MLS Cup Playoffs - December 5 - Philadelphia (Away)

Wondering this myself. "As things currently stand..."

this article seems to think it is current status and not OUT for sunday. they'll need to test today and get a neg result and tomorrow and get a neg. result in order to play. hopefully their lab does quick work! if any of these guys has 2 positives, they are done though. again, it seems like we won't know for sure until the lineups are out.

 
I wouldn't be totally against pushing this game back to next Saturday (12/11) and pushing MLS Cup to the following Saturday (12/18) but I'm not sure the (players) union and league/sponsors/networks will support that idea.
That would put the WC champion at two full weeks between games which could be advantage east. While it could negate our current advantage, it would also give us more than 4 days rest between matches, giving Sands and Gray more time to recover. Also im a bit worried about Maxi on 4 days rest after 120 minutes.

As for the merit of a delay, im torn. A team with a few injuries doesnt get a delay to heal up, why should covid be different? Obviously this is the extreme end due to the number of players involved, but also most of these players could be perfectly able to play but are restricted for safety reasons, which is different than a hamstring where the league is not forcing an injured player out.

Edit: would is replaced by wouldn't in first sentence. Autocorrect ruined my whole point.
 
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I would be totally against pushing this game back to next Saturday (12/11) and pushing MLS Cup to the following Saturday (12/18) but I'm not sure the (players) union and league/sponsors/networks will support that idea.
That would put the WC champion at two full weeks between games which could be advantage east. While it could negate our current advantage, it would also give us more than 4 days rest between matches, giving Sands and Gray more time to recover. Also im a bit worried about Maxi on 4 days rest after 120 minutes.

As for the merit of a delay, im torn. A team with a few injuries doesnt get a delay to heal up, why should covid be different? Obviously this is the extreme end due to the number of players involved, but also most of these players could be perfectly able to play but are restricted for safety reasons, which is different than a hamstring where the league is not forcing an injured player out.
None of this matters. Only contracts matter - TV, etc. Game won't be moved.

That was my first reaction. Then my brain said, "but wait, they move games all the time that get rained out." So it can be done.
 
Everyone knew the rules. This sucks. But everyone plays under the same rules.
 
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None of this matters. Only contracts matter - TV, etc. Game won't be moved.

That was my first reaction. Then my brain said, "but wait, they move games all the time that get rained out." So it can be done.
Still don't see it happening. TV considerations are bigger for last 3 games of the playoffs, plus with what's going on in NFL and CFB the next few weeks compared to August.
Plus, how the hell do you tell NYCFC "Sorry about your two injured guys who won't recover or be available for months. Tough break. But we're rescheduling everything to help your opponent defer playing until their guys come back. That's how it goes."
And then what happens if one of our guys picks up a knock in training during the added week. That would be a fiasco the league cannot afford.

That's six starters, and their top 2 goalies? Wow.

Their backup GK in the first 2 playoff games was Freese. I don't see him on the list.
 
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yea definitely too much up in the air.

unlikely that MLS will move things because things happen and it is what it is. they can't set precedents like this. like seattle the one year had 7 or 8 missing starters due to injury and/or international duty. did their games get postponed? no. sure this is playoffs and covid protocol is different than physical injury, but i think if they start delaying/changing games to accommodate things like this, it could cause a lot of unnecessary drama in the future. it's better to just let it play out and philly will just have to deal.

and all of these discussions could be moot by noon tomorrow. so we shall see. hopefully our guys aren't even paying attention to any of this and are focusing on performing.
 
I really just hope no one plays that is sick or is carrying the desease and gets any of our guys or hell, anyone else sick. Just because it’s a big game doesnt excuse anyone from infecting others
 
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Thinking out loud.....

The Union skipped training Thursday, which would indicate positive test(s) that were taken Wednesday or possibly Tuesday and they got the results between the end of Wednesday training and start of Thursday training. With it now being Saturday, im guessing im guessing they have since done another round of testing and the club got the results before they released the notes today. Therefore it is likely that the list today is based on two tests, meaning these players are out even if they test negative today I believe.

Of course there are other possibilities. Some of the players may not gave tested positive twice but are in protocol for other reasons, such as contact (roommates, carpool etc) and may be cleared. Its also possible that the club did a rapid test Thursday morning and all hell broke loose just then, changing the whole timeline of things.

All speculation if course, which is likely so we'll get from here.
 
Thinking out loud.....

The Union skipped training Thursday, which would indicate positive test(s) that were taken Wednesday or possibly Tuesday and they got the results between the end of Wednesday training and start of Thursday training. With it now being Saturday, im guessing im guessing they have since done another round of testing and the club got the results before they released the notes today. Therefore it is likely that the list today is based on two tests, meaning these players are out even if they test negative today I believe.

Of course there are other possibilities. Some of the players may not gave tested positive twice but are in protocol for other reasons, such as contact (roommates, carpool etc) and may be cleared. Its also possible that the club did a rapid test Thursday morning and all hell broke loose just then, changing the whole timeline of things.

All speculation if course, which is likely so we'll get from here.

testing is every other day and day before a match, whichever is most frequent. teams are required to use a lab that will give them results within 24 hours or less, ideally within 12 hours.

based on that, they were tested last saturday before their game vs nashville. then they were tested monday, then wed. the result from the wed. test had positives, which caused training to cancel on thursday. I'm guessing they were then tested on friday, with results this morning, resulting in the list being put out. The list is unclear whether the players had 2 positive tests, which means mandatory 10 days no playing. or if they had a first positive test from wednesday and a first negative test from friday.

If they already had 2 positives, then a test today won't matter according to the protocol (as far as i understand). If they had 1st test positive, 2nd test neg. they will get tested today and if it's neg, then they can play.

I would think it is highly unlikely that there are THAT many false positives though... but who knows? really bad lab mixup?
 
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To be clear, I should have said this was absolutely where I ended up. No way they change from prime time Sunday. Was just musing and forgot to add the conclusion.
Just a note, MLS Cup is on Saturday at 3pm on ABC. I believe the 18th is also a quiet CFB day but I haven't looked it up. That being said, ABC doesn't just give airtime away. Its harder to change that than an ESPN window.
 
Damn now pressure is on nycfc to win. I don’t know if this is good, I still feel this team doesn’t perform that well when they favorites.
they playing against kids and reserves that have nothing to lose and go all out. If nycfc loses we never hear the end of this.

sidenote: not sure if people remember that nycfc lost to union2 during the last fifa break in a warm up game vs Atlanta. Though I read no nycfc starters played.
 
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If they already had 2 positives, then a test today won't matter according to the protocol (as far as i understand). If they had 1st test positive, 2nd test neg. they will get tested today and if it's neg, then they can play.
If you want to give credence to Ilsinho's Twitch hints, maybe he knows that some but not all of the 11 players, including maybe himself, have gotten the 1 negative test they need.
 
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