MLS Week 22 Games Notes: Philadelphia Union v. New York Red Bulls

Not all introductions go well.

(I watch the damn things, so it always feels like a waste to not comment on it. I just couldn't figure out how to get them into the weekly MLS wrap. So I stopped trying. Oh, and I updated the Conifers & Citrus Interest Rankings - see right sidebar!)

Why I Watched
The Philadelphia Union picked up the kind of player that fascinates me – e.g. foreign guy that I've never heard of, but who looks to have a decent resume. Yep, I'm watching for Tranquillo Barnetta (whose name sounds made up). There are more new guys to watch on the other side of the center-stripe, too, what with the New York Red Bulls now lousy with Wrights-Phillipseses.

Overall (Or, Was It Worth It?)
Yeah, if only for the way it told two tales of a player's league debut: Philly had Barnetta come on about the 64th minute; he coughed up a penalty to New York at, oh...the 66th minute (NOTE: Unofficial count....well, nailed it, actually). New York's Shaun Wright-Phillips, on the other hand, showed off a little of what he's all about (e.g. dribbling/combining; good wheels), all the way up to setting up his brother, one Bradley, for one of New York's three. Details aside, I called the game "territorial" in my notes. I'm not saying that neither side wanted possession, but the primary focus appeared more about getting the ball into the opposition's half and, through high pressing, keeping it there. It wasn't always pretty, or even often – that's not a style I like a lot – but the game sorted out about right (e.g. 3-1 to New York).

Notes on Philly
Because I don’t watch them a ton, I can't say if Philly always struggles with some defensive fundamentals, but they did against New York. The biggest one: a failure to sort out quickly, who goes to the ball and who follows the player. Happened all over with them, and it didn't help. That said, the Union does some things I like – e.g. when they're wide, the look for runs that cut inside at the top of the box instead of continuing toward the touchline to get behind. Mixes it up nicely, for me. Uh, what else? Sebastian Le Toux still has both the spit and fire. Also, Gaddis strikes me as good symbol for Philly as a club: reasonably good, but a bit too sloppy with...everything – e.g. passing, trapping, movement. And, to circle back on the reason I tuned in, Barnetta neither impressed nor disappointed me. He just looked like he didn't quite know what was going on, when he needed to know it. It'll come. Probably.

Notes on Red Bulls
First of all, this is not a great team. It is a good and competitive one, though, and that carries a team far enough in MLS, and even further in the East. One thing I like about New York: how well their midfielders assist with getting the ball out of the back, mainly through finding good angles for outlets. It's just understanding movement, really, and it's not all that different from what Columbus does; New York just looks more comfortable doing it sometimes. New York's other strong suit: defensive rotations; this helps them so much with keeping the game in front of their defense. And, on better days, this happens when the defense breaks down. OK, don't want to go much longer (I have a one-page limit for these), so I'm just going to list 'em: Damien Perrinelle gripes a ton (wait, no, that's Toronto FC's Damien Perquis; my bad...but, jesus, the tantrums Perquis threw), but he's also very intelligent; his defending isn't flawless, by any means, but he reads the big picture very well and his covering runs show it. Matt Miazga could very well be something special; kid looks like a stork, but he's very accurate with those big dangly feet. Finally, when the Wright-Phillips’ combined to score, the approach play felt very English (or I'm exaggerating...shh...) to me: quick and athletic. That feels like a new look for New York, but...well, I'm not sure I think it should.

All for now...

MLS Week 1: Talking Points, Speculation....and BLACK GOLD!!!

You don't like Houston? Or Colorado? You're WRONG!

If nothing else, Major League Soccer's (MLS) opening weekend revealed that MLS Live will only carry me so far in 2015, at least in terms of timeliness. That 48-hour national/regional broadcast delay will conspire to keep me away from the marquee match-ups. Is this a problem to solve or a limitation to embrace? Hmmm...

Regardless, below is the planned posting schedule for Conifers and Citrus. I'll do my best to honor it (and, no, every week will not feature long, house-keeping preambles):

Monday: 10 (loose) talking points on the prior weekend's hot action.
Wednesday: A look ahead at the Portland Timbers news and next weekend's match.
Thursday: Round-up of the 10 stories from all the games I couldn't watch.
Whenever: Post-match thoughts and analysis for Timbers games.

In general, don't expect deep diving into tactics or club minutiae for the round-up posts (other people do that, and well, and they get paid for it). When I talk sports, it hails from the looser precincts of the human body (e.g. off the cuff, from the gut, out of the ass, etc.). As such, I enjoy a love/hate relationship with the data explosion (see: all the Opta crap) that has lately seized the sport – by which I mean I only value it insofar as it confirms what I already know. (I coulda been president, I tell ya! (W. I kid, I kid)). I think I will, however, shake what the good lord gave me – e.g. that subscription to MLS Live – and focus on the games it serves up; I'll only hit the national market stuff when the match-up compels viewing (see: Portland Timbers games and the games that the progress of the season imbues with due and defining stature). All in all, though, I suffer from a "wise-guy impulse" – i.e. the powerful urge to be first to see great things or hidden failings in a team or a player before anyone else. Basically, there will be speculation. If I break better than 50/50, I'm changing my name to Cassandra.

Jesus, enough preamble, man. Below is what I took in over course of Week 1:

Los Angeles Galaxy v. Chicago Fire, 2nd half
Vancouver Whitecaps v. Toronto FC
Portland Timbers v. Real Salt Lake (live, dammit!)
Houston Dynamo v. Columbus Crew (late, and a little bleary-eyed)
Orlando City FC v. New York City FC, 2nd half

I hope to match or better that schedule each week. Everything else came by way of highlights.

Toronto FC Drops the Mike, Wins the 2014-15 Offseason

TFC fans would never abandon a sinking ship. NEVER.

Unless some other Major League Soccer (MLS) club embarks on a true drunken sailor spree, I hereby declare Toronto FC the official winner of the 2014-15 offseason. This means retiring the only series of this blog's short life. Sad day and all that, but we’ll have games to talk about soon enough. Right? (Fucking CBA negotiations...just give them free agency, you assholes...)

How does a club "win" the offseason? In short, by making the most, and, by assumption, the best steps to make its first team competitive in 2015. In other words, this isn't about which clubs look set to win it all in 2015 – teams returning strong teams, like the Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders FC, look fine there – but instead asks which club set itself up best to improve over their 2014. Or even to challenge for the top of...something.

(And, for the record, I do rule out the two expansion clubs, Orlando City FC  and New York City FC, because, 1) they have no MLS track record and, therefore, no yesterday’s apples with which to compare to today’s apples; and 2) expansion clubs’ rosters are, by definition, ground-up rebuilds. So, of course they've done more than anyone else.)

Back to TFC, their super-signings got plenty of press. Anyone who missed the arrivals of Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco probably doesn't actually think about MLS, at all, so no links for them! The problem was that neither of them addressed the widely-held/likely-safe, assumption that balance issues kept TFC from looking like a contender. Put it this way: till today, the weight of talent for this club rested at the fore of the good ship. Toronto appreciated this problem, so they dropped some weight at the back. And – pow! - they righted TFC's little dinghy. (Who's in the mood for a song? My ding-a-ling, my ding-a-ling! Won’t you play with my ding-a-ling!)

Between some solid experience for former clubs and country, and some nice club names on the ol' CV, Damien Perquis provides enough (apparent) weight to get TFC's boat sailing damn close to level. This morning, much like, oh, let's go with a drug dealer, a man carefully adding and removing his sweet, sweet contraband to the opposite side of the scale, TFC finally (if only arguably) fully balanced the scales with the trade for Eriq Zavaleta. Combine personal biases and how my neurons chat one to the other and this gets TFC over the threshold for me. That's right, just one more tiny piece and they've done enough to get me believing that, holy hallelujah, those extraordinarily loyal fans up north have got the team they deserve. Get cocky, Toronto...

Zavaleta may or may not mean all that much in the grand scheme, but he looks experienced enough to provide depth for one or both of TFC's existing, fairly decent fullbacks, Justin Morrow and Mark Bloom (or, if ignorance means I have him lined up in the wrong part of the back line, eh, he's still depth at the back). Perquis should challenge to a starting role and, as such, he provides the more important service. Worst case, he spells Stephen Caldwell and helps Nick Hagglund grow into the big-boy soccer boots.

So, congrats to Toronto FC and their brain trust. And to the several other nominees considered over the life of this short series – chiefly, the Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew SC, and the Houston Dynamo – thanks for playing and good luck.

In closing, sorry about the jinx, Toronto! And best of luck to you in 2015!