Oh, not that it was in much doubt, but the results have set it up so that if Miami wins the head to head on Wednesday, they clinch the Shield. A draw would still leave the door slightly ajar for the Galaxy.
It was pointed out elsewhere, but: Crew fans in 2023: "What's the shield really mean, FCC?" Crew fans in 2024: "If we beat Miami, win out and they stumble vs New England..."
I think there are two differences: 1) The main reason most of us are interested isn't the trophy itself, it's preventing Miami from getting a data point for the Club World Cup spot 2) Crew fans aren't going to claim a league championship if we win the Shield and then lose in the playoffs
And if you win it that means your having home field advantage throughout the playoffs. On another thought FCC has a brutal schedule and might not get more than 3 points total @NYCFC Orlando @Philly
Pertaining to the Club World Cup, I know that venues were just announced. But theres still no TV deal. And thats a pretty enormous piece of the puzzle still missing. On the Total Soccer Show podcast in the last week or so, a journalist on there from the Guardian predicted that the CWC doesnt happen next summer. Theres just still too much left to do, too much player consternation, too much probable fan ambivalence, for it to seem like this thing is going to happen as FIFA hopes. Seeing the Columbus Crew take on Real Madrid et al in a game that kind of means something could still be far off, or something that never happens, unfortunately.
MLS Cup is the number one trophy. Period. That's always been the case, and it's still the case even while we're contending for the Shield. We're doing math on the Shield because it's the only trophy available for winning RIGHT NOW.
Wednesday, 10/2: ATL 1:2 MTL CLT 4:3 CHI NYC 3:2 CIN ORL 2:1 PHI TOR 1:4 RBNY CLB 2:3 MIA HOU 2:1 NE NSH 3:4 DC Team Points Wins GD (GR, Max) MIA 68 20 +25 (2, 74) CLB 57 16 +26 (3, 66) CIN 56 17 +11 (2, 62) ORL 49 14 +8 (2, 55) ----------------------------------------- NYC 47 13 +5 (2, 53) RBNY 47 11 +7 (2, 53) CLT 45 12 +4 (2, 51) MTL 40 10 -16 (2, 46) TOR 37 11 -20 (1, 40) ------------------------------------------ PHI 37 9 +9 (2, 43) DC 37 9 -12 (2, 43) ATL 34 8 -5 (2, 40) NSH 33 8 -17 (2, 39) NE 31 9 -28 (3, 40) Miami win the Shield. Crew hang onto 2nd because Cincy loses in Charlotte. NYC, the Red Bulls and Charlotte all clinch with wins. Montreal help their cause tremendously with a win in Atlanta. Wow... Nashville had a 3-1 lead at home late. Benteke nets his 22nd of the season late, and then Gabriel Pirani scores a stoppage time brace to give DC a 4-3 comeback win. DC moves into a points tie for 9th and 10th, while Nashville blows a huge opportunity. Atlanta becomes TOAST. They'll likely need to win their remaining two matches, and even that doesn't guarantee them anything.
Well DC's comeback essentially means that Philly need a result Saturday. We will face them and future Messi down Camacho and Sean. Not to mention, Moreira had his hamstring wrapped and was struggling tonight. We might want to pack this one in. And for the shield 1841661263287366032 is not a valid tweet id
@LaMacchia : clinched the SS. I really hate to point this out, but if these standings hold, we’ll be playing Charlotte—our trap team who has the worst, injury-inducing turf in MLS—correct??
F**k. Well, the good news (if you want to call it that) is that we'll be playing the best of 3, with two home games.
Judging by the remaining SoS for the three teams below 4, Charlotte has the toughest and will likely remain trapped in 7th. DOOOOOMMM
Couldn't they just grab some random old lady out of the stands? It's incredibly fun-sized stupid that they have the biggest star in the world past Cucho, but they don't have an organized ISG. Then again, once he leaves, all those fanbois are gonna go back to their "MLS is weak trash" game. There's a difference between fans of a team and fans of a player.
Check that NYRB might. Crew could potentially face the red bulls 4 times in a row. We will do some mass speculating after Saturday. I'd take the red bulls over either of NYC or Charlotte. Montreal could magically jump up, but I don't see it.
Agreed, I would love to draw the Red Bulls over needing to play on the two worst fields in MLS. I have said for months that Charlotte is the team I least want to play in the opening round because they just hack people and it makes an already dangerous surface even more dangerous.
Charlotte and NYC would also come with some bad kickoff dates/times. Maybe the AL Central wins something for once and clears up the calendar for Yankee stadium.
Toronto lost in stoppage time 1-0 to Miami. They're basically done. They're the bye team on Decision Day, so their season is over. They're currently in the final wild card spot, but a single point for Philly or DC in two remaining games for both teams eliminates them.
Saturday, 10/5 TOR 0:1 MIA ATL 2:1 RBNY CLT 2:0 MTL CIN 1:3 ORL CLB 3:2 PHI NE 1:2 DC Team Points Wins GD (GR, Max) MIA 71 21 +26 (1, 74) CLB 60 17 +27 (2, 66) CIN 56 17 +9 (1, 59) ORL 52 15 +10 (1, 55) ----------------------------------------- CLT 48 13 +6 (1, 51) NYC 47 13 +5 (2, 53) RBNY 47 11 +6 (1, 50) DC 40 10 -11 (1, 43) MTL 40 10 -14 (1, 43) ------------------------------------------ TOR WHACKED PHI 37 9 +8 (1, 40) ATL 37 9 -4 (1, 40) NSH SCREWED NE ADIOS So... much to discuss. Miami's late goal in Toronto, along with other results, keeps Miami's hopes alive to break the MLS points record, and eliminates Toronto. New England falls to DC and falls out of contention. Nashville was idle today, but they're also eliminated as DC's win puts them out of reach. The Crew's win vs Philly and Orlando's win in Cincinnati have big ramifications. Not only do the Crew lock up the second spot in the East, but Cincinnati is now locked into third with no possibility of moving up or down. Meaningful Decision Day matchups: Charlotte @ DC NYC @ Montreal Cincinnati @ Philadelphia Atlanta @ Orlando NYC has two matches left. If they win both of them, they could jump up and take Orlando's home field advantage away from them. If they win both matches and Orlando draws against Atlanta on Decision Day, it would actually come down to goal differential. If Orlando beats Atlanta, they win the four seed. The bottom two spots are interesting. DC and Montreal are tied for 8th and 9th with 40 points and 10 wins. Philly and Atlanta both have 37 points and 9 wins. Meaning Philly and Atlanta could both force ties on both wins AND points. And oddly enough, the teams BELOW the line have the better GDs. Philly is the only team with a positive GD, so they would beat all three foes if it comes down to that. Atlanta would edge out DC and Montreal in such a scenario. And of course, DC and/or Montreal can avoid all this by just not losing. Oh, and for posterity's sake, Philadelphia Union are officially TOAST.
The galaxy scare me a bit. Think they are set up to really go up against our defensive shape and rotations.
Our next two still matter. We need to maximize points to retain MLS Cup hosting against all Western Conference opponents. Win out and we secure it. Might be possible to just win one, depending on results for the LAs.
Austin's season ends in disgrace with a dirty red card by Biro at the death. All the teams in the West are decided, and it's just down to positioning now. If the Crew win out, they finish with 66 points. LA would get to 67 with a win on Decision Day. So the Crew would need LA to falter against Houston to have the advantage.
You're right. I didn't realize I was looking at a live table when I wrote that. It was still a draw at that time.
LAG is in the West last I checked this is a playoff or Shield discussion. Has nothing to do with ECF playoff chase. But is a good topic and important factor. Miami could face DC/MTL/ Philly/ATL 1st round and then the 4/5 as of now is Red hot Orlando & Charlotte. The Crew potentially playing NYRB 2v7 and then the 3v6 winner FCC vrs NYC. Not sure all the scenarios but I definitely want to keep Orlando & Charlotte on the Miami half of the Bracket.Also would hope Philly or DC play Miami as MTL & ATL are not good enough to challenge them especially ATL.