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  1. #271
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    Quote Originally Posted by PizzaEatingYeti View Post
    Re: Ritchie

    Hate to say it, but according to the sofascore site, where all players got a grade after matches, even substitutes, no matter how many minutes have played, Ritchie got the lowest grade from the whole Forest team: 6.3. The next worst grade is 6.8, that's a big margin...
    I have no idea who gives these grades, but maybe some british sports journos association?

    Link is here:
    https://www.sofascore.com/west-bromw...gham-forest/io
    I mean.... keep in mind that a '6' is considered a fair performance by international grading standards. He was on for 11 minutes and had about five touches. The runs meant he had slightly fewer and Cafu, who came on at the same time, had a few more incisive forward passes. So it's probably just a realistic score for not doing badly.

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    Quote Originally Posted by PizzaEatingYeti View Post
    Re: Ritchie

    Hate to say it, but according to the sofascore site, where all players got a grade after matches, even substitutes, no matter how many minutes have played, Ritchie got the lowest grade from the whole Forest team: 6.3. The next worst grade is 6.8, that's a big margin...
    I have no idea who gives these grades, but maybe some british sports journos association?

    Link is here:
    https://www.sofascore.com/west-bromw...gham-forest/io
    He essentially did nothing though. Zero impact, couple passes. Even a '6' is pretty good in this case. I would have given a N/A but if forced a '5' as he didn't do anything bad, didn't do anything good, but was out there so a '5'.

  3. #273
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    So apparently Losada was deemed too hard on DC's players, who were unhappy to have to maintain the ideal body weight and fat composition.

    I kid you not.

    https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/dc-un...-league-with-t

    That team is going to lose a lot of games. Front office favoring grumbling under-performers over management? It's not like Losada had Armas' track record, he was a well-respected manager in Belgium.

    MLS 1.0 thinking from the players/front office group.

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    ^ Sounds like rose-coloured glasses from both players and management. Doubt they perform much better from here forward.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ag futbol View Post
    ^ Sounds like rose-coloured glasses from both players and management. Doubt they perform much better from here forward.
    Regular weight and fat content testing is normal in football throughout the world. Standards in MLS at every level of coaching and fitness have yet to catch up.

    Sometimes, when PRO reffing is driving me crazy, I have to stop and consider that it's part of being a younger league. I'd still hope that 26 years in, they would at least be accepting that the way people do things in bigger leagues are worth emulating. But there's always this residual attitude in America that they do it "their way". At one point it was with stupid things like sub numbers and penalty runups.

    The last vestiges of it are in performance standards.

    I've watched quite a bit of the English Championship this year, and the players are not intrinsically that much more skilled. But everything is performed at a higher level: the fitness, the speed of action, the general intensity during matches.

    Even at the lower levels there you see it now. The FA cup this year was illuminating; watching National League clubs almost
    take out premiership clubs, and watching lower level clubs go deep into the tournament, you see that fitness and intensity level up and down the leagues. The difference is the final touch, the consistency of technique and correct action.

    After watching so many different levels there, I'd say MLS really is a mish-mash of all of them. We have a small number of top players who could play in premier leagues, a larger number just below them who are young and ambitious, and then a whole lot of players, coaches and refs who would struggle to find a job there at anything above League Two.

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    I think you've nailed it jloome. This is a spot-on assessment

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    I'm not sure Losada was fired for the fitness routines as much as doing it every morning & being a bit of a bastard about it.

    Even Neanderthal coaches like Bruce Arena are doing weigh ins - there's a story about Gerrard having to be careful about what he was eating the year he was at LAG.

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    Quote Originally Posted by OgtheDim View Post
    I'm not sure Losada was fired for the fitness routines as much as doing it every morning & being a bit of a bastard about it.

    Even Neanderthal coaches like Bruce Arena are doing weigh ins - there's a story about Gerrard having to be careful about what he was eating the year he was at LAG.
    He didn't do it every morning; it says twice per week in the article.

    Philly getting a gift penalty against Montreal today. Miller get the ball and then Caranza trips HIM, and the ref buys it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jloome View Post
    Regular weight and fat content testing is normal in football throughout the world. Standards in MLS at every level of coaching and fitness have yet to catch up.

    Sometimes, when PRO reffing is driving me crazy, I have to stop and consider that it's part of being a younger league. I'd still hope that 26 years in, they would at least be accepting that the way people do things in bigger leagues are worth emulating. But there's always this residual attitude in America that they do it "their way". At one point it was with stupid things like sub numbers and penalty runups.

    The last vestiges of it are in performance standards.

    I've watched quite a bit of the English Championship this year, and the players are not intrinsically that much more skilled. But everything is performed at a higher level: the fitness, the speed of action, the general intensity during matches.

    Even at the lower levels there you see it now. The FA cup this year was illuminating; watching National League clubs almost
    take out premiership clubs, and watching lower level clubs go deep into the tournament, you see that fitness and intensity level up and down the leagues. The difference is the final touch, the consistency of technique and correct action.

    After watching so many different levels there, I'd say MLS really is a mish-mash of all of them. We have a small number of top players who could play in premier leagues, a larger number just below them who are young and ambitious, and then a whole lot of players, coaches and refs who would struggle to find a job there at anything above League Two.
    North America is a big. I would wager that athletes have at least 20% less time to train here than if you were playing in England where the furthest opponent was just 5 hours away. The entire concept of road trips is a foreign to everyone over there, at most only teams that play in European cups have some idea, but then again they do not stay away from home facilities for more than just a few days.

    You cannot build a training schedule 1:1 to what is currently taking place in Europe, it's just not feasible.
    Last edited by Richard; 04-23-2022 at 08:31 PM.

  10. #280
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    Quote Originally Posted by jloome View Post

    Philly getting a gift penalty against Montreal today. Miller get the ball and then Caranza trips HIM, and the ref buys it.
    How the f**k was that not fixed by VAR? It was so obvious. Something is going off the rails this season. I couldn't even handle watching the rest of the highlights after that.

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    Just watched the replay. That should be highly embarrassing to Pro not to fix that one the spot. It’s literally a toe-poke away from Miller and then the Philly player makes a meal of it and instigated the contact.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ag futbol View Post
    Just watched the replay. That should be highly embarrassing to Pro not to fix that one the spot. It’s literally a toe-poke away from Miller and then the Philly player makes a meal of it and instigated the contact.
    MightyDM mentioned San Jose vs Seattle in today's game thread, where an obvious red was not given even after VAR. Something is really going haywire this season.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jloome View Post
    Regular weight and fat content testing is normal in football throughout the world. Standards in MLS at every level of coaching and fitness have yet to catch up.

    Sometimes, when PRO reffing is driving me crazy, I have to stop and consider that it's part of being a younger league. I'd still hope that 26 years in, they would at least be accepting that the way people do things in bigger leagues are worth emulating. But there's always this residual attitude in America that they do it "their way". At one point it was with stupid things like sub numbers and penalty runups.

    The last vestiges of it are in performance standards.

    I've watched quite a bit of the English Championship this year, and the players are not intrinsically that much more skilled. But everything is performed at a higher level: the fitness, the speed of action, the general intensity during matches.

    Even at the lower levels there you see it now. The FA cup this year was illuminating; watching National League clubs almost
    take out premiership clubs, and watching lower level clubs go deep into the tournament, you see that fitness and intensity level up and down the leagues. The difference is the final touch, the consistency of technique and correct action.

    After watching so many different levels there, I'd say MLS really is a mish-mash of all of them. We have a small number of top players who could play in premier leagues, a larger number just below them who are young and ambitious, and then a whole lot of players, coaches and refs who would struggle to find a job there at anything above League Two.
    I remember when I lived in England and learned snooker watching TV and practicing on a table in one of the recording studios I worked at. Not knowing the game, I imagined that the best players in the world made difficult shot after difficult shot, but in fact, after a few months I could make most of the shots they made. It wasn’t because I was good but because the best players were capable of exercising an extremely high level of control and consistency. They didn’t have to make difficult shots very often.

    The analogy is: what happens on a snooker table/what happens on a football pitch.

    Given the strictness of contemporary English football, especially in the lower leagues, and the bias against North Americans, it might be said that many players in MLS wouldn’t find professional work there at all (even if they could get visas). But that’s to our league’s advantage. It’s a very strange and diverse league - diverse in approach, I mean - and that makes it interesting. Read this on MLS.com just now. How many English leagues could this be said about? “The understanding, familiarity, familial effect Diego, Sebastian, Maxi, you can see it, you can sense it, they play at a different tempo at times, their combination play,” Austin coach Josh Wolff said.” I don’t think that three South Americans, if found on Nottingham Forest, for example, a “well oiled machine”, could possibly play at a different tempo than the rest of the 11.

    Not sure that English football is a model here (even if we’re the Reds because Liverpool colours were thought to be marketable when TFC was founded). Not sure any one country could be found as a model.
    Last edited by los sonadores; 04-25-2022 at 12:49 AM.

  14. #284
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    Quote Originally Posted by los sonadores View Post

    Given the strictness of contemporary English football, especially in the lower leagues, and the bias against North Americans, it might be said that many players in MLS wouldn’t find professional work there at all (even if they could get visas). But that’s to our league’s advantage. It’s a very strange and diverse league - diverse in approach, I mean - and that makes it interesting. Read this on MLS.com just now. How many English leagues could this be said about? “The understanding, familiarity, familial effect Diego, Sebastian, Maxi, you can see it, you can sense it, they play at a different tempo at times, their combination play,” Austin coach Josh Wolff said.” I don’t think that three South Americans, if found on Nottingham Forest, for example, a “well oiled machine”, could possibly play at a different tempo than the rest of the 11.
    I like some of the unique aspects of this league. I like that young players get more of a chance to play with world-class players, even though it reduces the chance to get into and do well in the Club World Cup. I like the parity (although it's a bit excessive it's better than leagues where 95% of the time it's the same 3-4 clubs that win every year). I like that there are teams with differing styles of play, which outside of MLS you only see to this degree in Champions League play (UCL or CCL).

    Quote Originally Posted by los sonadores View Post
    Not sure that English football is a model here (even if we’re the Reds because Liverpool colours were thought to be marketable when TFC was founded). Not sure any one country could be found as a model.
    When the team was unveiled, MLSE was very clear that the colours of TFC were based on the Canadian national colours. That's because for some time TFC was the only Canadian MLS team and they were originally marketing TFC (like the Raptors) as "Canada's team." That it matches teams like Liverpool or Manchester United is only coincidence. They also were trying to market to Toronto's cultural diversity, that's why the slogan "All for One." The idea (as Paul Beirne explained) was that each person could keep ties to whatever team they had back in the Old Country but also support TFC locally.
    Last edited by Oldtimer; 04-25-2022 at 09:02 AM.
    MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto

  15. #285
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    Some footage of Ritchie playing for Forest, he has a little run about 2/3s through, tees up a chance.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzIQ4uRVyOM

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    Quote Originally Posted by jloome View Post
    Some footage of Ritchie playing for Forest, he has a little run about 2/3s through, tees up a chance.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzIQ4uRVyOM
    That was a huge game for them, and a huge win (although Fulham may be on the beach at this stage), so great to see he got some minutes. Forest is really pushing for that automatic promotion spot now, and play Bournemouth still on Tuesday. That will be a great game to watch. Hoping DAZN has it.

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    Awesome clip. Thanks for linking. Richie looked damn good. Such fantastic passion and engagement from the travelling support too.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Canary10 View Post
    That was a huge game for them, and a huge win (although Fulham may be on the beach at this stage), so great to see he got some minutes. Forest is really pushing for that automatic promotion spot now, and play Bournemouth still on Tuesday. That will be a great game to watch. Hoping DAZN has it.
    I just checked and the game vs Swansea at 10am on Saturday will be on DAZN

    and yes thanks for linking that clip..such passion from the supporters it's incredible to see. Going to be fun to see this unfold over the next 3 games

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    Quote Originally Posted by 613reppingTFC View Post
    I just checked and the game vs Swansea at 10am on Saturday will be on DAZN

    and yes thanks for linking that clip..such passion from the supporters it's incredible to see. Going to be fun to see this unfold over the next 3 games
    I just checked and Forest-Bournemouth is also on on Tuesday. That's likely going to decide who gets the second automatic promotion spot.

  20. #290
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    Quote Originally Posted by Canary10 View Post
    I just checked and Forest-Bournemouth is also on on Tuesday. That's likely going to decide who gets the second automatic promotion spot.
    After watching his latest, I checked the Forest Banter chat page and they think his speed and trickery make him a good Spence replacement.

    But for the second straight game I could see why he’s sitting. At that level, defending requires a better read of when to help and when to hold position. He’s moved laterally twice to cover a central defender and in both cases created a better shooting opportunity for the opposing player who astutely moved into his space.

    the physical and talent side he has in spades but he needs a better read of the game to stick. Here that mattered less. There, even workmanlike players know how to read and react.

  21. #291
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    30K soccer specific stadium opening up in Nashville today
    (a phrase one never thought to type out ever in one's life)

    https://www.nashvillesc.com/geodispa...ut/concessions


    Prices for tickets that are still left not unreasonable

    https://www.nashvillesc.com/22tix

  22. #292
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    Quote Originally Posted by OgtheDim View Post
    30K soccer specific stadium opening up in Nashville today
    (a phrase one never thought to type out ever in one's life)

    https://www.nashvillesc.com/geodispa...ut/concessions

    Prices for tickets that are still left not unreasonable

    https://www.nashvillesc.com/22tix

    Nashville and Austin put Houston and Dallas to shame on the self-promo front.

    That Houston game was dire to watch. Place looked two-thirds empty.

  23. #293
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    Very European feel to that stadium - German not just the Dortmund yellow.

    Add in the South American drumming & its all kinda cool....we play there in August.

  24. #294
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    Quote Originally Posted by OgtheDim View Post
    Very European feel to that stadium - German not just the Dortmund yellow.

    Add in the South American drumming & its all kinda cool....we play there in August.
    Have you noticed how tight the eastern standings are getting? Parity might be a little too great right now. There's just enough talent on any given night...

    I know that's supposed to be ideal, but I guess I'm biased by years of relegation/promotion races and single tables where the bottom are struggling to survive.

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    I listen to the MLS Fantasy Boss podcast and last week the hosts were all agreeing that it's really hard to pick which players in the Eastern Conference will produce in a given game since we don't know that one team is better enough to blow out another. It's "any given Sunday" writ large.
    Last edited by Initial B; 05-01-2022 at 07:56 PM.

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    Apparently some Montreal players have rejected going on loan to the Canadian Premier League. I wonder if any TFC players have too
    https://northerntribune.ca/cf-montre...r-reject-loan/

    TFC at least has TFC2 in MLSNP. Montreal U23 plays in the PLSQ (Quebec's League1 Ontario)
    Last edited by rydermike; 05-03-2022 at 06:01 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rydermike View Post
    Apparently some Montreal players have rejected going on loan to the Canadian Premier League. I wonder if any TFC players have too
    https://northerntribune.ca/cf-montre...r-reject-loan/

    TFC at least has TFC2 in MLSNP. Montreal U23 plays in the PLSQ (Quebec's League1 Ontario)
    MLS Next Pro is gonna really hurt the CPL, I think. The best young Canadian players are gonna be offered probably double the salary that the CPL can pay and provide an immediate opportunity to advance to an MLS first team.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rydermike View Post
    Apparently some Montreal players have rejected going on loan to the Canadian Premier League. I wonder if any TFC players have too
    https://northerntribune.ca/cf-montre...r-reject-loan/

    TFC at least has TFC2 in MLSNP. Montreal U23 plays in the PLSQ (Quebec's League1 Ontario)
    Yes it's strange that Montreal doesn't have a team participating in either CPL or the MLSNP. Maybe they don't think they have the players to compete..or it could be they don't want to spend the money on it as I'm sure the jump from League1 to the others would be a fairly large cost, just in travel alone.

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    Quote Originally Posted by MikeForbes View Post
    MLS Next Pro is gonna really hurt the CPL, I think. The best young Canadian players are gonna be offered probably double the salary that the CPL can pay and provide an immediate opportunity to advance to an MLS first team.
    grassroots leagues with minimal pay have been tried multiple times without working. It will never be more than a
    class c 'redemption' league unless they respect the demands of the market majority and spend on quality.

    how much did they get from one soccer again?

    it's hard to make money and attract capital investment if you don't offer a pro quality product comparable to their other options

    pro teams all over Europe survive and even make money on sub 10,000 crowds. But even that many won't come if the presentation is community TV level and the product unimpressive.

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    Worth noting you can now watch the cpl and a weekly highlights show live on BT sport in England. They are also showing all rounds of the voyageurs cup this year.

 

 

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