Author Topic: Soccer Discussion: 1.67% Chance of Being the Best Thread on the NWR Forums  (Read 228085 times)

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Offline NWR_insanolord

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Even without all this expansion we weren't going to see promotion/relegation anytime soon, and I don't know that it'll have too much of an impact on ending the single-entity structure. The league has pretty much doubled in size in the last decade, and yet the level of talent has increased substantially over the same span, so I'm not too worried about that, especially with the big increase in TV revenue if rumors of the new deal are accurate.
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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The real issue with all this expansion is all four announced teams are on the east coast, which will force conference realignment, likely pushing Kansas City, the defending champs, and Houston, runner up the two years before that, into a Western Conference that's already significantly stronger and deeper than the East.
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Offline Soren

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I hate the conference setup, but the single table alternative isn't going to be viable with that many teams unfortunately. In an ideal world I would love it if they took the Apertura/Clausura model, which would place a bigger emphasis on regular season results. I just don't think it could work for teams dealing with regular season + playoffs + US Open + Champions League. It would be too much.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2014, 12:53:45 PM by Soren »
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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Unlike some of the things the league did early on to court American sports fans, like not letting games end in ties, I think the playoff structure is good for the league. European leagues don't usually do it that way within individual leagues, but the Champions League is effectively the playoffs for them. Maybe when and if the CONCACAF Champions League becomes a bigger deal/more competitive they can consider scaling it back some.

As you pointed out, a balanced schedule really isn't in the cards for a league as big as it's going to be, and without that putting a ton of importance on the regular season doesn't seem like a fair deal.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2014, 01:14:14 PM by NWR_insanolord »
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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Not only are my Sounders crazy hot right now, but my EPL team, Liverpool, is on the verge of winning their first title in a quarter century.
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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Maybe the biggest remaining game in the English Premier League season kicks off this afternoon, with Everton taking on Manchester City. If Liverpool are going to be able to hang on and win the league they need City to drop points somewhere along the line, and this seems like the most likely chance of that happening. It's a pretty interesting situation to be in for Liverpool and Everton, hated cross-town rivals forced into a rare common interest situation.
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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The Sounders are just unstoppable right now. Tonight was their fourth win in a row, and they've got the best record in the league. The main key seems to be their relentless attack combined with incredible attacking depth.

They've got Kenny Cooper, who a couple years back scored 18 goals in a season, coming off the bench, so he's full energy coming out against a gassed opponent for the final third. They've now scored 8 goals in the final 15 minutes of gamed in the 9 games they've played so far this year.
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Offline Soren

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So Liverpool just blew a 3-0 lead to snatch a tie from the jaws of victory. The title is Manchester City's to lose.


I can't wait to see how City blows it.
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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To be fair, the title was already City's to lose. If both they and Liverpool had won out it'd have ended in a tie and City has a 9-point lead in goal differential.
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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Today the long-rumored ESPN/Fox deal for the MLS TV rights was made official. It's a massive bump up in money from the previous deal, to the point that it seems like kind of a bad move on their part, but this influx of cash will allow the league to take the next step in its development.
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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World Cup training camp for the United States has begun. Klinsmann brought in 30 guys, has to cut that down to 23 by June 2. Expect some kind of crazy free-for-all among the defenders, because the only guy there that's really locked down his spot is Matt Besler. It's a combination of guys who are past their prime (DaMarcus Beasley, for example) and guys who probably aren't ready for this level yet (my boy DeAndre Yedlin).
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Offline Soren

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Today the long-rumored ESPN/Fox deal for the MLS TV rights was made official. It's a massive bump up in money from the previous deal, to the point that it seems like kind of a bad move on their part, but this influx of cash will allow the league to take the next step in its development.


The worst part might be hearing Gus Johnson's voice on the Fox broadcasts but all in all it looks like a good deal. Fridays on Univision plus a doubleheader every Sunday night sounds good.
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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Sepp Blatter has admitted giving the World Cup to Qatar was a mistake, making him the last person in the world to realize that.


Today the long-rumored ESPN/Fox deal for the MLS TV rights was made official. It's a massive bump up in money from the previous deal, to the point that it seems like kind of a bad move on their part, but this influx of cash will allow the league to take the next step in its development.


The worst part might be hearing Gus Johnson's voice on the Fox broadcasts but all in all it looks like a good deal. Fridays on Univision plus a doubleheader every Sunday night sounds good.

NBC's coverage was better, but for the kind of money they're getting and guaranteed consistent time slots I'll absolutely take that hit.
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Offline Soren

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Sepp Blatter has admitted giving the World Cup to Qatar was a mistake, making him the last person in the world to realize that.


Blatter only admitted the "it's going to be too hot to play in the summer" part of giving Qatar the bid completely glossing over the massive human rights violations going on and the fact that Qatar is not ready to host such a massive event. No regrets!



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Offline NWR_insanolord

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Obafemi Martins, out of Clint Dempsey's shadow while he's off with the national team, scores one of the best goals you'll ever see in the Sounders' 1-0 win over San Jose.

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Offline NWR_insanolord

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Portugal released their World Cup roster, and sadly my hopes of some kind of insane clerical error keeping Christiano Ronaldo off it didn't come to pass. That game in the Amazon looks to be a pretty big one.
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Offline Caliban

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I wouldn't be too worried Insanolord. In my opinion I don't think we have a great team. One player can't carry the whole team all the time, and if the other players can't keep up with Cristiano then there isn't much of a team to begin with. I'm just being humble because I know how the Portuguese can utterly fail against teams that should suffer 10+ goals.

Offline NWR_insanolord

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Third in the world according to FIFA, though.

The one nice thing is the US-Portugal game is going to be played under conditions that probably favor the US. It's in the Amazon, which involves a lot of travel, which MLS-based players are used to, and also very hot and humid conditions, which you get used to playing qualifiers in Central America.

That's the key game for us, I think. We should be able to beat Ghana without too much trouble, and if we can get a win from Portugal we've got a decent chance to get through regardless of what we do against Germany.
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Offline Caliban

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Ugh FIFA rankings... anyway. Yeah I also think that the tropical weather might affect the European teams. It will be interesting to see how they play in such conditions.

Offline NWR_insanolord

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Klinsmann's named the final 23-man roster, and if you thought Eddie Johnson being left off the 30-man was controversial you ain't seen nothing yet.

Landon Donovan, veteran of 3 World Cups and probably the best American non-keeper to ever play the game, will be watching on TV with the rest of us. Meanwhile, Chris Wondolowski, a man I've argued up and down doesn't have the talent to play at this level, is on the plane.

Also, there's a pretty significant youth movement, with my boy DeAndre Yedlin, John Anthony Brooks, and a guy who three months ago wasn't eligible to play for the US in Julian Green are all going to Brazil.

There are some pretty bold choices here, and if they don't work out Jurgen's going to take a whole lot of **** for them. He should probably be thankful the USSF already extended his contract through the next World Cup cycle.
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Offline Soren

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This is a great team...for 2018.
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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I mean, I think there's a good chance Yedlin and Brooks never see the field, and Green will almost certainly only be used as a sub, but yeah. Still, aside from Donovan pretty much everyone you'd expect is going, so it's not like they're just taking the U21 team.
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My jaw dropped when I saw that Landon wasn't on the roster. However, he hasn't been a major factor throughout this cycle so I can see why Klinsmann dropped him. Interesting roster selections. That back line has me worried though, some good players like Besler, Cameron and Gonzalez, we'll see how they handle the group of death though.


The most interesting story IMHO is this however: http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/wynalda-says-he-has-insider-info-that-julian-green-was-guaranteed-a-spot-on-the-23-man-roster.2004631


What do you guys think? Also was it smart to take an extremely promising but unproven talent to Brazil over more experienced options?
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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I feel bad for hoping Ronaldo gets hurt, but at the same time I don't stop hoping that.
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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A bit late, but my thoughts on last night's friendly with Azerbaijan:

Our back line, generally (and accurately) considered the weak point of the team, looked great, though part of that was certainly the overall lack of pressure against it. Still, not really anything bad to say about any member of it, and I personally loved DeAndre Yedlin's shoulder-first body check of whoever that guy was.

Conversely, just as the perceived weak point of the team was great, Michael Bradley, widely considered the best player on the team not named Tim Howard, played terribly. Even though Jermaine Jones actually stayed back and played defense so Bradley could get forward like you'd want him to, it fell flat. I'd be shocked if Klinsy doesn't start Kyle Beckerman over Jones in the next friendly; for whatever reason, Bradley just doesn't perform well when paired with Jones.

Mix Diskerud, who took the number 10 after Donovan got cut, played like a guy who deserved to be wearing that number. He had probably one of the best performances of anybody on the team last night, and while that's not saying a ton, I think he put himself in a good position to win the job starting on the wing opposite Zusi, especially with how unremarkable Bedoya was.

Jozy Altidore didn't look great, but there was enough of a showing to think he might just be able to break out of his funk for the tournament. Jozy's an extremely talented striker when he can get his head on straight, and one of the best things you can say about Jurgen Klinsmann is he seems to do a better job than anyone else of getting him there.
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