The [Horribly Unpopular] Soccer Thread

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footie such a lovely game
MMD_907912_mientras_tanto_alemania.jpg


then we have the grace of Zaza
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Iceland had a very impressive run, and losing 5-2 to France in France is nothing to be ashamed of. With Germany missing so many key players and their less than thrilling showing against Italy, I feel like France is/should be the favorite to win the whole tournament.
 
For those of you that are MLS fans, the summer/midseason transfer window has opened. Matthew Doyle has some interesting commentary on what he thinks each team should do in the transfer window:

MLS Analyst Transfer Window

Some of these are "no duh" (like the Seattle Sounders) but others are a little bit of a head-scratcher to me, particularly those that he thinks should just sit and wait.
 
In a surprise move, Orlando City SC has fired coach Adrian Heath midseason. Full details here. The Lions have had a less than stellar start and currently sit just outside the playoff places, but I'm not so sure Heath is the cause of the problem. That said, unlike Houston, I suspect Orlando already has a replacement in mind and we could see the new coach introduced soon, whoever it might be. I wouldn't be surprised to see someone from South America be brought in, given that ownership is out of Argentina.
 
I know a lot of peeps didn't appreciate Jurgen Klinsmann, but now they can jump for joy as Herr Klinsmann is rumored to be in talks w/ the English FA. I appreciate the fact that USNMT got out of two tough groups in both the World Cup & Copa America Centenario. True, there were failures w/ Klinsmann at the helm (ie...vs Jamaica in both 2014 World Cup Qualifying & last year's Gold Cup), but I still felt Klinsmann helped the USNMT achieved more. IMHO it would be a shame to see him go to the blue bloods.
 
Wow, that is really tone deaf on their part. Did nobody think to run that past someone who's not an idiot first?
 
I think the general rule here (and this applies for everything), if you try really hard to make something "trend" on social media, you're gonna look stupid.
 
I'm trying not to get excited about the Götze rumor. Allegedly Liverpool has dropped the pursuit, but I'd still expect he'll end up back in Dortmund before North London. But lots of sources claim Spurs are top of the list. I can dream but not gonna hold my breath.
 
And I expected France to handily beat Portugal. I didn't expect Portugal to win at all, let alone with Ronaldo going out so early. That was impressive. Good for them. If only it'd been Iceland instead.
 
Gotta say, that's all on France, in my opinion. After Ronaldo went out they should have pushed offensively and relentlessly...instead they let Portugal stay in it and eventually get a screamer of a goal from Eder of all people. If France hadn't take their foot off the gas after Ronaldo went off, France would be celebrating instead of Portugal.
 
Yes, you're entirely correct, and I wasn't clear. Portugal's play wasn't impressive, just that they won without Ronaldo was impressive (albeit the winning goal will into extra time). The most apt description I've seen, "France is playing like they feel bad for Portugal".
 
Talgrath said:
Gotta say, that's all on France, in my opinion. After Ronaldo went out they should have pushed offensively and relentlessly...instead they let Portugal stay in it and eventually get a screamer of a goal from Eder of all people. If France hadn't take their foot off the gas after Ronaldo went off, France would be celebrating instead of Portugal.
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IMHO taking off Payet was the wrong decision, but hey what do I know - I do play the game as a arm-chair gaffer pretty good - btw I felt that Eder scored a soft goal - I saw Lloris making some incredible saves, but to give up that long range effort seemed a bit underwhelming - was I the only one the believe this?
 
robdogj said:
IMHO taking off Payet was the wrong decision, but hey what do I know - I do play the game as a arm-chair gaffer pretty good - btw I felt that Eder scored a soft goal - I saw Lloris making some incredible saves, but to give up that long range effort seemed a bit underwhelming - was I the only one the believe this?
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I totally agree with both points. Taking Payet off with 30+ minutes remaining in regulation was a head-scratcher for me. He was tormenting Portugal's defense.

I had to rewatch Eder's goal several times out of disbelief because Lloris was a freakin' brick wall the whole match. I swear the shot bounced off the ground 4 times before going in.
 
More of a demonstration of just how silly the FIFA ranking system is. Personally I prefer the ELO ranking system, which by the way has England sitting at 11 and Wales at 23, with the US just 1 spot behind Wales.
 
Two big stories today:

Big Sam to take the England helm http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/3...bc_sport&ns_source=facebook&ns_linkname=sport

Could be worse I suppose.

And then the EPL, the FA, and the FL have agreed to step up enforcement of player conduct rules: http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/3...bc_sport&ns_source=facebook&ns_linkname=sport

I figure there's going to be a LOT of bookings the early part of this season. Some teams are notorious for this conduct. Some occasionally fly off the handle (that was the end of our season, groan). But ultimately every single team in the Premier League is guilty of this.
 
Is it just me or is Big Sam such a typical English hire? His Wikipedia entry is an impressive collection of nothingness. I'm actually happy though because it's awesome to watch the English expect to win everything and consistently fail.
 
Apparently Aston Villa is very eager to be rid of Brad Guzan, they've made him a free transfer. More disturbing for me is that he's apparently heading to Middlesborough as a back up keeper. That's...not good given that he's supposedly our future at the USMNT keeper spot. More info here:

Brad Guzan Free Transfer
 
jgarretson said:
Is it just me or is Big Sam such a typical English hire? His Wikipedia entry is an impressive collection of nothingness. I'm actually happy though because it's awesome to watch the English expect to win everything and consistently fail.
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I would say Big Sam is NOT the typical hire. He's Daily Mail, and they usually hire Times or Telegraph.
 
Talgrath said:
Apparently Aston Villa is very eager to be rid of Brad Guzan, they've made him a free transfer. More disturbing for me is that he's apparently heading to Middlesborough as a back up keeper. That's...not good given that he's supposedly our future at the USMNT keeper spot. More info here:

Brad Guzan Free Transfer
Click to expand...

They probably can't afford his wage pack in the Championship. That said, a backup at M'boro wouldn't be good for him. He should take a pay cut and stay.
 
jgarretson said:
Is it just me or is Big Sam such a typical English hire? His Wikipedia entry is an impressive collection of nothingness. I'm actually happy though because it's awesome to watch the English expect to win everything and consistently fail.
Click to expand...

I am just happy that the USNMT has kept Herr Klinsmann. I won't lie, I did get worried that he might jet off to Merry ole England.
 
jgarretson said:
it's awesome to watch the English expect to win everything and consistently fail.
Click to expand...

I don't know a single Englishman who has thought England would ever win anything of consequence for a very, very long time. The pain of hope drove us all crazy long ago, but not crazy enough to expect England to win anything.
 
Well, if Guzan wants to come back to the US, I'm sure Minnesota United is looking for a new keeper:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dka70k45dQQ[/ame]

Utterly speechless. Friend commented "Doh!". I don't think that covers it. This is straight up seppuku at center pitch worthy.
 
So I've been thinking about MLS and where it can go. I have come up with an idea of splitting the league eventually. Right now the league is at 20 teams, with 4 more on the horizon and many more likely.

Here's where I see it long term, 2 separate leagues. Similar to baseball's National and American leagues. You have a playoff system similar to what they have now but with the league champions playing in an overall MLS championship.

I see and east/west type of division. So split up the existing teams

West
Seattle
Portland
Vancouver
San Jose
LA Galaxy
RSL
Colorado
SKC
Dallas
Houston

East
Chicago
Columbus
Orlando
Toronto
Montreal
NYRB
NYCFC
NE
Union
DCU

Future teams are Atlanta, Minnesota, Miami, and LAFC. So you're looking for 8 more teams per league. I think what would eventually have to happen is teams like Chicago may have to go outwest.

Potential west coast options I see.

Phoenix - Big market, I imagine they have a nice soccer culture.
Oklahoma City - Expanding market,
St. Louis - Really great soccer market for my money.
Sacramento - Virtual lock to join the league
San Antonio - could be a good market if they get the stadium situation down, but the TV market sucks.
San Diego - Crowded market around it, but could be a great host town given its proximity to LA and Tijuana.
Vegas - Vegas is looking for a professional team for ages. MLS could probably get a nice brand new soccer specific stadium.
Austin - Texas is a big state, 4 teams may be a little much, but Texas can handle it.


East candidates
Cincinnati - USL team is blowing up records in sales. Should be on the short list to come up to MLS.
Indy - LEading NASL in attendance since coming into NASL. Should be a solid MLS market
Detroit - Could move to west similar to chicago. Their newer teams are doing pretty well.
Charlotte - Has the market, has a massive space in the East Coast between DC and Atlanta.
Pittsburgh - Big media market, don't know if the interest is there.
Baltimore - Risk here is DC and Philyl are close markets, the upside is Maryland is a great soccer state. Would be of course dependent on a stadium.
Nashville - Unsure of the interest, but big media market and should be great.
Another NYM team - This is risky but put another team in NJ or CT. It's a condensed market, but done right it could be a very successful draw. NYRB and NYCFC draw people to the gates.Putting another team in that Metro area is risking over saturation. But I think Hartford or Newark could support a team and may consider spending the money and would be in nice areas with a general absence of true local teams.
 
Well my team, after two league seasons (as in 5-8 weeks a season), has found our rhythm, learned each others styles, and are playing well. I've left my old midfield role, and am instead focusing between left back, center back, and striker. Far more effective in the back. Others have taken up the attacking form we were lacking.

Next league starts next week. Aiming for the top. Then maybe D2. But we still have ball control problems.

Can't believe I went so long off the pitch. Most fun I've had in a while. Plus we're all Yiddos.
 
Been a while since I've done an MLS post, sorry but I've been rather busy lately folks. In any case, a few things to note this week:

New York's Budding Rivalry Gets Uglier
The NYRB may have issued a nasty 4-1 beat down, winning the regular season series between the two clubs, but it was not without controversy. NYCFC's coach, Patrick Vieira was sent off the field and there were late cards for multiple players on NYCFC, including a second yellow, NYCFC will now be missing four starters next week thanks to that, including David Villa. Vieira then added to the flames by saying that the Red Bulls only got calls from the referee because Jesse Marsch had complained about refereeing earlier in the week. Whatever you might think of the budding rivalry, one thing is for sure: these guys really don't like each other.

Hat Tricks Are Great Eh?
It's unusual to see hat tricks in MLS, it tends to be a defense-oriented league, but this week saw two. Didier Drogba got one for Montreal and Sebastien Giovinco had one for Toronto. It's worth noting that both hat tricks were scored by foreign stars playing for Canadian clubs, maybe it's something in the water up north.

Here Comes LA
LA was sitting just inside the playoff spots, but now they're firmly entrenched, thanks to four wins in a row, with their latest being against the defending champs in Portland. I was skeptical of LA's big name veteran players approach, but it sure as hell seems to be working for them right now. I wouldn't bet against them come playoffs time, that's for sure.

Listless in Seattle
The Sounders may have smashed top of the league FC Dallas 5-0 last week, but that hasn't fixed their flailing season. After "punting" an Open Cup match against LA to focus on the regular season game against Sporting KC, the Sounders turned in a listless, purposeless, directionless performance against the former Wiz and were beaten soundly 3-0. At this point, a lot of the fanbase is calling for coach Sigi Schmid's head on a spike and it's hard to fault them; I said in my season preview that Seattle need to fire Schmid to improve, and I stand by that more than ever. Seattle currently sit just above Houston, second to last in the west, while SKC's win just propelled them to 4th.
 
I love seeing Super Club Seattle fall on their face. Time for Sigi to hang up the managing boots. I've never been a fan of his from his days managing LA.
And I couldn't be happier to see the typical late season move LA is making. They seem to have things figured out and know how to play with all the big personalities. Keep guys healthy and Cup #6 could be right around the corner.
 
Well, Sigi Schmid is out as coach of the Sounders. Sigi Schmid Fired As a fan of the Sounders, I think this should have happened some time ago, and I was shocked when he was kept on for another year. More likely than not assistant coach (and head coach during the USL era of the Sounders) Brian Schmetzer will ride out the season while the Sounders search for a new coach.
 
For you USMNT fans, DeAndre Yedlin put on a pretty solid showing in Australia today in the Spurs/Juventus friendly (early this morning our time), and showed he still might have a place at Spurs (although I would certainly like to see him loaned out again). Meanwhile Cameron Carter-Vickers wasn't so solid. Not ready for the Premier League.
 
watched the MLS All-star match yesterday & I came away w/ one important thing. In life there are 3 things that are guaranteed....Death Taxes & Didier Drogba scoring against arsenal
mls-all-stars-didier-drogba-arsenal-petr-cech-soccer.jpg

Like one person on twitter tweeted, 'Drogba could be 70 years old & confined to a wheelchair, but he will score against arsenal'
:D
 
Morning friendly against Atleti was something else. Granted still lose 0-1, but considering we played the lads, they fielded a relatively stronger side, their goal was off a set piece (which was the only place they really shined at all) and completely against run of the play, and if it weren't for some lucky woodwork and great work by Oblak, we would have won probably 4-1. Given that it was a friendly, and a MUCH better showing than against Juventus earlier in the week, I'm pleased with the result. Wanyama is playing beautifully. Janssen was better, but arguably against Juventus he didn't get much service. Not the case today, and still our best chances came from the the midfield, and not our new striker. Anyone who thought he might replace Kane was clearly wrong. Playing alongside? Perhaps. But playing as a backup seems the fit to me.
 
I heard Yedlin and CCV did pretty well today. As I understand it, Yedlin outplayed Trippier while Yedlin was out of positiona nd Trippier was in his first. Heard rumors that Sunderland wants Trippier and I wonder if Spurs playing Yedlin out at LB this preseason is to see if he can be the 3rd fullback.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
I heard Yedlin and CCV did pretty well today. As I understand it, Yedlin outplayed Trippier while Yedlin was out of positiona nd Trippier was in his first. Heard rumors that Sunderland wants Trippier and I wonder if Spurs playing Yedlin out at LB this preseason is to see if he can be the 3rd fullback.
Click to expand...

IMHO Yedlin's best position is winger...sorta like Bale when first came up & Uncle 'arry moved over there. Sorry Chelsea fans call Harry Redknapp due to his relationship with Frank Lampard ;) Also 'arry is a bit of a character. Remember this moment from Uncle 'arry?
 
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Problem with Yedlin vs Bale is Yedlin is **** on the ball. Maybe he'll improve but it seems like anytime he takes somsone on one on one with the ball he puts it out of play or is dispossessed. His best attack asset is the overlap which is why fullback likely will always be his position.
 

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