Barring injuries / illness, expect the @LAGalaxy to keep same starting XI, Sat., vs. @WhitecapsFC. Skjelvik will be available after a bout with the flu, but after the best def. performance of'18, Dom Kinnear, a former def., will keep the Steres / Romney partnership. #LAGalaxy— Christian Miles (@cmilessports) September 24, 2018
Just to fantasize - if we win out our last 4 games (haha!) we would have 53pts. I haven't done the math slash schedule-logic for this season but since the league went to a 34 game schedule in 2011 no team with 53 points has failed to make the playoffs. (Fun facts: SKC won their conference with only 51 points in 2011, as did Portland in 2017. Meanwhile CLB missed the playoffs with 52 points in 2012.)
Looking at our schedule, I could see us possibly winning at Minnesota and at home vs Vancouver and Houston. Hard to believe we could get a result in KC. If we get 9 out of 12 where does that leave us? I'm guessing at the mercy of Seattle choking.
So, based on season-form to date, Seattle is on pace for 52 points and RSL is on pace for 51 points. So 53 would be what we need to have a great shot. 50 points means we need Seattle or RSL to stumble, and also requires that Vancouver doesn't win out themselves, as they can conceivable reach 52 even if we beat them next week. I think 53 is the magic number of safety for all 4 teams involved in fighting for those last 2 spots. Seattle has the easiest schedule by far of these 4 teams and Vancouver the toughest. If we can win the next 2 games, then we put Vancouver in the rear-view mirror and then most realistically might have a shot to overtake RSL. But we must beat Vancouver at home first....
Random playoff comment, but listening to the Fox analyst talk about the playoffs and its structure during the game yesterday, MLS should just make it so that the higher seeded team gets to host both legs. That would be a huge incentive for teams to do well. If you come in at #6 and don't get to host any games, well, though luck, you should have tried harder to be a better team and organization. Maybe this would work for the team who wins the SS.
Needless to say I hope they keep the same lineup with similar results, Rolf not withstanding. But to prevent and avoid any jinx, Rolf is cleared to start. But, I know the fo is walking around brows raised over it. Collectively, the Terrible Tres earn almost two million base pay in contrast with the three that played sunday with a collective base of three hundred and a quarter, thousand. Big diff. Sitting the Trio of Doom also throws shade on the fo and their role in their signing. Results should trump pay, but....
Seattle has a cake schedule the rest of the way. I think they're in. However RSL and Vancouver both have difficult opponents remaining. Those are the teams we need to see tank. Starting with us crushing Vancouver's hopes this weekend.
Vancouver just fired Carl Robinson and installed their Academy Director, Craig Dalrymple, as head coach. That will add an extra wrinkle to this game, particularly since it's not an elevation of an assistant coach (they also let go the asst coach and the GK coach), but an elevation of a coach who appears to have not coached adults before (unless their U23 team counts). Could change tactics/players. Another one bites the dust.The Vancouver Whitecaps have announced they have fired head coach Carl Robinson. Academy technical director Craig Dalrymple will lead the team in the interim. #VWFC #MLS— Franco Panizo (@FrancoPanizo) September 25, 2018
I'm holding my breath on this one. Every time we've seen them play well they come back and disappoint me the following week.
Not gonna fight you on that. i also have my reservations but, when was the last time we played without Skelvic, Ciani and Kitchen? I think these three guys brought more than simple ineptitude to the back line but created bad juju with their presence on the field that affected and infected the entire team. Yeah, bad juju is a thing.
Maybe but the problem with cake walks is that they can turn into steamy cow pies and you end up ankle deep in one. Look at what the Quakes did last week with Atlanta. The team at the giddy heights of this season took on the leagues lowest ranking team in the entire league and but for a series of unfortunate events with the VAR. Atlanta could have lost that game 4-1. Objectively, I know the Rapids are a gimme, You know its practically a done deal. Seattle thinks this is three in their pocket and the entire league may agree but the problem with that is nobody has asked Colorado if this is cool with them. They could pull one out their behind and surprise everybody.
That's correct. You can just coast all season and then gear up for a good playoff run, which is what the Galaxy are doing right now.
Sure, but even if Colorado does shock Seattle, guess what? They're playing 3 more teams that aren't making the playoffs either. In fact none of their 5 remaining games are against teams that are even sniffing the playoffs. I wasn't just spouting hyperbole. They are playing Colorado, Orlando and SJ. Those three teams are the bottom 3 teams in the entire league; with the 3 worst goal differentials. They have, by far, the easiest remaining schedule in MLS (3H/2A).
True, although in a parity-driven league, there is a much finer line between a hard schedule and an easy schedule. One of the hottest teams in the league, Philly, got blown out by a non-playoff team in the USOC last night. I know cup finals are different, etc. but that comes on the heels of the hottest team in the league (Seattle) getting blown out by the coldest team in the league (Galaxy).... So you never know. I think if we win these last 4 games, we are in the playoffs. But --- do I think we can actually do it? I haven't seen our team look capable of pulling off 2 wins in a row, yet alone 5.... But maybe they can surprise us....
If every team's supporters that's trying to make the playoffs was given a chance to choose which remaining schedule they'd prefer. I guarantee that every team would choose Seattle's remaining schedule.
War, I think your assessment of the Seattle situation regarding cake is dead on. I just don't want it to be . I have always been neutral with regard to Sounders (partly because of Dempsey-one of my favs) but after the 5-0 drubbing I was made aware of comments in other sites and in blogs that rubbed me the wrong way. One guy waxed on how Galaxy ownership may have lost interest in making our club competitive based on approach over the last two years per the fo, the coaching and the quality of scouting based on current team/individual performance and chemistry. Another guy further opines that Galaxy's overall status as one of MLS premiere teams may be on its way out as other teams like ATL, NY teams and in our own city, the GOATS! will take over relegating the Galaxy to the also-rans in the future seasons and that in any even, Galaxy fans are fair-weather fans for the most part and the prper supporter ethos. Now I take stuff like this as constructive criticism from Galaxy fandom but I am not gonna take it from Nostradmus over in Seattle. Its just rude, man. So I am interested in smashing that cake in their faces. Probably wont happen but one can dream. Cheers