RSL vs KC in Tulsa, OK

Rover · 03-26-2005, 09:24 PM

Countess doesn't worry me. I've seen the guy play since his UCLA days and he has all the ability we could want in a keeper. He's had a raw deal in MLS so far, and I remember him playing fairly well despite being on that thoroughly abysmal 2003 Dallas team (remember Dragon Stadium?).

He's not the best keeper in MLS, and he's got a lot to prove. The proof is in longevity and consistency, and he's not done well with either of those.

But I'm much more concerned with which Clint Mathis and Andy Williams show up for us. Those two can be brilliant, but they can also cost their team with lapses in concentration (and cards from payback fouls in Mathis's case). Williams seems to get bored during games, and at times runs the field with the intensity of Valderrama at the end of his career.

Most of all, I'm concerned with how quickly we develop defensive cohesion. Call me a traditionalist, but teams are built from the back. We have the pieces, but so far it's not clear that they work together very well. We get to see for real starting next week.

Jim Umber · 03-27-2005, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AreliusII

"I'm either the hero or the zero," said Countess, Real Salt Lake's No. 1 goalkeeper as the team begins its inaugural season next week. "There's really no other way to look at it."

Hmmm, why doesn't this comfort me?

He wasn't commenting on his play. He was just saying that that is the way goalies have been thought of throughout all history. If he stops the ball, he's a hero. If it goes in, he's a zero, despite the fact that there are at least four other players in front of him who's job is to make sure that the ball never gets close to him. Where were they? He made 6 saves! The ball shouldn't be getting through to him that often. It is the defense that broke down.

dysko · 03-27-2005, 11:56 PM

My family reported that Countess was amazing in goal, but had no defense in front of him. They said that our guys just passed the ball off to KC every now and then. However, KC never really returned the favor. Final analysis... the team didn't look like they had palyed together much and KC looked like they had. So, with that said I think that as RSL comes together they should be able to make a run later in the season, which is what you need to do well in the playoffs. Think DC last year...