RE Saturday: We'll see what happens result wise, but I think we'll at least see a free-flowing soccer game on Saturday v. Columbus. They will not foul a lot and will attempt to play soccer, much like Portland. It will be a fun game to watch.
RE: Rodriguez: forward or wing? I think we'll definitely see a mix this year, especially as defenses try to prepare for one or the other, and mixing it up will keep teams off balance. If there were a wing who could do what he can, then we'd probably see him more as a forward.
RE Ayala: I don't know why you start a guy who can't play 90. That's not good. I think he's good for 15 minutes and then he fades. He sprayed some good balls early and then started spraying them to LAFC. It's the second straight game Phil yanked him at halftime. Not a good look.
The game will be fun to watch for a neutral because it’s Columbus, but it might not be fun from our end as we are prone to getting cut apart from teams who are good at using the ball, and Columbus are the best at that
Ayala is working his way back from an ACL, you start him so he can gain match fitness. Phil has made it clear on numerous occasions that he’s been happy with Ayala’s performances, especially vs SKC (where he was awesome), so it’s definitely just a fitness issue, which you could see since he wasn’t as active vs LAFC
There was a chart in an Athletic article yesterday illustrating how many minutes each MLS team has spent in every game state (winning/drawing/losing) this season, and it was not pleasant viewing. Can't embed it here because Substack is a terrible commenting platform as far as being able to format stuff, but:
Columbus has spent 30% of its minutes leading, 62% drawing, and 8% losing. That is the least amount of time spent in a losing position in MLS so far this season.
Portland, on the other hand? 22% of its time leading, 33% drawing, and 45% losing. That 45% losing is second worst in MLS, behind only Orlando, who have spent 50% of their minutes losing.
So yeah, it could be an unpleasant afternoon, especially if Portland get off to their usual "let's spot the other team a couple goals before we wake the hell up" start. NOTE TO THE TIMBERS: please don't do that.
Makes sense given we’re one of the worst defenses in the league and they’re one of the best teams in the league with less than half of the goals against that we have. That being said, we also have six more goals for than they do. My hope is that they prioritize the Monterrey game and rest some of their starters, but I’m keeping my expectations low. Playing away at the best team in the league is a tall order, I’m going to try and keep a level head if things don’t go well. But I sure hope the team doesn’t have that mentality, and I don’t think they will, I think they will be fearless and come out and play, for better or for worse
Last week was frustrating for the stats you point out. I wanted to see how they would do with a lead for once. Giving up goals due to own mistakes has got to stop.
RE Saturday: We'll see what happens result wise, but I think we'll at least see a free-flowing soccer game on Saturday v. Columbus. They will not foul a lot and will attempt to play soccer, much like Portland. It will be a fun game to watch.
RE: Rodriguez: forward or wing? I think we'll definitely see a mix this year, especially as defenses try to prepare for one or the other, and mixing it up will keep teams off balance. If there were a wing who could do what he can, then we'd probably see him more as a forward.
RE Ayala: I don't know why you start a guy who can't play 90. That's not good. I think he's good for 15 minutes and then he fades. He sprayed some good balls early and then started spraying them to LAFC. It's the second straight game Phil yanked him at halftime. Not a good look.
The game will be fun to watch for a neutral because it’s Columbus, but it might not be fun from our end as we are prone to getting cut apart from teams who are good at using the ball, and Columbus are the best at that
Ayala is working his way back from an ACL, you start him so he can gain match fitness. Phil has made it clear on numerous occasions that he’s been happy with Ayala’s performances, especially vs SKC (where he was awesome), so it’s definitely just a fitness issue, which you could see since he wasn’t as active vs LAFC
There was a chart in an Athletic article yesterday illustrating how many minutes each MLS team has spent in every game state (winning/drawing/losing) this season, and it was not pleasant viewing. Can't embed it here because Substack is a terrible commenting platform as far as being able to format stuff, but:
Columbus has spent 30% of its minutes leading, 62% drawing, and 8% losing. That is the least amount of time spent in a losing position in MLS so far this season.
Portland, on the other hand? 22% of its time leading, 33% drawing, and 45% losing. That 45% losing is second worst in MLS, behind only Orlando, who have spent 50% of their minutes losing.
So yeah, it could be an unpleasant afternoon, especially if Portland get off to their usual "let's spot the other team a couple goals before we wake the hell up" start. NOTE TO THE TIMBERS: please don't do that.
Lots of interesting stuff in the article:
https://theathletic.com/5428421/2024/04/19/mls-behind-the-numbers-stats/
Makes sense given we’re one of the worst defenses in the league and they’re one of the best teams in the league with less than half of the goals against that we have. That being said, we also have six more goals for than they do. My hope is that they prioritize the Monterrey game and rest some of their starters, but I’m keeping my expectations low. Playing away at the best team in the league is a tall order, I’m going to try and keep a level head if things don’t go well. But I sure hope the team doesn’t have that mentality, and I don’t think they will, I think they will be fearless and come out and play, for better or for worse
Last week was frustrating for the stats you point out. I wanted to see how they would do with a lead for once. Giving up goals due to own mistakes has got to stop.