I'd say that Philly is (obviously) in very good position, whereas Columbus and Portland are in mildly bad positions, and Atlanta and Toronto are toast.
A goal and two assists for Cowell last night as my take already threatens to age poorly.Cowell wasn't that good in the opener, but he had a goal and a NICE assist yesterday. One to watch. I still wonder whether he's more of a high floor player than a high ceiling player for the reasons above, but the larger perspective is also that he doesn't turn 18 until October and it looks like he's going to get a lot of reps this year.
View: https://twitter.com/BrianSciaretta/status/1386066021920952321
Yeah Austria does it that way:Yeah, that's valid. I would ask how meaningful are those games currently for MLS teams in that tier? Obviously the upper half are fighting for a playoff spot, but the rest are just playing out the string either way. And to that end, maybe you give the relegated winner a spot in the playoffs, or maybe a play-in spot to reduce the chances of a team "tanking" midseason for an easier path. Definitely something you'd need to dial in.
That's interesting that it's been tried elsewhere -- I didn't know that.
Edit: Maybe you give one play-in spot to the overall points leader (considering both phases) and another spot to the phase II points leader. So even if you're winless at the mid-season relegation, there's still a realistic chance to make something of your season.
This is beautiful. I am jealous.Belgium has a convoluted playoff system that is something the Rube Goldberg wannabes at MLS would be jealous of.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020–21_Belgian_First_Division_A
Another week, another goal. Also did some nice work to help set up Amaya's opener. The kid just keeps rolling.Caden Clark has five goals in about 600 career MLS minutes now. He's definitely an interesting talent with a knack for some nice finishes. I'm hoping he finds ways to dictate the offense a bit more as the year goes on, but impressive stuff for a 17 year old.
View: https://twitter.com/BrianSciaretta/status/1388562924705353731
Precourt updated the logo and changed the official name from "Columbus Crew" to "Columbus Crew SC". But even though Precourt is a reviled figure in Columbus, the truth is that the new logo was really good. His insistence in the media guide that the team be referred to as "Crew SC" was really annoying, but relatively small potatoes.I think what really makes this an unforced error is that Columbus probably could have gotten away with a rebrand that would have been really well-received and moved a lot of merchandise. Precourt oversaw the current branding, correct? They could just done a throwback-focused rebrand and people probably would have loved it.
I wonder how much they are paying Garth Lagerwey. Probably not enough!It's pretty wild that the Sounders are only paying Lodeiro and Ruidiaz 2.12 and 2.0 million, respectively.
I’m impressed that the Sounders and Timbers can spend so little on their back line, yet get solid defensive results. (Although the downside is very little depth. Remember when Jordan McCrary started a Champions League match?)It's pretty wild that the Sounders are only paying Lodeiro and Ruidiaz 2.12 and 2.0 million, respectively.
What’s your take on the roster construction? Their high wage bill released today had me take a second look at their roster. I’m surprised by their player acquisitions: very skewed to young foreign (and therefore unproven) players. There are very few who played extensively elsewhere in MLS (and those who did, such as Shuttleworth, did not impress).The Fire now have a 10 day break to overhaul the tactics and completely turnover the roster.
When Mansueto took over, he very quickly hired Heitz, who, in turn, brought in Wicky days later. It’s clear that Mansueto bought into the FC Basel model - win league titles while also being a high-end selling club through development and shrewd bargain shopping in 3rd tier leagues.What’s your take on the roster construction? Their high wage bill released today had me take a second look at their roster. I’m surprised by their player acquisitions: very skewed to young foreign (and therefore unproven) players. There are very few who played extensively elsewhere in MLS (and those who did, such as Shuttleworth, did not impress).
I’ll add that I’m still not sold on Philly’s long-term success with their current model. Completely ignoring the Superdraft is coming back to bite them this year now that some of their homegrowns have moved on. They were eliminated from MLS Cup 2020 by a team that started 3 foreign senior DPs and 8 North Americans who played college soccer. MLS roster rules will always favor clubs who can develop young cheap America players to fill out the holes in their squad.A major exception is Ernst Tanner. Although Philly have developed some high-profile local talent that played a huge role in 2020 (Aaronson, McKenzie), many key players on the team were savvy, low-cost international acquisitions like Jamiro Monteiro, Kai Wagner, Jose Martinez, Kacper Przybylko, et al. Leon Flach seems like a really smart buy so far.