To the puzzlement of this Rapids fans, and apparently to some Toronto FC fans, the Rapids have traded Jacob Peterson. From the Rapids PR, Colorado received “allocation money in exchange for midfielder Jacob Peterson. Per club and league policies, financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.”

From a great writer to the north, The 24th Minute:

This is a bit of a head scratcher. Peterson is a wing player, which we all know Toronto needs, but he’s a wing player that blew his knee out in the final month of the 2009 season. In Colorado it was expected that he might not be ready to play until August.

For me this is a head scratcher as well. As I discuss in relation to my interview with Gary Smith, the loss of Peterson as our final healthy winger had profound implications on our tactics. After losing Clark and Peterson, we were de-clawed. If I’m not mistaken, we didn’t score a non-PK goal after September 12th, or at least we scored very few. How can trading away one of our wingers do anything but hurt an already susceptible role.

HOWEVER. El Capitan Gary Smith is undoubtedly aware of this, and in his interview discussed the affect of losing wingers. I can only assume this money will go towards acquiring another winger, of an ever greater quality. My hope is we will also pick up a solid backup, a true winger perhaps later in their career. Training Kimura on the job, late in the season, to be a winger was not effective.

After Wednesday’s draw with San Jose, Gary Smith talks in this audio clip about the change of tactics with the loss of Peterson (which was assumed but not confirmed at the time. 2 min 5 sec

Interview with Colorado Rapids Coach Gary Smith

(First question by me, second by Nick Thomas of WeWantRapidMan)

A big “thanks” to Conor Casey’s parents for neglecting to have his wisdom teeth removed as a child. His surgery prevented him from practicing with the USMNT (who won nonethless), and it was his header in the 52′ that secured the Rapids an absolutely crucial 3 points.

Basics

Soccer is indeed the beautiful game, but this was not a beautiful game on either side. Toronto created most the chances in the first half, but DeRosario was caught offside repeatedly and the timing on their attack was off. Though the Rapids created a couple chances early including a nice shot from Ballouchy, passing was chopping and the Rapids rarely seemed to have the fluidity in the final third that has characterized games like the 4-0 win versus Chivas USA 8/9/09. The only golden chance was the PK Casey hit off the crossbar in the 25′.

The Rapids found a way to get the ball in the net in the 52′ from a Peterson cross via Casey’s shiny forehead. The Rapids held off the ensuing push from Toronto over the next 10 minutes, and Omar should’ve made it 2-nil in the 79′ one on one with the goalie.

Referee Terry Vaughn wasn’t afraid to go to his pocket, sending off two Toronto players: Sanyang for two yellows and Serioux with a straight red. Sanyang’s were understandable, but the Serioux straight red was bizarre. To be fair, Omar was getting bumped all night by Serioux, but the majority of the challeges were good physical play. Vaughn had enough in the 84′ and sent him off with a red card. Yellow? Absolutely. He had been toeing the line all night. But a red for Serioux? Harsh.

[9/7/09 4pm UPDATE] Just saw a replay of the event. Ok maybe it was a red. That was fairly blatant and he was the last defender.

Bonus

Casey now has a two goal lead in the Budweiser Golden Boot competition, with 12 goals to Freddy Montero’s 10. You can vote for Casey’s goal as goal of the week here.

Bummer

Casey has performed brilliantly on PK’s, including the MLS All Star game vs (my favorite player) Tim Howard. I have to take the blame for his miss, as I leaned over to my wife and said “He’s good at these,” clearly jinxing him. Either my jinx or novacaine caused him to bang it off the crossbar.

Backtalk

This puts the Rapids just two points behind the Galaxy with one less game played. It also puts us in fifth place in all the MLS, which is key for those 4 wildcard places. However, the bad news is that there is a four-way tie for 7th in the MLS, with Fake Salt Lake, Chivas USA, New England, and DC United all at 33 points. We could easily find ourselves out of the top 8 in MLS in one weekend.

Being in the top two in the west is obviously the best way to guarantee a spot in the playoffs, do you think we can catch the Galaxy?

The votes are in and the fans say yes! Cummings and Peterson can compensate, will we still make the playoffs.

If the real July 4th was an abject failure, July 4th “take 2″ was a stunning success tonight at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids completely dominated every aspect of the game and came away with a much needed 4-0 win. The Rapids organization capped off the night with a remarkable fireworks display, redeeming the 4th for loyal fans and returning visitors alike.

Basics

Jacob Peterson opened the scoring just 5 minutes in off a perfect low cross from Cummings. Though Cummings didn’t score he figured in many of the scoring chances, including a breakaway chance in the first half against Bouna Coundoul. His second touch betrayed him however, and he was unable to convert the golden chance. A sloppy two-footed challenge against Palguta resulted in a red card, and the Red Bulls were reduced to 10 men by half.

Just two minutes into the second Pat Noonan notched his first of the season for the Rapids. Mehdi Ballouchy scored the third Rapids’ goal on a simply glorious free kick that should be an absolute lock for MLS goal of the week. Nick LaBrocca put a botched Bouna save in the back of the net to bring the goal total to four.

Bonus

Two items in the bonus column

1. The Rapids played a complete game. Excellent goal keeping by Pickens, solid defense by the back four, mostly crisp passing in the midfield, and deadly quick attacks up front. The Rapids maintained excellent possession, and the few Red Bulls scoring chances were primarily off poor passes from the Rapids.
2. Congrats to Pat Noonan on notching his first goal for the Rapids. To this point he has seemed a step behind play, but as he integrates with the Rapids he is beginning to show creativity on the pitch.

Bummer

And two items in the bummer column

1. Julien Baudet is a big, physical defender with a great foot and excellent instincts. He played well until a scary collision late in the 1st half that looked to result in a kick to his face and an arm injury. He left with an air cast on and looking fairly shook up.
2. Forgive my compassion for the enemy, but the talented Juan Pablo Angel looks totally frustrated on the field. His runs are timed perfectly, and then his fellow attackers will send a piss poor ball flying over everyone and over the end line.

Backtalk

I’d love to hear from you tonight on this:

Of the new Rapids acquirees (assuming Baudet isn’t badly hurt), who has the best chance to make a significant contribution this season: Noonan, Baudet, or Diz.

Just days into his stint with us, Fecundo has only been able to demonstrate his prodigious ability to flop, so any guesses on his contribution will be just that. But Noonan and Baudet have seen significant time the last couple games, so let’s hear from you!

In evaluating the Rapids form at this point in the season, I think of the US Men’s National Team. There was a carousel of players in and out, different formations, different styles of play, and inconsistent results. Once Bob Bradley arrived at a final 11 and somewhat of an identity, the results at the Confederations Cup were staggering. I believe the Rapids have yet to find that identity.

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?

Kosuke’s second goal of the season was enough to secure a victory at home for the Rapids over a struggling FC Dallas team. While Kimura lacks the size of a Palguta or the ability to impose like Ihemelu, he has shown now on two occasions that he can utilize his speed from the back to find holes in the defense. Kudos also to Ballouchy, whose pass showed tremendous vision. Though at times he struggles with imprecise passing, he is developing his ability to see the field and find the attacking player.

The Rapids should’ve notched one in the first half, as Jacob Petersen had three solid chances, Casey another. The absence of Cummings and Clark continues to take a bit of the bite out of our attack. Casey is an opportunistic scorer. Our MLS All-Star is a big guy who muscles his way into the action and takes advantage of opportunities that others create, as you’ll see in this highlight reel. He isn’t a one on one kind of guy, he’s a finisher. I look forward to having the “lightning” side of the thunder & lightning up front, as does El Capitan as stated to Nick Thomas

We are a side that are lacking a couple of players that make a big diference for us. The most important thing was to get three points today.

Nonetheless we found a way to get it in the back of the net, and that is what matters. We are keeping ourselves near the top, though Chivas is now 3 points ahead with one less game played. We need to continue to get three points at home, and a point on the road vs DC United Saturday is more than doable.

Also notable: LaBrocca’s hustle and much improved haircut

For more on the match

• Video Highlights
• wewantrapidman