Yeah he could get a separate ban for USOC, I know Cuauhtemoc Blanco got a 2 year USOC ban separate from the MLS punishment which was only a fine.steeplechase3k said:
One Strike and You're Out: The 2015 MLS In-Season Thread
- Thread starter Titans Bastard
- Start date
Bradley Wright-Phillips became the first player in MLS history to miss two PKs in a single game last night.
Very irritating loss for the Revs tonight. The team bossed almost the whole first half, but only had one goal to show for it. DC woke up in the second half and got the equalizer. Then Steve Neumann committed a really dumb and very clumsy challenge in the corner of the 18 to concede a needless PK.
Bill Hamid kept DC in the game with a great save on Tierney and another solid save on Nguyen. The Revs also missed good opportunities (a couple of Agudelo headers, a Davies header, a few Bunbury crosses that weren't quite there).
On the balance they really should have taken three points, but instead got zilch. And now they're seven points back of DC, albeit with a game in hand.
Bill Hamid kept DC in the game with a great save on Tierney and another solid save on Nguyen. The Revs also missed good opportunities (a couple of Agudelo headers, a Davies header, a few Bunbury crosses that weren't quite there).
On the balance they really should have taken three points, but instead got zilch. And now they're seven points back of DC, albeit with a game in hand.
Pirlo to NYCFC talk is really heating up.
https://twitter.com/SBondyNYDN/status/612782957691019264
I'll say one thing - the other two guys in a four-man midfield that includes Pirlo and Lampard will have a lot of running to do. Despite the talent of that pair, balancing the midfield will be tough. Both are midseason arrivals who will need to gel with the team, plus they are both ancient and could struggle with the travel and heat. The extremely narrow pitch at Yankee Stadium should help a bit for home games.
Interesting times ahead for NYCFC. There are already rumblings that Pirlo isn't who the staff would have thrown a ton of money at.
https://twitter.com/SBondyNYDN/status/612798182137856001
Life as Man City B.
https://twitter.com/SBondyNYDN/status/612782957691019264
I'll say one thing - the other two guys in a four-man midfield that includes Pirlo and Lampard will have a lot of running to do. Despite the talent of that pair, balancing the midfield will be tough. Both are midseason arrivals who will need to gel with the team, plus they are both ancient and could struggle with the travel and heat. The extremely narrow pitch at Yankee Stadium should help a bit for home games.
Interesting times ahead for NYCFC. There are already rumblings that Pirlo isn't who the staff would have thrown a ton of money at.
https://twitter.com/SBondyNYDN/status/612798182137856001
Life as Man City B.
the Timbers-Sounders match this weekend could have official water breaks. It is supposed to be about 100 degrees at the start of the game which means the on field temperature would be ~120 (thanks fake turf!!).
I'm also worried about the large sections of the stands that are in the sun at 4pm.
Merritt Paulson said on twitter that he is working to move the game, but it is on National TV so that might not be possible.
I'm also worried about the large sections of the stands that are in the sun at 4pm.
Merritt Paulson said on twitter that he is working to move the game, but it is on National TV so that might not be possible.
The PSRA (ref union) is understandably livid about the Sounders game. Not only did Dempsey get a slap on the wrist, Sigi Schmidt didn't get any punishment for:
1. calling it the worst reffed game he ever saw
2. saying he was "maybe going to choke the referee"
Seriously, MLS is such a clown shoes league.
1. calling it the worst reffed game he ever saw
2. saying he was "maybe going to choke the referee"
Seriously, MLS is such a clown shoes league.
Former West Ham Academy and U21 player Sebastian Lletget has been shredding the MLS defenses. If he can keep up something like this level and stay healthy (between injuries and a bout of mono he missed a ton of time while at West Ham) he might force his way into the national team picture (probably the U-23s first). He was almost good enough to play for West Ham, always at the edges of making the squad so never loaned, but always seemed to get injured right around the time they might consider dipping into the U-21s for midfielder in an injury crisis.
Cellar-Door said:
Lletget has been impressive. It will be funny if he turns out to be LA's most effective midseason acquisition from England, although that of course is unlikely. It's too soon to say "West Ham should have given him more of a shot", but if keeps it up that statement may be justified.
He'd definitely be in the picture for the U23s, but he is four months too old.
That's exactly what happened. He's banned for 2 years or 6 matches, whatever is greater.Cellar-Door said:
It's only funny until an MLS ref trips him for revenge and he blows out his knee.SocrManiac said:
Straus is reporting that Atlanta will be called......Atlanta United.
If true, that's not very creative. Minnesota United will also be joining MLS in 2017 or 2018.
If true, that's not very creative. Minnesota United will also be joining MLS in 2017 or 2018.
Titans Bastard said:
Another example of the adage you cannot have your cake and eat it, too. MLS wants very badly to profit off of the cache of European teams; are in-stadium attendances higher for these "friendlies" or for league games? MLS also wants to market their league as being competitive with these European teams, promoting both the matches and results as evidence that MLS is "growing".
Yet, MLS keeps to its own calendar, to the detriment of both the National Team and itself. Were MLS on the standard calendar - or something close to it, they could keep having these friendly dick-measuring matches without affecting their competitive product. They could let Euro powers roll over their clubs and legitimately claim afterwards that they are "just season prep", as opposed to the farce now of diminished squads or half-efforts.
I agree that if MLS is going to stay on this silly calendar, they should stop with the mid-season friendlies. But they won't because the money is far more important to them than the reputation of the product. They got Real Madrid to play the LA Galaxy! And the Galaxy only lost by two! MLS is going places!!
soxfan121 said:
It's getting very tiresome, but they will probably continue as long as they are a lucrative cash grab. I can only hope that the US fan base matures to the point where these games don't have that much appeal. It's a preseason game for the Euros and a midweek friendly for an MLS team whose manager is thrust in the awkward position of trying to not to embarrass the club, but just wanting to get out of there with minimal added fatigue or injuries.
I've never been to an MLS vs. Euro or Euro vs. Euro friendly in the US and I never will.
soxfan121 said:
Yep. Playing through the winter is an impossibility in this country, but the league could be doing a better job of adhering to the FIFA calendar by doing away with these stupid friendlies. It is difficult to justify playing through so many FIFA dates when there are numerous pointless extracurricular games. The league cannot schedule as many midweek games as some European countries for travel reasons (perspective: England is smaller than Alabama) so it seems wasteful to schedule these friendlies. And it's disrespectful to their own product.
The Timbers have largely stopped having friendlies with big clubs from other countries because they draw smaller crowds than normal games, even when season ticket holders get in free (a bonus ticket as part of the package). However the USL team T2 is playing Newcastle this year and because the Timber have yet to get a home game in the USOC it is being used as a bonus ticket for Timbers (MLS) Season ticket holder which has made some people pretty unhappy. At this point I only go if it is cheap ($5-10) or part of my season ticket package.
When the Timbers were in the USL they'd have 1-2 big time friendlies each year and they did draw big crowds then. In 2004 when the Timbers were averaging about 4k people per match they drew about 15k to see Sunderland. I think it was the second biggest crowd the Timbers had drawn to that point (IIRC there were 16k for their first game in 2001).
When the Timbers were in the USL they'd have 1-2 big time friendlies each year and they did draw big crowds then. In 2004 when the Timbers were averaging about 4k people per match they drew about 15k to see Sunderland. I think it was the second biggest crowd the Timbers had drawn to that point (IIRC there were 16k for their first game in 2001).
Well this Revs match has gone to hell early: first Woodberry with an awful defensive play leading to an early goal, now a terrible call by the ref in giving a red card & pk means the Revs are down 2-0.
Thought they looked a lot better in the second half, but wasn't enough to overcome that bad start.
Revs are 1-5-4 in their last ten matches.
Revs are 1-5-4 in their last ten matches.
Lampard and Pirlo are on the field before the NY derby.
ESPN in their opening tried to compare this game to Lakers-Celtics, Yankees-Red Sox, Duke-Carolina, and Michigan-Ohio St. Yeah.......OK.
ESPN in their opening tried to compare this game to Lakers-Celtics, Yankees-Red Sox, Duke-Carolina, and Michigan-Ohio St. Yeah.......OK.
steeplechase3k said:
I really like what the Sounders did with their friendly this year; they chose to play an early season match against a Mexican team of CONCACAF champions league quality in preparation for their champions league run this year. Neither team played their "stars," but it was a good amuse-bouche for the players who haven't experienced international play yet.
Alternatively I'd love to see clubs schedule an annual friendly with an international rival. They could create some kind of cup for an international derby. FC Utrecht would be a good rival for Portland, for example. That would make the event less mercenary.
I didn't have time to see any games this weekend, but this was pretty cool:
http://streamable.com/o4ng
http://streamable.com/o4ng
Timbers with a big 4-1 win over the Sounders, bouncing back from getting embarrassed in LA.
Beautiful goal from Nagbe, Adi with a brace (in 2 minutes) and Wallace with the stoppage time exclamation point.
http://www.timbers.com/video/2015/06/28/portland-timbers-4-seattle-sounders-1-match-highlights
Plus some kickass tifo from the Timbers Army.
Beautiful goal from Nagbe, Adi with a brace (in 2 minutes) and Wallace with the stoppage time exclamation point.
http://www.timbers.com/video/2015/06/28/portland-timbers-4-seattle-sounders-1-match-highlights
Plus some kickass tifo from the Timbers Army.
There's been some roster cleaning recently as teams prepare to make some adjustments when the summer window opens up.
- Seattle signed Swedish midfielder Erik Friberg, who played for the Sounders back in 2011. He's 29 now and has since had stints with Malmö, Bologna, and Esbjerg.
- Seattle also promoted forward Andy Craven. Craven has done well for S2 in the USL and now his USL contract has been upgraded to an MLS one.
- Chicago dealt forward Quincy Amarikwa to San Jose for defender Ty Harden. Both will be depth for their new clubs.
- NYRB released CB Andrew Jean-Baptiste. In 2013 he was a 20 year old starting regularly for the Timbers, but his career has really taken a nosedive.
- NYCFC released GK Akira Fitzgerald and MF Matt Dunn.
- Seattle signed Swedish midfielder Erik Friberg, who played for the Sounders back in 2011. He's 29 now and has since had stints with Malmö, Bologna, and Esbjerg.
- Seattle also promoted forward Andy Craven. Craven has done well for S2 in the USL and now his USL contract has been upgraded to an MLS one.
- Chicago dealt forward Quincy Amarikwa to San Jose for defender Ty Harden. Both will be depth for their new clubs.
- NYRB released CB Andrew Jean-Baptiste. In 2013 he was a 20 year old starting regularly for the Timbers, but his career has really taken a nosedive.
- NYCFC released GK Akira Fitzgerald and MF Matt Dunn.
http://www.orlandocitysc.com/post/2015/06/30/orlando-city-announces-plans-launch-usl-team-2016
Orlando would be the ninth team in the league to own a USL team and the 25th club in the USL.
As you might guess, Anthony Pulis is Tony's son.
Some other details:
Orlando would be the ninth team in the league to own a USL team and the 25th club in the USL.
As you might guess, Anthony Pulis is Tony's son.
Some other details:
Abou Diaby is apparently in talks with FC Dallas. If he manages to stay fit (har har) he could be a big player in MLS.
The last two minor league clubs were knocked out of the USOC in the 5th round. Chicago came back from a goal down to beat Charlotte Independence 3-1. NYRB comprehensively beat the New York Cosmos by a 4-1 scoreline. All the home teams advanced except for LA, who beat San Jose on the strength of a Jose Villarreal goal. KC crushed Dallas 6-2 thanks to four goals from Dom Dwyer and two from Krisztian Németh.
Quarterfinals:
NYRB vs. Philadelphia
Salt Lake vs. LA
KC vs. Houston
Chicago vs. Orlando
Quarterfinals:
NYRB vs. Philadelphia
Salt Lake vs. LA
KC vs. Houston
Chicago vs. Orlando
I'm not sure if anyone remembers Charles Renken, but there's a nice feature out on him. After a variety of knee injuries and time in the wilderness, he's playing with Saint Louis FC in the USL now.
Titans Bastard said:
I remembered the name but it was vaguely enough I figured he had played for the Timbers in the late 2010s in the USL, but it was 2012.
The Timbers-Earthquakes game on ESPN on Sunday has been moved form 2pm Pacific (IE just before the WWC Final) to 8pm Pacific. That late on a Sunday sucks, the temperatures should have cooled from approaching 100 (which means 130+ on the pitch) to around 90. The sun will be mostly down so that should help also.
So MLS is creating/already has a new mechanism to sign players called the "Core Player" rule. This will be separate from Designated Players (the "Beckham rule" players, who make more than the max salary). The convoluted explanation:
Allocation money = money from the league.
Cutting to the chase: there have been a lot of rumors that MLS wants to sign Gio Dos Santos and Javier Hernandez. Dos Santos is specifically headed toward the LA Galaxy, but Los Angeles already has three Designated Players. As such, Major League Calvinball needs a mechanism to let LA pay Dos Santos the big bucks it will take to pry him from Europe. That mechanism is the Core Player rule: of the Galaxy's three current DPs, Robbie Keane and Steven Gerrard make $4 and $6 million, respectively, but Omar Gonzalez only makes around $1 million. The Core Player rule allows LA to use allocation money to "pay down" Gonzalez's cap hit so he's no longer a DP, thus freeing up a DP slot with which they can sign Dos Santos. [phew!]
I know that sounds pessimistic, but other teams stand to benefit from the Core Player rule as well; for example, Houston will be able to open up a DP slot by paying down Brad Davis' salary. Plus, Dos Santos and Chicharito are the type of DPs the league should really be going for IMO- they may not be as big names as Andrea Pirlo or Steven Gerrard, but like, for example, Sebastian Giovinco, they will likely have a huge impact on the league and dramatically improve quality of play. Imagining LA's front 6 could be pretty stacked by the end of the year:
------------Keane
Zardes-Dos Santos-Lletget
------Gerrard-Juninho
Allocation money = money from the league.
Cutting to the chase: there have been a lot of rumors that MLS wants to sign Gio Dos Santos and Javier Hernandez. Dos Santos is specifically headed toward the LA Galaxy, but Los Angeles already has three Designated Players. As such, Major League Calvinball needs a mechanism to let LA pay Dos Santos the big bucks it will take to pry him from Europe. That mechanism is the Core Player rule: of the Galaxy's three current DPs, Robbie Keane and Steven Gerrard make $4 and $6 million, respectively, but Omar Gonzalez only makes around $1 million. The Core Player rule allows LA to use allocation money to "pay down" Gonzalez's cap hit so he's no longer a DP, thus freeing up a DP slot with which they can sign Dos Santos. [phew!]
I know that sounds pessimistic, but other teams stand to benefit from the Core Player rule as well; for example, Houston will be able to open up a DP slot by paying down Brad Davis' salary. Plus, Dos Santos and Chicharito are the type of DPs the league should really be going for IMO- they may not be as big names as Andrea Pirlo or Steven Gerrard, but like, for example, Sebastian Giovinco, they will likely have a huge impact on the league and dramatically improve quality of play. Imagining LA's front 6 could be pretty stacked by the end of the year:
------------Keane
Zardes-Dos Santos-Lletget
------Gerrard-Juninho
Billy R Ford said:
Don't sell Dos Santos and Chicharito short. They are HUGE names in the context of America given how many people (and soccer fans) of Mexican descent are here. The relative importance and popularity of Liga MX and Mexican players in general is consistently underestimated. Cuauhtemoc Blanco wasn't nearly the name that David Beckham was on a global scale, but he had nearly as big an effect in the US. And Pirlo and Gerrard aren't as big as Beckham.
I don't like MLS adding rules like this midseason (although a 4th DP of some nature has been rumored for over a year). Although this wouldn't be happening if most owners didn't support it, it's not the sort of thing that furthers the transparency cause.
June swoon continues into July for the Revs, and with Alston presumably out for a while, their back line is going to be in even a bigger mess. Frankly it's good that they are out of the Open Cup at this point. And if Goncalves gets caught in possession again I'm going to scream.
Arroyo Con Frijoles said:
What a frustrating team. There's a lot of talent, but it's not clicking. The team has obviously needed depth in defense all season and injuries to Barnes and now Alston have only made this more pressing. We can always hope for Jermaine Jones to ride in and save the day again, but the team should be moving past that. There was an opportunity to build on last year and I feel as though the Revs missed it a bit. As usual, we've seen complacency instead of a killer instinct when trying to move from a good roster to a great roster.
Some rumors & news (and one involves the Revs!)
- Marvin Ceballos, as 23 year old Guatemalan midfielder, is reported by TBM to have signed with the Revs. Reinforcements are good, but Ceballos was only a spot starter for Comunicaciones in the Guatemalan league and he is said to play attacking midfield or forward. So he doesn't fit areas of greatest need (CM, anywhere in defense) and has an uninspiring track record. We shall see.
- Stefan Ishizaki has been granted a released by the LA Galaxy. He wanted to move back to Sweden because his wife is having twins. Ishizaki was a useful workhorse on the flanks for LA and part of the Galaxy XI that has really been clicking lately (another 4-0 pounding this weekend). However, LA doesn't lack for attacking talent now. Keane and Villarreal are healthy, Lletget has been a revelation, and Gerrard will be added to the roster in three days. And Dos Santos, maybe?
- KC has released winger James Rogers, who was drafted this spring. Clearing space for a summer signing?
- More investment in youth development:
https://twitter.com/JREskilson/status/617047771661471744
- Marvin Ceballos, as 23 year old Guatemalan midfielder, is reported by TBM to have signed with the Revs. Reinforcements are good, but Ceballos was only a spot starter for Comunicaciones in the Guatemalan league and he is said to play attacking midfield or forward. So he doesn't fit areas of greatest need (CM, anywhere in defense) and has an uninspiring track record. We shall see.
- Stefan Ishizaki has been granted a released by the LA Galaxy. He wanted to move back to Sweden because his wife is having twins. Ishizaki was a useful workhorse on the flanks for LA and part of the Galaxy XI that has really been clicking lately (another 4-0 pounding this weekend). However, LA doesn't lack for attacking talent now. Keane and Villarreal are healthy, Lletget has been a revelation, and Gerrard will be added to the roster in three days. And Dos Santos, maybe?
- KC has released winger James Rogers, who was drafted this spring. Clearing space for a summer signing?
- More investment in youth development:
https://twitter.com/JREskilson/status/617047771661471744
Cellar-Door said:Saw this on twitter explaining how allocation works.
Yep, that's a classic.
The allocation system has been simplified this year, though, and there's a fixed and public list of players who are subject to it, which should avoid some of the embarrassing situations that have occurred over the last few years. There are far fewer players subject to the allocation system, as many of them are now subject to the discovery system. Both systems are stupid and should be abolished, but that won't happen until the free agency genie is fully out of the bottle. When faced with the choice, the discovery system (which is basically a dibs system) is better. Even though there are still bad situations like the Revs squatting on Sebastian Lletget's MLS rights even though they didn't seem to have any intention of signing him. So a team who he never played for in a league he's never played in had the rights to him within the league and LA had to buy them off in order to sign him.
https://twitter.com/amobisays/status/618230194894188544
Amobi Okugo appears not to be thrilled with the new CBA
Amobi Okugo appears not to be thrilled with the new CBA
The simplest solution to the DP discontent is a designated player contract tax. IE a tax of 10% of each DP contract, which would be distributed evenly among the players around the league. Thus each DP signed by the league adds a bit to the checks the lower level players get. (IE, if there were $50 million league-wide in DP contracts each non-DP player would get about $10,000 extra / year.) That also provides a smidgeon of revenue sharing.
The problem is that MLS is committed to some semblance of parity, but has negligible national television revenue. There's no league money to kick into the coffers of the poor teams around the league. This is the same explanation for why the Colombus Crew didn't get Pirlo. They couldn't afford him even if he wanted to go there. Once the league has a decent national TV contract they can implement revenue sharing and behave like a real league.
The fan base that does have a legitimate gripe is Portland. IIRC they had something like $8-10 million in operating revenue last year and have a stadium atmosphere worthy of Europe. They absolutely deserve a big name player.
The problem is that MLS is committed to some semblance of parity, but has negligible national television revenue. There's no league money to kick into the coffers of the poor teams around the league. This is the same explanation for why the Colombus Crew didn't get Pirlo. They couldn't afford him even if he wanted to go there. Once the league has a decent national TV contract they can implement revenue sharing and behave like a real league.
The fan base that does have a legitimate gripe is Portland. IIRC they had something like $8-10 million in operating revenue last year and have a stadium atmosphere worthy of Europe. They absolutely deserve a big name player.
They should just go with the MLB model. You can't have a salary cap then keep adding exceptions that really only benefit a few teams. They don't want a real cap because it would prevent them signing aging stars to semi-retirement, but they also refuse to just blow up the cap and let teams spend what they want.moly99 said:
As a Timbers fan....moly99 said:
We don't need a big name player. We've sold out every match and have ~15k season ticket holders with and aditional ~10k on a waiting list for season tickets. They don't have to spend anything to draw people.
On the other hand Merritt Paulson is hyper competitive (to the point of being an asshole at times, including to Timbers fans on twitter) so he wantwants in really badly. That means he'll spend for a player that will help the team win, not a player that will bring in fans.
Cellar-Door said:
The MLB model works because the league has a massive pile of national TV cash to redistribute from the Yankees and Red Sox to other teams. In 50 years MLS might have grown to the point that has a substantial national TV audience, but right now there's almost no revenue to share around.
1) Signing those aging players helps the league grow. Signing Kaka for Orlando and David Villa for NYC has helped establish a fan base in their respective cities.
2) Dumping the salary cap would be an existential threat to the league. Europe is only able to operate without a cap for most of their leagues because it is the top sport. MLS can't survive if its team start going the way of Rangers and Parma. Consider that the second most popular leagues in Europe often have salary caps. (Rugby in the UK and France, the Kontinental Hockey League, The League of Ireland, etc.)
Fairly pedestrian, if you ask me. At least the gold is featured prominently so we don't have two red-and-black teams called United. And with Minnesota United they had a feature on their logo that has quickly led to a locally popular nickname (the Loons). Hopefully Atlanta is able to organically generate something of greater interest than Atlanta United.
OilCanShotTupac said:
You would think, but their season ticket deposit numbers are enormous and they still have a year and a half to go.
Coming from where MLS started, logo and identity design-wise, this is stellar. Objectively, it's decent. (Minnesota is a grand slam from any perspective. What an awesome mark that is.) With NYCFC and now this, MLS design language has progressed to the Hippocratic Oath stage: first, do no harm...
*sigh*
This week in MLS roster rules weirdness:
https://twitter.com/DougMacESPN/status/618814700709654528
The details are here. Essentially what it boils down to is an extremely convoluted way of injecting $2m/yr over the next five years into the salary cap. It's done this way (as opposed to the CBA) so that this money isn't spread around to the rosters in general, but will help teams specifically to sign more $500k-$1m types. Another recap is here.
The $500k-$1m salary player is absolutely the sort of player MLS teams should be targeting to improve the standard of play. You can get a lot more bang for your buck, on the field, by signing a bunch of these rather than paying big names a gazillion dollars. I wish it didn't have to come with more bizarre rules, though. I want to see MLS simplify, not complicate.
https://twitter.com/A_W_Gordon/status/618825316526632968
This week in MLS roster rules weirdness:
https://twitter.com/DougMacESPN/status/618814700709654528
The details are here. Essentially what it boils down to is an extremely convoluted way of injecting $2m/yr over the next five years into the salary cap. It's done this way (as opposed to the CBA) so that this money isn't spread around to the rosters in general, but will help teams specifically to sign more $500k-$1m types. Another recap is here.
The $500k-$1m salary player is absolutely the sort of player MLS teams should be targeting to improve the standard of play. You can get a lot more bang for your buck, on the field, by signing a bunch of these rather than paying big names a gazillion dollars. I wish it didn't have to come with more bizarre rules, though. I want to see MLS simplify, not complicate.
https://twitter.com/A_W_Gordon/status/618825316526632968