Didn't see a game thread so wanted to break some ground for reactions on last night's action. Some random thoughts of my own include: - We did not show up ready to play. Our performance out of the gate was decidedly second best. Credit to SJ for being ready at the opening bell but we looked like underpants. Overconfidence? Poor coaching? Didn't handle the lightning delay well? Regardless of the reason we were swamped out of the gate. While their goal was well deserved it was put on a platter by LGP. It was "just one of those things" but Pirez was responsible for that one and it can be argued his handling of Wondo at the back post for their second was a key failing as well. Pirez has logged a ton of minutes to date and I'm certain he'll benefit from the Gold Cup break - Officiating was rubbish. We were commenting on his decisions even before the sending off. The second foul on Sarkodie that resulted in the red was very harsh but if we're being fair he should have been sent off 20 minutes earlier. Two footed lunge over the ball was rash and clear straight red. Considering the ref was carding everything that moved NOT showing red there seemed very inconsistent - Who knew Martinez had such a strong aerial game? Made Carmona's goal by forcing an outstanding save out of the time wasting SJ keeper and his bullet header for his first goal was sweet! With Walkes goal on the corner, and Josef's leaping ability, I'm almost convinced we can stop taking short corners. Since I've already opened trump on ref hating we were very fortunate on Walkes goal. I thought LGP steamrolled the defender that opened up Walkes for the tally. - Thank goodness Guzan is going to be eligible soon as Reynish did not fill me with confidence last night. He flapped at their second goal on a cross he should have handled and didnt inspire confidence throughout. If there is anything fortunate about Kann's injury it's the timing. Both with Guzan coming in and getting a couple weeks off for Gold Cup. Lessens the impact of having to play a 3rd choice keeper. - Speaking of keepers I think we need to send a thank you card to SJ's GK. His distribution was piss poor. Countless unforced errors on goal kicks that immediately returned possession to Atlanta. I havent followed the 'quakes this year so not sure if he's normally this bad or this was just a bad game but he was awful. Maybe the booing got to him?
Reynish was terrible in a great and exciting game. Actually both keepers were bad. SJ keeper semi-spilled almost every shot at him and his distribution was amazingly bad, almost like he wanted to kick it out to touch at midfield every single time. But Reynish? Come on. Was he glued to the goal line? Scared to move out doesn't even cover it. When he did manage to move, he punched almost everything -- Kann or Guzan would have caught and held all those balls. A major area of concern over the next month or so.
Reynish has been a backup goalkeeper everywhere he's ever been, even in lower divisions. Except for 2013 with the NY Cosmos, he's never been a regular player for any team. Until and unless he gets some solid minutes, I fully expect him to be tentative and not very great. Thankfully, Guzan will come in and we won't have to live through Reynish's transition to starting goalkeeper. I only got to see the highlights from this one, but great job getting another win. That's three in a row in league play, including a roadie.
I believe this will depend on the USA's success in the Gold Cup. If the yanks go deep he will most certainly not be available for the OCSC game 1
What a game last night - I'm from the UK and am a relative newcomer to watching the MLS. It is really a stand-out league in terms of entertainment. I used to play soccer in the USA about 15 years ago and the top pro league was nothing in those days. There are so many amazing games now, and great crowds. Atlanta are something else, what an entertaining team they are at home, and what a player Almiron is. Amazing atmosphere in your stadium as well. Funny that so many MLS teams don't seem to turn up away from home, Atlanta included (usually). Wonder if Almiron will start to get interest from European clubs.
Welcome to the forum. I'd say there are several reasons for lack of travel from an Atlanta perspective. First is simple distance. One of the longest trips in the English Premier League for this upcoming season is Bournemouth to Newcastle. Approximately 355 miles. If you put a 355 mile radius around the city of Atlanta you'd hit exactly zero other MLS cities. Absence of organization. Neither the club nor supporters groups have coordinated scheme to efficiently bring masses to away venues Lack of a proper rival. We haven't built up enough of a reason to slog out of town yet. Perhaps once we establish a proper hate, or have a meaningful match for the franchise, we'll see proper motivation to take a group on the road Tradition. We're still working out our own identity and have a new stadium to christen. There is enough ramp up required locally to distract us from coordinating a large horde for the road. We're still learning songs ffs. I'd imagine its much different in the northeast where you'll find large pockets of NYRB folks at NYFC/Revolution/Union matches (& vice versa) but they have the advantage of shorter distance and effective rail As to Almiron I'd say that will be an interesting case study to see what the team does with him. Miggy was allegedly on Arsenal's radar when we signed him. Does the team flip him for a profit or hang on to him and build a winning organization around him?
Thanks Gunner. Sorry bit of a English slang translation issue above, what I mean by: "funny that so many MLS teams don't seem to turn up away from home, Atlanta included (usually)" ... was that so many MLS teams seem to perform very badly away from home compared to how they play at home. Home-field advantage seems to come into play more in the MLS than in other leagues (I trade football matches for a living on betting exchanges so I look into these kinds of patterns in leagues all around the world). Atlanta seem quite typical of the stronger teams in that they put four goals past everyone at home and then tend to go down to quite tame defeats on the road (apart from last week against Columbus). In terms of chants, I notice you have that icelandic war chant (from Euro 2016) going, sounds good. I was looking at attendance charts and I see that Atlanta is at the top with 48,000 average home attendance. Is it because it's a new franchise? was a bit surprised as I thought soccer most popular in the north west. I love the current stadium but I guess it's the university stadium. The atmosphere's the best in the MLS alongside Portland. Exactly on Almiron. I've always had the impression that MLS doesn't stand in players way if a move to Europe becomes an option, but it would be good for the league/teams if they start trying to keep the best up-and-comers. Almiron's by far the best talent in the league though (I think).
For the KC game someone put together a Google spreadsheet with everyone going to help organize meeting up, tailgating, and sitting in the same section. It's at about 45 people right now.
Welcome aboard. I've some Scottish heritage myself courtesy of one grandfather, a 1st gen from Edinburgh who wanted me to be a Glasgow Celtic supporter growing up.
They've been reluctant in the past in selling American stars to foreign clubs. I imagine the sell to Almiron to convince him to come to Atlanta was in two parts: Tata will be your coach, and we will not stand in your way of your career once it looks like you're ready to move on. While I'd be sad to see him go, if we could become a team where young stars use as a stepping stone before Europe, and we get to see them grow and make a profit out of them when they do leave, that's not necessarily a bad thing. At least until MLS becomes one of the top leagues in the world, but that'll be a while yet.
I wouldn't disagree but I do think at least 2 years of service would not be unexpected from either party, especially since the player is under contract. (And I fully expect Miguel to be offered a significant raise after this season.) Not only does this ensure a modicum of sustainability for the team but it means the player validates his talent beyond the potential break out year. Even as a quality stepping stone I don't think a professional club wants to harbor a lot of one-and-done style players. Not in a league where team success demands actually building time playing together as a team.
Indeed. But we also need to be realistic about how incredible of a player we are talking about here. Happy to have him for now. Look forward to watching him tear ass in the Champions League one day as well. I'd be totally happy with our front office for going after young talent like him knowing we will only have them for 2-3 years.
I'm thinking Tata and the front office are as big a part of this success as Almiron. I'm fully convinced that this club will be able to find and attract attacking talent as long as he's here. Not always on the Almiron level, but we're going to be fine going forward, both figuratively and literally. That has a lot to do with distance as well. If the away fans don't show, the home team has even more of an advantage than they already would. I was thinking about this very thing last night. Now that we're in 4th position more than halfway through the season, I can allow myself to look down the road a bit. Right now I like our chances on aggregate in a two-legged tie against any team in this league, but I don't like them at all if we end up fifth or sixth and have to go on the road for that one-off game. If we finish fourth or better in the East and have a better record than the West #1 (which is entirely possible), Atlanta can (can, not necessarily will) win the MLS Cup this year. It's going to stay that way, and we can thank Arthur Blank for that. So many other MLS stadia are locked in @ around 20-25K. I'm glad for Portland that they manage to have something going on with such a small crowd, but half the league can't even fill the little phone booths they play in. ATL and the surrounding region has been waiting for this team for years and it shows.
I grew up a Celtic fan myself, it's a club with such a strong identity and they have fans all over the world because parents always want to pass it on - so great to hear your grandfather did his bit. I still love Scottish football but the league has just plummeted in the last 15 years, it's absolute garbage now.
Well he tried! I ended up adopting Arsenal somewhere around age 12 due to other family connections and an affinity for their defensive reputation at the time, among other things. For the SPL I tended to favor Hearts after hearing his tales of Edinburgh and wanting to root for an underdog in that league. But yeah, the SPL and leagues from other smaller nations have taken a big hit in form. Yet that's for another thread.