MLS Flavors of the week: 2019 Edition

That pass though...@gyasinho gives #Crew96 the lead! #CLBvLA https://t.co/INQvUC4GQk

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 9, 2019

Edit
Zardes gets an assist

 

It is with great joy that I announce THE BREKEN HAS BEEN RELEASED!

 

Hes gotta be happy with that move. The tail end of his MLS club career has been the antithesis of his european club career; going to all the right coaches and all the right places. Ever since that Derby move though, yikes. But back in KC, now with Rowe too, thats a nice stable of MLS midfielders with a knack for the spectacular.

Surprisingly, im fine with Jonathon Lewis to Colorado. Hopefully we can get Mueller out that way too if they continue to be in the business of signing US players not getting enough PT

 

Zero chance he owns a big Euro club, but he does own Arsenal...

 

SJ vs New England next weekend..........I could see Friedel sacked after this one if its bad enough. SJ continues to ride a wave with the new regime. If we want Wondo to break the record and be done with it, this will probably be the game.

 

US-Eligible WS Team of the Week 10(5/1-5/7)
Player(score)rank within his team, for the game

------------------Picault(7.6)4th---Lletget(7.4)7th-------
----Rodriguez(8.0)MOTM--------------------------Pontius(7.4)3rd---
-----------------Bedoya(8.4)4th----Bedoya(7.9)3rd
--Morrow(7.8)3rd-----------------------------------Thompson(7.5)3rd
---------------Opara(8.5)2nd--------Robinson(8.1)3rd
----------------------------Clark(8.5)MOTM--------------

Player of the Week: Clark Opara Bedoya
U23 Player of the Week: Robinson Trusty Trusty

MOTM: Clark Rodriguez
Goals: Lima Opara Picault Roldan
Assists: Baird Bedoya NBesler Bradley Castillo Fernandez Lade Pontius Rodriguez
PK Save: Clark
Drawn PK: Acosta
Dribbles: Corona 4 Sinovic 3 Sweat 3 Picault 3 DJones 3 Baird 3 Thompson 3
Key Passes: Rodriguez 4 Lletget 3 Pontius 3 Ibarra 3 Lima 3
Last Man Tackle: Hagglund Trusty

Honorable Mention:
GK: Rowe(7.7)1st Westberg(7.5)5th Cropper(7.4)1st Richey(7.4)2nd Guzan(7.3)5th Willis(7.0)3rd Miller(7.0)6th
LB: Lima(7.6)2nd Gaddis(7.2)7th Parkhurst(7.0)8th
CB: Hagglund(7.5)1st Trusty(7.5)5th Trusty(7.5)8th Long(7.1)4th Zimmerman(7.1)4th
RB: Gaddis(7.3)10th Nerwinski(7.0)4th LAM: Baird(7.0)1st
CM: Roldan(7.6)2nd Nagbe(7.5)4th Delgado(7.4)6th McCarty(7.3)2th Bradley(7.3)8th
Davis(7.2)2nd Yueill(7.2)6th Mihailovic(7.0)4th
RAM: Pontius(7.4)3rd FW: White(7.2)2nd RF: Arriola(7.4)6th

 

Three blowout losses in the last four.

 

Rodriguez - 4 goals and 1 primary assist in 5 starts on the left.
Yueill has done well in his two starts at lone d-mid for San Jose.
Opara - probably a top-4 CB in the pool. Age profile and scant NT experience may limit his opportunities, however.
Picault - looks to have found his footing in the Union's new, winger-less system, though he is probably better on the wings.
Lima - looks to found his footing as a left-back in San Jose's new system.
Bedoya - at the very least, should be a lock for the GC roster. He may not have the friendship points, though.
Nagbe - ditto
Trusty - looks to have found form in the Union's new system.
Robinson - is in a great situation. He and Trusty will make great anchors for the team in U-23 Olympic Qualifying.

 

Lima's coach might have done him a big favor with the left back move. He might be able to win a starting job with the national team at that spot. Would GB then invert his fullback tucking in plan and have the left back do instead of the right back if Lima is there?

 

Lima looks to have been integrated at RB with the National Team.

 

Long, suffering a hamstring injury, had to be helped off the field. Brooks, hit by a mcl injury, is set to miss the last two matches of the B1 season.

Maybe Opara gets a look in.

 

Ouch. Are they at risk for Gold Cup?

 

I've been wondering if GB felt there was something magic about the RB being the libero instead of the LB.

 

Probably so.

 

probably just because it's so much harder to find a decent left back that he has more choices at right back. Lima would be interesting because as a right back he played well although against lesser competition. Now his coach is transitioning him at left back and so would know the principles involved in sliding inside but it would be from the other side. I would actually like it better if left or right could do it based on the situation.

 

Thank you for these, and the WS updates.

 

Yueil hasn't played any games as a lone dmid as far as I know. Godoy is the 6.

 

I stand corrected, Friedel sacked before the game.

 

I imagine there are very few teams as frustrating to be a fan of as the New England Revolution.

I mean, I know that my FCD management isn't going to spend money. But at least I know they have a plan (build thru the academy, bring in cheap South American talent etc.). It might not work, but I can respect the mission.

I don't see any semblance of mission statement or business plan from the Revs that indicates how they plan on building a contender. Their primary means of player acquisition has been to grab players off the MLS scrap heap. Sometimes that works with great success (Lee Nguyen for instance), and maybe that's why they're in the position they are now.

And they DIDN'T cash in on their homegrown star Diego Fagundez, and he's now stalled badly.

It just seems..............................soulless. I know that sounds harsh. I've thought the same about the Rapids over the last years, but there's some kind of a pulse there. I do see a lot a signals that the Rapids want to head in the FCD/RSL/Philly/NYRB homegrown direction. You don't have to spend gazillion dollars to be a playoff team in MLS. That's been demonstrated. So if the Revs aren't going to invest big in first team players, at least invest in the academy. And I don't see that either.

 

I don't normally support promotion / relegation because I realize with the money teams paid to get into MLS it's never going to happen. However, a few teams have such little ambition it would be nice if the demotion aspect could light a fire under them. I've always felt that Kraft just has a team because it will increase in value because of the work of other teams and he has stadium dates that are empty in the summer.

 

Here is a list of teams who have won a Supporters Shield or MLS Cup trophy:

Atlanta United (2018 MLS Cup)
Chicago Fire (1998 MLS Cup; 2003 Supporters' Shield)
Columbus Crew (2008 MLS Cup; 2004, 2008, 2009 Supporters' Shield)
DC United (4 MLS Cups; 4 Supporters' Shield)
NY Red Bulls (2013, 2015, 2018 Supporters' Shield)
Toronto FC (2017 MLS Cup; 2017 Supporters' Shield)
Colorado Rapids (2010 MLS Cup)
FC Dallas (2016 Supporters' Shield)
Houston Dynamo (2006, 2007 MLS Cup)
LA Galaxy (5 MLS Cups; 4 Supporters' Shields)
Portland Timbers (2015 MLS Cup)
RSL (2009 MLS Cup)
San Jose Earthquakes (2001, 2003 MLS Cup; 2005, 2012 Supporters' Shield)
Seattle Sounders (2016 MLS Cup; 2014 Supporters' Shield)
Sporting KC (2000, 2013 MLS Cup; 2000 Supporters' Shield)

Of the 14 teams that have been around for at least a decade, here is a list of teams who have never won a Supporters Shield or MLS Cup trophy:

New England Revolution (0)

 

Given what I know generally about recovery times for hamstrings and MCL strains (assuming it's on the more minor end), then Long would be more in doubt than Brooks.

 

And yet, only DC and LA have appeared in more Cup Finals. The Galaxy snatched the trophy out of their hands on three occasions.

 

They "almost win trophies" just like they "almost" build soccer stadiums and "almost" signed Ronaldinho...

The biggest problem with the New England Revolution isn't the coach. It's the owners, Bob and Jonathan Kraft. If they aren't serious about their team, they should sell it to someone who would be.

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