Massive Report

We still have a Discovery [claim] on Laing, He’s gone to Salt Lake, but he’s still our player....

2012-02-21T13:35:03Z

We still have a Discovery [claim] on Laing, He’s gone to Salt Lake, but he’s still our player. We’re bringing somebody else to Charleston, so we’ll see how that works.

Warzycha talks a bit more about the Crew's options at left back to MLSSoccer.com's Craig Merz.

Photos from Crew Practice - 2/20/2012

2012-02-21T13:19:55Z

Massive Report Media Editor Sam Fahmi got to Crew Stadium and has plenty of shots of the team in action. Click on the slideshow below to see all of the action.

Video Interviews From Crew Practice 2/20/2012

2012-02-21T01:09:44Z

I got a chance to go to the Crew's practice at the stadium this morning. Here are a couple of interviews with Milovan Mirosevic and Kirk Urso.

Am I Excited, Heck Yeah

2012-02-20T20:15:56Z

Last night I said I wasn't too excited about this preseason. I'm still not. I don't want to give the wrong impression. That doesn't mean I'm not excited about the Columbus Crew; There is a lot more to be excited about than preseason soccer I won't get to see.

I can't wait to see Mirovan Mirosevic on the field. He's not Guillermo, he's even said so, but the Crew doesn't need another Guillermo; they need a game changer. He doesn't need to dance around with the ball attached to his feet as he orchestrates the offense. He's an exciting and a direct player who has impressive timing and a knack for goal. I want to see it live.

The team may have had the best offseason ever off the field. This certainly begins with the 5 year Barbasol deal that brings the Crew an new jersey sponsor. I've heard from dozens that have already grabbed a new can of Barbasol to trim their winter beards. Even before that, sponsorships were up 20% over last year. That is very positive financial news for a team that is in one of the hardest hit states in the recession.

There will also be fans at the games this year. The team has already eclipsed their season ticket total from last year and are moving upwards towards the 10k goal. They may not get there this year, but it's a real possibility after years of sagging attendance.

The energy in the fanbase is tremendous. I attended the January Nordecke Social and the response was outstanding. Even two months before the season, the topic of conversation was new chants and bigger and better tifo displays. Crewsmas Eve plans are set. To say Crew fans are excited is an understatement.

It's only 19 days until March 10th and the Crew kicks off against the Colorado Rapids on an unnamed but promised Television partner. There will be overflow crowds watching the Crew at 4th Street Bar, Ruby Tuesday, Three Legged Mare, and Fado and plenty of people at home hoping to see some excitement on the field that matches the excitement off it.

Crew Plays 10 Reserve Matches; Kicks Off on March 24th

2012-02-20T19:53:21Z

The Crew plays 10 reserve matches this year, kicking off with a First Kick doubleheader against the Montreal Impact on March 24th. The reserves also play the Red Bulls, Revolution, D.C. United, and the Union at home. They also play Toronto, the Revs, D.C., the Union, and Red Bulls on the road. Full schedule follows.

Date	Home Team	Away Team	Time	Location
3/24/2012	Columbus Crew	Montreal Impact	6:30:00 PM	Crew Stadium
3/31/2012	Toronto FC	Columbus Crew	4:30:00 PM	BMO Field
4/7/2012	Columbus Crew	NY Red Bulls	5:00:00 PM	Crew Stadium
4/15/2012	Philadelphia Union	Columbus Crew	6:00:00 PM	Chester Park
6/10/2012	Columbus Crew	NE Revolution	10:00:00 AM	Crew Stadium
6/17/2012	NE Revolution	Columbus Crew	11:00:00 AM	Gillette Stadium
7/22/2012	Columbus Crew	D.C. United	11:00:00 AM	Crew Stadium
8/5/2012	D.C. United	Columbus Crew	11:00:00 AM	DCU training field
9/16/2012	New York Red Bulls	Columbus Crew	11:00:00 AM	Montclair St. University
9/30/2012	Columbus Crew	Philadelphia Union	11:00:00 AM	Crew Stadium

Crew play West Virginia on March 17th.

2012-02-20T18:45:49Z

Crew play West Virginia on March 17th.

The Crew have lined up an opponent for their early season off week. They'll take on WVU at Crew Stadium on Saturday, March 17th at 1pm.

Excited About Preseason? I'm Not.

2012-02-20T04:16:42Z

The Columbus Crew played three games in Florida. They lost to Malmo 2-1, resoundingly beat the U.S. U-17 residency team 10-0, and lost to the Seattle Sounders 2-0. Without that lopsided win that was a matchup of men against boys, the offense hasn't done much and it doesn't matter. The games don't matter; this part of preseason doesn't matter.

I find it hard to get excited about preseason results. I like seeing lineups to try and deduce Coach Warzycha's rotation or how the team is set up, but ultimately I haven't seen a minute of action. I have no idea how anyone is playing or if the team is in experimental mode, trying to regain fitness, or actually trying to solidify the starting XI.

That doesn't mean there aren't questions that come out of the early preseason games, how close to a starting XI is out there, how will the team line up, who is the starter at left back, and other such questions. Even those answers are speculation, Lance Liang and Kasall Casal recently started preseason games, but still haven't been signed and are now in camp with Real Salt Lake.

These games are about positional battles and trying to integrate new signings into the lineups. The Crew have three games in Charleston for the Carolina Challenge Cup against D.C. United, Chicago Fire, and the Charleston Battery. That's two MLS teams trying to get ready for the season and a host trying to put on a good show. It's still the preseason, but the true Crew team should start to show itself.

Laing and Casal Head to RSL

2012-02-20T03:42:48Z

Laing and Casal Head to RSL

Recent trialists Lance Liang and Kasall Casal were not brought back to Columbus and are now on trial with injury struck Real Salt Lake. Bliss claims they still could be signed, but since Laing and Casal haven't yet they continue trying out to get a contract somewhere. The roster freeze is now only 10 days away on March 1st.

On RSL's roster situation, they only have 6 international roster slots instead of 8. They made two permanent trades, one in 2004 to Chivas USA for Jeff Stewart who never played for them and then in 2005 with the Colorado Rapids for Adolfo Gregorio who was waved before the 2006 season. Wow!

Correction: The sentiment attributed to Brian Bliss was originally attributed to Robert Warzycha. Massive Report regrets the error.