http://www.mlsnet.com/content/03/firstXI0325.html bradley's last entry is the funniest thing i've ever seen on Bigsoccer. i had to cover my mouth because i was laughing so lound.
Vintage Bradley. "9. ...if the Revs' decision to be lone wolves and not play any MLS teams in preseason was wise." Why did they do this? Another money saving decision? Nicol doesn't strike me as being an idiot. Revs Mgt on the othe hand.... "The Chicago Fire have 21 more goals in their five-year history than the KC Wizards have in their seven-year history ..." Geez. And those guys won an MLS Cup? That's some boring-ass soccer those guys play in KC. No wonder they brought in Wolff this year. Nice pic Treetaliano. Its funny because its so life-like.
7. Did anyone ever think of this? Last year, the Galaxy were the only team in MLS that won more than half its games (16). And San Jose (with 14 wins) was the only other team that even won half its games. I guess that's parity... Someone pointed this out at the end of last season as a reason they could never support MLS... My response: It is VERY hard to win over half of your games. In the 20 team EPL last year, only 4 (Arsenal, Liverpool, Man U and Newcastle) accomplished this. Other than that, great stuff once again. Edit: Only three teams are doing it now...
well, last year i *think* one team finally won 3 games in a row... although that might have only been in the playoffs i remember there being a big deal about teams not being able to win the third one... tie it or lose, not win it
My point was that any team that gets 1.5 points per game from their wins alone is going to be challenging for the title in any league on the planet...
huh? i'm not talking about placement in the league, i'm merely saying last year it was a big deal about no team winning 3 games in a row... in fact it was dubbed a curse
Good stuff again by Bradley. However, I do think some of his "surprising" stats aren't at all unexpected: 1) "The Columbus Crew, with 357 goals, have scored 25 more goals than any team in MLS history. Amazing" Yes, but remember one of the Crew's strengths has always been its depth and quality at the forward spot, with McBride, Cunningham, Buddle, West, Washington, and Stern John. 2) "The Chicago Fire have 21 more goals in their five-year history than the KC Wizards have in their seven-year history" Has Jeff watched many KC games? 3) "The MetroStars have been cautioned 407 times in seven years. That's 10 more yellow cards than the Revolution, their closest competitor in that category" With players like Petke, Jolley, and Hernandez, they didn't earn their nickname "MetroHacks" for nothing.
Liam sucks. Also, the Crew have indeed scored a large number of goals, but they have an annoying tendency to allow a large number of goals. Thus the lifetime record hovering right around .500 ...
Don't know. His comment is just a stat. The label for KC is "boring". How would anyone know? KC is never on TV except for visits to LA - yet another counter/possession 1-0 team. Ron Newman's teams were many things, boring wasn't among them. In '99 they were horrible, setting an MLS record at the time for most consecutive scoreless minutes, but at least the other team scored often. Come, 2000 they were fairly boring, but only because the defense played as flawless as can be expected. To complicate things, the team's only offense (Molnar) played at a Ruiz-like scoring pace but for only a half season due to Euro 2000 and injuries. Still a Cup title trumps boring well enough. In '01 and '02, KC was a team that created more opportunities than any other in MLS. Read that last sentence again... Hardly the stuff of a boring team. Offensively, immensely frustrating? Oh, yeah. KC's main problem during '01-02, among many, was a distinct lack of bite (worst finishing pct. in MLS) with the same emphasis on possession and defense. End result were two seasons of KC being blown out, or low scoring games. Outlook for '03 is brighter. Two huge holes were patched. KC mostly gave up aerial goals on set pieces. They added Conrad and have conceeded only twice in 765 pre-season minutes. The second hole was finishing. Wolff's addition has seemingly cured that while also creating space for everyone else on the field. KC has good wingers on both sides including Klein who noone can cover, Meola, depth, and the creativity of Preki and Simutenkov. KC has only lost players from last year's roster that had brutal seasons.