August 4, 2008 8:12 PM
Will the Rapids make the playoffs?
Ken is an Internet friend of FC Rocky.
Ken likes statistics.
Ken also likes sports, including soccer.
So Ken has created a Web site that seeks to answer the question "Will we make the playoffs?"
The site is amazingly detailed. The guy who was salutatorian at my high school would LOVE this site.
He's also done it for all of the teams in Major League Soccer.
And he's also done it for teams in baseball, basketball, football and more.
Right now (according to Ken's breakdown), the Rapids have about a 33 percent chance of making the playoffs. Compare that to the Rockies, who have (again, according to Ken's calculations) have about a 4 percent chance of reaching the postseason.
Ken says he's trying to calculate every team's "chance of making the playoffs, how each game this week impacts that chance (and) their chance based on how they finish out the season."
Check it out. Very interesting.
August 5, 2008
3:46 AM
Jason writes:
No, they won't make the playoffs. Management has zero ambition. At this point (with San Jose looking a bit more dangerous on the attack), I wouldn't be surprised if they finish last in the league.
Stan Kroenke is to the Rapids what Bill Wirtz was to the Chicago Blackhawks, what Don Sterling is to the L.A. Clippers, and what William Clay Ford is to the Detroit Lions: put out the bare minimum to draw a halfway decent crowd into the building buying concessions, but don't get too carried away about winning.
August 5, 2008
6:59 AM
Bonji writes:
As Jason said, KSE has no ambition to win in soccer. Paul Andrews doesn't care. He doesn't enjoy soccer he isn't invested in the Rapids mentally. He won't give his Rapids management the authority to do what is necessary to win. KSE is focused on the budget and growing revenue, not the product on the field. They can't see that a winning team with an entertaining product on the field will help revenue grow faster.
Fernando Clavijo is a lame duck coach. He doesn't have authority to make the moves that he needs to make in the transfer market because he has made poor moves in the past and the Rapids have pulled in the leash. If the Rapids make any transfer moves in this quickly closing window Clavijo won't be the one to make the decision. He isn't going to be resigned under any circumstances but he also isn't going to be fired under any circumstances. KSE won't fire him as they should. What motivation does Clavijo have to succeed? It won't save his current job and I don't think it will help him get another job in MLS.
2008 is now a lost season, the Rapids have thrown in the towel because KSE has tied their hands. To make the playoffs we need a coach who cares. We don't have one and we aren't allowed to get one. The excitement for the Rapids will come after the playoffs start when the search for a new coach will start. Then we can hope that the Rapids hire a coach with passion for this team and a passion to win in Colorado.
August 5, 2008
8:20 AM
Allen writes:
Everton looked like they had lost their legs after the first hour or so. Yet Colin looked like the only Rapids player interested in trying to take advantage of it.