MLS Week 6

[Gotham Gator]

Regarding the Seattle game, how good did Hercules Gomez look? The whole game changed after he came on. Seattle's offense opened up, and it seemed like the equalizer was just a matter of time.

Great pickup by the Sounders. I would love to have him manning one of our wings.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Regarding De Jong, I guess this was only a matter of time. It's how the guy plays, and he is going to sit for a few games after that one. No excuses for LA. They made the choice and knew what they were getting.

And what a change for the Galaxy. For a long while, they were the league's marquee team - and a very popular one. With Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Robbie Rogers, Robbie Keane and others, they had nice guys who were great players and fun to watch. Now, they are the cast of villains. Not only De Jong, but also Ashley Cole, who belittled the league before he went in the tank, and Steven Gerrard, who seems like he'd rather be anywhere else.

The Galaxy have gone from being the 70s era Cowboys to the 80s era Pistons in a New York Minute. The most despised team in the league.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Oh, and I forgot to post this interesting article summing up the reaction by the Fox Sports guys.

Stu Holden
"It’s almost fate, wasn’t it, that this was going to happen. Nigel and I actually had an opportunity [to talk] before the game, and full disclosure, he sought me out and made an apology for this challenge [from March 2010]. As you can see there, I had a grade-2 MCL sprain and a broken right fibula which almost put me out of the World Cup in 2010. Now I did rehab and get back, and I felt that that was a nasty challenge.

"And I also felt that the one today, on Darlington Nagbe, he comes over the ball. I came away from it feeling … He talked about being in a dark period in that part of his career. About the media was on his back. He was under a lot of pressure on the field and was making challenges. In my book, it’s no excuse for breaking legs. It’s no excuse for bad challenges. But I walked away from that feeling good.

"And I’m sitting here and now I’m seeing this challenge firs hand on Darlington Nagbe, and it makes me feel sick. Because I know what Darlington Nagbe is going through. We saw him sitting there. He had the towel over his head. We saw his body mannerism and that’s a man that knows he’s done something serious. I don’t want to speculate what it is, but I know it’s not good. And De Jong did go over and apologize, but there is absolutely no excuse for that type of challenge. We don’t need it in the game. It’s horrific. It’s horrible. And he’s going to get retroactive punishment."

Alexi Lalas
"I don’t like retroactive [punishment], but it’s going to happen because that’s what MLS does -- they have a Disciplinary Committee. They’re going to go back and I think he’s going to get dinged multiple games. It was a red card in my book. It was dirty. It is from a player who has a history of doing this, so it should be a surprise to absolutely nobody. And when you look at it, if you are a human being, you will realize that that is not acceptable. And it’s not acceptable in 2016 in MLS. Quite honestly, it’s never been acceptable."​

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/...nts-nigel-de-jong-s-foul-darlington-nagbe-fs1

 

[Ulrich]

Alexi Lalas
"I don’t like retroactive [punishment], but it’s going to happen because that’s what MLS does -- they have a Disciplinary Committee. They’re going to go back and I think he’s going to get dinged multiple games. It was a red card in my book. It was dirty. It is from a player who has a history of doing this, so it should be a surprise to absolutely nobody. And when you look at it, if you are a human being, you will realize that that is not acceptable. And it’s not acceptable in 2016 in MLS. Quite honestly, it’s never been acceptable."​

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/...nts-nigel-de-jong-s-foul-darlington-nagbe-fs1

Lalas is such a D-bag. He doesn't like retroactive punishment - does he realize that the EPL does this too? It's not just MLS.

 

[mgarbowski]

Lalas is such a D-bag. He doesn't like retroactive punishment - does he realize that the EPL does this too? It's not just MLS.

I believe in the UK they can only add retroactive punishment if the ref says he didn't see the play. So they can't add days of suspension if the ref only gave a yellow.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Have read some interesting complaints that the game had gotten out of hand well before de Jong's tackle, with players from both teams throwing in some hard challenges that were going unpunished. The feeling being that some strategic yellows earlier in the match might have kept things under control.

The referee in the LA - Portland match was Alan Chapman. He's the same guy who officiated our match with Orlando. I remember thinking in that game that he was letting a lot go by and that the game was getting too physical.

 

[BossNYC]

Disgusting and disgraceful from De Jong...

Maybe he can put Lampard out of his misery? Lol