Points, points everywhere

It's enough to make me hang my head and weep into my oatmeal, however, we played BETTER! Much better. Well, for most of the match anyway.

Sigi, please let the back four know, they do not need to play like junior varsity high school girls and kick the ball to the forwards and hope for the best.

Preki, curse you.

Bad weather, curse you.

Poor selection of shoes, curse you.

Thanks to hitting both goal scorers in the Dallas match, KP picked up four, Boca two, Jonathon two and Troy three, with the correct result. Only Jonathon picked up points from the disappointment at BMO with two points for both the result and exact score.

The current standings:

KP: 7
Troy: 6
Jonathon: 6
Bocasounders: 3

and several people still at one, as they didn't submit predictions this week.

Auf Wiedersehen Herr Schmid

Thursday's draw at Dallas felt like a loss. The club may have been cheated out of full points by a poor call in extra time. Maybe, maybe not. Personally, I think so. I don't think the referee should have determined the outcome of the match with that call at that point of the game. That call aside though, the team didn't play very well. Again.

In fact, I don't think they've played very well all season. The offense hasn't been able to hold possession nor take many shots, let alone shots on goal. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado had a brain fart that led to the first Dallas pk, but otherwise the defense has been stellar. At least when it comes to preventing the opponent from scoring. They have been horrible about keeping the ball, however. Tyrone Marshall has been especially egregious about just kicking it as far as he can, and usually giving it right back.

The team seems to have the talent to provide consistent, if not dominating, offense but have yet to show any semblance to teamwork this season. It seems as if they are "flat" or "just missing" week in and week out. I'm now tired of it. They've played five games (plus pre-season) and have a respectable record, but they should have gelled by now. Nate Jaqua has been injured, but I don't believe for one minute that his absence is the root of the problem. I don't know what is, but Sigi Schmid should.

The fact that Schmid hasn't hammered the team into a cohesive group is the reason I'm putting him on notice. I'm giving him two more games to show marked improvement or I'm calling for him to be fired. I don't think many people will agree with me on this, and I can't blame anyone. But I see a few things that have me concerned. First and foremost is the lack of offense. Second is the tinkering with the lineup. Michael Fucito and Sanna Nyassi have both shown well in brief stints but neither got the call to start, or even as a sub, in Dallas. This, despite an altered lineup that featured Roger Levesque and forward and David/Erik Estrada playing midfield. I'm really surprised Estrada played instead of Fucito. That's hardly a reason to fire the coach, I know. But he juggled the lineup last week against KC, giving Peter Vagenas a start over Brad Evans. We'll see who he throws out against Toronto.

They have two games this week in short order, so resting some players is to be expected. The short time between Dallas and Toronto matches doesn't provide much time to make improvement, that's why I'm giving him one more game - at home against Columbus, to show me something. I'm not asking for much, but I want them to play better and I suspect he can get a better performance out of his team. If not, then I'm calling for Brian Schmetzer to come on down!

What were they thinking - Prediction?

OK, the new kits are just fugly...nothing more to say. If you want to bike or run at dawn or dusk then here is your jersey...

http://www.soundersfc.com/News/Articles/2010/04-April/Sounders-FC-Reveal-Electricity-Kit.aspx

or

http://gosounders.com/2010/04/20/3rd-jersey/

What does everyone think, anyone going to by one? (Debra mentioned she liked it, in fact the quote is "Ohhh...that's cool.  Maybe Kasen can get one")

As for my prediction this Thur Seattle 2 - 0 Dallas.  Goals by Zak and Montero.

I'm sure you saw that one coming

Well, it's like this...

Not a one of us put forth Fucito's goal to steal the win at home on Saturday afternoon and really, who can blame us?

But there have been changes in the overall stats:

KP: 3
Troy: 3
Jonathon: 2
Bocasounders: 1
and several others tied at 1

Two games this week kiddies, get your predictions in NOW.

Prediction for the Wiz

I am going to try posting on the main blog page as the other methods seem to net me zero points for the first 3 games.  I know I am late on the 24 hour prior to kickoff rule but really as long as it is before the game does it matter (besides maybe the podcast)?

So here goes, Sounders 2 - Wiz 1. Goals by Montero and Noonan for Sounders and Wolff for the Wiz.

I am hoping for 3 goals as Kasen could use a free hair cut, she has a lot of hair on that little head.

GO SOUNDERS!!

Gads!!!

So call me a sayer of nay if you must, but heavens, I say, HEAVENS! I hope Sigi works with Brad Evans this week and reminds him, thoroughly, how to mark players. Both RSL's goals were Evans' mark.

Happy about our finishing (sure, from a defender), still weepy concerning our defenders giving the ball away unnecessarily, but all and all a decent showing for the boys in green.

KP, Troy and I were all wrong about the outcome and goalscorers, and since we were the only ones predicting this week, the scores remain the same.

Remember all, bring your gifts for our newest on Saturday, and how about some tailgating you Tribe?

Current Standings Prediction League

After the miserable lack of finishing (or realizing which jersey we were wearing), Jonathon managed to call the only scorer of the evening so there were only two points handed out.

Troy: 2
Jonathon: 2
KP: 0
Jason: 0
Debbie: 0

As you can tell, you still have an excellent chance of taking over the lead if you join in the fun.

Great Minds Think Alike. So Do Ours.

The picks all agree, 2-1 Sounders
Karl has Sounders goals by Montero and Zak, Angel for the Bulls.
Troy thinks Montero will score two and Angel will get one for NY.
Jon saw the futility of not copying Troy's picks and also swears Montero will get the brace. Either that, or it was a coincidence. It's practically the same thing anyway. He sees Kanji getting the NY goal, with a laser of a shot.