As I left the broadcast booth at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night, I took an elevator down to the main level with a family of four. J.R. Richard Authentic Jersey . They were energetic, full of smiles and happy with how their evening had gone. The teenage son turned to me and asked where I was from. I explained my reason for being there and he immediately wanted to know if I was surprised at the 3-0 defeat suffered by Toronto FC. His eyes widened when I said I wasnt. "I dont know too much about soccer but I was told tonight I was coming to see Salt Lake play the New York Yankees of MLS," he said. Minutes earlier, they were a part of a crowd that chanted overrated towards the opposition. Real Salt Lake fans know, more than most, what a competitive, perennial MLS Cup contender should look like and the jury in Utah was in. The verdict? Pretenders not contenders. For now. However, it is hard to think the management at the club didnt see this coming. It is, after all, only three games into the season following a massive overhaul. Just as expectations soared to ridiculous heights following the opening game win in Seattle, the reaction since this loss has been equally irrational. The biggest issue with Toronto FC through three games is not squad depth (this can be an issue for all in a salary cap league, plus Andrew Weideman was their fifth forward before Bright Dike got hurt and Kyle Bekker is their fourth central midfielder). The biggest issue with Toronto FC is not Doneil Henry, who was criticized in some quarters for giving away a first half penalty. He would go on to shine once again following the error. The two biggest issues with Toronto FC as March comes to a close is cohesiveness and a lack of tactical versatility. The first point can only come with time. Once again it was another new starting XI on Saturday and the team has yet to play back-to-back games with the same lineup from the start, and because of that, relationships within the team that need to gel for the collective to succeed, will take time. The second point, however, is one worth following closer than any other story around this team at the moment. Formations Real Salt Lake not only presented a good test as a unit on Saturday for the visitors, but also tactically in the shape they play in. Ryan Nelsen has said the formation is only really how you line up at the start but being a manager who wants to play two up top, he got a different look at how a 4-4-2 diamond works against his team. The Game Jeff Cassars RSL get their full backs forward more than most. I said that in the pre-game show on TSN and Nelsen certainly was aware of this heading into the game. This is how they get their width. However, it was the intelligent decision-making and movement from their midfield four that allowed them space to run into. Javier Morales ran the game for the home team. His lateral movement was magnificent drifting into pockets of space unoccupied by TFCs midfield. He made the move into the space to help ignite the play for the second goal. And then on a quick break for the third goal, he again found the space to send the ball over the top for Saborio. Nelsens team has struggled in possession through all three games and that is fine when you can transition and counter as effectively as they did in the first two games. However, against a midfield diamond, the outlets couldnt be found. Alvaro Rey and Mark Bloom were passengers during the first half while the two strikers never got any service. Yes, it can be said they needed to pass the ball better when they got it but the 4-4-2 shape they played really hurt them. Playing two quick, mobile strikers up top means they demand service. Michael Bradleys intelligent balls over the top caused RSLs centre backs some discomfort but the wide players (including full backs) just didnt get into advanced positions to provide crosses enough. Many funds have been given to Gilberto and Jermain Defoe and when they are fit, they will play, but the game was screaming out for an extra central midfielder to make up the numbers and here is the biggest conundrum the coaching staff has at the moment. Games are won and lost in transitions and in Bradley, they have a superior man for that role. However, when he, or his central midfield partner, started one in this game it often began with two wingers and two strikers 30-40 yards away. Defoe and Gilberto will not be left out and can cause massive issues when the game dictates it, matching up 2vs2 in areas, but the use of the wide midfield players can be modified. Bloom and Justin Morrow, just like Salt Lakes full backs, can get forward (it should be noted Bloom did just that when moved back there late in the match) to provide width and away from home, specifically, Toronto would be much better suited playing a narrower 4-4-2 diamond, giving Bradley more outlets around him. The American international is a real difference maker at this level and cannot be regularly concerned about the space in behind him because it pushes Toronto deeper and deeper. Yes, it is part of his job but not at the top of the list. Defoe and Gilberto are also not strikers that feast off crosses, although the Brazilian did excel in a number of aerial duels on Saturday. Bradley, of course, missed his midfield partner Jonathan Osorio on Saturday but the brilliance of Morales, combined with Torontos shape, meant little would have changed had the Canadian played. Once fit, against the leagues strongest teams, Osorio and Bradley should play just ahead of a more defensive-minded midfielder allowing them to have a much clearer job defensively and in transition. In the end, it was just one loss in March but as the club goes through a transition off the field, they need to find a way to ensure they can transition better on it. Andy Pettitte Astros Jersey .ca NBA Power Rankings, but there are changes among those teams in pursuit. Jose Cruz Jr. Authentic Jersey . - The Atlanta Falcons have signed former offensive lineman Gabe Carimi.RENTON, Wash. -- There is still no definitive date for when wide receiver Percy Harvin will make his Seattle Seahawks debut. And just as much of an unknown is what Harvins role will be when hes finally given the OK to get back in a game for the first time in a calendar year. The analysis of how Harvin would fit with the Seahawks first started when he was acquired in a trade with Minnesota in March, then was put on hold when Harvin underwent hip surgery to repair an injured labrum in early August. Its all restarted this week as Harvin returned to practice for the Seahawks, ahead of the initial timeline that was presented for his recovery. Coach Pete Carroll reiterated Thursday that Harvins return remains a day-to-day evaluation and made no promises about whether his debut would come on Monday night at St. Louis or is still a couple of weeks away. Harvin was not listed on the Seahawks injury report Thursday since he is not on the active roster. "Its a day-to-day, almost a drill-to-drill kind of situation to see if were managing him properly, to bring him back. It would be great to see him play this weekend, but thats not part of what were counting," Carroll said Thursday. When he does return, Harvin will join an offence that will always be based around the run first and spreads the ball to its various pass catchers. Headed into Mondays game -- which will mark the midway point of the season for Seattle -- no receiver has more than Golden Tates 27 catches and six players have at least 10 receptions. The Seahawks leader in touchdown catches is Zach Miller, with three, while Jermaine Kearse is the only other player with more than one TD catch with two of his eight receptions going for touchdowns. How will Harvin fit in? He thinks itll be very similar to his first couple of seasons with Minnesota, when he was working under current Seattle offensive co-ordinator Darrell Bevell. "It should be a lot similar especially dating back to my first two years when coach Bevell was my offensive co-ordinator with the Vikings," Harvin said. J.R. Richard Astros Jersey. "I expect it to be a lot similar. I dont expect pretty much anything to change." Sidney Rice was Harvins teammate during those two seasons with the Vikings, before signing with the Seahawks before the 2011 season. The best season of Rices career was 2009, when he caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns and often found himself with single coverage because Harvin was on the field. "Put a package in and let him make plays; that was his role," Rice said. "He mostly played in the slot but he did play on the outside quite a bit depending on what packages we had in for him. Im sure eventually once he gets healthy well start seeing the all-around Percy Harvin, lining up on the outside, on the inside, running back, who knows whats going to come of that." While Harvin is known for his blazing speed, for much of his career it hasnt been used to try to beat defences deep downfield. Harvin has caught 280 passes in his career and 210 of those receptions have come either behind the line of scrimmage or within the first 10 yards of the snap, according to STATS Inc. Whats made Harvin so successful is his ability to turn those short catches into big plays. For his career, Harvin is averaging nearly 7 yards after catch, meaning the many quick screens that were thrown his way with the Vikings were turned into meaningful gains. Last season, before being injured against Seattle in Week 9, Harvin was averaging 8.9 yards after catch. That was the best in the NFL for any wide receiver with more than 10 receptions. "Hes a gifted athlete," Bevell said. "Hes got great quickness, he can make guys miss. Hes got great toughness. He runs like Marshawn (Lynch) once he has the ball. He can run through people, he can run around people. He can make people miss. All those things together help him make those big plays." cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' '
