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| Team Madonna. |
Yeah, yeah, I’m back on the review/preview concept. I have just a teenie-tiny preamble – there’s a lot below, so don’t be shy about bouncing around, I’ve embedded The Mothership’s game summaries for reference in any final score I mention, and I don’t cover everything from Week 9 or Week 10 (expect I’ll come closer with the preview stuff), and won’t going forward – but the post kicks off with previews for the two teams this site follows...for a dwindling readership. (Don’t cry for me Argentina. We all knew this time would come. And Eva Peron was a fascist and also not Madonna.)
[Ed. - Totally unrelated, I’ve done some thinking and now understand this entire project as a pathological need to show my homework. Still doing it, never got it over it....help?]
To pull out one thread I started above, most to the review stuff won’t be anything besides chatter. Plenty of places do long-form/numerical analysis, and good on ‘em, but the prime directive for these posts boils down to simply keeping tabs on trends and keeping a loose tabs on the teams that will give your local team a hard game versus the ones that will fork over their lunch money before the first punch. The actual review/preview stuff comes after the MLS Week 10 previews for FC Cincinnati and the Portland Timbers – who both have good/tough games this weekend. And, for what it's worth, I like both in the spirit of seeing where they are and an excuse to say I'm only drinking to the steady the nerves.
New England Revolution v FC Cincinnati: Clubber Lang v Rocky
New England: 6-1-2, 20 pts., 15 gf, 8 ga (goal. diff. +7) Last 6: WWTWTW
Notes on That: Some tough ones in there – e.g., Nashville and NYC at home, Columbus away – but they definitely padded the account with home wins over Montreal and, in Week 9, Sporting KC.
FC Cincinnati: 6-1-2, 20 pts., 12 gf, 10 ga (goal. diff. +2), hence 2nd place Last 6: TWWWLW
Notes on That: A wobble away to Chicago and borderline violence away to St. Louis puts a dent in Cincy’s early season rep as kings of the one-goal grind. The road record – 1-1-2 – bears noting in context.
On the one hand, you can look at last weekend's opposition – i.e., the heretofore execrable SKC – and think, what’s the point and then tune your ears to hear the people who argued that the Revs should have buried their last game as opposed to just winning the thing. And, factually, both the numbers and video point to them struggling harder than they should given 30+ minutes with an extra player on the field. (SKC’s Abreu Fontas got sent off around the 60th for a well-justified second yellow card.) On the other, one could point to how good the Revs looked between the 20th and 35th minute (one of several personal watching windows), when just about every pass went where the Revs/God intended despite SKC’s pressure and formation. The Revs still looked fine for the win – and that’s with them resting several regular starters – e.g., DeJuan Jones, Dylan Borrero, and Gustavo Bou (all or some of whom, for the record, could be ill, injured or in a cult; I don’t research every angle, because amateur).
[Ed. - Totally unrelated, I’ve done some thinking and now understand this entire project as a pathological need to show my homework. Still doing it, never got it over it....help?]
To pull out one thread I started above, most to the review stuff won’t be anything besides chatter. Plenty of places do long-form/numerical analysis, and good on ‘em, but the prime directive for these posts boils down to simply keeping tabs on trends and keeping a loose tabs on the teams that will give your local team a hard game versus the ones that will fork over their lunch money before the first punch. The actual review/preview stuff comes after the MLS Week 10 previews for FC Cincinnati and the Portland Timbers – who both have good/tough games this weekend. And, for what it's worth, I like both in the spirit of seeing where they are and an excuse to say I'm only drinking to the steady the nerves.
New England Revolution v FC Cincinnati: Clubber Lang v Rocky
New England: 6-1-2, 20 pts., 15 gf, 8 ga (goal. diff. +7) Last 6: WWTWTW
Notes on That: Some tough ones in there – e.g., Nashville and NYC at home, Columbus away – but they definitely padded the account with home wins over Montreal and, in Week 9, Sporting KC.
FC Cincinnati: 6-1-2, 20 pts., 12 gf, 10 ga (goal. diff. +2), hence 2nd place Last 6: TWWWLW
Notes on That: A wobble away to Chicago and borderline violence away to St. Louis puts a dent in Cincy’s early season rep as kings of the one-goal grind. The road record – 1-1-2 – bears noting in context.
On the one hand, you can look at last weekend's opposition – i.e., the heretofore execrable SKC – and think, what’s the point and then tune your ears to hear the people who argued that the Revs should have buried their last game as opposed to just winning the thing. And, factually, both the numbers and video point to them struggling harder than they should given 30+ minutes with an extra player on the field. (SKC’s Abreu Fontas got sent off around the 60th for a well-justified second yellow card.) On the other, one could point to how good the Revs looked between the 20th and 35th minute (one of several personal watching windows), when just about every pass went where the Revs/God intended despite SKC’s pressure and formation. The Revs still looked fine for the win – and that’s with them resting several regular starters – e.g., DeJuan Jones, Dylan Borrero, and Gustavo Bou (all or some of whom, for the record, could be ill, injured or in a cult; I don’t research every angle, because amateur).
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| Another legend with a forte... |
The first detail in that last paragraph points to something significant: stand-ins like Emmanuel Boateng, thoroughly new-kid Esmir Bajarktanevic and even Andrew Farrell (who replaced the absent Henry Kessler) played just fine - Boateng, in particular, played had a hand in both of New England’s goals – even if it took Carles Gil to hold it all together and get the most out of the eternal Emma Boateng. The argument builds up from there – e.g., Noel Buck did better than fine (also just 17 or 18), but he’ll only need to be there if Energizer/wrecking-ball Latif Blessing isn’t available – but whatever damage an out-of-position Christian Makoun did can be repaired by starting Jones instead. The point of all that is, unless Cincy fans see Gil’s name on the injury report – and that’s only if they first confirm they’re not seeing Nacho instead of Carles in front of it – Cincy will be facing a solid, talented Revs team regardless of who starts.
In practical terms, I think Cincy’s greatest challenges will come with breaking down the Revs’ four-man-plus-one defensive block – David Romney and Andrew Farrell behind Matt Polster paired with Blessing or Buck, and with Dorde Petrovic behind them – and figuring out how to manage Gil. If Gil can get on the ball and find breathing room – which, for the record, appears to be his motherfucking first-encore power-ballad – he can activate whoever Bruce Arena starts on the wings – could be Borrero, Bou, Bajraktarevic – with one pass and, if that pass opens a gap between Cincy’s midfield and defense, they may wind up performing an really unwelcome reprise of the latest thing to make SKC’s season worse last weekend.
So, how does Cincinnati manage this one? By (again, and sorry this has become a hang-up) focusing on rugged solidity and taking things from there. I’ve heard talk that the post-Brenner era has already dawned, which is what it is, but it’s not like Cincy wants for options and both Sergio Santos and Brandon Vazquez got going/goals last weekend and Luciano Acosta should be one week deeper into feeling better about his shoulder (and that sharp new haircut should let any man feel better). Moreover, I see Alvaro Barreal lining up on Brandon Bye’s side of the field as another advantage - Bye's a stunner, but that doesn't spare him from the odd gaffe - and I feel good about putting Cincinnati’s starting midfield block of Obinna Nwobodo and Jesus Moreno against just about any team in the league.
It won’t be easy, obviously, and a win is hardly vital...but don't let that stop that shiver of belief running down your spine.
St. Louis CITY FC v Portland Timbers: A Different Approach to the Steamroller
St. Louis: 6-2-1, 19 pts., 21 gf, 10 ga (goal. diff. +11) Last 6: WWLLWT
Notes on That: I believe the general consensus still expects them to collapse – and it’s not clear they can replace Joao Klauss (who I heard limped off last week) or Eduard Louwen – but they’re well capable of not just winning, but rolling.
Portland: 2-5-2, 8 pts., 11 gf, 15 ga (goal. diff. -4) Last 6: LTTLWL
Notes on That: Not a lot to love in there besides ruining Seattle’s weekend, that one time, but if you look at just the recent results (e.g., @DAL, @ VAN, v SEA, @ CIN), you could see most teams dropping those points.
In practical terms, I think Cincy’s greatest challenges will come with breaking down the Revs’ four-man-plus-one defensive block – David Romney and Andrew Farrell behind Matt Polster paired with Blessing or Buck, and with Dorde Petrovic behind them – and figuring out how to manage Gil. If Gil can get on the ball and find breathing room – which, for the record, appears to be his motherfucking first-encore power-ballad – he can activate whoever Bruce Arena starts on the wings – could be Borrero, Bou, Bajraktarevic – with one pass and, if that pass opens a gap between Cincy’s midfield and defense, they may wind up performing an really unwelcome reprise of the latest thing to make SKC’s season worse last weekend.
So, how does Cincinnati manage this one? By (again, and sorry this has become a hang-up) focusing on rugged solidity and taking things from there. I’ve heard talk that the post-Brenner era has already dawned, which is what it is, but it’s not like Cincy wants for options and both Sergio Santos and Brandon Vazquez got going/goals last weekend and Luciano Acosta should be one week deeper into feeling better about his shoulder (and that sharp new haircut should let any man feel better). Moreover, I see Alvaro Barreal lining up on Brandon Bye’s side of the field as another advantage - Bye's a stunner, but that doesn't spare him from the odd gaffe - and I feel good about putting Cincinnati’s starting midfield block of Obinna Nwobodo and Jesus Moreno against just about any team in the league.
It won’t be easy, obviously, and a win is hardly vital...but don't let that stop that shiver of belief running down your spine.
St. Louis CITY FC v Portland Timbers: A Different Approach to the Steamroller
St. Louis: 6-2-1, 19 pts., 21 gf, 10 ga (goal. diff. +11) Last 6: WWLLWT
Notes on That: I believe the general consensus still expects them to collapse – and it’s not clear they can replace Joao Klauss (who I heard limped off last week) or Eduard Louwen – but they’re well capable of not just winning, but rolling.
Portland: 2-5-2, 8 pts., 11 gf, 15 ga (goal. diff. -4) Last 6: LTTLWL
Notes on That: Not a lot to love in there besides ruining Seattle’s weekend, that one time, but if you look at just the recent results (e.g., @DAL, @ VAN, v SEA, @ CIN), you could see most teams dropping those points.
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| Not there when you need it. |
I sat through all of St. Louis Week 9 draw at Colorado (link below) and, jesus, was that a waste of time [Ed. - Using lower-case means you’re not blaspheming]. St. Louis couldn’t deploy their famous/thuggish press in the thin mountain air, and that allowed the Rapids tons of time on the ball, who did a swell job of pulling them apart, etc. Almost none of those factors – e.g., playing at altitude and passing the ball quickly and smartly (even when not given time, and hold this thought*) – will apply to the Timbers' next game, crucially, at St. Louis. The game will be at the opposite of altitude, obviously, and I doubt anyone would argue that Portland has the whole "passing quickly and smartly" thing down (...for now), but that doesn’t mean the Timbers can’t borrow pieces from the Rapids play book they can actually use.
As most people know by now, given preferred conditions, St. Louis’s defense starts from the front and primarily in the act of running at the nearest opposing player as fast as they can and pushing the line on what constitutes a foul just as vigorously. I am 100% they will return to that game-plan against the Timbers. With that, simple composure becomes the key to getting a point or a draw. Turning back to St. Louis’ game against Colorado, there’s also this little nugget from Matt Doyle’s latest beast of burden:
“The Rapids, for what it’s worth, generated a ton of chances by hitting big switches or dumping balls over the CITY press and into the channels. It was very similar to what we saw from Minnesota a few weeks back, and I suspect Bradley Carnell will have to prepare to face more of that.”
First, I think that undersells what the Rapids actually did based on watching 50 minutes of this game, give or take, because they played literally through St. Louis press multiple times. More than anything else - and this gets back to what the Timbers can do, if they so choose – the Rapids kept the ball moving. St. Louis didn’t look inclined to press at any period I watched besides the 50th-72nd minute, and even that gave Colorado more time than the Timbers should expect to have, but always knowing where the next pass will go – and, ideally, having two options in mind – will go a long way toward Portland beating St. Louis’ press.
Timbers fans who remember these team's first meeting may recall some names from St. Louis' starting XI. In what could be some good news (and with apologies in highlighting someone else’s setback), their tank of a No. 9, Joao Klauss, left the Colorado game after a non-contact sit-down. Them missing Klauss definitely counts as a break, but they’ll still have a smart, (generally) from-the-depths orchestrator in Eduard Louwen (who for the record, is hell to knock off the ball), and good outlets for him in Rasmus Alm (pretty good wide, strong shot from the right) and, especially, Nicholas Gioacchini. The former provides a wide threat, the latter speed and trickery inside - he did a number on Cincy - and so on; again, it’s no accident they're above Portland in the standings....
To float some ideas as to how to handle all that, there’s the thing about moving the ball, obviously, but a couple other things might help. First, the Timbers should use a forward to stretch St. Louis backline; that player doesn’t necessarily have to start – though, again, I’d be okay if he did – but I think putting ball-over-the-top pressure stretches St. Louis’ press by forcing defenders to drop away from the midfield. Long, booming diagonals, whether to Claudio Bravo, Santiago Moreno or Juan David Mosquera, could play a similar role, while punishing St. Louis for compacting to one side or the other at the same time.
Improvements in Portland’s passing game between Week 3, when they last played St. Louis, and last weekend should go a long way to making this game competitive. There’s still a lot to puzzle out – e.g., do the Timbers defend Louwen on passing and reception, or by covering his outlets? – but, because I can’t see Portland doing anything but bunkering and countering, I think the most important things boil down to being good on the ball when they have it and keeping compact when they don’t. And a good day on set-piece defending wouldn’t hurt either.
A Casual MLS Week 9 Review
The Fun Things
FC Cincinnati 2-1 Portland Timbers
New York City FC 3-1 FC Dalas
Orlando City SC 1-3 DC United
Philadelphia Union 4-2 Toronto FC
Real Salt Lake 3-1 San Jose Earthquakes
Atlanta United FC 2-1 Chicago Fire FC
Seattle Sounders 1-0 Minnesota United FC
As they come to me...
Cincinnati bounced back, which is nice, even if they didn’t bounce all that high (sorry, Timbers’ fans; my longer notes here), but I’d call NYCFC’s win over Dallas Week 9’s biggest result. It took them filling in the roster, but that’s two strong home wins in a row (they tagged Nashville the game before)...which might move people to note Les Pigeons’ 0-2-2 road record. It’s true they have four on the road coming up, but I’m looking at that run (@ TFC, @ CLT, @ RBNY, @ ORL) and feel like they don’t have a ton to worry about. One final thought: if Dallas doesn’t have the defense it did last season...
As most people know by now, given preferred conditions, St. Louis’s defense starts from the front and primarily in the act of running at the nearest opposing player as fast as they can and pushing the line on what constitutes a foul just as vigorously. I am 100% they will return to that game-plan against the Timbers. With that, simple composure becomes the key to getting a point or a draw. Turning back to St. Louis’ game against Colorado, there’s also this little nugget from Matt Doyle’s latest beast of burden:
“The Rapids, for what it’s worth, generated a ton of chances by hitting big switches or dumping balls over the CITY press and into the channels. It was very similar to what we saw from Minnesota a few weeks back, and I suspect Bradley Carnell will have to prepare to face more of that.”
First, I think that undersells what the Rapids actually did based on watching 50 minutes of this game, give or take, because they played literally through St. Louis press multiple times. More than anything else - and this gets back to what the Timbers can do, if they so choose – the Rapids kept the ball moving. St. Louis didn’t look inclined to press at any period I watched besides the 50th-72nd minute, and even that gave Colorado more time than the Timbers should expect to have, but always knowing where the next pass will go – and, ideally, having two options in mind – will go a long way toward Portland beating St. Louis’ press.
Timbers fans who remember these team's first meeting may recall some names from St. Louis' starting XI. In what could be some good news (and with apologies in highlighting someone else’s setback), their tank of a No. 9, Joao Klauss, left the Colorado game after a non-contact sit-down. Them missing Klauss definitely counts as a break, but they’ll still have a smart, (generally) from-the-depths orchestrator in Eduard Louwen (who for the record, is hell to knock off the ball), and good outlets for him in Rasmus Alm (pretty good wide, strong shot from the right) and, especially, Nicholas Gioacchini. The former provides a wide threat, the latter speed and trickery inside - he did a number on Cincy - and so on; again, it’s no accident they're above Portland in the standings....
To float some ideas as to how to handle all that, there’s the thing about moving the ball, obviously, but a couple other things might help. First, the Timbers should use a forward to stretch St. Louis backline; that player doesn’t necessarily have to start – though, again, I’d be okay if he did – but I think putting ball-over-the-top pressure stretches St. Louis’ press by forcing defenders to drop away from the midfield. Long, booming diagonals, whether to Claudio Bravo, Santiago Moreno or Juan David Mosquera, could play a similar role, while punishing St. Louis for compacting to one side or the other at the same time.
Improvements in Portland’s passing game between Week 3, when they last played St. Louis, and last weekend should go a long way to making this game competitive. There’s still a lot to puzzle out – e.g., do the Timbers defend Louwen on passing and reception, or by covering his outlets? – but, because I can’t see Portland doing anything but bunkering and countering, I think the most important things boil down to being good on the ball when they have it and keeping compact when they don’t. And a good day on set-piece defending wouldn’t hurt either.
A Casual MLS Week 9 Review
The Fun Things
FC Cincinnati 2-1 Portland Timbers
New York City FC 3-1 FC Dalas
Orlando City SC 1-3 DC United
Philadelphia Union 4-2 Toronto FC
Real Salt Lake 3-1 San Jose Earthquakes
Atlanta United FC 2-1 Chicago Fire FC
Seattle Sounders 1-0 Minnesota United FC
As they come to me...
Cincinnati bounced back, which is nice, even if they didn’t bounce all that high (sorry, Timbers’ fans; my longer notes here), but I’d call NYCFC’s win over Dallas Week 9’s biggest result. It took them filling in the roster, but that’s two strong home wins in a row (they tagged Nashville the game before)...which might move people to note Les Pigeons’ 0-2-2 road record. It’s true they have four on the road coming up, but I’m looking at that run (@ TFC, @ CLT, @ RBNY, @ ORL) and feel like they don’t have a ton to worry about. One final thought: if Dallas doesn’t have the defense it did last season...
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| The answer is always "no." |
Good to see Philly finally take an interest in league play (and they just drew LAFC at home in the CCL; was it worth it, Jim Curtin? was it worth it?!), but I wouldn’t over-read that result. It came after a soft run of five games (@ MTL, v ORL, v SKC, @ CIN, @ CHI) that paid out in a 0-3-2; could have been worse, obviously, but beating early 2023 Toronto at home counts as a must-win under the circumstances. Unlike the Union, Atlanta has a nice mix of wins (seriously), not to mention seven more points, but I caught a bit of their win over Chicago...who were 3 a.m. Saturday/Jell-o-shots sloppy while I watched. Has Chicago flattered to deceive yet again? I can only answer that I’ve seen them play quite well, something they’ll have to do over their next five games (v RBNY, @ NSH, v STL, @ CLT, v ATL) – which should also give a good read on them. To bring this section full circle, RSL has started taking care of business at home, but they also have a fucking stiff six games ahead of them (v SEA, @ HOU, v LAFC, v POR, @ COL, @ MIN). I’d call 6-9 points from that respectable.
Talking Chicago segues nicely into some more pointed questions – e.g., does Orlando just suck? Hold that thought because Orlando beat Minnesota just two weeks ago, the second of three-straight losses for them (two were road games, but still). Those three losses are the only reason Seattle v Minnesota made this section: less Minnesota above the playoff line means more room for, say, Portland, an observation that also applies to San Jose. The ‘Quakes have had a solid season so far...but they also followed the loss to Minnesota by getting bounced out of the U.S. Open Cup by Monterey Bay...
...yeah, yeah, there’s something else I could be doing right now, certainly better than passing on notes about...
These Are Games That Happened
Charlotte FC 1-0 Columbus Crew SC
Club de Foot Montreal 2-0 Red Bull New York
Houston Dynamo FC 1-0 Inter Miami CF
Nashville SC 1-1 Los Angeles FC
Colorado Rapids 1-1 St. Louis CITY FC
Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 Austin FC
Don’t get me wrong: there are plenty of good teams in that mix – real contenders, even – but I already noted the only actually interesting thing already, i.e., that Colorado played quite well against St. Louis; for those who haven’t heard, Connor Ronan looked real smart out there. To finish a thought started above, LAFC and Seattle feel like real-time contenders, but I rate teams like Columbus, Houston, and Nashville as “good,” if broadly. Going the other way, I saw a little hype bubble up after the Galaxy’s win over Austin, but I don’t see how calling that a good win shares the same head-space with thinking Austin ain’t good. And it was in LA to boot. Finally, because they’re special...
What It Means for Portland
When I look at the many (many, many) teams above the Timbers in the Western Conference table, I only see obstacles. The question of whether Portland shoves them out of the way or they remove themselves is all potato/potat-oh for me – hence the piqued interest in whither San Jose, RSL, and Minnesota. Should they fall, that means Portland can use them as so many Stairways to Heaven. Related, here’s the opposition and venue the Timbers need to get over between tonight and the end of June:
@ STL, v ATX, v VAN, @ RSL, v MIN, @ SKC, @ SEA, v FCD, @ SJ, v CHI, v NYC
As you can see, Portland gets all three – which is exactly what makes those big games in my mind. To echo something @JoFoTheShow tweeted at me, what Portland does between now and the end of May will go a long way to deciding what their season looks like...just throw June onto the pile.
What It Means for Cincinnati
Till further notice, I see them as more or less competitive against all comers. And that’s all that matters for now.
And, now, to look ahead....
MLS Week 10 Preview
I basically lined the games up, broke ‘em into categories and passed on some notes. Hopefully, I get a little more oomph into the notes than I put into the framing...
The Fun Things
New England Revolution v FC Cincinnati (game of the week, easily)
Top of the East clash, both teams coming off wins. Let's roll...
Nashville SC v Atlanta United FC
A solid runner-up. Atlanta’s been pretty stubborn on the road and Nashville doesn’t score a lot. I have a category below for insufferably dull games, but these teams are good enough for the result to matter – even a draw, if more from Atlanta’s perspective than Nashville's.
Real Salt Lake v Seattle Sounders
Sure, RSL has shaken off the rust, but winning this game would make it drop with a lot more volume. Very much related, this is easily Seattle’s hardest test on the road. Besides Portland, obviously.
Austin FC v San Jose Earthquakes
Austin’s basically spiraling, they haven’t won at home since beating Montreal in Week 2...but this could be San Jose’s last chance to win for some time. Their next six: v LAFC, @ LAG, @ LAFC, v FCD, @ SEA, and @ COL. At serious risk of slipping out of sight, basically...
Orlando City SC v Los Angeles Galaxy
Again, I saw way too much hype on Officially Approved Channels about LA turning a corner, but the only interesting question here is whether the Galaxy can shove Orlando under the playoff line. That’s only half as crazy as it sounds given Orlando’s fer real 1-3-1 home record. Again, that’s five of eight games at home, at least two against crap teams (e.g., Charlotte and DC).
The “Fun” Things
Vancouver Whitecaps v Colorado Rapids
I still get the feeling people think Vancouver will wake up at some point, and I’ve got this goddamn Colorado obsession, so here it is. That said, you’d probably have to pay the house if you laid down money on a draw.
Proof of Concept
DC United v Charlotte FC
DC has enough buzz to make this a must-win. That’s the point of interest.
Columbus Crew SC v Inter Miami CF
Columbus needs to win this.
St. Louis CITY FC v Portland Timbers
First, I hate being on the wrong end of this equation, this was not the script at all. An upset would be delightful, unlikely as it is.
Expected Massacres
Toronto FC v New York City FC
I’m probably selling Toronto short here, especially given NYC’s road record, but the Canadians also seem nervy AF and everything I’ve heard tells me NYC keeps getting better.
Vaguely Sad
Minnesota United FC v FC Dallas
The cream of this bunch, no question, but VERY likely to be dull as the opposite of fuck (because, fun!) and end in a draw...but it instantly becomes interesting if Dallas wins.
Chicago Fire FC v Red Bull New York
As noted above, I’ve lost faith in Chicago becoming good – and to the point where a home win over a positively staggering Red Bulls team wouldn’t change my mind.
Sporting Kansas City v Club de Foot Montreal
These teams are terrible. Charity demands giving each team one shiny point, just so they know the feeling.
That’s it. Time to see what actually happens!
Talking Chicago segues nicely into some more pointed questions – e.g., does Orlando just suck? Hold that thought because Orlando beat Minnesota just two weeks ago, the second of three-straight losses for them (two were road games, but still). Those three losses are the only reason Seattle v Minnesota made this section: less Minnesota above the playoff line means more room for, say, Portland, an observation that also applies to San Jose. The ‘Quakes have had a solid season so far...but they also followed the loss to Minnesota by getting bounced out of the U.S. Open Cup by Monterey Bay...
...yeah, yeah, there’s something else I could be doing right now, certainly better than passing on notes about...
These Are Games That Happened
Charlotte FC 1-0 Columbus Crew SC
Club de Foot Montreal 2-0 Red Bull New York
Houston Dynamo FC 1-0 Inter Miami CF
Nashville SC 1-1 Los Angeles FC
Colorado Rapids 1-1 St. Louis CITY FC
Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 Austin FC
Don’t get me wrong: there are plenty of good teams in that mix – real contenders, even – but I already noted the only actually interesting thing already, i.e., that Colorado played quite well against St. Louis; for those who haven’t heard, Connor Ronan looked real smart out there. To finish a thought started above, LAFC and Seattle feel like real-time contenders, but I rate teams like Columbus, Houston, and Nashville as “good,” if broadly. Going the other way, I saw a little hype bubble up after the Galaxy’s win over Austin, but I don’t see how calling that a good win shares the same head-space with thinking Austin ain’t good. And it was in LA to boot. Finally, because they’re special...
What It Means for Portland
When I look at the many (many, many) teams above the Timbers in the Western Conference table, I only see obstacles. The question of whether Portland shoves them out of the way or they remove themselves is all potato/potat-oh for me – hence the piqued interest in whither San Jose, RSL, and Minnesota. Should they fall, that means Portland can use them as so many Stairways to Heaven. Related, here’s the opposition and venue the Timbers need to get over between tonight and the end of June:
@ STL, v ATX, v VAN, @ RSL, v MIN, @ SKC, @ SEA, v FCD, @ SJ, v CHI, v NYC
As you can see, Portland gets all three – which is exactly what makes those big games in my mind. To echo something @JoFoTheShow tweeted at me, what Portland does between now and the end of May will go a long way to deciding what their season looks like...just throw June onto the pile.
What It Means for Cincinnati
Till further notice, I see them as more or less competitive against all comers. And that’s all that matters for now.
And, now, to look ahead....
MLS Week 10 Preview
I basically lined the games up, broke ‘em into categories and passed on some notes. Hopefully, I get a little more oomph into the notes than I put into the framing...
The Fun Things
New England Revolution v FC Cincinnati (game of the week, easily)
Top of the East clash, both teams coming off wins. Let's roll...
Nashville SC v Atlanta United FC
A solid runner-up. Atlanta’s been pretty stubborn on the road and Nashville doesn’t score a lot. I have a category below for insufferably dull games, but these teams are good enough for the result to matter – even a draw, if more from Atlanta’s perspective than Nashville's.
Real Salt Lake v Seattle Sounders
Sure, RSL has shaken off the rust, but winning this game would make it drop with a lot more volume. Very much related, this is easily Seattle’s hardest test on the road. Besides Portland, obviously.
Austin FC v San Jose Earthquakes
Austin’s basically spiraling, they haven’t won at home since beating Montreal in Week 2...but this could be San Jose’s last chance to win for some time. Their next six: v LAFC, @ LAG, @ LAFC, v FCD, @ SEA, and @ COL. At serious risk of slipping out of sight, basically...
Orlando City SC v Los Angeles Galaxy
Again, I saw way too much hype on Officially Approved Channels about LA turning a corner, but the only interesting question here is whether the Galaxy can shove Orlando under the playoff line. That’s only half as crazy as it sounds given Orlando’s fer real 1-3-1 home record. Again, that’s five of eight games at home, at least two against crap teams (e.g., Charlotte and DC).
The “Fun” Things
Vancouver Whitecaps v Colorado Rapids
I still get the feeling people think Vancouver will wake up at some point, and I’ve got this goddamn Colorado obsession, so here it is. That said, you’d probably have to pay the house if you laid down money on a draw.
Proof of Concept
DC United v Charlotte FC
DC has enough buzz to make this a must-win. That’s the point of interest.
Columbus Crew SC v Inter Miami CF
Columbus needs to win this.
St. Louis CITY FC v Portland Timbers
First, I hate being on the wrong end of this equation, this was not the script at all. An upset would be delightful, unlikely as it is.
Expected Massacres
Toronto FC v New York City FC
I’m probably selling Toronto short here, especially given NYC’s road record, but the Canadians also seem nervy AF and everything I’ve heard tells me NYC keeps getting better.
Vaguely Sad
Minnesota United FC v FC Dallas
The cream of this bunch, no question, but VERY likely to be dull as the opposite of fuck (because, fun!) and end in a draw...but it instantly becomes interesting if Dallas wins.
Chicago Fire FC v Red Bull New York
As noted above, I’ve lost faith in Chicago becoming good – and to the point where a home win over a positively staggering Red Bulls team wouldn’t change my mind.
Sporting Kansas City v Club de Foot Montreal
These teams are terrible. Charity demands giving each team one shiny point, just so they know the feeling.
That’s it. Time to see what actually happens!
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