Much better this weekend.

I feel like the team clicked a bit and should have scored more if Morris finishing was better. Morris speed was giving NY absolute fits, just needs to work on his left foot and finishing. His goal though was awesome, kudos to Jones.

I do worry that Lodeiro and Dempsey in the same team isn't optimal. I feel Lodeiro is far better centrally. However, I also get that Dempsey gets goals. I'm wondering as the season goes on if Dempsey may ended up being more of a sub player to keep him fresh.

Was impressed with Shipp who I feel is a definite improvement on Fernandez (I feel like Fernandez has really regressed). Also liking Bruin so far, feel he is far more effective than Valdez, looks good at holding up the ball and isn't a DP.

Defensive depth is starting to look a worry. I doubt NY would have scored that goal if Torres had played. When Marshall looked hurt we would have been down to the bare bones...is Alfaro any good?

Fisher getting hurt also isn't good, we need a RB. When is Evans back? That's been 3 games now he has been out.

Given NY's long unbeaten run, they didn't look that great.

Portland are looking really really good, though it is early.

Glasgow Seahawk wrote:Much better this weekend.

I feel like the team clicked a bit and should have scored more if Morris finishing was better. Morris speed was giving NY absolute fits, just needs to work on his left foot and finishing. His goal though was awesome, kudos to Jones.

I do worry that Lodeiro and Dempsey in the same team isn't optimal. I feel Lodeiro is far better centrally. However, I also get that Dempsey gets goals. I'm wondering as the season goes on if Dempsey may ended up being more of a sub player to keep him fresh.

Was impressed with Shipp who I feel is a definite improvement on Fernandez (I feel like Fernandez has really regressed). Also liking Bruin so far, feel he is far more effective than Valdez, looks good at holding up the ball and isn't a DP.

Defensive depth is starting to look a worry. I doubt NY would have scored that goal if Torres had played. When Marshall looked hurt we would have been down to the bare bones...is Alfaro any good?

Fisher getting hurt also isn't good, we need a RB. When is Evans back? That's been 3 games now he has been out.

Given NY's long unbeaten run, they didn't look that great.

Portland are looking really really good, though it is early.

Alfaro is a solid left footed CB. He's young and a bit inexperienced, but he's good. His development is a big reason why we let the likes of Jimmy Ockford and Damian Lowe leave the club. He's our #4 CB, and really, could be starting for us in a year or so. Marshall can't play forever...same goes for Torres.

Fisher getting hurt is a blow. It likely means we will see more of Svensson at RB, as Evans is out another 3 weeks at least (initial timeline was 6 weeks). I really felt that Fisher was starting to come along too. Defensively he was good, and offensively he was beginning to grasp what Schmetz wants. He just needed to be more decisive in the final third.

I was shocked we got Harry Shipp when we made that deal, because he's a very talented player. Very technical. Not fast (at all), but damn can he play a quick pass. He was a big reason why we made NYRB look so bad.

NYRB is a high-press team, but once you break that pressure, they are vulnerable. We set up to put Jordan in behind, and play technically out of the back. The outside backers were critical. We broke them from outside in. We had an impressive number of 1-2's and Triangles from the Wide Players and the CDM's.

And anyone who is concerned about #6 role when Ozzie retires really shouldn't be...Christian Roldan is an incredible talent and will slot into that role seamlessly. We hit it right when we drafted him. He might also be a factor in keeping Jordan Morris here for an "extended" period of time.

I think our roster right now is pretty good. We have a lot of depth, and thats even considering Evan's fragility. I think we lack a little bit of pace out wide, but with the Joevin Jones emergence, its less of an issue than it was before. There is no issue with Nico cutting in leaving that wide space for Jones. We may still add a player in the summer (maybe even Honda) and I think that'll be fine. I'd like another player with pace, but if Wingo keeps performing, we may already have that option on the squad.

Smurf wrote:
I think our roster right now is pretty good. We have a lot of depth, and thats even considering Evan's fragility. I think we lack a little bit of pace out wide, but with the Joevin Jones emergence, its less of an issue than it was before. There is no issue with Nico cutting in leaving that wide space for Jones. We may still add a player in the summer (maybe even Honda) and I think that'll be fine. I'd like another player with pace, but if Wingo keeps performing, we may already have that option on the squad.

Jones may be the best LB in the entire league right now, also saw a little better our of Svennson so I'm not quite as worried about the RB position as I was when the season started.

Any rotation of Svennson, Evans and Fisher should produce a solid dependable RB.

IMO this club should start rolling if they can stay healthy, which is a big if with so many vets combined with players getting called up all summer.

Happy just to see our named attached to this rumor, what a get for us and the MLS this would be.

http://www.sounderatheart.com/2017/3/31 ... s-gonzalez

Boy, what an ugly game last night all around. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed that Atlanta was totally disinterested in scoring goals and more interested in punishing us physically and earning a tie. No technique, no semblance of strategy, just a cascade of fouls (many of which weren't even called). It's a shame that they got what they came for.

Kennedyin92 wrote:Boy, what an ugly game last night all around. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed that Atlanta was totally disinterested in scoring goals and more interested in punishing us physically and earning a tie. No technique, no semblance of strategy, just a cascade of fouls (many of which weren't even called). It's a shame that they got what they came for.

Iwouldn't be happy if I were them. 3/4 of the Sounders starting defense was sidelined.

They are an expansion team and really dictating play in each of their games.

Uncle Si wrote:They are an expansion team and really dictating play in each of their games.

Atlanta is not your normal lame duck first year expansion team, they've amassed a solid roster with Pirez two very good YDP's in Villalba and Almiron......and Guzan is on his way.

0-0 is usually not a good result in your home opener against an expansion team. But being short handed against a good club in Atlanta who I think is going to stay at the top of the east table all year? Not great, but not terrible either. You can also tell Morris isn't 100%.

I found it a pretty entertaining back and forth match.......and if Dempsey hits that header that went off the bar it's a different story.

Frustrating game. Thought Morris didn't look 100% and Lodeiro's passing wasn't great. Atlanta felt like a dirty team and the ref wasn't interested in carding too many players, in turn letting them away with murder. That tackle on Roldan was a red.

Would like to have saw Bruin either start or come on earlier. Dempsey seemed to terrify them when he came on.

Is it just me or has Fernandez just became a complete waste of space? Felt like every play broke down when he touched the ball. Really lost my patience with him.

Thought the defense played well considering it was filled with rookies or players out of position. Would have been pissed though if Jones had scored for Atlanta at the end.

Roldan was the standout player, was really impressed with him.

Glasgow Seahawk wrote:
Is it just me or has Fernandez just became a complete waste of space? Felt like every play broke down when he touched the ball. Really lost my patience with him.

I said this when we signed him again, Fernandez does absolutely nothing for me. He's a deep bench player at best now at this point in his career, certainly shouldn't be starting.

Shipp was the the player I was most disappointed in Friday, he was atrocious. Never go into the flow of the match, could never link up with anyone and got dispossessed constantly when he did touch the ball.

So yes, I'd much rather see Bruin in there if Schmetzer can make that work formation wise over Shipp.

Sgt. Largent wrote:

Glasgow Seahawk wrote:
Is it just me or has Fernandez just became a complete waste of space? Felt like every play broke down when he touched the ball. Really lost my patience with him.

I said this when we signed him again, Fernandez does absolutely nothing for me. He's a deep bench player at best now at this point in his career, certainly shouldn't be starting.

Shipp was the the player I was most disappointed in Friday, he was atrocious. Never go into the flow of the match, could never link up with anyone and got dispossessed constantly when he did touch the ball.

So yes, I'd much rather see Bruin in there if Schmetzer can make that work formation wise over Shipp.

Shipp was decent, actually. The player that really failed to impress was Lodeiro.....he lost the ball 19 times in the first half alone....and no, thats not an exaggeration, thats a fact. He was awful.

Felt like Wondolowskis goal was inevitable despite the fact I don't think San Jose deserved it. Such a really crappy goal to lose.

Again some really sloppy passing from both teams, two weeks in a row now but I think there was something weird with the field conditions.

Getting a bit worried that Lodeiro and Dempsey can't play on the same team right now. Constantly getting in each others way and making the same runs. Feel Lodeiro is less effective further right. I'm hoping they figure it out with more games but if not they may need to rethink tactics.

Morris needs to be more influential and more involved. Teams are terrified of his speed when he gets good passes but it doesn't happen often enough at the moment.

Kudos to Svensson filling in, he's doing okay in a non natural position.

Not sure about Fisher, I wasn't impressed with him at RB and don't think he is a long term answer there.

Ozzy was a beast!

That had to hurt a bit

Uncle Si wrote:That had to hurt a bit

A lot.

Another slow start to the season for the Sounders. It seems they start off slow the past few seasons. Hopefully they finish like they did last season. Morris needs to learn how to finish goals like Montero and Wondo did. He has great runs but can't seem to finish. It's like a WR in the NFL who has world class speed but can't catch.

Feel like we are setting up too defensive. I think the current formation will work great in the play offs when we are trying to keep games tight and go for away draws but right now need goals and wins.

Shipp is playing too centrally as a wide player.

Would like to see 442 for a stretch with Bruin and Dempsey up top, Morris wide,

I hope I'm wrong... but it's starting to look like everything I feared about the Brian Schemetzer hiring is coming true.

knownone wrote:I hope I'm wrong... but it's starting to look like everything I feared about the Brian Schemetzer hiring is coming true.

which was?

knownone wrote:I hope I'm wrong... but it's starting to look like everything I feared about the Brian Schemetzer hiring is coming true.

Schmetzer hasn't changed, he has new players, Dempsey's back, etc......so it might take him time to figure out tactically how to find the right formations, tactics and lineups.

He's not a magician, but IMO Schmetzer is a much more flexible manager than Sigi ever was. So I think he'll do what he did last year, figure it out as the season progresses and not just stay with the same rigid tactics.

Now this is the Sounders team I've been wanting to watch all season.

SeatownJay wrote:Now this is the Sounders team I've been wanting to watch all season.

Moving Morris to wing is working wonders. Nico, Morris, and Dempsey have all impacted this match. Plus, they are taking the pressure off the back line - which is without Marshall and Torres. Nice play so far. 45 minutes to go.

In my past couple seasons of really following the Sounders closely, I always preferred Morris on the wing and making those slashing runs from there. I felt like early on this season, we'd depend too much on long balls that we expected Morris to use his speed to chase down, especially at points in games where everyone looked out of ideas on the attacking side of the field.

I much prefer having a big dude like Bruin at forward who can hold up play when necessary and letting our guys on the wings cause havoc from there between Lodeiro with his pinpoint passing and Morris with his ability to beat people with his speed. I don't think Shipp was cutting it out on the wing either, frankly. He seems like a guy you bring on with thirty minutes to go when you want to inject someone fresh for the purpose of attacking, not a guy who should be regularly starting for all ninety.

Much much better today. Well balanced up front with bruin there. 3 going on 5 or 6. LA look a shadow of previous sides.

Liked delam at rb and alfaro at cb.

Would keep that formation going forward.

Sigi was at the game today, if LA keep up their form I could see him going there.

THE Ashley Cole?

Uncle Si wrote:THE Ashley Cole?

Pretty sure that it is just his fossil remains

regardless of other clubs we struggle against, I LOVE that we've flipped the monkey on our back that was there for so long with the Galaxy..........now we own those fools.

Sgt. Largent wrote:regardless of other clubs we struggle against, I LOVE that we've flipped the monkey on our back that was there for so long with the Galaxy..........now we own those fools.

They are 2 wins to 5 losses.

They are terrible

Uncle Si wrote:

Sgt. Largent wrote:regardless of other clubs we struggle against, I LOVE that we've flipped the monkey on our back that was there for so long with the Galaxy..........now we own those fools.

They are 2 wins to 5 losses.

They are terrible

Maybe Garber will figure out a way to get them 2-3 more DP's. Last year they had what, like 5?

Sgt. Largent wrote:

Uncle Si wrote:

Sgt. Largent wrote:regardless of other clubs we struggle against, I LOVE that we've flipped the monkey on our back that was there for so long with the Galaxy..........now we own those fools.

They are 2 wins to 5 losses.

They are terrible

Maybe Garber will figure out a way to get them 2-3 more DP's. Last year they had what, like 5?

They mentioned in the broadcast that Zlatan is likely to go to them. They need a better coach first though.

Glasgow Seahawk wrote:

Sgt. Largent wrote:

Uncle Si wrote:

Sgt. Largent wrote:regardless of other clubs we struggle against, I LOVE that we've flipped the monkey on our back that was there for so long with the Galaxy..........now we own those fools.

They are 2 wins to 5 losses.

They are terrible

Maybe Garber will figure out a way to get them 2-3 more DP's. Last year they had what, like 5?

They mentioned in the broadcast that Zlatan is likely to go to them. They need a better coach first though.

Doubt it.

Not only does he now have a serious knee injury, which makes him almost impossible to move.........but he was Man U's leading scorer before getting hurt, so doubt they'd want to take a heavy discount on any transfer or loan due to the injury.

Sgt. Largent wrote:

Glasgow Seahawk wrote:
They mentioned in the broadcast that Zlatan is likely to go to them. They need a better coach first though.

Doubt it.

Not only does he now have a serious knee injury, which makes him almost impossible to move.........but he was Man U's leading scorer before getting hurt, so doubt they'd want to take a heavy discount on any transfer or loan due to the injury.

Zlatan only signed with United for this season.

Uncle Si wrote:

Sgt. Largent wrote:

Glasgow Seahawk wrote:
They mentioned in the broadcast that Zlatan is likely to go to them. They need a better coach first though.

Doubt it.

Not only does he now have a serious knee injury, which makes him almost impossible to move.........but he was Man U's leading scorer before getting hurt, so doubt they'd want to take a heavy discount on any transfer or loan due to the injury.

Zlatan only signed with United for this season.

Man U did withdraw their contract offer for next year, but they also came out with a statement saying they're going to help him with his rehab.

So I guess he could sign with the Galaxy after the season? Not sure why the Galaxy would not only tie up a DP spot for a player that's not going to play again until next year, but pay him probably the highest DP salary in the MLS to come here and not play in 2017.

Just saying that as of now, Zlatan does not have a contract in the Summer. He could sign anywhere and it would not cost the club anything more than his wages (not taking into account whatever crazy rules the MLS has for signing DP players).

As of now, he is set to return in January. He could be ready by April, 2018

Uncle Si wrote:

knownone wrote:I hope I'm wrong... but it's starting to look like everything I feared about the Brian Schemetzer hiring is coming true.

which was?

I got a bit of backlash last year when I was one of (or the only) person who didn't want to hire Schmetzer. Tactically I feel like Schmetzer is slightly above league average. He's the ideal person for the club off the field but on the field - It's hard for me to see much more than Sigi 2.0.

I haven't had a chance to really dig into the numbers yet but on the surface (talent wise) the Sounders should be a top 3 team in MLS. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Seattle finished outside the top three in the west.

Wow...just an unbelievable game for emotion....low to high. If anything is certain, the Seattle Sounders are one resilient team. I would have rather they won the game, but with all things considered, it was great to just get the point. This is the first time I've seen the Sounders attacking at will. I believe they had a record number of shots this game. Oddly, their attack got better when Morris left the game.

Morris and Bruin kept interfering with one another when they both were in the game. Morris needs to learn to finish better as well. There were a couple of times where he could have taken a shot but decided to pull up and play footsie with the ball. With that said, I hope he's okay and isn't setback for too long with his ankle injury.

I saw a Twitter post earlier today that the Sounders have hit the woodwork 10 times already this season. The #2 team on the list is LA Galaxy who've done it 4 times. For comparison, Seattle hit the woodwork 10 times all of last season.

Something's wrong with Sounders again. Terrible showing the past couple of matches. Joevin Jones is back to playing like a moron again. Just awful.

I dont know what to think. We've been unlucky at points with hitting the bar and ref calls but we have similar points to what we had when sigi got fired. On paper we look decent at mls level except at rb and cb depth but we arent playing at our best.

I dont know what to think. Schmetzer has time given the fact he won the championship and ultimately we just need to do enough to make the play offs. The LA game was a false dawn but we need to start picking up wins soon. Wonder how long they give it to invest in a new dp. I still worry about deuce and lodeiro playing together.

Glasgow Seahawk wrote: I still worry about deuce and lodeiro playing together.

We kinda knew this going into this year didn't we?

Clint and Lodeiro are both creators occupying the same spaces inside. Both want to be on the ball as much as possible getting their touches.

I see a lot of getting in each other's way, especially on Lodeiro's part, which has neutered what he does best, move all over the pitch touching the ball a million times getting everyone involved.

Not sure what the answer is, but it's getting very frustrating to watch.

Part of it is the complete lack of continuity along the back line. Seattle has started six different back line combinations in ten matches with eight different players. I know this is mainly due to injury, but still.

This team is not healthy.

This team is not confident.

This team has HORRIBLE luck right now.

We'll work through it.

Smurf wrote:This team is not healthy.

This team is not confident.

This team has HORRIBLE luck right now.

We'll work through it.

I'm with Seatown Jay, we DESPERATELY need some continuity and better play from the backline. They are flat out awful right now, and I know it's hard with so many guys coming in and out trying to communicate and be in the right spots.

Torres's myriad of injuries are also starting to grate on me. Dude is right up there with Brittle Brad as the most often injured Sounder.

Sgt. Largent wrote:

Glasgow Seahawk wrote: I still worry about deuce and lodeiro playing together.

We kinda knew this going into this year didn't we?

Clint and Lodeiro are both creators occupying the same spaces inside. Both want to be on the ball as much as possible getting their touches.

I see a lot of getting in each other's way, especially on Lodeiro's part, which has neutered what he does best, move all over the pitch touching the ball a million times getting everyone involved.

Not sure what the answer is, but it's getting very frustrating to watch.

Watched the SKC match..

Dempsey doesn't move. He occupies central spaces and never vacates them unless he has the ball. There is little fluidity to his game at the moment and he is clearly obstructing other players. Not to mention he is a liability defensively.

Why not make him a true 9 (or even a false one?) He's still good enough technically and this would push him higher up the field and let the rest of the players move around with more fluidity.

Uncle Si wrote:

Sgt. Largent wrote:

Glasgow Seahawk wrote: I still worry about deuce and lodeiro playing together.

We kinda knew this going into this year didn't we?

Clint and Lodeiro are both creators occupying the same spaces inside. Both want to be on the ball as much as possible getting their touches.

I see a lot of getting in each other's way, especially on Lodeiro's part, which has neutered what he does best, move all over the pitch touching the ball a million times getting everyone involved.

Not sure what the answer is, but it's getting very frustrating to watch.

Watched the SKC match..

Dempsey doesn't move. He occupies central spaces and never vacates them unless he has the ball. There is little fluidity to his game at the moment and he is clearly obstructing other players. Not to mention he is a liability defensively.

Why not make him a true 9 (or even a false one?) He's still good enough technically and this would push him higher up the field and let the rest of the players move around with more fluidity.

Dempsey didn't play in the SKC match.

But overall I agree, Dempsey needs to be pushed up higher where they're playing Bruin, who's been worthless so far. Then Morris can stay outside and make his runs and Lodeiro can get back to being the possession mid we need him to be.

Well don't I feel stupid (granted I was half watching in a hotel room). Who was playing the #8 then? Was that Lodeiro? I thought he was wide?

If that's the case though, then its functional issue with the formation and system. I saw alot of Lodeiro in the middle (was he just playing the 10?) but being closed out of space by his own wingers, who seem to be tucked in. I honestly thought Lodeiro was out wide and that was Dempsey starting in the middle? either way, no room at all for the CAM with the wingers tucked in so tight. And with no support from the wingbacks to create width, players like Lodeiro don't have half spaces to find or outlets to connect.

Sounders had a couple good chances in the first half as I recall.

edit.. Fernandez was my Dempsey.

2nd edit... what formation are they playing? was it just a 4231 with inverted wingers? I thought they played Morris more in the typical 4231 wide?

Uncle Si wrote:
2nd edit... what formation are they playing? was it just a 4231 with inverted wingers? I thought they played Morris more in the typical 4231 wide?

idk, they've been playing variations of the 4231 for the entire year pretty much I think.

Flaco was garbage last year, and he's garbage this year. This club doesn't have the depth to roll out the lineup they rolled out against SKC, everything just breaks down so easy in all three thirds........especially the backline.

We desperately need Torres and Fisher back to get that line back in shape.

Sgt. Largent wrote:

Uncle Si wrote:
2nd edit... what formation are they playing? was it just a 4231 with inverted wingers? I thought they played Morris more in the typical 4231 wide?

idk, they've been playing variations of the 4231 for the entire year pretty much I think.

Flaco was garbage last year, and he's garbage this year. This club doesn't have the depth to roll out the lineup they rolled out against SKC, everything just breaks down so easy in all three thirds........especially the backline.

We desperately need Torres and Fisher back to get that line back in shape.

I had to go back and watch highlights (still confused by the Dempsey thing... i apparently thought Fernandez was Lodeiro and Dempsey was Lodeiro).

they looked to be in a 4231 with the wingers (Morris and Fernandez) tucked in. It sprung a couple chances, but in the 2nd half gave way too much space out wide, where the wing backs for Seattle struggled to provide any pressure out there

Sgt. Largent wrote:

Uncle Si wrote:
2nd edit... what formation are they playing? was it just a 4231 with inverted wingers? I thought they played Morris more in the typical 4231 wide?

idk, they've been playing variations of the 4231 for the entire year pretty much I think.

Flaco was garbage last year, and he's garbage this year. This club doesn't have the depth to roll out the lineup they rolled out against SKC, everything just breaks down so easy in all three thirds........especially the backline.

We desperately need Torres and Fisher back to get that line back in shape.

Fisher? You mean Jones? Fisher got burned for one of the goals we gave away?

Uncle Si wrote:

Sgt. Largent wrote:

Uncle Si wrote:
2nd edit... what formation are they playing? was it just a 4231 with inverted wingers? I thought they played Morris more in the typical 4231 wide?

idk, they've been playing variations of the 4231 for the entire year pretty much I think.

Flaco was garbage last year, and he's garbage this year. This club doesn't have the depth to roll out the lineup they rolled out against SKC, everything just breaks down so easy in all three thirds........especially the backline.

We desperately need Torres and Fisher back to get that line back in shape.

I had to go back and watch highlights (still confused by the Dempsey thing... i apparently thought Fernandez was Lodeiro and Dempsey was Lodeiro).

they looked to be in a 4231 with the wingers (Morris and Fernandez) tucked in. It sprung a couple chances, but in the 2nd half gave way too much space out wide, where the wing backs for Seattle struggled to provide any pressure out there

There is zero continuity right now with the personnel and thus the formation changes. We have played just about every version of the 4231 imaginable. We need to get healthy, and we need someone to score a friggin goal.