Sounds like Vieira has already conceded the Shield to TFC.
We're catching the Limp Act at the wrong time. They're on fire (and were all over the Fire) at the moment. Would be almost poetic if they have a say in the outcome of the race.
The Fire have a bunch of issues right now so I take their game against them with a grain of salt. I am uncertain if it is the entire Limp Act team that is on fire or just Piatti. He has been borderline unplayable the last few games. Their backline is prone to being exposed and we will have plenty of chances to unlock them and the boys will want the win for Beita.
They're all on fire. They replaced two liabilities in Midfield in Donadel and Bernardello and replaced them with Piette and Dzemailli, who've been almost perfect so far. A front 5 of Piette, Bernier, Dzemailli, Piatti, Tabla and Mancosu kinda scares me. Not to mention they can bring Oduro and Jackson Hamel coming off the bench.
Their defense usually goes the way their offence does. It's still the same back four that shit the bed last year, plus a new keeper who's worse than Bush. Montreal can be had, easily even, but we gotta bring our best and be opportunistic. gotta score first and stay organized. Otherwise we'll ship goals.
Last edited by molenshtain; 08-22-2017 at 02:34 AM.
My only concern about our defence is Mavinga getting caught upfield is going to bite us at some point against a fast break team.
Hagglund did the same thing when he was starting. I think it's an instruction for whoever plays LCB to roam and help press knowing we have an extra man or two behind him.
That or Hagglund and Mavinga are our two least disciplined CB's.
i'm curious if there is going to be a shift in perception of the supporter's shield. especially with the players. most (or many) of the players on our team have been raised in a football culture where winning the league was seen as the top prize. Definitely more than winning a cup (a tournament format like the playoffs).
I haven't seen other teams' reactions to winning the supporter's shield in the past, but i wonder how the players have reacted. and i wonder if maybe there might be a gradual shift to the point where winning the MLS league might at some point equal or surpass the MLS cup. It's how it is pretty much everywhere else in the world.
Well the players seemed pretty happy about winning the Canadian Cup so I doubt they would be without enthusiasm should we win the SS.
I also think this whole thing about players programmed to think winning a league is the be all and end all. It glosses over the whole Champions League thing.
The Shield is something nice for the fans. The Cup is the be all and end all. Always will be. It's NA sports culture.
read a quote from Bradley after the last home game (paraphrasing), "Our objective this year is to win every trophy possible...leave nothing to doubt."
V's Cup, Supportrers' Shield, East Champ, MLS Champ.....this team is on a mission...they want it all.....
It's also the unbalanced schedule and the crazy MLS scheduling that make the SS not a fair representation of who wins the league. The playoff format is better imo, although still not ideal.
Years have gone by and Ive 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 dont give a damn which team or country performs it.
-Eduardo Galeano
Yep this is my biggest issue with SS. Forget Pro/Rel talks how about the league figures out a balanced schedule. I know travel is a major issue but would like to see a change. I guess the salary cap and general parity between the cubs in theory mitigates this it,
but it's not the same as knowing you face every team home and away.
Hopefully once league expansion stops the schedule will transition into an even one.
Years have gone by and Ive 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 dont give a damn which team or country performs it.
-Eduardo Galeano
Question is, what's the plan when they get to 30-32 teams. Hard to put together a 34 game schedule with that many teams in one league. I guess you'd have to do what the NFL does and play home/away against your own division, then you rotate between the other divisions every year.
I'd like to see a league controlled MLS 1 (16 teams) and MLS 2 (16 teams) with pro/rel between the two leagues only. Where even if you're in MLS 2, you'd still get all the revenue teams in 1 get. This would allow for a balanced schedule. But all is a long way off.
I can't see any of the current owners being interested in playing in a second level of any sort.
Every time I see this brought up I can't help but think that one is not really more accurate than another. OK so we play home and away, but the outside variables won't ever match. Time of year, weather, time of day, potential injuries/who is available etc. You know what I mean? From a simulation standpoint, home and away doesn't make it more accurate in determining overall greatness over the course of a season. Especially since who the 'good' teams are change year to year in MLS. I mean look at LAG? Hell look at us now versus the majority of our history. I understand the reason for wanting a balanced schedule, but it still doesn't really sway me.
I'd be happy if they split into two divisions of 16 (as mentioned),
however, arrange it more like baseball.
Have two separate balanced schedules
and the Cup would be between the two division winners.
The reason it likely would not happen is MLS wants to maximize the promotional opportunities.
Let's say LA was awesome and had big name stars, then the league would want LA to play in as many places as possible
rather than just the 16 teams in their division.
But my counter argument would be that the league has grown enough to succeed in that situation.
Last edited by flatpicker; 08-22-2017 at 02:48 PM.
TFC's magic number to clinch the Supporters Shield is 19.
(combined points gained by TFC + points lost by NYC totaling 19)
Well Chicago is well out of the race now. NYCFC is the only one with a chance and it's slim.
Jesus, the standings. Other than NYcFC no one else is even in the league.
We are coming for the Galaxy.
Here's the fun part of all this. Look at the difference between us and second place NYCFC (9 points). Now 9 points below NYCFC? You drop all the way to 9th in the league, tied with Vancouver Whitecaps.
Now here's the even better part. The point difference between us and 3rd place Columbus is 14 points. Who is 14 points under Columbus? DC United, 19th in the league. So the chances of 3rd place catching us at this point are the same as DC United catching Columbus. Oh, and NYCFC would have won the sheild with their current pace in 3 of the last 4 years.