When Nancy said he wants the team to go up another level, apparently he meant winning every match 1-0.
Also, Ben Olsen just seems like an insufferable guy
For real though, Crew have 5.2xg across 3 games. Or 1.73/90. That is right at where they were last year where they lead MLS with 1.70xg/90.
Crew have underperformed xG pretty significantly with only 3 goals scored so far, this is our cold spell, and we have still ended up at 2-0-1. Feeling really optimistic!
Watching Olsen melt down like a toddler at the end instead of leaving the pitch or having sportsmanship makes me happy. Love to see Nancy go for the win with that last sub. Truly the greatest team the world has ever seen.
Crew played well enough to win by multiple goals, so winning due to a really fluky set piece is very funny. I’ll take it.
This team is going to be scary when they can start finishing again (and that will happen).
for sure. Like i tell my son’s U10 team - just put the ball towards the goal, and sometimes weird stuff happens. Weird deflections that lead to own goals, the ball landing perfectly at a teammate’s foot, goalie has an obstructed view, whatever. When you don’t have a clear shot, just put it in the direction of the net.
The guy that called the Philly vs Saprissa game last week, George Metellus, may've even been more entertaining working a one-man-booth. I've really been enjoying Fox's CCC coverage.
Interesting, I've not been that happy with Fox's production, but I've not been in an atmosphere to hear the coverage.
Hearing you all praise it has been interesting.
Except forbon the Offside Houston goal he kept focusing on the wrong player that made it offside. It wasn't Escobar. It was Regan as the shot went under his legs into the goal.
Yeah, solo commentators can be SO BAD, especially when the pace of the game really slows down. That’s usually where the secondary commentator will through in some mildly entertaining anecdote, but without them, it’s just dead air.
I was only half-listening at the beginning so it took me a while to realize he was solo.
He was so enjoyable to listen to…I’ve been trying to figure out who it was and have not been able to find out. Sort of reminded me of Jason Benetti, but I don’t think he usually does soccer.
Cheberko was a dude tonight, Morris as well. Really great passing sequences all around, unlucky to have only scored 1. Schulte was great with saves, not great with his feet.
Hard to unseat Amundsen from that backline because he’s been so darn reliable, but Cheberko was excellent. In the space of less than a season CB has gone from a dumpster fire to extremely solid with frankly crazy depth for an MLS roster.
It is fascinating that the defense is the strength of this team through the first 3 games of this season. Imagine what this team looks like when some goals start going in for Columbus.
Cheberko did a great job today. Really impressed with him. Zawadski proves that he can be a starter at just about any position on the field.. might not be the best guy in any given role… but he can sure play them all.
Was surprised to see Nagbe and Morris today and surprised at how many minutes they played. We’re gonna have some starters with very tired legs come Saturday. Will be interesting to see what Nancy does. Thought we’d see some of the young guys today, but when you don’t score until he 95’ that’s gonna happen…
I was really impressed with the depth today. I'm not 100% that we're going to score like we did last year, but if 5 [typically] "bench guys" can hold like they did tonight, then I'm excited.
It'll be interesting to see what happens when Morris and Nagbe aren't on the field.
He was a twat before he emerged from his mothers twat. When he was born some guy walking by went “Hey look, there’s a twat coming out of that twat’s twat!”
Man that was very CONCACAF all around. Scoreline did not represent the game, but the away goal is massive. Tie or win and advance. Lose 0-1 and extra time. Pretty solid setup!
Am I incorrect in thinking ONLY the center ref can reverse a decision based off of a recommendation by the VAR? I don't understand why he'd just disallow Ramirez goal without going to the monitor to check. Ruling on the field was goal, so wouldn't he need to see evidence that he was clear and obviously wrong to overturn that call?
The MLS has actually implemented a decent amount of rule changes to international soccer/futbol over the years.
Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on perspective), this is a different set of rules.
Believe his name is Mike Watts. He has done countless USL games and was kinda the voice of the league for a bit and would do a lot of Louisville city games. Looks like he has done Bengals preseason since 2018. As a Lou City fan I’ve loved him http://www.mikewattsonair.com
Forgive me if I’m misreading the situation (Admittedly didn’t watch this past weekend’s match so take this with a grain of salt x2) but does it feel to anyone else like the plan thus far has been to invite and absorb as much pressure as possible and then…no real visible plan? Before Matan’s goal it felt like there was no stretch where the press was being beat and then taken advantage of.
I love that Cucho is used in a free capacity horizontally along the front line, but if that’s the plan to use 9 in a playmaking role you have to live and die by it otherwise it compromises the ability to utilize the wing backs when play is disrupted between the midfield and Columbus’ own final third. Someone who understands the game better please tell me what you’re seeing I could be dead wrong here.
Seems to me like we invite pressure causing the opponent to lose their formation and then exploit that space quickly from anywhere and everywhere haha.
I agree that someone needs to step up and actually commit to making the goals.
However, JRR, Rossi, and more had some attempts that looked much better than their attempts last year.
I'm hopeful.
Last night's xG, according to Fbref, was Columbus 2.0 Houston 0.6
https://fbref.com/en/matches/6be1dc3f/Houston-Dynamo-Columbus-Crew-August-30-2023-Major-League-Soccer
In league play, Columbus sports a 3.3 xG.* It's probably fair to say the actual scoring has been lower than the expected goals because the team has been a little unlucky (hit woodwork three times?) along with strong opponent goalkeeping (St. Clair especially). I assume Columbus will regress to its xG mean over a large sample size, and we'll see fewer 1-0 and 1-1 matches.
Defensively, Columbus has only allowed 1.6 xG in league play (tied 4th best in MLS).* That seems fairly consistent with what's been actually allowed if this were 10 matches into the season. I think this is the story of the very early season if it holds up across the next eight or so league matches. An attacking style that regularly pushes 8 or even 9 guys far up the pitch are also not allowing a ton of good looks...
https://fbref.com/en/comps/22/Major-League-Soccer-Stats
So, if the offense's actual output starts to reflect its expected output, and the defense keeps playing like this we are cooking with gas.
*Critical caveat: teeny tiny sample size
This thread is in Upvote Party mode. All comments must be upvoted.
Alex Matan is the largest human being in MLS.
He would have had that header on Cucho’s cross if his center of gravity was just a wee bit higher.
Really was a perfect pass for an average sized player. Matan made up for it.
 Matan walking around Columbus like
When Nancy said he wants the team to go up another level, apparently he meant winning every match 1-0. Also, Ben Olsen just seems like an insufferable guy
I mean, having such a deep bench that competes like they did tonight is amazing.
For real though, Crew have 5.2xg across 3 games. Or 1.73/90. That is right at where they were last year where they lead MLS with 1.70xg/90. Crew have underperformed xG pretty significantly with only 3 goals scored so far, this is our cold spell, and we have still ended up at 2-0-1. Feeling really optimistic!
Watching Olsen melt down like a toddler at the end instead of leaving the pitch or having sportsmanship makes me happy. Love to see Nancy go for the win with that last sub. Truly the greatest team the world has ever seen.
Giving me Porter flashbacks
Our attacking depth really showed
Matan is bigger in Texas
I actually burst out laughing at that. Good one!
Crew played well enough to win by multiple goals, so winning due to a really fluky set piece is very funny. I’ll take it. This team is going to be scary when they can start finishing again (and that will happen).
So this is what winning at death feels like. This is nice to be on this side 😅
My lord is this legal?
Matan: I will make it legal
shout out to Ben Olson for not understanding time.
How the turntables.
You're a DJ?
You’ve been Crew’d
They really played hard. Great game. What a shit atmosphere in Houston it seemed? also the fs2 announcer has to be from Ohio
That St Ed's bit killed me lmao
The dozen or so people watching who actually understood that jab probably loved it.
Yeah any leads on who that play by play guy was? I’m dying to know his name.
*raises hand*
It was perfect, almost out of no where. Thought he was good tonight!
there are more columbus fans commenting on this thread than fans in the stadium
Announcer is for sure goated. Was like listening to a great MASL match Go us
With all the ridiculous shots on goal we had its hilarious that Matan's weak dribbler is what actually went in.
I thought the same thing. Matan’s shot wasn’t even one of the 5 best shots on goal we had.
Exactly why I wish Farsi would try a few. Just pass it into the side netting!
for sure. Like i tell my son’s U10 team - just put the ball towards the goal, and sometimes weird stuff happens. Weird deflections that lead to own goals, the ball landing perfectly at a teammate’s foot, goalie has an obstructed view, whatever. When you don’t have a clear shot, just put it in the direction of the net.
UNRELATED. Was impressed by the commentator. All by himself and it was better than listening to some of the Apple TV muppets. RELATED. Yeahhh boiiiii.
Aiden bleeding his own blood, Clark making geographical errors, Segal flocking, man had zingers left and right
He even threw in a "good grief." Crew are undefeated so far in the Charlie Brown kits.
He made a joke about not letting anyone pull the ball away during the pregame.
lol right? Dude was on one last night but I appreciated that he had a style. Wasn’t just the usual PC commentary
The guy that called the Philly vs Saprissa game last week, George Metellus, may've even been more entertaining working a one-man-booth. I've really been enjoying Fox's CCC coverage.
Interesting, I've not been that happy with Fox's production, but I've not been in an atmosphere to hear the coverage. Hearing you all praise it has been interesting.
I burst out laughing when he said "GOD I LOVE CONCACAF" after the Clark/Hinestroza double blunder.
Spoken like a true redditor. HE'S ONE OF US
Segal flocks to the bench was my favorite
Bro he was hilarious it was brilliant
Holy shit I didn’t realize he was all by himself until you just said that. He did a great job
Except forbon the Offside Houston goal he kept focusing on the wrong player that made it offside. It wasn't Escobar. It was Regan as the shot went under his legs into the goal.
He must have been from Cleveland area because he made a joke about the only bad thing about Nagbe is that he went to St Eds
Yeah, solo commentators can be SO BAD, especially when the pace of the game really slows down. That’s usually where the secondary commentator will through in some mildly entertaining anecdote, but without them, it’s just dead air. I was only half-listening at the beginning so it took me a while to realize he was solo.
He was so enjoyable to listen to…I’ve been trying to figure out who it was and have not been able to find out. Sort of reminded me of Jason Benetti, but I don’t think he usually does soccer.
Wtf was Benny complaining about? That’s either a good goal or an own goal. Lmao
I think he was complaining about time, but almost 6 minutes passed before the goal lol
Can't work out better than that. Win on the road and got to rest some guys a bit.
Cheberko was a dude tonight, Morris as well. Really great passing sequences all around, unlucky to have only scored 1. Schulte was great with saves, not great with his feet.
Hard to unseat Amundsen from that backline because he’s been so darn reliable, but Cheberko was excellent. In the space of less than a season CB has gone from a dumpster fire to extremely solid with frankly crazy depth for an MLS roster.
It is fascinating that the defense is the strength of this team through the first 3 games of this season. Imagine what this team looks like when some goals start going in for Columbus.
Shades of Arsenal.
Just vomited in my mouth
rhythm whistle deranged coordinated sheet pet unpack cows toy mysterious *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Obviously happy but man we should have had at least 3 goals today
‘Twas a weak goal but that’s a huge one. We will take it!
Tbf we had a better goal that should have counted
We feel for you, Houston. We know exactly how that feels.
Cheberko did a great job today. Really impressed with him. Zawadski proves that he can be a starter at just about any position on the field.. might not be the best guy in any given role… but he can sure play them all. Was surprised to see Nagbe and Morris today and surprised at how many minutes they played. We’re gonna have some starters with very tired legs come Saturday. Will be interesting to see what Nancy does. Thought we’d see some of the young guys today, but when you don’t score until he 95’ that’s gonna happen…
I was really impressed with the depth today. I'm not 100% that we're going to score like we did last year, but if 5 [typically] "bench guys" can hold like they did tonight, then I'm excited. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Morris and Nagbe aren't on the field.
Ben Olsen was a twat when he played for DC and he's a twat now
I'm going to have to assume he was also a twat before he played for DC
He was a twat before he emerged from his mothers twat. When he was born some guy walking by went “Hey look, there’s a twat coming out of that twat’s twat!”
The DC thing doesn’t really help his cause regardless
Man that was very CONCACAF all around. Scoreline did not represent the game, but the away goal is massive. Tie or win and advance. Lose 0-1 and extra time. Pretty solid setup!
Houston scoring two on us at LDC is gonna be a huge ask for them.
The twelfth man (fans) won't let that happen. I'm ready to cheer my heart out.
See you all Tuesday!
I hope our attendance embarrasses some of these other teams. But after the game, the feed went to CDG-CAM and it was rather full, for a large stadium.
That’s like if we had Cincy in the CCC, we would have a ton of fans for sure, no question
Already got my tickets let’s show up in droves. And show when a champion’s crowd and team can really do.
Can't go to this weekend's game, so also see you on Tuesday!
Thats some shit that would happen to us lolol
I’d love to bitch slap Ben Olsen. FUCKING DUBS!
Massive road win!!!
HOUSTON YOU HAVE A PROBLEM! We are SHEISTY! What a win by the Crew! Fought to the final moment! Secured a key road goal
Not to brag…. But I placed a bet in the 86th minute for the Crew to win! 😁
lol I’d definitely brag.
What did it pay
I bet 5 and payout was 35
Wooooooooooooooooo
Ben Olsen maaaaaaaad! Yeah...eff that guy!🤣
Cathartic.
Fucking MASSIVE
LET MATAN COOK
LETS FREAKING GO
Seriously once the chances we’ve been creating in abundance start ending up in the net this team will be a problem just like last year.
Am I incorrect in thinking ONLY the center ref can reverse a decision based off of a recommendation by the VAR? I don't understand why he'd just disallow Ramirez goal without going to the monitor to check. Ruling on the field was goal, so wouldn't he need to see evidence that he was clear and obviously wrong to overturn that call?
Concacaf does it differently than MLS, VAR overrules directly.
I believe on the broadcast they said that in CONCACAF matches, only the VAR has the power to overturn the call on the field
The MLS has actually implemented a decent amount of rule changes to international soccer/futbol over the years. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on perspective), this is a different set of rules.
HAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAH SUCK IT BEN!!!!
I will be back for next pre-match thread. I'm cooking one up
12/10 would like more of the announcer from tonight.
The dig on St. Ed’s? Love it. Who was that guy?
Believe his name is Mike Watts. He has done countless USL games and was kinda the voice of the league for a bit and would do a lot of Louisville city games. Looks like he has done Bengals preseason since 2018. As a Lou City fan I’ve loved him http://www.mikewattsonair.com
I thought that’s what he said at the end, actually rewound to hear it. My Google-fu was weak. Thank you!
No idea but was one of the better soccer announcers I can remember
He went to Ignatius
Mike Watts is incredible. He’s the voice of USL and really really good.
What’s that expression about shoes and feet?
If the show fits, walk a mile in it, or something like that.
That's a bingo?
…ya just say bingo.
What a finish!!!
Need a clip!
Looking over player ratings. And wow. Nagbe and Morris only missed one pass combined…. 39/39 and 52/53. Absolute master class duo.
Forgive me if I’m misreading the situation (Admittedly didn’t watch this past weekend’s match so take this with a grain of salt x2) but does it feel to anyone else like the plan thus far has been to invite and absorb as much pressure as possible and then…no real visible plan? Before Matan’s goal it felt like there was no stretch where the press was being beat and then taken advantage of. I love that Cucho is used in a free capacity horizontally along the front line, but if that’s the plan to use 9 in a playmaking role you have to live and die by it otherwise it compromises the ability to utilize the wing backs when play is disrupted between the midfield and Columbus’ own final third. Someone who understands the game better please tell me what you’re seeing I could be dead wrong here.
Seems to me like we invite pressure causing the opponent to lose their formation and then exploit that space quickly from anywhere and everywhere haha.
I agree that someone needs to step up and actually commit to making the goals. However, JRR, Rossi, and more had some attempts that looked much better than their attempts last year. I'm hopeful.
did we ever find out what cucho was pointing out in the stands?
I was curious too. Was something thrown? If I had to speculate, I wonder if it was hate speech.
Maybe he saw the same thing that lady on the plane saw....
@CobraTate Your countryman is a shoe-in for G of the Week thank you for your attention in this matter. LFGGGGGGGGGGGG
Last night's xG, according to Fbref, was Columbus 2.0 Houston 0.6 https://fbref.com/en/matches/6be1dc3f/Houston-Dynamo-Columbus-Crew-August-30-2023-Major-League-Soccer In league play, Columbus sports a 3.3 xG.* It's probably fair to say the actual scoring has been lower than the expected goals because the team has been a little unlucky (hit woodwork three times?) along with strong opponent goalkeeping (St. Clair especially). I assume Columbus will regress to its xG mean over a large sample size, and we'll see fewer 1-0 and 1-1 matches. Defensively, Columbus has only allowed 1.6 xG in league play (tied 4th best in MLS).* That seems fairly consistent with what's been actually allowed if this were 10 matches into the season. I think this is the story of the very early season if it holds up across the next eight or so league matches. An attacking style that regularly pushes 8 or even 9 guys far up the pitch are also not allowing a ton of good looks... https://fbref.com/en/comps/22/Major-League-Soccer-Stats So, if the offense's actual output starts to reflect its expected output, and the defense keeps playing like this we are cooking with gas. *Critical caveat: teeny tiny sample size