it went down hill. DC United made the trip out to San Jose to take on the Earthquakes. The list of missing players was massive. The team played without Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio, Fred, Bryan Namoff, Ben Olsen, and Gonzalo Peralta. They went out with a 4-5-1 formation which to most saw DC going into this one hoping for a draw. Francis Doe, who was still a walking wounded, started off as the lone striker for this match. DC’s worries started in the 18th minute because of an Arturo Alvarez goal due to a nice pass from Darren Huckerby. In the 39th minute, it became evident that Doe was still too injured to play and subbed off for Craig Thompson. The 62nd minute brought on more bad news for DC United. Huckerby attacked again and scored the 2nd San Jose goal. Santino Quaranta brought United back a little with a goal in the 72nd minute. It wasn’t enough, though, as San Jose walked away with three points after this hard fought battle by a very young United squad.

The Revs have played 32 games this season and it has become pretty obvious. All four of the team’s forwards are on the current injury report, as is team captain Steve Ralston. The rest of the team, well, they’re just running on empty. Can anyone who has watched the past few games honestly say that six extra fixtures all over the western hemisphere sounds feasible? The Revs still have eight more MLS games and (hopefully) a good run in the post-season ahead.

Yes, I understand that CONCACAF Champions League was an opportunity for the Revolution and Major League Soccer in general to showcase their progress on an international stage. I also get that they blew the U.S. Open Cup semi-final by fielding a team almost entirely composed of reserves. But the Revs got the opportunity to participate in these tournaments by being a top team in MLS. They won SuperLiga, a competition against renowned Mexican sides. That’s certainly something. Now it’s time to focus on the final stretch- a time during which one win can land you at the top of the conference, and one loss gives multiple teams the opportunity to leapfrog you in the standings.

Rather than accusing all but two players of having no desire, and questioning the athletic abilities of rookies, New England fans should be acknowledging the club’s focus on attaining that elusive prize: the MLS Cup. One game a week should allow the Revs ample time to get back on track and healthy for the play-offs. Until all is righted (or rested) as far as tired legs go, relax fellow ardent Revolution supporters. As Shalrie Joseph assured us as he descended the stairs to the locker room Tuesday night, “It’s going to be all right, everybody.”

We had it!  I mean I really thought this was the one.  We had saved ourselves, like Cher in Clueless. We were able to convince ourselves, despite the fact the Revs wanted to watch Spartacus, that this was the one we were waiting for… and then we found out the Rev’s were gay.  And it broke my heart.  Why did you have to be gay Revs?

With a 2-1 lead against the best team in the league, all we had to do was hold off the weariest legs in MLS.  10 games and 2 months win-less seemed to be in our rear view mirror.  Then, like death and taxes, the Galaxy let us down.  Yet I am able to find a small piece of solace, because in order to be let down I realize I must have been able to believe in the team.  That alone is a statement that Bruce Arena may be making a difference.  Because for the first time in a long time I started to believe in this team.

Now it’s time to play a game that we as Galaxy fans have become good at, The Blame Game.  I believe that I have established a fairly good record of not calling out players in my articles here at ASR (Not including LMNF*).  Yet the time has come to attach the Scarlett Letter upon one of our players.

That player is Steve Cronin.  You sir denied us three points Saturday.  This is a man’s league and Taylor Twellman understands that ethos.  Hey Steve, see that box 18 yards out lined in white chalk?  That is your temple.  You cannot allow some dude in a jersey sized for a 12 year old and the head the size of a Jack-O-Lantern to enter your fortress of solitude and desecrate it.  A player 5 inches your lesser and with worse starting position cannot be allowed to win that ball.  And like all players who do not go into tackles strong, you have injured yourself.  Please allow your broken finger to serve as a reminder that you must punish all sinners who would attempt to soil the sanctity of your soccer synagogue.  Yes… I love alliteration.

Let Us Pray:

“Dear Lord, please allow us your most hated sons, the fans of the LA Galaxy, to find the strength to believe.  And guide our team through the potholes of this terribly managed international calendar.  Please grant Don Garber the wisdom to see that no league that wants the world’s respect can be taken seriously as long as we play games on international fixture dates.  Please Lord, keep Cobi’s dreads supple and well conditioned. And lastly All Mighty, please upgrade LMNF’s* level of grace to at least that of one of those three legged dogs I see on the streets.  In your name we pray…”

One-Liners:

-In other “Football” fantasy news I’m trying to trade Braylon Edwards and Matt Forte for Thomas Jones and Brandon Marshall.  Think the guy will accept it?

-First person to comment below on what movie is being quoted in my title this week, wins…   my repect.  (Yes I know the quote is not exact.)

-Josh Wicks has a chance to become our soccer savior.  I truly he hopes he comes in cocky and tries to make the #1 goal keeper spot his own.

-Saturday night I was wishing Matt Reis was still a Galaxy player.  Then I watched him Tuesday night.

-How does Landon’s first goal Saturday night not end up even in contention for Goal of the Week.  That is criminal.  That was as clinical of an off-foot finish as you will see against a keeper that was being touted as an MVP candidate by the commentators.

-Luis Bueno has a wonderful article this week on the above mentioned MLS conflicts with the FIFA calendar.

My “Homer” Line-Up:

Pick 11 names out of a hat, you will probably beat me.

* Alan Gordon will now always be refered to as LMNF “Look Ma’ No Feet!”

Currently the game is tied 1-1! Let’s see how this one turns out!