Here's some additional information about the VAR with Jozy's goal. The video includes a look at the helicopter camera angle which the VAR used to determine that the goal should stand. http://www.espnfc.com/video/espn-fc...er-video-review-did-its-job-on-altidores-goal
This is all well and good, but why the hell was this not shown on TV??? The implementation of VAR (mid-season, no less) was so clumsy, much like everything MLS/US Soccer did in the public relations arena this year.
I wouldn't call it clearly onside, but it's definitely not clearly offside. Was nice to see all the angles that are being looked at in addition to what was on the television broadcasts.
Ask the ESPN producer. It was their camera. The VAR just used the tools to come to the correct decision. The system worked.
This is not fake news: Check out the Seattle Times’ Sounders page this morning (turn your ad blocker off for a moment to do it). https://t.co/xADoXrKYiC pic.twitter.com/H2QxFu7TK6— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) December 11, 2017
1.3 Million Canadians Watch Historic @torontofc MLS CUP Win on @TSN_Sports: https://t.co/HEAcxz4JbO— TSN PR (@TSN_PR) December 11, 2017
Jozy says on this he'd been partying since Saturday night. It kind of showed. Nice to see these guys, not just be all corporate, and just drink and have fun in celebration like the rest of us working stiffs.
I would suggest it was the AR who made the correct decision which video replay confirmed. It was a great call in a high pressure situation. If he'd raised the flag the replay would probably not have been definitive enough to overrule. Congrats to Toronto and especiallly their fans. Toronto came in at a critical juncture in the league and helped inspire confidence. Aside from LAG and my club DCU (which had a brief attendance spike in the late 2000's), Toronto was the only club averaging 20K in those first two years it was in the league. They averaged 20K+ for their first five seasons, which were pretty much all bad. Then Seattle entered the league and created a whole new standard, but one could argue that Toronto fans continuing to support their club over several bad years was equally important to the succss of the league.
Also, not everyone in “Canada” watching the game is “Canadian” unless there’s some super-secret citizenship law.
Eh? I thought I read on the MLS website that it was a 25% increase over last season, unless they were being "clever" with their language somehow.
As someone who was around for all of those bad years - it got pretty grim at times. Lots of supporter infighting and general cynicism set in. I think the nadir might have been the dismal start to the 2011 season under Aron Winter (when Stefan Frei was still our GK, ironically). Or maybe the Paul Mariner era. There were some ups to go along with the downs during that span, sure, but... a lot of downs. I still remember 2009, when we were in a "win and you're in" situation for the final match of the season - and not only did we lose, but we lost 5-0. I'll never forget the feeling after that one. It makes the last couple of seasons, and especially this past weekend, taste like a fine wine. Everyone in Toronto who stuck through the "worst team in the world" years deserves this.
Also as someone who witnessed all the awful football in the early years - it's a really heartwarming turnaround for the team, especially the likes of DeRo and Ashtone Morgan who were around for the worst and got to raise the Cup Saturday. As for the actual nadir, I spoke recently with one of the members of the 2011 team, and the picture he painted of the clubhouse and team cohesiveness that season was not pleasant - and it is obvious that the current roster has nothing like that situation.
I will be forever grateful for Winter's 2011 team......they taught me a lesson I hold dearly to this day and I repeat/explain often......possession is the most meaningless stat in football!
I'm just getting through this thread. I didn't get to see the game; but of all the gripes I have about TT (and admittedly, many of them are trivial), his incredible ability to kill a moment is quite impressive. So I've no doubt this is true.
I think Jozy was a poor choice for MVP. Honest to God, I would have given it to Frei. I know that’s insulting as hell to Seattle’s field players, but it is what it is. Bradley would be my pick if I had to take someone from Toronto.
That, and the whistle would likely have blown well before the ball was in the net. No review even possible. AR correctly kept his flag down because it was too close to call it off and VAR correctly let the goal stand because even on video it was STILL too close to be sure. The only real problem here is that we can apply additional technology that wasn't available to the VAR to determine that, yes, Altidore was in an offside position, and that technology WILL be used at the World Cup (and I think is currently in use at the Club World Cup). Thus there is another significant difference in the way that video review has been implemented in the USA as compared to other countries and in international competition.
Maybe it all boils down to the existing interpretation that even is onside. I'm not sure we need technology with the precision of competitive swimming to determine which body parts of which players are closer to the goal at the time the ball is kicked. And if we want to be that precise a sensor needs to be installed in the ball to determine exactly when it is touched - and for that matter, do you measure from when the ball is touched or ceases contact with the kicker's foot? There's really no end to it. Anybody who loves football, watching that play from start to finish, would agree that it was a superbly timed play and a deserved goal.
I can answer at least one of your questions! The IFAB, the body who write the Laws, clarified a few months back that offside should be determined at the moment the ball is first touched, not when it's released. This clarification was specifically in response to VAR usage since the distinction is practically meaningless as far as the human eye is concerned. Anyway, I can't say I'm looking forward to more "offside by a kneecap" calls in Russia next year.
The Mo Era was absolutely terrible on multiple levels, but I think it was still too early into TFC's existence to be considered a true nadir. I'll actually slightly change my answer though, and say I think 2012 was the nadir of TFC's existence so far. That was the year we opened the season losing nine games in a row under Aron Winter, switched to Paul Mariner, and finished the season with a 14 game winless streak. I think that was also the season Danny Koevermans delivered the infamous "worst team in the world" quote. I don't think the fanbase was ever lower than that season. 2013 was when Kevin Payne came in, and 2014 is when the turnaround earnestly began.