Re: The Countdown Are you sure you wouldnt want to drop down a bit and take our act out west? The more I think about it, the better I think our chances are out there.
Re: The Countdown I actually thought this would be a good option for a lot of this season. Plus we get an all-East rivalry at MLS Cup because our chances out West are better. But the race for the eighth spot is cramped between three teams, so if we drop down that far there's a really good chance we drop out of the playoffs entirely. But we'll have to see if it's like the last two seasons where we have to play for the last spot this time around, maybe then it becomes a good idea.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown Ok then. So the reigning MLS Cup champions might not be in Superliga, but would be in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Vewwwy intwe'sting.
Re: The Countdown LOL! I LOVED THAT MOVIE! Henchman: Wait a minute we can't park here it's a handicap zone. Danny Vermin: Of course I'm handicaped. I'm pyschotic. And puts up that blue sign with the white drawing with a face doing the crazy action with his finger twirling near his head.
Re: The Countdown Oh yeah, I don;t mean to intentionally drop down. You are right, that's way to dangerous of a game. But if we just happen to slide to that spot, I wouldnt be dissappointed. I like our chances out west a bit better. But even in the East I think there is a silver lining. We are very good at home and suck on the road. If we can steal game one against either club, we can steal the series. We should have done against NE 2 seasons ago. Playing DC to a draw last season gave us a hell of a shot to advance last season. If you asked me, we should have. We outplayed them. The matter how poorly we are playing now (and we are, since July if you look at it) we will have a shot to win this thing in October.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown The Superliga last year didn't follow any format other than the teams expected to put together the biggest crowds or something. After all, where was NE? And why LA? And I haven't seen anything yet to indicate that it will be merit based this time around...
Magic Number is Eight Eight points in our remaining five matches will clinch a playoff spot, regardless of what the teams behind us do. That number of course will decrease further as the teams behind us fail to take maximum points in their remaining matches. My guess is that even if we were to drop all five remaining matches (which we won't), we would still back into the eighth playoff spot. RBPF?
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown Regardless of who we play in our last five games, I would feel much better taking points off playoff contenders (NE, DC, Chivas) versus the Columbus Crew and co. If we are to have any shot in October, it would be nice to put together a shut out streak (if not a winning streak), as well as stick with a settled back four, to boost our team's confidence.
The playoff race http://beta.mlsnet.com/standings/ Scroll down for single table playoff standings C-bus screwed themselves (& possibly hurt us, too) with that 93rd minute meltdown in KC.
Re: The playoff race KC is at Chivas-USA. So let's hope they will be a handful to the wizards. We also have to battle a demon in the Revs, so let's hope we can get 3 points on them as well.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown I think the goal shouldn't be making the playoffs, as of right now it should be to try and wrestle 2nd place away from NE and make enough points to get into Superliga next year. 5 Games Remain v. New England v. Real Salt Lake @ Toronto v. Kansas City @ Los Angeles 3 are against the 3 worst teams in MLS (LA, TFC, RSL) 3 are at home (NE, RSL, KC) We need at LEAST 9 points out of the last 5 games to hold off KC for 3rd place IMO. KC does have a pretty rough final schedule so 9 should be safety from them and avoid DC in the first round. The only way we catch NE is if we beat them and out point them by 6 in the final 4 games. We lose to NE on the 22nd and we wont catch them, we draw and it would be near immpossible. We need 12 out of 15 points in the final 5 games to challenge for a Superliga spot. DC, Chivas, Houston, and NE all have a sizable advantage on us. DC is out of reach, NE if we win is reachable, Chivas and Houston are reachable but we have to hope one of them stumbles a bit. Realisticly i think we manage 10 points 3W-1L-1D our last five and miss superliga and secure the 3rd seed in the east and we play NE in the playoffs. (which is better than DC at the moment).
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown Well all I can say is that they have to get healthy and quickly. Got to find a way to stop the Revs this Saturday. Got to think about them, before the rest of the schedule. Hopefully Chivas-USA can do us a favor.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown If we can start a run with a win against NE, all of the teams to follow are beatable. It is interesting to note that not one designated or high profile signing this season (save Abel Xavier) has been a defender. While the attacking play of playoff bound teams is a step above the rest of MLS, the level of defense between the teams in quite even. If we can get Jozy, Reyna, Mathis and co on the field at the same time, I like our chances against any team in the league. Now all we have to do is turn the goal backwards and bribe the ref.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown Chivas, Houston or FCD sound better than either Eastern choices to me. I would take the Superliga spot and the tough playoff road, but as soon as that seems out of reach, I am rooting for falling down the table so we go out west. I like our chances out there.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown I thought it was top 4. MLS Champions and the top 3? How are these Superliga spots dished out anyway?
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown It is top 4 overall at the end of the regular season, regardless of conference. (Think Champions League - EPL) I believe Garber announced this in an interview a while ago. The MLS cup champs go to CONCACAF Champions Cup with the SS still but that's it. Superliga is different.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown Actually it will be our first ever CONCACAF Champions Cup run for 2008 if we win the 2007 MLS Cup. Superliga is being in the top two of the conference standings at the end of the season.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown The strange thing about how the playoffs are run is that it is actually better to finish 4th than 3rd (or, arguably, 2nd). Let's assume that in a given conference, the team that finished first is clearly the best team there. You know that to get to MLS Cup you will need to beat them at some point. Would you rather... A) Play them in a single game at their stadium B) Play them in a home and home series Isn't "B" the obviously better choice? I would much rather play DC home and home (particularly given our excellent home record) and then NE in a single game at Foxboro rather than the opposite. That being said, I expect us to finish at least 3rd and possibly still 2nd, if we can beat NE this Saturday. Take a look at the rest of our games: RSL @TFC KC @LAG So it is KC at home and the worst three teams in the league. If we can finally get everyone healthy, we should be able to get 10 points from that group.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown the other side of this argument is that you're less likely to beat a better team over a 2 game series (as the better team has proven to be consistently better). you're more likely to hope to that your team will go balls out for 90 minutes and steal the win. i can see both sides. bottom line is that i honestly don't think home field gives a team that much of an advantage in MLS as opposed to europe.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown Uh, no. Is it the better choice? Debatable. Is it obvious? Not from where I'm standing.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown Well considering the fact that we have been pretty bad on the road a home and home is probably better for us. Win at home and tie on the road (that would win it on aggregate right?). If we get DC or NE then I dont see us getting past the first round.
Re: The (playoff race) Countdown let's also not forget the "crap shoot" philosophy bruce has instilled in the team. we have one good game followed up by a crap game. which is totally acceptable because its a crapshoot.