SLU 4 St. Bonaventure 0

[slufanskip]

SLU has a lot of talent this year, but not at every position Malibu. (Duke's on the Water btw, a great place). That's the point. SLU has a lot of talent and depth in goal, on the back line, and in the defensive midfield. SLU also has a couple of offensive players who can play. However, SLU's "issues" imo are the following.

Often times SLU has started two defensive mids instead of one, to go along with a very deep back line. Some of these kids have need to move around positions in order to help more offensively. However, this depletes the depth in those defensive areas. So, different things have been tried. If Dado Hamzagic were healthy and playing well, that would have helped out. Had Holmes, Wisniewski been more consistent, that would have helped too. Had Bellomy not been injured and not play a minute this season, that would have helped too.

SLU went into the season with an elite keeper, elite back line and elite defensive midfield, to go along with strong wide flank midfield play.

SLU has struggled connecting from the defensive midfield to the creative attacking midfield.(Barklage is the only one they have had) and from attacking midfield to goals and/or from there to forwards who can finish.

My opinion again, is the forwards are not finishing well in the box, whether target or space, whether feet or air. Everything breaks down up top.

Aranda is a better offensive player than Sweetin. Patterson is better up top than right flank. Barklage should be able to roam anywhere across the middle or wide, or even play up top part of the time. His need is huge in the midfield.

Again, I will say that SLU's problem isn't on the field chemistry or off the field chemistry. It's talent at two important positions. SLU is not alone Nationally with this problem. From the U.S. National team on down, it's a nationwide issue for American soccer.

I will also say that SLU has to do better bringing an elite effort for a full 90 minutes against average teams. Relentless. Inconsistent and sloppy play at times has had to do with the opponent. There have only been a very few teams this year to be extremely consistent Nationally. Teams will have to win games that they don't play well, or they might not win games they should, that's soccer. But overall a certain level of play is expected.

If you look at individual games, SLU's play has been a pretty high level, much of the time.

As the season winds down and every game is important, SLU will have to find that goal in the 1-0 conference tourney games and NCAA's. And we'll see how it plays out.

I know this current team well enough to know that egos simply aren't the issue and you have unreliable information. I can tell you it was an issue the year they were in the final eight with Ibisevic. SLU's on the field play is perhaps too unselfish this year if you ask me.

SLU's problems as compared to the elite of the NCAA's almost mirror the US Nat'l team as compared to the elite in the world.

First and foremost as a whole we don't have the ability to control the ball as well as we should, the ball consistently gets away from us which results in the game becoming faster for us. When you have the ability to bring the ball down quickly and under control immediately where you want it, it slows the game down, you have an extra second to react and make your next move. In the same vein we don't play the ball as acurately first time as we should, again making the target hustle to the poor pass speeding up the game.

We lack finishers, players who can put the ball on the net accurately from almost any angle or any position ... with their head and or their feet with the first touch. Part of the problem there is see above, when you bring the ball down you have such little time that if you aren't highly skilled, you are rushing your next play.

The next is a problem in the US, but not neccessarily for SLU ... we lack elite speed on the back line. Elite countries seem to be able to turn some of their second level forwards into great defenders. In the US, we don't put our top players on defense early on. Too many players want to be forwards, until we have players on our back line that can run with the fastest players in the world, we will always be succeptible to the through ball played on the ground.

SLU and the US consistently has very good defensive midfielders and great goalkeeping. Both play hard and generally out hustle many of their opponents, and that's ok for the mid level teams, but the elite teams have so much more skill that sometimes they have the ability to make the almost reckless style we play work against us.

More skill on the ball will enable us to slow the game down and make better decisions with the ball rather than what we do now which frequently seems a bit helter skelter.

[Malibubill]

SLU has a lot of talent this year, but not at every position Malibu. (Duke's on the Water btw, a great place). That's the point. SLU has a lot of talent and depth in goal, on the back line, and in the defensive midfield. SLU also has a couple of offensive players who can play. However, SLU's "issues" imo are the following.

Often times SLU has started two defensive mids instead of one, to go along with a very deep back line. Some of these kids have need to move around positions in order to help more offensively. However, this depletes the depth in those defensive areas. So, different things have been tried. If Dado Hamzagic were healthy and playing well, that would have helped out. Had Holmes, Wisniewski been more consistent, that would have helped too. Had Bellomy not been injured and not play a minute this season, that would have helped too.

SLU went into the season with an elite keeper, elite back line and elite defensive midfield, to go along with strong wide flank midfield play.

SLU has struggled connecting from the defensive midfield to the creative attacking midfield.(Barklage is the only one they have had) and from attacking midfield to goals and/or from there to forwards who can finish.

My opinion again, is the forwards are not finishing well in the box, whether target or space, whether feet or air. Everything breaks down up top.

Aranda is a better offensive player than Sweetin. Patterson is better up top than right flank. Barklage should be able to roam anywhere across the middle or wide, or even play up top part of the time. His need is huge in the midfield.

Again, I will say that SLU's problem isn't on the field chemistry or off the field chemistry. It's talent at two important positions. SLU is not alone Nationally with this problem. From the U.S. National team on down, it's a nationwide issue for American soccer.

I will also say that SLU has to do better bringing an elite effort for a full 90 minutes against average teams. Relentless. Inconsistent and sloppy play at times has had to do with the opponent. There have only been a very few teams this year to be extremely consistent Nationally. Teams will have to win games that they don't play well, or they might not win games they should, that's soccer. But overall a certain level of play is expected.

If you look at individual games, SLU's play has been a pretty high level, much of the time.

As the season winds down and every game is important, SLU will have to find that goal in the 1-0 conference tourney games and NCAA's. And we'll see how it plays out.

I know this current team well enough to know that egos simply aren't the issue and you have unreliable information. I can tell you it was an issue the year they were in the final eight with Ibisevic. SLU's on the field play is perhaps too unselfish this year if you ask me.

If you like the Duke's in Malibu, you should try the one up in Ventura. It is the original and a real beach shack. Not as touristy - real beach/surfing atmosphere. The menu is simple, you order up front and pick up your food and drinks/beer at the counter and take it to your table, but it is great.