Guest Post: Random Musings on RCU Home Opener By Chris Shaffer

Friend of the PWT-blog Chris Shaffer casts his critical eye on the RCU loss to the Knoxville Force on Saturday night.  Enjoy!

RCU aficionado Chris Shaffer

RCU now stands at one win and one loss, both vs. the expansion Knoxville club (Storm, Force, help me out here (It's the Force, Chris.  Knoxville Force, forgettable name.  I agree.), and the real meat of the season yet to come. That the loss to Knoxville came in Huntsville raises some questions.

We must bear in mind that the team is literally still coming together, with veterans of the 2009 championship season Joseph Omondi and Fredy “The Kenyan Quasar” Okello arriving in town this week.

I don’t know what to expect in terms of other players joining the squad in the next week or two, but a few things seemed obvious as I sat next to speedy winger Sutton Shults during the second half.  Sutton goes under the knife Tuesday and may return in a month:

• RCU lacks speed on the wings. Please don’t tell me this also because Paul Willoughby is injured, as I highly doubt PW would play for RCU this season were he healthy. Remember last year’s press release “Willoughby Signs on for2010 Season.” Sure.

• RCU lacks a bonafide central distributing midfielder. Last season, the whole game plan centered on the gifted Lexi Munro, a real #10 in the sense of a Riquelme or Zidane. This year there’s a gaping hole there.

On the positive side

• Jason Sabio’s return to central defense, and Joseph Omondi’s ability to play there or at holding midfield should be a vast improvement over last year’s back line.

• Gifted left-sided player and this year’s captain Jacob Letsholo has returned. Unfortunately, if he plays on the left wing in mf, we lack speed and at left back.

RCU Ironman Brian Hadley

• Brian Hadley is back and, now starting at forward, has actually played every position except ‘keeper for RCU. Why he’s not playing right back, central defender or even holding mf, I don’t know.

• There was only one 1st half substitution not due to injury.

• The return of Andrew Nkurunungi, which I probably spelled incorrectly, is a plus.  He just knows how to score, period. If that doesn’t work, he knows a few quality swimming pool maneuvers too.

• Brian Kimbugwe is a solid player in mf.

Tell Me Why??????

Why does RCU expend time and resources signing out of town goalkeepers when we have two outstanding, experienced ‘keepers here already in Tyler Earley and Jeffrey Preston. These guys are veterans of US Open Cups and NPSL Final Fours.  We don’t need a carpetbagger for this. Shades of last year. On Saturday, the winning goal for Knoxville was scored when the RCU ‘keeper came off his line, failed to get a touch on the ball, and was beaten by a headed chip. This shouldn’t happen. OK, I said it.

Why does RCU not have a home field advantage? Aside from silent, lethargic fans, because, instead of painting lines on the field that would allow both benches and the 4th official on the same side as the fans, they either don’t think about it or just take what’s given them. There’s plenty of space on either sideline to do this AND the pitch, unlike last year, is in decent condition. Chattanooga gets a lot of mileage out of having the visitor’s bench directly beneath the fans. Plus, why should the visiting team get the short walk to the locker room while our boys trudge across the field at halftime to get to theirs? Furthermore, it would make the press box volunteers jobs a whole lot easier.

Finally, last year’s “experiment” with Desmond Armstrong set the club back. It caused dissension in the ranks and destroyed good players’ confidence. RCU is on the right track and they deserve your support now more than ever. The bus trip to Knoxville was just the sort of idea to inspire a real, rabid following. Kudos to whomever came up with that.  Now we need some songs, and someone other that Chattanooga fans tailgating in our parking lot.

Guest Post: USA v Paraguay, An Armchair Analysis

PWT-Blog is happy to welcome back our guest blogger, Chris Shaffer.  I'm tired from getting home from Nashville wee hours.  So thankfully, Chris breaks down the game for us, as only he can.  I'll have further coverage of the game in the next day or two.

In tonight’s USA/Paraguay friendly, seen as a key warm-up for the USA as it prepares for this summer’s Gold Cup competition, the US succumbed 1-0 to a typically hard-nosed, defensively organized Paraguay side.

I was going to go with a blow-by-blow, minute-by-minute account of the match but, honestly, it’s just not worth the effort.

The approach, therefore, will be a Lessons-Learned tutorial. Mind you, none of these lessons will deal specifically with Paraguay.

Let’s also remember that some key players in the USA’s stunning 1-1 draw with Argentina were not involved, including GK Tim Howard.

USA: 23-Marcus Hahnemann (18-David Yelldell, 46); 21-Timmy Chandler (2-Jonathan Spector, 80),15-Jay DeMerit (3-Carlos Bocanegra, 41), 6-Tim Ream, 12-Jonathan Bornstein (16-Sacha Kljestan, 77); 8-Clint Dempsey, 7-Maurice Edu (13-Jermaine Jones, 46), 4-Michael Bradley, 10-Landon Donovan (capt.); 17-Jozy Altidore (19-Eric Lichaj, 60), 9-Juan Agudelo

 

USA 0:1 Paraguay

 Lessons Learned:

• If Honduran referee Jose Benigno is any indication, Hondurans have utterly failed to appreciate the great things US companies like United Fruit and our government’s financial and military support of their death squads and dictatorship have done for their people. Also, Jonathan Bornstein’s last gasp goal against Costa Rica in an otherwise meaningless final World Cup Qualifier for the US vs. Costa Rica put Honduras into the 2010 World Cup finals.
• This is the last positive thing I’ll say about Mr. Bornstein.
• Paraguay is not just defensively organized and stout, they are masters of the professional foul, yet only one Paraguayan was booked at all despite repeated fouling of US players holding the ball at midfield with their back to goal.
• Paraguay’s Directo Technico Gerardo Martinez must find a sport coat that doesn’t cause pixallation on TV.
• Kyle Martinez, doing color commentary, referred to US left back Jonathan Bornstein as, “not the best one-on-one defender.” This is a vast understatement in more ways than I care to list.
• The aforementioned may have something to do with just how much Bornstein blows at every phase of the game. He minored in giving the ball away under no pressure.
• Conversely, Timmy Chandler, a right back of Amero-Germano (sic) parentage is really, really good. He defends, he goes forward, he can cross the ball. He plays for Nurnberg. He is the real deal. Meanwhile, Bob Bradley’s out looking for David Regis on the Streets of Metz after the Born-de-bacle.
• Nike’s new “Indivisible” US Jersey will be plugged continuously from now through the Gold Cup
• Oscar Cardozo (Par) knows how to finish, especially when US central defender Tim Ream (NYRB), who played respectably, is pulled down from behind. Or maybe he just fell.1-0 to Paraguay. Tim Ream was a Billiken in College.
• Paraguay received one booking (yellow) and the US none.
• Did I mention the Honduran ref was awful?
• Estonia inexplicably drew 1-1 with Serbia today as a Serbian goal in stoppage time was not acknowledged. Look up Luddite in the dictionary and you’ll see a pic of Sepp Blatter.
• One moment Clint Dempsey seems somnambulant and the next he’s hit a knuckling 30-yarder on goal.
• The Nashville crowd was great, and was repeatedly acknowledged as such by JP Dellacamera. Evidently 1,000 more than WC qualifier!
• 37^th minute: J. Bornstein completes his 1^st pass of the game
• Jay Demerit is no Carlos Bocanegra…J. Spector is no Jay Demerit.
• Evidently there’s a product called “ProActive,” you know for acne and whatnot. I’ve never heard of it.
• BTW, props to Eric Wynalda for his ad promoting AYSO soccer, where you can, “learn soccer and have fun doing it.” And I thought you were an arrogant jerk…
• 2 halftime subs for USA: GK David (Who?) Yelldell (Duisburg) for Hahnemann, and Jermaine Jones for Mo Edu. I can’t believe Bornstein is still on the pitch.
• Did you know the new Nike USA “Indivisible” jersey is available?
• OK, Bornstein’s mark fell down and lost the ball, yet Bornstein still was beaten. Doesn’t this violate a law of physics?
• 50^th minute: Bornstein completes 2^nd pas of game.
• Dempsey/Altidore/Agudelo repeatedly fouled, yet they’re not…Thanks a lot Allen Dulles. (If you didn’t know, who owned a whole bunch of United Fruit stock)
• US player Eric Lichaj’s last name is pronounced “Lehigh.” He comes in for Altidore, not Bornstein. He actually plays sometimes for Leeds Utd., but is on loan from Aston Villa, where Michael Bradley sits. Bradley is having a solid game in the holding mf spot. Why can’t this guy get a start for Villa?
• Best US chance of the game comes in the 69^th minute when Agudelo crosses from the right side and Landon Donovan, unmarked, can only hit side netting as the ball bounces through the Paraguay box.
• Clint Dempsey now looks like he’s taken a worse beating than at a Fulham away match to Stoke.
• Lots of subs now. Sasha Klejstan on for US. Every time he touches the ball the game seems to go into slow motion.
• Aside from Agudelo and Timmy Chandler, the squad lacks pace and plays too slowly. Of course when Paraguay has 9 field players behind the ball after the 18’ mark and fouls at will with no consequences, Barcelona might have problems.
• Last 10 minutes: US has some offensive breaks, but they’re all 3-on-6
• Final: 1-0 Paraguay.
• This ProActive stuff must be really effective.
• Credit to the USSF for playing a tough schedule of Amistosos (“friendlies” not in MSWord dictionary), instead of padding its FIFA ranking with games vs. Macedonia and Austria.