MLS 2018: More Barco Than Bite

Titans Bastard

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When the Krafts finally sell the Revs, I'm going to be so happy for the three hours before it becomes clear that the new owner intends to move them somewhere else.

 

Jed Zeppelin

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They've made it very easy for me to break my cardinal rule of always rooting for the Boston team no matter what.

As much as it grinds me to be so Yankee-adjacent, NYCFC are my home team now (which is geographically true anyway). Of course, they aren't without stadium issues of their own, but at least people show up and there's a general sense of excitement and competence.

Though, NYC have no answer for the Revs' pressure right now. Back line is having a hell of a time even stringing a pass or two together.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Horrible Kraft problems aside, this game has been shockingly fun to watch on the Revs side for 20min
 

Vinho Tinto

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When the Krafts finally sell the Revs, I'm going to be so happy for the three hours before it becomes clear that the new owner intends to move them somewhere else.
If MLS wants to abandon Boston because Bob Kraft has no interest in investing in his franchise - that’s their mistake.

The tabloids are saying Andre Horta is joining LAFC over making his loan at Braga permanent. He will not join until July because Braga want him to finish season with the club.
 

Infield Infidel

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While I don't think MLS would abandon New England, it's getting into Chivas territory, so I could see a Chivas>LAFC type situation, with the Revs shut down and a new expansion team. It's absurd.
 

Titans Bastard

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While I don't think MLS would abandon New England, it's getting into Chivas territory, so I could see a Chivas>LAFC type situation, with the Revs shut down and a new expansion team. It's absurd.
Chivas was particularly toxic because of Vergara's discriminatory policies up and down the organization (e.g. ethnic questionnaires), but yeah. If I were the new owner, I would completely eradicate the Revs' brand -- name, colors, and (obviously and especially) crest.

The market needs a total reboot. A lot of the weaker clubs off the field in MLS are originals (NE, Dallas, Colorado, DC, Columbus even before the Precourt shenanigans) or near-originals (Chicago). Even NYRB, who IMO have been one of the most fun teams to watch for some years now, aren't doing nearly as well as they should be. It's hard to shake early impressions. Of course, in some cases you can argue that the clubs haven't progressed past first impressions anyway.

In the early to mid 2000s, KC was THE moribund franchise and their ownership group showed that it's possible to turn around the ship with the right commitment and vision.

It's a big strategic challenge for the league. There are some really big cities that aren't close to having their teams firing on all cylinders.
 

Titans Bastard

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There have been a few more signings lately beyond ZLATAN!!!:
  • LAFC signed Portuguese midfielder Andre Horta from Benfica for a reported $7m fee. He had been playing on loan at Braga and recently started for Portugal's U21 team. He seems like a big signing for them - and should be, if that fee is anywhere close to being true. LAFC still lacks depth in many places (not so much because their backups are bad, but more that they still only have 23 players on the roster), but this helps since he'll be pushing a quality player to the bench. All that being said, it's still not 100% clear if Horta is joining LAFC immediately or in the summer.
  • Montreal signed Rudy Camacho, a 27 year old French CB, from Waasland-Beveren in Belgium. Since he's a TAM player, I assume they'll slot him alongside Victor Cabrera. They needed a replacement for the injured Zakaria Diallo and recent signing Rod Fanni is too old to be fully relied upon.

This weekend is the first full slate of games of the season after light schedules to help with CCL and for the international break.
 

Titans Bastard

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Minnesota just announced Darwin Quintero. Big signing for them, even if he hasn't been as good over the last couple of seasons.
 

Titans Bastard

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If Orlando, playing at home, doesn't beat an NYRB team composed almost entirely of backups, Jason Kreis' seat is going to be awfully warm.
 

Titans Bastard

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Crazy games today.

LAG just came back from 3-0 to tie 3-3 on an absolute GOLAZO from Ibrahimovic.
 

The Gray Eagle

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Zlatan! He is so entertaining and hilarious and skilled.
He’s played 20 minutes and made this one of the most legendary games this league has seen.
 

Titans Bastard

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Jesus Christ. Zlatan heads home a second goal in stoppage time to put the Galaxy up 4-3. This game is nuts.
 

Titans Bastard

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ZLATAN here to remind everyone that MLS is still at best a 3rd rate league
Jeez, just enjoy the moment!

He was offside on the winner, but the ref would not dare deny ZLATAN.
There was also an uncalled LAG foul before his ridiculous first goal, but still...

Zlatan is going to get a lot of favorable refereeing this year, I think.
 

Cellar-Door

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He was offside on the winner, but the ref would not dare deny ZLATAN.
Better sideline angle looks like he was actually onside:

Jeez, just enjoy the moment!
Oh, as someone who loves ZLATAN and gets annoyed by the "MLS is an elite league now, older stars from Europe couldn't cut it here" crew (who conveniently forget that second level washout BWP is still one of the best strikers in MLS) I enjoyed that immensely. MLS is better than it was, and it's getting pretty fun, but the people who think it's a top tier or even second tier league do it a disservice.
 

Senator Donut

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Interesting game for the Revolution, they conceded six corners in the first ten minutes, but have really turned it on since then. They’re up 1-0 on ten-man Houston (DOGSO red for DMB). All of Burns’s new signings have impressed me this year, except Somi who still shows flashes of promise. Penilla has looked amazing in attack and Caicedo has been excellent in limited action as a defensive midfielder/deep-lying playmaker. (Edit, maybe not Zahibo)
 

ThePrideofShiner

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Better sideline angle looks like he was actually onside:


Oh, as someone who loves ZLATAN and gets annoyed by the "MLS is an elite league now, older stars from Europe couldn't cut it here" crew (who conveniently forget that second level washout BWP is still one of the best strikers in MLS) I enjoyed that immensely. MLS is better than it was, and it's getting pretty fun, but the people who think it's a top tier or even second tier league do it a disservice.
So, the MLS is a third rate league because Zlatan scored twice in 20 minutes against an expansion team?
 

Cellar-Door

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So, the MLS is a third rate league because Zlatan scored twice in 20 minutes against an expansion team?
No MLS is a 3rd rate league because it's a 3rd rate league there are a dozen or so high end talents, the rest of the league is generally below that of the 2nd tier of major countries. There's nothing wrong with that.

That a 36 year old coming off a very long injury layoff can stroll onto the pitch and dominate the best team in the West coming into the match just points out how delusional the people claiming the league was beyond the point where Euro stars in their mid-30s could treat it as a retirement league are.
 

fletcherpost

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Zlatan was in the top ten twitter trends worldwide, and was even top ten in Glasgow Scotland. Over a million views already for the short match highlights clip on youtube, (which is poorly edited but who cares?).

He had 11 touches, 2 shots and two goals. He's 36, still not fully fit, but he's fuckin Zlatan and he's box office and he delivers. He transcends his sport, which is great for MLS. He puts a smile on people's faces...anyone who loves sport, for the joy sport brings will love watching his first goal over and over again. I've watched it about 20 times already.

The world is a fuckin mess. Sometimes we just want to be entertained and forget about our problems for a while. Who cares if the first LA derby isn't Barca v Real, or Spurs v Arsenal. It's likely to be the most entertaining match of the day, in any league anywhere...and MLS is only going to get bigger, better and more popular. You can't put trees in a microwave.

And Tiger Woods might win the Masters.
 

Titans Bastard

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Oh, as someone who loves ZLATAN and gets annoyed by the "MLS is an elite league now, older stars from Europe couldn't cut it here" crew (who conveniently forget that second level washout BWP is still one of the best strikers in MLS) I enjoyed that immensely. MLS is better than it was, and it's getting pretty fun, but the people who think it's a top tier or even second tier league do it a disservice.
Side note, but I think BWP has become a good player who has legitimately improved in his time in MLS. There is a sizable pool of middling Championship players who have not done very well in MLS. BWP wasn't even a middling Championship player, but he's been consistently excellent. At some point, you just have to credit the player. BWP himself has talked about how he's received more/better coaching in NYRB than he did anywhere in England after he left the academy and how that's helped him. (I think the issue here is that many managers in Europe and England don't bother to try to "coach up" players in their mid-20s, like BWP was.)

I mean, otherwise we should just run around screaming that Shaun Maloney proves that MLS is EPL quality, or something.
 

Titans Bastard

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There was a red card in the Revs game and, shockingly, it was for the other team.

A rare road win over Houston - and the Revs even had the lead before the DOGSO card on Beasley. Cristian Penilla looks like a player.
 

Cellar-Door

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Side note, but I think BWP has become a good player who has legitimately improved in his time in MLS. There is a sizable pool of middling Championship players who have not done very well in MLS. BWP wasn't even a middling Championship player, but he's been consistently excellent. At some point, you just have to credit the player. BWP himself has talked about how he's received more/better coaching in NYRB than he did anywhere in England after he left the academy and how that's helped him. (I think the issue here is that many managers in Europe and England don't bother to try to "coach up" players in their mid-20s, like BWP was.)

I mean, otherwise we should just run around screaming that Shaun Maloney proves that MLS is EPL quality, or something.
Yeah it's fair to give BWP credit for improving his game. He probably turned himself into a better player. It was more a comment on the overall level of talent (and particularly skill) being low enough that players who struggled in lower levels in Europe can be stars here.
 

Titans Bastard

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Yeah it's fair to give BWP credit for improving his game. He probably turned himself into a better player. It was more a comment on the overall level of talent (and particularly skill) being low enough that players who struggled in lower levels in Europe can be stars here.
The thing is, there really aren't many players who struggled at lower levels in Europe who are stars in MLS. BWP is the poster child, but who else? There are certainly plenty of players who struggled at the highest levels who are killing it in MLS as well as players who did well at lower levels in Europe, but that's different.

I am probably forgetting someone, but the list can't be long.

It's too soon to make any proclamations with certainty, but I think the advent of "TAM" several years ago and the significant increase in TAM this past offseason is making a big difference with MLS clubs' "weak link" problems. The quality in the middle of a typical roster is better; the newly available salary cap space has allowed clubs to spend a bit more on the international market. Relatedly, the percentage of minutes going to US-eligible players is down, bigly, over the past three years.

The quality of soccer in March seems to be better. We haven't had the normal number of early-season duds, from what I've seen.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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There was a red card in the Revs game and, shockingly, it was for the other team.

A rare road win over Houston - and the Revs even had the lead before the DOGSO card on Beasley. Cristian Penilla looks like a player.
The defense was such that if Houston converted chances, they could have plausibly scored four goals, but they fluffed so many chances.

The high press combined with a tissue-paper backline that never really got fixed is going to make games entertaining, at least.
 

Titans Bastard

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The defense was such that if Houston converted chances, they could have plausibly scored four goals, but they fluffed so many chances.

The high press combined with a tissue-paper backline that never really got fixed is going to make games entertaining, at least.
Yeah, it's going to be tough to ride that defense in the East. Who among the Revs GK/DF/CMs are above-average starters in MLS?

Turner, Farrell, Dielna, Delamea/Anibaba, Somi, Zahibo, Caldwell....

I count zero.
 

Cellar-Door

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The thing is, there really aren't many players who struggled at lower levels in Europe who are stars in MLS. BWP is the poster child, but who else? There are certainly plenty of players who struggled at the highest levels who are killing it in MLS as well as players who did well at lower levels in Europe, but that's different.

I am probably forgetting someone, but the list can't be long.

It's too soon to make any proclamations with certainty, but I think the advent of "TAM" several years ago and the significant increase in TAM this past offseason is making a big difference with MLS clubs' "weak link" problems. The quality in the middle of a typical roster is better; the newly available salary cap space has allowed clubs to spend a bit more on the international market. Relatedly, the percentage of minutes going to US-eligible players is down, bigly, over the past three years.

The quality of soccer in March seems to be better. We haven't had the normal number of early-season duds, from what I've seen.
Probably accurate, thinking about it I can only remember the following:

Jozy before being terrible at the top level was terrible in Turkey.
Kei Kamara crashed out of the Championship,
Brek Shea crashed out of the EPL, went to Championship and 2 clubs there quickly moved on from him,
Lletget couldn't get a Championship team to take him on loan (though some of that was a series of injuries/bad luck)
Croizet the new SKC designated player was average at best on a relegated Belgian side
is LeToux still in the league? He as a Ligue 2 washout.


Looking at some of the Euros that I thought fit the bill, more of them were solidly mediocre to good at the 2nd/3rd tier (Belgium, Netherlands, Russia) then moved here for the money or because they were getting old
 

Titans Bastard

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Probably accurate, thinking about it I can only remember the following:

Jozy before being terrible at the top level was terrible in Turkey.
Kei Kamara crashed out of the Championship,
Brek Shea crashed out of the EPL, went to Championship and 2 clubs there quickly moved on from him,
Lletget couldn't get a Championship team to take him on loan (though some of that was a series of injuries/bad luck)
Croizet the new SKC designated player was average at best on a relegated Belgian side
is LeToux still in the league? He as a Ligue 2 washout.


Looking at some of the Euros that I thought fit the bill, more of them were solidly mediocre to good at the 2nd/3rd tier (Belgium, Netherlands, Russia) then moved here for the money or because they were getting old
I think Kamara is the best example from the list. He had his career year at Columbus in 2015 immediately after a relatively unsuccessful stint for Middlesbrough.

Most of the other guys aren't actually stars in MLS (Shea is a rotational starter, Croizet took less than a month to lose a starting job in KC) or were actually good in second tier leagues (Jozy at AZ). I don't recall if WHU ever actually tried to send Lletget on loan. Le Toux is retired now (or out of contract at least). Not sure he's been viewed as a star since 2010-11.

What's clear is that MLS can boost its perceived standing in relation to the better leagues in Europe if more MLS players were sold to clubs in top leagues, and went on to do well. The vastly increased number of talented young Latin American players will give MLS clubs plenty of opportunities to showcase (or not) their ability to be a stepping stone. There are also a bit more American teenagers playing significant roles this season so far, though the number is not impressive compared to development-minded second tier leagues in Europe.
 

Titans Bastard

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Toronto vs. America tonight at 8pm in the first leg of the CCL semifinals.

As always, it will be HUGE if TFC can avoid conceding the away goal. They got away with it last time against Tigres, but it makes life so much harder.
 

Titans Bastard

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Mavinga (LCB), Morrow (LWB), and Vazquez (CM) are out for TFC tonight. Not ideal.
 

Titans Bastard

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3-1 and it's Ashtone Morgan!!

HUGE goal if the result stands.
 

Titans Bastard

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20 minutes left. I'm stressed. This is the least comfortable 3-1 lead ever and it's not even like TFC is under siege. It's the weight of history - Oribe Peralta is old now and not as good, but he's always been a nightmare of late game CCL goals.
 

Titans Bastard

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3-1 FT.

A good result going into the second leg at Azteca. What a team.
 

SoxFanInCali

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3-1 is always that tricky result where you feel great but have to worry about going out from a 2-0 loss in the return.

Should be intense.
 

Titans Bastard

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3-1 is always that tricky result where you feel great but have to worry about going out from a 2-0 loss in the return.

Should be intense.
Yeah, the shutout would have been the dream.

I am reasonably confident that Toronto will have the maturity and wisdom to understand that they'll need a game plan that involves scoring in Azteca. Desperation defending at altitude for most of the game is a recipe for guaranteed failure. On the bright side, they are off this weekend, so they'll be fresh and have plenty of time to prepare. Maybe they'll even get some of their injured starters back. It's a testament to Toronto's depth that they've scored so many goals against Tigres and America despite missing their creative engine Victor Vazquez for most of the games.

Getting Mavinga back would be huge. His athleticism is a nice safety net and he's extremely good at emergency defending.


NYRB is on the road at Chivas tonight at 10pm ET.