MLS Thread.

Nordecke · November 3, 2010

TX Bill said:
Great interview with Steven Lenhart of the Crew on my new favorite website, The Shin Guardian:

http://theshinguardian.com/2010/10/28/steven-lenhart/

Great site bro.

KevO · November 3, 2010

I was hopeful to take this series, but we have some sort of block when it comes to scoring in the playoffs. We should have won that 2-1. Now we have to go to LA and pull off a 2 shot victory... Please have it in ya Sounders!

TX Bill · November 4, 2010

Kind of a sad day in MLS.

NE Revs Taylor Twellman forced to retire due to concussion injuries. He was pretty much the face of the franchise and was one heck of a dangerous player. Lots of respect for him and the organization as a whole. Spend a bit of time and watch the press conference here:

http://beta.revolutionsoccer.net/videos?id=10210

Everton supporters excuse the appearance of head man Steve Nicol.

mtnkill · November 4, 2010

Goff's initial report on his blog had a great breakdown on Twellman's impact in MLS:

At his peak, was there a truer pure scorer in MLS? Raul Diaz Arce and Carlos Ruiz would make the short list, but no one can match Twellman's strike rate: 101 goals in 174 regular season matches. He is sixth on the all-time scoring chart, and everyone ahead of him needed far more appearances to compile their totals.

Jaime Moreno: 133 in 340 games
Jeff Cunningham: 132 in 344
Ante Razov: 114 in 262
Jason Kreis: 108 in 305
Landon Donovan: 103 in 232

Of note: Only three of Twellman's goals were on penalty kicks (Moreno had 44, Donovan has 22); he was 3 for 3 in 2002, 0 for 1 in '03 and 0 for 1 in '04. ... He had 10 goals in 21 playoff matches and six in 30 U.S. national team appearances (16 starts). In January 2006, he had a hat trick against Norway.

Sad, sad day for the Revs.

Kay20 · November 5, 2010

Holy crap: San Jose beat NY! Bummer for ESPN.

The Yank · November 5, 2010

Bummer for everyone because the Smurfs suck. I felt so bad for Juan Pablo Angel. It was likely his last game with New York and his teammates played like [Poor language removed]. He was in the right places nearly all the time yet his mates had their heads down and never saw the clear pass for an easy open shot.

That Agudelo kid looked decent with a good touch and good control but he never looked up to see JPA wide open. Angel looked like he was on the verge of crying after the loss.

Anyways I have always had fun watching Geovanni play and now that he is in the MLS it will be nice to see him in another playoff game. Come on LA!

The Yank · November 5, 2010

Bummer for everyone because the Smurfs suck. I felt so bad for Juan Pablo Angel. It was likely his last game with New York and his teammates played like [Poor language removed]. He was in the right places nearly all the time yet his mates had their heads down and never saw the clear pass for an easy open shot.

That Agudelo kid looked decent with a good touch and good control but he never looked up to see JPA wide open. Angel looked like he was on the verge of crying after the loss.

Anyways I have always had fun watching Geovanni play and now that he is in the MLS it will be nice to see him in another playoff game. Come on LA!

pfim · November 5, 2010

I think JPA was guilty of the same. It seems like they would build up a good attack, and the ball would get to the attacking players, too much tunnel-vision. Richards was downright awful. Marquez was craptastic.

Happy for Convey, though. Guy has had a lot of injuries derail his career. Thought he looked pretty decent in the LB role, showed good speed against Richards in defense. And he has a sweet, sweet left foot, something that pretty much no one else has in the USMNT player pool.

Agudelo should see a call up for January's USMNT. Time to cap him.

ToxtethBlue · November 5, 2010

Not exactly MLS related but how is Jose Francisco Torres' form been? Does anyone follow his career in Mexico?

Another thing, how does the MLS compare to other Leagues in the Americas?

Nordecke · November 5, 2010

ToxtethBlue said:
Not exactly MLS related but how is Jose Francisco Torres' form been? Does anyone follow his career in Mexico?

Another thing, how does the MLS compare to other Leagues in the Americas?

I would say we are bottom feeders when compared to the bigger leagues in the Americas..

Not sure on Jose Torres.

Kay20 · November 6, 2010

It highly depends upon which teams you're talking about in MLS - there is a wide disparity right now in terms of performance (barring the surprise upset). In general, we can't win CONCACAF games, and the South American league? Even worse. So yes, bottom feeders for the most part, but getting better and depending on the team, can win.

Jose Torres plays in Mexico - so no idea from me...

The Yank · November 6, 2010

Kay20 said:
It highly depends upon which teams you're talking about in MLS - there is a wide disparity right now in terms of performance (barring the surprise upset). In general, we can't win CONCACAF games, and the South American league? Even worse. So yes, bottom feeders for the most part, but getting better and depending on the team, can win.

Jose Torres plays in Mexico - so no idea from me...

There might be some differences of performance but in general every team has about the same level of talent.

I'm not sure about MLS being bottom feeders. Not every team in Mexico is at the level of America or Guadelara. I can't say I watch much of the Concacaf Champions League though because I can't stand to see the poor reffing given to our MLS teams.

Anyways I don't watch Pachuca but from what I have heard previously is that JFT is a star on their team.

Kay20 · November 6, 2010

The Yank said:
There might be some differences of performance but in general every team has about the same level of talent.

I'm not sure about MLS being bottom feeders. Not every team in Mexico is at the level of America or Guadelara. I can't say I watch much of the Concacaf Champions League though because I can't stand to see the poor reffing given to our MLS teams.

Anyways I don't watch Pachuca but from what I have heard previously is that JFT is a star on their team.

I think this used to be the case, but not this year. If you look at the teams that made the playoffs versus the rest, I think the disparity is wide. Usually MLS is all about evenness (they think it promotes good games), but this year with the DPs that were signed, and some teams just having better coaching staff leading to better play, I think a disparity has started to show itself.

Look at Philly Union, DC United and Chivas and compare them against RSL, Rapids, Sounders and Galaxy - I think that disparity is pretty wide.

And it's not to say that CONCACAF doesn't have poor teams outside of the US - they do. I just think on average the standard in the Mexican league is higher than MLS. HOWEVER, I do see that changing in time - MLS is better than most think.

EDIT: I hear what you're saying though, when I went back and read your post. Yes, there aren't lots of superstars.

So I guess it's a question of what is being **done** with the talent that's leading to the differences.

TX Bill · November 7, 2010

ToxtethBlue said:
Not exactly MLS related but how is Jose Francisco Torres' form been? Does anyone follow his career in Mexico?

Another thing, how does the MLS compare to other Leagues in the Americas?

Funny as you bring this up, I just happened to be watching Pachuca tonight before the MLS match started.

He's been playing DM for them but I don't think he's been starting every match. He does get a lot of minutes though and was spraying the ball around in tonight's match. Was pretty entertaining and end to end.