Better or Worse?

bordelais7 · 08-10-2006, 12:17 PM

2/3rds of the way through the season, I wanted to see where the team and players' performances stand in relation to pre-season expectations. My list (a "C" grade being "on par" with pre-season expectations):

RSL: I expected RSL to be a 4th-place caliber team. Right now they're in 5th, and with a goal difference of only -1, likely deserve to be 3rd or 4th. The inability to close out games and some poor tactical decisions I feel have really done them in, however. Grade relative to expectations: C-

Players, (in order of minutes played)

Chris Klein: The signing that I was by far the most excited about has largely been a disappointment. I envisioned Chris being the real leader of this team. He's had a few stellar games recently and at the beginning of the season, but a large 10-12 match stretch where he was horribly inefficient and seemingly unmotivated. D

Carey Talley: Not thrilled with his performance as a defender, but a real sweet surprise as a midfielder. At this point a good case could be made for Talley being RSL's player of the year. Consistent performance and effort over the last 16 or so matches. A-

Jeff Cunningham: I must admit that Ellinger has handled Jeff pretty well as far as playing him as a starter versus a reserve. He's hot-and-cold, to be sure, but has been what we need in a striker. Some are frustrated that he doesn't look for the open man enough, but I am encouraged by his willingness to actually shoot the ball. Despite his inconsistency, he has already eclisped the number of goals I envisioned that he would score this season. B+

Jason Kreis: I might need to re-evaluate my expectations for Jason for this year, having realized that he was our only decent option up top last season. My expectations were that he would perform to the same level as last year, and I'm just not seeing it. He's slowed up quite a bit, and doesn't seem to be nearly as effective in a recessed role. At times he provides veteran leadership, but at other times he appears uninterested. D+

Mehdi Ballouchy: I was uncertain about how good of a player he could be at the beginning of the season, and 21 games later I'm still uncertain. Flashes of brilliance are there. The tentative play that is common to rookies is there. Trying too hard at times. Pretty much what I expected for a rookie season. C

Daniel Torres: Unfortanute injury, because I thought he was on pace to be one our best 3 players this season. Solid performer. B

Willis Forko: Are you serious? Who IS this guy? Props to Ellinger and Co. for picking him. A

Kevin Novak: Surprisingly our outside backs have come from unexpected sources and have performed more than adequately. A-

Nelson Akwari: the "Minister" is pretty much on the same pace as last year. Prone to errors that really shouldn't be made by someone who has been in the league this long, yet willing to step up to challenges (his performace against Ruiz last season is still one of my favorites). C

Douglas Sequiera: Behind Klein, the player I was most excited for this season. Now I seriously have no clue why I was so optimistic. Douglas has done nothing but disappoint. Apparently had an inspired outing last night, but one or two good showings out of 13 doesn't change this grade. F

Andy Williams: I've probably been one of the bigger Andy supporters, and therefore had higher expectations than most. He's got his own style, that's for sure. He can be frustrating to watch at times, to be certain. But he has talent, he has creativity, he's even got a wicked shot. I think he's been much more consistent lately, but I have to admit he had a rough stretch near the beginning of the season. But Andy is Andy, and he's performed up to my expectations: C

Eddie Pope: It was clear last season that Eddie was on the downside of his career and that things were becoming progressively worse. Still, he is probably our best defender when healthy and when...here. I can't get that terrible give-away sequence against the Galaxy out of my mind, but he's been relatively steady nonetheless. C-

Kenny Cutler: I didn't expect much of anything, and he has delivered. C

Atiba Harris: See "Cutler". C

I've excluded the players who have played less than 500 minutes. I'll just give them all "incompletes". Who knows what type of player Jamie might be if he got the playing time.

Anyway, some great surprises on the team. I'm optimistic about the future of our back line, particularly. Not world class, but there are definitely good signs.

Czar Jake · 08-10-2006, 12:42 PM

My grades. But I'm too lazy for all the explanation:

RSL: D+, I thought they would do a lot better

Chris Klein: D+, has had great moments but a lot of nothingness

Carey Talley: A-, most motivated player?

Jeff Cunningham: A-, leads the league in goals, not much of a team leader.

Jason Kreis: D+, seems tired.

Mehdi Ballouchy: B, for a rookie he's been very good. The future of the team.

Daniel Torres: B+, consistent until the injury.

Willis Forko: Are you serious? Who IS this guy? Props to Ellinger and Co. for picking him. A

Kevin Novak: A-, been good

Nelson Akwari: D+, Slower and slower every game.

Douglas Sequiera: F, how did he get so sucky all of a sudden?

Andy Williams: D, starting to do better lately, but really fell apart earlier

Eddie Pope: D, until last night showed no signs of caring about this team at all

Kenny Cutler: C, about what I expected

Atiba Harris: D+, love the energy, hate the dirty play

montgjules · 08-10-2006, 01:24 PM

In my new spirit of not saying anything that I wouldn't say to someone's face, I'll just list my favorites thus far into the season:

Jeff Cunningham
Mehdi Ballouchy
Carey Talley
Daniel Torres

As for the team as a whole, it's about what I expected. They've actually looked more dangerous to me a lot of the time this season than last, despite the terrible results. That can happen--Colorado is in 4th place (?) right now with a -7 goal differential, and we're down at the bottom with -1 ... Not sure what, if anything, that proves, except that we're not completely getting creamed every match.

I_Believe_In_Kreis · 08-10-2006, 01:36 PM

Sorry but I'm going to disagree with a lot of these grades. It seems like both of you are putting a lot of weight on two things: 1, is the player performing up to expectations (whose expectations?), and 2, how certain players compare to the way they were back in their prime.

Consider the following example of two RSL players, both forwards.
Player A: 1000 minutes, 1 goal, 3 assists, 8 SOG.
Player B: 1500 minutes, 6 goals, 5 assists, 15 SOG.

Bordy gave player A a C, while player B got a D+.

Obviously guys like Pope, Kreis, and Klein are over the hill and not performing as well as they used to. But they're still producing.
Klein is 3rd on the team in goals, 4th in assists - not bad for an outside midfielder. Is that only worth a D/D+?
Kreis is only 3 goals away from his total last year, and he's already exceeded his assists from last year. How is he not playing up to last year's level? Is that only worth a D+?

bordelais7 · 08-10-2006, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I_Believe_In_Kreis

Sorry but I'm going to disagree with a lot of these grades. It seems like both of you are putting a lot of weight on two things: 1, is the player performing up to expectations (whose expectations?), and 2, how certain players compare to the way they were back in their prime.

Consider the following example of two RSL players, both forwards.
Player A: 1000 minutes, 1 goal, 3 assists, 8 SOG.
Player B: 1500 minutes, 6 goals, 5 assists, 15 SOG.

Bordy gave player A a C, while player B got a D+.

Obviously guys like Pope, Kreis, and Klein are over the hill and not performing as well as they used to. But they're still producing.
Klein is 3rd on the team in goals, 4th in assists - not bad for an outside midfielder. Is that only worth a D/D+?
Kreis is only 3 goals away from his total last year, and he's already exceeded his assists from last year. How is he not playing up to last year's level? Is that only worth a D+?

You seem to be basing your counter-analysis on one thing: stats. You know as well as anyone that they don't tell the whole story in soccer. Kreis is probably the biggest example of this...he's getting some good stats, yes, but his overall play on the field is far below the level of last year.

My grades were based simply on my perception of player versus my pre-season expectations. NOT comparing them to how they were in their prime. Maybe that's factored into my expectations, which were perhaps unrealistic.

I_Believe_In_Kreis · 08-10-2006, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bordelais7

You seem to be basing your counter-analysis on one thing: stats. You know as well as anyone that they don't tell the whole story in soccer. Kreis is probably the biggest example of this...he's getting some good stats, yes, but his overall play on the field is far below the level of last year.

My grades were based simply on my perception of player versus my pre-season expectations. NOT comparing them to how they were in their prime. Maybe that's factored into my expectations, which were perhaps unrealistic.

You're right, stats aren't the best basis for grading players. But it can't be worse than basing grades on someone's - anyone's - preseason expectations. The lack of a gold standard is one reason why I don't like to grade players, and why I take issue with this topic in the first place.

It's funny this came up because, as part of my job, I have to grade every player from the teams I train. I just finished my grades from spring (hey, it takes a while). There are some obvious A's, but for the rest all I do is ask them what grade they think they deserve and that's what I give them. They're surprisingly honest about it IMO. But I feel I don't get to watch enough of their games (because I'm training other teams) to pass judgment on those intangibles - who's a leader, who's a goofoff, who's still playing hard in the 90th minute, etc.

This isn't RSL related, but by the way I've never given an F or a D and I never will. The way I see it, kids have choices when it comes to sports. At least they're on a soccer field playing a real sport that challenges their bodies and minds instead of rotting away in right field - that's worth at least a C, right?

montgjules · 08-10-2006, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I_Believe_In_Kreis

Kreis is only 3 goals away from his total last year, and he's already exceeded his assists from last year. How is he not playing up to last year's level? Is that only worth a D+?

I don't think that comparison to last year's level of play is anywhere near the gold standard you have in mind

bordelais7 · 08-10-2006, 02:32 PM

Sorry if the grades don't cut it. Basically it's just supposed to be a creative way to say "who has disappointed you this season, and who has been a surprise?" and assigning a grade level to that sentiment. For example, you might feel that Kreis has met (C), or even slightly exceeded (B-), or even grossly exceeded (A) your expectations. See, that's all there is to it.

edaw33 · 08-10-2006, 03:09 PM

this years best

Cunningham
Talley (midfield talley)
Forko (freaking stud, should be getting more praise and consideration for ROY)
torres
Novak (our backline is keeping us in this thing)

this years worst

Attiba (no fans like him)
Douglas
Garlick (he should be in LA acting)
Pope (no show this whole year)

Jury still out

Kreis
Klein
Ballouchy
ellinger
leo the lion

Loyal1 · 08-10-2006, 03:28 PM

I'd give Leo the Lion a B or B+. He isn't nearly as annoying as the yahoos throwing out the free stuff (when we score, you score) in the 42nd minute.

No one likes Harris?
Maybe another thread could be Harris v. Tarley: you decide.

Get is straight, people: no one likes Petke. Not even his teammates.