Michael Hopcroft Posted July 28, 2017 Report Share Posted July 28, 2017 The English Premier League season starts in two weeks (august 11th) and I figured it was time to start the thread for soccer of all varieties (Europe, MLS, the upcoming World Cup). I don't know how Simon feels about it, but if someone wants to bring up FIFA and the corruption therfein, I would not object. I'm seeing previews that say Chelsea is likely to repeat. Manchester United keeps bringing in forwards, which means fewer starts and less playing time for Marcus Radford (one of their brilliant young prospects). Meanwhile, Major League Soccer in the US has been actively recruiting aging European stars to bolster team rosters, and some of these players have rejuvenated their careers over here (Bastian Schweinsteiger in Chicago is the most recent example -- he is doing so well that he's been names Captain of the league's All-Star Team)). There are talent gaps between teams in MLS, but unlike in the EPL or Bundesliga they can be overcome. And the lack of relegations makes it easier to rebuild a team after a terrible season than it is in any other league in the world. (The league was offered $4 billion dollars recently, but a relegation/promotion system was a part of the deal. The league turned them down flat, because it would have made selling municipalities and investors on building new stadiums or revitalizing old ones an quixotic task if you're expensive stadium is going to be used a lot of the time by a second-tier team). I'm going to try to get Timbers tickets in the 2018 season if I can. I loved going to games. The atmosphere is like nothing else I've seen in sports in Portland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted July 28, 2017 Report Share Posted July 28, 2017 Two nights ago USA defeated Jamaica for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, 2-1, with the winner coming in the 88th minute. A very tight game, and the Jamaicans were never out of it. It was the first time I'd seen a goalkeeper injured in a game by a play that wasn't a collision (with either a player or a goalpost), when Jamaica's Andre Blake had to come out after a leaping stop of a laser shot, and then landing on that wrist suboptimally. I had the a ticket for the Sounders-Earthquakes game last Sunday but had to give it away; I was still dealing with an intestinal bug that meant I didn't dare go more than 15 feet from a toilet. A pity, too, as the Sounders won 3-0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted July 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2017 I had the a ticket for the Sounders-Earthquakes game last Sunday but had to give it away; I was still dealing with an intestinal bug that meant I didn't dare go more than 15 feet from a toilet. A pity, too, as the Sounders won 3-0. The MLS West is looking like it will have an interesting battle for the playoff positions. Seattle definitely is going to have to scrap and claw to get in. Portland would be in were the season to end today, but they have a serious talent gap as their Designated Players are not as elite as those on their biggest Western Conference rivals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted August 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2017 Brazilian forward Neymar will be playing his club football in France this season with Paris Sainte-Germaine (better known as PSG). The club, which is essentially owned by the government of Qatar, paid his former team (Barcelona) 220 million euros. and will be paying him a massive salary. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was not amused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted August 4, 2017 Report Share Posted August 4, 2017 Wotta waste, when they could've given it all to me. Twilight 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted August 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2017 Wotta waste, when they could've given it all to me. You wouldn't want it. There would be a lot of strings attached, like having to communicate only by quacking like a duck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted August 4, 2017 Report Share Posted August 4, 2017 I can do that! I'm better at Duck than Portuguese. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted August 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2017 Real Madrid got a nice additional tune-up this week in an exhibition against the MLS All-Star Team. They won on penalty kicks, but the MLS stars put up a strong showing. MLS is becoming a late-career destination for players from Europe, and many of them still have at least part of their own game. And clubs like the long-smoldering Chicago Fire are finding that even one key signing can be the difference between being competitive and otherwise. In addition, the talent base coming from the United States is improving. This is actually a pretty good time of year to be a soccer fan. MLS is having an exciting season, and the European leagues are about to start playing the games that count. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted August 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 The defending EPL champions. Chelsea, are down 3-0 at halftime at home to Burnley, a club that usually is in a relegation battle. Of course they are down a man after a questionable red card to their captain, Gary Cahill. But you have to give Burnley a lot of credit -- they are taking advantage and taking apart Chelsea's depleted defense with surgical precision. The season in England actually opened with an exciting Friday Night game with Arsenal hosting Leicester City. Ir was quite a game, with Arsenal scoring late to take the match 4-3. LC gave a very good account of themselves in a If the first weekend is any indication (and it usually isn't), offense might be making a resurgence in the EPL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted August 12, 2017 Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 Real Salt Lake are having a profoundly mediocre season, having drawn their last three matches. With 10 matches remaining, they sit at 8th in the Western Conference. How many teams get into the MLS Playoffs these days anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted August 12, 2017 Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 In about an hour from now Seattle hosts the Sporks, top team in the west. I'll be watching on the Spanish language station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted August 12, 2017 Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 SporKCs. I get it. That's funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted August 12, 2017 Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 1-0 Seattle. First place in the West (for a little while at leasr), and now 400 minutes since they last gave up a goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted August 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2017 I got to watch a couple of the matches from Europe today. I am frustrated with NBC Sports cutting substantially the number of on-demand EPL games available on the Roku app in a further effort to monetize their large investment. This may require me to change my viewing habits a bit and rely more on my DVR -- which is probably exactly the result NBC/Comcast prefers. I also got one of the Bundesliga (German top flight) matches, in which Bayern Munich utterly demolished a Werder Bremen side that looked downright hapless against them. The Bundesliga has a major problem, in that they have perhaps one of the best clubs in Europe, one of the world's bright young stars on another club, and very little else. Bayern simply can outspend the rest of the Bundesliga into oblivion -- the German championship is almost a given, and the goal is always the Champions League title. Nobody else in the domestic league is even close to them. Which oddly does not dampen attendance in most stadiums. Bremen's stadium was packed this morning even though they had lost 14 straight league games against Bayern and never really had a chance in this one. You'd think Germans fans outside Munich would have gotten fed up by now. In the English match, Manchester United managed to dominate a Leicester City team that bears little functional resemblance to the team that shocked the world by winning the Premier League in 2015. Most of the players are the same, but their morale and the quality of play is much lower. I got to see a goal from Marcus Rashford, a talented young homegrown striker who is continually overshadowed by the massively-paid players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic that United typically acquires in their bid to Win Everything Now. Rashford has a nose for goal, and must be getting demoralized at not being able to be a primary focus when he knows he is more than capable of it. In the relative sanity of Major League Soccer in the USA, the Sounders-Timbers rivalry renews tomorrow night. Portland and Seattle are both in playoff positions, and Portland has won its last two matches. Both teams could gain a lot with a win as the postseason approaches, and I expect a very interesting, hard-fought game. It's in Seattle, but there will no doubt be a large Timbers Army contingent at the stadium the Sounders share with the Seahawks of the NFL. These are the last two teams to win the championship, a lot is on the line, and it will be electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted August 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2017 In the relative sanity of Major League Soccer in the USA, the Sounders-Timbers rivalry renews tomorrow night. Portland and Seattle are both in playoff positions, and Portland has won its last two matches. Both teams could gain a lot with a win as the postseason approaches, and I expect a very interesting, hard-fought game. It's in Seattle, but there will no doubt be a large Timbers Army contingent at the stadium the Sounders share with the Seahawks of the NFL. These are the last two teams to win the championship, a lot is on the line, and it will be electric. And even though it was a draw, the match did not disappoint. The result, perhaps -- I would have loved to see a Portland win and the Timbers in first place -- but not the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted September 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 The Premier League has announced that the will be closing their Transfer Window earlier in 2018 so that players can't be transferred after the season starts. The Transfer Window is a global free-for-all, where players around the world are swapped among teams, usually with cash payments being sent to their old clubs (transfer fees this year have occasionally topped $100 million, and French club Paris St. Germain .created a furor by spending truly massive amounts for superstars like Neymar/ The club is pretty much owned by the government of Qatar). They then have to negotiate a contract with the player. Needless to say, if the season has just started and you are still buying and selling players, it distracts everyone -- players, managers and coaches, owners, and fans alike. Once the window ends, there can be no transfers until the next window opens several months afterwards. Trades are hard on American players, but at least they don't have to go to another country at the behest of ownership. Professional soccer players can be sent to different continents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted October 10, 2017 Report Share Posted October 10, 2017 After crushing Panama 4-0 last Friday, the US Mens National Team needs a win or draw against Trinidad & Tobago to nail down an appearance in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Trouble is, the game is in Trinidad, and a few storms have passed over that part of the world lately ... and it shows. It might be reasonable to delay that match, but we'll see. CONCACAF has played some matches in really silly conditions, including one that was grossly to the US's advantage, the infamous "Snow Game" in Denver against Costa Rica. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 USMNT lost 2-1 to T&T and will not be going to Russia for the World Cup. With all the nonsense going on between the USA and Russia right now, perhaps that is for the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 The only way this would be worse for Rupert Murdoch's companies is if England doesn't qualify either. Will anyone in America watch a World Cup with the USA absent? This is also a PR disaster for American soccer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 The only way this would be worse for Rupert Murdoch's companies is if England doesn't qualify either. Will anyone in America watch a World Cup with the USA absent?I will try, but not many outlets will carry it in the US. Univision probably will in any case ... I sure hope so, anyway. This is also a PR disaster for American soccer.Well, yeah. It calls into question the re-hiring of Bruce Arena as USMNT coach. I think it was clear that Klinsmann was out of ideas and no longer meshing well with the team, but I never was very happy with the choice of a second stint for Il Bruce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 Meanwhile, a founding MLS franchise looks to be moving purely due to owner greed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 MLS is trying to establish itself as a major North American sport? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 I think that is a long-term dream. Way too much must change before that becomes reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted October 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2017 Portland faces Houston Dynamo in the two-leg Western Conference semifinal next week. The series will be decided by aggregate goals, with away goals as the main tiebreaker (so if, say, Portland draws 1-1 in the first leg and the teams play to a scoreless draw at Portland ion the second leg, the Timbers scoring in Houston counts as the tiebreaker). If the two teams are still tied after the aggregate and away goals are taken into account, who advances will be decided on penalty kicks. The downside of this method is that, since the better team usually hosts the second leg, the matter is often pretty much settled in the first -- especially if the team lower in the bracked is completely outmatched and exits down both on total aggregate and on away goals by a near-insurmountable figure. This is similar to the position the Timbers were in in 2015, when they advanced over Sporting KC in an epic shootout before going on to win the title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted November 14, 2017 Report Share Posted November 14, 2017 U.S. Soccer: "We're the biggest World Cup qualifying disappointment!" Italy: "Hold my beer." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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