MLS Turns 21 - the 2016 season

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
I don't think the officiating was bad at all. It was called fairly loosely, but consistently so, and not without some boundary-setting.

That said, Michael Bradley having the only failed PK so far is... fitting.
Bradley had a very good night up until that PK. Lodeiro and Seattle did nothing offensively all game.

Congrats to Seattle on a remarkable turnaround this season. Shame to have such a dour MLS Cup after some pretty good earlier playoff games. Seattle wins the title despite failing to register a shot on goal.

Games like these should really put to rest the idea that MLS should go with a fall-to-spring schedule.
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
I really, really try to enjoy MLS, but that was just awful. It wasn't two teams playing conservatively, it was a battle of ineptitude. Misplaced pass after misplaced pass, no tactical cohesion, very little creativity... The officiating was inconsistent and ineffectual. He had an opportunity very early on to put a cap on the nonsense and allowed it to spill.

You really see why managers are hesitant to pull from the MLS pool. If I were managing Italy, after watching this I really wouldn't care that Giovinco owned the league. I see where Bradley's bad habits are forming- there was a play in his defensive box in the first half where he switched off nicely and intercepted a bad cross. He was extremely calm in playing the ball out. Problem is, he was so far off the man he was defending that a properly placed cross would have taken him out of the play entirely.

I'd love to go to Foxboro to see the Revs play regularly but the product on the field is just not worth the effort.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,770
Pittsburgh, PA
Games like these should really put to rest the idea that MLS should go with a fall-to-spring schedule.
Have some of the northern teams take an 8-to-12-week break (at least from home games), a la Russia / Scandinavia. But tonight is no less civilized than playing in Houston or Orlando in August.
 

moly99

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 28, 2007
939
Seattle
I really, really try to enjoy MLS, but that was just awful. It wasn't two teams playing conservatively, it was a battle of ineptitude. Misplaced pass after misplaced pass, no tactical cohesion, very little creativity... The officiating was inconsistent and ineffectual. He had an opportunity very early on to put a cap on the nonsense and allowed it to spill.
1) It was an awful game, but a single game played at -5C wherein the refs let both teams get away with a lot of physicality is not representative of an entire league.

2) CAN-USA fans need to support domestic soccer/football if they want it to grow. No one in Seattle or Toronto thinks their team is on the level of Barcelona or Bayern. They support their local team because it is their local team.

This same issue is seen all over the world. Why would anyone in Edinburgh be a fan of Hearts when they could root for a much better English team instead?
 
Last edited:

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Bradley had a very good night up until that PK. Lodeiro and Seattle did nothing offensively all game.

Congrats to Seattle on a remarkable turnaround this season. Shame to have such a dour MLS Cup after some pretty good earlier playoff games. Seattle wins the title despite failing to register a shot on goal.

Games like these should really put to rest the idea that MLS should go with a fall-to-spring schedule.
The Toronto-Montreal semi was a fantastic game.

And MLS needs to end its season at least a couple of weeks earlier.
 

SoxFanInCali

has the rich, deep voice of a god
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jun 3, 2005
15,568
California. Duh.
My local Fox station missed one of the penalties entirely (Seattle's miss) by accidentally going to commercial. Then they did it again about 20 seconds into the celebration after the final kick.

Ugly game, which happens in lots of cup finals and is even more understandable with the cold. Was happy to see Seattle pull it off, even though it shows just how little the regular season ultimately means in MLS.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
I agree but I'd like to see the season start two weeks earlier so we don't have a final in brick dog cold. It was in the 50s to weeks ago
I'd like to see this, too. Tilt the schedule towards the warmer-climate teams so that it's not too miserable playing in mid-February.

A side benefit of this change would mean that MLS teams in the CONCACAF Champions League would be a bit less rusty for the quarterfinals.
 

WoburnDiaspora

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 28, 2003
3,092
Wake Forest, NC
Ok, you guys are making me feel a bit better. On the weekends, I am up early with my daughter so I watch a lot of EPL and that league is fantastic. Last night, I decided to watch MLS for the first time really. And that game was putrid and awful. I was thinking these are the best two teams? I guess I will give it another shot when the season starts back up but based on last night I am a bit uncertain.
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
I don't know... The series that is an instant classic (TFC vs. Montreal in the conference finals) was only differentiated by goals in my eyes. I didn't see last night as a tactical aberration. Lots of hoof and chase and little organization.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
I don't know... The series that is an instant classic (TFC vs. Montreal in the conference finals) was only differentiated by goals in my eyes. I didn't see last night as a tactical aberration. Lots of hoof and chase and little organization.
Not even the biggest MLS fan would try to compare MLS to the Premier League and its peers.

That's not fair, either. If a country with a weak tradition in, say, basketball, relative to its other sports and the size of its population, started a basketball league, it wouldnt be fair to compare the level of play in that league after 21 years to the NBA - which, in addition to its elite domestic player pool, pays top dollar for the cream of the crop of international players.

MLS is financially stable, and growing, with cities pushing to get franchises. Some franchises have passionate local support, in certain cases even with or ahead of franchises in the traditional four North American team sports. The level of play and quality of player is steadily improving. A random MLS game, while certainly not El Clasico or even as good as two of the better teams in the Championship playing, is entertaining. That's not bad for 21 years. Room for improvement? Absolutely. The clown-show rules for player acquisition and roster construction need to be scrapped, for one. With regard to the product on the field, which is more to your point, a big problem is the relative lack of sophistication in strategy and tactics in MLS as opposed to the elite leagues. It's admittedly no comparison.

So the discussion here is, I think, whether what we saw last night is the best that MLS could put forward, given its current state. The consensus seems to be no, due to playing in Toronto in December, and maybe due to the clumsy playoff system, and a half a dozen other things.