What can I say that hasn't already been written today about the lack of effort the Sounders showed vs San Jose? The Sounders were heavily out-played in the 4-0 thumping, loosing Riley in the 33rd minute to a Bobby Convey Academy Award and a straight red card. Yes, the officiating was terrible once again, but the best game calling in the world wouldn't have saved the Sounders today.
Being out-played from time-to-time is acceptable—it happens to every professional sports team. But showing up unprepared and with very little desire is not. There's no excuse for professionals to perform the way they did today. Freddie's unnecessary red card last week came back to haunt us as we sorely missed his presence. Our squad is simply not deep enough to have a starter on the bench every week. We need to play with passion but also with control over our emotions.
A lot of credit has to be given to the Quakes who played like a team that wanted the 3 points. They gave themselves a lot of opportunities and converted on four (would have been 6 or 7 if not for a few great saves by Keller).
To sum it up my feelings... today was the first time watching the Sounders this year when I thought to myself, "Why I'm I watching this, they don't even look like they care, so why should I care?". There's no shortage of quality clubs to follow in the world and I only have so much time and resources to give to "my" teams and if the Sounders don't start putting fourth the effort AND intelligence, I'm going to stop putting fourth my time and dollars.
All this said, I know the MLS referees have got to get better. They may be the reason I stop supporting MLS altogether. Does Garber and US Soccer hear us? Our league, the players, and the fans deserve better—it's completely unacceptable! Are you as frustrated with the calling as I am?
Click the thumbnail below to see the Fair Play Table. I would rather be at the top of the points table any day, but what does it mean that the Sounders at the very bottom of this one?
By classic short boots
(Tuesday, Dec 8, 2009 4:24 AM)
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