Seattle Sounders 2016 season thread

[Uncle Si]

CA played 9 of 11 that played the previous gsme domestically...


Ill have a larger response after i get home.

From ESPNFC:

"The first match of the season for Seattle was open and entertaining and featured a Club America lineup with about half of its normal starters."


Their top keeper (the keeper they used had not seen any action)
One of their top attacking mids
their top (or 2nd depending on opinion) striker
two of their typical defensive starters came in as subs

(this is coming from a CA fan here in MN)


So, a weakened lineup, maybe not "half", certainly not "A+"

It was a let down, if you consider the CCL a tournament the Sounders want to win. I do. I want an MLS team not named Galaxy to make a final.

 

[Uncle Si]

CA played 9 of 11 that played the previous gsme domestically...


Ill have a larger response after i get home.

Yep. That was about as close to CA's A+ team as you're gonna get on a mid week game. In some ways Seattle was unfortunate that CA had two players on red cards in league play, who knows if they play if they weren't suspended.

Seattle did really well under the circumstances.

They blew 2 one goal leads against half of (let's just say "not all") CA's squad, mid week and at home?

This constitutes "Doing well?"

Expectations are that low?

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Aren't you in these competitions to win games?

That was a weakened CA team (literally half of their first 11) and at home... and still they controlled good portions of the game (and field).

the 433 is not some new brain child that Sigi put together. Most of these players have been in it before, and noone was citing its frailties when it battered LA 4-0 the other day.

I think its fair criticism. While you can have some inconsistencies in getting your season jump started, it's a bit silly to blow two leads against a weakened squad at home in a major competition then say your team has the "savvy" to score goals in the away leg. If they had the savvy, they'd have an advantage right now.

This is my disdain for Sigi, and I'm sad he's still the manager of Seattle.

We weren't at full strength either Si. No Torres and our best player just went to China..........add in the fact that Liga MX is a much deeper league with much deeper teams. So even their bench could start for most MLS clubs.

Add in the fact that they're mid season, and we just started with a new formation, new players in new positions, etc and yes a 2-2 draw is not a bad result IMO.

Maybe we do have some issues, but this match is not the match I'm going to point to against a very fast veteran savvy top tier Mexican club to criticize the club over.

If it's May of June and we're in the middle or bottom of the table? Then yes it's time to criticize. But not now.

 

[Smurf]

CA played 9 of 11 that played the previous gsme domestically...


Ill have a larger response after i get home.

Yep. That was about as close to CA's A+ team as you're gonna get on a mid week game. In some ways Seattle was unfortunate that CA had two players on red cards in league play, who knows if they play if they weren't suspended.

Seattle did really well under the circumstances.

They blew 2 one goal leads against half of (let's just say "not all") CA's squad, mid week and at home?

This constitutes "Doing well?"

Expectations are that low?

With the wage gap what it is, yes.

And American club will have a hard time winning the CCL with the spending as it is currently. I'm not referring to the top end players, where the MLS has the advantage ($6-10 million vs $2-4 Million) but the overall wage bill. Liga MX teams have better depth between players 3-18 on most teams, with the sounders I'd say its 5 or 6-18.


TAM was introduced as a way to try and curb this, to increase spending in the middle of the roster, and while it has helped. It's not enough at this current juncture.


Now, not all of it is spending. I get that. We blew the lead. Twice. At home. Against a team that was missing a few key players. Yes, it was the first competitive game of the season, first in a new system, first without Oba, first this, first that....but we blew a lead. Thats on us, and this team will carry that with them into the season. At least we didn't ship 5, 6 or even 7.

A 2-2 draw IS an improvement in a sense. As crappy as that is to say.

We have an immense challenge in front of us. We need to play a perfect game at the Azteca. We need to win 1-0. Thats the easiest way through to the next round. 1 goal. Clean sheet. It's not impossible, its not probable, but the game is played for a reason.


I agree that this is one of those games where having Sigi might hurt us a bit. I think in this situation I play a 532, bunker and counter with pace or something similar. We have the advantage on set pieces, and I think that could be our ticket to the next round....


Regardless, Sigi is the manager and we will see the same 4231 we saw this match. Hopefully with better results.

 

[knownone]

CA played 9 of 11 that played the previous gsme domestically...


Ill have a larger response after i get home.

Yep. That was about as close to CA's A+ team as you're gonna get on a mid week game. In some ways Seattle was unfortunate that CA had two players on red cards in league play, who knows if they play if they weren't suspended.

Seattle did really well under the circumstances.

They blew 2 one goal leads against half of (let's just say "not all") CA's squad, mid week and at home?

This constitutes "Doing well?"

Expectations are that low?

9 out of 11 of CA best 11 started. 1 of those guys was injured and unavailable... You can term it however you want, it is what it is.

This was Seattles first competitive game of the year, and it was against arguably the best team in the region, whose last away game against an MLS side was 4-2 drubbing. Yeah, I do think they played well under those circumstances, I'm pissed off that we gave up away goals and the second half subs were nightmarish, but largely i feel that the team played well.

 

[Uncle Si]

Fair enough. Odd that ESPN believes it was half their starters. My CA friend says their top keeper and striker were missing plus a really good mid and defender

If the MLS isn't setting their teams up for success in this comp than they shouldn't be in it. In what I saw, the Sounders defending was critically poor in shape and awareness. The first goal was absurd to give up after just scoring so close to half. The second was just a patient build but no pressure from the higher levels. Back line couldn't stay focused long enough

 

[Smurf]

Fair enough. Odd that ESPN believes it was half their starters. My CA friend says their top keeper and striker were missing plus a really good mid and defender

If the MLS isn't setting their teams up for success in this comp than they shouldn't be in it. In what I saw, the Sounders defending was critically poor in shape and awareness. The first goal was absurd to give up after just scoring so close to half. The second was just a patient build but no pressure from the higher levels. Back line couldn't stay focused long enough

No argument from me here on that.


Defending wasn't great. I thin that will improve with time. Other than that, I enjoyed our new look line up.

 

[Uncle Si]

"A 2-2 draw IS an improvement in a sense. As crappy as that is to say."

This is the line that makes the most sense for me.

I do want the MLS to be in a position to start exerting itself over the Mexican league. It needs to. This is why I was disappointed in the match. I don't really care if the Sounders are top of the table or the middle of it come May or June.

If this is an MLS thing more than a Sounder thing than I am happy to concede that. You all can rightly determine if your team is getting better or not. I'm just looking at the match I saw and its impact on the 2nd leg and moving forward in that competition. That is my disappointment.

And no secret I'm not a fan of Sigi. Seattle is one of the most important clubs in the MLS and I'd like to see them led by someone more dynamic.

 

[knownone]

Fair enough. Odd that ESPN believes it was half their starters. My CA friend says their top keeper and striker were missing plus a really good mid and defender

If the MLS isn't setting their teams up for success in this comp than they shouldn't be in it. In what I saw, the Sounders defending was critically poor in shape and awareness. The first goal was absurd to give up after just scoring so close to half. The second was just a patient build but no pressure from the higher levels. Back line couldn't stay focused long enough

Yeah, I'm not really sure what ESPN is thinking.

I watch quite a bit of Liga MX and CA was missing Munoz their top keeper and Benedetto (second best striker) who was injured on Saturday, the only other non first choice I can think of is maybe Brian Lozano who is a recent transfer and essentially America's version of Jordan Morris. If it wasn't their A+ line up, it was A- at worst. Most Liga MX teams wouldn't bring a line up like this, but CA is under pressure to win a trophy in their Centenario season and Champions league is looking like their best chance at the moment. On top of that, both Peralta and Quintero were suspended for their next league game, which allowed both of them to not only play, but go a full 90, both scored.

I'm not sure what MLS can do outside of changing their schedule. When your first game of the year is the regions toughest tournament, against teams in mid season form, something is wrong, but is that MLS or Concacaf?

 

[SeatownJay]

I'm not sure what MLS can do outside of changing their schedule. When your first game of the year is the regions toughest tournament, against teams in mid season form, something is wrong, but is that MLS or Concacaf?

The announcers actually talked about this a bit during the match and mentioned the possibility of switching CCL so the group stages were played in the spring and the knockout stages in the fall so the entire competition happens in the same calendar year.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I'm not sure what MLS can do outside of changing their schedule. When your first game of the year is the regions toughest tournament, against teams in mid season form, something is wrong, but is that MLS or Concacaf?

The announcers actually talked about this a bit during the match and mentioned the possibility of switching CCL so the group stages were played in the spring and the knockout stages in the fall so the entire competition happens in the same calendar year.

It evens out in the group stage in August when MLS teams are in mid-season form and all the other teams are in pre-season.

I love the tournament, other than the Sounders having to go 3rd world countries mid-season to play on goat pastures with seven people watching. It's great competition, and I guarantee you it's a great recruiting tool for the MLS for good CONCACAF players to check out MLS clubs and cities.

 

[Uncle Si]

I'm not sure what MLS can do outside of changing their schedule. When your first game of the year is the regions toughest tournament, against teams in mid season form, something is wrong, but is that MLS or Concacaf?

The announcers actually talked about this a bit during the match and mentioned the possibility of switching CCL so the group stages were played in the spring and the knockout stages in the fall so the entire competition happens in the same calendar year.

It evens out in the group stage in August when MLS teams are in mid-season form and all the other teams are in pre-season.

I love the tournament, other than the Sounders having to go 3rd world countries mid-season to play on goat pastures with seven people watching. It's great competition, and I guarantee you it's a great recruiting tool for the MLS for good CONCACAF players to check out MLS clubs and cities.

The CCL winner (Azteca is hardly a goat patch) gets to play in the Club World Cup against the Champs league winner. This is the primary reason it should be more of a priority.

I'd say recruiting is negligible, since we don't see a flock of Mexican leaguers leaving to play in the great cities of the MLS.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I'm not sure what MLS can do outside of changing their schedule. When your first game of the year is the regions toughest tournament, against teams in mid season form, something is wrong, but is that MLS or Concacaf?

The announcers actually talked about this a bit during the match and mentioned the possibility of switching CCL so the group stages were played in the spring and the knockout stages in the fall so the entire competition happens in the same calendar year.

It evens out in the group stage in August when MLS teams are in mid-season form and all the other teams are in pre-season.

I love the tournament, other than the Sounders having to go 3rd world countries mid-season to play on goat pastures with seven people watching. It's great competition, and I guarantee you it's a great recruiting tool for the MLS for good CONCACAF players to check out MLS clubs and cities.

The CCL winner (Azteca is hardly a goat patch) gets to play in the Club World Cup against the Champs league winner. This is the primary reason it should be more of a priority.

I'd say recruiting is negligible, since we don't see a flock of Mexican leaguers leaving to play in the great cities of the MLS.

Dude there's a ton of crappy backwater clubs in the CCL. Honduras, Guatamala, Costa Rica, Haiti...........the Sounders have played in some real terrible places.

And look around the MLS, there's TON of Latin American players that have been exposed to the MLS through the tournament and playing for their national teams. Guys like Marco Pappa have even said they were exposed to the MLS through playing for their national teams and CONCACAF club teams.

For someone who admits to not even watching MLS Si, you sure do seem to be an expert on it.

 

[Uncle Si]

It evens out in the group stage in August when MLS teams are in mid-season form and all the other teams are in pre-season.

I love the tournament, other than the Sounders having to go 3rd world countries mid-season to play on goat pastures with seven people watching. It's great competition, and I guarantee you it's a great recruiting tool for the MLS for good CONCACAF players to check out MLS clubs and cities.

The CCL winner (Azteca is hardly a goat patch) gets to play in the Club World Cup against the Champs league winner. This is the primary reason it should be more of a priority.

I'd say recruiting is negligible, since we don't see a flock of Mexican leaguers leaving to play in the great cities of the MLS.

Dude there's a ton of crappy backwater clubs in the CCL. Honduras, Guatamala, Costa Rica, Haiti...........the Sounders have played in some real terrible places.

And look around the MLS, there's TON of Latin American players that have been exposed to the MLS through the tournament and playing for their national teams. Guys like Marco Pappa have even said they were exposed to the MLS through playing for their national teams and CONCACAF club teams.

For someone who admits to not even watching MLS Si, you sure do seem to be an expert on it.

When did I say i didn't watch the MLS? Jesus, I work for an MLS team affiliate and game analyze often.

There are currently 50+ Americans playing in CONCACAF nations outside the US (5 of them from the USMNT most recent pool) and roughly the same in the MLS from those same countries. It seems negligible to me.

I'd prefer the MLS make this tournament somehow more of a priority. If that conversation bothers you maybe don't read my posts.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

There are currently 50+ Americans playing in CONCACAF nations outside the US and roughly the same in the MLS from those same countries. It seems negligible to me.

You referenced Azteca as hardly a goat patch, like that's the norm for most of the CCL clubs, and it's not. There's plenty of horrible pitches in the CCL, thus my point is valid.

But having said that, I still love the tournament, and really see no other downside. What's wrong with playing better clubs and exposing your players and fans to that? There's rarely a downside to great competition..........especially if Garber and the other owners finally figure out how to block off CCL windows like the rest of the big leagues do, which it appears they're going to do this year.

 

[Uncle Si]

There are currently 50+ Americans playing in CONCACAF nations outside the US and roughly the same in the MLS from those same countries. It seems negligible to me.

You referenced Azteca as hardly a goat patch, like that's the norm for most of the CCL clubs, and it's not. There's plenty of horrible pitches in the CCL, thus my point is valid.

But having said that, I still love the tournament, and really see no other downside. What's wrong with playing better clubs and exposing your players and fans to that? There's rarely a downside to great competition..........especially if Garber and the other owners finally figure out how to block off CCL windows like the rest of the big leagues do, which it appears they're going to do this year.

Didnt make any inference of it being the norm. On the contrary I said it was one of the most difficult places in the world to play and another reason why the tournament should be taken seriously. Not sure what your point had to do with it to be honest. Maybe the perception of the other locations you mention is one of the reasons why the tournament still lacks here.

The rest I agree and why i want the MLS to be in a better position to compete in it... if an MLS team was consistently winning it I would then think it could be a good targeting point to bring better players into the league from Mexico, etal.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The rest I agree and why i want the MLS to be in a better position to compete in it... if an MLS team was consistently winning it I would then think it could be a good targeting point to bring better players into the league from Mexico, etal.

It's getting better as the MLS cap continues to go up, but still a big disparity between the MLS and Liga MX payroll wise and depth wise.......which is why I'm not as overly critical of the match results, this year or any year.

It's a good model for Garber and the MLS to emulate IMO. Liga MX is a league the MLS should be modeling, realistic goals with realistic payrolls that most MLS clubs should be able to attain in 10 years time as the sport continues to grow in the US.

 

[Smurf]

Tonight's the night lads. Lets see if we can make history.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Tonight's the night lads. Lets see if we can make history.

Hell yeah, I'm excited.

 

[Smurf]

Tonight's the night lads. Lets see if we can make history.

Hell yeah, I'm excited.

Reminder: The game is on FS2, so make sure you have a way to actually watch the game before 7pm rolls around.


Also, I can't read. The game is TOMORROW night. ....damn leap year...