Photo: Marjorie Elzey
Sorry folks, yesterday we were experiencing some technical difficulties, but we’re back!
Union
This Sunday, the Philadelphia Union will travel to Ohio to take on the Columbus Crew at 3:30 p.m. It will be the first time this season that you can watch the match on ABC. You can read our match preview later today, but here’s the league’s.
A club statement was released regarding fan behavior during Wednesday’s match. Apparently a small group of fans was making homophobic comments during the match.
Lots of discussion about the Union on the Extratime podcast, including an interview with Ray Gaddis.
MLS
Charles Boehm shares his top 5 contenders for the MLS’s new Young Player of the Year award.
Instant Replay reviews all the controversial calls from last week, including everything Francisco Calvo did in the first half on Wednesday.
USA
Matthew Doyle takes a crack at predicting the USMNT’s roster for the November window.
The question everyone has about the USMNT, who will score the goals on road to 2022 World Cup?
World
Keep up with the latest European news in this weekend’s live countdown.
10 things to look out for in the Premier League this weekend.
Get a quick look into everything Champions League.
We all know that Bartomeu has stepped down, but is being Barca’s president an impossible job?
The good news with the announcement of using points per game and the fact that Seattle will only play 22 games is that if the Union get 46 points (i.e. two draws) they’ll be guaranteed to finish ahead of Seattle. If Seattle wins out, they’ll have 2.0 ppg which would tie the Union’s 46. But the first tiebreaker is wins per game and 13/23 is better than 12/22. Obviously, 46 won’t necessarily beat Toronto, but 47 (1 win) means Toronto would need to make up a goal differential that is currently at 16. And 48 or 50 points guarantees a Union shield.
Right. Took me forever to figure out the details of this. 4 points guarantees the Shield, 3 points eliminates all but Toronto. 2 points, though, still gives Seattle a chance. They’d have to win all 3 games left, which would give them the same number of wins with 1 less game than us. But even 2 points could get the job done, as both Toronto and Seattle would have to win out to have a chance.
2 points still beats Seattle based on Wins per match played. Union would need 0 or 1 point for Seattle to have a chance.
Seattle has 3 games left, not 2. So if they win all 3, they have 13/22 wins. If we get 2 points, we’d have 13/23.
You’re right. I can’t add. You wouldn’t think my degree is in math, but it is…
Lol it happens. Took me forever to figure out the scenarios.
Can’t believe Ray didn’t take Steven Gerrard on his All-Tuck 5-a-side team.
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Columbus might be a difficult win. They seem fully healthy now and the Union may be missing a few starters. Nevertheless, I know the team will be up for the fight.
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Cmon you Boys in Blue!
Hiring Jill Ellis would be a colossal mistake. Not because she is female, but because she has never experienced the competitiveness and pressure that exists in MLS.
I hope they do it because it would help the U.
Because winning or losing with the world watching has no pressure associated with it compared to a league that isn’t even in the top 25 leagues around the world. Let alone having the pressure of setting an example to young females around the country and world, even. Laughable comment Bob.
Well said, All4U…….spot on.
I would think coaching in MLS would be more pressure than coach the USWNT. First off she had a team that was one of the to teams in the world with very little press compared to the first woman with a national reputation trying to transition to the men’s game. I would imagine the world press would be close to Beckham like….if she is starting a season from the beginning with stadiums back with no fan restrictions.
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Remember with a national team you can basically build a team with the best from your country and with past results you might argue they had a golden generation. With D.C.United building a roster with plenty of player acquisition rules…well night and day and way more difficult. If she is setting an example to young females around the world, I’m sure the press and the critics around the world will also be there as well. That will be way more pressure with a much tougher situation dealing with a team assembling a roster.
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I’ll concede winning the world cup is lots of pressure but she had way more to work with than she will with taking over a D.C. United roster in a salary cap league getting more attention than the players she’s coaching.
You could also argue there isn’t much pressure trying to win with a team that hasn’t won anything in 7 years under a male manager, with a team that generally operates from a middle of the pack to bottom of the league budget. Then the only added pressure comes from those who think she can’t do the job just because she’s a woman. Pretty sure she’s had to deal with that her entire life. Like any other woman, in any other traditionally male oriented job. Here’s a question, did you ever doubt Curtin couldn’t handle the “pressure” of coaching in MLS? How about Ben Olsen, was he up to the pressure? Do you think Bruce Arena can handle the pressure coming back to MLS with the Revs after his embarrassing stint with the national team? Never once have I questioned one of these coaches ability to handle the pressure. Now, their coaching, tactics, lineup and substitutions I’ve all questioned, as I would any other coach. So if you haven’t questioned the abilities of these men to handle the pressure, then the only reason you are questioning Ellis, IS because she is a woman. Just admit it.
Mic drop! Boom!
You pretty much covered everything there All4U…….that’s all really all I had to add……you can read write through their line of thinking……
I never said she couldn’t handle it. I said it would be harder because she is a woman. It’s a first, an oddity that you must admit wouldn’t be covered the same as any man taking the reigns. Crazy you can’t see that as you beat the political correctness drum.
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Would I hirer is the question you haven’t asked me and the answer would be yes. She has what it takes and the pedigree to succeed. Besides that the amount of hype that MLS would receive would be Beckham like.
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If you could read with fairness, I said there would be more pressure taking over in MLS compared to the USWNT job because of the limelight it would create.