Atlanta is going to have the same issue the following week. The Union may luck out by playing teams at less than full strength two weeks in a row. [Now I'll wait for the obligatory, "They'll still lose," comments.]
Won't be in October as the season ends on October 6. The schedule is fairly condensed now, plus when you factor in USOC games................not a lot of room for rescheduling. Then again MLS gonna MLS.............
We will play the first MLS double header. In baseball, the same two teams play. In this case, the Union will play two different teams.
It's early to be doing this... but figure I'd call out we are currently in striking distance of first place in the east. If the chips fall correctly: Crew loss to Montreal TFC loss to Seattle DCU loss to Colorado and a Union win at LAG would put the fantasy table at- 1. Union - 13 (GD Tie Breaker) 2. Crew - 13 3. DCU - 11 4. Montreal - 11 5. TFC - 10 (5 games played) All teams outside of TFC will be on 7 games played. but, at the same time, worst case scenario could land us in 7th place.... sooooooooooo there's that.
First place is there for taking..... A win on Wednesday will get us there on the tie breakers. Another win against the Revs on Saturday will lock us in for the week. Other ideals that will let us build a buffer: LAG over RBNY Orlando over TFC NYCFC over Montreal Crew over DCU SJE over Cincy LAFC over Chicago Fantasy Table would be at: 1. ZOLOS - 20 11 GP 2. DCU - 17 11 GP 3. Impact - 17 11 GP 4. Crew - 16 11 GP 5. Orlando - 15 10 GP 6. NYCFC - 15 10 GP 7. TFC - 13 8 GP ---------------------------------- 8. Chicago - 9 10 GP 9. RBNY - 8 9 GP 10. ATL - 8 8 GP 11. Cincy - 8 11 GP 12. Revs - 8 11 GP
With 5 of the next 6 at home, this is the time when the Union need to accumulate points. From June 26 through August 4, the Union have 6 of 9 on the road (not including USOC) and the final 3 of 4 for the season are on the road as well. From June 8 through July 6, they go almost a whole month without a home game. After the season, we may say that the Union "faded down the stretch" but the reality is that the schedule is more favorable early in the season and more difficult at the end. The final 7 games are DC, Atlanta, LAFC, at NYRB, at SJ, at Columbus, and NYCFC, with at NYRB, at SJ and at CLB Sunday-Wednesday-Sunday.
Table is looking very good! It really could go either way at this point. Here are the next few games: Sat 5/11 at Toronto (after Toronto plays mid-week at Atlanta) Sat 5/18 vs Seattle (after Seattle plays mid-week vs. Orlando) Sat 5/25 vs Portland (Portland's prior game is 5/15) Wed 5/29 vs Colorado (after Colorado plays home on 5/25 vs. Columbus) Sun 6/2 at Minnesota (after Minnesota plays at Atlanta on 5/29) Sat 6/8 vs. NYRB (Red Bulls do not play mid-week) Wed 6/12 USOC Fourth Round Wed 6/19 USOC Round of 16 Then Wednesday-Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday with the first three games away at NER, NYCFC and ORL starting 6/26.
Portland has been good recently, Colorado has a new coach, Minnesota has a new stadium, Red Bulls have been playing better. . .
I have to say that while I'm really enjoying the Union's season so far, I've been having a bit of a concern with the league, as a whole. Looking at the schedule this year, I have to say there is an unprecedented number of "shitty" teams (for once we're not one of them). It has been years since I have seen such awfulness across so many MLS teams, and with further dilution coming up, I'm not sure if it's going to get better. We can point to certain teams doing better, or certain players being the best MLS has seen, but can we say the overall health of the league is fine, when we have to hunt through the schedule to find teams that aren't in some sort of crisis?
I think that shortening the season without decreasing the number of games is having and will continue to have a major effect on the quality of play.
Puts heavy pressure on attendance, as well. Even rabid fans like ourselves are at-risk of burning out...especially those of us with kids' sports and other events.
These "shitty" teams would be world beaters in 2010.. the goal posts are just moving... that's a good thing. Honestly, I think the worst teams today would easily handle the best teams in 2010 more often than not.
Danny Cruz was a starter in the 2011 MLS Cup Finals. He'd probably be a role player on a USL squad if he was playing today.
As an Assistant Coach (under John Hackworth) for Louisville City, Danny Cruz currently is a role player for a USL squad.