MLS Week 29 - 2017

Hivemind forsees a very well attended NYCFC vs Redbull play-in match. Hivemind is not clear which will advance and be 7-0 aggregate fodder for TOR or ATL
 
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I am the opposite of a Doyle fan, but he posted in the MLS timeline that today's match is the most sluggish he's seen Atlanta be and he's expecting Josef at some point to come up injured. Pretty much what a bunch of us have been saying for a while - that the density of matches every three days is going to wreck their legs & fitness.

Atlanta may win today, but I'm looking at it as a war of attrition (one that Toronto seems to have already succumbed to & hopefully continues). I just hope that our rash of injuries came early enough that we have a fresher squad come the playoffs....
 
I am the opposite of a Doyle fan, but he posted in the MLS timeline that today's match is the most sluggish he's seen Atlanta be and he's expecting Josef at some point to come up injured. Pretty much what a bunch of us have been saying for a while - that the density of matches every three days is going to wreck their legs & fitness.

Atlanta may win today, but I'm looking at it as a war of attrition (one that Toronto seems to have already succumbed to & hopefully continues). I just hope that our rash of injuries came early enough that we have a fresher squad come the playoffs....
Almiron came off injured early
 
Almiron came off injured early
Thanks, was wondering about that since I came in a minute before halftime. Hopefully it's a hamstring - those are notoriously difficult to heal. Or a groin strain near his lower abdomen.
 
Hot take: With a lot of Eastern conference teams slipping up a Western team might actually win.
 
Thanks, was wondering about that since I came in a minute before halftime. Hopefully it's a hamstring - those are notoriously difficult to heal. Or a groin strain near his lower abdomen.
Looked to be a hammy, but obviously no info on severity
 
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2-0 Atlanta
They will be 3 points back with a game in hand, 3 of 5 at home. At this point, i'd say they are probably favored to finish 2nd.
We need to win on Wednesday, and for ATL to finally run up against it.
 
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I am the opposite of a Doyle fan, but he posted in the MLS timeline that today's match is the most sluggish he's seen Atlanta be and he's expecting Josef at some point to come up injured. Pretty much what a bunch of us have been saying for a while - that the density of matches every three days is going to wreck their legs & fitness.

Atlanta may win today, but I'm looking at it as a war of attrition (one that Toronto seems to have already succumbed to & hopefully continues). I just hope that our rash of injuries came early enough that we have a fresher squad come the playoffs....
Supporting your theory:

Unfortunately the graph is generally useless without the team designations visible, but the tweet states that Atlanta and Toronto's top 9-most rated players have logged the most minutes in the league since August. Would love to know where NYC is on the chart.
Toronto is deeper and will, I think, be better able to manage any necessary rotation than Atlanta will. On the other hand, Atlanta is so strong right now and young and it might not matter.
 
Interested on others thoughts on Atlanta's lack of rotation. Martino came out a couple of weeks ago and said he wasn't going to rotate until they clinched a playoff spot, and I was surprised at how many Atlanta fans were totally okay with that.

Just seems weird that he has had major blowouts where he has had the opportunity to sub out his major players without sacrificing the win, and yet Martino has rarely taken that advantage. A lot of their players looked gassed by the 55th-60th minute today and of course Almiron picked up an injury of unknown severity.
 
Interested on others thoughts on Atlanta's lack of rotation. Martino came out a couple of weeks ago and said he wasn't going to rotate until they clinched a playoff spot, and I was surprised at how many Atlanta fans were totally okay with that.

Just seems weird that he has had major blowouts where he has had the opportunity to sub out his major players without sacrificing the win, and yet Martino has rarely taken that advantage. A lot of their players looked gassed by the 55th-60th minute today and of course Almiron picked up an injury of unknown severity.

Well Almiron has a hamstring problem and had to come off. We'll see how long that injury persists. Martinez also looks like he's going to be injured sometime soon.
 
Interested on others thoughts on Atlanta's lack of rotation. Martino came out a couple of weeks ago and said he wasn't going to rotate until they clinched a playoff spot, and I was surprised at how many Atlanta fans were totally okay with that.

Just seems weird that he has had major blowouts where he has had the opportunity to sub out his major players without sacrificing the win, and yet Martino has rarely taken that advantage. A lot of their players looked gassed by the 55th-60th minute today and of course Almiron picked up an injury of unknown severity.
As background, they have clinched over DC. Their magic numbers over Montreal is 6, 5 for ORL and NER, and 3 for PHI. The likelihood of them missing the playoffs at this point is <1% per 538 and I cannot imageine anyone thinking it is much different. The only reason for him not to rest his people is playoff positioning right now. I don't think he's that clueless so I think he's using clinching as a pretext.
I think it is worth playing them hard to ensure at least a 4th place finish and a home game in the 1-game knockouts (we all know even higher is possible). I think finishing at least 4th is highly likely now and he should start giving some rest, but I think it has made sense to push his guys to get to this point.
 
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As background, they have clinched over DC. Their magic numbers over Montreal is 6, 5 for ORL and NER, and 3 for PHI. The likelihood of them missing the playoffs at this point is <1% per 538 and I cannot imageine anyone thinking it is much different. The only reason for him not to rest his people is playoff positioning right now. I don't think he's that clueless so I think he's using clinching as a pretext.
I think it is worth playing them hard to ensure at least a 4th place finish and a home game in the 1-game knockouts (we all know even higher is possible). I think finishing at east 4th is highly likely now and he should start giving some rest, but I think it has made sense to push his guys to get to this point.
But I don't understand not subbing them out in the middle of blowouts
 
Valeri has now overtaken Villa in the Golden Boot race and likely the MVP. Time to get El Guaje back to pre National Team call up status and get him scoring again
 
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