For the second season in a row, the Rapids have lost Colin Clark to a torn ACL. A more cynical perspective might be that we never got him back, as he struggled to regain his dangerous form from 2009.

When an athlete gets back to back injuries of this type in the same knee, it begins to build concern about his long term prospects. He’s young, though, and I certainly hope he will make a full recovery.

More troubling for me is the absolute dearth of attacking options this leaves us in the midfield. I was a proponent, despite Clark’s hesitant appearances, to continue to use him and get him back to making those dangerous runs down the left.

With just a couple days left to grab another, there is a collective cry coming out of Colorado for Kroenke to do right by the fans and get us another attacking option; either an offensive midfielder or a striker to pair with Casey while Omar drops back.

Here’s the full press release from the club

Colorado Rapids midfielder Colin Clark has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee, the club announced today.

Clark suffered the injury on August 7 in the second half of the Rapids’ 1-0 win against San Jose and will miss the remainder of the 2010 season.

Surgery to repair the injury is scheduled to take place next week.

This marks the second straight season in which Clark has suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. In 2009, he missed the team’s final 10 regular season games after the injury occurred in a training session on August 11.

Clark appeared in 16 games this season, with nine starts, playing 866 minutes.

• Smith (despite his pooch) is the #1 choice, with over 80% of the vote
• Ballouchy is no longer in the top 5 midfielders
• Only 20% of respondents thing midfield is the right position for Cummings
• Wells Thompson is about as popular as Congress right now

Talkback

Leave your comments below…

• Are you surprised Smith was the strong #1?
• Lopez is working his way into the hearts of fans, will he finally get a start?
• Despite the unpopularity of the position, will Smith still start Cummings at winger?

In a moment that encapsulates the annual Rapids summer slide, Conor Casey found himself mano a mano (89′) with bleach blonde Jimmy Nielsen of the Wizards (see photos above). Rather than exchanging hairstyle tips, Casey did what any good striker should and (as deftly as the big man can) went around the left of the goalkeeper to face a yawning net. Time stood still. The stands rose to their feet. Helpless Wizards defenders looked on from 10 yards away. A chance to secure a comeback win versus an inferior opponent…(cue the music) “wah, wah, wah.” When a left-footed touch pass would’ve dribbled in, Casey chose power and drilled it off the post.

“If you’re not appalled, you’re not paying attention” goes the bumpersticker. As a Rapids fan, if you weren’t appalled by the first 60 minutes, you weren’t paying attention. Against an inferior regional rival, we were tepid and stagnant. The recently creative Ballouchy was back to his old self, alternating between looking lost and sending passes 10-20 degrees off target. Mastroeni was pedestrian. He was neither the sheriff of the midfield (a la the Dutch Van Bommel), nor a creative force up the middle causing the defense to release off Casey/Cummings and close him down.

Clark was 20% fire, 80% ice. The slashing Clark of ‘09 made occasional and encouraging appearances, but the chilly and tentative Clark of 2010. It’s heartbreaking to see such a talent over thinking every touch of the ball, rather than letting his skill and talent lead him. It’s painfully obvious he’s afraid to take defenders on one on one. Nonetheless, he showed signs of his old brilliance as the game went on, especially as Lopez began to become the creative force and Clark could just react.

A strange thing happened in the 62′. An old hand named Claudio Lopez came in, the Rapids went back to a 4-4-2, and became as dangerous as a De Jong kung fu kick. Nearly every Lopez touch was perfect, and nearly every touch was FORWARD. With Jamie Smith the solid holding midfielder he is, Lopez was free to roam the pitch and paint beautifully. His was the pass that put Casey on goal. To be fair to Casey, had Lopez been in the game longer than 30′, Casey would’ve had another chance and would’ve made it count.

Bummer:

• A Mehdi Ballouchy led midfield that strands Casey up top and wastes Cummings speed
• Smith can’t seem to decide who he wants at left back

Bonus:

• A Claudio Lopez led midfield (4-4-2) that allows Larentowicz and Smith to hold midfield and pushes “Thunder & Lighting” (Casey/Cummings) towards goal
• Smith looks like he pairs well with Lopez in midfield
• Pickens and Wynne are absolutely at the top of their game

Bottom Line:

• We need to start our next game with the personnel and formation we ended this one. Period. The Larentowicz/Mastroeni combo with Cummings and Clark as wingers doesn’t work.
• Did I mention we need to score more goals?

The first half highlights are few and far between. I found the songs and drunken antics of the Bulldog Supporters Group far more compelling than lazy passing around the back, a lack of creativity in the midfield, and poor movement up front. Ya…not good.

Thankfully it didn’t end there as you will see below

Now That We Are 8 Games In…

• Ballouchy is a baller…sometimes: And frankly his sometimes is the best we have coming out of the middle of the field, so it will have to be enough. To be fair, he continues to develop, and with time his passing will hopefully continue to be more consistent. Either way, I’d love to see him take on a defender at least once every half, throw a step-over or two in there, and put a shot on goal.
• Smith is kinda throwing darts: All love for El Capitan duly noted, he hasn’t found a cohesive, dependable starting XI. Injuries have made that near impossible, yet I think we are all still wondering questions like Where does Wynne belong (I think RB is best though it didn’t look great at times tonight)? Will it be Wells or Clark (I’m calling Clark though Wells can be an impact sub at 60′ on a regular basis).
• Casey deserved to be left at home: It hurts me to say it, as he is one of our finest footballers and a true Denver athlete. However, he was an “on the bubble” player whose form put him in (last season) and now out (this season) of the picture.
• The MLS Season hurts USMNT Possibles: While being at the beginning of our MLS season means less chance for injury and players being a bit more rested the negatives far outweigh the positives. Casey will undoubtedly turn this early season slump around, but it is too late for the World Cup squad. Unlike his European counterparts who are at their peak form after a long season, Casey is still shaking off the cobwebs.

The banners said April 3rd, and we are all hoping that doesn’t turn out to be false prophecy.

Basics

The Rapids came out in a 3-5-2 before the 16,535 that were in attendance. This formation was likely designed to generate the service to Thunder & Lighting that have eluded us (our last non-PK goal was September 12th). It gave our offense a spark in the first half that we have lacked over the last month, and our boys worked their tails off as they do every week.

We were able to contain New England all day, but gave up an open header to Dube and he didn’t waste the chance. The Revolution had few chances off open play, and one can’t help but wonder what “would’ve been” if we had covered that free kick better or made more use of our own free kicks.

Bummer

The Rapids continue to struggle finding that final ball. The 3-5-2 created more chances, but Casey and Cummings now only expect 1 legitimate chance per game on goal. Early in the season, it was more like 3 or 4. As Gary Smith mentioned, we will have to be near flawless on executing those chances, which simply isn’t realistic. Even the best strikers in the world like Fernando Torres or Lionel Messi do not execute anywhere near 100% on golden chances.

I’m starting to feel like a broken record…but where is our service going to come from for the rest of this season? Players like Ballouchy and LaBrocca are playing very well, but simply do not have the killer instinct like Colin Clark had.

Bonus

• The calls have gone our way when we needed them to. Plain and simple, the PK’s have been our life ring, and Casey has not wasted them.
• Preston Burpo is playing excellent in goal for Pickens. He hasn’t registered the clean sheet I’m sure he wants, but is playing a steady veteran game every Saturday.

Backtalk

For the backtalk, I’ll be putting up the same survey about whether we are going to make the playoffs. Has your opinion changed? I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but the Rapids have gone from one of the most prolific attacks in the MLS to a team who just can’t put it in the back of the net.

Basics

This was a game full of annoyances. John Harkes saying “Bow-det.” The ball bouncing around on a field full of mini-moguls. Most importantly, a complete lack of service from the midfield to Thunder (Casey) & Lighting (Cummings) up top. We attempted the long ball to Cummings all game long, but it produced only a couple half chances.

Casey was frequently coming back close to midfield in the attack and becoming a 5th midfielder to try and create chances. Excellent work all day from Casey, but that far back is not where you want the best striker in the MLS playing.

San Jose played valiantly, creating the majority of the action through the game. But the Rapids persevered and gained a point.

I think it would be difficult to overstate how important the one point is. Coming into this weekend the Rapids were tied in the wildcard race at 36 points with Chivas and DC United. More importantly, Toronto, New England, and Fake Salt Lake all at 34 would have leapfrogged the Rapids if we lost. Being at 37 points ensure we stay in the thick of it regardless of what else happens.

Bonus

We worked hard and got lucky. I’m really not sure what else to say. The boys in sky blue worked hard, very hard, but simply lacked a midfielder who could dictate the pace of the game. Ballouchy can be creative, but needs a Mastroeni for muscle and possession. The lack of Colin Clark is also glaring.

But this is the “bonus” section and the fact is we never gave up, and attacked until the very last minute, earning a PK and a point.

Bummer

As I said above…the lack of midfield depth is glaring. If only Cookie was still on the bench…

The good news is, Mastroeni is coming back and hopefully he won’t elbow anyone in the face for a while.

Backtalk

How many points will it take to get in the playoffs? Marcel Balboa in the weekly show with Gary Smith said he thinks 42, which El Capitan thought was reasonable. What do you think?

One of the first areas this shows up is the lack of a default starting 11. If you look at the Rapids losses on 3/21 to Chivas USA, 4/19 to Houston, 6/28 to Seattle, 7/4 to Chicago, and 7/18 to DC United, these are the players who started.

1. Matt Pickens
2. Preston Burpo
3. Jordan Harvey
4. Ugo Ihemelu
5. Scott Palguta
6. Cory Gibbs
7. Julien Baudet
8. Kosuke Kimura
9. Nick LaBrocca
10. Mehdi Ballouchy
11. Jacob Peterson
12. Pablo Mastroeni
13. Greg Dalby
14. Colin Clark
15. Conor Casey
16. Pan Noonan
17. Omar Cummings

For the 6/24 and 7/4 losses there was some turnover due to international duties (Casey, Cummings, Clark), however if you look at this list I can’t say who El Capitan is going to pick for our upcoming match against New York. Not only that, but how players are used is also in question. Is Kimura effective enough as an attacking defender to make up for deficiencies in shutting down attackers? How does Noonan fit into our attack, can he mesh soon enough to make an impact this season? Is Baudet a helpful addition to the squad, or are we disrupting our defense by inserting him mid season?

And what is our style? Are we hard nosed and aggressive like Mastroeni? Are we quick on the counter like Clark and Cummings? Are we fluid like Ballouchy? I realize all of these can coexist at some level, but it seems like individual players have their own style, but the Rapids have not developed a style all their own.

If we can identify the starting 11 that perform well together and have the best chance of creating a cohesive style, we might achieve some consistency and get back into the playoff picture.

What are your thoughts?