PDA

View Full Version : Zero For Three - TFC gets Worse On The Road



bgnewf
04-19-2010, 08:46 AM
Zero For Three…. TFC Gets Worse On The Road!

http://www.tfcpics.com (http://www.tfcpics.com/)

Feedback always appreciated.

__________________________________________________

Much has already been written and said elsewhere about the loss yesterday against Colorado that does not need to be repeated in this space.

Nor does my missive that I think it will take until the end of May for us to really assess if this team has what it takes to make the playoffs need to be repeated either. I still stand by that.

And giving a club a two week break before a home opener then having them play on three days rest at altitude certainly calls into question the logic (if there is any logic) of the boffins that put together the league schedule when it comes to fairness and competitive balance.

And yes MLS officiating is still inconsistent and poor.

And why was a player as short as Julian De Guzman (Five feet seven inches, not including hair height) in a Wall to begin with, let alone why he jumped laterally leaving a hole rather than jumping vertically on a free kick that led to an unnecessary Colorado goal?

All valid points that are worthy of questions and discussion.

But this morning I wanted to take a look at our first three road games from this season and compare them to the 2009 campaign, In order to perhaps put the overall poor performances the club has had on the road so far this season into some sort of perspective and context.

As a reminder, in our first three road games in 2009 we were quite successful by MLS standards. A victory against Kansas City and a draw against Columbus, and a loss to Dallas (The Marvell Wynne hand ball game) was a wonderful start to build the season upon compared to previous TFC seasons. Five goals for and six against was at least something to build upon.

This season of course we are looking at three losses on the hop away from BMO Field with little encouragement to build upon from these games. We have scored only 40% of what we scored on comparable matches away from 2009 and have given up a third more goals than we did last season as well…and have four less points to show for our troubles.

And for the fourth game in a row Preki has been forced to trot out an almost experimental line-up as his “Training Camp On The Fly” appears to be continuing.

Not even discussing the Voyaguers Cup for a moment, TFC has three tough home games upcoming starting with Seattle, followed by Chicago and New England. Away matches look tough as well, as we go to Salt Lake City, take on the as yet undefeated Galaxy and then head to San Jose for our best chance of the early season to get some points away.

I want to remain optimistic but this stretch of upcoming matches will define our season. If the club cannot find a way to play better away from home our season may be over before it truly gets underway.

billyfly
04-19-2010, 08:49 AM
Its the White Jerseys

Pachuco
04-19-2010, 08:56 AM
We needed some kind of result from the NE game. We had two weeks rest and NE really is looking like a middle of the table team. They could very well be the ones we are fighting with in the end for the last playoff spot.

It's also not just the results which are a concern, because there is still lots of time to turn it around. It's the way we've been playing that concerns me most. I am way more concerned about the Philly game at home then I was about last night's game.