I imagine fans in DC had a similar reaction when Bruce went first to the Metro Stars and even worse the Galaxy and New England. Could you imagine Bruce's reaction if San Jose hired Lalas?
I was aware of that. But I believe it was more interesting that Lalas left (was fired) from his role at both the Galaxy and the Metro Stars/Redbulls before or just after Bruce started at both clubs. Was it a coincidence or part of Bruce's hiring agreement? i suspect the latter. San Jose's management is so screwed up, I could see something like that. Along with Bruce's reaction. "I will not deal with the blow-hard, idiot".
Didn't see this one coming: Gerardo Martino has resigned from Inter Miami, as of today. https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_...-coach-gerardo-martino-steps-personal-reasons
▪️ Club-record points (66)▪️ Club-record goals scored (72)▪️ Club-record wins (19)▪️ League-best point differential (+32)Wilfried Nancy is the 2024 MLS Coach of the Year. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/FcxhVyxSJ8— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 20, 2024 May this years playoffs become Vanney's disrespect revenge arc.
I mean, they aren't wrong. Nancy is the best coach in the league. But the other two picks were jokes and anything that the Galaxy can use to their advantage I am all for.
Or maybe it shows you how misleading the results of an unbalanced schedule can be, especially in a league with a lot of teams. Look at the MLS form guide. Outside of LAFC, they didn't do great against Western conference playoff teams or they didn't play them. They tied Minnesota, Portland, RSL and lost at home to Seattle. They didn't play the Galaxy, Colorado or Vancouver.
This is why now its hard to take the "Supporters Shield" crowd seriously. especially due to strength of conference. Sure the top of the East was strong, but how strong were they when apparently the rest of the East was so weak? the top Shield contenders in the East have all been knocked out. Meanwhile LA and LA are both in it.
Yeah the Supporter’s Shield doesn’t mean as much now with the league so big and so many teams not playing each other every season.
I agree about the Supporters Shield has lost whatever meaning it had (Sorry Sasha), Furthermore, when I look at the head to head matchups between the best teams in the west and the east, I am not sure that a case can be made that the east including the top 4 teams was all that strong. Of the top Eastern teams, Miami did the best. They beat RSL at home to open the season, tied the Galaxy on the road, tied Colorado at home and beat Vancouver on the road. Their 2 ppg average against the West was only slightly worse than their overall season average of 2.18 ppg. They did not play: LAFC, Seattle, Houston, Minnesota or Portland. Meanwhile, Cincy (the 3rd place team in the East and 5th in the Supporters Shield only played 3 of the 9 West teams to make the playoffs including the play-in game). They beat Colorado early in the season at home and beat the Loons late in the season on the road. They lost to LAFC even later at home. They did not play the Galaxy, RSL, Seattle, Houston, Vancouver, or Portland. Finally, Orlando (4th in the East and 9th in the SS), only played 2 of the 9 West playoff teams, Minnesota and LAFC and lost to them both.
Fun fact - the only team in MLS history to win balanced Supporter's Shields is the LA Galaxy (2010 and 2011, the only two years the league ever played a fully balanced schedule).
Watching NYCFC v NYRB, and I still chuckle. The team owned by a nation-state that’s bought half the Premier League titles over the last decade still plays in an obvious baseball stadium. I know they’re getting their own Etihad soon, so it’ll only be funny for a little while longer. (At least I’ll have Inter Ft. Lauderdale CF.) Also just realized both NY teams are part of a conglomerate of teams.