Chemistry
By: Dave Martinez | February 23rd, 2009
As the preseason winds down, the Red Bulls find themselves with many more questions than they do answers. And though many of the questions remain in the competitive environment as players jockey for position (good questions), some remain unanswered (bad questions).
History Repeating?
MLS has had a reputation as a league that can afford to take some of their regular season for granted. In years past, it has been routine to watch a Coach come into a new year, with last minute adjustments to the very end of the preseason, and then tinkering for the first quarter of games. With a lessor amount of teams in the past, this strategy actually worked – the amount of games was the same, but the competition was rather redundant, so one can afford to burn a game or two since in the name of the greater good. The playoffs were much easier to qualify for, and the talent itself wasn’t at the height it currently enjoys. As the years have progressed, skill has grown and teams have continued to join in, making this strategy a bit more risky.
This season, most teams seem to have their lineups set in stone this late into the preseason, other than teams who really needed a desperate overhaul (Los Angeles Galaxy). The Red Bulls feel they are only a few experienced pieces away from glory. And with international tournaments to compete in, the depth at all positions has been a premium that they must fulfill. This brings us to where the Bulls are today (and I am not talking about Argentina).
With a little less than a week till the roster compliance deadline, the Bulls not only have question marks in certain positions, but overflows of talent in others! The Central Midfielders seem to be sharing responsibilities with the attacking ones, the left side of the field on all ends is plagued with question marks, and the trialists are still arriving in bunches.
There is little time till the opening of the season, so the question begs: do you feel that chemistry will be an issue and burden the team will have to endure throughout 2009? Does the old “burn a few games in the name of the greater good” strategy still hold water? Or should it be flushed? Maybe you feel the competition till the very end is a good thing (I am in this camp).
Share your thoughts.
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Comments
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Won’t having players who are captains or veterans cause a minor problem. If Pacheco gets signed( National team’s captain), he will be another captain along with Rojas(another captain),along with Angel. Won’t they all think they should be in charge and have difficulties communicating and making unselfish plays. Add to that other veterans who might join.
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United States
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Luis – the veteran leadership should be able to stabilize chemistry enough to take this risk. Im with you.
btw –
http://mls.theoffside.com/major-league-soccer/mls-poll-whos-da-champ.html
VOTE RED BULLS! LAURIE IS STUFFING THE BALLOT!!!!
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United States -
I think chemistry will definitely be an issue. I just watched the Pietravallo video on RBR and the guy can barely communicate in English. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t concern me much, but it looks like we’re about to add enough Spanish-speaking talent that we could end up with two language camps in the locker room. That could be a problem, it was disastrous for DC last season.
Dave, a big point I should mention, this year we will be playing 2/3RDS of our league games before the all-star break, half way through the season. Twenty out of 30 regular season games will be stuffed into the first half of the season. With that kind of grind and so many of our points to be won early, I don’t believe the team can afford to come into the season still looking to get settled and build chemistry. We basically need to be into the playoffs or solid playoff contention by the all-star break.
Combined with the extra team this year, the general improvement with more quality players coming in than leaving, and the fact that our defense hasn’t been adjusted much leads me to be pretty concerned.
We need to get all of our trialists in and evaluated before the roster deadline, and we need to make sure the guys we’re taking are able to get up to adequate fitness in time. I say that because I’ve noticed that in some Central and South American leagues, players can get by with so-so fitness as long as everyone is in the same boat. In some of the Libertadores matches I’ve watched, guys look like they’re huffing and puffing by the end of the game, barely making it. That doesn’t fly in MLS, where fitness is a high priority for all teams. So guys we’re going to be in will need time to get ready. On top of which, they’ll need time to build chemistry.
I don’t know man, I’m concerned that we have 2 question marks on our undone left side and we still haven’t adequately addressed central defense or the RB position.
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I would feel a lot better if Pacheco was in on loan, Celades was signed and Parke’s rights were acquired from Seattle.
That still doesn’t address the left wing question — where we need either a starter or depth, depending upon who you ask.
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United States -
Can always count on you for an interesting post! Ya know, chemistry is not something you can create in a lab…well actually you can, but its the interaction that you cant predict, until you take a risk and experiment. JCO will do his best and speaks well in both languages. The Spanish speakers love to learn American customs and language…by the same token the Americans like to learn Spanish, to enhance their intelligence, look Jozy w/JPA!
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United States -
I think Martha is right in the sense that Osorio is taking a more calculated risk. If the Bulls manage to sign a one the newly rumored vets, that would do alot to solidify the backline. And there in lies my judgement.
Eugene has a great point (as usual); The seasons commencement is jam packed. That can be an issue. But turning that argument around, perhaps Osorio wants the players to feel comfortable in a rotating line up in anticipation of this grind. Lets face it; once the season commences, they are going to be playing a lot of games for the majority of it. If the players are used to playing with many people instead of just 1 partner, then that would give Osorio the maneuverability to be competitive on all tournament fronts. Then, as the season slows down to the final 10 games, he will know what the strongest line up to field will be, based on his year long tinkering.
All I am saying is it can work both ways. They can either never find an identity or be stengthened by the shuffle.
btw – a previous comment you made got me thinking on this topic, hence the write up. Great stuff.
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Dave, I love to help out!
I have to say though, a rotating line up has not worked particularly well for Liverpool and we don’t even have that much depth or quality at each position.
Just when we get to those final 10 games, Concacaf CL qualifying and group stages will pick up, so we’ll never actually have that much of a slow down in games, if at all. We may in fact have a distraction, like DC did last year, struggling to choose between league games and CCL games. I’d like to see us take both very seriously and do well in both.
Honestly, I don’t know if this chemistry question is a fantasy issue or a real question. I look at the pictures and video of our guys and they seem happy, I just wonder what will happen in the locker room with so many new faces (Oduro, Smith, Hall, Petke, say Traynor, say Zimmerman, say Pacheco, say Celades and maybe even Carlos Johnson).
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United States -
The fact that Pietravallo has taken the time to learn some English is great, he has been in the US for probably 6 months and knows and can conduct an interview in English, it took Beckham almost 4 years to be able to learn Spanish. Remember last year Pietravallo and Rojas were benched during the playoff run and all they were was supportive and celebrated as much as anyone, Chemistry will not be a problem.
Posted from
United States
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