Alright so I'm going to say some things here ...
It's not fair to say this organization doesn't care about the US Open Cup. It is fair to say they are not well-positioned to succeed in that competition. This is a team that scouts internationally -- we are not a domestic team. Look at the squads that go deep in the US Open Cup. It's Kansas City, Red Bulls, Chicago -- teams that are very heavy on domestic players. We are not. So the 5 internationals rule really hampers us (and a team like, say, Atlanta), more than the others.
I do think PV named a fairly representative XI. Villa, Medina, Chanot, Sweat are all fairly regular players, even McNamara for now might end up being a regular starter with Herrera out. So that's roughly half the XI. Lewis was someone we wanted to see in this game, too. The midfield was a disaster and you probably would have liked to see Sands instead of Awuah, but the defense and forwards were pretty representative.
Listen, I think if this was a game against New England, we all would have said play all the kids and just worry about Atlanta on Saturday. It hurts because it's the Red Bulls. But I think almost all of us care far more about the game againt Atlanta than the US Open Cup, which simply isn't a competition this team is well-positioned for.
If we have our full XI and it's not a short week, sure I think we have a chance to do damage in this competition. We don't. We're playing with one food and one arm tied behind our back, and this is the result.
Honestly, I think Vieira did pretty well with selection all things considered. Not perfect, but he definitely went with a competitive squad. Still, he definitely had half an eye on Atlanta this Saturday, and I'm perfectly OK with that. He showed he thought it's more likely to get a result out of that game than out of this game, and he managed that way.
It's not fair to say this organization doesn't care about the US Open Cup. It is fair to say they are not well-positioned to succeed in that competition. This is a team that scouts internationally -- we are not a domestic team. Look at the squads that go deep in the US Open Cup. It's Kansas City, Red Bulls, Chicago -- teams that are very heavy on domestic players. We are not. So the 5 internationals rule really hampers us (and a team like, say, Atlanta), more than the others.
I do think PV named a fairly representative XI. Villa, Medina, Chanot, Sweat are all fairly regular players, even McNamara for now might end up being a regular starter with Herrera out. So that's roughly half the XI. Lewis was someone we wanted to see in this game, too. The midfield was a disaster and you probably would have liked to see Sands instead of Awuah, but the defense and forwards were pretty representative.
Listen, I think if this was a game against New England, we all would have said play all the kids and just worry about Atlanta on Saturday. It hurts because it's the Red Bulls. But I think almost all of us care far more about the game againt Atlanta than the US Open Cup, which simply isn't a competition this team is well-positioned for.
If we have our full XI and it's not a short week, sure I think we have a chance to do damage in this competition. We don't. We're playing with one food and one arm tied behind our back, and this is the result.
Honestly, I think Vieira did pretty well with selection all things considered. Not perfect, but he definitely went with a competitive squad. Still, he definitely had half an eye on Atlanta this Saturday, and I'm perfectly OK with that. He showed he thought it's more likely to get a result out of that game than out of this game, and he managed that way.