So after a full week of games, I think we know where LA and RSL stand. Are the Union or Chicago the class of the east? Will the west come down to RSL vs cRapids? How about SJ and Dallas? Didn't see that coming. Bravo sees red... and Columbus and NY make the state of Ohio fall asleep. Any more?
I am a little surprised that the Crapids only beat the goats by 1. Can't decide if that says a lot about the goats, or if the Crapids struggled. watching the game right now to gain some insight.
Waaaaaaay to early to really know who is going to be the class of either conference. All I know is that RSL looks very good.
good thing the season is 34 games long and not 2, otherwise early Cup candidates like dallas and seattle would be in serious trouble. so far both of those teams look absolutely punchless. i've been impressed with DC, they're my darkhorse out of the east actually. they got totally screwed in their game with the revs, but played pretty well in their two games. philly hasnt looked particularly good against some weaker competition and they've benefited from playing with a man advantage for both games (almost a full games worth to this point). the crew are looking bad, its going to be particularly long seasons in chivas and portlandia. i will make a judgement on the rapids once they play a team more talented than the local saturday game teams playing in the neighborhood park. KC is looking pretty good, i think them and chicago will challenge in the east with New York. henry is looking really old, that pk he took was absolutely pathetic, even old man keller had no problem with it. from the early season results so far i got new york, KC, Chicago, and Philly as playoff teams with DC as a playoff potential. in the west its RSL, Colorado, LA, San Jose and Dallas. If seattle can get their shit together than maybe they get in. before the season started i thought it was going to be another west heavy playoffs but with the way dallas and seattle tripped out of the gate im not sure.
i dont know why you would want to watch that game again, it was f'ing UGLY. i was literally falling asleep watching it. minus casey and cummings their attack is much much weaker (obviously), the rapids lack depth especially up top.
Gotta say that Philly, although not the best, is a force to be reckoned with. Upgraded Seitz and the defense looks much better. Their offense was always productive. Go LeToux! Crapids didn't have Cummings due to injury, and only Casey for a few minutes as he is also coming off an injury. They were the most prolific scoring duo in the league last year.
I regret the decision. wow, Braun getting into it with some people too. That was the best part of the game. I didn't know before watching the game that casey and cummings were out. Makes sense now why they were only able to score one. I hope that trend continues.
ill be more impressed if they get the same results against some half way decent teams. beating a very old and weak houston team and then an expansion team, while being up a man for almost 90 of the total 180 minutes, doesnt impress me much. i watched their game against vancouver, it was damn ugly/sloppy.
I am very excited to see Davies with 3 goals just 2 games in (as a sub, to boot). Wondo's brace was brilliant. Lovely header and what a blast with the left. Watching Dallas lose is pretty nice, not going to lie. I was actually happy to see Braun throw that bith Mullan to the ground. Mullan got away with an elbow to Braun's chest and Braun let him know. Mullan went down like a sack of potatoes... God I hate the cRapids. the ocho five is a pretty classy dude. All of his comments, now on ESPN constantly, have been generous and honest. Loving the attention he is bringing, actually.
Re: Ochocinco Over at www.sporting85.com they're streaming the reserve match. They're going to play 3 30 minute periods. Ochocinco is scheduled to play in the 3rd. Check back at around 3:30 MT then.
Chad seems to be playing a lot like Jeff Cunningham - a lot of walking around with only a bit of running when the ball comes near him. He has seemed to be out of position a bit of times too. 3000 people watching the stream - hope they realize that this is a RESERVE match and regular MLS matches are MUCH better. The comments ("I hope Ochocinco scores a goal today", "We need Ochocinco to score the game winner", etc.) have been much more entertaining than the match.
Looks like he sucked, but I have a feeling they will keep him as a reserve team player since he's said he will play for free. It would be interesting if after a few months of reserve practice and play he managed to crack the 18. He has shown remarkable humility and respect for the quality of MLS athletes during this stint.
Does the MLS allow players (even reserves) to play for free? If he is on the 30-man roster, I'm pretty sure they have to pay him at least the minimum - something like 35k unless they are on the senior squad when it jumps to about 45k. Of course, they could just continue to list him as a trialist indefinitely and not pay him. Is there a league maximum for how long a player can be on trial before they are signed?
Pretty sure there is. The liability, especially for someone like 85, to get hurt is big. Unpaid workers are a giant liability, making them uninsured and uncovered by things like workers comp and general liability insurance. I'm sure that issue has been covered before he even stepped on the field, but it's an issue to consider.
Something worth checking out today is they are starting to lay sod down at the new stadium for Sporting KC. http://www.sportingwebcam.com/
watching the spain vs lithuania match on espn3.com, im pretty sure they are playing on a dirt pitch. that field is the WORST field i've ever seen an international match played on, it might be one of the worst i've ever seen a somewhat high profile game played on (club or international). edit: here's a pic of the field from training: more pics here: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=23079624#post23079624 UGLY
Tactics in play here? Lithuania might be playing like some of the smaller countries in CONCACAF by scheduling games on fields that are awful to get Spain out of their comfort zone. If that was their goal, it failed. It looked like they tried to paint the field green on the feed I watched.
it cracks me up to see a team like Spain, who could bring in over 100 thousand people in multiple countries, play in a stadium that size. I think the field at Westminster holds more people...
my passion for US soccer is making me ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS at bob bradley, im almost to the point where i'd be ok with kreis jumping to the nats right now. almost.
lol, 95% of the time i dont want kreis to ever leave RSL. then i catch the USMNT losing to paraguay and looking half retarded in doing so and cant help thinking that kreis would whip those assholes into shape and get the nats playing a 10000000x better.