Great move by our beloved Rapids. Check out the Rapids website for the upcoming press release.

On first glance this seems to be an excellent trade. Larentowicz shared the midfield with Shalrie Joseph, though he appears to be more of a defensive midfielder (I’m still hoping for a Xavi clone). Thompson is called a “two-footed, wide midfielder” on the Revs website, and might address the need for wingers as I posted earlier.

Gibbs has struggled with injury and keeping his place in the starting XI with the addition of Baudet and Moor. Burpo is a great backup, but with a healthy Matt Pickens and young Steward Ceus in the wings, this is a trade that needs to happen.

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?

On a chilly (and under-attended night) at DSGP, it was a tale of two halves. In the first, the Rapids looked solid on defense, but were unable to muster  a single shot until minutes before half when Nick LaBrocca made a run from the back and hit a long, hard ball on goal. There was a glaring lack of quality balls from the midfielders to the forwards. However, the Rapids’ rusty attack began to roll in the last moments of the first half and kept that steam throughout the rest of the game.

The defense in the second half was not quite so stellar on the defensive side. Gibbs apparently lost the ball in the lights, turning a simple chip pass into a Michael Kraus’ goal over a helpless Pickens. Ihemelu also made a couple questionable choices, and to my eye Kimura continues to be the weak link at the back. Nonetheless, Pickens made some excellent first half saves to keep the game even, and I think the Gibbs/Ihemelu combination has great potential.

Gary Smith was typically blunt Englishman in evaluating his team’s performance. From the Denver Post

Smith minced few words when describing his team — a squad he said is not stout in defense, not flashy and not clinical up front. For the time being, at least, is the hope.

“I’m just disappointed,” said Smith, who earned his first victory as interim coach last season against the Wizards. “Even though we won the game, there were too many times we looked like we could give the game away. We have to be better than that.”

Moving into next weekend’s game vs the Galaxy, a couple thoughts:

• If Cooke is unable to play the full 90, I would rather see him play the first 60 rather than the last 30. Jacob Peterson made some excellent attacking moves, but the Cooke’s outlet passes are the best on the team
• I wasn’t a big Kimura fan going into the season, and through two games my opinion is unchanged. He has pace, but is good for a couple dangerously poor clearances a game. I wonder if Smith will consider a change.
• The thunder and lighting combination of Casey and Cummings up front is a delight to watch, and will hopefully produce a harvest of goals this year. Cummings ice-cold finish was delightful

What are your thoughts on the Rapids performance? Leave a comment below on what did and didn’t like about our performance on the pitch Saturday.

Ihemelu has one cap versus Norway, and clearly has better hair than Gibbs. Nonetheless Gibbs’ withdrawal is puzzling.

Read the full article at the Rapids site

Gibbs will be the only Rapids player in the training camp, and we wish him well!