Consistency now becomes the key for RSL following the first-ever four-game unbeaten streak in team history, which came to an end Friday night in a 1-0 loss at the Colorado Rapids. After a dismal beginning to the 2006 season and a fantastic last five games, RSL needs to have consistent play in order to yield consistent results.
The goal at this point of the season is simple: don't lose two in a row. When the San Jose Earthquakes turned their fate around in 2001, that mantra was one of the things that the Frank Yallop/Dominic Kinnear/Landon Donovan/Joe Cannon team lived by.
If they lost a game, they approached their next one with dogged determination. If you never lose two in a row, then you will be in the hunt at the end. It is very much like a golf analogy used by average hackers like myself, if you never take double bogeys, then at the end, your score will usually be decent. The league runs away from you a lot faster if you are dropping two and three games on the trot, as opposed to losses being aberrations from the norm.
The way to accomplish this level of consistency involves a few things. One, the players and staff have to fully embrace this idea, ingrain it into their being and have it run rampant in the dressing room. The refusal to drop two in a row has to be the mental focus of the team, in preparation for the next game. It can't be spoken about in small circles of determined players, or coaches, but rather it must be put out there for the entire organization.
If it is out there for all to see and hear, it is much more difficult to abandon that thought when the team gives up the first goal just twenty minutes in. If everyone is on board, a powerful accountability issue arises. Each individual has far greater responsibility heaped upon them when there is a common goal. You go into each and every game, practice, appearance and interview knowing and believing that if you let down for even one second, you are letting down everyone in a very public way. This leads to a greater commitment and a heightened sense of awareness throughout the organization.
While consistency, belief and commitment are the main things that absolutely have to happen in order to keep losing streaks at just one game, there are other things involved to support this structure. The coaches have to develop a sound game plan for the next game. They have to do a good job of relaying that to the team, and the team has to buy in. Once that happens, the accountability issue comes up again. The players have to stay on top of each other, to ensure that objectives are met in each training session. This is primarily the coaching staff's responsibility, but the players can help enforce the message.
And finally, in RSL's case, they have to simply believe. The team has done a wonderful job of defying all the naysayers, by turning the season around, when it once appeared as if all was going to be lost. Now that they have lost a game again, they have to continue to believe that they can keep rolling like they were.
They were not outplayed by Colorado. In fact, had it not been for the heroics of their goalkeeper, Joe Cannon, I am confident that RSL would have won the game. Cannon had not played in weeks, and he returned in fine form. He was the difference on Friday night. He pulled off a few improbable saves that really kept Colorado in the game, and ultimately led to their victory.
So, in spite of losing, and not playing their best, RSL was in the game at all times, and could have won. It was nice to see the relationship between Jason Kreis and Jeff Cunningham continue to blossom, and almost bear fruit. The young defense continues to do well, and the midfield is playing solidly. All in all, Friday night was what it was, just a loss. Practically all teams have losses, and the good ones learn from them, and put them aside.
As alluded to in an earlier column, you can't get to high when things go well, nor too low when they don't. RSL needs to have confidence in itself, and keep on going.
Robin Fraser, a five-time MLS Best XI selection and two-time MLS Defender of the Year, ended his 10-year MLS career and 16-year professional career last October, and now begins his first season with RSL as the team's color television analyst. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Fraser amassed 27 caps for the U.S. National Team and was drafted fourth overall by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the inaugural MLS draft.
Comments? E-mail Robin and the entire RSL broadcast crew at fun@RealSaltLake.com, and your e-mail could be featured in the Computech "Fan Feedback" feature on all RSL on KSL and FSN Utah broadcasts, as well as on KALL 700 AM.
