North American Pro Soccer 2018

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I'm petty so I'm salty about the Timbers/Sounders score. Good that we got the away goal; bad that we fell apart for 30 minutes.

 

It was nice to see Roman Torres playing again. He really helped stabilize things. And I would have put Harry Shipp in because he has a knack for goals.

 

Thursday will sure be exciting.

[Red Wolf]

4 hours ago, Digby said:

Also not to encourage violent pitch invaders but if Precourt managed to show up I hope someone might jump him at midfield as he walks out to lift the trophy.

Maybe not that far, but it would be the one time I was okay with fans throwing things on the field.

 

1 hour ago, DG_Now said:

I'm petty so I'm salty about the Timbers/Sounders score. Good that we got the away goal; bad that we fell apart for 30 minutes.

 

It was nice to see Roman Torres playing again. He really helped stabilize things. And I would have put Harry Shipp in because he has a knack for goals.

 

Thursday will sure be exciting.

If you weren't petty then it would mean you weren't a fan. I'd be salty as hell right now if Rimando hadn't lost his mind last night and gifted Sporting an away goal.

[Kramerica Industries]

It really should be a choice given to the higher-ranked team if they would rahter have the first leg at home, or the second leg. It's generally considered an advantage to have the second leg at home, but that's not a universal constant. I can think of plenty of cases where, for a team I'm rooting for, given a certain opponent, I would rather play the first leg at home and the second leg away. Certainly, if you don't get a good away result, then all the pressure is on you when you come home and that's not a comfortable feeling for the players and fans alike. Commentators like to talk about how players feed off the energy of their fans? I'm sure the opposite is true as well. 

 

I had a second paragraph getting typed out talking about the MLS playoff format in general, and perhaps some ways of making it better...but I've decided against that. While it's not perfect (and, truthfully, no format anywhere is truly "perfect" and the MLS one isn't too different from the Champions League format anyway), I'm not sure what other ways there are to make it better that wouldn't create massive logistical issues. 

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

3 hours ago, Kramerica Industries said:

I had a second paragraph getting typed out talking about the MLS playoff format in general, and perhaps some ways of making it better...but I've decided against that. While it's not perfect (and, truthfully, no format anywhere is truly "perfect" and the MLS one isn't too different from the Champions League format anyway), I'm not sure what other ways there are to make it better that wouldn't create massive logistical issues. 

 

Better would be to make all rounds single-elimination, played at the home of the higher seed.  This would make the regular season more meaningful by giving each finishing place a unique value.  As it stands now, there is no difference between finishing no. 5 and no. 6, or between no. 3 and no. 4, or between no. 1 and no. 2. 

Also, it would provide a clear advantage in the playoffs to the higher-seeded team, as the playing of two-legged ties all but eliminates this advantage.

Finally, playing all rounds as single matches would allow the playoffs to end a few weeks earlier and not drag into December, where the risk of bad weather is much greater.

The concrete advantages of a playoff system consisting only of single-elimination matches are many. One can cite the disadvantage of there being a greater possibility of a chance event deciding a single match than a two-legged tie.  But if a single match is acceptable for the MLS Cup Final, despite the theoretical possibility of a fluke goal deciding matters, then surely it is acceptable for the conference finals and conference semifinals.

Of course, the real reason that the MLS playoffs contain two rounds of two-legged ties has nothing to do with the competition.  The reason is to give more teams home games.  Up until the latest revision of the playoffs a few years ago, the stated intent was to give a home game to every playoff team.  The league has abandoned that absolutist approach, as right now seeds no. 5 and 6 are not guaranteed a home game.  Having taken that step, the league should drop two-legged ties altogether.

[WJMorris3]

Personally, I'm in favor of a modified Page-McIntyre system in each conference, but that's just me.

[lordsketor]

1 hour ago, willmorris said:

Personally, I'm in favor of a modified Page-McIntyre system in each conference, but that's just me.

Page-McIntyre system is the Australian AFL Finals format....But I wouldn't apply to American Sports.

[WJMorris3]

46 minutes ago, lordsketor said:

Page-McIntyre system is the Australian AFL Finals format....But I wouldn't apply to American Sports.

Not quite.

[GDAWG]

 

[Digby]

On 11/5/2018 at 8:08 PM, willmorris said:

Personally, I'm in favor of a modified Page-McIntyre system in each conference, but that's just me.

 

That's an interesting idea. In a way it's preserving the idea of "good team gets a bye", but moves that bye to later in the playoffs (and requires a playoff win). 

 

I used to think any hope of revamping the playoffs would be DOA because a better system would almost certainly require fewer games. But seeing how "meh" the attendance has been for playoff games, I wonder if even that wouldn't be a problem.

 

The more I think about it, the more I think the current bracket setup is fine -- just move it to the NFL model and do one game a piece. Top teams get an extra week after the season ends. if the six seed never gets a home game, so what? Be better next year.

[Red Wolf]

8 hours ago, GDAWG said:

 

I still refuse to believe this team exists until I see them complete a full game of soccer on an actual soccer field. There’s just been too many starts and stops with this thing. 

[Kaz]

16 minutes ago, Red Wolf said:

I still refuse to believe this team exists until I see them complete a full game of soccer on an actual soccer field. There’s just been too many starts and stops with this thing. 

They'll still need approval from 4 of the 5 city commissioners, and two of them are pretty dead set on saying "no".  Flipping one of those votes to "yes" may be the biggest hurdle in this whole thing - well other than the whole cleaning up a massive site full of toxic waste thing.

[MJWalker45]

1 hour ago, Kaz said:

They'll still need approval from 4 of the 5 city commissioners, and two of them are pretty dead set on saying "no".  Flipping one of those votes to "yes" may be the biggest hurdle in this whole thing - well other than the whole cleaning up a massive site full of toxic waste thing.

Bring in Trust fund Tony! He can make a bunch of no's turn into yes. (sarcasm)

[TBGKon]

Not sure if I saw this said here, but it appears FC Dallas will field the 10th and final USL League One squad for its inaugural season.

 

https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2018/11/fc-dallas-to-field-usl-league-one-squad-in-2019/

[Corvus]

Whitecaps hire Marc Dos Santos as head coach. I already like him twice as much as Robinson. 

[WJMorris3]

10 hours ago, Digby said:

 

That's an interesting idea. In a way it's preserving the idea of "good team gets a bye", but moves that bye to later in the playoffs (and requires a playoff win). 

 

I used to think any hope of revamping the playoffs would be DOA because a better system would almost certainly require fewer games. But seeing how "meh" the attendance has been for playoff games, I wonder if even that wouldn't be a problem.

 

The more I think about it, the more I think the current bracket setup is fine -- just move it to the NFL model and do one game a piece. Top teams get an extra week after the season ends. if the six seed never gets a home game, so what? Be better next year.

Yeah, my idea goes as follows for each conference; winners play for the Cup.

 

MD1: (A) 5 v 6

MD2: (B) 2 v 3; (C) 4 v WA

MD3: (D) 1 v WB, (E) LB v WC

MD4: (F) LD v WE

MD5: (G) WD v WF

[Brian in Boston]

Quote

I still refuse to believe [Inter Miami CF] exists until I see them complete a full game of soccer on an actual soccer field. There’s just been too many starts and stops with this thing. 

 

Quote

They'll still need approval from 4 of the 5 city commissioners, and two of them are pretty dead set on saying "no".  Flipping one of those votes to "yes" may be the biggest hurdle in this whole thing - well other than the whole cleaning up a massive site full of toxic waste thing.

In point of fact, two of Miami's five city commissioners have already said, "no". 

In July, city commissioners Wilfredo "Willy" Gort and Manolo Reyes voted against even placing on this past Tuesday's ballot the referendum question that would grant Miami municipal officials the approval to negotiate a 99-year lease with Inter Miami CF's investor/operators for city-owned land (currently site of the International Links Miami - Melreese Country Club) upon which the soccer club would then build a stadium and adjacent commercial complex.  

On Monday of this week, Gort and Reyes both told the Miami Herald that nothing had swayed their opinion on the referendum since their July vote and that they hoped the referendum would fail at the ballot box.

Gort told the newspaper, "It's a bad deal. It's a real estate deal, and they're using the stadium as a hook."

Reyes added, "If they want a stadium, they should go buy land and build a stadium."

Which at least implies that the two commissioners likely voted - albeit, as private citizens - against Tuesday's Inter Miami CF referendum question. 

That being the case, one would think that said 99-year agreement is going to have to represent an awfully sweet deal for the City of Miami in order to get Gort and Reyes to do an about-face and actually sign-off on the lease. Either that, or an awfully sweet deal for Gort and Reyes.     

[MJWalker45]

1 hour ago, Brian in Boston said:

 

In point of fact, two of Miami's five city commissioners have already said, "no". 

In July, city commissioners Wilfredo "Willy" Gort and Manolo Reyes voted against even placing on this past Tuesday's ballot the referendum question that would grant Miami municipal officials the approval to negotiate a 99-year lease with Inter Miami CF's investor/operators for city-owned land (currently site of the International Links Miami - Melreese Country Club) upon which the soccer club would then build a stadium and adjacent commercial complex.  

On Monday of this week, Gort and Reyes both told the Miami Herald that nothing had swayed their opinion on the referendum since their July vote and that they hoped the referendum would fail at the ballot box.

Gort told the newspaper, "It's a bad deal. It's a real estate deal, and they're using the stadium as a hook."

Reyes added, "If they want a stadium, they should go buy land and build a stadium."

Which at least implies that the two commissioners likely voted - albeit, as private citizens - against Tuesday's Inter Miami CF referendum question. 

That being the case, one would think that said 99-year agreement is going to have to represent an awfully sweet deal for the City of Miami in order to get Gort and Reyes to do an about-face and actually sign-off on the lease. Either that, or an awfully sweet deal for Gort and Reyes.     

Isn't another part of the problem that when they've tried to purchase land in the past that someone keeps blocking the sales? 

[Red Wolf]

Seattle-Portland is exceeding the hype right now. What a frikkin game.

[FiddySicks]

I HATE the :censored:in shootout, man. 

[Wings]

Yes!!!!!! What a match.