NB: Much of the content from this piece was drawn from comments of a draft of my previous piece, made by my friend Graham. While I borrow liberally from his insight and analysis, all errors are mine.

As of this writing, Crew defensive linchpin Chad Marshall is sidelined for an indeterminate number of weeks due to injury, ending his central defensive partnership with Glauber Berti. While the loss of the player who has arguably been the Crew’s most consistent performer over the past half-decade cannot be considered a good thing, it forces at the very least a lineup change and might also be the impetus for a tactical shakeup, something many observers, myself included, feel is much needed.

Since the start of the season, the Crew has played with something close to a traditional 4-4-2 formation, with a compact midfield featuring two defensive midfielders, and with the fullbacks, particularly Josh Williams on the right, pushing forward to provide the team with width. Now, make no mistake, Williams has proven to be one of the few genuine offensive threats the team has, and must be considered one of the better right backs in the league. But despite his performances, these tactics are clearly not working.

Last time I discussed how the loss of Milovan Mirosevic, and the club’s inability to replace him in central midfield with someone featuring his versatile play, has hampered the effectiveness of the Crew’s Designated Player, forward Federico Higuain. This time I will discuss how the use of twin wingbacks also causes structural problems for the team that, in its current configuration, the midfield is unable to handle.

Given the large and immobile central pairing of Marshall and Glauber, the gap in defense caused by the absence of the fullbacks creates the need for defensive cover on the part of the two central midfielders—who, this season, have been chosen specifically for their defensive abilities. This defensive cover creates two imbalances in the formation—first, it exposes the area of the field directly in front of the defense, allowing opposing teams space and time to build attacks from distance. Second, it renders the central midfielders impotent in transitioning from defense to offense, causing Higuain to push back even further.

So, what if the defensive midfielders don’t cover the empty space? Then, the outside midfielders, usually Eddie Gaven and Dominic Oduro, have to track back and fend off the opponent’s wide midfielders. All this accomplishes, in essence, is having your wingbacks swap roles with your wingers. This is fine as an occasional tactic, but to have it as a prevailing method of attack is admitting tactical bankruptcy.

The solution: stop playing with two tall but immobile center-halves, and instead swap a defensive midfielder for a libero, allowing a more flexible defensive formation and placing a more attack-oriented midfielder in the center of the park. This way, the tactically rigid 4-4-2 (that never really stops being a 4-4-2, even when the fullbacks move forward) becomes a much more flexible version of the same formation, which transforms into a quasi-3-3-4 in attack. To wit—when the fullbacks push forward, the lone defensive midfielder forms a central pairing with the center-back, while the sweeper covers any missing space. And the presence of a more forward-positioned central midfielders allows for a compact, three-man midfield that is ideally positioned to transition from attack to defense and back again, leaving no gaps in front of the defense.

There are immediate problems with this idea. It would possibly require the benching either Marshall (unthinkable when healthy), or Glauber (a relatively high-profile international), provided neither of them could adapt to playing as a sweeper. I think Marshall is tactically adept enough to do so but I have my doubts on his mobility. Should no existing player be able to slot into that role, where would a mid-table, small-market club like Columbus find a player technically gifted and tactically sophisticated enough to play in a libero position?

I remember attending one of the coach’s ‘chalk talks’ back in 2008, probably the only one I’ve ever attended, and commenting to Sigi Schmid that he’d built the best midfield in the league. At the time we had players in those positions who could do everything that was required of them – break up opposing attacks, win the ball, create width down the flanks to stretch defenses and, possibly most importantly and elusively, link defense with attack. How I miss those days.

Sigi was never, to the best of my knowledge, a midfielder in his youth. Obviously Robert Warzycha was. So was ‘Pep’ Guardiola. Now, I know the idea of comparing Warzycha to Guardiola might seem ludicrous, but it serves to illustrate a very important point. Guardiola once remarked, famously and possibly apocryphally, that he’d play ten men in midfield if he could. He was one of the best midfielders of his generation, he set the pattern for much of how the game is played these days, and quite obviously he loved, valued, and understood his position.

Watching the Crew play this season one gets the feeling that Warzycha would like nothing else than to play with no midfielders, or, at the most, with two midfield destroyers like Danny O’Rourke. For someone who spent an entire career at the position, he seems to not value it at all, as if it were a mere annoyance in his tactical vision.

What this has caused is an over-reliance on players performing duties outside their normal bailiwick – fullbacks being the only source of attacking width, forwards forced to be water-carriers by dropping deep into midfield to bring the ball forward. This last item is, for me, the most glaring problem with the team’s play this season – there is no link from defense to attack.

I specifically blame this tactical deficiency on the inability of the team to have replaced Milovan Mirosovic during the off-season.

Mirosevic was not the most beloved player during his tenure with the team. He largely under-performed at his initial role as a playmaker, and rarely seemed to make an impact during matches. But I would argue that this image is illusory, because once the club signed Federico Higuain, Mirosevic was reborn as a classic ‘box-to-box’ midfielder, a real workhorse for the club. Relieved of his responsibility as a fantasista, he was able to perform a role that was sorely needed – dropping deep into the defense to bring the ball forward, efficiently and consistently, so that Higuain could perform his magic.

There is currently no one on the roster who seems able to fill that role. O’Rourke seems stricken with the vapors the few times we’ve seen him push forward past the center line. Tchani – perhaps the one player on the squad suitable to fill this role – has consistently been ill- or under-used. Viana’s skills are elsewhere. One supposes that Warzycha could enlist the ever-dutiful Eddie Gaven to fill this role, but he seems to prefer Gaven on the wing instead.

The result of this lack of a water-carrier – an ostensibly plebian role – has caused our attack to stagnate and our tactics to become dull and predictable. Other clubs know that, to stop our offense, just deny Higuain options coming back. It;s as simple as that, and until we can find a replacement, or a plan B, we will continue to languish.

At the top I wrote that this was not a Warzycha attack piece, and it is not. While I hold him partially responsible for our tactical woes, he is, to my knowledge, not the person in the Crew’s organization who is responsible for scouting and signing players. He can only work with the tools at his disposal. That he has mis-used those tools is beyond question, but that doesn’t mean he’s working with a full toolbox.

The Season of The Glauber is somewhere around four games old now (okay no wait, it’s exactly four games old, my bad, shut up, no you shut up, no you) and science has already confirmed it to be the most emotionally-intense season of fighting canary football since 2012 (The Season of The Vargas).

Just how emotionally-intense? Glad you asked…

The Top Five Most Emotionally-Intense Moments Of 2013 (As Of April 2nd) (2013) (Only Moments Involving The Crew) (Obvs) (I like pizza)

5. The Crew traveled to the tropical island state of Florida to compete in the preseason Mickey Mouse Club Cup. The team suffered through multiple confusing camera angles on various online webcasts before eventually falling in the final to that one French club from the North Pole, or something. The reserve team was like, OMGGGGGG LEAVE US IN WE’LL SCORE MOAR GOALS COACH, and the starters were all, LOLZ THE PRESEASON LOLZ.

It was super emotionally-intense.

4. The 2013 season opener found the black and gold on the road in front of hundreds of slightly awake Chivas USA fans in Los Angeles, and the good guys came through with an impressive 3-0 win – their first season-opening road victory since 1998 against one of the various defunct professional sports franchises from the perpetually-embarrassing state of sunshine. But yeah, for sure, lets put another MLS team in Orlando. What could possibly go wrong?! Certainly not colossal failure.

The highlight of the night came off the right foot of Federico Higuain, as Pipa curled one into the back of the net from approximately infinity yards outside of the box. It was so Raven. And emotionally-intense.

3. After probably (definitely) leaving a point on the field in Vancouver in week two of MLS play, the Crew finally returned to Columbus for the 2013 home opener. And wouldn’t you know it, it was HashtagRivalryWeek in Major League Soccer! Naturally, Columbus was matched against their logical geographical rivals – the Earthquakes of San Jose, California. Everyone in Ohio was, like, super peeved all week, and, like, everyone was all, “We hate California” and stuff.

It was seven hundred degrees below zero, and it was a tie. HashtagRivals, HastagWindPoisoning.

EMOTIONAL. INTENSITY.

2. Everyone in the world knows that if you are looking for the most un-charming place in America to die from an infected puncture wound suffered while stepping on a rusty nail after losing your balance while trying to avoid a piece of falling cement debris that is so large that it just HAS to be at least SOMEWHAT important to the structural integrity of the building itself, you need not look further than the decrepit and depressing concrete tomb of mediocrity known as RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

In week four of MLS action, the black and gold rolled through the nations capital and took what was rightfully theirs – three entire road points. And a few necessary tetanus shots. But mostly road points. And also a souvenir shot glass from the airport. SPRING BREAK.

The emotional intensity came after a DC United goal was rightfully called back after one of their communist midfielders was found guilty of cheating by a man on the field who was carrying a flag, and another man who was carrying a whistle.

Kyle Martino was on TV that day, and I remember thinking that he must know a lot about soccer on account of all the smoldering looks he was giving the audience while staring directly into the soul of the camera while never blinking and having his head tilted slightly downwards.

1. Coach Fun Bobby continues to mock me on a weekly basis with his baller-status prototype Adidas jacket that he said he would sell to me before the season started, and then never did. At first you’re like, “hahaha Coach Fun Bobby is a hilarious jokester”, but then you wisely realize that he is a #YellowSwag dream-crusher and that he is ruining my entire life.

And now you are up to speed on literally everything that has happened in 2013.

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HSH is always willing to showcase it’s members ideas and opinions. If you have a point of view you want to share, a rant, or something you just need to get off  of your chest, submissions can be sent to HSHLeadership@gmail.com, with “Hooligan Op-Ed” in the subject line. Please keep editorials rated PG-13 and less than 1000 words. All editing rights are reserved.

March was a good month for the Columbus Crew. After going 2-1-1 for the month the Crew find themselves in 4th in the Eastern Conference with 7 points, putting them 7th on the combined MLS table.

Here in Columbus we’re real fans who are well versed in good soccer, and this is Part 2 of what we saw from the Columbus Crew in March 2013 (Part 1 is available here):

Jenn Eyer:

The Crew started off the month of March and the beginning of the 2013 season with a massive win over Chivas USA. As a fan, I tried not to get my hopes up too much, but that first game was pretty stellar. From there the team had a loss, a tie, and then another win putting them at 2-1-1 for the month of March.

This feels like a fairly good start to the season, but it also shows that the team still hasn’t figured out how to play as a cohesive unit. There are weak spots throughout the roster, though with the addition of Ben Speas to the starting line-up and his work with Eddie Gaven and Federico Higuain gives me hope for the rest of the season. The problem is still with the defense. Josh Williams and Chad Marshall are beasts on the back line, but Glauber and Wahl tend to falter a bit more often than they should. It’s also pretty obvious that Danny O’Rourke and Augustin Viana are playing the same position with matching styles, so having them both on the pitch doesn’t always bring much to the game, or forces one of them to play where he is not comfortable.

Bottom line: the team still needs work. Bright spots: Josh Williams and Ben Speas. Players that can always be relied on: Eddie Gaven, Federico Higuain, Andy Gruenebaum and Chad Marshall. Changes I would make: There aren’t a lot of tried and true choices for any position, but changing up the defense wouldn’t hurt, maybe Viana in place of Glauber or Wahl, throw an Eric Gehrig in there occasionally, and keep Tony Tchani off the field and the team should do just fine. I’m looking forward to April.

Evonne Segall:

March: they say it comes in like a lion. That game at Chivas certainly set us off with a roar, huh? Three goals to start. Our new captain was fired up, and if I had a dollar for every time Higuain’s shins got kicked, I’d sponsor our stadium. I was incredibly impressed with Viana, who I hadn’t gotten to see much of in preseason. He just. kept. getting. back. up.

I honestly don’t remember much about Vancouver except that rocket goal. It’s a small concern to me that, as amazingly acrobatic as some of the Hammer’s saves are, he’s having a bit of a struggle with those long-range shots. That’s the kind of goal our coach was known for, fyi, so maybe they could run a few drills.

Jeebus, it was great to be home again. The Nordecke was rockin’ and I was freezin’. The 2 losers in my row who always showed up late and left early moved a few rows back, and the young couple who took their place are really great. I missed seeing Lenhart. I was thrilled for Glauber, particularly after his comments at the Supporters’ Summit. Did you know he turned down higher-paying gigs to come play in Columbus? Don’t let the trolls fool you: players love it here.

Oh, and D.C.? Shut the front door, y’all. I don’t care if the offside call was right or wrong – it’s final & we beat the Evil.

I can argue pieces of the puzzle if you really want to push it, but the fact is, our coach has basically stuck with one lineup thru 4 games. We have a starting 11, it would seem, and they’re pretty darn healthy. There’s some work to do all around, but we have some bright shining stars (I’m looking at you, “Need for Speas” and “Light Em Up”) and the team is only going to become more cohesive as the season continues. So let’s be there to see it, and let’s support every single one of them.

Out like a lamb? Hell no, we’re just getting started.

Questions? Comments? Want to argue points with me that I didn’t even make in this op-ed, late-night garble? Bring it. CTID, beeches. (Please reply to Evonne on Twitter, she really enjoys the feedback)

Jerry Legend:

We’ve found a long lost pal we haven’t seen in years in the month of March: Optimism. The month wasn’t without it’s flaws, but overall we’ve come out strong to start. Not bad considering how RW loves to use the first month as an extra extended pre-season. Now it’s our turn to bring the ruckus. Shirts off, scream till you have no voice, *$&% CSC, flag waving, tifo makin, H-S-MOTHA FUGGIN-H

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Want to add your opinion? Think the Crew is going to win the 2014 Club World Cup? Don’t be afraid of the comment box, or hit us up on Facebook, twitter or at HSHLeadership@gmail.com.

March was a good month for the Columbus Crew. After going 2-1-1 for the month the Crew find themselves in 4th in the Eastern Conference with 7 points, putting them 7th on the combined MLS table.

I think we can all agree that the first month of 2013 could have gone a lot worse, but you’d be hard pressed to want more more from this club. Save for a couple of boneheaded defense plays, this Crew team could very well be undefeated and sitting at the top of the conference, if not the league. There are very few teams that have looked better in the earliest part of 2013, and the Crew is hanging right there with them.

It may come as a shock to some, but the Hudson Street Hooligans are made up of intelligent soccer fans. We’re not like the guys in Seattle who spend their summers in England watching footie, nor do we have anything in common the star-crossed fans in LA, who attend matches to see and be seen. And we’re nothing Like Chicago, who have to be paid to travel with their team.

Here in Columbus we’re real fans who are well versed in good soccer, and this is what we saw from the Columbus Crew in March 2013:

Travis Irvine:

Like many fans during the offseason, I was sitting at home looking at The Crew’s roster moves, thinking about how the team missed the playoffs for the first time in four years, and just wanting to write “Sack Warzycha” all over anything The Crew posted on social media. I think several other fans would admit they felt the same way.

But now, a month into the 2013 season, I have to wonder if Warzycha had a plan all along. The team has essentially picked up where they left off, with Higuain, Arrieta, Gaven, Marshall, Gruenebaum, Williams and O’Rourke all back and in pretty good (and healthy!) form. Plus the new additions are proving to be far better then their predecessors: Wahl is a better Williams, Williams is a better Miranda, Glauber is a better James/Mendes, Oduro is a way better Duka, and Viana has been unbelievably impressive as a new and improved Mirosevic/Birchall/Whoeverthehellelsewehadinthere.

So I’m taking back my thoughts and social media comments about sacking Warzycha, and I’m going to sit back and enjoy the 2013 season. The Crew has taken out the rusty parts, the old parts have been refurbished and are good n’ healthy, and I think we’re looking at a very good season ahead of us, with everyone from the Crew front office to the players all hoping for the same. If March was any indication, and the players can stay healthy, I think we’ll be looking at a big presence in “all of the playoff” this year!

Jim Bach:

Given that I went into the 2013 season with expectations lower than any season in nearly a decade, it would be no exaggeration that last month’s performance by the Crew was far better than I could have hoped. While I am not satisfied with many aspects of the team’s play, the results so far demonstrate how isolated all club’s fans are in any off-season, forgetting that most clubs flirt with mediocrity – if that – and that any squad with a competent defense and an attack featuring players with the quality of Higuain and Arrieta will inevitably score get points, deserved or not.

Tony Galiffo:

The Columbus Crew month of March has been great, but does leave us with a few questions. While the season started out with flawless 3-0 route over the Goats, a fair draw against San Jose, and a win against DC in DC. The month has been good overall. But I feel like the Crew need to part ways with the 4-4-1-1 and go with a 4-3-1-2 with Oduro and Arrieta up front. While the offense is much better and is showing more production than last year, I feel as if we are leaving too much space up front, and we need to put another body in there to create some havoc in front of the net more often.

As for the defense. It’s hard to complain on paper (we have given up 4 goals in 4 games). But the style of goals we are giving up is asinine, we give too much space on the rush and we are just not tight in the back line. Three of these goals have come from more than 20 yards out, which concerns me, but it seems these are chemistry problems rather than play performance. Something that will take care of itself in due time.

Other than that, everything is pretty good for the Black and Gold. It looks like we have a strong team that can really contend if the current trends continue.

—

Part two is available here.

Want to add your opinion? Think we’re all crazy and Bobby needs to go immediately? Don’t be afraid of the comment box, or hit us up on Facebook, twitter or at HSHLeadership@gmail.com. 

Columbus brought a “W” back to Ohio from RFK stadium, home of D.C. United, for the first time since September 2010. With almost everything against them in this game—it being an away game, D.C. hadn’t lost their past 18 home games and this also being where they had played when they had learned about their teammate, Kirk Urso, had passed—they seemed to take it all and let it fuel them.

Only minutes into the game the boys in yellow started to take shots, attacking the goal. The Crew did a good job of keeping the ball most of the time, but when Columbus lost possession their chances of getting a win didn’t look good.

Only 14 minutes into the game defender Josh Williams gave hope to Crew supporters when he headed in a free kick from fellow defender Tyson Wahl. Whal’s left-footed service was spot on, and when DC United’s keeper Bill Hamid came off his line to get the ball it opened things up for Williams’ second goal of the year. Josh is now the teams’ leading scorer in 2013, an unlikely title for a defender.

Unfortunately, DC responded only a little over seven minutes later when newcomer Raphael Agusto Santos De Silva got the ball and put it in the back of the net. Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum was caught out of position, having just cleared the ball out of his box. Raphael took advantage of that and a breakdown in the Crew’s defense and rocketed the ball into the back of the net from 35 yards.

At 40 minutes in The Crew had a scary moment. DC’s James Riley played a through ball up the left sideline to Lionard Pajoy, who was immediately called offside. DC’s Kyle Porter, though, continued with the ball towards the Crew goal, apparently not hearing the whistle. Both Crew and United players had stopped, but Porter slipped the ball past Gruenebaum, and no one was really sure what had happened. After a few seconds of deliberation by the officials the goal was annulled and the first half ended 1-1.

The second half started very much like the first with The Crew taking shots on the goal. Just 12 minutes in Federico Higuain took a free kick that fell to Ben Speas after Hamid punched it out of his box. Speas then sent the ball beautifully into the back of the net for his first career MLS goal.

Though I would say the best play of the game was in the 71st minute when Columbus was struggling to try and clear the ball from their six-yard box. Crew ‘keeper Andy Gruenebaum made two amazing close call saves from the ground that can’t be really described, but will surely be nominated for Save of the Week.

When the final whistle blew it was a happy end for Crew, they would be leaving D.C. with a 2-1 victory.

Though he did a great job for most of the game, it also says a lot about what Gruenebaum needs to work on. He is a fantastic blocker of the ball and deserves recognition for that, but he seems to struggle when it comes to stopping and actually getting a hold of the ball. His skills at blocking are great but if he doesn’t get better at catching the ball I think it will bring The Crew down.

After yesterday’s game it’s very clear that Columbus is a major threat to all teams when it come to set pieces. Though it was a great win for Crew it is clear there are things the team needs to work on. One of their biggest struggles, that they even faced last year, is when they think the ref should call something they stop playing. Sadly that is when they have the biggest issues, they need to keep continuously playing and just hope that the ref will blow the whistle.

Hopefully with Columbus having a bye-week they will buckle down and prepare for the first east conference opponent on their home pitch when they face the Philadelphia Union on April 6th.

]]> http://hudsonstreethooligans.com/crew-news/d-c-united-1-2-columbus-ohio-boys-bring-home-a-win-for-the-crew-2013-03-24/feed/ 0 http://hudsonstreethooligans.com/hsh-news/hudson-street-hooligans-usavmex-ticket-info-request-2013-03-21/ http://hudsonstreethooligans.com/hsh-news/hudson-street-hooligans-usavmex-ticket-info-request-2013-03-21/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:56:15 +0000 Chris LaMacchia http://hudsonstreethooligans.com/?p=1473

The boys in Black and Gold took on San Jose in front of 16,528 freezing fans in Columbus last night. This was the Crew’s first game on their home field since the end of the 2012 season, 140 days ago. Coming out with the same line up as last week, the Crew seemed to have fixed some of the issues they faced in their previous game against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Just like last week Columbus did not have a bad first half but a disappointing one with no goals. Andy Gruenebaum made a great save in the first half just 13 minutes into the game.  30 minutes into the game hopes were lifted when there was a close call when Ben Speas sent a beautiful pass to Dominic Oduro that just barely got blocked by goalkeeper Jon Busch.  For a fan perspective it was nice to see Oduro so angry that the ball didn’t make it into the net. You could see that he wanted that goal more than anything.

I think the reason the Crew was having trouble scoring had a lot to do with how San Jose plays defense. Unlike the two previous teams Columbus played, and unlike the Crew itself, San Jose plays a very compact defense. It seemed every time Crew was able to get the ball into the San Jose side, all 11 of the Earthquakes players were there as well, making it difficult for the Crew to pass or play through them If they had been more prepared for San Jose’s playing style I think they could have been able to work around it better and score at least two goals in the first half.

The second half went very much like the first half, until about the 60th minute. Columbus had a close call as San Jose all-star Chris Wondolowski almost got a goal. A block from Josh Williams stopped his first attempt the next shot was beautifully blocked by newcomer Tyson Wahl and then the ball was finally cleared by fellow newcomer Glauber.

Seven minutes later Glauber had another great play when team captain Federico Higuain took a corner kick that lead the Brazilian to his first career MLS goal. Sadly only five minutes passed before San Jose tied it up. Columbus was not marking players but watching the ball which allowed defender Justin Morrow to get the ball with no opposition and easily sent the ball to the back of the net. The game continued uneventfully, wrapping up at 93 minutes as a tied game.

This game wasn’t bad, but a little lack luster. I was hoping to see more of a showing like Crew had against Chivas, with more control and dominance on the field. When they played Chivas two weeks ago they had the same passion and effort as last year’s match against the Galaxy in August. They should play every game as if they are in their own house, they have the talent and passion now they just need to show the rest of the league.

This game makes me nervous for what lies ahead for the Crew in the 2013 season. They have come out so far this season on somewhat shaky feet, and I’m hoping they find some stability this week when they meet their first Eastern Conference opponent in DC.

It’s the day all Columbus and San Jose fans have been waiting for. After the entire off-season, the wait is over. The lines have been drawn. The tension has built up. The gloves are off.

Rivalry week is here.

I know that not many of you need updates on San Jose’s preparation because, as noted earlier, it’s all we Columbus fans have been thinking about since last year.

However, after looking over the entire front page of the San Jose website I have yet to find a single article, link or photo that’s devoted entirely to their match in two days with Columbus. The first photo in the links of four articles does link to a “broadcast,” which is simply a Google+ hangout appropriately titled, The Hangout. Apparently it’s a bunch of “Goonies” recording their deep and sincere views on all things, I’m assuming one of them is actually soccer.

While the name The Hangout suggests there would be Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Mario Lopez, Starr Jones (wait…) or whoever the hell else talks California nonsense these days making a cameo, I’m sure there is not. It is undoubtedly a lack of marketing and a lack of funding for something resembling a professional attempt at a match preview. I did not waste my time watching these clips, nor do I feel that I have the mental preparation or patience to sit through this worthless collage of SJ fans giving their opinions on whatever the topic is. Judging by this screen shot though, it is sure to be riveting media:

The Quakes are off to an alright start. But this is rivalry week. We don’t treat rivals kindly. I think their start to 2013 is scaring their fans. They failed miserably in Week 1 then barely escaped New York in Week 2, and let’s face it – New York is a complete shit team. Yeah Mike Petke, I said it. So that match might as well have just been practice for the Quakes, which mean that result doesn’t matter and they are really only sitting at 0-1-0. Quite possibly the most disappointing MLS start since Columbus in 2009 (forget LA last year). We all believed in the Crew squad that year, and this year it’s Jimmy Conrad and his rapper friend that believe in San Jose. Anything is possible.

Regardless of alliances. We can all agree that this Saturday will be a battle. Two sides, with decades of hate for each other, go toe-to-toe in Crew Stadium for bragging rights. The only thing that’s for sure is that nothing is for sure.

I hope to see you all out at the pub before the match and at the tailgate. I wonder, if we could see into the future, what we would see as the outcome of this year. I’d like to share one more Jimmy/Wondo pic, which takes me back to Conan’s days of “..In the year 2000 (3000).” Stare at it deeply, and feel free to share your predictions for the future. Or any creepy pictures that might look similar.

Have a safe Crewsmas, everyone. Go Crew. #RivalryWeek

The Tonight Show w/ Conan O’Brien Clip

2013 #NorOnTour Schedule

Chicago 4/20

Leaving Saturday 4/20 at 8am from Crew Stadium.  We will arrive and check into hotel and then bus will take us to stadium.  We will tailgate at Toyota Park.  Bus will take us back to the hotel.  We will leave Chicago at approx 9 am Sunday morning.  Cost is $110 per person.

New York 5/26

Leaving Sunday 5/26 at 7:30am from Crew Stadium. Check into the hotel and then attend game.  We will depart NY at approx 9am Monday. Cost is $130 per person.

Toronto 7/26

Still in the planning stages.  The game is Saturday, July 27; we will leave 7/26 and will be staying two nights.  You will need a passport to make this trip.  The cost will be approximately $160 per person.

Kansas City 9/7

Leaving Friday, September 6th at 8am from Crew Stadium. We will arrive in KC that evening and stay overnight. We will head back to Columbus Saturday night after the game. Cost is $160 per person.

All costs include: One meal, hotel, match ticket, beer on the way there and the good company of either Lisa Phillips or Kevin McCullough. Please email any and all questions and comments to Lisa or Kevin.

These trips will fill up fast.  Please let us know your interest and we can put you on a payment plan for all trips or as many as you want to attend.