FEATURES
. . . . . .
ABOUT
. . . . . .
CONTACT
. . . . . .
SHOP
. . . . . .
RADIO WoS
. . . . . .
NEWS . .
. . . .
SUBSCRIBE
. . . . . .
WoS FRONT PAGE
| Welcome to WoS Forums. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board, it looks a bit ugly, and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Soccerball; in the US of A | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Apr 5 2009, 01:04 PM (3,389 Views) | |
| mud338 | Apr 5 2009, 01:04 PM Post #1 |
|
The Toronto game had some of the worst refereeing I think I have ever seen. Overall Seattle definitely deserved the win though, took advantage of some awful defending and took their chances well. |
 |
 
|
| Targaff | Apr 5 2009, 02:25 PM Post #2 |
|
Somewhat astonishingly, this guy was way better than the ref for the RSL match last week. |
|
|
| romanista | Apr 6 2009, 05:44 AM Post #3 |
Rick Lindeman
|
still no goals against, and best team in the league, that a hell of a start.. how is the mls doing in canada. I know vancouver will start, and montreal wanted to, but toronto didn't have that a good season, stilla soccer specific stadium is allways good.. we won, in a weird atmosphere against Roda. Roda and fortuna will merge into Sporting Limburg next year, and the public chose the game to protest, so Suarez 0-1 was actually cheered upon by the opposing Roda fans.....second place (champions league preliminary) might be ours now, when we beat Twente on the last day (and don't lose many points before that) |
|
|
|
| Targaff | Apr 6 2009, 06:35 AM Post #4 |
|
My understanding is that Toronto has the most fanatical supporters in MLS, despite their lack of success - I think 1W/1D/1L is still their best start to a season. Certainly until near the end of Saturday's game the stadium was pretty full, which is in sharp contrast to, say, the barely attended FC Dallas game. |
|
|
|
| romanista | Apr 6 2009, 09:38 AM Post #5 |
|
Rick Lindeman
|
saw the 6 mins version on the site,sounded and looked like a real stadium.. it's getitng fun the mls! |
|
|
|
| mud338 | Apr 7 2009, 03:11 AM Post #6 |
|
MLS is apparently doing better here in Toronto than some of the more traditional North American sports such as basketball, I read an article last week that said the amount of people purchasing Raptors season tickets is dropping while Toronto FC has a stadium sized waiting list for theirs and are already talking about expanding the BMO. The cause of this maybe the potential for success compared to the other local teams, The Leafs, Argonauts and Raptors have all had poor seasons and nobody seems to be expecting much from the Blue Jays while Toronto FC are expected to at least make a play-off push this season. |
|
|
|
| romanista | Apr 7 2009, 07:14 AM Post #7 |
|
Rick Lindeman
|
Still, they were talking about a second nhl franchise in toronto and is ofcourse often mentioned for an nfl franchise*[/url). Toronoto did always seem to have some buttom up (italian) grassroots support. great to see the sport post 2002 (usa 1/4 final) finally gaining ground there. And also australia, my dutch news paper had an intensive article that finally soccer isn't seen anymore as 'wogball'(sport for strangers), but there are more australians who are saying they are interested in proper football than either form of rugby.. the hiddink effect? * grrr i hate this word |
|
|
|
| caleyjag | Apr 8 2009, 09:06 PM Post #8 |
|
Yay from the second Sounders supporter on the board. (Sadly I just ditched wonderful Capitol Hill for dreary Inverness. Sad times.) |
|
|
|
| Targaff | Apr 12 2009, 05:37 AM Post #9 |
|
 0 - 1  Our first loss of the season, and we didn't really deserve it. Kasey Keller was given a straight red for handling outside the box after half an hour, and much of the rest of the first half was defence, but we were by far the better team in the second half even a man down. The Wizards scored after 80 minutes with the second of only two real efforts they managed on goal in the second half (well, and a crap header), a good shot from outside the box to the bottom left that our sub keeper got fingers to but couldn't put around the post. Also, the ref was really, really bad. I want the guy from the Toronto game back. Next game is away at Chivas, who are the only team ahead of us at this point. Top of the table clash! Edited by Targaff, Apr 12 2009, 05:39 AM.
|
|
|
|
| Targaff | Apr 19 2009, 06:35 AM Post #10 |
|
 2 - 0 Another loss away in LA, and the scoreline was about right. After 15 minutes Seattle already looked tired; we had one really good early chance, which Montero put wide trying to lob the keeper, and only one shot on target. Chivas weren't actually that great, but they were the better team. Home again next week, playing the Hicksville Bucktooths or something. |
|
|
|
| Targaff | Apr 26 2009, 11:38 PM Post #11 |
|
2 - 0  We got back on the right track with a win at home against last year's expansion team, who beat us 3-2 in the preseason. The game wasn't hugely exciting, as evidenced by the fact that the most interesting bit was Kasey Keller breaking the MLS's shutout record - he hasn't conceded a goal yet. Elsewhere Steve Nicol's Revolution were thumped 6-0 by Real Salt Lake, with all 6 goals coming in the second half, and Chicago, whom we play next, scored 2 in the last 5 minutes to grab a draw against last year's champions Columbus Crew. It turns out that American commentators refer to a curling free kick as a knuckleball. |
|
|
|
| romanista | Apr 27 2009, 05:55 AM Post #12 |
|
Rick Lindeman
|
SJ-fans won't like to be called expansions team don't they, i mean theygot to keep the old trophies of the earthquakes 2,didn't they? good to soee you back on track |
|
|
|
| Targaff | Apr 28 2009, 12:04 AM Post #13 |
|
Well, no, they're not really an expansion team in the strictest sense, but the team that was is not the team that is, to the extent that they're the same franchise in name only. Not that they're likely to take kindly to being called such. It's not entirely unlike the whole Wimbledon/MK Dons situation, except without all that troublesome league structure malarkey.
Edited by Targaff, Apr 28 2009, 04:49 AM.
|
|
|
|
| romanista | Apr 29 2009, 10:38 AM Post #14 |
|
Rick Lindeman
|
the mets are still called an expansion team as well, which is a bit weird after nearly 50 yrs.. |
|
|
|
| Targaff | May 1 2009, 12:25 AM Post #15 |
|
Makes you wonder, especially with the moving franchises, how many teams *aren't* expansion teams these days. We won a US Open Cup qualifier 4-1 against real Salt Lake on Tuesday. I tried to get tickets but it was sold out (they played at the Starfire Complex where they train, the capacity is < 5,000). There's now a second play off round against Colorado to get into the competition proper. On the other half of the draw (there are 2 places available) Red Bull will play DC United. The US Open Cup, incidentally, dates back to 1914... Someone on the Sounders blog (with, it has to be said, far too much spare time), calculated that if attendance keeps up for the season the team will have a higher average attendance for the year (28,965) than 7 Bundesliga teams, 9 Premier League teams, 13 La Liga teams, 14 Serie A teams, 15 Eredivisie teams and all the teams in the SPL apart from Celtic and Rangers, although they did point out that some of that may be because of stadium limitations. |
|
|
|
| romanista | May 1 2009, 12:01 PM Post #16 |
|
Rick Lindeman
|
interesting stats, serie a visitors are down every year, when i was in san siro last month, one could see why, and also why they are losing the money race.. what junk |
|
|
|
| Targaff | May 8 2009, 07:05 PM Post #17 |
|
 1 - 1 I was away this last weekend so I didn't catch the game live, but I watched the replay. Chicago dominated the first half, hitting the post on one occasion. Just after the break Montero got a straight red for about the softest elbow I've ever seen, but much like the Keller sending off it's the sort of decision that's hard to appeal. Keller was finally beaten midway through the second half for the first time this season with a bobbly little shot into the corner, but the Sounders, who'd looked better in the second half despite being one down, managed to get one back 6 minutes later from a toepoke at the back post following a corner. Not sure what the other teams did, like I said, didn't see much of it this week. I think I mentioned in the Goal Club thread that our season tickets included 3 friendly games. The first of these was for the MLS Cup Final (not really a friendly, granted, but it's at QWest this year), and the second was for a friendly against Chelsea some time in July. They've just announced the opponents for the third friendly: somewhat ironically, it's Barça. Edited by Targaff, May 10 2009, 03:54 AM.
|
|
|
|
| Targaff | May 12 2009, 04:09 AM Post #18 |
|
1-1  In the first half LA's defence collectively shot themselves in the foot, leaving both our forwards with an empty net after beating the offside trap and the onrushing keeper. The Seattle defence then returned the favour, giving the ball away in our own half and then not covering the run into the box, allowing LA to equalize with a header at the back post. The game as a contest was pretty much spoiled by the terrible refereeing, however. We picked up another red card, this time for retaliation, after one of our defenders, Riley, apparently took a swing at an LA player (the Seattle Times says the LA player faked it, but I, Wenger-style, didn't see it). The red was probably correct, but it arose from the LA player grabbing Riley by the back of the neck, for which he received no punishment at all. A brawl ensued and the referee essentially lost control of the game. In the end he gave out 9 yellow cards as well, 5 of which were for dissent. LA - a man up with 30 minutes left to play - then pressed their advantage by... changing to a defensive formation and settling for a draw. Nearly every MLS game this week was an unexciting draw, although there was a good 3-3 for Toronto against DC United. Edited by Targaff, May 12 2009, 04:10 AM.
|
|
|
|
| romanista | May 18 2009, 09:47 AM Post #19 |
|
Rick Lindeman
|
saw you got a point, but more importantly that philadelpia got a name.. philadelphia union, nice throw back, and ofcourse in the veign of belgian (royan union st. gilloise, 11 times belgian chamion, now 3rd division) and Union Irun, four times copa del rey winner in the earliest twentient century, and currenly competing a playoff against Cadiz for a place in the segunda division)
|
|
|
|
| Targaff | May 18 2009, 08:37 PM Post #20 |
|
I didn't really know the background to the team name, so thanks for that. Reaction that I have seen has mostly been of ridicule (including, in one case, "why would you want to look like Portsmouth?") - I think there was a pre-existing team name that most people preferred. But the local fans seem pretty happy about it. Draws have been the order of the day in the last 2-3 weeks of MLS; I think there've only been two or three wins? Our own game at Dallas was just dire - we had a couple of injuries, sure, but after the first 20 minutes we had no cohesion. There was a lot of moaning about the Dallas goal and the referee, too, but it was clearly onside and a great (if a bit lucky) volley, but I think we just played badly. |
|
|
|
| romanista | May 19 2009, 07:05 AM Post #21 |
|
Rick Lindeman
|
they also talked about AC Philadelphia, which could ofcourse be seen as a milan ripoff, but i would have forgiven them as it is also a link to philadelphia atheletics, now in oakland (when they would have made AC athletic club ofcourse, associazione di calcio would have been rather stupid. The old nasl name was philadelphia atoms, i think now has been established in the MSL that it works better to have a bit european sounding name for soccer teams (Dynamo Houston, Toronto FC, FC Dallas (previouslu dallas storm or something) |
|
|
|
| Targaff | May 29 2009, 04:23 PM Post #22 |
|
 2 - 2 (and) 1 - 0 Been a bit remiss about updates, but I doubt anyone's losing sleep. After no draws in 5 we've now had 4 in a row in the league, the latest on an away trip to Colorado. It was a good point to get; without Keller in goal it would have been a certain loss. Not that we didn't play well, but they did have the beating of our defence. We ended up playing them again in the cup play-in on Tuesday (this sort of thing seems to happen far more than coincidence would suggest). This took place at the training complex before a 4,000-strong crowd, and the Sounders came away with a win, prompting the manager of the Rapids to rant for a good 5 or 6 minutes about the facility and the pitch, despite it being a certified pitch with the same material as QWest Field. The official response was, pretty much verbatim, that he should mind his own business. 60% of all MLS games so far in May have been draws. Chivas have kept on winning for the most part, though, and now have a ridiculous 8-point lead in the Western Conference. Edited by Targaff, May 30 2009, 02:16 AM.
|
|
|
|
| Targaff | May 31 2009, 11:30 PM Post #23 |
|
1 - 1  Shockingly, another draw. We conceded early after our left back went AWOL, Ljungberg missed a penalty on the half hour. Second half was much better and we got an equalizer through a sweet volley from about 13 yards out. There was a free kick from a pass back that came to nothing, then we got yet another red card. I think we have the worst disciplinary record of anyone in the MLS. By and large the refereeing standard over here is really, really poor - as one of the players said recently, it's like the refs think everyone's come to see them instead of the game. The Thursday game between Chivas and Chicago had 11 yellows and a red, and yet there was barely a malicious tackle throughout. There's a subsite somewhere in MLSnet.com where they do a peer review of referee calls that week, but unsurprisingly they almost always say the ref was correct. Edited by Targaff, May 31 2009, 11:31 PM.
|
|
|
|
| romanista | Jun 1 2009, 08:21 AM Post #24 |
|
Rick Lindeman
|
and chivas lost, making it more exciting, not? |
|
|
|
| Targaff | Jun 1 2009, 08:41 PM Post #25 |
|
Division-wise, sure, but I don't really take pleasure from a team losing to a seriously dubious penalty in the 96th minute. We play them next week, incidentally. |
|
|
|
| 2 users reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Members Posting: Targaff |
|
0 - 2 | Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · This is WoS · Next Topic » |
6:01 PM Nov 23
