The [Horribly Unpopular] Soccer Thread

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Well, we still don't know Dempsey's status, there's radio silence and more and more it seems like the news may not be good. Dempsey has yet to practice with the Sounders or make any sort of public appearance. As both a USA and Sounders fan, I'm getting that sinking feeling that he's about to retire like Eddie Johnson was forced to.

I'd actually disagree with you on point 5 slightly: one guy got it worse, Darlington Nagbe. With Kljestan having such a superb performance, the days of Nagbe hype seems dead. Nagbe isn't as old as Kljestan, but he's 26, old enough that if Kljestan does well as a CAM he could very well not get another good look for years. It doesn't help that Nagbe has been pretty mediocre for his club lately either.
 
Talgrath said:
Well, we still don't know Dempsey's status, there's radio silence and more and more it seems like the news may not be good. Dempsey has yet to practice with the Sounders or make any sort of public appearance. As both a USA and Sounders fan, I'm getting that sinking feeling that he's about to retire like Eddie Johnson was forced to.

I'd actually disagree with you on point 5 slightly: one guy got it worse, Darlington Nagbe. With Kljestan having such a superb performance, the days of Nagbe hype seems dead. Nagbe isn't as old as Kljestan, but he's 26, old enough that if Kljestan does well as a CAM he could very well not get another good look for years. It doesn't help that Nagbe has been pretty mediocre for his club lately either.
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you might be right, but still Herr Klinsmann has options that he previously didn't have - add that with the opening of the Hex hosting Mexico (IMHO it's between either Colorado, Minnesota or Rio Tinto as the location of the match) - The USNMT are looking to be in a good spot atm - straight have that warm & fuzzy feeling right now for the Stars & Stripes
 
I think Sunil has already indicated the ElTri match will be at Mapfre stadium in Columbus.
 
Pulisic has something special. His combo of touch, quickness, and vision is not something USMNT fans don't see often. That said, he is a 5'8" 140lbs 17 year old. He needs time to grow and mature. We can all hope that his club team continues to help with his development. But only time and experience will tell the player that he turns into.

When the USMNT played in World Cup 2006, our attacking players looked small and bullied against the Italians. Much has changed in the last decade, but I always remember the difference in size as the teams shook hands after the anthems.

Certainly size is not everything. Pulisic chased back hard (as expected for Dortmund's style of play), but at times he got out muscled on the defensive end. Right now, it is just a minor concern. Over the rest of this World Cup cycle we will see the player he matures into and what role he plays for his club (or where he ends up).
 
But top talent doesn't matter how tall you are. Messi is 5'7, Sanchez is 5'7, Hazard 5'8, Rooney 5'9, Sterling 5'7, Neymar 5'9, Iniesta 5'7, Ribery 5'7, and so on so forth.

Realize that we have big players. Zardes is 6'2, Dempsey is 6'1, Jozy is 6'1. IMO the ideal team to have is a mix of size and elusiveness. Having Jozy mix with WOod or someone smaller and quicker. Having a midfield of generally smaller players (less weight usually leads to the ability to run more) coupled with an enforcer. Big atheltic center backs and short speedy wingers.
 
I agree that top talent doesn't need any given physical attribute (I actually googled Ribery before I posted). Not size or speed. But Pulisic needs time and experience to continue his development before anyone knows what kind of player that he will be. He certainly has huge potential, but there is a lot of work to get to the finished product. I hope that he continues to get minutes at Dortmund and with the USMNT with reasonable expectations.
 
A weird week in MLS.

Donovan Returns
Landon Donovan came out of retirement to play for the Galaxy, after a year and a half out of action and most of MLS fandom, and even some official twitter accounts, ripped him for it. Donovan didn't look bad in his return off of the bench, but he didn't look amazing either. Really this move doesn't make much sense for anyone, except the LA Galaxy. MLS looks bad with Donovan coming out of retirement after the huge farewell tour and naming the MVP aware after him, Donovan looks bad for the same reason and even worse if he can't perform like he used to, meanwhile the "Bruce Arena can't win without big stars" narrative continues; only the Galaxy look good, they got Donovan on the cheap and if he works out it's great, plus they probably will get an attendance boost.

Toronto Could Win the Supporter's Shield
Toronto beat the flailing Chicago fire last night, putting them on top of the eastern conference. Toronto did it without megastar Sebastien Giovinco, who is out with an injury, Jozy Altidore came through for them when they needed it the most though. Toronto is now just five points back from FC Dallas with one of the easiest schedules remaining in the league, 5 of their 6 remaining games are at home and the lone away game is a trip across the lake to face arch-rivals Montreal. Toronto are probably my favorite at this point to win the Supporter's Shield for the year.

The Red Bulls Can't Stop Giving Up Leads
Playing at home against their long time rivals DC United with a 2-0 lead the Red Bulls seemed to be cruising to a big win that could have put them in a tie with Toronto for top of the east...but they gave up two messy goals to tie 2-2, the first time they've done so in their history to DC United. It's a familiar storyline for the Red Bulls this season though, they've given up six 2 or more goal leads for either a loss or a draw this season. The Red Bulls defense continues to be their weak point, ever since the departure of Matt Miazga in the offseason. The Red Bulls need to fix this soon, or a result like this could see them out of the playoffs in their first round.
 
my favorite time of the year - gooner hating week :) Love to see how the English Media will build up le arse as the best that ever was & how ****ty CFC are - then da chels smacks the gooners & leave them w/ their tails between their legs - no selfies - no cheering or chanting that Wenger is the best, but more who is the specialist of failure - absolutely love it
washoutred.jpg
 
It took TFC a year to gel and add some pieces, but after a terrible 2012 and 13 and disappointing 2014 (spent some serious cash to get Gilberto, Bradley, and Defoe) they had a successful 2015 by making the playoffs before falling to Montreal.This year they're the first team to clinch the playoffs, They're behind Dallas in the Supporters Shield race. Their DPs are still what's carrying them, but their support players like Morrow, Moor and Johnson are way better than the supporting players last year.
 
Actually it turns out Toronto haven't yet clinched, MLS just didn't realize it until later. It's technically possible for Toronto to go out of the playoffs, they would need to lose every remaining game and DC United would have to win every remaining game, but it's theoretically possible. That said, everything you mentioned is 100% correct, they've really shored up their defense and I think they're the team to beat in the east if you want to make the playoffs. As a note, I looked at how they could win the Supporter's Shield and it's shockingly easy. They have one game in hand, plus a cushy remaining schedule in which their only remaining game is a trip across the lake to face Montreal, all but one team (Philly) that they face in their remaining games is lower than 4th in the east; Dallas on the other hand has two road games against top 4 contenders in the west (LA and RSL) plus home games against LA and the surging Sounders. It wouldn't be crazy for Toronto to not lose another game and for Dallas to lose a couple of their remaining games.
 
I'm not gonna disagree with anything you say. It's pretty brilliantly posted.

Also Dallas has 2 CCL games too. So they actually have more games to play than Toronto, despite having 1 less MLS game to play. But I can easily see Toronto winning 3 games of what they have left. If they do that and draw the other 2 they wind up at 57 points. If that happens, will be interesting to see how FC Dallas matches it. As you pointed out, they have some really tough games, At RSL which I think they can get at least a point from, the 3 days off for their CCL, then only 2 days off before hosting LA which I think is a likely loss, 2 weeks after that they host Seattle which is one point almost for sure and high potential for 3. then after 3 more days off they have their CCL then only 2 days off flying from Mazatenango to LA. I see that an almost lock for a loss.
 
I thought Vickers was already locked in for team USA? He was in the U-20 World Cup.
 
In case you don't keep up with the lower levels of the US soccer pyramid, the NASL 2.0 could be folding soon as possibly 5 teams (of the 12 in the league) might not play in NASL next season for various reasons; including 2 that are jumping ship to the "3rd tier" USL. I wrote a big longform thing on it, decided that rather than clogging up this forum I'll just post it on SBNation and link to it here. Essentially I detail why NASL is terrible and we should all be glad it's going away.

We Should Cheer the End of NASL
 
Ah true, you're right. Well I can't blame Klinsmann for trying to lock him down come the next international break then, the kid looks really good in what little I've seen of him.
 
So after a dull start, Spurs are slowly coming to life. Kane finally scoring, of course now being out for 8 weeks with ankle ligament damage is worrisome, and I hate comparing Janssen to Soldado, but it is what it is. However, Son has been on a brilliant streak. I was never in the "he's awful" camp that a lot of Spurs faithful have been, but I always saw his size as a problem in a very physical league- even last season he was great for the brief moments he was on until he'd get thrown around and injured. But his form lately has been absolutely incredible. I hope he's another Lamela, and is meshing into Poch's system. I hope. In any event, we thrashed Stoke, we thrashed Gillingham, and have at least won the others we'd have no excuse not to, even if we weren't clinical and ruthless enough to win as decisively as we should have.

CSKA this week. Hopefully we show up this time, unlike against Monaco. And Manchester City over the weekend. Which frightens me. The new Pep City has been amazing. Hopefully with Nolito suspended for his headbutt straight red the other week, and news that Kevin De Bruyne is out a month with a hamstring injury he picked up yesterday (De Bruyne has been in impeccable form, I like the guy and don't wish him ill, but this is GREAT for us), it'll slow them down enough.

Mean time, 2nd in the table.

And I'll be over here laughing at Liecester. Might have taken a summer off, but finally exposed as the over achieving frauds that they are.
 
More teams clinched a spot in the playoffs this week in MLS, opens spots are disappearing and teams are getting desperate.

Here's the Clincher
NYCFC's beat down of the Chicago Fire on Friday night didn't just propel them into the playoffs, it also did the same for Toronto FC and the NYRB. Toronto and NYRB have been the two best teams in the east for the last two years, but NYCFC making the playoffs in the way they did is a surprise; at the start of the season I had them pegged for another season of futility. Somehow, Patrick Vieira has managed to herd his very expensive cats into a viable formation. Much of their success this season has come from a resurgent Frank Lampard, but he's now out for at least 3 weeks, they'll get him back just in time for the playoffs...but what form he'll be in is questionable. Either way, congrats to the eastern conference clinchers, it's well deserved in my opinion.

Kei Kamara Returns to Columbus, And it Ain't Pretty
Kei Kamara's controversial departure from Columbus after an argument over a penalty kick hurt both Kei Kamara's career and the Columbus Crew's playoff hopes. Any hopes Kei might have had of getting a warm welcome were swiftly dashed by a chorus of boos that rang down from the stands in Columbus any time he touched the ball. Perhaps worse for the former striker, his replacement, Ola Kamara, scored 2 goals in a 2-0 victory for the home side. Both Columbus and New England will have to set aside any emotional gains and losses from this game though, as both are clinging to ever slimmer playoff hopes.

The Sounders Are Alive
...and Jordan Morris is the cause. Morris got the game winner off an amazing one-man effort, scored a brace and set the record for goals by an American rookie in MLS. Just look at this goal:

Jordan Morris Goal

That goal started a run of 3 goals in about 20 minutes including a great curling effort by Ozzie Alonso. The Sounders are now just 3 points off of taking the final western conference playoff spot from the Portland Timbers with two games in hand on everyone above them in the standings except for Colorado (who they're unlikely to catch). The Sounders have a very winnable home match against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday that could get them into a playoff spot for the first time all season.

Orlando City Will Miss the Playoffs
It's not yet official, but Orlando City SC is probably going to miss the playoffs. They sit a mere 3 points back from DC United in the standings, but their remaining schedule is grim; away matches vs Toronto and Philadelphia and a potentially bad match up vs the Montreal Impact at home. Their one bright spot is that they end with DC United at home. Frustrating to be sure, as ownership fired their previous coach and brought in Jason Kreis specifically to get them back into the playoff spots. Will ownership fire Kreis if they don't make it?
 
Such a bizarre story. Sam's out after coaching just one game. This should start a long period of soul-searching for the English FA in which they carefully consider their next ma- hahahahaHAHAHA..whew sorry. Couldn't finish that sentence with a serious tone, they'll just hire another old school drunky English manager.
 
Talgrath said:
Such a bizarre story. Sam's out after coaching just one game. This should start a long period of soul-searching for the English FA in which they carefully consider their next ma- hahahahaHAHAHA..whew sorry. Couldn't finish that sentence with a serious tone, they'll just hire another old school drunky English manager.
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Cantona FTW!
 
The Spurs/City match this morning was one of the best, most exciting matches I've seen in quite a while. Both were strong. We were just slightly stronger. And now the only remaining undefeated side in the Premier League.

Oh, and Gunners win at the death via handball.
 
Historic news everyone! Bob Bradley is named Swansea's new manager, the first American born manager in the history of the EPL. This being the EPL, of course there are salacious details, like the fact that Swansea fired former manager Francesco Guidolin on his birthday and that the the fan groups (which have a 21% stake in the club) were not informed of the decision. Swansea is also dangerously close to the relegation zone. Bradley is walking into a terrible situation, he's going to have to really pull this off if he wants to keep his job.

Bob Bradley Named Swansea Coach
 
Also for MLS playoffs time, you folks are awfully quiet. DC United made it. That's about the extent of my caring.

Both Poch and Klopp have made it clear that neither are focused on the EFL Cup, so that ought to be a fun youth match.

I'll be watching Spurs v. Cherries on the road tomorrow. Should be much better than Pulisball.
 
Sorry, I haven't been posting much because I've been crazy busy at work. Going to be a nutso end to the season, both east and west have 3 teams fighting for a spot in the playoffs and Colorado and Dallas will be playing for the Supporter's Shield in the west. Can't wait!
 
fourfarthing said:
Should have been but sadly wasn't. Pulis actually had to try to play football today.
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Didn't get to watch, was in a signal dead zone. Of course it's frustrating that 'Pool did what we couldn't, and that we threw points away again.

Just hoping that the league doesn't determine Sissoko's elbow was violent conduct and ban him. Last thing we need right now.
 

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