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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (12 Viewers)

El Floppo said:
good luck, gb. 

I know the history is longer for you- but who gets there first, NE or NYC?
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NY is more important to get there’s first but both face a ton of obstacles.   I have no guess as to who gets shovel in ground first. 

 
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Is it MLS Derby weekend?

I don't know all the rivalries- but battle of the Hudson/East rivers and CIN vs COL, plus some others that look like they might be... SKC vs RSL, POR vs VAN etc.

 
El Floppo said:
Is it MLS Derby weekend?

I don't know all the rivalries- but battle of the Hudson/East rivers and CIN vs COL, plus some others that look like they might be... SKC vs RSL, POR vs VAN etc.
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yes.  I think they call it rivalry week since they don't have formal derby's every where.  I think they schedule these once or twice a season.

 
NewlyRetired said:
Might be time for Columbus to start their record signing :)

===============

Tom Bogert

@tombogert

Cucho Hernandez has three goals in his first 88 MLS minutes.
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He made history last night by becoming the first MLS player in history to score 4 goals in his first 90 minutes in the league.

 
Looks like City is going to “buy”Taty from NYC and loan him to Girona.  I’m more than a little surprised they couldn’t find someone to pony up the 15-20 million given his age.  In any case he’s one of the young Latin America success stories for MLS with 2 more in the pipeline at NYCFC. 

 
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Maybe a dumb question, but maybe the collective in here knows something.  We're headed over to London for the Saints game and I may have the opportunity to be there the next weekend and try to catch a PL game.  That weekend the home teams that seem to be possible are Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, West Ham, and looks like Brighton is close enough to get to, as well.  I have no idea which ones are even possible to get tickets to or which, given the choice, would be the coolest experience.  Any thoughts/opinions?

 
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Sand said:
Maybe a dumb question, but maybe the collective in here knows something.  We're headed over to London for the Saints game and I may have the opportunity to be there the next weekend and try to catch a PL game.  That weekend the home teams that seem to be possible are Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, West Ham, and looks like Brighton is close enough to get to, as well.  I have no idea which ones are even possible to get tickets to or which, given the choice, would be the coolest experience.  Any thoughts/opinions?
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I bet Hammers tickets might be the easiest to get as London Stadium holds 60k+ (as does Emirates, but Arsenal are more popular). Stamford Bridge holds 40k, so ib wouldn't target Chelsea, although the match day experience might be better there as is situated in a proper neighborhood. 

I've only walked past The Bridge and toured Emirates, never seen matches there. 

 
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McBokonon said:
It’s big but Miami is in the latter part of their actual season and fighting for a playoff spot. They just played a real game a couple days ago and have another one coming up Saturday. It’s unlikely they went balls to the wall for this friendly.

ETA: plus what @NewlyRetiredsaid
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And even if Miami did play their best players most of the game, this is not a strong MLS team by any measure.  They are at best a mid table team.

If you compare Barca to pretty much any mid table team in any league in the world, the gap is going to be big, even with all first team players.

 
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SoBeDad said:
How big is the gap, for us casual soccer fans?

Inter Miami vs. Barcelona result: Barcelona dismantles David Beckham's MLS club in pre-season rout
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The gap is pretty substantial when you talk about the powerhouse teams in the big 5 European leagues.  But there's a fairly big gap between a Barcelona and a club that is bottom of the La Liga table too.  An average MLS team can probably provide a decent game against those bottom half of the table European clubs.

MLS has come a long way and is I'd say pretty firmly in the 8-12 range of leagues world wide.  And it gets better every year.  

ETA - could be higher than 8 too for some folks - I did this top of head.  Big 5 and I think it would still be perceived as behind some of Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Dutch, Portugal

 
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AAABatteries said:
The gap is pretty substantial when you talk about the powerhouse teams in the big 5 European leagues. .  
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The biggest thing that is hard to see for the casual fan is that soccer around the world is not balanced like US sports.  The best teams are insanely stacked.    The gaps between the starters and most other teams starters is big but the gap between a top teams bench and others teams benches is ridiculously big.

 
NewlyRetired said:
The biggest thing that is hard to see for the casual fan is that soccer around the world is not balanced like US sports.  The best teams are insanely stacked.    The gaps between the starters and most other teams starters is big but the gap between a top teams bench and others teams benches is ridiculously big.
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Yep - I imagine most of the biggest teams could probably have their bench be mid-table if they were their own team.

 
AAABatteries said:
Yep - I imagine most of the biggest teams could probably have their bench be mid-table if they were their own team.
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This would be a fun experiment.   I bet the top of the food chain might do even better than mid table.

Look at a team like Chelsea.  In any given game, players like Lukaku, Pulisic, Werner, Kante, Ziyech etc etc won't see the field.  These are top quality players.   And it is not just the quality on the bench we should consider.  Some of these teams have loan armies out there where plenty of quality can be found at well.  When you combine the loans and the bench, the tippy top teams could put out excellent sides.

Bayern is another interesting one to talk about since Chris Richards is in the news.  Richards can't even get a sniff of the field at a team like Bayern and yet has the market value that a mid table team in arguably the deepest league in the world (the EPL) is willing to pay a decent size transfer fee to get Richards and will almost certainly give him good minutes.

 
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NewlyRetired said:
This would be a fun experiment.   I bet the top of the food chain might do even better than mid table.

Look at a team like Chelsea.  In any given game, players like Lukaku, Pulisic, Werner, Kante, Ziyech etc etc won't see the field.  These are top quality players.   And it is not just the quality on the bench we should consider.  Some of these teams have loan armies out there where plenty of quality can be found at well.  When you combine the loans and the bench, the tippy top teams could put out excellent sides.

Bayern is another interesting one to talk about since Chris Richards is in the news.  Richards can't even get a sniff of the field at a team like Bayern and yet has the market value that a mid table team in arguably the deepest league in the world (the EPL) is willing to pay a decent size transfer fee to get Richards and will almost certainly give him good minutes.
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If you could guarantee me that the next best XI would stay injury free and be fit/rested for all the games, then sure - probably a little better.  That's the reason those teams have that kind of depth - they are typically playing a lot of games and sometimes need that depth to compete across all comps.

 
McBokonon said:
It’s big but Miami is in the latter part of their actual season and fighting for a playoff spot. They just played a real game a couple days ago and have another one coming up Saturday. It’s unlikely they went balls to the wall for this friendly.

ETA: plus what @NewlyRetiredsaid
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Yeah. And that Miami-Charlotte game was pretty frantic (and disappointing). Both teams were gassed by the end.  Still enjoy the revenge Barcelona extracted for Charlotte.

 
Sand said:
Maybe a dumb question, but maybe the collective in here knows something.  We're headed over to London for the Saints game and I may have the opportunity to be there the next weekend and try to catch a PL game.  That weekend the home teams that seem to be possible are Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, West Ham, and looks like Brighton is close enough to get to, as well.  I have no idea which ones are even possible to get tickets to or which, given the choice, would be the coolest experience.  Any thoughts/opinions?
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I would certainly prioritize Stamford Bridge and then maybe Crystal Palace second. When I got tickets to Spurs @ Wembley years back, I found that searching social media like individual team subreddits was the most useful. Found a ticket holder that I could just swipe his card and give it back. Agree West Ham and Arsenal are probably the easiest.

 
Sand said:
Maybe a dumb question, but maybe the collective in here knows something.  We're headed over to London for the Saints game and I may have the opportunity to be there the next weekend and try to catch a PL game.  That weekend the home teams that seem to be possible are Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, West Ham, and looks like Brighton is close enough to get to, as well.  I have no idea which ones are even possible to get tickets to or which, given the choice, would be the coolest experience.  Any thoughts/opinions?
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West Ham is playing Fulham that weekend, which is a derby so that atmosphere will be crazy.  Huge stadium, should be able to get tickets, although since it's a derby they'll be a little pricier than otherwise.

Chelsea is playing Wolves.  Not an important game so tickets should be easy to come by, although they have UCL games midweek before and after that match, so good chance Pulisic will play.  If you want to watch Captain America, this is your best chance IMO.

Arsenal play Liverpool.  Gonna be some expensive tickets for this one, but should feature some great football.  

Crystal Palace play Leeds.  Two Americans, Brendan Aaronson and Tyler Adams play for Leeds and have a good chance to feature here.  If Richards makes the move to Palace, you could see 3 Americans in the same EPL game.  That'd be great.

Can't go wrong with any of these IMO.  I think I'd choose the derby just for the crazy atmosphere, but I'd love to see Pulisic play in London too, so for me it'd come down to between those two.

Games aren't announced yet, but Group stage UCL games will be that Tuesday/Wednesday too and if Chelsea or Tottenham have a home game that week it'd be killer to see a UCL game IMO.  Likely quite expensive though.

 
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encaitar said:
West Ham is playing Fulham that weekend, which is a derby so that atmosphere will be crazy.  Huge stadium, should be able to get tickets, although since it's a derby they'll be a little pricier than otherwise.

Chelsea is playing Wolves.  Not an important game so tickets should be easy to come by, although they have UCL games midweek before and after that match, so good chance Pulisic will play.  If you want to watch Captain America, this is your best chance IMO.

Arsenal play Liverpool.  Gonna be some expensive tickets for this one, but should feature some great football.  

Crystal Palace play Leeds.  Two Americans, Brendan Aaronson and Tyler Adams play for Leeds and have a good chance to feature here.  If Richards makes the move to Palace, you could see 3 Americans in the same EPL game.  That'd be great.

Can't go wrong with any of these IMO.  I think I'd choose the derby just for the crazy atmosphere, but I'd love to see Pulisic play in London too, so for me it'd come down to between those two.

Games aren't announced yet, but Group stage UCL games will be that Tuesday/Wednesday too and if Chelsea or Tottenham have a home game that week it'd be killer to see a UCL game IMO.  Likely quite expensive though.
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Awesome - thanks.  :thumbup:  West Ham and Chelsea sound good.  And Brighton sounds good - it would be a cool day trip.  I'm not picky, anything like that would be awesome.

No chance to do mid-week games.  Stuff is already planned and that Saturday is the only "free" day left.

ETA:  Now that I've thought about it a bit (thanks encaitar and DP) West Ham sounds pretty awesome.  While I love the USMNT the thought of the social experience of a derby is pretty compelling.

 
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Sand said:
Maybe a dumb question, but maybe the collective in here knows something.  We're headed over to London for the Saints game and I may have the opportunity to be there the next weekend and try to catch a PL game.  That weekend the home teams that seem to be possible are Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, West Ham, and looks like Brighton is close enough to get to, as well.  I have no idea which ones are even possible to get tickets to or which, given the choice, would be the coolest experience.  Any thoughts/opinions?
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As an Arsenal fan .. you can guess what i would pick 
I have been to home game and an away game ( Man U) 
Honestly if none of those are teams you root for , just get tickets for any of them and you still will have a great experience 
If i had to rank them for talent and fun to watch 
Chelsea
Arsenal
Crystal Palace
West Ham 
Brighton 

 
Sand said:
ETA:  Now that I've thought about it a bit (thanks encaitar and DP) West Ham sounds pretty awesome.  While I love the USMNT the thought of the social experience of a derby is pretty compelling.
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Also, you can 100% guarantee the atmosphere of the derby game while you can't guarantee that any US player will be playing in any specific game.

 
waiver wire said:
As an Arsenal fan .. you can guess what i would pick 
I have been to home game and an away game ( Man U) 
Honestly if none of those are teams you root for , just get tickets for any of them and you still will have a great experience 
If i had to rank them for talent and fun to watch 
Chelsea
Arsenal
Crystal Palace
West Ham 
Brighton 
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so disrespectful of AFC Wimbledon ...

 
CletiusMaximus said:
But seriously @Sand, don't overlook London clubs outside the premier league like Milwall, QPR and Leyton Orient. Could be a much better atmosphere.
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I got excited about QPR as I thought they played at Wembley.  Evidently not - that day at Wembley is "The Music of Carol King"   :lmao:

Point noted, though.  I still like the idea of a derby, but QPR would be pretty cool.

 
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SoBeDad said:
How big is the gap, for us casual soccer fans?

Inter Miami vs. Barcelona result: Barcelona dismantles David Beckham's MLS club in pre-season rout
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it goes both ways in terms of meaningless to be fair.  While we told you the reasons to not pay much attention to this one result, the same can be said of tonight in the opposite direction.

Charlotte drawing with Chelsea and Minnesota crushing Everton 4-0 give ZERO indication that MLS teams are EPL caliber.

There are so many variables in these friendlies that sometimes you just hope no one gets hurt and really just have to ignore the results.

 
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Desert_Power said:
Yeah. Got home a few ago. Fun ending with the 16 year old academy player earning a penalty to set up the PKs.
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Come to think of it, if memory serves, Chelsea helped launch the career of another 16 year old MLS player when a then unknown Tyler Adams scored against Chelsea in a friendly. 

 
AAABatteries said:
The gap is pretty substantial when you talk about the powerhouse teams in the big 5 European leagues.  But there's a fairly big gap between a Barcelona and a club that is bottom of the La Liga table too.  An average MLS team can probably provide a decent game against those bottom half of the table European clubs.

MLS has come a long way and is I'd say pretty firmly in the 8-12 range of leagues world wide.  And it gets better every year.  

ETA - could be higher than 8 too for some folks - I did this top of head.  Big 5 and I think it would still be perceived as behind some of Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Dutch, Portugal
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Championship too.  It's surprisingly good -- but lacks the real top end teams from some of those other leagues.

I think I had MLS 12th the last time I took a deep dive into this.  Japan and Turkey(?) were the two leagues that seemed like they were most comparable to MLS.  Basically MLS runs the gamut of Championship teams through the top half of League One in England.

 
Desert_Power said:
Doesn't seem like a good way to encourage the European money to return...
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I think for the most part coaches and players hate them already.  What's the point of playing teams worse than anyone you'll face all season when they're dialed up to 110% and you're still just trying to get your legs back after a summer in the Mediterranean?

It's the finance and marketing people that push these tours.

 
Sand said:
Maybe a dumb question, but maybe the collective in here knows something.  We're headed over to London for the Saints game and I may have the opportunity to be there the next weekend and try to catch a PL game.  That weekend the home teams that seem to be possible are Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, West Ham, and looks like Brighton is close enough to get to, as well.  I have no idea which ones are even possible to get tickets to or which, given the choice, would be the coolest experience.  Any thoughts/opinions?
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Tickets can always be obtained if you have a good chunk of $$$ to throw at them. Looking at who they play, Arsenal is probably unavailable (and likely moved for TV out of your Saturday window), Brighton might be similar, but the remainder I would guess might be possible. If you consider Brighton close enough, you can probably chuck in Forest as well just in terms of timings, but newly promoted team vs moderately local rival is likely an impossible ticket ask.

But yep, as mentioned, don't limit yourself to Premier League teams unless you want to say you've specifically been to a PL match - Millwall/QPR are both at home that weekend in London, Loftus Road's a bit of a dump, but the Den's perfectly fine and Bermondsey's not a bad area if you're a beer aficionado. Seems a bit limited any further down the league than that on that weekend

 
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