Last game of the year; last Battle of the Class of 2005. I hope we win by at least four. I hope the players make it happen. I hope we put pressure on Dallas for the third spot.
I'd like to please beg everyone not to act like we should win this game just because it's against Chivas. That's never worked out so well for us. I'm not asking for EMBRATSU unicorns, mind you, let's just not jinx it in the first place. It'll be a tough game, like every MLS game. I don't care who we're playing.
We have shown we cannot beat Chivas. I say we run out the reserve team to give the starting 11 rest in anticipation of their play-in followed quickly by the next playoff game.
If we played on Saturday I'd be all for this. As is, we play on Wednesday and will have at least 1 full week of rest. Play the starters and tell them "if you don't win this game, you're shit" Good coaching? No. But the honest truth? Very much
Jafet Soto bicycle kick goal for the win! Except, he's now coaching somewhere in Central America, I hear. Still no word on the existence of Chivas TBA next year? That would be hard as a player to have your livelihood in limbo.
If we win this one, at least it makes the FC Dallas/Timbers game on Saturday interesting. If we lose on Wednesday or if we win and Dallas does too, Balance has already jinxed us out of winning the play-in game.
That was the latest speculation. Is it a done deal now? It would be nice if it were and that the Chivas dissolution would limit the possible losses to RSL in the expansion draft. In my mind, it's like gym class. All Chivas players standing in a line shifting their feet nervously while New York and Orlando take turns picking players for their team.
Wouldn't their be a separate dispersal draft? It's kind of, or a lot, unfair for Orlando and NYCFC to reap the rewards of Chivas folding AND having an expansion draft. Chivas should be in the expansion draft with MLS protecting the best players for Chivas and then if they shut them down having a dispersal draft that all teams could then participate, NYCFC and Orlando have the last picks. As it is now I'm sure NYCFC will get to pick the first 4-8 players it wants from Chivas and then Orlando can have 1 pick. Something like that I would suspect. An MLS expansion team with Dan Kennedy as a Goalie is the one that has the best chance of finishing above the other, and probably some other teams, cough, cough, Crapids, cough, cough, with him playing between the pipes for them.
Have y'all noticed how much Robbie's face has been thrown on RSL stuff lately? On FB, twitter, etc. The FO usually changes their picture on a weekly basis and the last few have featured him. It seem s a really strange picture given his polarization.
Perhaps it's like the Brer Rabbit story with the briar patch: "Hey NYCFC, you can take whoever you want in the expansion draft. Those are the rules. But, whatever you do, please, please, please, please don't choose Findley!"
My brother and I still cheer 'Chivas' whenever an opponent makes an unforced error and passes the ball out of bounds. I invite you to join us, and remember Chivas USA forever in this fashion.
And for all the doom and gloom about the draw at Portland, it's not a bad result from a standings standpoint. If we win tonight, then a Dallas loss or draw gives us 3rd. Had we thrown caution to the wind and lost that game, then only a Dallas loss would see us in 3rd. It gives us better odds, especially since Portland plays before Vancouver, so they'll have every reason to go out and go for the win. If we don't win tonight, we didn't deserve 3rd anyway.
If we don't win tonight, then there should still be a way for us to not make the playoffs... Cus, that's just pathetic.
Just checking in to say that I'm preparing myself to be disappointed. Preparing the hell out of myself.