A Railhawk Recap and a Swansea Preview

Thursday nights are the new Saturday! At least that's how NASL was feeling last night after Minnesota United's 1-0 win over the Carolina Railhawks:

That was fun. Maybe we need more Thursday Night Matches in the summer? #NASL #NASLAccess
— NASL Commissioner (@NASLBPeterson) July 18, 2014

It would be an intriguing development if the NASL decided that it wants all 5 weekly games to be spread across 5 different time slots. That way the throngs of rabid NASL fans would be able to watch every match in real time. On the other hand, there's a certain comfort in knowing that Minnesota United play nearly every game at 7pm on Saturdays. That consistency is comforting for me, not unlike the way Linus' ratty, blue blanket makes him feel.

Don't you go changing on me, NASL!

A few quick thoughts on last night's United victory:

1) United could use their own field.

I just want to warn all of you that the following images, highlighting the shoddy conditions of the field, aren't for the faint of heart. Scroll quickly if you're squeamish:

As if we didn't have enough reasons to be annoyed by ultimate frisbee.

It turns out that hosting daily youth soccer games just a week or so after hosting that national ultimate championship destroys a soccer field. Or maybe United have decided they play a better brand of soccer on a dirt covered field. But these quotes from the Star Tribune lead me to think that's not the case:

Another point of contention was the pitch condition, as the Schwan’s USA Cup has been using the stadium for several games a day for a week.
[Railhawks manager Colin] Clarke called the condition “awful,” and [United manager Manny] Lagos couldn’t disagree with him this time.
“It’s had better moments, for sure,” he said.

How diplomatic of you, Manny!

With the amount of money United have been charging for tickets this season, let's hope they're saving some of that for building their own stadium.

2) The Fashion Battle

The Railhawk coach may have scored a moral victory over Lagos when discussing field conditions, but he got trounced in the fashion department:

Colin Clarke is not a student of #menswear.

Reporter Eric Nordquist is in complete awe of Lagos' sartorial sense.

If you want to succeed in soccer you have to dress the part. All the great managers of today have ditched the track suit for a well-fitted dress shirt. Just look at Pep Guardiola at Munich or Roberto Martinez at Everton. Those two look good and their teams are better for it. And take a look at this World Cup champ:

If Jogi Low's fashion choices didn't inspire Germany to victory
then tell me what did!

Clarke's team lost this game the minute he put that track suit on. Lagos, on the other hand, shows how you dress if you want to win championships.

3) Omar Daley and Justin Davis are the bizarro versions of defense and offense.

Lagos gave Jamie Watson a rest after Saturday's match in Ft Lauderdale. That opened a spot for Omar Daley to start as the left midfielder in front of left back Justin Davis. Daley did a great job of tracking back to defend and took some of the pressure off of Davis on the left hand side. Going forward was another story for Daley. When he wasn't getting dispossessed in the attacking third he was taking poor shots or holding onto the ball a touch too long.

Davis, despite starting as United's left back, was their best attacker at times. Aside from Miguel Ibarra, he's maybe the only person on the team willing to dribble at the opposition, and he probably created just as many chances as the midfielder. I can't say too much for his defense. He was caught too far forward at times, and was culpable for the Railhawks best chance on goal. In the 74th minute he was in no man's land when Railhawks' forward Shipalane received a long cross and was clear on goal. In the end United were saved by the woodwork and Davis was able to recover to clear the ball from danger.

While Davis' defensive miscues can probably be forgiven as United's attack relies on him, Daley's poor offensive display is a little perplexing. What United are left with is an attacker who's greatest strength is defense and a defender who provides United with lots of offense.

United's tactics in cartoon form.

Where does this all leave United? With 6 points and sole possession of first place. And while the rest of the league will be playing their second game of the season this Saturday, the Loons will be squaring off against the EPL side Swansea City on two days rest.

There are many questions ahead of United's friendly this Saturday: Will there be any players from the Railhawks game available to play against Swansea? After drawing against Chivas Guadalajara 1-1, will the Swans look to beat United or absolutely spank them? If Garry Monk can be a player-manager for the Swans, why can't Manny Lagos do the same for United?

However, I think the biggest question is this: Why is Jonjo Shelvey wearing number 9?

Swansea's new number 9...

With Michu going on loan to Napoli, Swansea's number 9 has become available. And while the number is usually reserved for central strikers, center mid Jonjo Shelvey has decided to make it his own. Now, I don't know how things work in Wales, but here in Minnesota we have a saying: If it walks like a number 8, and talks like a number 8, and gets the ball stripped of him in dangerous areas of the field all to easily like a number 8, it's probably a number 8. Maybe Swansea are hoping to confuse their American opposition by giving their players inappropriate numbers. Or maybe Shelvey is actually confused as to what his position is. Hopefully we find out the answer sooner rather than later, but I won't hold my breath.

I'll be at the game this Saturday, and I'll be sitting in the supporters section for the first time alongside the Dark Clouds. I'm looking forward to seeing an English soccer team for the first time. Let's just hope the Swans don't spoil the moment.