Seriously WTF … I've been watching MLS since '96 … At one point I used to think the Cle Kooimans of the world were just an inevitable stage in the development of the league. We're 20 years later and we're still pretty much at the same level of out of control physicality. There's guys out there that look more like NFL linebackers than soccer players. Don't get me wrong the quality of soccer has gone up too, but every game I watch I see karate kicks to the chest, two footed tackles, elbows to the face, head to head collisions. Very few exceptions to that … maybe Bruce and Sigi bring a little more mature approach … maybe Kreis and Pareja are following that path too. But I watch a very diverse soccer diet and MLS is quickly heading to become the most physical league out there except maybe the Nigerian league (not that I've ever seen that league) … This is stupid EPLification of American soccer. And it's not the good side of EPL that's being copied here (Wenger, Martinez etc ) but the brutal size, strength and speed over technique. It's a stupid model to follow. EPL is about to slip to 3rd in coefficients for the decade despite spending twice the money of their nearest competitor. The only saving grace in that league is the handful of foreign coaches who use foreign tactics with foreign players. No wonder England NT is by far the weakest out of the big 5. Sorry for the rant but this insult to the game of soccer won't go away until there's is a culture change in the front offices across the league. Douchebags like Porter and Vermes should train MMA fighters not soccer players. Referees' hands are tied with these types of games. On the one hand you're told to let the game flow but when you do in MLS it almost always turns into a hack fest
Seriously there were a couple of stretches in the games today where I was fearing for the safety of players. We're lucky that there was only one definitive KO with Francis. Mulholland could of easily been laid out too. And Peterson slamming into the ad boards. And don't get me started on the tackling. The tackles by Alashe and Carroll in particular were ridiculous
There's a difference between dirty and violent. I've seen Argentine league matches descend into pure blood sport before. There are different elements at play there. I don't think MLS players are dirty. I just think they're coached to run full speed ahead collide with anything that comes in their way. And this isn't a couple of 100 lb. El Salvadorans coming at you. MLS players seem to be getting bigger, fitter and faster than I see in virtually any other league I follow except maybe England. IMO the proper way to play soccer you need to manage your adrenaline. You can't go into every 50/50 challenge. You have to calculate risk/reward. If the reward is relatively minor and the risk is potential injury/red card you should pull back. The two games today showed no inhibition from either team about going into relatively pointless challenges. Again I attribute this to a completely cynical philosophy of the game from the likes of Vermes … and to a lesser extent even someone like Kinnear.
Consider the elbow to the face from David Texeira that remarkably didn't break Liam Ridgewell's nose. As long as plays like that are not considered violent conduct, we will probably see more of the same.
Ack, not being a referee I tend to mix my terminology. The play I referenced was not violent conduct since Texeira was playing for the ball. I should have said serious foul play. Salazar didn't think the use of the elbow to the head was using excessive force etc. Its a matter of how referees are taught to define what constitutes things like excessive force. If flying into an opponent at full speed and hitting them with your head or elbow is simply a YC, or less, than this type of play will continue in this league. Heck, my team has a relatively unskilled player in Zack Scott who has made a long career with such play.