MLS Cup Playoffs - November 29 - Miami (Away)

Julian and Wolf both last scored 9/17.
Ojeda in June 2024.
Dump all of them. We don’t need three two any forwards that unreliable and punchless. Maybe Wolf can be our fifth forward. I think his output this year is his ceiling.
Ojeda actually pulled a Jovan and scored a useless non-MLS goal that fooled some into thinking he might not be hopeless.
His shots lack both pace and accuracy.
I don’t need to convince anyone about Julian.

Let the new SD clean house and start fresh.
 
This team brought me hope for the first time in 2 years. Hopefully Jones and Parks can come back to give diff aspects of dynamism we need, Not even their top form, if we nail the next DP.
Can you imagine this team with a healthy Parks, Perea, Malachi and Alonso? Talk about a handful.
Thought the sub should have been Wolf for Gustavo.
I was okay with the sub, but I thought KOT was going to drop into left back and Haak move up into the double pivot with O'Neill. But I get it, Pascal really likes Haak on the back line with Martins.

The one I don't understand is Fernandez for Ojeda. All I can think is Agu was out of gas.
 
And who will that be? And when? Season's over, there are lots of roster decisions to be made in short order. Who's making them?

As much as I love this team, this organization drives me bonkers sometimes. 🤪

we don't even know who the acting sporting director has been the last two months. It's beyond infuriating and insulting. No other team in NY would be allowed to get away with that level of opacity. Imagine Brian Cashman leaving the Yankees in September and no one knowing who was acting in the role while they looked for a new GM.
 
we don't even know who the acting sporting director has been the last two months. It's beyond infuriating and insulting. No other team in NY would be allowed to get away with that level of opacity. Imagine Brian Cashman leaving the Yankees in September and no one knowing who was acting in the role while they looked for a new GM.
I don't know how the team expects to sell out the new stadium at these eye-watering season ticket prices if the people they're targeting don't feel involved. No one wants to drop serious bank for a seat to watch a team they don't feel emotionally connected to. And you can't build an emotional connection without a narrative.

Silence, needless to say, is not a narrative.
 
Can you imagine this team with a healthy Parks, Perea, Malachi and Alonso? Talk about a handful.

I was okay with the sub, but I thought KOT was going to drop into left back and Haak move up into the double pivot with O'Neill. But I get it, Pascal really likes Haak on the back line with Martins.

The one I don't understand is Fernandez for Ojeda. All I can think is Agu was out of gas.

I suspect the Ojeda sub was planned. He played a lot of defense tonight and was flying up and down that sideline all game. Based on how he played, I think it's possible Pascal told him to go all out, and the sub would come early.
 
Thought the sub should have been Wolf for Gustavo. Taking off Shore was so stupid. He was good in the midfield and rather have him there than Kevin.

Need to reload with better weapons.
Yeah, with you on that one. I also wanted Ilenic but for whatever reason he fell out of favor with Jansen I guess.
 
This just in: Tom Bogert is reporting that his sources are telling him that David Lee was the person solely responsible for signing the Raul Gustavo that played last week, but CFG forced Lee to sign this weeks Raul Gustavo.
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Pascal said we were naive in our defending tonight, and said his goal for this season was to improve on last year. Now is goal for 2026 is to improve on this year.

According to Pascal, 2026 is Cup or Bust. I hope the front office shares that ambition.


They struck gold with Pascal. The guy took a flawed roster and squeezed every possible win out of it. He never complained about the holes in the roster. He gave the key young guys ample chances to prove themselves and develop. It's time to go for it, add a few big players in the off-season, give the guy a stacked team, and let's see what he can do. He more than earned that chance by taking this current roster as far as he did this season.
 
They struck gold with Pascal. The guy took a flawed roster and squeezed every possible win out of it. He never complained about the holes in the roster. He gave the key young guys ample chances to prove themselves and develop. It's time to go for it, add a few big players in the off-season, give the guy a stacked team, and let's see what he can do. He more than earned that chance by taking this current roster as far as he did this season.

I was talking to someone who is very in-the-know, he told me in preseason how impressed he was with Pascal and that he thought we'd overachieve with him this year. Happy that was proven correct. Agree with you -- with the stadium opening in 2027 I think we will open the purse strings with more revenue coming in, and 2026 seems like a good chance to get a preview of what that looks like.

I've long thought we've been holding back on our roster due to the expense of playing in baseball stadiums and the lack of revenue. Now that era of NYCFC is coming to an end, there is no reason to hold back anymore.
 
I was talking to someone who is very in-the-know, he told me in preseason how impressed he was with Pascal and that he thought we'd overachieve with him this year. Happy that was proven correct. Agree with you -- with the stadium opening in 2027 I think we will open the purse strings with more revenue coming in, and 2026 seems like a good chance to get a preview of what that looks like.

I've long thought we've been holding back on our roster due to the expense of playing in baseball stadiums and the lack of revenue. Now that era of NYCFC is coming to an end, there is no reason to hold back anymore.

Yeah, I agree they will spend, but it also needs to come with a shift in philosophy for how they spend. They have spent in recent years, but the philosophy has been that big spending can only be done on guys with sell on upside. A few of those guys are fine, but they need to balance it with spending that is solely focused on getting the best possible players to help the team win, even if they are too old to sell.
 
Just finished watching.
1) story of the year was a thin roster. Even with solid additions(Nico and yes until tonight Gustavo) we could not survive this kind of injury bug. We looked gassed after about 60’. And as much as I love KOT (and believe me I do) we are not going all the way with his caliber player as an inked in starter.
2) Gustavo went from hero to small g goat really fast. He was terrible tonight. But I still think he is going to prove an asset over time. We aren’t here without him.
3) We mostly contained Messi but that doesn’t matter when you are ball watching and another Heron gets a hat trick.
4) FWIW Miami did a good job taking Nico out of the match.
5) Reffing was tilted against us but not enough to really make a difference.
6) As a Barca fan of long standing I’ve been pretty OK with the Messi Alba Busquets Suárez show. But tonight really shifted me, and throw in Falcon and RDP and f those guys. Whiny BS. And nobody in this version of MLS will be allowed to out-shithouse Miami.
7) Not signing Haak long term is malpractice.
8) If we won the cup Pascal would be snapped up immediately. I hope we can hang on to him until the stadium opens.
9) All roster issues in perspective, this group overachieved. All credit to them.
10) I have a meeting all day next Saturday. Was dreading having to watch a final on delay. No need now.

Frustrating season with a nice uptick at the end and predictable conclusion. Happy Holidays everyone!
 
Thought we played fairly well and lost on defensive lapses.

Not much else to say. We overachieved and I'm looking forward to next year.
 
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