Originally Posted by
Oldtimer
More seriously, and joking aside, stevep is pointing out that we can't look at it simplistically (which I think some others were pointing out to him earlier, to be fair). In MLS you've got 2 trophies, the Supporters Shield and the MLS Cup. The Supporters Shield has only one team that can realistically win it, so the MLS Cup is the sole remaining goal.
To win the MLS Cup you need to get into the playoffs and peak at the right time.
I do believe that Vanney miscalculated the Orlando match (we were supposed to win that one) which was supposed to start the run. I think that he'll now go full steam ahead on the remaining games with his best squad, just like he did in 2016 and 2017 (injuries prevented that in 2018). Will it work? Well it has to at least get TFC into the playoffs if he wants to satisfy Bell & Rogers and keep his job.
Zlatan is wrong about one thing, the Supporters Shield is a real goal in most seasons, its just that one team is so far ahead that they are pretty well guaranteed to walk away with it. The same thing has sometimes happened in Europe a few times in a few leagues.