Peter Vermes has a vision for where he wants to take Sporting Kansas City, a blueprint for returning to the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2011 with an established style of play and the group of players needed to pull it off.
Needless to say, Vermes’ plans for the start of the season didn’t include blowing a two-goal lead in Vancouver or accumulating three red cards and three defeats in five matches. But Sporting (1-3-1) aren’t reading too far into that just yet.
Just because his vision hasn’t completely manifested itself on the field so far doesn’t mean Vermes’ side is harboring any doubts.
“At times, we have great glimpses of [what we are capable of] during games,” Vermes said. “Other times, we fall short of it. Some of it is probably that my expectations are way too high and other times we just hit a low road. I believe in the guys that we have, I can tell you that.”
Like their manager, SKC’s players trust in themselves and the attack-minded, high-pressure system their coach has implemented. The fact of the matter is that they just haven’t put things together for a full 90 minutes so far heading into Saturday night’s matchup with the New York Red Bulls (6:30 p.m. CT, KSMO-TV and Time Warner Cable Ch. 5).
That inconsistency is twofold. It comes without question that Sporting simply haven’t been good enough in their three defeats. But they haven’t been handed any favors either, spending each weekend on the road in front of fans desperate to see them falter and coming out on the wrong end of a number of questionable decisions.
So while some observers are starting to question the preseason predictions that put SKC in the playoffs, the players aren’t buying it.
[inline_node:335194]“The big picture is that it’s only five games into a 34-game season,” defender Matt Besler said. “We would have liked to start off and have won every game; the fact is that we didn’t.
“We know what team we can be, and we know what team we want to be. I definitely don’t think that we are there right now. Each team throughout the season goes up and down. There are teams that are hot right now that can’t find a win during the summer. We just have to find a way to keep getting better.”
There’s no doubt Sporting have plenty to work on. Chief among those concerns is a defense that has struggled to keep the ball out of the net and stay focused for an entire game. But it hasn’t all been bad.
Sporting have scored 10 goals in five games to tie for the league lead in that department, a statistic made all the more impressive by the fact that all 10 have come on the road and in less games than every team but Real Salt Lake. They’ve also gotten results in each game they finished with a full side and finally seem to have some roster continuity in place despite the current absence of Omar Bravo due to sports hernia surgery.
Still, SKC can’t help but feel like they have a chip on their shoulder. Striker Teal Bunbury said he feels people are rushing to conclusions when they look too far into Sporting’s disappointing start and what appears to be a daunting schedule ahead, with five games left in a season-opening road trip.
“We’ve always got something to prove in every game to ourselves, to our fans, to our organization, to everyone,” Bunbury said. “The next five games are going to be big for us. I think some people are getting the wrong impression or thinking we’re out of it. It’s only five games into the season. We’ve played all road games. We have a long way to go.”
At the same time, Bunbury knows Sporting can’t afford to continue their current slide. It’s no coincidence that the eight teams that qualified for the playoffs in 2010 finished with the eight best road records.
Although not all those squads had winning records, all eight gathered at least a point per game from their travels, something still well within reach for Kansas City, who have 12 away games left on their schedule, starting with Saturday’s fixture against New York.
With a victory, Sporting would be right back in the thick of things. By earning a point, the club could feel confident that things were at the very least back on track.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about results,” goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen said. “When you get results, you get confidence. When you get confidence, you can play your best soccer as individuals and as a team.”