"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
^that's definitely the stress free route.
Getting through the East, although any of those teams could knock us off - I have to believe Atlanta is the biggest threat. An away game on their turf, with that offense, could put us in a situation like we were in with Montreal last year.
Our weak spots - teams that suffocate and frustrate us on defense, and fast teams that can exploit us on counters. Atlanta fits the mold for an explosive and fast counter attack punch.
Come the finals - we could be in for a very tough go if we face Seattle again, same if SKC somehow gets through. That could be another 0-0 shoot out situation. Dallas, Portland, and Houston would be an ideal team to come in. We can go goal for goal with their offense - and none of them are particularly good on the road. That leaves Vancouver - good on the road, and not a terrible goals against number (reasonable defense).
If we can avoid Atlanta, SKC, and Seattle (and to some extent Vancouver) - December 9th should be a great party.
We are contenders for the Cup at this point, nothing more. Certainly no shoo-in.
How do we start a social media campaign to get Montreal to give us an Honour Guard?
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
i fuckin love this thread. there's no hand wringing or moaning or fighting words. sometimes i read these forums and wonder what happened to the cranky old culture we had here in years gone by. now its all positive and together and full of love and confidence. winning. we're playing out scenarios to win the shield, and it's not difficult. i fuckin love it.
We go down to LA by a goal and the game thread will turn dark and cranky real quick.
Vancouver seems to really have got good at the right time. An all Canadian final for a TFC double would be a blast. I
Last edited by Hamilton_Red; 09-14-2017 at 01:00 PM.
Not to jinx anything but let's assume reality here - when would the Shield be presented? Assuming it's clinched before the 30th (seems likely given that even one win in the next two and any combination of that with NYCFC not getting max points gets it done), would it be after the Sept 30th game? or at the end of the final regular season home game? Or is it not presented on field at all? I'm not sure of the protocol.....what a crazy notion for those of us following this franchise for the first seven years or so.....
Last edited by tfcfans; 09-17-2017 at 01:11 AM.
Road Trips: July 7 2007 Chicago, July 22nd 2007 Columbus, August 11 2007 NY, October 13 2007 LA, March 29 2008 Columbus, May 24th 2008 DC, May 26 2008 Montreal, June 28th 2008 NE, March 7-11-14 2009 Charleston, March 28 2009 Columbus, April 10 2010 New England, May 12 2010 Montreal, April 7 2012 Montreal, March 16 2013 Montreal , June 3 2014 Montreal, March 14 2015 Columbus
Twitter: @RPBPhil
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
I like tables :P
New York's saturday game is two hours before ours. If the result goes our way midweek and in New York, we could walk out in New England with the shield clinched before the game even starts.
Curious question - As STH are we all still going to be charged for a knockout game on Sept 29th as scheduled when we know we aren't going to be playing in a knockout game (it's already "almost" mathematically impossible based on the combination of schedules already never mind by the 29th) --- wouldn't it make more sense to just pre-charge us for the ECSF and ECF instead....rather than charging all the STH for a non-existent game and then having multiple transactions to refund it or apply the charged amounts and then charge us all an additional $10-$15 or so with another invoice for the ECF ticket instead of the knockout one? It's not like anyone isn't going to take their ECF tickets if offered.....I know, I know, this is what we would call a "first world of MLS success" issue (ha ha ha).....
Road Trips: July 7 2007 Chicago, July 22nd 2007 Columbus, August 11 2007 NY, October 13 2007 LA, March 29 2008 Columbus, May 24th 2008 DC, May 26 2008 Montreal, June 28th 2008 NE, March 7-11-14 2009 Charleston, March 28 2009 Columbus, April 10 2010 New England, May 12 2010 Montreal, April 7 2012 Montreal, March 16 2013 Montreal , June 3 2014 Montreal, March 14 2015 Columbus
Twitter: @RPBPhil
Down to 5 points now! It would take a catastrophic event for us not to win it haha. It's over! The quadruple is on!
It's likely mathematically done this weekend.
Maybe sooner. If we win on Wednesday, it eliminates all teams but NYCFC from the race. We play NER on Saturday and NYCFC plays Houston - which will not be a walk in the park They're just below the playoffline so they will want points. Any result other than a win for NYCFC will eliminate them.
On Saturday, they have the 3PM game. We have the 5PM game.
Road Games:
2013 - Montréal , 2014 - Orlando (Disney Classic), Montréal
2015 - Columbus, New England, Montréal
2016 - NYCFC (Leg 2 Conference Semis), Montréal (Leg 1 Conference Final)
2017 - Ottawa (Leg 1 Canadian Championship Semi), DCU, Red Bulls (Leg 1 Conference Final), Columbus (Leg 2 Conference Final)
2019 - Montréal, NYCFC (Eastern Conference Semi @ Citi Field), Seattle (MLS Cup Final)