The MLS thread

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4-1. They're running rampant. Pretty impressive.

He was marginally offside.
 
Portland 2-3 Real Salt & Vinegar

Sinking in the rain, RSL 1-0 up from a pen at the end of the first half. The Timbers did well to go 2-1 up in the second, both Darlington Nagbe goals, great strikes especially the second, cracking control and volley. Then RSL snatched two late goal through some very sloppy, sleepy defending at the back.

Kris Boyd is pish btw. He has to get involved more.

Can't wait to read Brad's take on tonight's debacle.
 
I was at the game; I just came back home stunned, sad and wet.

I'm don't think Boyd knows how to play football and the Timbers just might not have sufficient quality to create chances to play to his strengths. Of course, this is based off of seeing him play like 4 times, and I really hope I'm wrong.

An experienced center back is something that this team really needs.
 
77 said:
Portland 2-3 Real Salt & Vinegar

Sinking in the rain, RSL 1-0 up from a pen at the end of the first half. The Timbers did well to go 2-1 up in the second, both Darlington Nagbe goals, great strikes especially the second, cracking control and volley. Then RSL snatched two late goal through some very sloppy, sleepy defending at the back.

Kris Boyd is pish btw. He has to get involved more.

Can't wait to read Brad's take on tonight's debacle.
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Ugh that was just a sickening way to lose. I'm not sold on Boyd either really, especially as he's an out and out target. We don't have the quality in the middle (Charra's been especially wretched this year) to afford the luxury of 2 strikers who both need good service to do anything. Boyd and Perlaza were basically twiddling their thumbs all game. It was like Cooper last year who was supposed to be a target, but if he stayed up top, he never got the ball, and dropping deep just isn't his game. If anything, Boyd seems to be worse on the ball than Cooper so there really isn't the option for him to drop back. Perlaza's all speed, without that much control, so he wouldn't be much help either. Nagbe on the other hand is class. He doesn't really belong on the wing as he isn't that fast. I'd rather he or Alhassan play in the middle (take out Charra) or up front and let him them roam like a Rooney. Those 2 are the obvious standouts on this team for me. It feels so obvious to me that I'm surprised Spencer hasn't tried it. I sit right behind the bench, so perhaps I should have a word (though he's always so pissed off).

I thought Alexander actually had a pretty tidy game. The best I've seen him play and I haven't yet been too impressed. He's usually just sort of functional, but he showed a lot more enterprise this time around.

We need some quality in the middle more than anything I think. Never get anything moving through there except to sneak it up the wing or lumping it up to Perlaza to chase. Maybe something will come of Boyd heading on to an onrushing Perlaza, but that RSL big galoot that was covering Boyd had him in his pocket all night.

I liked the looks of Song'o again, though the 1 position we're stacked in is wingers. Maybe that'll put pressure on Spencer to try Alhassan or Nagbe somewhere else.
 
Missed the Sporting game today(still doing house repairs), but from what I hear, they nullified LA pretty well. Kamara got the only goal. 5 wins from 5. Best start ever for KC, and best start for a MLS club since '96 I believe.
 
The sun is shining in the P, I'll be off to see the Timbers against the Chivas in a couple of hours.
 
olesmyhero said:
Missed the Sporting game today(still doing house repairs), but from what I hear, they nullified LA pretty well. Kamara got the only goal. 5 wins from 5. Best start ever for KC, and best start for a MLS club since '96 I believe.
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His celebration was pretty cool. He and some teammates did it in slow-mo. :lol:
 
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/07/1987334/as-mls-visits-raleigh-only-question.html

As MLS visits Raleigh, only question is not ‘If?’ but ‘When?’

The only question MLS should be asking with regard to the Triangle is not “if?” or “how?” but merely “when?” The logistics can be worked out later.

MLS president Mark Abbott will be visiting the Triangle on Thursday as a guest of the Carolina RailHawks, meeting with fans and the media to assess potential Major League Soccer expansion into the Southeast. There are legitimate questions to be asked about ownership and facilities, and some serious hurdles to clear, but this market is as good a fit for MLS as MLS is for this market.

The summer MLS season doesn’t coincide with college football, college basketball or the NHL; with 17 home dates, MLS is a better fit for this area’s population than baseball, and there are few markets in the country with more interest in the sport at every level than the Triangle.

For the same reason the Carolina Courage was one of the more successful franchises in the ill-fated WUSA, and for the same reason Traffic Sports saw the potential in the NASL RailHawks and bought them out of bankruptcy a year ago, an MLS team would work here.

OK, so how do you get there from here?

First, you need an MLS-ready stadium. The stadium at Cary’s WakeMed Soccer Park is a great facility for the RailHawks and the ACC championships, and hosted the men’s or women’s NCAA College Cup for eight straight years. But the NCAA hasn’t been back since 2010, telling the town of Cary the event outgrew the site. That sparked a $6.1 million expansion from 7,000 to 10,000 seats, with facility upgrades as well. Still, by MLS standards, it’s suitable only as a temporary home.

An MLS franchise would need a stadium with at least 18,000 seats, not to mention more luxury suites, more press and multipurpose facilities, more parking and better access from Interstate 40. WakeMed Soccer Park has provisions for a 25,000-seat stadium in its master plan, but a stadium in downtown Raleigh might make more sense. Either way, someone’s going to have to put some money into the project.

Speaking of money, someone would have to put up an expansion fee of at least $30 million, not to mention start-up and operating costs.

Traffic Sports, which now owns the RailHawks, is primarily a player agency that owns teams as part of its player-development model. The arcane and complicated rules that govern player acquisition at the MLS level wouldn’t fit that model, but the fact that Traffic was willing to cooperate with MLS on this site visit – Traffic vice president Aaron Davidson is participating, along with NASL commissioner David Downs – indicates an openness to explore any possibility.

Expansion is on the MLS agenda because, quite frankly, adding teams has worked out pretty well for the league. Salt Lake City, Philadelphia and a second Los Angeles franchise all appear to be thriving, but a better comparison for the Triangle is the Pacific Northwest, where Portland, Seattle and Vancouver have all made the jump from the NASL level and benefited from their proximity to each other.

There are 19 MLS teams now, with the league looking at adding at least one and potentially three more. A bunch of bigger markets are jockeying for openings – Detroit, Las Vegas, a second New York franchise – but MLS is taking a long look at the Southeast, thinking there might be the same potential for geographic synergy as in the Pacific Northwest.

MLS held similar fan forums in Atlanta and Florida last year. Now, the Triangle’s time has come – in more ways than one.
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77 said:
The sun is shining in the P, I'll be off to see the Timbers against the Chivas in a couple of hours.
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Wish I'd stayed home and cleaned the cat box. Dire. Our right back, Palmer got eaten alive. We looked good the first half, but even then, our goal was an easy cleanup poach from Boyd after a comical keeper-defender collision. Chivas put 2 identical goals in in the 2nd half. Both free crosses headed in. Feck.
 
I wish I'd stayed home and cleaned your cat box, pile of shite.

I was offered $500 for the rest of my season ticket tonight by Leon from curb your enthusiasm. You know who I mean, he's the main scalper. I'm thinking of doing it.
 
Would anyone in Portland be willing to buy two of the Timbers Army scarves and send them to me? How much are they from the truck/van they sell them from?

I still want to make the road trip for a game, but driving from NC to Oregon is going to be tough.
 
Sure I can. Not sure if I'll be at the next game on the 21st though. Brad might be a better bet.
 
Has anyone ever tried MLSLive or their online streaming service? I'm considering canceling Netflix and getting it so I can watch matches. I don't know how good it is though.
 
Can't say I have. Well mainly because I haven't. Do you have the LA Portland game on Matt?
 
No, there's no MLS game on here other than the Columbus-Philly game that was earlier. :(

Sporting are on fire after winning their first 6 games! Only conceded once too.

I'm about to the end of what I want to watch on the Netflix streaming service, especially after they had Miracle Day on there and then took it off after I started watching it. There are a few things that would be good to watch, such as Cosmos, Black Adder, but I've seen all the episodes they have of things I got it for. It'll be about $8 more a month. We'll see how it goes if I try.
 
Cracking goal by Becks last night against Portland.

Boyd got the opener and had a perfectly good second disallowed for offside. The Timbers are still not a 90 minute side. Lost 3-1.
 
77 said:
Cracking goal by Becks last night against Portland.

Boyd got the opener and had a perfectly good second disallowed for offside. The Timbers are still not a 90 minute side. Lost 3-1.
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Smashing goal that was. I've got to learn to stop watching the Timbers after the 82nd minute seeing them give up games like that. Silva,
Beckham, and Donovan were in a goal glut until last night. So glad we could help them rebuild their confidence :rolleyes: I'm sick of us making other teams feel better.

Olesmyhero, you're going to love Saturday's game. You can go ahead and chalk up win #7. Be sure not to tune out come the 83rd minute.

Sir Matt, I can grab you a couple of scarves. I'll be there on Saturday, though I'm already regretting it.
 
77 said:
Yeah, he does commentary on all the Timbers games
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Yeah, I like his partisan commentary. Also liked the apology from them for Spencer speaking "Scottish" as the mics caught him in the full flower of one of his tirades.
 
brad-dyrak said:
Not looking forward to Saturday one bit.

Sir Matt, you sure you still want those scarves?
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Bruce Suspect reckons it's going to be 70 on saturday :cool:

bruce-sussman-portland-weather.jpg
 
brad-dyrak said:
Not looking forward to Saturday one bit.

Sir Matt, you sure you still want those scarves?
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:lol: How much are they? I'm not a fair weather fan. I've supported Duke even when we get knocked out of the first round of the tournament. ;)

The issue would be how I'd get the money to you. I don't have a paypal account. My dad might have one though.
 
Sir Matt said:
:lol: How much are they? I'm not a fair weather fan. I've supported Duke even when we get knocked out of the first round of the tournament. ;)

The issue would be how I'd get the money to you. I don't have a paypal account. My dad might have one though.
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We'll work it out at some point. Just a warning that those scarves are going to reek of abject failure and drunken brad-dyrak (they're actually quite similar). I'll PM you after the hangover.
 
77 said:
Bruce Suspect reckons it's going to be 70 on saturday :cool:

bruce-sussman-portland-weather.jpg
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I'm praying for the heaviest of fogs. I could do without having to actually see anything.

I'll be happy if we can just go ahead and comfortably lose by the 82nd minute. Please don't wait until the end again.
 
Sir Matt said:
Has anyone ever tried MLSLive or their online streaming service? I'm considering canceling Netflix and getting it so I can watch matches. I don't know how good it is though.
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the quality is excellent as long as you have a decent connection
 
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