This is coming from a Houston fan that hates Seattle almost as much as y'all probably hate us, and I also want to see LA in the final against us, if we make it. DON'T GIVE UP! You're freaking Seattle! I hate y'all with a passion, but if any stadium can lift the spirit of a whole team to overcome a 3-0 deficit it is the Sounders! Don't go to the game next Sunday with this ********ing surrender attitude. If Los Angeles can score three goals, y'all can ********ing score three goals. This is soccer, we're only done with one half of the whole series, and lucky for y'all there's a week to regroup and then y'all play at home! What more could you ask for?! Now, here's the only piece of advice I will ever give y'all. Take this week off from soccer, regroup as a fan base. Then on Sunday go to the pitch and sing your freaking hearts out! As long as y'all don't surrender, you'll be giving your team the morale boost that they need. Get a friend to go to the game, find family, long lost buddies from school, and fill that stadium like it has never been filled before. Seattle is still in it!
If we're looking to lay blame at our DP's there's plenty to go around. But IMO if the Sounders were to get rid of one, the first one I'd look at is Tiffert. I've seen nothing from him that would warrant the DP salary. The guy just seems mediocre. He doesn't create anything on offense, he doesn't excel in any aspect of the game, he reminds me a lot of Brad Evans. I'm not saying he's a bad player, I'm just saying I don't think he's played anywhere close to what he should be given what the Sounders are paying him. Montero's lack of scoring in the playoffs and Rosales' inability to get on the field are very disappointing as well don't get me wrong. But also let's be realistic the whole team was awful today. Regardless of the fact that the DP's get put under the sharpest microscope because they make the most money, they were not the only reason the Sounders got pummeled today. You can thank all 11 guys on the pitch and the coaching staff for that.
I'm still infuriated at Sigi's choice of formation and his substitutions. His strategy was to not lose instead of playing to win.
Well, looks like MLS wants to have farewell party for AEG owners?! They are "Founding Fathers" of MLS and they deserve to have they last 2 babies playing in final again. For me it looks like Serena is playing against Venus for major trophy!
on the 18th they better give Rosales cortinsone shots or whatever. He is playing. same with gonzalez.
Disappointing outcome. But I can't agree with folks that say the Sounders were completely outclassed and did not come to play. With our less than ideal starting 11, the first half was effectively a stalemate. That first LA goal was a piece of luck. Generally Sounders looked to me to be combining well and keeping their cool. Looking at the stats: possession, duels won, passing accuracy Sounders dominated. Where we fell down was 1.) an inability to turn all that into scoring opportunities. 2.) and inability to cope with LA viscious counter attack in the second half. With respect to #1, I think this has been a problem all season. We are inconsistent in the final 3rd and streaky goal scorers. LA, generally, is not. Without Mauro's foot to connect the ball to EJ's head, we really struggle. Montero only got off one shot last night... from somewhere around the 40 yd mark. And for all the goals EJ has scored this season, frankly I cringe every time he is passed the ball. His first touch is lousy, often it bounces 15 feet away from him and 9 times out of 10 he looses it or passes it back to the midfield. He is not the guy I would have put in for this apparent possession oriented strategy that Sigi was employing. With respect to #2, LAs counter attacks were so fast and the their passing so pin-point in those moments, they were very difficult to defend against. You have to give them credit here. Add the less than ideal back 4 and a couple of goals got through. I am with that guy from Houston though. It ain't over til it's over. I want to see all the goals that Freddy has been saving up through all the playoffs come gushing off his foot like a firehose. I want to see LA drowning, gasping for breathe before the flood of goals the Sounders will unleash this weekend.
Yeah, saw that. Strategy fell apart right before half-time. We looked too loose in the mid-field after the half; pushed too far up. I mean, really, at 1-0 down we didn't need an equalizer at that point, especially with the personnel we got on the field versus their squad. But, hey, hope springs eternal.
What Twellman said on the broadcast about Seattle having less recovery time plus having to travel ( also with DC), and the injury issues with both teams, really tied both Sigi and Ben Olsen. The difference was that DC played to score. Seattle OTOH, didn't have a punter's chance at goal. Montero up top alone against Omar Gonzalez was a no goal strategy that backfired. Nice work from Parke to save a couple. Could have easily been 5-nil. Not having Mauro out there really deflates our offense. Looks like a repeat of 2011 MLS Cup. How singularly dull will that be. Oh well. One last bash at the Clink. Let's see the boys off with style. Cheers.
There is no such thing as home field advantage as long as the series are 1 home 1 away. Especially with how far the top seed might need to travel in our country. I'd go as far as to say I'd prefer to have the first leg at home to force the other team to travel farther.
I don't know what this is suppose to mean. I mean both Houston and LA clearly outplayed their opponents and deserved to win the first leg of their encounters, granted there was a huge questionable non call in the Houston match but never the less both teams took care of business and if they do it again in the second leg they both deserve to once again fight it out for MLS Cup. It just happens that both happened to be own by AEG (or were) I don't see anything wrong with that, you still have to go out on the field and get results they did, United and Sounders did not simple enough, though DC did manage to score an important goal something we didn't do with that dismal match plan of ours.
We just gave up after that second goal. Just like against RSL last year. And we're so very lucky it didn't get uglier.
The difference is that the 2011 SoundersFC are good at comebacks. Back then it wont matter if the opponent could score first because we know that SoundersFC can still make a comeback victory. This is the reason why despite being down 3-0 to RSL, I thought we had a chance to draw the game and bring it to extra time, in which we almost did if not for the awesome clearance by Beltran. But in 2012, we rarely get comeback wins. Correct me if I'm wrong, the only comeback victory we had this year is against the great Chivas, isn't it? So it's as if the chance of going through LA is much less than against 2011 RSL. I can't criticize Sigi's subs strategy considering that it snowed in Salt Lake last Friday and they barely had practice last Saturday. Why didn't they stay at Salt Lake (or borrowed RSL's practice facilities) and flied straight to LA? I find it hard to believe that it is tough to get a direct flight from any major city to LA.
Single entity MLS can give instructions to referees and other owners how to play "the game"! It sounds like conspiracy but I follow sports long enough to get sense how they run their business, especially leagues that are starving for TV spectators. If referees called the game correctly in first halves of both games we can be looking for different outcomes?! Sigi also didn't looked himself, tactically and emotionally and I did not see yet our FO response. After this I expect MLS to give some credits to SSFC & DCU next season. AEG and Hunts finally need to finish with MLS practice of 1 company owning multiple teams! In the beginning of MLS maybe that was necessary but at this moment is completely counterproductive and will always raise eyebrows if something like this happens. I am very disappointed at this moment Sounders but will still go to final game to chant Osvaldo Alonso name!
Just wow. There were no instructions from MLS to lose we just played like shit. Seriously take of the tinfoil hat.
I thought Marufo had a good game. I didn't see questionable calls. To be more accurate, I think MLS asked AH/Sigi to drop the game. Why else would we have a strategy like that? I mean 4-5-1? Really?
It is enough that somebody from MLS get message to Sounders FO not to play that hard to win! How can you explain Sigi playing to draw and at half being OK with 1:0 and than after the game Sigi emotionally did not show that much. That tells me he is at peace because somebody else is covering his ass! I am so frustrated at this moment that I cannot explain Sounders collapse! That was not SSFC that we know and after this game blaming starts from coaching side first.
I hate his decision, but his plan was to get out of LA on short rest with a close game so that they could rest for a week and really press the attack for the win at home. Sigi, even when mad, is not exactly the most emotional dude in the world. LA had more rest and a better game plan. That's it.
Sigi learned the hard way not to show your emotions in front of a camera. We don't want Sigi to get suspended on leg 2 of west conf finals for ranting on how awful MLS's logistics are. Or do you want Sigi to say on camera that our mids had the most pathetic display on soccer last Sunday (Yeah, right, as if that would work). I'm sure Sigi had already shown his emotions inside the locker room right after the press left. All SoundersFC fans are frustrated with the way they played last Sunday. But to blame it on anything other than the team is pathetic.
Hey I'm frustrated too I get that but there is no way in hell that the whole roster of the team would go along with being told to "mail it in" as it were and let LA win. Give the the players more credit than that. Sigi had no choice with some of his roster moves due to injury but tactics is another story and that is where he screwed the pooch. This team is built to attack and we played to defend.