Smart guy. Tough calls.

The big soccer news in Columbus this week has many Crew supporters beside themselves in anger with team administration. The franchise has opted out of six player contracts: Frankie Hejduk, Gino Padula, Duncan Oughton, Jason Garey, Leandre Griffit and the inimitable Guillermo Barros Schelotto. These players may or may not continue in MLS, but the likelihood of a renegotiation with The Crew is slim. Coach Robert Warzycha has reasoned the aging team needs move on and focus on youth. After all, some of the most influential players on [successful] playoff teams are under 30. I, for one, think it’s a good move. Here’s why.

Frankie, Duncan and Gino
One fact Crew fans (perhaps in an emotional, irrational state) seem to overlook is that even great players are human beings. These three are old folks in soccer terms, regardless of mental drive or energy level. Multiple games were lost this year on goals resultant of a reckless Padula challenge or a far-out-of-position Hejduk, and Oughton rarely sees the light of day. Their salaries no longer return the results they once did. They struggle to play their positions as they should be played. I’ve met all three guys and they are fantastic people, but aging is a fact of life.

Jason Garey
I originally planned to point out why The Crew’s roster doesn’t need a forward who plays in Jason’s style, but I realized I couldn’t even define a “style” for him. He’s a non-entity in a team stacked with clear cut strikers. Lenhart=hard-working nuisance, Renteria=muscles and more muscles, Mendoza=creative finisher. I hope Jason is picked up by an expansion team and develops into something great.

Griffit
He’ll be famous for scoring his first Crew goal in his first three minutes as a Crew player, but that’s about it. He’s a shadow in a loaded midfield, though I suspect this choice may have to do with the player’s personality… but I’m only guessing.

Guille
This is a touchy one. Firstly, I consider GBS a true hero for Columbus soccer and sports in general. He is an awe-inspiring player, has a real love for the city, and has shown what a visionary leader can do in a short period of time. That said, the choice to opt out of GBS is all about money. Let’s admit, Crew fans were lucky to have Guille in 2010. He was expected to leave but graciously stayed, even at age 37. We should also admit that 2010 was his weakest season with Columbus, evidenced by a steady decline in form since mid-season. Pair that with the estimated $650,000 it would cost to keep him at an upgraded salary in 2011 and the choice becomes clear. Warzycha could buy six good, young midfielders with that kind of money—not to say he should—but the point is, the cost of one more season of GBS doesn’t come close to outweighing the potential for development and piles of spendable capital.

The phrase “rebuilding year” has been on the breath of Crew fans ever since the World Cup break. We knew it was coming. It might be painful, but the choices Robert Warzycha made are for the best. The man freed up over $600,000 in roster money and still has a team of Eddie Gaven, Robbie Rogers, Brian Carroll, Emilio Renteria, Andres Mendoza, Chad Marshall, Sean Francis, Emmanuel Ekpo, Steven Lenhart and others. You can’t be too upset about that.

Astroheader twittering the Crew game

I recently complained about the MLS playing games on American football fields. I thought it couldn’t get worse in terms of venue for a professional soccer team. THEN I watched Columbus play at Kansas City in the first round of playoffs last night… ON A BASEBALL FIELD. Officials claim the converted Community America Ballpark accommodated the FIFA minimum 70-yard width. I cross-checked a couple of maps and it actually worked out. There is JUST enough room for a minimum size pitch. The field just LOOKED 40 yards wide because we are used to watching quality matches on decent fields, 90 or so yards wide. The 70 yard minimum, as one ONN announcer put it, is more like a bowling alley. Don’t get me started on bowling!

Just look at this map!

You can sit on the grass (“cauldron”) 4 inches from the field, or pay for a seat in section 103, a location far enough away that you have to pay a different county’s sales tax on your ticket. This stadium looks like a Christmas ornament when you put a soccer field in it.

Conclusion: Play in a rectangle!!!

• I hate watching soccer played on American football fields. HATE. Bonus: This one had an NFL logo in the middle of it. We already feel like a second-rate league, playing on a gridiron makes it feel like a second-rate sport… which of course it isn’t.

• Announcers with accents from the isles make the game feel at least twice as legit. It’s superficial, I know, but you know it’s true.

• Guillermo Barros Schelotto is really good.

• Juan Pablo Angel is really really good. This time.

• WHAT THE SHIT IS ANDY GRUENEBAUM DOING AAAARRRGGGHHHHHHH MOST EMBARRASSING GOAL OF THE SEASON EVER!!!!!!! Ever seen a top-table team get scored on by the opposing goalie from 75 yards out? Check the replay of this game to broaden your frame of reference. This was the first goal in the history of the MLS ever scored by a goalkeeper.