Our training staff might be sub par

Espinoza didn't do much that should not be a yellow despite what our announcers say imo

Maybe I'm wrong

Why did they drop Callum? He was really good and iirc really young as well

****

lmaooo

Officially, it was stated they couldn't reach an agreement. However, in the offseason, Robb Heineman said the ownership wanted to "Americanize" the broadcast. They probably just wanted to get rid of the accent. Maybe not, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Callum is back home covering MLS for Sky Sports. My friend was an intern for SKC, and said Cal was one of the nicest and most knowledgeable people there.

Every commentator should have an english accent, if they don't they should just fake it. Broadcast would immediately be 10000x more watchable.

Some quick hot takes on all the teams from what I watched yesterday along with STATS (didn't watch nyrb v san jose or nycfc v phi)

CLB/SKC/LAG - All really good, definitely look a step above any of the other teams I saw.

LAG seemed to have a lot of line up rotation from what was originally predicted so I imagine their ceiling is probably higher than what I saw yesterday. Jamieson was great and I'd be excited about him if I was a galaxy fan. Alan gordon was pretty meh and I was disappointed villarreal didn't start as I was looking forward to seeing him play since he has great stats. Rogers was great, mind boggling he hasn't been called up to the USMNT as he seems pretty versatile as well and could play def or midfield on the wing.

CLB - was spot on when I thought CLB was one of the stronger teams in the league stats wise. Very well organized and great offensively. Meram/Kamara/Higuain/Finlay will be a nasty front 4 and grana is great going forward with good service.

SKC - Looked very solid and were unlucky not to knick a point. Dwyer seems like a pretty clinical forward, but also has some very good ball skills + hold up play. Zusi underwhelmed but feilhaber looked great. De Jong seems like a great attacking full back and unfortunate he got injured.

COL/SEA/FCD -
Throwing all these teams in my mid tier.

Colorado had an absolutely obscene 27 shots vs seattle and the 3-1 scoreline really flattered Seattle. Seattle finished their chances well, and had a bit more quality. Dillon Powers is an absolute monster though and I expect a lot of good things from him through the year.

FCD - Was really high on castillo and thought with how bad toronto's defense was he was going to have a great game. It's unfortunate the delay broke up the game cause this probably could have been an absolute mauling had it been played through. I'll give FCD the benefit of the doubt letting toronto back into the game because of the situation though.

SEA - In terms of sheer individual quality they will likely steamroll some teams even though they probably aren't that great. They seem a bit suspect on defense, so I feel like the top tier teams will pick them apart. They are converting their chances at a pretty high rate, which may just be because their players are so much better up front, but they will likely see some regression.

HOU/VAN -

Didn't get to see much of these games, but houston looked good defensively and will likely be a tough team to beat. Beasley some how still looks great, and brad davis has some really great service. Giles Barnes seems like their best offensive threat and I think he will have a great year.

Vancouver on the other hand was part of probably part of the biggest snooze fest of the night. The parts of the match i did catch were fairly woeful. Rivero despite scoring a lot of goals was likely running stupid hot and will probably not continue on that streak. Was disappointed manneh didn't start as well as rosales as they were both players i was interested in seeing.

ORL -

For the time I watched the game orlando looked pretty solid, they pressed well and had some good interplay. Probably were unlucky not to get a goal while it was scoreless. I expect good things out of this team and kaka is a good creative hub to base their build up play through.

RSL/DC

By far the 2 worst teams on the night. DC is absolutely woeful and doesn't really look to have much cohesion. They are shambolic in their defensive structure and don't have very good build up play. Mostly just hoofball and reliance on service into the box + set pieces. Definitely plan on piling on whoever they play esp if dc is on the road.

RSL -

Was disappointed morales didn't start, but i think someone mentioned he was their creative hub. Phillips service and saborios runs were the only positive aspects for them. I'll reserve judgement a bit though till i see morales. This teams going to get mollywhopped on the road for sure a couple times this season.

TOR

This team is so bad defensively. It's unfortunate cause they have some genuine quality offensive. They need some non **** center backs and they might be good. However, there is some hope as they have a near even XGR, which is actually impressive for having player ALL THEIR GAMES ON THE ROAD. If this team gets their **** together, they will go on a run when they get to play all their home games. Giovinco is easily the best offensive player in the league by a country mile and id bet he'll end the season with the most scorepoints.

That's all for now, will poast moar when i watch the next two games.

jermaine jones looks like a blimp

nice fitness level

what a fk by maidana

Ya was all over him when he started. Nguyen was prob a fade, though I thought revs would have some goals in them. Theyve looked awful. Meanwhile philly looks pretty good (suspected they were way better than their record). Pfeffer is someone to look out for.

anyone know anything about this fullback of theirs? Grana i think
apparently jumped out to a big lead in crosses completed or something this season

wanted to get a look at him but i don't think he played when they were in Vancouver recently

yeah we knew going in it'd be that way with the Whitecaps' talisman Pedro Morales suspended, as he basically creates all their offense. not the easiest place to play either, they essentially lined up with 3 CDMs for the first time since last summer. it was pretty obvious what they were going for, and they came away with the 3 points, so hey.

don't think i agree with this

Rivero looks like the real deal to me, very strong and talented. good with the ball, maybe decent in the air, makes great runs (which when playing with Morales = profit), lots of energy, good poaching instincts. the total package basically, looks like the best striker this club has ever had. the goal scoring might slow down due to scouting and preparation combined with how VWFC tend to play, but i feel pretty confident that he'll continue to bag his share of goals if he stays healthy. no real concerns with him at all.

yeah Manneh was a combination of tactics and rest, he's still a little inconsistent
they were about to bring him on before Mattocks scored

Rosales was just returning from injury, came on as a sub late, was the one fouled on RSL's straight red card, nearly sent right back to the training room, lol

anyway, nice post

Revs played at half-speed today and won on the road. Unbeaten in last 5. Still best team in MLS.

one of the most boring halves of football you will ever see

Id say the revs arent even one of the 5 best teams.

lol

Revs were 9-1-1 with Jermaine Jones last year, and a win and a draw since his return from hernia surgery.

They added Juan Agudelo, as well, who is a good striker in this league.

Top-5:

• Los Angeles
• New England
• Seattle
• ???
• ???

think the Revs are there by default
loads of talent
should probably be considered a failure if they don't win the East this year

Columbus def in top 5. Has jones been out majority of the year? Could explain a small part of their bad stats.

Yes. This was Jones first game back this season.

I like most of your assessments of the teams. Will have more feedback once I sober up post HAWKS

Early season, so def some sample size issues that may cause me to be WAY off base with teams. I misssed the second half of the revs game, but they were legit awful in the 1st. NYCFC v POR was fairly fun even though it lacked goals, really open game in some parts. NYC was really unlucky to not get a point in that game.

NYCFC and POR are probably solid mid tier teams. Think NYCFC has a bigger ceiling though as they were missing mix + villa.

Portland still missing Valeri & Johnson last time i looked

2 pretty important pieces for them

Side Note: WTF is with all the massive rotation, didn't the season just start? Teams should be fairly healthy no? Is it injuries? Lack of fitness? Rarely seen this kind of wholesale consistent rotation among teams from any other leagues I've watched.

You guys obviously mentioned this, but didn't think it would occur to this extent.

Just coming back from NYCFC game , they are running pretty bad imo, still are a Expansion team but need to execute better

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