Whelp, its that time of the year again, the annual "what are your completely wild, out of your ass guesses for how the upcoming season is going to go" thread. For those of you newbies who are unfamiliar with how this goes, this thread will start out as a sort of what you think RSL will do this season and will slowly evolve into a cluster eff of past season failures and fond memories of the crap fest that was 2005-2007ish. First and foremost, what are your baseline expectations for how this season should go? Here is Balance's awesome points graph we've all come to love: as you can so astutely see, RSL's history is broken up into 3 periods: Period 1: Shit. More Shit, lots of sucking, some crap piled on to shit and ultimate failure. Period 2: Mediocrity. Winning....and losing with some ties sprinkled in. Anndddd an MLS Cup. Period 3: Dominance. Winning.....not much else. But absolutely nothing to show for it. What are your expectations for points this year? Given that our core group of players is back save for a couple mainstays, and our blindingly difficult schedule which will be wrought with international absences, probably injuries, schedule congestion in the second half and god knows what else, i think hitting last years points total would be a decent yard stick. Somewhere between 50-55 points is reasonable considering our lack of (proven) depth in the player 13-18 spots which will most definitely be called upon. What about trophies. Ahhhh yes, the old "we should win the quad" thoughts that perpetrated some thoughts around here. /facepalm. Winning a trophy is going to be damn difficult this year. A top 5 finish in the league should be a minimum IMO. Qualifying for the champions league quarterfinals is a MINIMUM requirement for success this season. Winning the MLS Cup is a crapshoot which will entirely depend on the teams form over the last month or so. US Open Cup is apparently a now purchasable affair, whoever has the deep pockets (and actually gives a shit) to pay for hosting home games *cough*seattle*cough* will probably take that. And finally, I absolutely expect to retain the Rocky Mountain Cup this year. Less than a month to go, lets here your predictions. I'm also going to throw some of what I thought were the best of 2011 moments to hopefully get everyone fired up for this season. Lets just start with this one: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhnLlYbnWe0"]CCL 2011 Quarterfinal RSL vs CLB Leg 2: ¡Olé Olé Olé! Chant?XANGO Footage - YouTube[/ame]
Put me firmly in the "period 3" camp. - RSL will finish in the top 5 of the league table. - RSL will make the CCL quarterfinals. - RSL will win the Rocky Mountain Cup. - RSL will not win the Supporter's Shield. - RSL will not win the U.S. Open. - RSL will not win the MLS Cup. The Supporter's Shield is L.A.'s for the taking, thanks to MLS. And if they should be hit by a rash of injuries, or all their stars are arrested in a gay prostitution sting, Seattle will be there to claim the SS. RSL won't win a U.S. Open until they are willing to spend money to get home games. And since the USOC folks won't disclose bid amounts, there's no way Dave/DellLoy will start writing blank checks for it. The top teams have basically a 8:1 chance of winning MLS Cup. It would be stupid for any fan of any team to predict winning MLS Cup. I see zero correlation between playoff seed and winning the cup, so I stand by my prediction...and I have a 87.5% chance of being right.
What I see: make it out of CCL group (maybe beyond, but that's next year) top 5 finish Rocky Mountain Cup continue to play attractive soccer over 1.5 ppg (51+ points) What I want: avoid major injuries attractive soccer start to finish, each game, all season over 1.75 ppg (59+ points) win CCL group quality showing in US Open Cup quality showing in playoffs punch the ticket for next CCL
Expect: - Top 5 finish in league overall - Top 3 finish in the West (which is stacked again this year, but will hurt itself with conference play) - Win first round playoff match - Advance deep into USOC (I don't expect us to win, but I do expect us to take it more seriously) - Win CCL Group (Unless we are in group of death with new stupid rules) - Win RSL Cup.... er I mean RMC - If we are in the running for SS, TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. If not, rest at season's end to focus on playoff run. What I want: - LA to get busted for a gay prostitution sting (IBIK I spit coffee on my screen reading that) - Lead the league in fewest injuries, ejections, and suspensions. - Colorado to be worse than Montreal - CCL dominance - MLS Cup - Supporters Shield - USOC bought I'm disappointed that this thread was deprived of a poll. Last year we had a poll that, in hindsight, made us look like a bunch of snobish morons. We seriously expected this team to win 2 or 3+ trophies (with argument on RMC being an actual "trophy"). Win one trophy, outside of the RMC, and I'll be ecstatic this year.
i went back and looked at last years thread, its exactly why i DIDNT include a poll. that and the fact that the poll would have to have like 20 options for the variety and it would just clutter things up. the previous versions of this thread that didnt have a poll were more clean cut i think. polls are for politics, which i hate. just so everyone remembers; this years CCL group phase will consist of groups of 3, which means that in order to advance you have to win your group. so advancing in CCL is synonymous with winning our group. yesterday i posted the awesome Ole chant, how about the rest of that game: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXyDZGrqgQo"]3.1.11 CCL Highlights Salt Lake v Columbus - YouTube[/ame]
I share a lot of the same goals as 15 to 32. One big question mark will be for points. With the west being the stronger conference, we may see a season with a lot of teams at the top sitting with a lower point total than in years past. As long as we're top 3 in the west, I'll be happy there.
9 points against one of our top foes will help reach our goals. I don't know if I can really be serious with a list here. If I put it on my fridge will it more likely happen? I do expect a nice run in the USOC and CCL, but I am not expecting a championship. I personally think this "get younger" move this off-season does not prepare us in any way for a deep run in anything. I expect conference finals but no MLS Cup. How's that?
a double whammy today, remember when our field looked like shit? didnt stop us from curb stomping saprissa. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMaRHP6UUvg&feature=relmfu"]3.15.11 CCL Highlights Real Salt Lake v Saprissa - YouTube[/ame] and i'll never forget the 2nd leg, the crowd OHHHH'ing over and over, the verbs volley into the roof of the goal and moving on: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-cFybno5ps"]4.5.11 CCL Highlights Saprissa v Real Salt Lake - YouTube[/ame]
You know, that goal of going at least 2-1 against Dallas, Seattle, Colorado and LA would really do a lot for us, in terms of having a shot at both the SS and MLSCup. That's a great goal.
Thanks for posting those videos Upin, they remind me of that mystical and wondrous time when RSL seemed unstoppable. If we could get some of that "swag" back, I would consider the season a success.
Was it 2010 that we didn't have a losing record (overall for the season) against any of the teams in the league? That was awesome... except for the amount of draws.
I will after watching those clips revise my wishes and expectations for the upcoming year. I want to see a healthy and productive Javier Morales, give me that and I think we will again see success at RSL.
the spine has to be healthy for RSL to do well Rimando Olave (and Borchers, but not as much as Olave) KB Javi Saob (and Espy, but not as much as Sabo) we play down the middle quite a bit. Looking at the players we have in the middle, it's no surprise why.
This is a great thread.... but I'll admit watching the CCL highlights still brings back pain because of the ending. 3 things we need for a successful season: - A healthy Javi - Play attractive, attacking soccer - A trophy (not counting RMC)
My expectation for the RSL season is to have a great time watching games at the RioT, singing our new anthem and watching RSL on the road in HD. Anything and everything else is a bonus. Expecting too much only leads to dissapointment and a skwed look at a season.
wuss. only a couple more CCL highlights and then i'll delve into the regular season highlights. this one may go down as one of the better RSL matches in its history: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb6EeuwQQrY"]4.20.11 CCL Highlights Monterrey v Real Salt Lake - YouTube[/ame]
Look Goob, I get what you are saying. Having a team, especially one that plays like RSL, is a blessing. We have a beautiful stadium, a front office and coaching staff that does things the right way (not buying championships). We have a team full of hard working team players that couldn't care less about being the star so long as they win. etc etc. With that said. When you have a team with as much potential as this one, it is ok to expect greater things out of them. It is ok, and it should be expected, for the fans to not only want this team to play attractive soccer, but attractive WINNING soccer. Like I said, I understand the sentiment of being grateful for a club that offers everything it does with RSL. Looking at this team, though, you can't help but think they are capable of so much more than what they have done in 2010 and 2011. 99% of teams remembered in history are those that have "champions" next to their names. Yeah, there is the 1% or so of great teams not to win anything. I don't want to take my chances on being potentially one of those teams. I want to be in that 99% that wins.
I'm a little embarrassed to admit that watching these brings up some pretty complicated mixed emotions. RSL played so well, and went so far only to be shut out at home when one measly goal would have won us the whole tournament. These awesome plays in these videos remind me how excited I was when they happened, while at the same time reminding me how devastated I was after the final. It makes me want to cry (but I won't, since I'm not at a funeral or the Grand Canyon). How could I be this attached to a freaking sports team? Anywho, my theory is that it's the loss and devastation of previous failures that make the eventual victories so sweet. With that in mind, my expectations for this year are: - SS win - USOC win - MLS Cup win - CCL win (we can do it! our league play will be so impressive that CONCACAF will invite us to participate in the semi-finals at the expense of the Galaxy, who suck) - League records galore (first team to earn 90 points in a season, first team with +150 goal differential, first team to be the secret favorite team of EVERY FAN IN THE LEAGUE, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN COLORADO, most dives awarded penalty kicks in games against DCU, etc) - Eventual world domination I went small last year, and asked for one single trophy (RMC excluded), and look where that got me. This year I hope to flood the rivers of other MLS towns with their fans' bitter, bitter tears. Finally, I'd like to offer rep to anyone who reads this far in this awful post. Nice dedication!
My expectations are perhaps less lofty, but they're simple: - Qualify for MLS playoffs - Move past group stage in CCL A team that consistently does that will win trophies. Maybe not every year, but eventually the trophies will come. I feel like tournaments (MLS playoffs and CCL after group stage) are such crap shoots that anything is possible, so it's hard for me to have major expectations tied directly to trophies. This is what really matters. If Rimando, Borlave, and KB are healthy, we won't get scored on much. If Javi and Sabo are healthy, we'll score on others. Simple as that.
Yeah I'd like to be part of the "big 4" that makes CCL consistently. LA and Seattle seem to have cemented themselves, at least recently, as half of that group. The other 2 spots are constantly changing, though we are always in contention. How these spots are awarded is, in my opinion, a bit retarded. With how the playoffs were built, there was no incentive to finish 2nd in the regular season. In fact, if you were on the same side as the SS winner conference wise, there was actually incentive to finish on the other side to get to the MLS Cup yourself by becoming a wild card. With the new unbalanced format, though, changing how the spots are rewarded will have bad parts no matter what. Saying top 3 overall (which I thought would be a better method in balanced schedules) opens the door to a team like Sporting or Chicago qualifying simply because their conference isn't as good as the West (and flip it when the East is better than the west). Thus, qualifying for CCL becomes such a crap shoot. It is about how good you were over the course of the season for only one of the four teams. The other three are all teams that got hot at the right time. Sometimes they are the same as those who played well over the season, but far too often they aren't. Hell, Houston is in this next season's CCL. That's not right. That's not what champions league should be about.
Yea, I thought that would be the reaction to my post. I want RSL to win everything every year. That should go without saying, but where is the fun in that for many. With all of the high expectations from the RSL FO and the fans last year I think they took away from what RSL accomplished. The CCL loss was devastating but when I look back and think about the game it's not with pain or heart ache rather joy. That game was the best sporting experience I have ever enjoyed and a loss, though gut wrenching, takes NOTHING away from that experience for me. Other than the CCL loss everything else was gravy last year considering what RSL fought through. Javi first and then every injury and lost game to cards or call-ups to not be impressed with how RSL finished by taking the MLS cup purchasers to the brink with no Borchers and a one kneed Olave is only adding to your high blood pressure. I was only hoping for the playoffs in 2009 and that turned out pretty good. I'm starting there again this year. I'm just going to go one game at a time. You can't cheer for games that haven't happened. But you can sing so "If you believe..."
This is why we should desire trophies, major trophies. There is a reason I would and did send a message to my wife about Rangers going into receivership. All its championships makes it famous and I knew she would recognize the importance of the moment. What about if Inverness CT were to go into receivership? Yes, there would be unhappy fans, even around the world, but nothing like the outpouring of worry that accompanied the news of Rangers. We need to win either the MLS Cup or the Supporters' Shield this season to call it a success. That doesn't mean that other outcomes are failure, because a season can be considered acceptable even if disappointing (such as last year, IMO). Not making the playoffs is failure. Points, schmoints (to quote a famous book on Bridge strategy). The season should look like one of the better two to make the two success outcomes (above) make sense. Winning a cup after a season like 2009 or worse would be bittersweet.
