Games of the week....

I've mentioned before about the huge drop off with the "B" teams at the DA clubs ever since the birth year change/DA expansion. If you look at the 02/03 age groups in SCDSL & CSL, the non-DA teams for Surf, Albion, Pats, Strikers, Golden State, Aresenal, LAUFA, and etc have all been performing mediocre to very poor.

But looking at the standings, the '02 Albion Garton might end up being the one exception. Over the summer they looked just like all the other under-performing DA club "B" teams. But during the CSL season, they're now in the top half of the standings. What stuck out to me was they're tied for least goals allowed, so they seem to have a strong defense. But conversely, they're also tied for the worst goals scored. Which makes sense, at this age any forward worth their salt would have been picked up by the DA team.

Boca Juniors is clearly the class of this age group. I'm curious this weekend whether Albion Garton will be the first DA club "B" team to actually perform well or will Boca put them back to mediocrity. Someone mentioned in the '03 thread that Garton teams are known for good defense, but I think the lack of goal-scoring is going to be an issue when facing Boca. That said, October/November is when you start to see the coaches who actually developed their team. Teams that start to peak in the back half of the season are usually ones who had better development (assuming other things are relatively equal).
 
Eusebio said:
I've mentioned before about the huge drop off with the "B" teams at the DA clubs ever since the birth year change/DA expansion. If you look at the 02/03 age groups in SCDSL & CSL, the non-DA teams for Surf, Albion, Pats, Strikers, Golden State, Aresenal, LAUFA, and etc have all been performing mediocre to very poor.

But looking at the standings, the '02 Albion Garton might end up being the one exception. Over the summer they looked just like all the other under-performing DA club "B" teams. But during the CSL season, they're now in the top half of the standings. What stuck out to me was they're tied for least goals allowed, so they seem to have a strong defense. But conversely, they're also tied for the worst goals scored. Which makes sense, at this age any forward worth their salt would have been picked up by the DA team.

Boca Juniors is clearly the class of this age group. I'm curious this weekend whether Albion Garton will be the first DA club "B" team to actually perform well or will Boca put them back to mediocrity. Someone mentioned in the '03 thread that Garton teams are known for good defense, but I think the lack of goal-scoring is going to be an issue when facing Boca. That said, October/November is when you start to see the coaches who actually developed their team. Teams that start to peak in the back half of the season are usually ones who had better development (assuming other things are relatively equal).
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You must not be a WCFC fan.
 
Albion 2 - LA Galaxy 5

2 a piece for MC & VC. They were smart adding these 2 boys. This is now a different team from the one we beat at Man City Cup. Defenses will have their hands full with them.
 
Eusebio said:
Teams that start to peak in the back half of the season are usually ones who had better development (assuming other things are relatively equal).
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A coach usually gets his team in the spring or even winter, so he has the teams for 6 months before the season. The team usually plays a few tournaments and friendlies so the coach has a pretty good idea how to use each player. By the start of the season a coach's influence on the team is already there. The season lasts barely 2 months. How a team does toward the end of the season usually has more to do with schedule (teams don't play each other twice) and injury or a player's return from injury than a coach's tactical adjustment.
 
keeperdad326 said:
Albion 2 - LA Galaxy 5

2 a piece for MC & VC. They were smart adding these 2 boys. This is now a different team from the one we beat at Man City Cup. Defenses will have their hands full with them.
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Yeah fun to watch on the bright side, 2 goals are the most by any other team so far

BOCA JRS. OC B02 WHITE - 2 ALBION SC B02 ACADEMY - 0
 
I betcha the top three teams in Gold (N) (S) division would definitely give the top three teams in Premier a tough match.
But will see in League Cup coming up......
 
jdiaz said:
Boca doesn't have a DA team .
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Sorry for the misunderstanding. I wasn't implying that Boca had a DA team. I was just commenting on DA club "B" teams and I made a side comment that Boca seems to be the strongest team outside the DA circuit. From what I saw of West Coast over the summer, they looked impressive as well and played a more attractive style than Boca. It's just the CSL Premier seems a bit stronger overall the SDSL Flight 1. But I guess we'll get a better idea once CRL starts up again.

Also it'll be interesting to see the type of participation League Cup gets this year. In previous years, a handful of the top CSL teams sat out League Cup but I'm guessing this year more teams will be hungry to post results anywhere they can to establish a record.
 
Eusebio said:
Sorry for the misunderstanding. I wasn't implying that Boca had a DA team. I was just commenting on DA club "B" teams and I made a side comment that Boca seems to be the strongest team outside the DA circuit. From what I saw of West Coast over the summer, they looked impressive as well and played a more attractive style than Boca. It's just the CSL Premier seems a bit stronger overall the SDSL Flight 1. But I guess we'll get a better idea once CRL starts up again.

Also it'll be interesting to see the type of participation League Cup gets this year. In previous years, a handful of the top CSL teams sat out League Cup but I'm guessing this year more teams will be hungry to post results anywhere they can to establish a record.
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I don't think Boca Juniors is a fair bench mark for comparison. They won CRL last year or the year before so if they were a DA team, they'd be a very competitive DA. It's just not a fair comparison for "B" teams.

Agreed about WC's style. I also like the way Rebels play. I would even venture to say that if Rebels had some size they could give Boca a good game.
 
Having played against most of the CSL Premier (in the summer) and SCDSL Flight 1 Champions teams in league, West Coast FC is my pick for the clear best of the non-academy group. I like their style of play, they have some talented players, and enough size and athleticism to compete with some of the USSDA teams. I don't think they'd beat most of the USSDA 02 teams, but they would be competitive in several games. Just my opinion, but I think Boca's strengths would be completely shut down vs. most of the bigger, more athletic academy teams and wouldn't be much of a game.
 
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