Plauderecke » e career of veteran South Korean defen

As I left the broadcast booth at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night, I took an elevator down to the main level with a family of four. They were energetic, full of smiles and happy with how their evening had gone. The teenage son turned to me and asked where I was from. I explained my reason for being there and he immediately wanted to know if I was surprised at the 3-0 defeat suffered by Toronto FC. His eyes widened when I said I wasnt. "I dont know too much about soccer but I was told tonight I was coming to see Salt Lake play the New York Yankees of MLS," he said. Minutes earlier, they were a part of a crowd that chanted overrated towards the opposition. Real Salt Lake fans know, more than most, what a competitive, perennial MLS Cup contender should look like and the jury in Utah was in. The verdict? Pretenders not contenders. For now. However, it is hard to think the management at the club didnt see this coming. It is, after all, only three games into the season following a massive overhaul. Just as expectations soared to ridiculous heights following the opening game win in Seattle, the reaction since this loss has been equally irrational. The biggest issue with Toronto FC through three games is not squad depth (this can be an issue for all in a salary cap league, plus Andrew Weideman was their fifth forward before Bright Dike got hurt and Kyle Bekker is their fourth central midfielder). The biggest issue with Toronto FC is not Doneil Henry, who was criticized in some quarters for giving away a first half penalty. He would go on to shine once again following the error. The two biggest issues with Toronto FC as March comes to a close is cohesiveness and a lack of tactical versatility. The first point can only come with time. Once again it was another new starting XI on Saturday and the team has yet to play back-to-back games with the same lineup from the start, and because of that, relationships within the team that need to gel for the collective to succeed, will take time. The second point, however, is one worth following closer than any other story around this team at the moment. Formations Real Salt Lake not only presented a good test as a unit on Saturday for the visitors, but also tactically in the shape they play in. Ryan Nelsen has said the formation is only really how you line up at the start but being a manager who wants to play two up top, he got a different look at how a 4-4-2 diamond works against his team. The Game Jeff Cassars RSL get their full backs forward more than most. I said that in the pre-game show on TSN and Nelsen certainly was aware of this heading into the game. This is how they get their width. However, it was the intelligent decision-making and movement from their midfield four that allowed them space to run into. Javier Morales ran the game for the home team. His lateral movement was magnificent drifting into pockets of space unoccupied by TFCs midfield. He made the move into the space to help ignite the play for the second goal. And then on a quick break for the third goal, he again found the space to send the ball over the top for Saborio. Nelsens team has struggled in possession through all three games and that is fine when you can transition and counter as effectively as they did in the first two games. However, against a midfield diamond, the outlets couldnt be found. Alvaro Rey and Mark Bloom were passengers during the first half while the two strikers never got any service. Yes, it can be said they needed to pass the ball better when they got it but the 4-4-2 shape they played really hurt them. Playing two quick, mobile strikers up top means they demand service. Michael Bradleys intelligent balls over the top caused RSLs centre backs some discomfort but the wide players (including full backs) just didnt get into advanced positions to provide crosses enough. Many funds have been given to Gilberto and Jermain Defoe and when they are fit, they will play, but the game was screaming out for an extra central midfielder to make up the numbers and here is the biggest conundrum the coaching staff has at the moment. Games are won and lost in transitions and in Bradley, they have a superior man for that role. However, when he, or his central midfield partner, started one in this game it often began with two wingers and two strikers 30-40 yards away. Defoe and Gilberto will not be left out and can cause massive issues when the game dictates it, matching up 2vs2 in areas, but the use of the wide midfield players can be modified. Bloom and Justin Morrow, just like Salt Lakes full backs, can get forward (it should be noted Bloom did just that when moved back there late in the match) to provide width and away from home, specifically, Toronto would be much better suited playing a narrower 4-4-2 diamond, giving Bradley more outlets around him. The American international is a real difference maker at this level and cannot be regularly concerned about the space in behind him because it pushes Toronto deeper and deeper. Yes, it is part of his job but not at the top of the list. Defoe and Gilberto are also not strikers that feast off crosses, although the Brazilian did excel in a number of aerial duels on Saturday. Bradley, of course, missed his midfield partner Jonathan Osorio on Saturday but the brilliance of Morales, combined with Torontos shape, meant little would have changed had the Canadian played. Once fit, against the leagues strongest teams, Osorio and Bradley should play just ahead of a more defensive-minded midfielder allowing them to have a much clearer job defensively and in transition. In the end, it was just one loss in March but as the club goes through a transition off the field, they need to find a way to ensure they can transition better on it. Malik Jefferson Bengals Jersey . Sundays game against the Colorado Rapids at B.C. Place Stadium has important implications in determining Major League Soccers playoff picture and will also mark the final game in the career of veteran South Korean defender Young-Pyo Lee. Sam Hubbard Bengals Jersey . Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored in the shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday night. http://www.bengalsrookiestore.com/Bengals-Sam-Hubbard-Jersey/ . -- Those impatient for the Stanley Cup to return to Canada will have just one team to root for in the NHL playoffs -- the Montreal Canadiens. Custom Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys . According to the Red Wings Twitter feed, Zetterberg plans to practice with the team on Thursday and is aiming for a second round comeback. Billy Price Bengals Jersey . Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes, the bandleader of the beard brigade during Bostons run to the 2013 World Series title, said he will be shaving his off before spring training so that he can file it "in the archive" with his memories of the teams improbable championship.BOSTON -- Less than two weeks after pitching against Boston with what appeared to be pine tar on his pitching hand, the New York Yankees Michael Pineda was ejected from a game against the Red Sox on Wednesday night after umpires found a foreign substance on his neck. Boston manager John Farrell didnt alert umpires about brown goo on the lower part of Pinedas right palm during a 4-1 win over Boston at Yankee Stadium on April 10. Photos of Pinedas pitching hand that night sparked a debate about pitchers use of sticky substances to get a better grips in cool weather. With two outs and a 1-2 count on Grady Sizemore on Wednesday, Farrell left his dugout to talk with plate umpire Gerry Davis, who went to the mound. Davis touched the right side of the pitchers neck with his index finger then ejected Pineda as other umpires and Yankee infielders stood nearby. On a night with a game time temperature of 50 degrees, Farrell had said before batting practice: "I would expect if its used, its more discreet than last time." Pineda left with the Yankees trailing 2-0 after he allowed two runs and four hits in the first inning. He was replaced by David Phelps. Rule 8.02(b) says a pitcher shall not "have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance. For such infraction of this section the penalty shall be immediate ejection from the game. In addition, the pitcher shall be suspended automatically." "We will talk to the umpires tomorrow and review their report bbefore taking any action," Major League Baseball spokesman Michael Teevan said.dddddddddddd In recent suspensions of pitchers for pine tar, Tampa Bays Joel Peralta was penalized eight games in 2012, the Los Angeles Angels Brendan Donnelly 10 days in 2005 and St. Louis Julian Tavarez 10 days in 2004. The suspensions of Donnelly and Tavarez were cut to eight days after they asked the players association to appeal, and Peralta dropped his challenge with no reduction. In Pinedas previous start against the Red Sox, television cameras caught Pineda with what appeared to be sticky pine tar on his hand on a cool night. Farrell didnt see a photograph of Pinedas hand until the fourth inning; when Pineda came out to warm up for the fifth, his hand was clean. "In conditions like last night, its not uncommon for pitchers to try and get a grip in some way," Farrell said later. "Were more focused on what we need to do offensively to kind of get going rather than taking anything away from his abilities." Joe Torre, MLBs executive vice-president of baseball operations, said in a statement April 11 that Pineda would not be suspended for the substance on his hand. "The umpires did not observe an application of a foreign substance during the game, and the issue was not raised by the Red Sox," Torre said then. "Given those circumstances, there are no plans to issue a suspension, but we intend to talk to the Yankees regarding what occurred." 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