Time for part 2 of my First Annual Half Arsed And Proud Of It MLS Season Predictions, and this time it's the Eastern Conference. Click here for my Western Conference preview, where Seattle took less than half a game to make a mockery of my optimism for Blaise Nkufo and O'Brian White. Like how I did it with the West, it's another no research, no googling, gut instinct kind of thing, here we go.
1 New York Red Bulls. Juan Pablo Angel could be a big loss, but having a full season of Thierry Henry should work out nicely for them. Not really much competition in the East, so they should sew up first fairly easily, before shockingly and amusingly losing to the wild card Colorado Rapids.
2 Sporting Kansas City. A new name, almost a new stadium, and Omar Bravo as their new DP. Things are looking up in KC. A long road trip could kill their season, but I think they'll do just about well enough to hang on, and then really make up ground in the 2nd half of the season, before making it to the Conference final and losing.
3 D.C United. Charlie Davies is a great signing and if Andy Najar can repeat or improve upon his showing of last year, they should help restore DC, if not to their former championship winning glories, at least back to respectability and a playoff position.
4 Philadelphia Union. Faryd Mondragon's a great name, and a decent signing as well. Carlos Ruiz seems like a bit of a desperate gamble, but things will come together and the Union will get the last wild card spot, where they'll lose to Colorado
5 Chicago Fire. Lost a few big name players in Cuahtemoc Blanco Brian McBride and Nery Castillo, so will wallow in mediocrity, flirt with the playoffs all season, but not make it.
6 Houston Dynamo. Houston benefit with the move to the weaker Eastern Conference, but won't really be able to take advantage. With no big names coming in over the off-season, they'll once again be relying on Brian Ching, and he won't be able to do it on his own.
7 Columbus Crew. Lost a lot of their best and most experienced players, like Schelotto and Hejduk, and their days of being a contender are over. They'll actually lose a game to Toronto, but will still finish above them.
8 Toronto FC. Ah, Toronto. New management, new hope, no good new players yet though. If some academy kids/draftees or as yet unknown new signings don't come along and impress, we'll be in trouble. We're finally on the right track but we're a long way back, 2012 should be better but this year will be long and frustrating, it'll be interesting at least.
9 New England Revolution. If only because I couldn't bring myself to put Toronto dead last. If Shalrie Joseph can keep himself out of trouble and out of rehab, they'll maybe do ok, but I think they'll struggle and it may be the end of the Nicol era.
So overall, in one magnificent single table format, your standings will be;
1 Real Salt Lake
2 Seattle Sounders
3 New York Red Bulls
4 LA Galaxy
5 Colorado Rapids
6 FC Dallas
7 Sporting Kansas City
8 DC United
9 Portland Timbers
10 Philadelphia Union
11Chicago Fire
12 San Jose Earthquakes
13 Houston Dynamo
14 Columbus Crew
15 Chivas Usa
16 Toronto FC
17 Vancouver Whitecaps
18 New England Revolution.
Wild cards, Colorado beats Philadelphia, Portland beats Dallas.
Conference semi finals, RSL beats Portland, Seattle beats LA, Colorado beats New York and Kansas City beats DC.
Conference finals, Seattle beats RSL and Colorado beats Kansas City
MLS Cup, Seattle beats Colorado.
Showing posts with label New York Red Bulls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York Red Bulls. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Monday, November 8, 2010
Successful Canadian footballers?
Tonight, having already qualified for the 2011 World Cup in Germany after their semi-final win over Costa Rica, Canada's Women's National Team has the chance to clinch the Concacaf championship tonight. They're favourites as well, as rather than taking on the heavily favoured US team, they'll actually be playing Mexico who lost 3-0 to Canada in the group stages, before stunning the US in the semi-final. You can watch the game on CBC Bold, or if you're not one of their approximately 12 subscribers, online here. Congratulations to Carolina Morace and her team for a successful qualification, and hopefully they can finish the job tonight and cap what's been a busy and enjoyable weekend of football.
In the MLS playoffs, San Jose destroyed the "dream final" by knocking out Thierry Henry and the Red Bulls, and you've got to say that the first half-season of the Henry experiment was a bit of a failure really. Not a Mista level failure by any means, but he's going to have to improve next year to justify the big bucks. Columbus also lost, in a shootout to Colorado, and San Jose-Colorado really is an appropriate final for what was a very bad year for Eastern Conference clubs. In the Western Conference, Dallas beat Real Salt Lake, before a higher seed finally won, with LA knocking out Seattle. So either David Beckham or Jeff Cunningham will be playing and potentially lifting the the cup at BMO field, it's safe to say I'll be supporting whoever comes out of the "East".
Back in England, it was a mixed weekend for the small clubs in the FA cup. Tipton Town and Hythe Town both got hammered, though Hythe did at least score. Dover upset Gillingham, getting revenge against all the management and coaches who went from Dover to Gillingham this summer and FC United of Manchester got a 94th minute winner against Rochdale. Darlington beat League one side Bristol Rovers 2-1, though even when they win, they can't win, as computer problems in the ticket office led to very long waits to get in and quite a few people apparently giving up, so that's a good chance to win some new converts, or win back some old fans wasted, but still, an excellent result.
Throw in Chelsea and Arsenal both losing to EPL minnows, and it's been a really good weekend, Canada being champions would be a great way to finish it.
Edit: And they did finish it off, a 1-0 win giving them the title, 5 games, 5 wins, 0 goals against, a really good tournament all round. Well done Ladies. Campeonas! Campeonas! olé, olé, olé!
In the MLS playoffs, San Jose destroyed the "dream final" by knocking out Thierry Henry and the Red Bulls, and you've got to say that the first half-season of the Henry experiment was a bit of a failure really. Not a Mista level failure by any means, but he's going to have to improve next year to justify the big bucks. Columbus also lost, in a shootout to Colorado, and San Jose-Colorado really is an appropriate final for what was a very bad year for Eastern Conference clubs. In the Western Conference, Dallas beat Real Salt Lake, before a higher seed finally won, with LA knocking out Seattle. So either David Beckham or Jeff Cunningham will be playing and potentially lifting the the cup at BMO field, it's safe to say I'll be supporting whoever comes out of the "East".
Back in England, it was a mixed weekend for the small clubs in the FA cup. Tipton Town and Hythe Town both got hammered, though Hythe did at least score. Dover upset Gillingham, getting revenge against all the management and coaches who went from Dover to Gillingham this summer and FC United of Manchester got a 94th minute winner against Rochdale. Darlington beat League one side Bristol Rovers 2-1, though even when they win, they can't win, as computer problems in the ticket office led to very long waits to get in and quite a few people apparently giving up, so that's a good chance to win some new converts, or win back some old fans wasted, but still, an excellent result.
Throw in Chelsea and Arsenal both losing to EPL minnows, and it's been a really good weekend, Canada being champions would be a great way to finish it.
Edit: And they did finish it off, a 1-0 win giving them the title, 5 games, 5 wins, 0 goals against, a really good tournament all round. Well done Ladies. Campeonas! Campeonas! olé, olé, olé!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Weeeee love you! But we hate you. You too. And especially you!
With the MLS playoffs about to start, and TFC's lockers already cleared out, it's time to decide who to be following, and who to be prepared to cheer for or against when the final is played before all TFC's eager season ticket holders (everyone's going right? there were no problems with that?).
If you're undecided and it's uninformed opinions, partisan sentimentality, bitterness and petty prejudices you want to make a decision on, then you've come to the right place. Here's my reasons to boo and cheer for the 8 teams still playing.
Colorado.
Reasons to cheer. Marvell Wynne, his flailing arms and lack of positional sense annoyed me, but I hold no grudge with Wynne and would have no problem seeing him with the trophy. No sponsor, I'm officially jealous of their jersey, simple, no sponsor or obnoxious North American style logo, classiest in MLS by far.
Reasons to boo. Conor Casey, the poor man's Danny Dichio. You don't like Toronto? We don't like you either, so there! Success would probably increase their commercial value and lead to a jersey sponsorship offer they can't refuse.
Verdict. Meh!
Columbus.
Reasons to cheer. Their consistency over the last few years is an example of...Nah, can't do it. Seriously, it's Columbus.
Reasons to boo. Schelotto, Lenhart, Padula's terrible hair, their taser happy cops, the fact that TFC still hasn't beaten them. Seriously, it's Columbus.
Verdict. Fuck those guys! booooooo!
Dallas.
Reasons to cheer. I seriously can't think of any, though I suppose in a "good for the growth of the game" kind of way, being champions might help them actually sell some tickets.
Reasons to boo. Jeff Cunningham. Milton Rodriguez's obnoxious fan-baiting celebration after scoring at BMO field this year. The bouncy castle. Did I mention Jeff Cunningham?
Verdict. Booooo!
Los Angeles.
Reasons to cheer. The Riot Squad supporters group standing up to Beckham last year was a great moment. That's about it.
Reasons to boo. Beckham. Landycakes. That's all the reasons I need.
Verdict. Fuck those guys! Boooo!
New York.
Reasons to cheer. Robbo, it`d be good to see him raising a trophy at BMO. Greg Sutton, ditto. They`ve built themselves a fantastic stadium, and it`d be good for the league for it to be filled on a regular basis, winning would help with that.
Reasons to boo. Thierry Henry. Changing the team name to Red Bulls? Awful. 5-0 last year. That Red Bull Energy Zone or whatever it's called that sprung up outside the North stand at BMO towards the end of the season is terrible on so many levels.
Verdict. Sorry Robbo, booooo!
Salt Lake.
Reasons to cheer. Will Johnson, good Canadian kid. Their turnaround from consistently terrible to very good gives some hope for TFC.
Reasons to boo. The dirty hippy. Real Salt lake is still a stupid name.
Verdict. Meh!
San Jose.
Reasons to cheer. Canadian Frank Yallop, showing the benefits of patience and sticking with a plan. Sam Cronin. A pacific coast team representing the Eastern conference would be amusing. Supporters had their original team ripped away from them, so karma wise, they've earned it.
Reasons to boo. None that I can think of, they're a pretty inoffensive club.
Verdict. Against New York and probably Columbus? Rock the Casbah! I hope they make it.
Seattle. Reasons to cheer. Before TFC's game in Seattle, I unknowingly ended up in the home pub of Seattle supporters group Gorilla FC. "Anti-racist, anti-Fascist, anti-sexist and anti-homophobic, but pro-party!!" Now that's a slogan I can get behind. They were unfailingly friendly, many of them very sincerely thanking me for travelling. It was a great day for lucky drinking, I ran into some of Chad Barrett's family at a bar near the stadium pre game, and later that night Danny Dichio and Leo Percovich showed up at the same Irish pub I was in. The atmosphere at the game was great, and the ambition the owners have shown is something that I really hope TFC are going to try and emulate.
Reasons to boo. They`ve already had way too much success, I`m jealous.
Verdict. I hope they win it all.
So here it is in order who I'll be cheering for, or more likely, not cheering against.
1. Seattle
2. San Jose
3. Colorado
4. Salt Lake
5. New York
6. Dallas
7. LA
8. Columbus.
7 and 8 was a really tough call. I hope they don't both make it to the final.
If you're undecided and it's uninformed opinions, partisan sentimentality, bitterness and petty prejudices you want to make a decision on, then you've come to the right place. Here's my reasons to boo and cheer for the 8 teams still playing.
Colorado.
Reasons to cheer. Marvell Wynne, his flailing arms and lack of positional sense annoyed me, but I hold no grudge with Wynne and would have no problem seeing him with the trophy. No sponsor, I'm officially jealous of their jersey, simple, no sponsor or obnoxious North American style logo, classiest in MLS by far.
Reasons to boo. Conor Casey, the poor man's Danny Dichio. You don't like Toronto? We don't like you either, so there! Success would probably increase their commercial value and lead to a jersey sponsorship offer they can't refuse.
Verdict. Meh!
Columbus.
Reasons to cheer. Their consistency over the last few years is an example of...Nah, can't do it. Seriously, it's Columbus.
Reasons to boo. Schelotto, Lenhart, Padula's terrible hair, their taser happy cops, the fact that TFC still hasn't beaten them. Seriously, it's Columbus.
Verdict. Fuck those guys! booooooo!
Dallas.
Reasons to cheer. I seriously can't think of any, though I suppose in a "good for the growth of the game" kind of way, being champions might help them actually sell some tickets.
Reasons to boo. Jeff Cunningham. Milton Rodriguez's obnoxious fan-baiting celebration after scoring at BMO field this year. The bouncy castle. Did I mention Jeff Cunningham?
Verdict. Booooo!
Los Angeles.
Reasons to cheer. The Riot Squad supporters group standing up to Beckham last year was a great moment. That's about it.
Reasons to boo. Beckham. Landycakes. That's all the reasons I need.
Verdict. Fuck those guys! Boooo!
New York.
Reasons to cheer. Robbo, it`d be good to see him raising a trophy at BMO. Greg Sutton, ditto. They`ve built themselves a fantastic stadium, and it`d be good for the league for it to be filled on a regular basis, winning would help with that.
Reasons to boo. Thierry Henry. Changing the team name to Red Bulls? Awful. 5-0 last year. That Red Bull Energy Zone or whatever it's called that sprung up outside the North stand at BMO towards the end of the season is terrible on so many levels.
Verdict. Sorry Robbo, booooo!
Salt Lake.
Reasons to cheer. Will Johnson, good Canadian kid. Their turnaround from consistently terrible to very good gives some hope for TFC.
Reasons to boo. The dirty hippy. Real Salt lake is still a stupid name.
Verdict. Meh!
San Jose.
Reasons to cheer. Canadian Frank Yallop, showing the benefits of patience and sticking with a plan. Sam Cronin. A pacific coast team representing the Eastern conference would be amusing. Supporters had their original team ripped away from them, so karma wise, they've earned it.
Reasons to boo. None that I can think of, they're a pretty inoffensive club.
Verdict. Against New York and probably Columbus? Rock the Casbah! I hope they make it.
Seattle. Reasons to cheer. Before TFC's game in Seattle, I unknowingly ended up in the home pub of Seattle supporters group Gorilla FC. "Anti-racist, anti-Fascist, anti-sexist and anti-homophobic, but pro-party!!" Now that's a slogan I can get behind. They were unfailingly friendly, many of them very sincerely thanking me for travelling. It was a great day for lucky drinking, I ran into some of Chad Barrett's family at a bar near the stadium pre game, and later that night Danny Dichio and Leo Percovich showed up at the same Irish pub I was in. The atmosphere at the game was great, and the ambition the owners have shown is something that I really hope TFC are going to try and emulate.
Reasons to boo. They`ve already had way too much success, I`m jealous.
Verdict. I hope they win it all.
So here it is in order who I'll be cheering for, or more likely, not cheering against.
1. Seattle
2. San Jose
3. Colorado
4. Salt Lake
5. New York
6. Dallas
7. LA
8. Columbus.
7 and 8 was a really tough call. I hope they don't both make it to the final.
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