Post-match: Crewsgiving 2026: Rydström or Die! - Crew @ Portland - Match 1 - 2/21/26 10:30 PM

Or, if you're like me, you don't even tune in for those 3 minutes. I get all my Crew news from you folks.

 

My only criticism of what the league is doing this this regard is that - near as I can tell - there's no season previous or pre/post-game show or content displaying n Apple TV for me. The MLS website says that on Apple TV you can see "all matches and exclusive MLS programming," but all I'm seeing are the matches. I'm sure they'll have their usual suspects in studio during all match halftimes, but there really should be a season preview of some sort and a weekly pre-game and post-game (for all games) wrap each week.

Maybe I'm just not seeing it.

 

Apple has been a real mixed bag. The actual game production is the best in league history, period.

All other content kinda sucks, and this deal seems to have killed Extratime and other MLS coverage, which is mindbogglingly dumb. Unforgivable.

As far as written coverage goes, people just don't read anymore and podcasts are the new talk radio. If it's not on Twitter or in podcast form, it doesn't matter.

 

You are a gentleman and a scholar. And we adore you.

Go Crew.

 

A thing that marks MLS differently from other sports in the media is that its main media partner doesn't have a large sports channel that can run previews and gossip. There is Fox, but its FS1 station gets less daytime talk viewers than 97.1 gets listeners. CBS might cover MLS the best out of the big networks + ESPN.

So there is no MLS Today on ESPN that would preview 2 teams a day in lead up to the season. However, if MLS produced it and out it on Apple, it would get 200k views?

 

I expect to see something safe, even with the timbers being toothless.
Edit: I forgot how to count.

Schulte
Herrara, Moreira, Camacho, Malte
Sean, Taha, chambost
Rossi, Abou Ali (or thiare due to turf), Arfsten

Could look like a back 5 or back 4. Rossi will play more second striker. I dont think Chambost will be here by december. Not sure hes the right guy in this system.

 

shut up you stupidface

 

Pretty much all of this.

likely borderline playoff team with a new coach and system flies 3 time zones away to play another likely borderline playoff team in a league where home-field advantage means something.

DOOM! 1-2 bad guys

 

Maybe true with the writers but they also seem to be doing OK outside of MLS owned channels. Bogart for example has a pretty high subscriber count on soccer wise.

Also I'm more mad about Mls getting rid of fantasy. They never marketed it at all and have now outscored it to some shitty 3rd party that costs money.

However sofascore stepped in an is already higher in subscriber count than Mls was in their own app last year

 

I disagree somewhat on the production. Yes, the picture quality (depending on your streaming) is excellent. But the replays (or lack thereof), and the timing on the replays (if they show the replay) is terrible. Also, the camera angles on the replays for offsides is also poor. The announcing is so-so.

 

This is not unlike the regional channels. People tune in for the games, of course, but the filler material is just that.

Fox has a long way to go if they want FS1 to be anywhere near ESPN.

 

There's two ways to improve it:
1) Give every stadium a particular set of announcers. When that stadium hosts a game, that announcing team works.

2) Give us the away radio broadcasts like what was originally announced, IIRC.

 

4 points from these 2 road games to open the season would be fine. With SKC up next, that seems reasonable. SKC’s roster to open the season is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. They have 20 players under contract right now and 4 are goalkeepers! And none of the goalkeepers are any good! It’s pretty wild.

 

This year the production will be done in London by right proper football directors. I expect replays to be spot on. That shouldn’t leave anything else to complain about.

 

Based on Arace's interview with Rydström, it seems awfully likely that what we'll see this weekend will look a lot like what we saw the last time Nancy had this general group of players to pick from. My guess, then, is:

Schulte

Herrera Moreira Zawadzki Amundsen Arfsten

Chambost Habroune

Gazdag Abou Ali Rossi

With Herrera and Arfsten playing their traditional wingback role.

He seems like Taha, and I think many of us in here have been wanting to see more of him.

 

Yeah id amend my post to this. Could see gazdag on the bench. Based primarily on what IW said.

 

Yep. Maybe with Habroune in that role? And I have no idea what Rydström thinks about a player like Picard, I assume our latest U-22 signing isn't here yet or, even if he is, isn't close to being adjusted to our system.

If Gazdag doesn't start, though... I mean, the situation simply isn't tenable. We can't afford to have a fully fit DP sitting on the bench.

 

If they are all healthy...there's no way Gazdag, Ali, and Rossi do not start. Remember the last time they were on the field we scored 5 goals in 45 minutes. That was the last time those 3 were on the field at the same time.

 

To add some more info from the interview, Taha has played "60 minutes," and wessam "has been getting his minutes in." There is a chance we see neither this saturday.

And RE that atlanta game, stuff has come out about Atlanta and Ronny Deila. Porter esque. Maybe they weren't trying too hard

 

I will take a shot at the lineup: 343. It may play more 352 at times with Gazdag or Rossi sliding back into a #10 & the other joining Ali up too. Habroune could also sneak into a similar role if Zawadzki or Bangoura partner Chambost in MF.

Still think we need some legit height at CB, more bite AND class in CM, and one more legit attacking threat. I am not optimistic Gazdag is it, but it would hard to be worse than last year. Likewise Picard with no end product.

I foresee 7th-10th range at the break. Maybe 5th-6th if things go well.

-------------------Schulte---------------
---Moreira---Zawadzki---Amundsen---
Herrera---Habroune---Chambost---Arfsten
-----Gazdag------Abou Ali------Rossi-------

 

Based on how open rydstrom was with arace, im believing him when he says someone is good to go

 

@eboe here is your American Soccer Analysis preview. Eliot McKinley acknowledged that he knows more now about the team than he knew when he wrote it. https://www.americansocceranalysis.com/home/2026/2/15/2026-mls-previews-columbus-nashville-seattle

 

A couple of week one power rankings are in:

Paul Tenorio in The Athletic has us 13th.

As does Sam Jones on the league website (an actual human being producing content there):

Matt Doyle has us as 11th: https://tacticsfreezone.ghost.io/my-first-power-rankings-vote-of-the-2026-mls-season/

I'm sure there are others out there. Seems pretty fair to me.

 

and 10:30 am Saturday here in Thailand