General MLS Discussion

[KevinJRogers]

Ten games in, sixth place on 14 points, and other than Jovan (our wildcard) we're done with the assessment process and know what we have in the squad.

I like where we are right now. I like it a lot.

Time to put on our suits and get down to business. School's out.

 

[gbservis]

Ten games in, sixth place on 14 points, and other than Jovan (our wildcard) we're done with the assessment process and know what we have in the squad.

I like where we are right now. I like it a lot.

Time to put on our suits and get down to business. School's out.

Hopefully, we get Magno back too at some point. It will be nice to add some rotation to keep guys fresh. I'm also excited to see if putting Magno next to another high workrate striker helps him find some of that form he had playing next to Taty

 

[KevinJRogers]

Hopefully, we get Magno back too at some point. It will be nice to add some rotation to keep guys fresh. I'm also excited to see if putting Magno next to another high workrate striker helps him find some of that form he had playing next to Taty

That's definitely one of the unanswered questions. But we know what we're getting with a healthy Talles Magno, so I mark him down as a known quantity. We've seen enough of everyone else to know what we have on our hands. And I think we can safely say the surprises have been to the upside.

Jovan. He's the big question mark. I honestly have no idea what to think about him at this point, and I'm not at all sure Nick Cushing and his staff really know, either. Bakrar is less of a question mark and more of a mystery; even there, the mystery is less about why he can't hit the target than what to do about it.

He's missing, though. And Mijatovic isn't playing. Which kind of sucks because we're going to need to score a lot more in May if we're going to take all the progress so far and build into a successful season.

And we're so damn close. Give us some real production out of the striker position and no one is going to want to play us, especially in New York.

 

[SoupInNYC]

Hopefully, we get Magno back too at some point. It will be nice to add some rotation to keep guys fresh. I'm also excited to see if putting Magno next to another high workrate striker helps him find some of that form he had playing next to Taty

He and Bakrar seemed to have some good interplay at the end of last season.

 

[KevinJRogers]

Messi & Co. are absolutely dismantling Red Bull tonight. Good result for us at the moment -- Inter are gone over the horizon, so anyone they beat above us is a plus -- but come Sept. 21 we better be ready to lace 'em up.

 

[moogoo]

did red bulls get the "DO NOT FOUL MESSI OR SQUAREZ" memo or something? where's the usual choppy choppy chop?

 

[KevinJRogers]

did red bulls get the "DO NOT FOUL MESSI OR SQUAREZ" memo or something? where's the usual choppy choppy chop?

They just got schooled. But it was a great lesson in how to beat Inter: whatever you do, don't get static. If you give them time and space to work, they will slice and dice you into shreds. You have to run them off the pitch.

 

[moogoo]

They just got schooled. But it was a great lesson in how to beat Inter: whatever you do, don't get static. If you give them time and space to work, they will slice and dice you into shreds. You have to run them off the pitch.

that's my point. giving time and space is exactly what red bull does NOT do. so why did they do it with miami?

 

[KevinJRogers]

that's my point. giving time and space is exactly what red bull does NOT do. so why did they do it with miami?

Messi was pulling the strings. And it's probably fair to assume Luis Suarez was feeling good and not experiencing too much pain. Matias Rojas opened up Red Bull early like he was a can opener, too.

But I'm thinking they were out for revenge. They got embarrassed in March.

 

[canchon]

Messi & Co. are absolutely dismantling Red Bull tonight. Good result for us at the moment -- Inter are gone over the horizon, so anyone they beat above us is a plus -- but come Sept. 21 we better be ready to lace 'em up.

Let’s see how the geriatrics are after a summer of int’l tournaments and 95 degree Miami days.

 

[KevinJRogers]

Let’s see how the geriatrics are after a summer of int’l tournaments and 95 degree Miami days.

That's going to be so important. And we have the young legs.

 

[canchon]

Messi & Co. are absolutely dismantling Red Bull tonight. Good result for us at the moment -- Inter are gone over the horizon, so anyone they beat above us is a plus -- but come Sept. 21 we better be ready to lace 'em up.

There’s a nickname for this type of beat down, something about a red wedding, oh wait

 

[canchon]

did red bulls get the "DO NOT FOUL MESSI OR SQUAREZ" memo or something? where's the usual choppy choppy chop?

Apparently the MO is that “Red Bull is actually playing more soccer this year instead of just demolition derby.” That’s a bold strategy Cotton it seems…

 

[mgarbowski]

Apparently the MO is that “Red Bull is actually playing more soccer this year instead of just demolition derby.” That’s a bold strategy Cotton it seems…

They are playing differently, and are less ugly to watch. Might not be objectively pretty but it's better. We might actually fare better against them because of the style change. If their coach is devious he might consider reverting to old form against NYCFC.

Generally though the new style is working pretty well, with RB sitting at 1.55 PPG on a tough schedule of 4H 7A, including both Miami games plus away to LAFC, Cincinnati and Columbus. They also hosted and tied Vancouver, who have won every other Away game so far. They played the 4th toughest schedule to date, and have the third easiest schedule in the league ahead of them. Nothing is guaranteed but they've done well so far.

 

[KevinJRogers]

They are playing differently, and are less ugly to watch. Might not be objectively pretty but it's better. We might actually fare better against them because of the style change. If their coach is devious he might consider reverting to old form against NYCFC.

Generally though the new style is working pretty well, with RB sitting at 1.55 PPG on a tough schedule of 4H 7A, including both Miami games plus away to LAFC, Cincinnati and Columbus. They also hosted and tied Vancouver, who have won every other Away game so far. They played the 4th toughest schedule to date, and have the third easiest schedule in the league ahead of them. Nothing is guaranteed but they've done well so far.

All true. They have been good this year. And they didn't start out too badly yesterday, either. They took a 1-0 lead about 30 minutes in, and the first half overall was pretty even. Rojas came on to start the second half and within two minutes literally pulled them apart.

Once the back line and midfield were disconnected, lights out. You just can't give Messi room to operate like that. Deadly.

 

[Kenny]

There’s a nickname for this type of beat down, something about a red wedding, oh wait

Pink Wedding

 

[Gotham Gator]

Their defending was lazy against the Pinks. Think about the time that Messi was in the corner of the box with two guys on him. Neither closed him down, so he picked out his moment and put a ball between them that Suarez volleyed home.

 

[KevinJRogers]

Their defending was lazy against the Pinks. Think about the time that Messi was in the corner of the box with two guys on him. Neither closed him down, so he picked out his moment and put a ball between them that Suarez volleyed home.

Befuddled. The Jersey Boys were absolutely scrambled at that point. You can't let the Herons get a leg (wing?) up on you like that. Once they have an advantage, they're gone.

You have to push them back and keep them pinned. They're not good defensively, so if you trap them in their own end they are there to be had.

But you have to do it from the kick. I thought Red Bull was on their way to doing that but Inter made the adjustment with Rojas and they fell apart.

 

[KevinJRogers]

Well, isn't this interesting: MLS NEXT Pro coming to Albany (perhaps).

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/soccer-stadium-franchise-proposed-downtown-albany-19446433.php

 

[CCMore]

Well, isn't this interesting: MLS NEXT Pro coming to Albany (perhaps).

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/soccer-stadium-franchise-proposed-downtown-albany-19446433.php

As a former Clifton Parker myself, this would have been the dream when I was in high school. Instead of the Valley Cats in the summer I would have been seeing these guys play. Oh well.