Pretty amazing how they want from meh to pretty damn good when their playmaking DP came back from injury. It should be distressing to NER that their success hinges largely on one player. But at the same time, that's money well spent and they are lucky to have him.
Agreed. New England has been playing great. But as much as I hate to say it, Seattle is who I have as the favorite to win it. They've got so much firepower in their attack between Morris, Ruidiaz, and Lodeiro.
I am on the NE bandwagon for sure. It's nice watching a seriously well coached team. I remember those days.
Greg Vanney steps down from TFC. It'd be cool if RSL could lure him here, but that isn't going to happen. He'll end up at Atlanta or the Galaxy. https://www.torontofc.ca/post/2020/12/01/greg-vanney-steps-down-toronto-fc-head-coach
"stepping down" like this suggests he's already been approached by one of those clubs to be their new coach.
I recognize that I have been extremely fortunate to work for one of the best ownership groups in all of sports...,” said Greg Vanney. “I wish Greg nothing but the best in the future", said Toronto FC President Bill Manning. Hurts my heart.
I have a hard time cheering for Minnesota, for some reason, but I certainly can enjoy sad Peter Vermes face
Not much of a fan of the Loons either but I would root for them over both KC and Seattle. They certainly looked the better team. I'm rooting for a Minnesota v NE final. Yes I know, worst possible outcome for MLS but I really want the Bruce to win one in NE. I have no real idea why. I just like well coached teams. Remember what that was like?
Matt Besler is leaving SKC and entering the free agency market. I wouldn't mind seeing him in a rotation with Glad and Marcelo. https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mls/sporting-kc/article247729685.html
Interesting in that is that Besler took a pay cut in the 2019 season when he signed the 2 year deal with SKC. That 2019 number was $675K, so he won't be cheap. I think this would push Fall to have to make a decision on keeping KB or not as I don't know how the club could afford both. At 33 (34 when the season starts), and playing CB, Besler makes a whole lot more sense than a 38 (turning 39 early in the season) KB at holding mid. This would require Fall to put personal feelings aside and make the best move for the club. Similar to Kreis moving Chris Klein. We'll see if the club does it right. Again, with how many players Fall has decided to keep (25) every player we add removes a significant amount of room on the roster. Do we HAVE to fill the CB role right away? With that much of a salary? Would it be better to find a 3rd option that can push Glad/Marcelo? Like said above, it is hard to see Freddy not going with a backline of Besler/Silva if this was done. That puts us with a really expensive non-starting CB, no matter how we do it. Finally, I am guessing Besler will be sought after by more than just us in the league. Austin, as an expansion side, could find a lot worse options at CB. And they'll have a lot of funny money to throw around
MLS published the 25 best players in the leagues 25 years of history. Fun article to look at - mostly because the animation they picked makes some guys look especially funny. Three guys with RSL ties. None of them are surprises. I think there is an argument for Javier to be on there, but I'm not sure who you remove
I am in frequent contact with a true blue SKC fan who used to work for the club and still has friends there. He’s not been happy with Besler’s production this season and feels letting him go is the right move. Quote of what he told me: “He’s toast. Pretty steady decline for 3 years. Opara covered up a lot of his mistakes. They said he didn’t play the last couple months because he got a concussion in practice but I think they were just covering for him.”.
Given how many times we post about using substitutes, I thought tonight’s MLS Cup game was interesting in that context. By the 77th Seattle had used all 5 subs, while Columbus had not used any. ( Their first was in the 83rd ).
We said the same thing about Borchers when he left. A change of scenery can do a lot for a player. (Not saying that’s the case with RSL. We’re not winning a championship next year.)
That whole fiasco cost us both Borchers and being able to keep Salcedo in the club long enough to truly cash out
Don't really like bringing up the team to the east of us, but how have they not released their roster moves? The only other teams that haven't just played Saturday. Also, they also just traded for the 6th pick in the draft, which made made me wonder where RSL is picking. Turns out it's 7th, but I'm not sure why. RSL finished with the same PPG as CHI and LAG; LAG had a better goal differential, but RSL had a worse goal differential. I don't understand why CHI got the 6th pick (and traded it to COL) and RSL gets 7th. Anyone heard?