By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (July 3, 2012) US Soccer Players -- In Tuesday’s edition, Tony looks at the reactions from two MLS coaches after results didn’t go their way.
After their third consecutive loss, how is RSL coach Jason Kreis feeling about his team?
“I still believe in this group,” Kreis told the Salt Lake Tribune. “They’ve got to believe in themselves.”
In reality, Kreis has been around long enough to understand a few things: he’s got a good team, these things happen sometimes (in this case, RSL didn’t take advantage of opportunities), playing well in July is nice, but not as important as playing well in the playoffs, and the long regular season and RSL’s early form means the team has plenty of time to right itself. Depending on results next week, Salt Lake could be tied for first with San Jose.
How many shots on goal did Kansas City have in last Friday's 1-0 loss to the Fire?
Twenty-seven shots on goal. Sporting took more shots than anyone last week, by a wide margin. Kansas City also peppered Chicago with 39 “open play crosses.” Chicago had 10 shots in their win, but the award for least productive offense this past weekend goes to Montreal, with 4 shots on goal during their 3-0 loss to DC United.
Which former US National Team Player turned MLS coach had a word for the officiating?
“I thought the ref was terrible,” Impact Coach Jesse Marsch said to the Washington Examiner. “This was one of the most one-sided reffed games I’ve seen. We look at ourselves any time, but the ref did us no favors.”
DC United outshot Montreal 18 to 4, as noted above. Montreal had only one shot on target, and DC had more than 60% of possession during the game. DC also out-passed Montreal by more than 220 passes (572 to 346).
On July 1st, all player contracts become guaranteed for the rest of the season, so the transactions page on MLSsoccer.com must have been quite active over this past weekend, right?
It has not been updated since March, as of Monday morning Pacific Time. In a League that spends a lot of time and money on its website and digital media, some very basic pieces of information, such as transactions and attendance, seem to fall through the cracks with regularity.
Speaking of roster moves, what was the stated reason for Columbus's moves last week?
That Columbus is going to sign a Designated Player, perhaps from Europe, and needed to clear roster and salary cap room. Head Coach Robert Warzycha told MLSsoccer.com the team needed to be prepared.
“It would be really, really bad if you did not have room for a DP,” Warzycha said. “Then, we would have already shot ourselves in the foot.”
Releasing Shaun Francis, Korrey Veeder, and Aubrey Perry, none of whom made more than $46,000 in salary, according to figures released by the MLS Player's Union, saved the Crew approximately $62,000 for the rest of the season. If Columbus does sign a DP, the half-season salary is considerably more than the amount the team saved.
Tony Edwards is a soccer writer from the Bay Area.
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