March 3, 20214 yr Something that hasn't been noted in today's unveiling of the new 2021 jersey was that they did it with the new stadium's tifo-rigging system in front of the Nordecke supporters section. This tifo-rigging system will be operated by pulleys and will be able to display tifos up to 300 feet long(!) We learned about the enormous creativity of Crew supporters during the SaveTheCrew movement - so I can't wait to see what they'll come up with to use on the new stadium's tifo system:
March 8, 20214 yr https://www.massivereport.com/2021/3/8/22319306/official-the-columbus-crew-announce-the-signing-of-alexandru-matan ANOTHER big signing. The Crew paid a reported $1.8 million transfer fee to acquire 21-year-old Romanian midfielder Alexandru Matan from his Romanian team. Matan can play all three attacking midfielder spots behind the striker. But it is thought that Matan will slot in as a Zelarayan backup/spot starter for most of 2021 and a starting winger during the summer, when the Crew might miss up to three wingers to international play.
March 11, 20214 yr https://www.massivereport.com/2021/3/10/22323739/columbus-crew-to-play-philadelphia-union-in-2021-mls-opener MLS is doing a slow roll-out of the 2021 regular season schedule. But the Crew know they will host a game during the opening weekend and who they'll play - and it's pretty good. For the first regular season game in 2021, the 2020 MLS Cup Champion Columbus Crew will host the 2020 Supporters Shield winning Philadelphia Union on Sunday, April 18 at 5:30 p.m. ET. And the game will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1. The rest of the 2021 MLS schedule is expected to be announced in two weeks, but the first three competitive games for the Crew in 2021 are now known. On Thursday, April 8, the team travels to Nicaragua to take on Real Esteli in the CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16. On the following Thursday, April 15, the Crew will host Real Esteli in the second leg of the Champions League opening round. Three days later, the Crew will host Philly in the MLS opener.
March 24, 20214 yr The Crew's 2021 schedule has officially been released, complete with 7 nationally televised games. Below is the list of games scheduled to be nationally televised. Sunday, Apr 18 vs Philly, FS1 at 5:30 Sunday, May 16 @ New England, ESPN2 at 6:00 Sunday, Jun 27 @Austin, FS1 at 8:00 Saturday, Jul 3 vs New England, ESPN at 5:00 Saturday, Jul 24 @ ATL, ABC at 3:30 Saturday, Aug 21 vs SEA, Fox at 5:30 Friday, Aug 27 vs FCC, ESPN at 6:30 https://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post/2021/03/24/columbus-crew-sc-2021-mls-schedule-revealed?utm_campaign=First Team Social&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=schedule reveal
April 8, 20214 yr https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/7/22368648/columbus-crew-announces-2021-broadcast-radio-schedule-bally-sports-mls The Crew announced their MLS tv and radio broadcast schedule for 2021. In addition to the seven nationally broadcast games (noted in the previous post), the 27 other MLS regular-season games will be shown on the newly named Bally Sports channels. This is the same format as the past few seasons, with the Crew splitting time on Bally Sports Ohio (formerly Fox Sports Ohio) and Bally Sports Great Lakes (formerly SportsTime Ohio). The English language radio broadcast for all games will be on Columbus' 97.1 The Fan and the Spanish language radio broadcasts will be streamed live on the club’s official YouTube channel. The MLS opener will be on FS1 on April 18, when the Crew hosts Philadelphia. The first match on Bally Sports will be May 1 when the Crew travels to Montreal.
April 8, 20214 yr ^ But those games aren't the first chance to see the MLS Cup defending champions in 2021. That starts tonight, when the Crew travel to Nicaragua to face Real Esteli. That game will be nationally broadcast tonight on FS1 at 8 p.m. This is the first of a two-leg Round of 16 series in the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL). Tonight's game is at Real Esteli. On April 15, the Crew will host their opening round opponent in historic Crew Stadium. https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/5/22367710/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-soccer-but-were-afraid-to-ask-the-concacaf-champions-league https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/7/22369953/columbus-crew-massive-scouting-real-esteli-fc-concacaf-champions-league Massive Report has an excellent primer on the CCL and a scouting report on Real Esteli linked above. Although the Crew are the favored team, this is a tough way to start a tournament for the Crew. This will be the first "real" game for this 2021 squad. On the other hand, Real Esteli is 12 games into their Nicaraguan League season (7-3-2). The Crew might have a rusty start - which could be bad if Real Esteli deploys a high press, as their scouting report suggests. Additionally, two key Crew players will likely be unavailable for the CCL games. Center back Vito Wormgoor is nearly fully recovered from his 2020 season-ending broken ankle, but Porter says he will likely hold him out until the 4/18 MLS opener. Defensive midfielder Artur had off-season surgery after the MLS Cup to repair a long-term hernia issue. Artur is also likely to be okay for the 4/18 MLS opener, but Porter said he would likely not play in the CCL games.
April 9, 20214 yr CCL ROUND OF 16 - FIRST LEG: CREW 4-0 REAL ESTELI https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/recap-real-esteli-0-columbus-crew-4 https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/8/22374512/columbus-crew-dominate-real-esteli-4-0-in-champions-league-opener The Crew needed only the first half to dominate and win their opening CCL game tonight in Nicaragua. The Crew took advantage of Real Esteli's defensive mistakes. In the 19th minute, Zardes pounced on a turnover 12 yards from the net for the opening goal. Six minutes later in the 25th minute, it was Mensah who scored off a Zelarayan corner kick. In the 33rd minute, Diaz received a pass deep right in the Esteli box and had plenty of time to find Zardes unmarked in the center of the box for his second goal of the night to make it 3-0. Finally, in the 44th minute a Zelarayan free kick found Mensah in the box and his header struck a Real Esteli defender's arm for a PK that was converted by Santos for the 4-0 halftime lead. The second half was merely the Crew playing out the game and denying Real Esteli any prime goal scoring chances to preserve the 4-0 lead. Because of the away-goals tiebreaker, Real Esteli would need a 4-0 win in Columbus or a four-goal win if the Crew scores in the second leg to prevent to Crew from advancing into the CCL quarterfinal round. Despite the dominating victory, there were a few areas of concern. Both Harrison Afful and his backup acquired off-season, Marlon Hairston, were unavailable to play at right back. So Derrick Etienne, normally a right forward wing, was forced into emergency defensive right back duty. Etienne played well enough in the unusual role, but suffered an injury in the 85th minute after a hard challenge. Another injury concern was Darlington Nagbe, who suffered an apparent knee injury in the 64th minute and was subbed out. Some good injury news was that Artur played in the second half - so his hernia injury seems fully healed. Another area of concern was that yellow cards were issued to Nagbe and Mensah - which would become an issue if they pick up another yellow. Two total yellow cards picked up during CCL games would suspend that player for the next CCL game. Although the yellow card total gets wiped clean at the start of the Semifinal Round. But for now, it's back to C-BUS for the Round of 16 second leg on April 15 with a dominating 4-0 lead.
April 15, 20214 yr INJURY & ROSTER UPDATES: https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/12/22379709/columbus-crews-kevin-molino-out-six-to-eight-weeks https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/2021/04/12/columbus-crew-nagbe-etienne-doubtful-game-before-mls-opener/7195047002/ https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/12/22380038/multiple-columbus-crew-players-being-evaluated-for-injuries-columbus-darlington-nagbe The team announced on Monday that offseason signee forward Kevin Molino will be out six to eight weeks with a hamstring injury that he picked up during preseason training camp. This would keep him out of the lineup until the middle of June. Hopefully he gets healthy, because although the Crew has sufficient winger depth now, by the summer he'll be needed if players get called for national team duty. Afful, and his backup Hairston, were unavailable to play at right back in the CCL leg 1 game. Afful was out due to covid protocol and Hairston had a bone bruise on a knee. So one or both might be available for Thursday's CCL game and/or Sunday's MLS opener. Etienne suffered a sprained ankle and Nagbe suffered a hamstring injury. Porter said the expectation is for both players to return no later than the next game after this weekend - which would be the CCL quarterfinal game on April 27, 28 or 29. The next MLS game after this weekend is on May 1. Since Mensah picked up a yellow card in the CCL first leg, he's likely not to play in Thursday's second leg to prevent picking another yellow card and getting suspended for the next CCL quarterfinal game. And newly acquired 21-year-old midfielder Alexandru Matan is scheduled to begin training with the team this weekend. Which means he likely won't be available until the CCL quarterfinal game.
April 15, 20214 yr https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/2021/04/15/columbus-crew-balancing-lineups-real-esteli-mls-opener-sunday/7218697002/ Corrected my previous post on the Crew's injury news based on today's Dispatch article (linked above). Apparently it was Hairston who had the bone bruise (knee) and Nagbe suffered a hamstring injury. Given all these injuries and the two upcoming games (CCL on Thursday and MLS on Sunday) plus the Crew being up 4-0 against Real Esteli - we should see a "B-team" lineup tonight in the CCL game that would see the Crew into the quarterfinals - and as much of the "A-team" lineup as possible for Sunday's MLS opener.
April 16, 20214 yr CCL ROUND OF 16 - SECOND LEG: CREW 1-0 REAL ESTELI (Crew wins 5-0 agg) https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/recap-columbus-crew-1-real-esteli-0 https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/15/22386676/columbus-crew-defeat-real-esteli-to-advance-to-quarterfinal-of-concacaf-champions-league With a 4-0 series lead and the MLS opener on Sunday, it was expected that the Crew would see some major roster rotation. And that was the case with only 3 starters from the first leg starting the second leg in Columbus. Four players made their Crew debuts tonight; two youngsters in 23-year-old forward Miguel Berry and 21-year-old Isiah Parante; two MLS veterans in 29-year-old defensive midfielder Perry Kitchen and the ageless 36-year-old Bradley Wright-Phillips at striker. A fifth player made his Crew debut in the 9th minute when center back Grant Lillard replaced midfielder Aidan Morris, who suffered a serious looking knee injury in the 4th minute. With so many new players and the Crew not really pressing play, the first half was pretty uneventful. To start the second half, Zelarayan came on for Artur, and Valenzuela for Afful. The Crew pressed forward a bit better in the second half, but there really weren't any prime scoring chances. Santos replaced Diaz in the 75th minute and the Crew made a final push. That push finally led a goal in the 86th minute on a nifty through pass from Zelarayan to BWP in the box - and the old man didn't miss his one great chance for a goal. With the 1-0 win and 5-0 agg score series win, the Crew advances to the CCL quarterfinals to face mighty Monterrey of Mexico. The Crew got almost everything they wanted from this game. They got the victory to advance in the CCL. They got players rotated in and out of the lineup to prep for Sunday's MLS opener. But they didn't finish the game without another injury. Aidan Morris' non-contact knee injury was serious enough that he needed to be stretchered into the locker room. Morris could be out long-term, which would be a shame for the 19-year-old hero of the 2020 MLS Cup. On the positive side, 21-year-old Isiah Parante looked quite good in the CAM role during the first half. He slid back into Nagbe's #8 role during the second half after Zelarayan came on. But in both roles he was a smooth ball mover and looked like a future starter. Now, its time to start the MLS schedule(!)
April 17, 20214 yr MORE INJURY & ROSTER UPDATES: https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/17/22389165/columbus-crews-aidan-morris-out-for-the-season-with-torn-acl -- Aidan Morris' injury looked really bad, and it was. Today the team announced that 19-year-old midfielder Aidan Morris will be out for 9-12 months with a severe Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury in his left knee. He will undergo ACL reconstruction and sit out the 2021 season to recover. https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/2021/04/17/columbus-crew-signs-former-fc-cincinnati-defender-saad-abdul-salaam/7267875002/ -- The Crew made a roster move today, acquiring veteran fullback Saad Abdul-Salaam off the MLS waivers list. His signing gives the Crew another option at right back or left back. The 6-foot-4, 29-year-old is a seven-year MLS veteran who has played with four MLS teams. He appeared in 8 games for FC Cincinnati in 2020. Adual-Salaam also won a state title at Gahanna with former Crew captain Wil Trapp and was recruited by Head Coach Porter at Akron in 2011.
April 19, 20214 yr 2021 MLS SEASON - GAME 1: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/recap-columbus-crew-sc-0-philadelphia-union-0 https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/18/22391121/columbus-crew-holds-onto-a-point-on-a-night-of-celebration-philadelphia-union The Crew celebrated the unveiling of the 2020 MLS Cup shield and the final season opener in Historic Crew Stadium with a game against last season's Supporters' Shield winner and a national tv audience on FS1. The game itself was a stalemate between two very talented and evenly matched sides. The Crew had the better of the first half, nearly scoring in the 1st minute. In the 34th minute, a Zelarayan shot beat the Philly keeper but not the goal frame. In the 37th minute, the Crew was initially awarded a penalty kick. Unfortunately, VAR determined that Santos was fouled just outside the 18-yd box and the PK was rescinded. Philadelphia had the better second half, but the Crew nearly got a game-winner in the 83rd minute when an Artur rebound shot just outside the 6-yd box was saved by a diving Andre Blake - who had 6 saves on the night to keep the game scoreless. Eloy Room had 5 saves for the Crew to keep Philly off the scoreboard.
April 23, 20214 yr With MLS having 27 teams this season, at least one team will not play every week. RSL got a "bye week" for the opening week. Now the Crew get the "bye week" for week 2. Although having a "bye week" so early is unusual, it comes at a good time for the Crew. It allows some extra time for injuries to heal before the Crew begin their busiest stretch of the season. Starting next Wednesday, the Crew will have 6 games in 19 days - including two trips to Florida (to play two Canadian MLS teams due to Canada's covid border crossing restrictions) and a trip to Mexico to play Monterrey in the CCL tournament. Here are the Crew's next six games. After the Sunday, May 16 game, the Crew has a more normal Saturday game schedule until June 1 - and is then off until June 19, when MLS takes an early June break for international play and the beginning of the Gold Cup tournament: Wednesday, April 28: Monterrey (CONCACAF), Crew Stadium, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 1: at CF Montreal, DRV PNK Stadium (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 5: at Monterrey (CONCACAF), Estadio BBVA Bancomer, 8 p.m. Saturday, May 8: D.C. United, Crew Stadium, 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 12: at Toronto FC, Exploria Stadium (Orlando, Fla.), 7 p.m. Sunday, May 16: at New England Revolution, Gillette Stadium, 6 p.m. (ESPN2) https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/2021/04/20/columbus-crew-2021-schedule/7235356002/
April 29, 20214 yr CCL QUARTERFINAL ROUND - FIRST LEG: CREW 2-2 MONTERREY https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/recap-columbus-crew-sc-2-cf-monterrey-2 https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/28/22408800/columbus-crew-settles-for-wild-tie-vs-monterrey-in-concacaf-champions-league-leg-1 The Crew had a wild tie match against mighty Monterrey on a warm and rainy night in Historic Crew stadium. The Crew went with a mostly full starting lineup - Keita started in Mensah's center back spot (no word on why Mensah was unavailable). And the damp conditions plus the one missing starter played into Monterrey's opening goal in the 9th minute. After a Crew turnover, Keita slipped while trying to mark a Monterrey player in the 18-yd box - leaving him with an open shot on the Crew net that he did not miss. With Monterrey's early goal, they moved into a five-man backline and kept the Crew from any good scoring chances for the rest of the first half. Their defense held into the second half as well, until a superb hustling play by Zelarayan got the Crew on the scoreboard in the 65th minute. A Crew pass into the 18-yd box looked like it was going over the backline. As a Monterrey player shielded the ball, Zelarayan came in and stole the ball. Then he undressed another Monterrey defender at the edge of the 6-yd box, got himself open, and fed a perfect pass to a wide-open Valenzuela - who blasted it to tie it 1-1. That goal energized the Crew attack because they had two great chances after that. In the 71st minute, a Zelarayan free-kick bent toward center back Josh Williams, who then headed the ball across the 6-yd box toward second half substitute Bradley Wright-Phillips, who headed the ball home from a yard out. However, the goal was waived off after a VAR review that ruled Williams was offside. Then in the 75th minute, another Williams header rang off the crossbar and landed in front of Artur in the 6-yd box - but the Monterrey defense made a desperate clearance before Artur could poke the rebound home. The Crew did eventually take the lead in the 87th minute on a ball that Santos slipped into the 18-yd box for Afful - who then crossed it back to Zelarayan - who somehow got off a great shot despite being tightly marked. With the Crew up 2-1 late in the game, they just needed to see out the final few minutes of regulations and four minutes of stoppage time. But Monterrey was able to mount a final bit of offense - and in the 93rd minute - in practically the final moment of the match - headed in a tying goal to finish the first leg 2-2. The second leg will be played next Wednesday at Monterrey. Because of the away-goals tiebreak, the Crew will need to either win, or get at least a 2-2 draw to prevent elimination from the CCL.
April 29, 20214 yr Although the Crew looked like the better team for much of that match, Monterrey salvaging a 2-2 draw gives them the advantage going into next Wednesday's second leg at home. The away-goals tiebreak means the Crew must either win outright, or get at least a 2-2 draw to prevent elimination. Another advantage for Monterrey is that the Crew will be without their man-of-the-match Lucas Zelarayan because of a very soft yellow card given in the 12th minute. Because of back-to-back yellow card accumulation, Zelarayan cannot play in the next match(!) This call - among many other calls and non-calls in the game - gave Crew fans much to criticize about the CCL officiating. It's happened to MLS teams enough times in the CCL that it has its own term: Getting CONCACAF'ed: https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/29/22409570/columbus-crew-caleb-porter-on-concacaf-officiating-var-its-a-joke-monterrey-champions-league Personally, I think the worse call was the soft yellow on Zelarayan in the 12th minute. He stepped on a defender's foot during a challenge. Definitely a foul. But it was completely inadvertent and early in the match. Typically those calls aren't yellow-cards unless it was an intentional "professional foul" or a persistent infringement situation later in the match. What makes the 12th minute soft yellow against Zelarayan worse, is that the Costa Rican referee didn't call the game the same way going forward. Monterrey committed hard foul after hard foul without any other yellow cards issued. It got so bad that a Monterrey player actually stepped on the back of Nagbe's lower left leg, late in the second half - and no yellow(!) I've seen red cards given for such a dangerous play(!) The only other yellow's issued were when Zardes and a Monterrey player got in a shoving match and were both given yellow cards. The VAR goal reversal was questionable, but probably correct, if only by a millimeter. And a non-PK call against Zardes in the first half was also probably correct. But with the Monterrey flopping and messing with the restarts and the refusal to issue yellow cards for all the Monterrey hard fouls - you can see how the Crew and Porter felt hard done by the officiating in this game.
April 29, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, Columbo said: (no word on why Mensah was unavailable). Now we've got some word: https://www.massivereport.com/2021/4/29/22408739/columbus-crew-defender-jonathan-mensah-suffered-minor-hamstring-injury According to the article: "Mensah suffered a “minor” hamstring injury leading up the game. The center back is not expected to miss much time, those sources confirmed, and could be available as soon as Saturday when the Black & Gold take on CF Montreal in a return to MLS action."
May 1, 20214 yr On 4/29/2021 at 1:20 PM, Columbo said: What makes the 12th minute soft yellow against Zelarayan worse, is that the Costa Rican referee didn't call the game the same way going forward. Monterrey committed hard foul after hard foul without any other yellow cards issued. It got so bad that a Monterrey player actually stepped on the back of Nagbe's lower left leg, late in the second half - and no yellow(!) I've seen red cards given for such a dangerous play(!) That Nagbe foul in the 83rd minute was highlighted by none other than former MLS-great Michael Parkhurst on his twitter feed (shown below). He posted the video of Nagbe's lower left leg being stomped on by a Monterrey player. The slow-motion replay also showed something I missed too. Not only did Nagbe's leg get stomped on, but his right shoulder and arm were being pulled backward at the same time(!) In the replies, someone else posted a still-frame of that moment. Parkhurst is right about these "getting concacaf'ed" moments ceasing to the funny if someone like Nagbe suffered a ruptured achilles, separated shoulder or a knee injury from this kind of dangerous foul:
May 1, 20214 yr ROSTER MOVE: GM Bez made a move for a 2021 replacement for out-for-2021 injured midfielder Aidan Morris. Toronto FC is sending defensive midfielder Liam Fraser on loan to the Crew for the remainder of the 2021 season. Fraser, 23, will give the Crew another option at defensive midfield behind starters Artur and Nagbe. Fraser will likely split time with Perry Kitchen, who is currently out with a thigh injury. 21-year-old homegrown signee Isaiah Parente could still see playing time in his first professional season, but the Crew will likely turn to more experienced players in Kitchen and Fraser as the primary backups. This is good deal for the Crew and Bez's former team Toronto FC. The loan deal gives the Crew depth for the rest of the 2021 season but doesn't create a barrier to Morris when he returns in 2022. And for Toronto, the move made sense for Fraser to go somewhere for more MLS-level playing time while Michael Bradley still commands the defensive midfield:
May 2, 20214 yr 2021 MLS SEASON - GAME 2: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/recap-cf-montreal-0-columbus-crew-sc-0 https://www.massivereport.com/2021/5/1/22414588/columbus-crew-play-to-scoreless-draw-at-cf-montreal-mls-2021 In today's MLS game sandwiched between the CCL Monterrey games, the Crew faced the team formerly known as the Montreal Impact. For 2021, they rebranded as CF Montreal (a pretty sweet rebrand BTW if you check it out). However, until Canadian covid travel restrictions are lessened, they are currently CF Montreal/Ft. Lauderdale. Because of the previous and upcoming CCL games, the Crew starting roster featured five changes from last Wednesday's match. BWP was in for Zardes, Etienne was in for Diaz, Parente was in for Artur, Francis was in for Valenzuela and Wormgoor was in for Williams. It was nice to see Wormgoor's return to play after his season-ending injury in July 2020. Despite Zelarayan, Santos and Nagbe still in the lineup, the Crew never got things going offensively - registering zero shots in the first half. The roster rotation with an eye on next Wednesday's CCL match continued at halftime - with Abdul-Salaam replacing Afful and Artur replacing Nagbe to play the second half. Later, at the 60' mark, Williams replaced Wormgoor and Diaz replaced Parente. At the 77th minute Matan replaced Etienne, who stayed down a couple of times after contact in the second half. Because of all that roster rotation - and probably also the 88 degree game time temp, which necessitated 30' and 75' water breaks - the game was a sleepy affair. Montreal took many more shots than the Crew, but didn't have any prime scoring chances. The Crew didn't register their first official shot until 70' and only had three for the game. The best scoring threat of the game came in the 86th minute when BWP beat the Montreal backline and keeper to put the ball in the net off a nice pass from Matan. But Matan took an extra touch before his pass, throwing off the timing of BWP's run and putting him offside. So, another 0-0 draw for the Crew to begin 2021 MLS play. Not great, but not terrible. Now it's on to Monterrey for the second leg of the CCL quarterfinal round.
May 2, 20214 yr So now that the 0-0 game recap is out of the way - let's discuss the really important part of today's game: The debut of the Crew's new 2021 white(gray) shirts. The white shirts by themselves: Pretty good The white shirts/yellow shorts combo closeup: Meh The white shirts/yellow shorts combo far away: Blah It basically looks like the Crew forgot to take off their warmup jerseys when you see them on TV. Like I said before, if you paired the new white shirts with white shorts, you might have an interesting alternate kit to mix in with the all-black kit and the all-yellow kit. Here were some of the twitter reactions during today's game: I predict that the Crew will bring back the all-yellow banana kit before the end of this 2021 season. If it's good enough for our U-14 academy team, it's good enough for the MLS team:
May 5, 20214 yr On the eve of tonight's CCL quarterfinal second leg at Monterrey, Coach Porter said that Mensah is cleared to play but that Zardes would be a game-time decision. Apparently, Zardes suffered a separated shoulder in that 36th minute collision with the Monterrey goalkeeper during last Wednesday's first leg game. Zardes' injury was the reason he didn't play in MLS action last Saturday - not to rest him for tonight's game(!) Zelarayan is still suspended for tonight's game. It was asked if CONCACAF could rescind that awful yellow-card call after a post-game review - as MLS has the ability to do. But the answer from CONCACAF was that "the game officials decisions are final". But CONCACAF did announce that Coach Porter was fined an undisclosed amount for his post-game comments about how awful the officiating was in the first leg game. So CONCACAF basically said that the Crew and Coach Porter are stuck with the awful decisions of the awful officiating of that game - but if you complain about it, we'll fine you(!) https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/2021/05/04/crew-mensah-cleared-play-zardes-game-time-decision-vs-monterrey/4943266001/ https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/2021/05/04/columbus-crew-caleb-porter-fined-concacaf-comments-officials/4938952001/
May 6, 20214 yr CCL QUARTERFINAL ROUND - SECOND LEG: CREW 0-3 MONTERREY (Monterrey advances 5-2 agg) https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/recap-cf-monterrey-3-columbus-crew-sc-0 https://www.massivereport.com/2021/5/5/22422046/columbus-crew-out-of-concacaf-champions-league-after-3-0-loss-to-cf-monterrey The game was fairly officiated and the Crew didn't suffer any injuries tonight - and it was cool to play in one of Mexico's biggest storied stadiums. But other than that the game sucked(!) Two early defensive miscues by the Crew gave Monterrey the advantage they needed. In the 3rd minute, a Monterrey player fired a low cross from the left in front of goalkeeper Eloy Room, who couldn’t control it, and deflected it to wide-open forward Maxi Meza, who easily tapped home the rebound for a very early 1-0 lead. In the 26th minute, Josh Williams got out-muscled by a Monterrey player at the edge of the 18-yd box on a high bounce, who then moved unmarked into the box before passing to Maxi Meza (again) for a 2-0 lead. Without Zelarayan (suspension) and Valenzuela (unknown injury) - two of its best players from the first leg game - the Crew struggled offensively. BWP came on for Zardes at halftime, but the Crew didn't have that spark tonight against a Monterrey team that got the early goals they needed to advance and could drop back defensively because of it. Longtime Mexico national team defender Miguel Layun put the game out of reach in the 71st minute - drilling home a stunning free kick to the top right corner from 25 yards out that set the final score at 3-0. Great to see the Crew back in international play. Disappointing to see them eliminated. Now its on to MLS play.
May 9, 20214 yr 2021 MLS SEASON - GAME 3: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/recap-columbus-crew-dc-united https://www.massivereport.com/2021/5/8/22426330/columbus-crew-get-first-three-points-of-2021-in-3-1-win-against-d-c-united-mls So with their CCL elimination, the Crew can focus on MLS play now - and the starting lineup reflected this. Full starting roster, except for Valenzuela at left back because of a day-to-day hamstring injury and BWP starting for Zardes, who was on the bench as a second-half sub. Most importantly, maestro Zelarayan was available - and he started the scoring with a dazzling free-kick goal in the 20th minute to put the Crew up 1-0. In the 63rd minute, Diaz hit a beautiful long diagonal pass from the right sideline to Santos down the left side. Santos drilled a hard shot from a sharp angle that the DC goalkeeper deflected onto a DC defender in the area that redeflected into the goal to give the Crew a 2-0 lead. Second-half sub Zardes was also in the arena of the deflected Santos shot, but the goal ultimately was scored an own-goal. DC made a brief comeback in the 82nd minute with goal from striker (and former Crew player) Ola Kamara. But less than 60 seconds later, the Crew had their third goal of the game. It was another own-goal with Zardes in the mix - Zelarayan chipped a pass to Zardes in the six-yard box that a DC defender tried to knock away - but the momentum of the pass instead deflected the ball into the DC net to put the Crew up 3-1. Good performance for the Crew to get their first MLS win of 2021 and move to 1-0-2 for the season.
May 9, 20214 yr In addition to hosting yesterday's match, Historic Crew Stadium also hosted a Covid vaccination clinic for any fans who wished to take part. A very good idea(!)
May 9, 20214 yr Here I am, enjoying the Crew's win from yesterday, and sitting inside on a rainy Mother's Day in May -- and then I go to the Columbus Dispatch website and get greeted with this(!): Report: Columbus Crew SC to rebrand, changing name to Columbus SC, and unveiling new logo https://www.thisweeknews.com/story/sports/2021/05/09/report-columbus-crew-sc-change-name-columbus-sc/5014216001/ https://www.massivereport.com/2021/5/9/22427565/sources-columbus-crew-to-rebrand-to-columbus-sc-mls-2021 Along with those reports is this tweet with a leaked image: Please someone tell me they moved Mother's Day to April 1 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
May 9, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, Columbo said: Here I am, enjoying the Crew's win from yesterday, and sitting inside on a rainy Mother's Day in May -- and then I go to the Columbus Dispatch website and get greeted with this(!): Report: Columbus Crew SC to rebrand, changing name to Columbus SC, and unveiling new logo https://www.thisweeknews.com/story/sports/2021/05/09/report-columbus-crew-sc-change-name-columbus-sc/5014216001/ https://www.massivereport.com/2021/5/9/22427565/sources-columbus-crew-to-rebrand-to-columbus-sc-mls-2021 Along with those reports is this tweet with a leaked image: Please someone tell me they moved Mother's Day to April 1 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) April 1st was also my first thought as well. What is the logic behind this?
May 9, 20214 yr Dreadful. That is a “Hey, let’s create a European Super League” - level of fan abuse. My hovercraft is full of eels
May 9, 20214 yr Crew twitter has been on fire this afternoon with almost universal negative reaction. I don't know how team management thinks this is going to go well. Here was a telling passage from today's Dispatch article: "Sources told The Dispatch that GM Bezbatchenko, vice president of marketing Patrice Croci and other front office staff presented the new name and logo to Nordecke leadership on Friday. That meeting resulted in fierce opposition, shouting and one fan accusing Bezbatchenko of being a "traitor." Several members of Nordecke leadership, the team’s main independent supporters’ group, did not attend Saturday's MLS match against D.C. United, apparently under protest." There was a tweet prior to yesterday's game showing zero banners in the Nordecke and on the stage, where normally there would have been dozens of colorful banners painted by supporters over the years. And I noticed that during the tv broadcast. At the time, no mention was made as to why - but it's clear now there was a banner boycott(!) After today's roasting on twitter, the Crew twitter feed produced this "hype" video and added a lame "Forever Columbus’ club. Forever known as The Crew." with it:
May 9, 20214 yr 2 hours ago, roman totale XVII said: Dreadful. That is a “Hey, let’s create a European Super League” - level of fan abuse. I was thinking this felt like a Columbus version of that European Super League debacle. That terrible idea got trashed after 48 hours - although with national league and international organizational assistance along with the fans. So maybe Crew management backs off this ill-advised rebrand. The Chicago Fire did a botched rebrand last year when a new owner bought the team - and this year announced they would rebrand that rebrand. We'll see. Otherwise, there might be a #SaveTheCrewAgain movement started. Even if it doesn't get as big as the original #SaveTheCrew - pissing off your most ardent and vocal supporters is not the way you want to open your new stadium(!!) I just don't know why the current management wants to inflict all this pain on itself and its supporters. It's baffling.
May 9, 20214 yr Apparently, a botched rebrand happened with Louisville's soccer team in 2019. Management there scrapped it and apologized:
May 10, 20214 yr This all strikes me as a decision made at some very exclusive country club, far far removed from realm of normal people and normal thought processes. I just want to know who thought this would be a good idea? Because it's asinine. Who didn't like the name "Columbus Crew?"
May 10, 20214 yr Leeds United attempted an awful rebrand a few years ago. It was mainly just the badge, but also came with a hefty set of talking points about being a ‘people’s club’ etc. Leeds fans have a terrible reputation for violence and the fact that the new badge looked like some kind of backwoods, neo-nazi insignia didn’t help things. Needless to say, it was roundly ridiculed and walked back within days. Hopefully, this Crew rebrand has the same fate. My hovercraft is full of eels
May 10, 20214 yr I don't like this, Hannibal. I admit to being a super Casual, but just because singular team names (even though "crew" is both singular and plural) are considered a '90s thing it doesn't mean you have to throw it out simply because the '90s are over.
May 10, 20214 yr What a disaster. Objectively, the new crest is just bad design with no real meaning or visual interest. Historically, what an absolute slap in the face to fans that fought so hard to save the crew.
May 10, 20214 yr 11 hours ago, DevolsDance said: What a disaster. Objectively, the new crest is just bad design with no real meaning or visual interest. Historically, what an absolute slap in the face to fans that fought so hard to save the crew. Complete and utter disaster. Supposedly, the crest is the Flag of Ohio, but the mangled "C" and the fact that it's shown hung horizontally makes that fact unrecognizable. What a way to completely alienate what has become one of the most ardent fan bases in the MLS. I'm glad Nordecke supporters boycotted Saturday's game and that their absence was noticeable. Everything has been culminating to the opening of the new Crew stadium and that momentum has been completely derailed now. Crew management needs to do an about-face ASAP, or face some very long-lasting damage.
May 10, 20214 yr I'm honestly a little surprised the most recent logo from the Crew didn't get a cease and desist from Bayern Munich. But it's a good logo, this new leaked one is not a good logo, and dropping "crew" from the official name is dumb.
May 10, 20214 yr Why couldn't they leave well enough alone? Who came up with this moronic change? They need to quickly drop this and move on. The sooner the better. What a way to ruin the new stadium opening and all. And after the Crew won the whole thing last year. Smh.
May 10, 20214 yr Exactly, the normal time for a rebrand is when you need to reinvigorate the fan base... The Crew gained national (and international) recognition less than 3 years ago during the relocation saga, won their second MLS cup, and are on the heels of opening a new stadium. Literally the least logical time to shake things up and anger your loyal base. There is no reason I can see for this aside from MLS pressure or the Haslams wanting to put their mark on the team. The Crew probably have the most recognizable brand in the league and are going to throw it all away for a generic 'C'. Mind blowing.
May 10, 20214 yr Here's a link to an excellent article from Steve Sirk - the unofficial Crew historian: https://sirkbook.com/2021/05/10/de-branding-the-crew/ It's a lengthy read, but well worth it. I particularly like how he refers to this re-brand as a "de-brand". Because this is certainly what it feels like(!)
May 10, 20214 yr As for where Crew fans go from here, that will depend on what (if anything) the team rolls out this week. But there is some precedent for fighting a terrible MLS team rebrand. The most recent one was in Chicago last year. Here is some advice from one of their fans: If you want to make your feelings known online (other than on twitter using the #crew96 or #savethecrew hashtags), there is this change.org petition: Beyond that, team management is in for a fight with its most loyal and vocal supporters - unless management backs down in a meaningful way. Here's what one of the SaveTheCrew leadership had to say about that: One of the SaveTheCrew movement's catch-phrases was "It's never too late to do the right thing". That still holds true!
May 10, 20214 yr Welp time to gear up for another battle with the FO and MLS, I'm sure Garber just loves us so much.
May 10, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, DevolsDance said: Exactly, the normal time for a rebrand is when you need to reinvigorate the fan base... The Crew gained national (and international) recognition less than 3 years ago during the relocation saga, won their second MLS cup, and are on the heels of opening a new stadium. Literally the least logical time to shake things up and anger your loyal base. There is no reason I can see for this aside from MLS pressure or the Haslams wanting to put their mark on the team. The Crew probably have the most recognizable brand in the league and are going to throw it all away for a generic 'C'. Mind blowing. The C thing reminds me more of Cleveland than Columbus. I am not a soccer fan, but this seems completely tone deaf considering what the team and fan base just went through.
May 10, 20214 yr IF...and that's a big IF....they needed a rebrand, they should have considered dropping the name Columbus all together instead of the name Crew. Crew City Crew City SC Crew 96 All are better than the Columbus SC rebrand.....f*cking gag me!!
May 10, 20214 yr It's rumored that there is currently an emergency meeting taking place between some of the leaders of the supporters groups and the FO. The next 24 hours will be interesting. The FO can either prove that they value the input of their fan base, or prove that they don't give a damn what their most loyal supporters think. Their true colors are about to be revealed, one way or the other.
Create an account or sign in to comment