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mls cup prediction

10/22/2018

 
Prediction
2018 MLS Cup champions: 
Atlanta United 


The Audi 2018 MLS Cup final game is December 8, 2018. 

Not the hardest decision but Atlanta - the club with the highest attendance this season - will have tough competition in the East, and, should it make the final, as I predict, either Dallas, LAFC or Sporting Kansas City will be waiting. 
   Should Atlanta not escape the Eastern Conference Playoffs, look for NYCFC to represent the pack, or possibly D.C. United. 

Dark Horse Prediction
2018 MLS Cup champions: 
D.C. United
I'm staying with Atlanta, but, should things get crazy, I'm going with D.C. United as the dark horse. It's a team that had an up-and-down year but clearly was playing well enough on the field to pose the question: "Why are they not getting better results?" With good talent to boot, including Rooney and Arriola, to name a few, keep an eye on D.C. for an interesting run in the Playoffs. 

Western Conference options
2018 MLS Cup champions: 
If not Atlanta, it's a toss up between Dallas, LAFC and Sporting Kansas City. This is a tough one. All three teams are highly capable of running away with the championship, 

The Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs will be a very interesting and exciting. Aside from dark horse conversation and Western Conference contenders, my prediction to win the whole thing is Atlanta. 


Prediction occurred here around 9 AM Central Standard Time, 10-22-18.

usmnt lineup potential

10/17/2018

 
A lineup option to tinker with, particularly with friendlies coming up against England and Italy next month. 
   For World Cup 2022, and the potential to win the whole thing, the following is a solid option to consider. Note the skillful back four. 

Weah Wood Sargent
Pulisic* Nagbe* Nguyen 
Amon Bradley Ream Shea 
Guzan 

Key Bench: 
Feilhaber 
Johannsson 
Torres
Adams
Arriola 
Acosta
Trapp
Cameron
Besler 
Yedlin            
 

* When healthy. 

us vs peru, correct prediction!

10/16/2018

 
The Four Year Review: America's Quest for the Cup

United States vs Peru 
10-16-18
Friendly 
Played in East Hartford, Connecticut

Prediction:  1-1 
Final Score: 1-1

How do you do it Shane? It's a blessing, and a curse.


Prediction occurred here around 11 AM Central Standard Time, 10-16-18.

US vs. Colombia: starting over

10/10/2018

 
The Four Year Review: America's Quest for the Cup

United States vs Colombia 
10-11-18
Friendly 
2-4
K. Acosta
B. Wood

Played in Tampa, Florida

The USMNT played Colombia, a third-rate South American “powerhouse” that has never won the World Cup. Technically it's a second-rate team. But, realistically it's a third-rate team, with a few salient stars that push the argument toward a second-rate or even first-rate team. But it's a third-rate team, make no mistake. It's not winning the World Cup anytime soon, even with its stars.
   The US on the other hand, oiy, where do we start? Try page one: Why American Soccer Isn't There Yet. I'm too tired right now to reiterate the whole thing in one paragraph. The USMNT is searching for new players (kind of), a new coach (kind of), a new approach...which is good. It has a chance to completely start over. And start over it will. And there’s so much potential ahead. And we – the collective American landscape of soccer fans – were essentially saying the same thing in 1998, after a failed launch at the French-hosted World Cup. Here's to another 20 years! 
   A problem with the USMNT is simple as usual. We train our players to be 'creatively timid.' This is the case from the youth levels all the way up. It starts with the back four, who shouldn't, at times, look like frantic animals trying to avoid a car or something higher up on the food chain. 
​   There's hope. That's for sure. A lot of the new offensive players, or somewhat new,  include Green, Wood, Weah, and Acosta, to name a few. A balance needs to be struck between the back four and the new emerging talent; a balance that includes  offensive contributions from the back four like never before. As I've said for a long time, the placement of a player like Bradley into center defense is exactly what the USMNT needs. 
   In the near future the US plays friendlies with Peru, England and Italy. I predict nothing will change in regard to the back four, and a possible emergence of Bradley back there. In regard to style, keep an eye on such transitions as 2019 moves along. 

things to do list

10/9/2018

 
Fix online chess. 
   Now here’s a situation where I’m clearly winning, but the computer says no. Apparently the rules of chess say no. I say yes. I say change the damn rules! But I digress. I’m not here to get angry, throw a temper tantrum – no. I’m ready for Carlsen and they, instead, throw the rules at me. They being a computer, of course. A computer trained in the ways of stomping all over someone’s online chess dreams. A computer trained in outright heresy. A computer that needs to be overthrown. I’m gonna go watch Tron now. 
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    (NS) refers to "Non-Soccer" related blog entries, stories and essays.

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    Shane Stay, author of The Euro 2020, The World Cup 2018 Book, Why American Soccer Isn't There Yet.

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