MLS Discussion Thread

[Suntan Superman]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

Well there was no more Minnesotan way for MNUFC to lose that one.

[bhurst99]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

Well there was no more Minnesotan way for MNUFC to lose that one.

Heart breaking loss for Minny. Looks like another title for Seattle.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

Heart breaking loss for Minny. Looks like another title for Seattle.

I wouldn't be handing them anything. Columbus is very good, playing their last game in their stadium, and have fans.

And I thought this Minnesota team might be different. Though really you could see the result coming for over 20 minutes for reasons other than "LOL Minnesota sports".

[ImTellinTim]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

The one thing that I'll say about that match is it must be nice to bring on 4 starter-level players all at once to push against a team that had 2 fewer days rest. Minnesota players were dead on their feet. Heath should have made another defensive sub, but really the bench options were bleak.

[bhurst99]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

I wouldn't be handing them anything. Columbus is very good, playing their last game in their stadium, and have fans.

You were right. Great finishing by Columbus especially on the second and third goals. Seattle had some golden chances to score before the third goal but couldn't capitalize. Really surprised they got shutout. Lucas Zelarayán had himself a night.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

Zelarayan is definitely a top 5 player in the league. He is amazing every time I watch Columbus.

I couldn't bring myself to watch the match though. When all they were doing was pregame was drooling all over Seattle when they were lucky to even be there, I had enough. I'm glad they got smoked.

[bhurst99]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

The CONCACAF Champions League title continues to elude the MLS since the competition changed formats in 2008. Tough one for LAFC which had a 1-0 lead with 21 minutes left but Tigres took it 2-1.

[Majingir]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

Montreal Impact rebranding.

They're now Club de Foot Montreal, aka CF Montreal.

[bhurst99]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

The Montreal Club Foots. Got it.



Just my opinion but that's a pretty ugly logo.

[bhurst99]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

Bizarre but somehow Toronto FC eliminated Mexican champion Club Leon 3-2 aggregate over two legs in the CONCACAF Round of 16. They weren't able to field either of their two DPs, Jozy Altidore or Alejandro Pozuelo, due to injury tonight but won 2-1 with a very young lineup.

The first leg was dominated by Club Leon but TFC got a 1-1 equalizer on an own goal that was an insane deflection off a defender from like the top of the penalty area that went over the keeper's head and into the net.

Toronto FC qualified for CONCACAF by ... well, I'm not really sure. One spot in CONCACAF is reserved for the Canadian Champion but there was no Canadian Champion in 2020. Forge (Hamilton, Ont) and TFC were suppose to play in the final last November but that got postponed until early March. Early March rolled around and Forge couldn't practise due to local health restrictions, TFC had some players get COVID-19 and the 2020 final was postponed. Since TFC will likely spend the year in the USA and no one knows when Forge will start their season, maybe they'll play the 2020 final in 2022. In the meantime, somebody somewhere decided Toronto FC would represent Canada this year.

It's just weirdness on top of weirdness. Toronto made the Canadian final thanks in part to a win against Montreal in September that featured a 89th minute winner by Altidore. Altidore didn't really celebrate the goal -- I thought he missed it based on his reaction -- but turned to the crowd of 250 in Montreal and put a finger to his lips, like he was telling them to be quiet. Not sure how a crowd of 250 could rile him up so much. He definitely marches to a different beat.

I think that crowd of 250 was the largest crowd to watch any professional sporting event in Canada between April 2000 and April 2021. It happened during a brief window in Quebec where fans were allowed to attend events. Somebody feel free to correct me.

So that's your Canadian 2020 soccer Covid-19 wrap up that you probably don't care about. LOL

[ImTellinTim]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

Toronto was in that awful, awful situation where they were up 2 and gave up a goal with like 10 mins left. Suddenly Leon believed and they only needed one goal to win on away goals. The absolute worst time there is as a soccer fan.

[Suntan Superman]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

Quick summary, because MLS is gonna MLS, and obviously Beckham's club is peak MLS.


So last year when Blaise Matuidi joined as a TAM signing it was hailed as a great move(his total salary, and amortized transfer fee was below 1.6125m). Well it turns out, they just signed him to a richer contract, so they technically had 4 DPs at the end of last year, and going into this year. Since none of them are able to bought down with Garberbucks, they had to get rid of one DP before the roster compliance deadline tonight.


They chose to buyout 21-year old Matias Pellegrini, a player they spent 9m on, and sent him on loan to Fort Lauderdale. So because the MLS has to MLS as hard as MLS can MLS, Pellegrini cannot be rostered by any MLS team for the 2021 season(he can leave the league though), but he is still contracted to MLS, and loaned to Fort Lauderdale, so any foreign team wanting to bring him in would need to negotiate with MLS, but Inter Miami gets the transfer fee if he's sold.


so in short...


MLS IS BACK BABY!


(some info here might be slightly wrong, or underexplained, I apologize for anyone who came into this thread not knowing how weird things are in the MLS)

[stlducks]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

Quick summary, because MLS is gonna MLS, and obviously Beckham's club is peak MLS.


So last year when Blaise Matuidi joined as a TAM signing it was hailed as a great move(his total salary, and amortized transfer fee was below 1.6125m). Well it turns out, they just signed him to a richer contract, so they technically had 4 DPs at the end of last year, and going into this year. Since none of them are able to bought down with Garberbucks, they had to get rid of one DP before the roster compliance deadline tonight.


They chose to buyout 21-year old Matias Pellegrini, a player they spent 9m on, and sent him on loan to Fort Lauderdale. So because the MLS has to MLS as hard as MLS can MLS, Pellegrini cannot be rostered by any MLS team for the 2021 season(he can leave the league though), but he is still contracted to MLS, and loaned to Fort Lauderdale, so any foreign team wanting to bring him in would need to negotiate with MLS, but Inter Miami gets the transfer fee if he's sold.


so in short...


MLS IS BACK BABY!


(some info here might be slightly wrong, or underexplained, I apologize for anyone who came into this thread not knowing how weird things are in the MLS)

I have been trying so hard to get into the MLS these past few seasons, especially since St. Louis will be getting a team, but with all the DP and squad rules and how confusing everything is, it really puts me off trying to understand it all.

I understand not wanting to let teams sign anyone because then the big markets will dominate but that's how every other country does it so why not just make it like the rest of the world?

[bhurst99]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

I understand not wanting to let teams sign anyone because then the big markets will dominate but that's how every other country does it so why not just make it like the rest of the world?

One of the reasons is that it's hard to get that sweet, sweet expansion money that is propping this league up if new teams think they're not going to be on a level playing field with the other clubs.

Hard to get new markets and new viewers if the same teams will dominate year after year like most of the European leagues.

[studbucket]

Re: MLS Discussion Thread

Also, MLS values what many other American sports league have in some form: an approximation of parity. The setup where a small handful of teams dominate the league every year is not what MLS or the owners want. Like the NFL, they desire a structure where any team (no matter how small the market) can have a chance to succeed if they operate well.

The arcane rules of DPs, TAM, etc are just ways that the league has been able to allow higher quality players to join the league without needing to re-negotiate a new CBA (as the salary cap stays the same and these rules allow for exceptions).

I get it's a lot of stuff, but you can honestly enjoy MLS without needing to get into the weird roster rules. Just know that every team can get (if they are willing to spend) 2-3 "really good" players and ~5 more "quite good" players, followed by roster filler and backups. The best teams regularly succeed in filling those spots in a way that fits into their team's style, and the worst teams seem rudderless.