So for Columbus it was a League Cup.
2024 Leagues Cup
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
If they evolve it into something that doesn't destroy the regular season schedule and make it more interesting, i think it'd be a great tournament. Here are my ideas, which include some of my own and some stuff others have mentioned.
1. Group stage regions established by prior season standings in MLS. Top 6 in each conference will be the "home base" for group stages the following year (of course if that's us, that'd make things difficult with scheduling yankee or citi, but that's a separate issue).
2. No more regional based groups for MLS. Each group has 4 teams for 48 total teams.
3. Group selection guarantees at least one liga MX team in each group.
4. MLS teams having placed 7-9 the prior year (playoff teams) can only be picked for home bases in their conference. Remaining teams will swap conferences in order to "mix up" opponents.
5. First round of knock out games will be hosted by team finishing first in their group. Following rounds hosted by the team with a higher group finish with goal differential tie breaker. If that means a liga MX team hosts, then that is what happens.
6. Knock out round games are scheduled as midweek or weekend game over the season. If the latter, the league game can be scheduled for mid-week.
I think these changes would make for a more interesting tournament. I admit it is kind of a wish list and there are lots of logistics and details that would need to be worked out. Chances are essentially zero that any of it will happen but a guy can dream.
Could it work like an FA Cup that takes place over the course of the season? If we're not participating in the U.S. Open Cup anymore (a huge mistake), this can replace it.
That's what I've been pushing for. Stopping the season for a month -- giving certain teams zero or one home game over the nicest 4 weeks of summer is brutal.
I think all of the ways to improve hinge on the decision to never play in Mexico. Until they reverse that, all other format choices are secondary.
Only 20 min in but the Crew are already up 1-0 and have the Union locked down and looking like they have no answers. Watching the Crew dominate this game makes me think they are just really good and our loss was less about NYCFC and more about how good the Crew are.
The good news is we’re not bad, we just can’t compete at the top level.
The bad news is….
And again, Columbus makes a mistake in the back and the opponent scores...
Nancy is not laughing this time around.
Nancy is not laughing this time around.
Credit to Philly that was the only chance they had all half and they finished it perfectly. The Union are amazing at playing an entire game with barely any chances but finishing the few chances they get at an extremely high rate.
It's also good to see that the MLS announcers never change. Twellman capped off the goal by going on a 3-minute rant about how Columbus is too stubborn about playing out of the back and Nancy needs to learn that sometimes they just have to kick it long. I could have closed my eyes and pretended it was 2017 and I was watching a Vierea-coached NYCFC team. Columbus just won an MLS cup and has dominated every one of their league cup games, I think they know what they are doing, but please keep ranting about how these modern ultra-successful possession teams need to learn to just kick it long like its 1995.
The Crew are just completely bossing this game now up 3-1. All Philly can do is occasionally hack down a crew player out of frustration. I know Philly has struggled this year but their inability to do anything is helping me feel better about how NYCFC did against the crew last week. We at least kept it close and generated a few chances Philly can't even get the ball.
Add another hypothetical championship...
Columbus is the class of the league right now. No shame in losing to them. We are getting better, but we're not at their level yet.
I think the Union's problem this year is defense. They actually take more shots and generate more xG than anyone in the East, and their finish rate is average (45 G on 44 xG). But they have conceded 42 so their differential is just +3.
To compare, we have 36 goals on 39 xG but conceded just 30 for +6 GD. If you exclude Bakrar our finishing also is average. Miami has scored roughly 20 goals above their xG. It's astonishing.
Ha even the MLS digital writers know that Philly fans love to celebrate their third places and hypothetical championships…”back to back third place champions”
Aside from the normal complaining about how the union would have 100% beaten us in 2021 if the league didn't "wrongly" suspend their players, the other stupid swipe the petty union fans like to take in my conversations with them is that somehow our championship is less real because we won 2 of the games on penalties.
I'm tempted to ask the Philly fans if they feel relieved they didn't advance any further in the leagues cub because they had two wins on penalties to get to this point and that would have made the championship not really count.
Philly taking down that “back to back Leagues Cup Third Place” banner as they lose on penalties to the Rapids and get nothing for all their Leagues Cup games.
start the “hypothetical 2025 Concacaf champions” dialogue as they would have won if they had qualified.
start the “hypothetical 2025 Concacaf champions” dialogue as they would have won if they had qualified.
Yeah I started the game pretty neutral but I find myself rooting more and more for the Crew as the game goes on.
