Count me as concerned about southern states lack of ability to effectively manage just about anything. For f sake, if Clemson's policies and procedures and layers of staff don't protect their NCAA Div 1 Football revenue-producing human capital (where many player have a near-dedicated support staff, including people whose main JOB it is to protect the health and well being of their "assets")... ...then there is NO way the lesser-valued human capital of enterprises like MLS will be truly and adequately protected. In all, 23 Clemson football players tested positive for COVID-19.https://t.co/baGAAD79cy— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 20, 2020
This whole thing is completely un-sane! As much as we wish it would all just go away and we go back to normal, it ain't gonna happen, not for a long while. We all miss sports and everything else in regular life, but by forcing things and wishing it away, it will only be worse and prolong this thing even more. 120,000 people died. How many more do we need? And some people are all upset because authorities tell them to wear a freakin' mask...
MLS, not mention the NBA need to drop the Orlando plan and stay the heck out of there. Having the players live in a 'bubble' in a highly-infected area, as opposed to live a more normal, though cautious, existence in a low-infected area is a bad plan for lots of reasons. I understand the Disney/ESPN offer has a lot of tantalizing features, but if things go bad, the whole plan could be a disaster. They should go someplace like Rochester - or even a place like the Mass Soccer training center in Lancaster, and set up facilities for a quality tv production. Or, some college fields that are currently unused - like Harvard or BC facilities. It doesn't have to be anything big, since there will be no attendance. The biggest challenge is probably 'hospitality', so maybe using college facilities to house players, since most colleges now have apartment-style student housing that could work for players with families.
Well, I disagree a bit. I think with the college football programs is that the student-athletes went home for the summer (and probably earlier, as schools shut down), so the coaches had less control of what the athletes were doing, who they were hanging out with, what summer jobs they might have, what kind of safety measures they were taking, their living arrangements, etc. So, I don't think those factors have much in common with a pro league where they vast majority of players who are already living independently (with the younger guys, especially domestic players, living in the area where they play). Though, I guess a similar issue is there for foreign players, particularly those from hot spots like Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Chile, Peru, ... and, though kind of under-reported, Central America.
I thought the same thing when these plans were announced. It's a comparable and almost as bad a plan as "let's put them all on a cruise ship, cause what could go wrong there?"
I think you might be on to something. Instead of sending all the players to various party centers around the country (Orlando, Vegas, why not Miami Beach); use college facilities. For example, Montreal could go to UVM, the Revs to Dartmouth, the Red Bulls to Rochester, etc. Most of these smaller division 1 schools have an airport nearby that can handle planes that can carry soccer teams. Give the teams the chance to pick their area. If the teams go to areas where there is very little, if not zero, current covid19 activity, that will further protect the players.
Revs' Kessler makes the list: 10 breakout candidates for the MLS is Back Tournament June 22, 2020 10:10AM EDT Greg Seltzer
More Group C news: Jozy can only train in isolation for next 2 weeks. Toronto FC's Jozy Altidore returns to Canada, can re-join team training after two weeks June 22, 2020 7:03PM EDT Ian Quillen
Armchair Analyst: Eastern Conference position battles ahead of MLS is Back Tournament June 23, 2020 11:08AM EDT Matthew Doyle All 14 Eastern Conference teams covered here. Revs battle is at LM: Bunbury vs Penilla. With Gil back, one of them has to sit. I like Bunbury in the supersub role, so I'd start CP.
I agree, but I think the bigger battles are in the defense - particularly cdef with 4 viable candidates for 2 spots (Kessler, Farrell, Delamea and Mancienne) and left back (Buttner, Jones, Sinovic). Bye seems to have a spot, unless Arena moves Farrell back there to get more of his vets in the lineup. And, of course, who pairs with Zahibo in dmid?
One of those CBs might also be in the mix to fill the void left by Caicedo's injury. I'd be interested to see a 3-4 game long Kessler-at-DMID experiment.
Kessler has played his entire career (I'm counting college and pros) at center back. I'm not sure I would screw with him by trying him in a different position. I would try Mancienne there first. As for left back I would go with Buttner and I would put Jones at Left Mid. I really like the kids on this team. The one thing that BA does that worries me is how he likes to play the veterans. I think that we have a solid group of youngsters.
San Jose Earthquakes are the first team to arrive in Orlando for MLS is Back, which starts two weeks from today.
Our schedule: July 9: Montreal vs. New England, 8 p.m. (TUDN, TVA Sports, TSN) July 16: D.C. vs. New England, 8 p.m. (FS1, TUDN, TSN) July 21: Toronto vs. New England, 9 a.m. (ESPN/ESPN Deportes, TSN)
Full match schedule and TV info unveiled for MLS is Back Tournament June 24, 2020 3:00PM EDT MLSsoccer staff
Supposedly an unnamed Revs player has tested positive. He is expected back in time for the the tournament start.
Third place team in Group A (group of 6) now has automatic advancement to round of sixteen, while the 4th place team is eligible for one of the 3 wild cards. MLS updates Round of 16 qualification process for MLS is Back Tournament June 24, 2020 7:41PM EDT MLSsoccer staff
That has always been BA's achilles heel.... just a profound reluctance to go with a very promising youngster when there is a decent/adequate veteran at hand. You need reliable pieces, but you also need to have an open eye and mind for that player who can elevate a team and not just be "serviceable".
I think Steve Nicol had the same issue. He did play young guys, but rarely when there was a serviceable veteran available in the position. I actually think smart coaches realize that there's a component of keeping the squad on board. It's all well and good to talk about how important it is to have competition for playing time, but benching a veteran over a young guy is a real challenge to team harmony. Coaches need to be really sure about making a change like that, because the fall-back means relying on the guy who was snubbed and may now be feeling a lot more cynical. I think because of the potential blow-back in team chemistry, the young guy needs to not only be better, but better by a good margin. It's a lot easier to tell a young guy he needs to be patient and keep working, than it is to tell a long-time starter that he has to sit in favor of some young kid (that's going to have him immediately re-considering his future).
Agreed. I feel the decision-making considerations you describe are very applicable to a team that has been settled/stable for some length/period of time, where veteran roles are more entrenched. However, the Revs are just now (maybe!) coming out of a long period of upheaval/instability/underperforming, as well as significant roster churn (and throw in COVID and the disruption to the whole competition) >> Within that dynamic, there's more than enough leeway for a coach to mix it up and continue to aggressively experiment with the talent on the field, veteran or not >> Also - my sense is that a fair amount of veterans (especially those positions where competition is a possibility) have been off-and-on starters anyways, as opposed to full-time starters. >> As a veteran, being part of the competition for a spot on the field (if you aren't already a fixture in that spot) isn't the same mentally as opposed to if you were a veteran-long-time-starter being replaced by a "rook". If the Revs were a much more settled team/roster, I'd wholeheartedly agree that Bruce would need to tread much more carefully to avoid upsetting an apple-cart. >> I hope they get to that point - it would be good to see this thing settle onto the rails for an extended period. It's been off the rails for far too long.
As someone that has spent the last 6 years living in the county that has the most confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state of Georgia: Please help me convince my wife to let us move back to Massachusetts!
MLS is Back Tournament mega preview: How all 26 clubs are shaping up June 29, 2020 9:05AM EDT MLSsoccer staff New England:
probably not too far off. I would venture to guess Bunbury , Rowe or Scotty could get a look at a starting spot as well
So it looks like our first game is available on TV in Spanish, or on a Twitter stream. Does anyone have experience with the quality of a Twitter stream on a device larger than a cell phone? I'm trying to decide if I want to watch the spanish language broadcast, or watch on twitter. Watching either and listening on the radio is not an option (A out of sync, B what does Brad add other than Rah Rah?).