What do you lot say about which competition should be the focal point these next couple weeks/months? Do you rest key players in MLS matches so that they're good for CCL play? Would you be upset if Atlanta rolled out the B-team next week vs Cincy and lost?
I’m in favor of going for the CCL. There are now 7 playoff spots so getting one won’t take as much work though the carrot for finishing first is huge. Still MLS hasn’t won the CCL in forever so let’s go conquer the continent.
CCL should be the priority. I think you will see a lot of squad rotation tonight with all the big guns resting on the bench. A chance to see Pogba, Gallagher, and Carleton for the first time this season. There is enough depth on this squad to mean resting the stars doesn't mean dropping points.
And that was the first team! I wouldn't read too much into that loss. We had a couple of bad defensive errors and got caught napping on a free kick. FdB got things corrected quickly enough. Wednesday's match will be a tougher task.
Atlanta has stated they want to be a global brand. Have to win internationally to do that. All in on CCL. Besides, there can only be one team to be the first to win the competition (in it's current iteration) for MLS. Don't you guys want that to be us? I'd expect the team to rotate a few players tonight, and I wouldn't be surprised to see an entire B team against Cincy. They looked bad last night, I think they could handle them. And it's a good chance to finally see what the depth can do, since we haven't seen much of that in two years. Give the kids some experience early in the season, when you have more time to make up any losses you might accrue. That experience could be valuable late in the season.
Looks like we are putting out most of the team from Thursday. Pity and Gressel are out, Ambrose and Villalba are in.
It was fun to look back at this thread... odd duck wins. A round of brew for you, but it must be at a game. AU2 counts.