A few observations I made during Minnesota United's drubbing against Portland last night:

• The MLS' seriousness and standard of play has increased significantly in the decade or so that I've completely ignored the league. Last night's match started with a massive, Italian-style choreography, and the play was intense, with loads of pressing. It still doesn't seem to be a particularly tactical league though-- but perhaps that will come.


• It was really weird seeing Lawrence Olum play. I still have the old options file for whichever version of Pro Evo it was archived on my hard drive somewhere, where I'd made Thunder for that season-- kits and all, including Olum. He played in a holding role for us, and had excellent quality. I was sad to see him leave. I hadn't heard his name since then, and I had no idea he was still playing football.


• Vadim Demidov is a total disaster. He was partially or mostly at fault for pretty much all five goals, constantly misjudging balls in the air, getting wrong side of his men, and just generally looking totally overwhelmed and off the pace. I've seen this song and game before, so believe me I know the signs: Lazio have acquired many centerhalves-- Diego Novaretti, Mauricio, Milan Bisevac to name but a few-- whose resumes have suggested that they have something to give, but wound up being totally hapless. Demidov's performance last night was eerily "deja vu" for me. Unfortunately, Heath decided to appoint Demidov captain, putting the former into a corner.


• Christian Ramirez is totally indispensible. The attack look revolutionized with his introduction, and of course, he proved that his goal scoring skills translate to the higher caliber of play. Ramirez looked totally off the pace in pre-season, while Johan Venegas looked superb-- but in an actual competitive match, it was exactly the opposite. It just goes to show that you can't read too much into friendlies.


• Unfortunately, I can't extend the same praise to fellow-NASL'er Justin Davis, who I just don't think can cut it at this level. He improved in the second half, but I think that's because Portland had backed off and were playing on the counter. In the first half in particular, Davis was playing way too narrow-- as he's always been apt to do-- and was otherwise caught out over and over again, looking totally overwhelmed by the pace of this higher standard of play. The incoming jerome Thiesson should "solve" the right back spot, but I suspect we'll need a new left back as well, sooner rather than later. Davis has been my long-time favorite United player, so this is a painful admission for me to make.


• As soon as I saw the shape, I knew that there was a distinct possibility of Portland scoring boat loads of goals-- which is exactly what came to pass. I get that a 4-3-3 enables the team to have Saeid, Warner, and Schuller-- our three defensive-most midfielders-- on the pitch at the same time. But our winging players are simply not talented or pacey enough to pick the ball up wide and beat their men, nor does the shape allow us to be compact enough. It left Molino-- our best player by a mile-- isolated. Plus, Venegas is best as a trequartista of sorts, and there is no such role in the 4-3-3. If Heath wants to pick up many points this season, he'd better do what Serie B teams do when they get promoted to Serie A: defend, defend, defend. Be compact, move as a team, get comfortable absorbing pressure, and try to nick a goal or so per game on the counter. Especially with a back line that-- Calvo aside-- is dreadful.