2023 MLS Thread

[15fan]

Josef Martinez signs w Inter Miami after being bought out in ATL

https://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/4852681/inter-miami-signs-atlanta-united-legend-josef-martinez

Inevitable, but sad nonetheless. He was and will continue to be adored in this city like Chipper Jones and Dominique Wilkins.

[Tadasimha]

FCC's Brandon Vasquez gets called up to the national team and scores in his debut.
https://fb.watch/ijA3zVMylk/

[Betterread]

2023 kit reveals starting today. I like the FC Cincinnati dark blue with black and orange highlights kit. although the black swath across the blue chest looks like a tire tread - running over the opposition, perhaps?
I think this is the year FC Cincinnati wins a playoff game

[Boss-Hog]

I think this is the year FC Cincinnati wins a playoff game

They won a playoff game last year.

[Kingspoint]

I see the Timbers beat the Galaxy 4-1 in their 1st pre-season game.

[Betterread]

They won a playoff game last year.
Whoops. I remembered them losing a hard fought game to Philly, but forgot about the frost round win.
I change my prediction to Cincinnati advancing to the conference finals, or further.
You added players with previous experience with Athletico Madrid, Wolverhampton and Chelsea.

[Fil3232]

Officially less than a week to the start of the season and nobody knows what the playoff format is. Incredible!

[M2]

Officially less than a week to the start of the season and nobody knows what the playoff format is. Incredible!

They really should have graduated from the "we're making it up as we go along" phase by now.

[15fan]

In first 90 minutes of opener yesterday:

San Jose: 1
Atlanta: nil

9 minutes of stoppage time:

Thiago Almada: 2
San Jose: nil

[Chip R]

Officially less than a week to the start of the season and nobody knows what the playoff format is. Incredible!

Really?

[Kingspoint]

All of that snow we had postponed the season opener of the Timbers 48 hours.

It only made the home crowd more anxious as they counted down the hours.

Squeaked out a 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake in ice-cold rain. Only a great save stopped it from being 2-0.

It's not Liverpool vs Real Madrid, but it's what we got, so we try to enjoy it.

[15fan]

Do yourself a favor and watch the Thiago Almada goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half tonight vs Portland.

[Kingspoint]

Do yourself a favor and watch the Thiago Almada goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half tonight vs Portland.

Saw it last night on the highlights. Undefendable.

[Tadasimha]

FC Cincinnati sits at the top of the table for the first time in their (brief) history and hold 1st place in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Atlanta. Lunken Lions starting the season off 4-0-2, undefeated at home.

[Big Red Smokey]

I really don't miss Caleb Porter at all.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I really don't miss Caleb Porter at all.

He’s a good coach, but does seem more like a guy you want for 2 years than a program builder.

[Kingspoint]

I'll take a 3-1 Win over Vancouver for the Timbers. They are finally starting to win a few. The weather is getting hot and that just seems to be the way a Timbers' season progresses.

Cincinnati still an incredible 6-0-0 at home.

[Tadasimha]

FCC still undefeated at home after downing Montreal 3 - 0 and are atop the Supporters Shield standings as well as first in the Eastern Conference again. Best game all season for the entire squad as Columbus Crew come to town this weekend!

In other MLS news, San Diego gets an expansion franchise and starts play in '25.

[goreds2]

FYI:

T-Mobile is offering MLS Season Pass for free today via their T-Mobile Tuesdays offer. You need to have their internet or phone subscription.

[Tadasimha]

The Lunken Lions (my personal nickname for FCC) continue to sit atop both the Eastern Conference standings and the Supporters Shield, with Nashville sitting five points behind them in both. It took penalty kicks but they will be hosting a US Open Cup quarterfinal against Pittsburgh on the 6th. Per this article on mls website, FCC is second in the power rankings behind LAFC
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/power-rankings-fc-cincinnati-lafc-vying-for-mls-supremacy

[goreds2]

The Reds and FC Cincinnati have each won 5 in a row.

[Kingspoint]

The Reds and FC Cincinnati have each won 5 in a row.

One is much more difficult than the other. FC Cincinnati isn't squeaking by in these wins, either.

[M2]

Leo Messi is going to Inter Miami - https://sports.yahoo.com/lionel-messi-mls-inter-miami-140740427.html.

I question whether he's going to enjoy the amount of running he's going to have to do or the oppressive heat of MLS during the summer, but it looks like he's coming to MLS.

[Chip R]

Leo Messi is going to Inter Miami - https://sports.yahoo.com/lionel-messi-mls-inter-miami-140740427.html.

I question whether he's going to enjoy the amount of running he's going to have to do or the oppressive heat of MLS during the summer, but it looks like he's coming to MLS.

Messi may be coming here in August for the U.S. Open Cup.

[Big Red Smokey]

Columbus gets 2024 MLS ASG

[M2]

Went to the Leagues Cup game between the Revs and Atlas. Started out tepid because the two teams have never played each other, yet then Atlas scored two goals in the first 12 minutes and then whipped out every heel move in the book - constant rate bites, scything guys after they've passed the ball, randomly dropping on field whenever the Reds had possession in the final third, epic amounts of time wasting. The Revs clawed back a goal before the half and started to take control of the game. Then Atlas take an extra five minutes coming out for the 2nd. Once play started again, then took out New England's best player, Carles Gil, with an insanely late tackle. The ref kept pretending he saw nothing. It was a lot like a pro wrestling match.

Revs tied it up on a penalty (Atlas defender draped himself all over a Revs attacker in the box). It ended 2-2, which sent it straight to pens to see who'd move onto the next round. They were 7-7 until an Atlas player drilled the ball into the crossbar on the front end of the 8th round. Longtime Revs defender Andrew Farrell stepped up to win it. The Atlas keeper literally went right on every pen, so Farrell went left and tucked the ball into a wide open net. At first the crowd was kind of sleepy, then bummed out at 0-2, but the constant ****housery from Atlas got people molten. I'm all in on this tournament.

[Big Red Smokey]

^ I went to the Columbus - Club America match Monday night. Club America fans showed up. They were burning Crew flags after the game. Was actually pretty insane. Columbus absolutely crushed them 4-1 even without Zelarayan.

Going to the Crew-Minnesota match tonight as well.

[texasdave]

Not really MLS-related, but the US women get bounced by about a millimeter in sudden death penalty kicks. They held a 3-2 lead in penalty kicks before missing their last two attempts. Sweden, down to its last chance, converted their fifth and final PK to send it to sudden death. Both teams converted the first kick, but then the American lady missed what amounted to an empty net shot. The Swedish goalie guessed the wrong way, and the net was wide open. Unfortunately, the shot richoceted off the post. Sweden the sent the game-winner netward only to have the American goalie make a great save. The shot then bounced about one millimeter over the goal line before the goalie could knock it away. American team dominated the game, but comes away empty. The Swedish goalkeeper was phenomenal.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlYmIGcNgvQ

[Kingspoint]

If you haven't seen this goal....

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/luciano-acosta-fc-cincinnati-captain-scores-messi-esque-golazo

- - - Updated - - -

Since Portland fired their Coach, they've (under Miles Johnson) gone 5-1-1 with 4 wins in a row to get them on the edge of a playoff spot. Wish the REDS' September would have been like this.

The difference?

As Brian Doyle states, "The formation, for one – it’s a pure 4-3-3 with a single pivot no matter who’s in or out (Bryan Acosta manned that spot on Saturday with Cristhian Paredes suspended and Diego Chara still recuperating after appendix surgery), and the two advanced midfielders are really given license to attack. Santi Moreno in particular seems to be loving life, but the Timbers are truly getting contributions from everyone in their front five.

The other big change is the game model. I wrote last week about how the Timbers are now playing fewer long-balls from the back. That’s led to more passes per possession – it’s at 3.2 passes per under Joseph, and was just 2.6 under Gio Savarese. And fewer of those passes are going forward. Under Savarese it was nearly 40%, which was behind only St. Louis and (of course) RBNY. With Joseph it’s just 33.6%, and Portland have developed a Columbus-esque affinity for patiently drawing opposing teams upfield then eliminating them with quick combination play. It is, like I said, quite fun."

[Kingspoint]

In a league always striving for continuity, a relevant story from two weeks ago...

Jonathan Sigal
Friday, Sep 22, 2023, 07:01 AM


TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Extension

FC Cincinnati have signed midfielder and captain Luciano Acosta to a contract extension through the 2026 MLS season with an option for 2027, the club announced Friday.

Acosta is a 2023 Landon Donovan MLS MVP frontrunner, posting 14 goals and 11 assists in 27 games for the Supporters’ Shield leaders. The 29-year-old Argentine playmaker leads the league in goal contributions (25) and is second in the Golden Boot presented by Audi race.

This season, Acosta has also won back-to-back MLS Player of the Month presented by CELSIUS awards (August and September). He has been named to the MLS Team of the Matchday presented by Audi 10 times.

“Lucho is a tremendously important player for our team and our club,” FC Cincinnati general manager Chris Albright said in a release.

“He’s clearly one of the best players in our league, capable of producing the spectacular moments that win you games. His winning mentality, along with his continued growth as a leader and a captain, have allowed Lucho to become the best version of himself. It’s apparent how connected he feels to our city and community, and we’re proud to have Lucho representing FC Cincinnati.”

[Chip R]

With a 1-0 win on Saturday, FCC has eliminated Inter Miami and Messi from the playoffs.

[M2]

With a 1-0 win on Saturday, FCC has eliminated Inter Miami and Messi from the playoffs.

Mathematically, Miami dug such a deep hole that Messi never was going to be able to drag them out of it. Yet Messi and his older Barca buds are likely to discover next season that MLS is an extremely draining league to play in. Everybody runs like crazy and it's insanely hot for much of the season. These short cup runs are one thing, but I'm keeping an eye on how they handle a full season.

[Chip R]

Mathematically, Miami dug such a deep hole that Messi never was going to be able to drag them out of it. Yet Messi and his older Barca buds are likely to discover next season that MLS is an extremely draining league to play in. Everybody runs like crazy and it's insanely hot for much of the season. These short cup runs are one thing, but I'm keeping an eye on how they handle a full season.

Yeah, I noticed MLS seems to be the only league that plays in the dead of summer. My nephew and his wife went to Italy in June and before he went, I looked to see if there were any Serie A matches there for him to watch but they start in mid-July. It's going to be brutal for the Barca players in Miami in the middle of summer. Of course it's no picnic here in the summer as well as in many other MLS cities.

[bucksfan2]

Mathematically, Miami dug such a deep hole that Messi never was going to be able to drag them out of it. Yet Messi and his older Barca buds are likely to discover next season that MLS is an extremely draining league to play in. Everybody runs like crazy and it's insanely hot for much of the season. These short cup runs are one thing, but I'm keeping an eye on how they handle a full season.

Crazy thing for Messi was he went from playing for PSG, to the World Cup, then back to PSG, then straight to Miami. The dude didn't have a break. I do wonder if the MLS ever starts to move their season to the fall, winter, spring type of schedule?

[BuckeyeRed27]

Crazy thing for Messi was he went from playing for PSG, to the World Cup, then back to PSG, then straight to Miami. The dude didn't have a break. I do wonder if the MLS ever starts to move their season to the fall, winter, spring type of schedule?

I hope not. They’d have to take a huge break or do a 2 season type thing like Mexico.

[M2]

I hope not. They’d have to take a huge break or do a 2 season type thing like Mexico.

They could one super-long season. Go May-to-May. No midweek games, every international break off, reduced schedule in July and August.

[bucksfan2]

They could one super-long season. Go May-to-May. No midweek games, every international break off, reduced schedule in July and August.

Why not what the Europeans do? EPL goes August through May. Most of your big time international events happen in the summer. I always thought they didn't adopt the European season because they didn't want to go up against the NFL (or college for that matter) but the end of their season is swallowed up by football.

I wonder if the quality of play gets better, and there is more interest, if they move back to more of an international calendar. It has to hurt MLS players looking to transfer that the big window in the summer/fall has seen MLS players more than half way through their season.

[Chip R]

Why not what the Europeans do? EPL goes August through May. Most of your big time international events happen in the summer. I always thought they didn't adopt the European season because they didn't want to go up against the NFL (or college for that matter) but the end of their season is swallowed up by football.

I wonder if the quality of play gets better, and there is more interest, if they move back to more of an international calendar. It has to hurt MLS players looking to transfer that the big window in the summer/fall has seen MLS players more than half way through their season.

I think the relative lack of competition in the summer seems like the main reason it doesn't go August to May. There is no NFL or college football and basketball in other places like there is here. Soccer popularity is growing here but going head to head against the NFL, NBA and college sports would be suicide. The other is probably the weather. Could you imagine a game here in February?

[M2]

Why not what the Europeans do? EPL goes August through May. Most of your big time international events happen in the summer. I always thought they didn't adopt the European season because they didn't want to go up against the NFL (or college for that matter) but the end of their season is swallowed up by football.

I wonder if the quality of play gets better, and there is more interest, if they move back to more of an international calendar. It has to hurt MLS players looking to transfer that the big window in the summer/fall has seen MLS players more than half way through their season.

You'd get to August-May the 2nd year in. The May-May superseason would be a one-year bridge to it in order to avoid an eight-month gap.

The did go with the original schedule to avoid the NFL (most of the original owners had NFL franchises and were looking for offseason revenue). It also was designed to boost attendance. The winter weather for much of the league, historically, gets raw in January & February. Yet winters have gotten much milder since 1996. We still get cold snaps in Boston, but it's nothing like the sustained cold we got 25+ years ago. I think fans don't need it to be t-shirt weather anymore.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Why not what the Europeans do? EPL goes August through May. Most of your big time international events happen in the summer. I always thought they didn't adopt the European season because they didn't want to go up against the NFL (or college for that matter) but the end of their season is swallowed up by football.

I wonder if the quality of play gets better, and there is more interest, if they move back to more of an international calendar. It has to hurt MLS players looking to transfer that the big window in the summer/fall has seen MLS players more than half way through their season.

Less competition helps but the winter weather in the US is a lot colder and wetter than the winter in Europe.

You could try and unbalance it and play more December-March games in the south, but you’re still gonna end up having some cold games. Minnesota, Chicago, Salt Lake, Columbus, Boston, New York, Philly, DC, KC, Toronto, Colorado and Cincinnati all play outside and that’s gonna be a tough sell to go to a mid season game in one of those cities if it’s 20 degrees or worse outside.

[M2]

Less competition helps but the winter weather in the US is a lot colder and wetter than the winter in Europe.

You could try and unbalance it and play more December-March games in the south, but you’re still gonna end up having some cold games. Minnesota, Chicago, Salt Lake, Columbus, Boston, New York, Philly, DC, KC, Toronto, Colorado and Cincinnati all play outside and that’s gonna be a tough sell to go to a mid season game in one of those cities if it’s 20 degrees or worse outside.

I used to think that, but climate change is really changing things. It can get brutally cold in those places, but it usually isn't. Montreal and Minnesota are probably the two coldest spots in the league (I'm told Toronto is noticeably warmer than Montreal in the winter) and I've spent enough winter days up in Montreal to confirm it's generally decent enough to spend two hours at a game in the thick of winter. Dress appropriately, stand (makes a huge difference) and put some cardboard under your feet (also makes a huge difference) and you're good to go. Plus, they can play daytime games.

I also suspect MLS fans now are less of the fair weather variety. I'd want data on that if I was running the league. Would ticket buyers show up December-February? The league started in February this year. I went to the opener in Boston on March 4. It was fine. They drew 13K. So maybe the more northern cities only play at home once a month in January and February. Anyway, I'm rambling, but what I'm driving at is I think it's doable. And I didn't used to think that.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I used to think that, but climate change is really changing things. It can get brutally cold in those places, but it usually isn't. Montreal and Minnesota are probably the two coldest spots in the league (I'm told Toronto is noticeably warmer than Montreal in the winter) and I've spent enough winter days up in Montreal to confirm it's generally decent enough to spend two hours at a game in the thick of winter. Dress appropriately, stand (makes a huge difference) and put some cardboard under your feet (also makes a huge difference) and you're good to go. Plus, they can play daytime games.

I also suspect MLS fans now are less of the fair weather variety. I'd want data on that if I was running the league. Would ticket buyers show up December-February? The league started in February this year. I went to the opener in Boston on March 4. It was fine. They drew 13K. So maybe the more northern cities only play at home once a month in January and February. Anyway, I'm rambling, but what I'm driving at is I think it's doable. And I didn't used to think that.

Winter generally hasn’t been as bad that’s true, but it’s still a lot worse than Europe. I went to the US El Salvador World Cup qualifier in Columbus last January and it was freaking miserable. The Honduras goalie got hypothermia playing the game in Minnesota a few days later. It was just 0% fun.

[M2]

Winter generally hasn’t been as bad that’s true, but it’s still a lot worse than Europe. I went to the US El Salvador World Cup qualifier in Columbus last January and it was freaking miserable. The Honduras goalie got hypothermia playing the game in Minnesota a few days later. It was just 0% fun.

It can be like that. There's definitely no way it gets down to 0 games where the cold would be an issue. I suppose the counter to that is how often is the heat getting unbearable during the season with the summer schedule? There's probably a tipping line somewhere, though no clue where it lies.

On Europe, I'm told the Netherlands is pretty raw. It's not quite as cold, but it's always wet. Supposedly Friesland is miserable.

[Chip R]

I would think that MLS fans are so used to going to games in warm weather that they would be averse to going if most of the games were in cold/snowy weather. You can do more stuff in the heat than you can in the cold. But regardless, I think the competition from the other sports would just kill it.

[Big Red Smokey]

Winter generally hasn’t been as bad that’s true, but it’s still a lot worse than Europe. I went to the US El Salvador World Cup qualifier in Columbus last January and it was freaking miserable. The Honduras goalie got hypothermia playing the game in Minnesota a few days later. It was just 0% fun.

I went to both those matches. The Minnesota match your beer froze within 10 mins. Was easily the coldest sporting event I've been to

[Kingspoint]

Congrats to Cincinnati for kickin' ass!

[Big Red Smokey]

Just got back from the Crew game. Absolutely incredible how bad PRO Referees are. How Muyumba didn't get a 2nd yellow is beyond me

[M2]

Cincinnati vs. Columbus in the East finals. How much local attention is it getting and are any of you going to the game?

[dabvu2498]

Cincinnati vs. Columbus in the East finals. How much local attention is it getting and are any of you going to the game?

I’ll be there. We’ve had FCC season tickets since year 1. Ironically, the only home game we missed all year was the first Hell is Real game.

As far as local attention, I’m not sure as I’m not that connected to local news/etc. There’s a pretty hardcore fan base that’s super loyal to the club, but I’m not sure how much your casual sports fan is aware. It gets tougher to get eyeballs in the fall with all the varied college football loyalties in this area and the Bengals being the dominant force in the market.

[Chip R]

I’ll be there. We’ve had FCC season tickets since year 1. Ironically, the only home game we missed all year was the first Hell is Real game.

As far as local attention, I’m not sure as I’m not that connected to local news/etc. There’s a pretty hardcore fan base that’s super loyal to the club, but I’m not sure how much your casual sports fan is aware. It gets tougher to get eyeballs in the fall with all the varied college football loyalties in this area and the Bengals being the dominant force in the market.

Also, RedsFest is on Saturday too. The good news is that you can go to RedsFest then walk a relatively short distance to TQL for Hell Is Real III.

Also, someone please explain to me why the 1st round of the MLS playoffs is best of 3 and the remaining rounds are win or go home.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Also, RedsFest is on Saturday too. The good news is that you can go to RedsFest then walk a relatively short distance to TQL for Hell Is Real III.

Also, someone please explain to me why the 1st round of the MLS playoffs is best of 3 and the remaining rounds are win or go home.

MLS changes their playoff format basically every year, but I think the idea there is to make sure everyone that makes the playoffs gets at least 2 games and a home game and lessens the potential for upsets by a single elimination first round.

[Big Red Smokey]

Miazga suspended 3 games.

Driving down from Columbus for it. Was able to get 2 tix right next to Crew section thankfully

[Kingspoint]

Miazga suspended 3 games.

Driving down from Columbus for it. Was able to get 2 tix right next to Crew section thankfully

Yeah....ya can't go into the refs lockerroom...anytime for any reason. Doesn't matter if your the Defensive Player of the Year.

They lost the playoff game vs PHI that he was already suspended for before this incident.

[Boss-Hog]

Yeah....ya can't go into the refs lockerroom...anytime for any reason. Doesn't matter if your the Defensive Player of the Year.

They lost the playoff game vs PHI that he was already suspended for before this incident.They beat Philadelphia and are playing Columbus on Saturday in the Eastern Conference Finals.

[Betterread]

They beat Philadelphia and are playing Columbus on Saturday in the Eastern Conference Finals.

They didn’t beat Philly. MLS declared them the winner by allowing an offside goal by a player who earlier in the game stepped up to a Philly player, chest to chest, and when the Philly player turned away, fell down holding his face as if being violently struck. An outrageous dive.

There is no media showing the game winning goal was legal. They all show a Cin player slightly offside.
Only possible justification I can think of is that the game was so boring that the refs wanted to go home, not play extra boring minutes.

[Fil3232]

They didn’t beat Philly. MLS declared them the winner by allowing an offside goal by a player who earlier in the game stepped up to a Philly player, chest to chest, and when the Philly player turned away, fell down holding his face as if being violently struck. An outrageous dive.

There is no media showing the game winning goal was legal. They all show a Cin player slightly offside.
Only possible justification I can think of is that the game was so boring that the refs wanted to go home, not play extra boring minutes.

They beat Philly 1-0. See ya tomorrow.

[BuckeyeRed27]

The TV angle was from behind the play so while he does look offside you can’t be totally sure.

I can’t believe that was the only angle they had given it was a playoff game, but apparently it was.

[M2]

They didn’t beat Philly. MLS declared them the winner by allowing an offside goal by a player who earlier in the game stepped up to a Philly player, chest to chest, and when the Philly player turned away, fell down holding his face as if being violently struck. An outrageous dive.

There is no media showing the game winning goal was legal. They all show a Cin player slightly offside.
Only possible justification I can think of is that the game was so boring that the refs wanted to go home, not play extra boring minutes.

I am 1,000% all right with that not being called. If anything, the offside put the FCC guy at a disadvantage because he had to come back across the defender to play down the header for the assist. By the time the ball reached his head, there were four Philly defenders goalside of him. I know that gets called and you can make a letter of the law case for why it should be, but I'm not a letter of the law type of person. I am beyond fine with the ref swallowing his whistle on that play. The ball got played through the Philly defense not over it. Maybe Philly shouldn't have left two attackers unmarked right in front of the goal.

If I could one thing about the rules of the game it would be that you have to be offside when you receive the ball for it count as offsides. Otherwise your advantage has been negated.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I am 1,000% all right with that not being called. If anything, the offside put the FCC guy at a disadvantage because he had to come back across the defender to play down the header for the assist. By the time the ball reached his head, there were four Philly defenders goalside of him. I know that gets called and you can make a letter of the law case for why it should be, but I'm not a letter of the law type of person. I am beyond fine with the ref swallowing his whistle on that play. The ball got played through the Philly defense not over it. Maybe Philly shouldn't have left two attackers unmarked right in front of the goal.

If I could one thing about the rules of the game it would be that you have to be offside when you receive the ball for it count as offsides. Otherwise your advantage has been negated.

The offside rule should be the same as the illegal forward pass in football. The entire man has to be completely past the last defender. Makes it so much easier to figure out and would lead to more goals.

[M2]

The offside rule should be the same as the illegal forward pass in football. The entire man has to be completely past the last defender. Makes it so much easier to figure out and would lead to more goals.

Totally agreed. That plus the tweak you still have to be ahead of the defense when you receive the ball and we'd be cooking.

[Betterread]

SAOT Tech generates a virtual line from various body parts to take away all uncertainty for the offside line. It was used in the last World Cup, UEFA Champions league and in Serie A. La Liga will use it in 2024.
MLS does not use it, nor even Hawkeye tech (used for goal line decisions). They are not concerned with the poor quality of refereeing

[dabvu2498]

I was thinking Miazga would get 5 games for the postgame incident, then I remembered MLS only suspended Kai Wagner 3 games for dropping a racial slur on the field.

Miazga got 11 yellow cards all year. Only 3 of them were for fouls. The others were all for dissent/taunting. He was a huge part of FCC getting better after coming back from England. He was really the first acquisition that made the club look a bit more serious. But it comes with a price at the ultimate payoff.

Thankfully FCC will have DM Obi Nwobodo back (who would have been DM of the Year if there was such a thing) and RWB Santi Arias. Neither of them were available at all last week. If they can put in a decent shift, or even just fresh legs off the bench, that makes FCC loads better than last weekend.

[Boss-Hog]

They didn’t beat Philly. MLS declared them the winner by allowing an offside goal by a player who earlier in the game stepped up to a Philly player, chest to chest, and when the Philly player turned away, fell down holding his face as if being violently struck. An outrageous dive.

There is no media showing the game winning goal was legal. They all show a Cin player slightly offside.
Only possible justification I can think of is that the game was so boring that the refs wanted to go home, not play extra boring minutes.From the Professional Referee Organization (PRO):

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/soccer/fc-cincinnati/2023/12/01/referees-explain-decision-on-fc-cincinnatis-goal-vs-philadelphia/71772337007/


On first glance, it appears Ian Murphy was offside when the ball was played across by Barreal. However, once you compare the right foot of the second-to-last opponent, Julian Carranza, with Murphy's, and then take into account that the camera angle is not aligned, it becomes less clear.

The assistant referee, who was in perfect position, determined that Murphy was onside. The VAR, who only has access to the broadcast angles, had no angle that showed definitively that the onside decision was clearly wrong. The standard in MLS has always been that the on-field decision is always correct unless there's clear evidence that an error has been made. The same standard applies in this case.

[SunDeck]

The TV angle was from behind the play so while he does look offside you can’t be totally sure.

I can’t believe that was the only angle they had given it was a playoff game, but apparently it was.Good point, the MLS inexplicably doesn't use the same sophisticated video replay technology that they do in the Bundesliga, Premier League, etc. And so from that perspective, I think it was the right no-call. Another point, I don't really like a team losing a score on an off side call on a shot where the offending guy is of no consequence.

[BuckeyeRed27]

What a game!

[BuckeyeRed27]

Sorry FCC fans, that’s tough.

[M2]

What a game!


Sorry FCC fans, that’s tough.

That game ought to make FCC vs. the Crew the hottest rivalry in MLS, and one of the most intense in U.S. pro sports. Not joking.

[BuckeyeRed27]

That game ought to make FCC vs. the Crew the hottest rivalry in MLS, and one of the most intense in U.S. pro sports. Not joking.

It really was an excellent rivalry game. Had absolutely everything.

[dabvu2498]

That game ought to make FCC vs. the Crew the hottest rivalry in MLS, and one of the most intense in U.S. pro sports. Not joking.

There’s far more animosity, on the field at least, between FCC and Red Bulls. They played 8 times the last 2 years and all of them were bloodbaths

I respect Columbus’ squad, even if I won’t say much about their fan base. On the other hand, I hate everything about Red Bulls.

[Kingspoint]

They beat Philadelphia and are playing Columbus on Saturday in the Eastern Conference Finals.

They lost 1-0 to Philadelphia in one of the two playoff games, though,...the one he missed.

[M2]

They lost 1-0 to Philadelphia in one of the two playoff games, though,...the one he missed.

They didn't play two playoff games against Philly. Philly played two games against New England right before facing FCC. I was at the last one.

[Boss-Hog]

They lost 1-0 to Philadelphia in one of the two playoff games, though,...the one he missed.Cincinnati played and beat NY Red Bulls in two games in the opening round best of three series. Miazga got suspended for his actions in and after game 2 of that series and was suspended for the Philadelphia game for yellow card accumulation. Based on what he did immediately after the game, he was suspended for three more (the Columbus game and two more next season).

[Big Red Smokey]

Got my tix for Saturday. Thankfully have club seats so my season ticket window was early in the day. Was an absolute mess with the sponsor code being leaked (Sponsor23) real clever MLS and that code immediately made it to reddit and the like and there were no tickets available for lower level season ticket members. Crew last night canceled all tix that were purchased with that promo code and the season ticket holders for the most part were able to get their tickets today so should be a true home field advantage. But that mess isn't gonna help Don Garber come Saturday around 6:30 when he has to address the Columbus crowd again.

[Redsfaithful]

https://www.espn.com/soccer/report/_/gameId/690611

Columbus Crew dethrone LAFC to win 3rd MLS Cup title


The Columbus Crew beat defending champion LAFC 2-1 on Saturday to win their third MLS Cup title.

Columbus, playing at its home Lower.com Field, dominated the first half to take a two-goal lead through a Cucho Hernández penalty and a Yaw Yeboah strike.

...

The Crew, one of the league's original clubs, previously won MLS Cup titles in 2008 and 2020. Only the LA Galaxy (five) and D.C. United (four) have won more titles.

Love to see it!

[BuckeyeRed27]

Really fun final too. Congrats to the Crew!

[M2]

https://www.espn.com/soccer/report/_/gameId/690611

Columbus Crew dethrone LAFC to win 3rd MLS Cup title

Love to see it!

Great to see given that the previous owner basically tried to kill the club.

[Big Red Smokey]

Was blessed to be one of the 1500 people at the 2020 Final. Yesterday though was on another level. Really fun team to watch, selfishly I think they deserved it. They weren't the best regular season team record wise but played the best soccer throughout the year.

[Kingspoint]

Congrats to the Crew!!!

[Chip R]

MLS will not be sending their first teams to the U.S. Open Cup.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/39120689/mls-pulls-first-teams-us-open-cup-play-reserves

[sdwagers]

MLS will not be sending their first teams to the U.S. Open Cup.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/39120689/mls-pulls-first-teams-us-open-cup-play-reserves

welp that got nixed by the USSF.

FCC with HUGE signing of Miles Robinson today.

[bucksfan2]

welp that got nixed by the USSF.

FCC with HUGE signing of Miles Robinson today.

Big move for FCC, may signal the beginning of the end on the national team for Miles Robinson.

Interested to see what happens to FCC with Vasquez rumored to go to Liga MX.

[M2]

The Kaiser is dead - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/world/europe/franz-beckenbauer-dead.html. All-time great, defined the sweeper role.

[Big Red Smokey]

So new season starts tonight.

Looks like TMobile isn't giving away MLS Season Pass this year for free unfortunately.

- - - Updated - - -

Also FCC really kind of got screwed with this Barreal stuff. Ended up sending him out on loan to a mid-tier Brazilian team.

[Big Red Smokey]

Let's go Real Salt Lake!

[BlackPete Ibold]

Thought if you have Apple TV then you had access to MLS games... nope, you have to also pay for the MLS pass.

Just absurd. Supposed to grow the darn game, not hide behind 2 paywalls. Bugs me that the best EPL games are generally on Peacock (and not NBC or USA), but at least you get all the EPL games with basic Peacock stream.

Of course will not be long now until they start requiring a subscription fee too, assuming it works for MLS. Just so many friggin hands in my pockets I feel molested.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Thought if you have Apple TV then you had access to MLS games... nope, you have to also pay for the MLS pass.

Just absurd. Supposed to grow the darn game, not hide behind 2 paywalls. Bugs me that the best EPL games are generally on Peacock (and not NBC or USA), but at least you get all the EPL games with basic Peacock stream.

Of course will not be long now until they start requiring a subscription fee too, assuming it works for MLS. Just so many friggin hands in my pockets I feel molested.

AppleTV costs like $6 month and the MLS pass is like $100 for the entire season, all games, no blackouts and like 1/3 of the games are still on cable or network TV. It’s a pretty great deal.

Peacock doesn’t have all the games. If it’s on USA for example it’s not on peacock. If they negotiate that in the next deal, then it may look similar to the MLS deal. I think all major sports except football will have this MLS model in the next 5-7 years.

[Betterread]

Thought if you have Apple TV then you had access to MLS games... nope, you have to also pay for the MLS pass.

Just absurd. Supposed to grow the darn game, not hide behind 2 paywalls. Bugs me that the best EPL games are generally on Peacock (and not NBC or USA), but at least you get all the EPL games with basic Peacock stream.

Of course will not be long now until they start requiring a subscription fee too, assuming it works for MLS. Just so many friggin hands in my pockets I feel molested.

Get season tickets. You get MLS season pass included. Taylor Twitman does a lot of Apple TV games, unfortunately. Messi had the assist on the Miami goal. Miami is dominating. Busquets is feeding Messi with great passes. Suarez is starting. He looks slow and old.

[BlackPete Ibold]

I get the model is moving this way -- just saying that "this way" sux. Will have to double pay to watch any sport out of your own area. And as someone old enough to still pay for regular TV, I have USA and NBC. I finally felt hipster enough to go YouTubeTV 3 years ago and now even that seems "old dude". So I guess that means I will be triple paying in the future...

As for season tix, I reckon I could toss in for NCFC but not sure that would get me MLS anything!

[Boss-Hog]

You don't have to have the monthly Apple TV subscription to watch MLS. You can buy the $99 MLS season long package independently of the monthly Apple TV subscription.

[BlackPete Ibold]

You don't have to have the monthly Apple TV subscription to watch MLS. You can buy the $99 MLS season long package independently of the monthly Apple TV subscription.

Well.... that's the issue. Willing to pony up for a few months of Apple TV so wife gets Morning Show, and we can watch Masters of Air and Lasso.

Thought it came w MLS (as Peacock does for EPL), and that made it worth considering keeping longer. But sorry, just not going to pony up $100 for minor league soccer -- even if it has Messi.

Not a matter of "affording" it -- just can't pay for everything all the time, especially what would be 5th (or 6th or 7th) tier viewing importance for me

[Boss-Hog]

Well.... that's the issue. Willing to pony up for a few months of Apple TV so wife gets Morning Show, and we can watch Masters of Air and Lasso.

Thought it came w MLS (as Peacock does for EPL), and that made it worth considering keeping longer. But sorry, just not going to pony up $100 for minor league soccer -- even if it has Messi.

Not a matter of "affording" it -- just can't pay for everything all the time, especially what would be 5th (or 6th or 7th) tier viewing importance for meI can definitely relate to that. It probably doesn't make a difference, but I paid $20 less for the season long package last year by virtue of being an Apple TV subscriber at the time.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Well.... that's the issue. Willing to pony up for a few months of Apple TV so wife gets Morning Show, and we can watch Masters of Air and Lasso.

Thought it came w MLS (as Peacock does for EPL), and that made it worth considering keeping longer. But sorry, just not going to pony up $100 for minor league soccer -- even if it has Messi.

Not a matter of "affording" it -- just can't pay for everything all the time, especially what would be 5th (or 6th or 7th) tier viewing importance for me

I mean if it’s your 7th tier or viewing importance then they aren’t really targeting you anyway right? It’s a great model if you follow a team and get access to everything in one spot. There are still games on network and cable TV for more casual fans like yourself.

[M2]

I mean if it’s your 7th tier or viewing importance then they aren’t really targeting you anyway right? It’s a great model if you follow a team and get access to everything in one spot. There are still games on network and cable TV for more casual fans like yourself.

I'm a partial season ticket holder for an MLS team for more than a decade and I'm not buying the package.

If MLS came with an Apple TV sub, like the Prem comes with Peacock and the UCL comes with Paramount+, I'd probably do it because of everything I'd get with the whole package, but I'm really not looking for an endless number of subscriptions. And I suspect the average game viewership in 2023 was way down from the 343K it averaged in 2022. We won't know for sure because sub services only put out the numbers when they've got a happy story to tell. My working view of it is I'd rather spend to see extra games like CONCACAF Champions Cup than for the TV package. It works out to ~2 games. I'm consciously choosing to spend for more live events over the TV package, and I don't think they want me making that choice. I suspect my viewership would be worth something to them in ad value.

So, if they're not getting me, who are they getting?

[BlackPete Ibold]

I mean if it’s your 7th tier or viewing importance then they aren’t really targeting you anyway right? It’s a great model if you follow a team and get access to everything in one spot. There are still games on network and cable TV for more casual fans like yourself.

Fair enough. Just figure they need more eyeballs, and would be cool if they had some extra MLS benefit for regular Apple TV subscribers.

And I get that if you are local to Cincy then MLS might be a bigger deal since you have a team. Down here in the Raleigh area, not quite as much.

In terms of viewership, here is where I am sports wise:

MLB, College Basketball, NBA, NHL, NFL, College Football, EPL..... then maybe MLS (and PGA tour on Sunday). Only so many dollars and hours to devote to fandom!