General Soccer Thread

[go birds]

Chelsea gets booted from the Champions League after a bananas match with a shorthanded PSG

[33anda3rd]

Manchester City-Burnley yesterday is a perfect example of why I love the EPL and the format of their regular season. That one game had ramifications for a whole bunch of teams.

1. Burnley. A crap team, that by beating a giant that they should never have beat, improves their shot at getting out of the relegation zone, now trailing a falling-apart Sunderland by a point. There is hope in Burnley.

2. Sunderland. With Burnley picking up 3 points they practically had no business picking up, they edge closer to relegation. There is nail-biting in Sunderland. For both these teams, the money difference between the EPL and not-the-EPL is about 25 million pounds/year, the recruiting difference when you want to sign new players is huge, any shot you have at keeping a young star who wants to win in his prime goes out the window. Avoiding relegation is enormous.

3. Man City. They had a shot. If they beat a team they should beat, and just handle their business, they are 3 back of Chelsea (who has 2 games in hand) for the title. Instead, they drop three points, leaving Chelsea 5 points up with those two games in hand. (Chelsea drew today, they're 6 up with 1 game in hand.)

4. Chelsea. They are effectively your EPL champs. The rest of the season is pretty much academic. They face Arsenal, MUFC, and Liverpool once each, but otherwise have little to no competition in their last 10.

5. and 6. Aston Villa and Hull. They are both just 3 points up on Burnley now, putting them closer to the danger zone of relegation. If Burnley loses the game they should have lost to Man City both these teams are 6 points clear of relegation. Instead they're 3 away--a single game's worth of points.

One 90-minute game has a massive effect on those six teams. It also does stuff like give Arsenal hope for a top-two finish for the first time in years, puts Man United also within striking distance of Man City and citywide bragging rights. Yeah, the title race is over, but the battles for 4th/not 4th, champ/runner-up, relegation/not-relegation are so important that there are multiple things happening besides "who won it all" going on. The weight of a single game can be pretty heavy in this format, and it's a big reason I love watching this league. Close to half the league is impacted by one regular sesaon game that should have been a giant romping all over a little guy. That it wasn't, and that the little guy's fortitude on one day in March can upset the apple cart of league structure, is pretty [expletive] awesome.

[robbotis]

Boo-ya!
Presser Wednesday at Target Field. Looks like Minneapolis is getting the next MLS franchise. I can't be more pleased. I'll finally have a local team to call my own. I've had allegiances to St. Louis teams in every other sport, but this Minneapolis soccer team will be my squad now.
I'll still love my Juve though.

[thrill]

Glad they gave it to Minnesota United and not the Vikings creeps.

[Fat Strat]

FYI, there are upcoming friendlies for the USMNT in Denmark and Switzerland.

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2015/03 ... roster-rel

Looking over the roster, they have Fabian Johnson listed as a midfielder. Breck Shea as a defender.

I haven't followed anything since the WC, but the idea of Shea as a defender strikes me as a bit odd. I do wonder whether he could fill that defensive midfielder role previously occupied by guys like Jermaine Jones and Beckerman. Maybe that's where he plays on his club team.

I could also see Fabian Johnson in a similar role, but I really like him playing defense on the outside. His ball skills make him an asset from the back. Compare him to Chandler, who always seems so awkward with the ball.

[thrill]

I haven't followed anything since the WC, but the idea of Shea as a defender strikes me as a bit odd.

He's been playing at left back for Orlando. He's had his moments of Brekness. Cool tricks, lots of speed going forward and he's limited positioning mistakes. He's not there yet, but it could be a good, long-term move for him if he can turn himself into a pure wing back.

[Fat Strat]

I haven't followed anything since the WC, but the idea of Shea as a defender strikes me as a bit odd.

He's been playing at left back for Orlando. He's had his moments of Brekness. Cool tricks, lots of speed going forward and he's limited positioning mistakes. He's not there yet, but it could be a good, long-term move for him if he can turn himself into a pure wing back.

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

[robbotis]

Glad they gave it to Minnesota United and not the Vikings creeps.

I agree. Choosing an organization that has experience, and an obvious love of soccer, was the right call. Plus, it probably means a new stadium for the team. I suspect w/ the Pohlad's, Taylor, and the United health Care Golden Parachute money, as well as the lack of debate or even conversation about public funding, that their stadium is going to be built w/ mainly private funds. More details to come tomorrow, but I am pleased with the way it's looking.

[lukethedrifter]

Nephew apparently finally signed with SJ Earthquakes after 2+ months of twisting in the wind with Columbus, New England, San Jose. Earthquakes kept stringing him along (I get it, if they loved him they'd have signed him sooner) until LA called his college coach looking for him.

The life of a fringe pro athlete. Helps me understand why my Dad retired at 29 with 4 kids for a corporate job.

[Fat Strat]

US is playing a 4-4-2 today, and Gyasi Zardes is starting again (opposite Fabian Johnson).

What do I need to know about this kid? Looks like he has some talent, but are we talking about likely 2018 WC talent, or occasional national team talent?