When they went to review the red card, I initially thought they were reviewing whether or not Santi was offsides. He looked on live while Taty and Maxi were off, but I wasn't certain, and then saw the hand ball settle much later on replay.
MLS - March 19 - Philadelphia (Home)
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
And teammates are also starting to get a feel for where he is going to be.
On that early shot he probably should have buried, I don't think Taty ever saw him, but he knew right when and where to lay that pass off to. (I'm sure there was some verbal communication, but still)
If it’s Unkel, Elfath, Chapman or Kelly buckle up you’re in for a long night. Was it Kelly who retired last year?
Yeah, Kelly retired.
that writer said Philly plays soccer like Bayern Munich?
Philly is the farthest thing from it. They are the poster child for MLS “play solid defense, disrupt the midfield and get a goal.” Their pass completion rate in this game was roughly 50%. fifty percent. They have one of the best GK in Blake, two twin tower CBs, a solid d-mid and are weak up front. And they love to concede possession, disrupt and score against the run of play.
they are in many respects similar to RBNJ. Which was why their playoff match against RBNJ was borderline unwatchable.
atletico is a good comparison albeit atletico has more talent and structure.
that writer said Philly plays soccer like Bayern Munich?
Philly is the farthest thing from it. They are the poster child for MLS “play solid defense, disrupt the midfield and get a goal.” Their pass completion rate in this game was roughly 50%. fifty percent. They have one of the best GK in Blake, two twin tower CBs, a solid d-mid and are weak up front. And they love to concede possession, disrupt and score against the run of play.
they are in many respects similar to RBNJ. Which was why their playoff match against RBNJ was borderline unwatchable.
atletico is a good comparison albeit atletico has more talent and structure.
Yea. RBNJ would be the best comparison, but I was trying to be nice and pick a european club that doesn't care about playing.. just does what it takes to win (in their mind) no matter how ugly.
I'd say Burnley or Newcastle as well, but that might be too much of a compliment to Philly. It's park the bus, play 5 or 6 at the back and try to grab one off the counter.
Revfugee
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He missed what looked to me from 129 like a Philly handball in the box at 26’. I would say that had an effect on the match. Haven’t watched the game recording yet to verify but I’m surprised nobody else has mentioned it.
That’s because it hit him in the butt and the arm was a full foot away or more.
Revfugee
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Thanks for clearing that up. So yeah, Unkel despite his clownishnes really didn’t affect the score.
Not often that the diagnosis is so clear. Jasson just lot his guy and got burned for it. Twice. I’d thought he was doing OK and improving as a makeshift RB, but this match was a step backwards.
ZYanksRule
Registered
For me, Jasson was a clear example of a guy that was just out of gas. Maybe not physically as much as mentally. It happens, young players need to learn how to fight through it.
I'd add Amundsen to that category as well as his play clearly falls off during schedule congestion. It happened last season as well but we had Gudi so it wasn't much of an issue. Hopefully a week off helps Amundsen and Jasson. Have they given a timeline for the gray injury?
Noticed that the attendance figures for the first two home games have been backfilled on mlssoccer.com:
2022
v MTL: 21,113 (March 12)
v PHI: 15,968 (March 19)
For comparison, attendance for first two home games, season high/low, and average from 2015-2019:
2015
v NER 43,507 (March 15)
v SKC 27,454 (March 28)
v RBNY 48,047 (SH, June 28)
v PHI 20,461 (SL, April 16)
Avg: 29,016
2016
v TFC 30,321 (March 13)
v ORL 24,597 (March 18)
v RBNY 37,858 (SH, May 21)
v RSL 22,736 (SL, June 2)
Avg: 27,196
2017* (based on 16 games)
v DCU 24,259 (March 12)
v MTL 18,515 (March 18)
v RBNY 33,679 (SH, Aug 6)
v MTL 18,515 (SL, March 18)
Avg: 23,081
*excluding v HOU 10,165 (Sept 23, at East Hartford)
2018
v LAG 26,211 (March 11)
v ORL 18,584 (March 17)
v RBNY 30,027 (SH, July 8)
v ORL 18,584 (SL, March 17)
Avg: 23,189
2019
v DCU 24,361 (March 10)
v LAFC 20,339 (March 17)
v RBNY 28,895 (SH, Aug 24)
v HOU 18,113 (SL, Aug 8)
Avg: 20,908
All numbers are tickets distributed, from what we know.
The club's worst attendance stayed in the 18,000s from 2017-2019, while Saturday's Philly match was all the way down in the 15,000s. Not great trend lines, although the second home game has been the smallest crowd of the year twice before. Thought MLS Cup might offset the pandemic losses in the season ticket holder base over the past two years. Apparently not.
ZYanksRule
Registered
Yeah that's what's concerning to me. You'd think the MLS Cup would cause increased attendance. But to get only 21,000 for the home opener and then 15,000 for the next game is pretty shocking.
It is sad. But the problem is people either (1) didn't know we had a soccer team (2) didn't know we won MLS cup (3) didn't care we won MLS cup.
Not only that, but having so many "home" stadiums pushed a lot of people away who were on the fence. Covid may have effected a lot of people as well as far as disposable income for luxuries like going to a game.
I think things will bounce back by the end of the season and maybe a slight increase next year. but i don't think we will see any significant increases until we get our own stadium or after the 2026 world cup.
I also wouldn't underestimate the weather effect. For both of these games at the deadline for STHs trading in their tickets (Thursday around noon) the reports still suggested really wet conditions.
Yes, most of us would have said that the one thing that could really be the game changer for attendance boost (other than a new stadium), would be the notoriety for winning the Cup. And that happened. International and national coverage. Extensive local coverage in news and press. Every NY team supporting us on social media and introducing their followers to us. Messages from politicians up to the President. Ceremonies. A major league championship playing the world's most popular game. So this season will be the true test whether we are a magic potion repellent for whatever the reasons. The various reps I had spoken to had said that they received a huge boost in calls and ticket orders, so maybe that boost is still coming. Or maybe we are just stuck due to the many contributors we all know, it's MLS, soccer snobbery, it's a congested sports city, it's a baseball stadium, it's still pandemic-ish, a third of the season is in less than optimal weather, people are too busy to commit to season tix, 15-20K New Yorkers at a sporting event is pretty solid and that's just our sweet spot, etc. If the Cup can't do it maybe it really will be the shiny new stadium and all that comes with that. A new stadium in NYC is a much bigger story than winning a Cup. Especially if the timing is right with the WC. And it will be one incredible experience to watch soccer in a (hopefully) state of the art stadium, where 20K-ish incredible supporters protect the fortress. I think that is our only hope for a noticeable bump (albeit not an exponential one), certainly at first, and definitely with some corporate filler to at least fill some boxes and suites. But I think the deflated hopes of a post-Cup boost is going to instruct us that only a new stadium will increase and sustain the numbers we all hope for.
Just a quick word on statistics (and lies and damn lies).
Comparing opening home matches year over year sounds good. But also runs the risk of something anomalous having undue effect. The small n (2 matches) makes this susceptible to the weather effect. And then there's COVID. To get to a better impression of the COVID effect I'd be curious to know what the 2019 vs 2022 growth percentage is for NYCFC vs the rest of the league. That would give a better picture of whether or not we are up or down relative to what might be expected. But again, you're right back to small n of only 2 matches.
