You are a troll, a good one. But a troll. I have seen your work in P and E. @kokoplus10 can the mods just ban him from here! None of us were hanging out in the Columbus forum JAQing off
You see that ref job. Every 50/50 call went to ATL. He had no problem with Parker getting hit late by Almiron, but Parker returned the favor and got a yellow.
Not saying you’re wrong but if Armas doesn’t shit the bed both games this isn’t even a talking point.
The Red Bulls are quite capable of beating any team in the league, but it is a little hard to beat two teams at once. For my money, this series ends 3-3 and New York advances by virtue of a road goal. SSDS = Same Shit, Different Season Back to back league assignments of Stott in the first leg and Marufo in the 2nd ensured this team would be fighting an uphill battle in both games. Last night Jair blew his whistle so much he sounded like he was directing traffic, at one point gifting Atlanta a second corner because they didn't wait for his whistle (which isn't required for a corner kick restart, unless the ref has first stopped the taking of the kick to deal with some incident). I would also blame him for tolerating too much time wasting, including the excruciatingly long corner kick where Almiron ended up getting hit by something from the crowd. Marufo prefers to stay at 35,000 feet until he's flown over the airport at least once. One more bit of bad news for the start from scratch crowd, rumor has it that Armas will get a contract extension.
I think that's a bit harsh. OK, you could argue that Leg 1 is on him. But Leg 2? Last night I just thought the quality of play from our boys was poor. They looked nervous, lacking confidence. They were very energetic, e.g. to any ball that was anywhere close to 50/50. But they lacked the necessary urgency, e.g. to get at least 1 goal in first half. Also, I've been holding this back for the last few weeks, but here goes... I've been really unimpressed by BWP for the last several months. He's looked impotent and frustrated. What happened to our all-time goal scorer... the guy who played without baggage, and lit up the league? OK, you could point to a decline in quality service to him, or an opponent marking the hell out of him. But last night when he got the ball in or near the box, did he ever do anything dangerous with it? After Royer came back fully from his injury, it seemed that he was our main hope in and around the box, in creating chances. As he was last nght.
One last thought about NYRB, which is in no way new, but it is so pronounced, it always makes me feel bad... Paltry Attendance Look at the other 3 teams in final 4. They all turned out amazing packed houses. Forget about the cold-Thursday-night excuse. KC showed how that shouldn't really matter. I really don't much like the phenomenon which is Atlanta United, but the one good thing about them beating us and hosting MLS Cup is that their stadium will be brimming with 75K animated fans. That said, I have great respect for all the NYRB faithful who made it out last night, as well as all the games. The ones that come are generally very good smart fans. We just can't seem to get enough of them... even when we just "won the league".
I don’t agree with playing zero press to start leg one, but truthfully without that Parker blunder we get into halftime 0-0. So, in a way, it worked. What was unforgivable was abandoning the game plan in the second half. Leg 1: Poor initial game plan compounded by panicking and ditching it altogether in the 2nd half. Leg 2: Its halftime in the series and your down 3-0 and you STILL HAVE 4 DEFENDERS ON THE FIELD? Inexcusable. When we finally went to 3 in the back we started giving Atlanta problems. Unfortunately that wasn’t until well into the second half. You’re down 3-0 at halftime. It’s time to roll the dice. To your other point: BWP is fine. Armas made the team more defensive and his service diminished. Kaku’s production diminished as well.
That said, I have great respect for all the NYRB faithful who made it out last night, as well as all the games. The ones that come are generally very good smart fans. We just can't seem to get enough of them... even when we just "won theleague". I totally agree with that sentiment. I work nights and have to manipulate my schedule at work to go to as many games as I can. I’ll always keep going but I do wish we had a better fan base. Too many lazy excuses from the soccer fans in this area. Too cold? But the Jets or Giants would pack MetLife for a playoff game. Thursday night in the metropolitan area? Yankees or Mets would be sold out for playoffs. People say that Red Bull is the problem but they sure do a better job at fielding a team than the fans do of supporting that team.
I do need to be fair to @VFish and like a gentleman he reached out to me and we hashed it out. My emotions are kind of raw right now and it shows. As my friend said to me, which I turned into a blog post, "the losing I can deal with, but its the hope that kills me."
Check this out. https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/ne...lls-welcome-possible-mls-cup-playoffs-change/ What pisses me off about that is Armas interview. I may need a break from this team. No one in management seems to want to say, "Sorry, we shit the bed again!!"
Well this was my argument, why does the 1 seed get a weeknight game? They should get the weekend afternoon game. Plus after that outing in Atlanta, it was all but over. Only diehards would show up. The average person loves winners not also rans.
Agreed. I just would caution any fan of another team who comes on this board that if they aren't trolling to expect a deep undercurrent at bitterness and disappointment. This is one of the original clubs and one that was long defined by mediocrity on the field and poor organization off of it. Both situations have gotten miles better, but the end product of succeeding in the big games still eludes the club, year after year. Speaking for myself, until I see that kind of performance, a gutty performance in a title-winning game, I'll always be wary of letting my hopes fly too high. And I'm not blaming anyone for rooting for their own club, but I refuse to concede that somehow there isn't dedication or desire, from team or fans alike. Everyone involved has suffered long and hard enough to say we deserve a Cup. But that's not how it's won. The level of play has to be there, melding with the tactics and a bit of good fortune. Give Lawrentowitz ten more cracks at that same pass and he doesn't hit it, a healthy Kemar Lawrence steps up and pressures him, a team that isn't so compact, has Adams or Davis swing wide to pick him up. It only needed to be right that one time, which is a kind of fortune that the Red Bulls rarely sees. Which is not to say that I'm particularly downhearted. It's just that this club still has more work to do, improving the overall quality. They need another difference-making striker. BWP is getting older, and does not have the same level of movement as a couple of years ago. This club can use some more quality in central midfield. A box-to-box mid would be nice, or one in the Iniesta mold. They need some instant offense, it would be nice to have at least one Microwave option for the bench, and Etienne wasn't it. This team needs 2-3 new, play now kinds of talents. Brad won't last forever and both Lawrence and Murillo may depart for Europe. They also need to get everyone back and healthy for next year. I would say goodbye to Ratzkowski and Ivan, they just aren't good enough to be worth keeping. I'd take a hard look at Escobar as a third CB option. If he's a better ball-winning option at CB than Parker, then I'd put him in the rotation. Otherwise, see ya. I'd also sign a bunch more teenagers from West Africa and the Caribbean to groom via RBII. Cassares, Jr. looks like the most likely one to promote into Adams' slot, but I'd give Basuljevic a chance in preseason to earn a spot, otherwise it's one more season on RBII and have a nice life. That's one message that should be loud and clear to anyone in the reserves pipeline, you've basically got two years to prove yourself, and it's either up or out. I've hear the rumor that the MLS board may decide to remove territorial rights, which means Academies can start fishing in other clubs' ponds. If so, Red Bull should be aggressive recruiting young players nationally, but I would start by raiding Region I, Eastern PA and DC Metro have a good bit of talent to poach off of other MLS clubs. But it starts at the top, RB AG need to loosen the purse strings and commit to putting together a side capable of winning the Cup.
Good Stuff Woody, I agree with what you said the first half and I will take your second half as the first post in my post-season 2018/2019 thread.
i'm sure a lot of people decided to watch from home after the 3-0 loss, especially on a weeknight. Another playoff bed-shitting. 3 Supporters shields in like 6 years feels hollow with no MLS Cup. I think this season was a turning point where the fans will no longer take ANYTHING away from winning a Supporters Shield
True, but I was there. And my point about 22K being a farce was to say that if it was actually that number then the stadium would've been basically at full capacity, which would've been the best attendance for an MLS game in years, perhaps forever? The actual # of butts in seats was probably closer to 12K, and maybe that's generous.