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Real Salt Lake doesn't keep foes guessing

It's a baby step into the world of tactics, but perhaps future articles will go more in depth. Couple questions: Who will man mark Angel? He's crafty and loves to drift wide to suck centerbacks out of position. Also, the Red Bulls two wide players, Richards and the Dutch guy on the left are dangerous, which could keep Wingert and Russel (or Joy) at home for much of the match. One way to solve that is by getting Morales into wide positions, so the two wingers have to pick him up. If they don't he'll put in balls like the one that for Kovalenko last week. Should be a massive game.

I'd like to end the Mathis bashing once and for all. We all agree he's got the work rate of a tree sloth on ganja. Please feel free to second my opinion with innumerable posts.

you contradict yourself in the same statement. Why would we man mark Angel if he is just going to drift out wide. The purpose of the zonal back four is for those four to work together to make sure he is accounted for. This isnt high school soccer where you play man to man. I think our defense has shown we are capable of defending, my only scare is the pace of Richards, thank goodness we arent on that turf anymore and the more we water the field the better.

Also, the Red Bulls two wide players, Richards and the Dutch guy on the left are dangerous,
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And dangerous in different ways, too. Van den Bergh is more technical, and a better passer. Richards is a speedster.

One thing the Bulls DON'T have, which should be mentioned, is a creative mid like Morales. Their attempt to get one, Jorge Rojas, didn't work out and has been benched, so it's likely they won't be playing a "diamond" midfield like RSL, but instead two more defensive midfield players who lie deep and get the ball to the wide mids, and approach sometimes called the "empty bucket."

NYRB:

-----X--------X------: F
---------------------
X-------------------X: M
-------X-----X-------:
---------------------
X-----X--------X----X: D
---------------------
----------X----------: GK


RSL:

-----X--------X------: F
---------------------
----------X----------: MF
--X---------------X--:
----------X----------:
---------------------
X------X-------X-----X: D
----------------------
----------X-----------: GK


You can see how NY's midfield will look like a bucket, while RSL's will look like a diamond.

Come on people buy your tickets already. I hope there are at least as many people as the last time we played these chumps. They looked horrible the first time and just barely got a lucky goal because our players put too much pressure on themselves with the stadium opener. I have no doubt we will be playing the Crew next week. Let's keep up the PUTA chants whenever they have a goal kick that was hilarious. I'm gonna be on the second row. I'm crazy excited!!!!

I like bashing mathis. I'm going to continue to do so until he's gone. Why use mathis when we've got Deucher, Findley, Espindola?? Not only that, he plays 85 minutes. I applaud the mans work eithic, but he lost his touch as soon as he came to SLC. Kreis is a great coach but he's playing favorites with mathis.

"Why would we man mark Angel if he is just going to drift out wide."
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Perhaps BECAUSE he drifts, often in order to create bad defensive matchups.

I'm not saying you should or shouldn't, but sometimes even at the pro level you see man marking for one guy if he's considered far better than everyone else. So the thinking would go, if Angel pulls a defender out of the middle, it would be John Wolyniec taking up the spot, and he's not exactly a star, you could theoretically decide to force him to beat you. (Of course, it pays to remember that Richards and not Angel did all the damage in Red Bull's last game).

I don't think they will do it based on the players comments about reacting versus imposing their own game plan.

yeah I would rather see espy in there for Mathis for 50 60 min and than bring in Mathis. espy is more dangers up top and that should be enough for him to score 1 or 2 goals.

GO REAL.

Amen to you mathis needs to go..again! We need a true forward who can score on a consistent basis. Bring in Henrik Larsson as the teams DP. His contract is up in January and we can get him on a free transfer. Sounds like a good plan to me.

RSL:

-----X---------------: F
-------------M-------
----------X----------: MF
--X---------------X--:
----------X----------:
---------------------
X------X-------X-----X: D
----------------------
----------X-----------: GK

I think you are mostly correct. From my analysis, RSL actually plays Mathis (M) as a withdrawn forward/ ghost attacking mid. Watch him play diagnol off Javi for most of the match. The Mathis role really helps in our possession and attacking game, and none of Espy, Findley, or Deuchar can play that role. The Mathis formation compensates for a team built to play on RES that is now playing on wider fields. Mathis isn't a true striker or Forward.

theres a lot of debate about mathis, and some people would like that to end. well, theres only one person that can put an end to it and that is mathis himself. isnt mathis the only guy in league history who has scored 5 goals in one match? (correct me if im wrong). If he turned out even half of a performance like that im sure the debate would stop.

Re: Mathis...

He has become our "poor man's version", if you will, of Carlos Valderrama...not that this is a bad thing.

Like Clint, El Pibe always gave the impression that he would lose a match race with a glacier, but could change the game by making that perfectly weighted pass at just the right time. Not the quality you want in one of your starting forwards, perhaps, but a valuable commodity none the less...

Unlike Valderrama, Mathis will also track back and play defense and is still one of the few players this nation has ever produced with both the talent and the mindset to occasionally take a shot from distance and actually get it on frame...and that ability he still possesses.