Fans, even in the best of times, are permitted a healthy quantity of skepticism toward their teams. And why shouldn’t they be? In American sports leagues, around half of the teams will fail to make the playoffs, and only one will ultimately win the big trophy that will make the season seem truly satisfying in the end.

So in the worst of times, or at least following several truly terrible seasons of soccer, it makes sense that supporters of the Colorado Rapids would regard their football with something less than full faith and credit.

There are good reasons for this, obviously. The team’s combined record in 2017 and 2018 was 17 wins, 38 losses and 13 ties for an abysmal .250 winning percentage. That did not instill much confidence in the Rapids’ fanbase coming into the 2019 season. Neither did the preseason release of former designated player Shkëlzen Gashi. Other recent signings by the Rapids front office, such as Yannick Boli, Giles Barnes, and Stefan Aigner have further led to fans putting their collective heads in their hands.

And lastly, Rapids supporters have been anxious about Anthony Hudson from the get-go. In same era that NYCFC hired Arsenal Football Club legend Patrick Viera and Atlanta United signed former Barcelona and Argentina national team manager Tata Martino, the Rapids signed Hudson, a man with a solid-but-unspectacular resume as the New Zealand national team coach. There, he earned a few draws against talented teams — China in 2014 and the United States in 2016. But Hudson’s wins with the Kiwis were a like a who’s who of ‘where’s that?’ Hudson’s New Zealand team beat Oman, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Fiji.

I swear I did not invent any of those countries, but I wouldn’t blame you if you googled them just to make sure.

For the past few years, faith for Rapids fans was in short supply, and doubt reined supreme.

It was right to be skeptical. And they became more skeptical as the team crashed out of the CONCACAF Champions League with a loss to Toronto FC, and more so as the team endured losing streaks of eight and seven matches.

But there was still reason for excitement entering 2019. A new formation; the addition of some talented MLS veterans in Kei Kamara and Benny Feilhaber; the emergence of fabulous rookie phenom Cole Bassett — it looked like things were on the up-and-up again. Long-suffering season-ticket holders handed over their charge cards. There was belief. There was faith. Skepticism was suspended.

Saturday’s stunning 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Houston Dynamo has reawakened the dread of the burgundy faithful and forced them to bury the slivers of optimism that they clung to at season’s start. And that’s as it should be. Colorado was thoroughly eviscerated for the entirety of the first half. The midfield was disorganized. The defense was terrible. The team conceded two own goals. Defender Tommy Smith received a red card — the team’s third in 5 games.

UPDATE: #Rapids96 2019 season so far: 5 games, 3 own goals, 3 red cards, 2 points, 0 wins, Rebuilding since 1996. #elevate https://t.co/u8K13EX21a — Brian Mercer (@BMer916) March 31, 2019

It all left Hudson in the familiar and dreary role of opening his postgame remarks to reporters with “Firstly, we want to apologize to the fans,” a sentence construction that Hudson has used too many times.

Checking in at the major sounding boards of Rapids fans at Facebook, twitter, reddit and other depots, it was quite clear: Rapids supporters were furious.

They were furious at the poor play of defenders. They were furious at the sloppy, shapeless midfield. They were furious at Tommy Smith for his ill-timed kick-out that resulted in a red card. They were furious at how outmatched Dillon Serna looked. And they were furious at how unprepared Colorado was.

Alberth Ellis is tearing the Rapids alive. Blowing by Serna. Beating Smith 1v1. Clinican counter attack is clinical. #ForeverOrange #COLvHOU — Matt Pollard (@LWOSMattPollard) March 31, 2019

It feels like the Colorado Rapids were totally unaware that Houston Dynamo are a counterattacking team. *Face palm*.

…

3-0 to the orangemen at the half.#Rapids96 #COLvHOU — Mark Asher Goodman (@soccer_rabbi) March 31, 2019

And they blamed Hudson. Big time.

Alright #Rapids96 fans, let's hear your thoughts on Hudson after five weeks into his second season… — Rapids Republic (@RapidsRepublic) March 31, 2019

Hudson is under serious scrutiny because the team has struggled under his leadership. But he’s is also considered suspect because he was only embraced with tempered enthusiasm from the start.

Right now, it feels like the right pieces are there for the Colorado Rapids to play winning football, but they aren’t being utilized.

Orange Exploitation

Everybody knew the book on Houston. Houston plays a counter-attacking style of football, where they let the other team have the ball, sneak a couple of players into key locations and then strike quickly after a turnover to race the ball upfield and shoot. They’ve been playing in this manner for three years now, and with the same key players: Tomas Martinez, Mauro Manotas and Alberth Elis.

But when they did it Saturday — did exactly what they always do — Colorado looked completely bumfuzzled. It was as if Hudson told his players to go out and play their game; just ignore what Houston does and play your game. As the first half unfolded, it became apparent that that didn’t work. Here’s a series of .gifs to show every time Houston went on the break in the first half.

Get the ball, make a pass or two, drop it long for Alberth Elis. Over and over again.

28'. Were it not for Manotas passing behind them, Alberth Eliś would have had another. Rapids totally exploited on the counter. #COLvHOU #Rapids96 pic.twitter.com/FBSmIve67o — Mark Asher Goodman (@soccer_rabbi) April 1, 2019

30'. Eliś has come to Commerce City to murder all our defenders and burn the building to ashes. This is savagery, committed against Dillon Serna. #COLvHOU #Rapids96 pic.twitter.com/9Yiab8lvWc — Mark Asher Goodman (@soccer_rabbi) April 1, 2019

33'. Serna too high, Eliś gets in behind and is narrowly halted by Tommy Smith. BTW, not enough credit on the night for @AJD_20 , who provided all the right passes to put Eliś in the right places. #COLvHOU #Rapids96 pic.twitter.com/WyOJzvdRyL — Mark Asher Goodman (@soccer_rabbi) April 1, 2019

34'. Here's Eliś working the give and go on a play that results in the third goal. Eliś was involved in every goal Houston scored. Colorado could not stop him. They couldn't even slow him down. #COLvHOU #Rapids96 pic.twitter.com/x0Ss2VjmiX — Mark Asher Goodman (@soccer_rabbi) April 1, 2019

It looked as if Houston manager Wilmer Cabrera, a former Rapids assistant, knew that Dillon Serna presses high upfield in the attack, and all you need to do to beat him is slip Elis, Houston’s best player, in behind. And even if you don’t get Elis behind Serna, give him the ball, anyway, because Serna is still new at this position. That’s what Houston did.

And Elis took Serna to school. Elis had two key passes, two successful ‘take-ons’ (where you dribble past your defender, like that nutmeg above) five shots, an assist, a goal and was responsible for both of the Rapids’ own goals. On this night, he singlehandedly destroyed the Rapids. And that was all according to Houston’s plan. The Rapids were so thoroughly out-planned in the first half, the game was all but over after 45 minutes.

Serna had a poor game, and his help-mate on the left side, Cole Bassett, wasn’t much help. That could be due to Elis, a wily veteran, exploiting the naivete of Bassett and the inexperience of Serna. But a significant amount of blame should be upon Hudson, who should have known that Elis was a threat but failed to address it. It’s as if your team was playing LeBron James, and the coach said, ‘Guys, don’t worry about the big fella, just go play your game.’ That’s not how it works.

In this match, the tactics were wrong. The defending was off. The midfield was sloppy. And the fans are now irate. None of these things is so bad that a couple of good performances and a few wins wouldn’t at least partially solve them. There are good players on this team, and they are capable of much better than this. It’s still early, and the team can certainly turn it around. But the early indicators — the trends by which we are to set expectations for the rest of the year — aren’t good.