The [Horribly Unpopular] Soccer Thread

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A couple of years ago I would have said Howard, no question...but I think age is starting to catch up with him. 36, even as a keeper, is starting to get on the creaky side of things for a soccer player. He's still an excellent keeper and I think if he leaves Everton this season he'll have a lot of offers from both Europe and MLS, but I'm not sure that, as he is now, I'd call him one of the best keepers in the world.
 
The first (and realistically, the only important) day of the MLS SuperDraft was today, you can find the full list of picks here.

A few observations:

That First Pick Was Awkward
NYCFC and the Chicago Fire were in the process of ironing out a trade agreement when it was time for pick #1, and it lead to an odd situation where the usual pomp and circumstance of the first pick was muted as Jack Harrison was rushed offstage, why? Because Harrison is actually going to NYCFC, the Fire traded down to 4 in exchange for allocation cash. Harrison later re-emerged with the big apple's colors draped over him.

Philadelphia Didn't Screw it Up!
Philadelphia moved up in the draft by trading with Colorado to get pick #2 and Joshua Yaro, giving them a total of 3 top 10 picks, and none of them were keepers! The Union actually picked quite well, filling defensive holes and picking up an offensive midfielder who might be able to replace Maidana's production. If these picks pan out the Union could be a real threat in the east.

LA Didn't Get a Single Pick
LA went into this year only having a single pick due to previous trades. Apparently LA didn't get enough TAM to feed their cap space monster though, because they traded the 12th overall pick to Colorado in exchange for more TAM. Bruce Arena left promptly after the deal was done. LA have 3 picks in the 3rd and 4th rounds, but usually those are development players and not first team material. Any new blood for LA is coming from later trades or international transfers.
 
Qhrumphf said:
Howard is good, no doubt. But I don't think he's as good as Hart or Loris.
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Why is that relevant?

Neither are the best keeper in the world.

Off the top of my head. Neuer, Courtois, and De Gea are better. Others like Cech, Leno, etc. could be.

At his best. Howard is better than them. On the average he's more than a good deal worse than them. That's the gamble with Howard. You can have performances like him vs. Belgium, or you can have ****ty games.

To understand, this year, he's been MoTM in the Premier league 2 times, Lloris and Hart 0 times.

This is not to say Howard is a better keeper than them. Just when he's on his game, Howard is an absolute beast.
 
Talgrath said:
A couple of years ago I would have said Howard, no question...but I think age is starting to catch up with him. 36, even as a keeper, is starting to get on the creaky side of things for a soccer player. He's still an excellent keeper and I think if he leaves Everton this season he'll have a lot of offers from both Europe and MLS, but I'm not sure that, as he is now, I'd call him one of the best keepers in the world.
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I think he'd retire unless he wanted to stay on with the USMNT.

I can't see him playing for another team. Maybe he moves into a part-time keeper.
 
Had a great time at the draft today...especially being a Philadelphia Union fan. There was a lot of confusion with taking Keegan Rosenberry at 3 over Brandon Vincent, but we have to put some trust in Earnie as this point.

Although I did call taking 2 defenders with our top 2 picks (even if that 2nd was a surprise).

Had the opportunity to meet and talk to Josh Yaro for a while at the bar and he seems like a great guy I'm definitely happy to have him. Would have loved to meet Fabian Herbers as well, but only Taylor Washington came over with Yaro. Pleasure to meet him too.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
Why is that relevant?

Neither are the best keeper in the world.

Off the top of my head. Neuer, Courtois, and De Gea are better. Others like Cech, Leno, etc. could be.

At his best. Howard is better than them. On the average he's more than a good deal worse than them. That's the gamble with Howard. You can have performances like him vs. Belgium, or you can have ****ty games.

To understand, this year, he's been MoTM in the Premier league 2 times, Lloris and Hart 0 times.

This is not to say Howard is a better keeper than them. Just when he's on his game, Howard is an absolute beast.
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Not disagreeing with you on any of that. Hart and Lloris were just who came to mind. It's relevant because they're consistently good. Howard is not consistent.
 
Mike Magee is back with the Galaxy! Long live The Highlander!

Now let's get LD and and Becks out of retirement to get the band back together.
 
At the moment with Howard it's really tough to say what is going on. Whether it's Martinez's lack of interest in strong defenses, our poor defensive form because of injuries, his old age, pressure from the home fans (He's only conceded 9 goals all season in away matches), or what have you. The bottom line is that his mistakes have cost us a lot of points in the past two seasons.
 
At least you don't have to endure the heart in mouth agony of set pieces with either Mignolet or Bogdan (LFC).
 
Well, to tie in to our earlier discussion on Tim Howard's future, the Colorado Rapids are apparently doing their darndest to try to sign him.

Rapids Pursue Tim Howard

Personally, I think it's a long shot...but then again I thought the Sounders picking up Dempsey was a long shot too.
 
I'd be surprised as well if he went to MLS. I could see him maybe staying on as the backup at Everton and working mostly as a pundit... Which would suit him I think. He's made a huge contribution to Everton over the years and actually just played his 350th match with them.
 
What a blown opportunity on the break....ugh. Lamela has made leaps and bounds between this season and the last, but sometimes I still don't know what he's thinking.
 
ShizuokaBrad said:
I'd be surprised as well if he went to MLS. I could see him maybe staying on as the backup at Everton and working mostly as a pundit... Which would suit him I think. He's made a huge contribution to Everton over the years and actually just played his 350th match with them.
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There's no reason for him to go to MLS. The only team I see him being interested in joining would be Red Bulls. As they're his original club. Why would the redbulls bring him in when they have Robles? The improvement is there, but it's not worth the DP slot.

Howard is a great goalie, but it doesn't make sense for him to go back to MLS. Only way it would is if Everton sold him and he wanted to keep playingfor the national team. I don't think it would be his choice at all.
 
What a crock of ****. 7 minutes of extra time awarded, and then let them play to 8 minutes of extratime. Everton got totally robbed. And to cap it all off, Terry was offsides. Seriously, that's robbery.
 
Speaking of bad officiating... Leicester gets a penalty (missed it) that it's debatable they deserved. Villa is blatantly robbed one they obviously deserved.
 
Qhrumphf said:
I didn't watch but it sounds like a lot of people are very mad about it.
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I'm not one to blame refs. And I missed the first half so I don't know if there was tons of stoppage time in the first half that he sandbagged (which you're not supposed to do) but there wasn't anything excessive in the first half. No long injury breaks, no long goal breaks. Nothing out of the ordinary. 5 minutes would have been the max though 4 should have been the right amount. I get offsides calls get missed, I'm less mad about that then giving 7 minutes and letting play continue. Willian had a cross right at the beginning of the 98th minute that was cleared, whistle should have been blown then.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
I'm not one to blame refs. And I missed the first half so I don't know if there was tons of stoppage time in the first half that he sandbagged (which you're not supposed to do) but there wasn't anything excessive in the first half. No long injury breaks, no long goal breaks. Nothing out of the ordinary. 5 minutes would have been the max though 4 should have been the right amount. I get offsides calls get missed, I'm less mad about that then giving 7 minutes and letting play continue. Willian had a cross right at the beginning of the 98th minute that was cleared, whistle should have been blown then.
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This was my thought too.
 
I wouldn't know. I turned the TV off immediately after going down 0-2. I could coach this assembly of talent to a top 6 finish with my hands closed and my eyes tied behind my back.

Beer is good.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
What a crock of ****. 7 minutes of extra time awarded, and then let them play to 8 minutes of extratime. Everton got totally robbed. And to cap it all off, Terry was offsides. Seriously, that's robbery.
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It's been 24 hrs and I've almost calmed down enough to re-enter society without murdering someone. It took a morning of beer brewing and an afternoon of surfing to help get over that robbery from last night. I'm not usually one to blame the refs either but this is one of those rare occasions when you really wonder about the integrity of officiating in the PL...
In other news thats probably about 20 points this season we've dropped from winning positions. Martinez just can't seem to set a team up to see a match out.
If we get knocked out of the cups now it'll be another completely wasted season. If we don't end up in Europe were going to lose all of our great young talent at the end of the season.
 
So, looks like Jordan Morris won't be heading to the Bundesliga, expect to see him in the Rave Green of the Sounders this season in MLS unless something completely wacky happens.
 
I think Werder wasn't gonna pay him as much as seattle. For Morris why would he travel so far and make less money? Also it could have to do with playing time guarantees. Odds are MOrris wouldn't have started for Bremen.

Morris is extremely talented and I wish he was going to play in Europe. Even if it's not for a top flfight club you can't argue that so many players in America greatly benefitted from European experience. I mean even look at what Bobby Wood has done in the second division of Germany.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
I think Werder wasn't gonna pay him as much as seattle. For Morris why would he travel so far and make less money? Also it could have to do with playing time guarantees. Odds are MOrris wouldn't have started for Bremen.

Morris is extremely talented and I wish he was going to play in Europe. Even if it's not for a top flfight club you can't argue that so many players in America greatly benefitted from European experience. I mean even look at what Bobby Wood has done in the second division of Germany.
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Well, it's not like he's necessarily going to stay in MLS forever. Deandre Yedlin started with Seattle, but now he's playing the EPL (admittedly not getting a lot of minutes). Dempsey started with the New England Revolution at 22 before heading to Fullham at 24. Personally, as long as you don't get too comfy in MLS, I don't think it's a bad thing to start there as a young player.
 
Benny Feilhaber is airing his gripes about Jurgen Klinsmann again.

Feilhaber Comments on USMNT Selection

Aside from the fact that he seems to take his absence from the USMNT very personally (despite the fact that he claims otherwise), the people he listed off all have good reasons for not being included in the USMNT squad. Sacha Kljestan played well for the NYRB...but he didn't exactly blow the league away, and in the past he's been less than impressive for the USMNT. Dax McCarthy did have a good year for the NYRB, honestly isn't that impressive to me; he makes veteran MLS player decisions and that's good in MLS, but in the international game things will move too fast for him, I think. Matt Hedges got a look last February and did okay...but is he really better than the guys ahead of him at center back? Finally, Eric Lichaj looked okay when he last played for the USMNT but again, he plays in a crowded position and I don't think he's better than the guys ahead of them.

More interesting is the fact that he thinks the USMNT coach needs to always field the best team possible at the moment, something that I strongly disagree with. When we're in the hex or a World Cup year then yes, absolutely, but the rest of the time? No, I think those are years to build and test things out. This is especially true of the January camp, which is more of a proving ground for young and fringe players than a time for a serious, iron-clad roster. To me, Feilhaber increasingly sounds like a guy who is just sour about not being included, rather than anyone who seriously has what's best for the USMNT at heart.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
What he's referencing (I'm assuming) is that the year dating on almost all clubs (like TSV 1860 Munchen, Schalke 04, BVB 09, or Legacy 76) it's based around the founding of the club.
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That's a good point... why are 1860 Munich called that? The rules of Association Football hadn't been made yet so I doubt a German club had founded a team! The oldest club is Sheffield FC. They formed in 1857 (rules were slightly different).
Quick Google... 1860 Munchen started life as a gymnastic team! They started playing Football in 1899.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
What he's referencing (I'm assuming) is that the year dating on almost all clubs (like TSV 1860 Munchen, Schalke 04, BVB 09, or Legacy 76) it's based around the founding of the club.
Click to expand...

Oh sure I get it. But I don't think embracing history is dishonest
 

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