217 replies to this topic

[Terras]

Then came the June 18 game against the Chicago Fire. After halftime, Monty Rodrigues took his place in the capo stand. Each goal kick by Chicago’s Sean Johnson was accompanied by, “You suck [expletive],’’ the chant management hoped to halt. Rodrigues and the leaders of the three supporters’ groups - The Midnight Riders, The Rebellion, and Revs Army - attempted to discourage the chant. Conlon, who is also the Revolution’s liaison for supporters’ groups, was called in.But the tension seemed to escalate. Conlon left in frustration. Rodrigues abandoned the capo stand. One person was arrested and three taken into protective custody. Dozens of supporters walked out in protest and the decibel level of The Fort decreased noticeably.

The Globe finally had an article about Fortgate as its lead on Saturday. If it were any other New England team that were having these issues with any fans, let alone their most dedicated, it'd be all over local news and NESN and people would actually have heard about it when it happened, instead of two weeks later. The article isn't even that in depth and only has the two paragraphs above as a description of the incident. It barely references fans being arrested and doesn't mention the ongoing issues The Fort has had with Gillette TeamOps. I understand that the reporting has to be unbiased and avoid the polemics of many of the firsthand accounts that came out after FortGate (like this), but the fact of the matter is than even without the opinions you'll still learn far more about what is going on between the SGs and the stadium management by reading any random NE soccer blog than from the biggest paper in the region. It's fucking clownshoes.

That, coupled with the joke of a Revs game tonight, really fucking dishearten me.

[Mr. Wednesday]

From what I've seen of the Rev fan take on the article on BigSoccer (Monty included), it's uniformly positive. They weren't expecting to get coverage in the Globe at all, let alone front page of the sports section.

[Terras]

From what I've seen of the Rev fan take on the article on BigSoccer (Monty included), it's uniformly positive. They weren't expecting to get coverage in the Globe at all, let alone front page of the sports section.

Yea, I heard about the same from a friend who's also on BigSoccer. For them, any publicity is good publicity and I understand that.

However, from a journalistic point of view, this article could have been so much more. Soccer rarely gets any limelight around here, at least on a regional stage, and the controversy itself deals directly with the tension between the team's most hardcore fans and stadium security and to some extent the management. How often do you see that in any sports setting, let alone in New England, where fan relations has been supremely handled to the point of happy-go-lucky for the last 10+ years? This article could have addressed so many topics while it had the reader's attention, including Revs' attendance issues, the concrete plans (or lack thereof) for a new stadium, the behavior of the fans, and the seemingly apathetic management of the team. Instead the audience gets a vanilla recap of the SGs history, a curt summary of FortGate, and a primary focus on the YSA chant. It works as a nice Saturday semi-feature piece, but it could (should?) have been so much more.

I'm glad that the incident got press, I just wish the article about it hadn't been so blah.

[Titans Bastard]

I admire those who keep on keepin' on, but I have resigned myself to the conclusion that the New England Revolution will not be a competently-run franchise or an appealing team as long as Bob Kraft is the owner. The league passed us by a while ago and it's only getting worse -- on and off the field.

Bob Kraft:Revolution :: pre-Bob Kraft:Patriots

It's a shame.

[Billy R Ford]

I admire those who keep on keepin' on, but I have resigned myself to the conclusion that the New England Revolution will not be a competently-run franchise or an appealing team as long as Bob Kraft is the owner.

Well that's the catch isn't it: if Kraft sells the team, it will probably be to someone who'll move them out of New England (unless they can get a soccer stadium somewhere in greater Boston, which is doubtful). And look how long its taken Florida to get a new team after losing the Fusion and Mutiny.



On the topic of the Revs, they have declined Marko Perovic's option for next season. Since Perovic is on season-ending IR, this effectively ends his tenure with the team. This is significant because Perovic is only 27 and was the team MVP last year- there's no reason they should be letting someone like that go just because he's hurt right now. But Perovic reportedly asked the team to decline the option.

[steeplechase3k]

I saw what is planned for the Revs supporters for the next match as a protest against the heavy handed tactics, and this it's GREAT. Hopefully it will get THE club to wake up.



Also: don't forget Sunday at 4pm Eastern/1pm Pacific:
Seattle visits Portland.

This is what you'd see if the Yankees only played in Boston for one series a year.

[Titans Bastard]

Well that's the catch isn't it: if Kraft sells the team, it will probably be to someone who'll move them out of New England (unless they can get a soccer stadium somewhere in greater Boston, which is doubtful). And look how long its taken Florida to get a new team after losing the Fusion and Mutiny.

I'm willing to roll the dice. Miami and Tampa are terrible sports towns, so we'd stand a better chance of getting another team, especially considering the size of the Boston MSA. No guarantees at this stage, though, considering MLS is already a fairly robust size and doesn't need to expand to any particular place. In the ideal world, I would love to see this team Kansas City'd: sold to an active and innovative local ownership group with the ability to turn the ship around.

[Arroyo Con Frijoles]

I'm a fan and former season ticket holder who has been as depressed as anybody about the last few years, but I have to confess that I find the focus on the supporter's groups stuff to be a little tiring. I recognize the counter, that these are your most passionate fans so you shouldn't piss them off, and I agree with that generally, but the more and more interactions I have with people involved in these groups (in New England and elsewhere, maybe especially in the new markets, like Seattle and Portland), being in the Riders, or ECS, or Timbers Army, and being left alone to do whatever you want in that capacity, is more important than the actual team.

For whatever reason, people look at being a fan of an MLS team as either being in a group or being from some suburban family. I'm neither of those, and while I have absolutely no affinity for our ownership or management that has done nothing for this team for years, these protest movements and walkouts and moments of silence strike me as a bunch of self-important nonsense.

All that said, good for Monty and some of those other guys to try to work with the Revs to get rid of something that the club wanted gone (and no one should really care about eliminating), and the security guys obviously escalated the situation. It was the team's obligation to make known that they were going to crack down on yelling "asshole" after not doing anything about it for as long as I've been going to games, and it looks like while they tried to do that on some level, I guess it wasn't enough.

[Titans Bastard]

This is pretty awesome.

[steeplechase3k]

The video doesn't show, but after the King of clubs dropped, this:

was in between "The King" and "Of clubs"

This video isn't as good, but it shows the end...

Edited by steeplechase3k, 12 July 2011 - 12:35 AM.

[ThePrideofShiner]

The video doesn't show, but after the King of clubs dropped, this:

was in between "The King" and "Of clubs"

This video isn't as good, but it shows the end...

That was really cool. I watched the game and was very impressed with the Portland fans and think the stadium is very cool and it did remind me of Fenway, like the announcers said, but I still enjoy Qwest Field - or whatever the hell it is called now.

Oh, and as a Sounders fan, I'll take the result Sunday as well.

[Titans Bastard]

The 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League begins today.

There are eight clubs that automatically qualify for the group stage. Another 16 clubs enter in the Preliminary Round and play a home-and-home for the last eight spots in the GS. The two legs of the Preliminary Round are this week and the next.

Three MLS teams in action this week:

7/26 - Seattle @ San Francisco (Panama)
7/27 - Toronto vs. Real Esteli (Nicaragua)
7/28 - Dallas @ Alianza (El Salvador)


In theory, all MLS teams should make it through, but since the CL format was adopted in 08-09, somebody has always screwed the pooch. Fortunately, Toronto has by far the easier opponent, so even they shouldn't be able to blow it. (Toronto can't qualify through MLS; they won the Canadian Championship, a short tournament that also involves the Vancouver Whitecaps and the lower-division Montreal Impact and FC Edmonton).


The CCL doesn't get much love, but I think it's an improving tournament. MLS has historically not taken international play seriously, but this is changing. RSL reached the final of the CCL last season and became the first team to take it so seriously that they fielded a reserve lineup in MLS play to rest their starters. In part due to RSL's success and in part due to a general drive to boost the league's credibility, more and more people in charge view the CCL as an avenue to improve the profile of MLS. So, hopefully we'll start to see better results.

Two MLS teams have been CONCACAF champions in history: DC (1998) and LA (2000). The entirety of these tournaments were played on their home turf, so I can't put much stock in that. Since then, it's been pretty much all Mexico although there was a two-year period where Costa Rican clubs came out on top.

Another year of CCL is also another chance for MLS to finally make its breakthrough in Mexico. MLS clubs have an appalling record when on the road in Mexico: 0-4-21. (We were 0-2-3 last year, at least!). There have been some heart-breaking near-misses, especially RSL's insane, dramatic, and thoroughly water-logged 5-4 loss to Cruz Azul last year.



At least RSL wound up beating Cruz Azul 3-1 at home to win the group.

An MLS team has only once eliminated an FMF club in a home-and-home matchup. That was Kansas City back in 2002. So clearly, the league has a lot to prove; we can make up a decent amount of ground just by taking the tournament seriously. But no matter what happens, I really think going up against Mexican clubs and going to the hostile environments found in Central America is a great experience for the teams and players involved.


If anyone is interested, these games are on FSC.

[Billy R Ford]

The Revolution have signed a Designated Player!

Milton Caraglio, 22-year-old Argentine striker.

[Titans Bastard]

The Revolution have signed a Designated Player!

Milton Caraglio, 22-year-old Argentine striker.

So we already knew that Caraglio has had four knee surgeries already at the age of 22. We also knew that his nickname was "El Gordo", referencing his lack of fitness. Today, it comes out that the Revs haven't even seen him in person. They signed him on the basis of DVDs and possibly, YouTube videos. Well, Steve Nicol is literally the only person in the organization capable of scouting and he's busy managing.... and the Revs are too cheap to hire a scout. Also, it's hard to scout a player who has been injured for a long period of time.

Who knows, maybe he'll work out against the odds, but the lack of due diligence is breathtaking.

This franchise is a joke. Incompetent, unprofessional, unimaginative, unambitious. A joke.

[Titans Bastard]

After a lackluster performance over the first legs, MLS has been looking better in the second.

Toronto beat Real Esteli 2-1 on the road. Beating a Nicaraguan team 4-2 on aggregate is nothing to brag about, but Toronto is just atrocious right now. They had a terrible roster, they've been wheeling and dealing like crazy, and there's been no time to gel even if they have somewhat better players now. So, at least they didn't blow this.

Dallas was in good shape after a 1-0 win in El Salvador. They beat Alianza again 1-0 at home. It could have been more, but their backup forwards squandered a few chances. The second half of this game was played in slow motion -- understandable given the 108 degree temperatures in Dallas. The non-shaded half the stadium was actually closed for precautionary reasons.


The Seattle-San Francisco game is at the half right now. The Sounders are up 1-0, which means that they are tied with the Panamanians 1-1 on aggregate. Seattle is in decent shape, but they have to be careful not to concede; if they give up the away goal they'll have to win by two.

[Titans Bastard]

Seattle wins 2-0 in extra time, giving them a 2-1 aggregate victory. For the first time since the CONCACAF Champions League started in 08/09, there will be the maximum five MLS teams in the group stage. I am pleased with this progress. It shows that our teams are more competitive than they used to be and the CCL is a great developmental opportunity, I think. Experience in hostile environments on the road on craptastic pitches; experience breaking down bunkering opponents at home.


The group stages are pretty much set, since Herediano and Motagua have unassailable leads going into their second legs tomorrow.

Group A
Los Angeles Galaxy
Alajuelense (CRC)
Morelia (MEX)
Motagua (HON)

Group B
Colorado Rapids
Real España (HON)
Santos Laguna (MEX)
Isidro Metapán (SLV)

Group C
Pumas UNAM (MEX)
Tauro (PAN)
FC Dallas
Toronto FC

Group D
Monterrey (MEX)
Comunicaciones (GUA)
Seattle Sounders
Herediano (CRC)


With a flailing Toronto team as well as Tauro, Dallas has no excuses. Considering past results, I will be happy if we get three teams through to the quarterfinals. I am not sure how seriously LA and Colorado will take this tournament, though. If they tank this, we could end up with less.

[Arroyo Con Frijoles]

Awesome that the kid from Leominster got in for the Revs and immediately made an impact.

[Titans Bastard]

Awesome that the kid from Leominster got in for the Revs and immediately made an impact.

Fagundez looks like a serious baller. The kid has been flying up the ranks and with every passing month looks more and more like one of the best offensive prospects in the country. I sure hope that he gets his US citizenship soon (he came from Uruguay at a young age).

Speaking of teenage prospects, Luis Gil scored his first goal last night. He's been progressing well at RSL and has been playing a decent amount for a 17 year old. It's nice to have some legitimate central attacking midfielders coming through the ranks.

[Titans Bastard]

Great news for MLS today. MLS and NBC Sports sign three-year deal. It's a three year contract from 2012 to 2014 that will replace the contract that the league current has with Fox Soccer Channel. By the way, NBC Sports = Versus = Outdoor Life Network

* FSC was paying $2-3m per year through 2010 and about $6m in 2011. This deal with NBC Sports pays $10-12m per year, according to various reports.

* The FSC deal covers 31 regular season games and 3 playoff games. The NBC Sports deal will cover 45 MLS matches and 4 USMNT games. Of these, two regular season, two playoff, and two USMNT matches will be on network NBC. NBC Sports will televise 38 regular season matches, 3 playoff games, and two USMNT games.

* NBC Sports is in twice as many households as FSC

* NBC Sports can't possibly have as crappy production values as FSC does.


Combined with the ESPN and Univision contracts, I believe that comes out to around $28m a year in national TV money, plus whatever the league is getting for Canadian broadcast rights. That's not exactly the NFL, but the number keeps going up.

[Titans Bastard]

Freddy Adu to the Philadelphia Union....


We'll have to wait a bit to get the full story, but it sounds like Adu was set to go to Chivas USA, but the deal was nixed by the higher-ups. So instead he signs with Philly -- whose manager is Peter Nowak -- and thus far it's been reported that it's not a Designated Player contract. Absolutely bizarre to see him reunited with Nowak.

[MetSox1]

Freddy Adu to the Philadelphia Union....


We'll have to wait a bit to get the full story, but it sounds like Adu was set to go to Chivas USA, but the deal was nixed by the higher-ups. So instead he signs with Philly -- whose manager is Peter Nowak -- and thus far it's been reported that it's not a Designated Player contract. Absolutely bizarre to see him reunited with Nowak.

They got along well on the olympic team. Why everyone ignored that they buried the hatchet years ago boggles my mind.

[Titans Bastard]

They got along well on the olympic team. Why everyone ignored that they buried the hatchet years ago boggles my mind.

Oh, I don't anticipate any problems. But a national team is different; it's just strange to me to see Nowak actively go out and acquire Adu, after all that happened in the past.

[Billy R Ford]

Ives and others are reporting Robbie Keane is headed to LA Galaxy.

[Dehere]

Great news for MLS today. MLS and NBC Sports sign three-year deal.

Deal certainly announces NBC as a big player in upcoming bidding for World Cups of 18 and 22. That bidding is expected to be completed by October and it's going to be a three-way war between ESPN, NBC, and FOX for the English language rights.

[Titans Bastard]

* EJ coming back to MLS, it seems. I wonder how much his salary will be and who will take him. If he's being paid close to the league max....that's not a very attractive proposition. He's been utter crap for years now, not just at Fulham but also at two clubs in the Championship. He was alright in Greece.

* LA signs Robbie Keane and ships Juan Pablo Angel across the hallway to Chivas USA. JPA has had a very good MLS career overall, but this season he's struggled due to the giant fork protruding from his back. I just don't think he has anything left. Great move for LA, who already have a five point lead in MLS.

* SJ takes Ecuadorian sometime-international Edmundo Zora on loan.

* CCL group stage begins today. LA hosts Motagua (HON) and Seattle hosts Comunicaciones (GUA). Tomorrow, Colorado hosts Isidro Metapán (SLV) while Dallas travels to Mexico City to play Pumas. On Thursday, Toronto is away to Tauro (PAN).

We certainly have the chance to get a number of good results here, but I'm sure some team will find a way to blow it.

[Titans Bastard]

A pleasing night for MLS. LA dispatched Motagua 2-0, although they should have won by more. Seattle's match, on the other hand, started off with all the signs of an MLSvsCONCACAF nightmare match.

1. They fielded a team with only 4-5 starters and a backup keeper.
2. They allowed a stupid early goal (in the 2nd minute)
3. They were unjustly denied a penalty on a non-called handball.
4. They tied the game in the first half, but then Lamar Neagle picked up a stupid red early in the second half.

But the Sounders ended up dominating even down a man and scored three more, although the final goal happened after Comunicaciones earned a red of their own.


These home wins aren't spectacular, but they are the sort of yeoman's work necessary to move on to the knockout phase -- and a task bungled all too often in the past.

Other results from tonight:

Santos Laguna (MEX) 3-2 Real España (HON) -- good news for the Colorado Rapids. Santos Laguna is the best team in the group, so you don't want to see the Rapids' competition for 2nd place pick up points in Mexico.

Alajuelense (CRC) 1-0 Morelia (MEX) -- interesting result in what I would call the group of death (along with LA/Motagua). Alajuelense holding serve on the road is a sign this one could be wide open until the end.

[Titans Bastard]

Four games, four wins.


Two good results for MLS tonight. First and foremost was Dallas' 1-0 victory over Pumas in Mexico City. This game represents the first time an American team has ever beaten a Mexican team in Mexico in a competitive match. The US national team's record in Mexico is well-documented, but even MLS teams hadn't had any success, although they had started to accumulate draws and near-misses.

Pumas didn't field their best team tonight; they used a lot of reserves and youngsters. Doesn't matter to me. A win's a win and, frankly, MLS teams have failed to beat FMF B/reserve teams in the past, so this is progress. I'm absolutely ecstatic that MLS finally broke its duck here. It's a huge three points for Dallas, too, in what was supposed to be the toughest of their six group stage games. I was very pleased to see Dallas see out the end of the game strongly, as opposed to the bunker-pray-and-hold-on-for-dear-life tactic that we've seen MLS teams take too often on the road.



Secondly, Colorado held off Isidro Metapán 3-2 tonight. It was a classic shitshow/bizarro/entertaining match that seem to constantly occur in the CCL. It began poorly -- Colorado trotted out a lineup that omitted several key players and then Drew Moor conceded a PK in the first minute in supremely thuggish fashion. The Rapids responded through a Mac Kandji header, but then gave up another idiotic goal after a gaffe by the GK, Matt Pickens.

Then Drew Moor conceded a second PK, but it was called off due to an inexplicable offside call (the Metapán player was well onside), so Colorado dodged a bullet. Then Metapán picked up a relatively soft red and Kandji equalized just before halftime. Akpan scored the winner early in the second half and the rest of the game was less eventful. Metapán got totally jobbed, but I won't shed any tears after witnessing MLS teams get hosed in Central America time after time.



A great start for MLS, though. Toronto plays tomorrow. If they want any chance of advancing, they need six points from Tauro, but I don't have much faith in TFC, especially on the road -- even against a weak Panamanian opponent.

[dirtynine]

How's Akpan looking? Does he still have USMNT potential?

[Titans Bastard]

How's Akpan looking? Does he still have USMNT potential?

Colorado has a number of decent forwards, so he doesn't play very often. I would be shocked if he ever got a USMNT cap.

[dirtynine]

Ah, got it. I thought he was touted and played on U-something at one point. Cool to see a Harvard kid making it, in any event.

[Titans Bastard]

Ah, got it. I thought he was touted and played on U-something at one point. Cool to see a Harvard kid making it, in any event.

Yeah, he was on the 2007 U-20 World Cup team, but a lot of youth national team kids never make much of their career, even among the world powers. There was an Argentine forward who passed through Toronto FC a few years ago -- Pablo Vitti. He was a real scrub and couldn't hack it in MLS. But...he was on the 2005 Argentine U-20 WC team and started some games ahead of Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero.

The other forwards on Akpan's U-20 team were Jozy Altidore, Preston Zimmerman (then: Hamburg II, now: backup winger at a German third division team), and Gabriel Ferrari (then: Sampdoria, now: backup forward at Chicago).

[Titans Bastard]

The Seattle Sounders, using four starters, just beat a nearly-full-strength Monterrey team in Mexico. Boo yeah!


MLS now 6-for-6 in the CCL, including an inconceivable 2-for-2 in Mexico.

[Titans Bastard]

MLS now 8-1-1 in the CCL, with the one loss coming in the intra-MLS match between Dallas and Toronto. Sweet.

An update...

Group A
Alajuelense (CRC) 1-0 Morelia (MEX)
LA Galaxy (USA) 2-0 Motagua (HON)
LA Galaxy (USA) 2-0 Alajuelense (CRC)
Morelia (MEX) 4-0 Motagua (HON)

Team                          W   D   L   PT  GF  GA
LA Galaxy                     2   0   0   6   4   0
Morelia                       1   0   1   3   4   1
Alajuelense                   1   0   1   3   1   2
Motagua                       0   0   2   0   0   6

I would have termed this the "group of death" because it contains a club from each of the top 4 CONCACAF countries, including the current MLS leader, the Honduran Clausura champion and the Costa Rican Apertura/Clausura champion.

LA's off to a great start. All three road games await them, which will be tough, but picking up the full three points at home is very important in CONCACAF. Their next match is in Mexico, so getting anything there would be huge.

Group B
Santos Laguna (MEX) 3-2 Real España (HON)
Colorado Rapids (USA) 3-2 Isidro Metapán (SLV)
Real España (HON) 1-1 Colorado Rapids (USA)
Isidro Metapán (SLV) 2-0 Santos Laguna (MEX)

Team                          W   D   L   PT  GF  GA
Colorado Rapids               1   1   0   4   4   3
Isidro Metapán                1   0   1   3   4   3
Santos Laguna                 1   0   1   3   3   4
Real España                   0   1   1   1   3   4

Colorado has gotten good results, but they haven't looked good. Their win could easily have been a draw and their draw could easily have been a loss. Real España should be their competition for 2nd place, but Santos Laguna's unexpected loss in El Salvador opens up the group a bit. Getting the draw on the road in Honduras is nice, but we'll see how well the Rapids' depth holds up in the coming weeks. Their next two games -- home matches against Santos Laguna and Real España -- will go a long way in deciding their fate.

Group C
Pumas UNAM (MEX) 0-1 FC Dallas (USA)
Tauro (PAN) 1-2 Toronto FC (CAN)
Toronto FC (CAN) 0-1 FC Dallas (USA)
Tauro (PAN) 0-0 Pumas UNAM (MEX)

Team                          W   D   L   PT  GF  GA
FC Dallas                     2   0   0   6   2   0
Toronto FC                    1   0   1   3   2   2
Tauro                         0   1   1   1   1   2
Pumas UNAM                    0   1   1   1   0   1

Dallas is in outstanding shape. Two wins on the road? A win in their next match at home against Tauro and they can coast to the knockout phase.

Toronto has a little more work to do. Winning in Panama was big, especially because Pumas failed to do so. Their head-to-head against Pumas will decide things, I think.

Pumas has been fielding a reserve/U-23 team most of the time, by the way, and they are suffering for it.

Group D
Seattle Sounders (USA) 4-1 Comunicaciones (GUA)
Herediano (CRC) 0-5 Monterrey (MEX)
Monterrey (MEX) 0-1 Seattle Sounders (USA)
Comunicaciones (GUA) 2-0 Herediano (CRC)

Team                          W   D   L   PT  GF  GA
Seattle Sounders              2   0   0   6   5   1
Monterrey                     1   0   1   3   5   1
Comunicaciones                1   0   1   3   3   4
Herediano                     0   0   2   0   0   7

Seattle, resting seven starters, beat a nearly-full-strength Monterrey on the road, which puts them in the pole position here. With Herediano looking like whipping boys at the moment, it's a matter of doing better than Comunicaciones to advance. Seattle has the depth and experience to do that.

[Titans Bastard]

New England blew a three goal lead in Philly tonight. Classic. Once you don't care any more, this organization becomes a source of constant amusement.

[dirtynine]

Very, very vague hints on Big Soccer that a NE stadium announcement could be coming soon. I don't take every rumor seriously but the people hinting it over there are pretty highly trusted on the board.

[Titans Bastard]

Playoff standings

Western Conference
1. LA Galaxy.............29.......58
2. Real Salt Lake........28.......51
3. Seattle Sounders......29.......51

Eastern Conference
1. Columbus Crew.........29.......41
2. Sporting Kansas City..30.......41
3. Philadelphia Union....29.......40

Wild Card
7. FC Dallas.............29.......46
8. Colorado Rapids.......30.......41
9. Houston Dynamo........30.......39
10. Portland Timbers.....29.......37
------------------------------------
11. New York Red Bulls...29.......36
12. DC United............27.......35

The imbalance between East and West is wreaking havoc with the playoff seeding. Dallas is on track to be the 4th best team in the league, but will likely be the 7th seed and, if they win in the wild card round, will face East #1 in the conference semifinals.

There's a scrum for the wild card spots. A bunch of teams are tightly packed and the top three in the East could easily be dragged down into the mire if they finish poorly, as even the #1 in the East is only five points ahead of #11 overall NY.



Today's games:

Dallas vs. Houston
Columbus vs. LA
DC vs. RSL
NY vs. Portland
Colorado vs. SJ
Vancouver vs. Seattle
Chivas USA vs. Toronto


Very important matches for a lot of bubble teams. NY vs. Portland is a real six-pointer.

[Titans Bastard]

Huge win for LA the other night over Monarcas Morelia in a must-win situation. A stoppage time winner for Juninho on a flicked-on corner kick. This is usually the stuff that happens to MLS teams.

It's been a decent year for the league in the CONCACAF Champions League, although pretty much everybody cooled down after a hot start in the first two matchdays of group play. For the first time, all five clubs progressed into the group stage and although all won't make it to the quarterfinals, nobody has been a doormat in their group. In the past, there's always been one.

LA is in a "win and you're in" situation. If they beat Motagua on the road, the result of the Alajuelense-Morelia match won't matter. Motagua has lost five of five so far, so hopefully this will work out.

In Group B, Colorado is shockingly in second place. The organization has absolutely punted the competition, fielding complete reserve teams for all their matches. There was one starter in the travel squad to their latest match in El Salvador and he was on the bench. The manager Gary Smith didn't even make the trip, sending his assistant instead. Somehow, the Rapids won 3-1. They'll probably have to beat Santos Laguna in Mexico, though, which will be tough even if the Mexican team has already qualified for the quarterfinals.

In Group C, Dallas and Toronto will play each other for a place in the QF. Dallas has been in a tailspin and their hopes of progressing have taken several hits. If they finish off TFC, they'll be all right.

In Group D, Seattle has already clinched and can win the group if they a least draw with Monterrey at home.



No way to get five teams advanced as TFC and Dallas can't both qualify. I'm hoping for at least three.

[Titans Bastard]

Meanwhile, in Houston...











*sigh*

[Titans Bastard]

Last night Vancouver beat DC 2-1. The Revs are now bottom of the league with two games to play.

[Titans Bastard]

Some big games today. Most of the teams in the league have just two games left and there's a lot of jockeying for position in the Eastern Conference. Some teams are trying to avoid the wild card round in the playoffs, others are trying to get in.

Portland's loss to Houston last night was a devastating blow. Portland has two remaining road games, which will be a struggle, and are still three points adrift of NY. They will have to win out to have a chance, which is unlikely. Houston, meanwhile, looks good to go for the playoffs.

Nice goal from Danny Cruz along the way


Sporting KC vs. NY Red Bulls
Philadelphia Union vs. Toronto FC

Big games in the East. KC needs a win to stay in contention for the conference title. All of the bubble teams will be rooting for them, as they all need NY to lose. Philly is currently on top of the East, but can't afford to blow points to Toronto.

Also of note, Seattle vs. SJ -- it's Keller's last regular season home game and they are making a big deal of it (he's a native Washingtonian after all). They've opened up the stadium and are expecting 62,000+. Impressive. Meaningless game, though. SJ is eliminated and Seattle is locked into 2nd place. They may even rest a decent number of starters in preparation for the midweek CCL match against Monterrey.

Edited by Titans Bastard, 15 October 2011 - 02:35 PM.

[SoxFanInPdx]

That Timbers match last night was dreadful, easily one of the worst matches I've witnessed this year at Jeld-Wen. Missed a great chance with the DC loss the night before. Long shot now.

[Titans Bastard]

That Timbers match last night was dreadful, easily one of the worst matches I've witnessed this year at Jeld-Wen. Missed a great chance with the DC loss the night before. Long shot now.

KC did you some favors! NY is capable of choking anything away...

(As is DC United. Yikes.)

[Titans Bastard]

Seattle's attendance for Saturday's match was 64,140, reported to be the fourth highest in the world on Saturday behind Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich. That's pretty cool, especially because the big occasion involved an American player.

The playoffs start next week, but there's still a lot to be resolved on domestic and international fronts. NY, Portland, DC, and Chicago are competing for the 10th and final place in the playoffs. NY looks like the frontrunner, but they've been underachieving all season so it will come down to the final matchday. Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference is still a huge muddle with four teams in contention for the title with one game to play. KC and Philly are tied for first place at the moment.


In the CCL, all MLS teams are still alive going into the final matchday of the group stage, although only Seattle has clinched a place in the quarterfinals. The Sounders nonetheless have an important home game against Monterrey in which they could possibly eliminate the Mexicans with a win. Dallas is hosting Toronto in a match that is essentially a battle for 2nd place in their group. A tie would most likely see FCD through. Colorado is facing a tough trip to Santos Laguna, but could qualify regardless of the result if Isidro Metapan and Real Espana tie. LA is in a win-and-you're-in situation in Honduras, anything less will probably not be enough.

[SoxFanInPdx]

Seattle can draw that because they play in a NFL stadium that the Seahawks let them play in. They'd be able to sell out more matches if they'd let supporter groups like Portland and Vancouver (Cascadia Cup matches) buy more than 150 tickets, but they would rather tarp off the upper bowl of the stadium. They are in no hurry to increase the ticket allotment either because their piped in chants might get drowned out. All thanks to the prick ownership that runs that club to the north.

[SoxFanInPdx]

If you missed the last 15 minutes of the Timbers/DC United match last night, you missed probably the most open, exciting play this year. Basically, both teams were attacking even though everyone was gassed. A lot chances for both, but by some miracle it turned out to be a 1-1 draw.

Huge match today between Philly and New York that has playoff implications. I'm rooting hard for Philly to say the least.

[Titans Bastard]

If you missed the last 15 minutes of the Timbers/DC United match last night, you missed probably the most open, exciting play this year. Basically, both teams were attacking even though everyone was gassed. A lot chances for both, but by some miracle it turned out to be a 1-1 draw.

Huge match today between Philly and New York that has playoff implications. I'm rooting hard for Philly to say the least.

Definitely a wild ride. A (correctly) disallowed goal for DC and so many near-misses on both side. I don't know how Brian Umony and Joseph Ngwenya didn't score.

I think most of the league is rooting for Philly. The story of this year's NY team failing to make the playoffs would just be too good. No Henry tonight, either, after a stupid red card against Kansas City. As someone who is essentially a neutral at this point, I enjoy the Union. They've got a lot of young talent -- Mwanga, Torres, the Farfan twins, Williams, Adu, MacMath, McInerney, Okugo -- which didn't work out in their expansion season, but they're much improved in 2011 and they're only going to get better as these kids grow up.

[Titans Bastard]

Okay, so Philly is stinking up the joint here. Bad times for Timbers fans...

[steeplechase3k]

Bad times indeed. However several years ago when the season ended we were left to wonder if we'd have a team next season, and who would be. In the league, and what it would be named.

Now im sitting in a brewery in Salt Lake city ready to watch the team I love play tomorrw. In the grand scheme of things it a meaningless match, but I still drove 13 hours to be here, and it feels great.

The Timbers dropped tons of points late in games in the middle of the season, and that is why they didn't make the playoffs. This season has been huge and just another chapter in a long ride.

[Titans Bastard]

Playoffs are set.

(10)New York @ (7)Dallas
(9)Columbus @ (8)Colorado


Conference SF home-and-homes:

(1)LA vs. weakest remaining WC
(2)Seattle vs. (3)Salt Lake

(1)Kansas City vs. strongest remaining WC
(2)Houston vs. (3)Philadelphia

Conference Finals hosted at highest remaining seed

MLS Cup on Nov 20 in LA.



Predictions?

[Terras]

For anyone marginally interested in the Revs: Their 2-2 tie in the season finale against Toronto (where the Revs' 85th minute saw them have an awesome bicycle kick goal called off for offsides then promptly give up the tying goal less than a minute later) gave the Revs a final of 28 points on the season. Of course, this tied them with Vancouver for worst in the MLS. However, since the Revs took the season series 1-0-1, their tie basically knocked themselves out of the 1st pick in the draft and top claim priority on international player waivers. A loss would have secured both of those things.

Oh well. Clean house and start again next year. Hope springs eternal.