Can they beat Houston at home without Messi? They would be favored without him. I bring him on in the 60th only if its tied. He absolutely needs to play on the weekend vs NYCFC. That is basically a playoff game there. And I'm not buying that his body wont last until December? Really. Its a couple more months and then he gets a 3 month break. He isnt elderly.
Messi and MLS
- Thread starter Fk_Pitt
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Can they beat Houston at home without Messi? They would be favored without him. I bring him on in the 60th only if its tied. He absolutely needs to play on the weekend vs NYCFC. That is basically a playoff game there. And I'm not buying that his body wont last until December? Really. Its a couple more months and then he gets a 3 month break. He isnt elderly.
Why do you think that winning the oldest existing USA national soccer Cup and the Miami team winning its first trophy ever to put in their empty trophy case MEANS NOTHING?
They might not even make the playoffs and if they do, they might not even win the championship, here they can win a yearlong tournament, the oldest USA Cup, their first trophy in one game, how does it MEAN NOTHING? EXPLAIN IN DETAIL?
Making the playoffs is far more important and if they beat NYCFC Saturday, they are probably going to make the playoffs.
- they would be favored to beat Houston at home without Messi and can bring him on late if needed
- No one really knows what the US Open Cup is. Its nice to win it. But if they make the MLS playoffs, they get 3-4 more home games if they advance. They are the best team in MLS and would be the favorite to win MLS Cup. They are literally undefeated since Messi arrived.
I think they have to play with an eye toward Saturday and if they need a late spark, bring in Messi, Busquets, etc.
Hate to be that guy, but it isn't even theoretically possible for them to host 4 playoff games.
The most they could host would be one in the wild card round if they end up in 8th place, and then the second game of the best of three in the first round, and then the championship game if and only if the team from the west that they play ends up with fewer points than they do.
The highest they can finish in the standings is 7th. If they finish 7th they can also only even theoretically host three games, and that would be only if the team they play in the conference championship game is the wild card winner and the team from the west in the final finishes with fewer points than they do.
If they end up in 9th the most they could host is two games, again the second being only if they played a team with fewer points than them from the west in the championship game.
By far the most likely scenario would be that they could host two games, and that would be with them finishing in 8th and hosting the wild card game and then hosting game two of their first round series. They are going to need a lot of upsets for it to get any better than that for them.
i appreciate all you guys here putting the work in because this MLS thing is so foreign to me. I’d really like to see Miami get in and make a run. Who wouldn’t?
I mean, I’ve “essentially” never watched MLS, and tonight I’m trying to figure out how I can watch my own daughters game, and Inter Miami at the same time. I’m sure I’ll put my kid on the big screen and Miami on my device…but I seriously had to think about it. Lol.
They've changed the playoff format several times, but the only round of the MLS playoffs that isn't a one off hosted by the higher seeded team is the first round, which is a best of three.
Which is why a team that is going to finish as far down the table as Miami will isn't going to be hosting many playoff games.
Why does people knowing what the US Open Cup is matter so much to you? I know what it is and if my team was in the final, I'd be pissed if they didn't go all in to win it, and I wouldn't care if nobody at all knew about it. I get why you don't care much for the franchise to get a major US trophy, it's first trophy of any kind, because we all know in a couple years you won't be a Miami fan anymore, when Messi goes you'll be out with him, jumping off the bandwagon as fast as you jumped on, you won't keep watching when their roster is again full of 2nd tier South Americans
Put the DVR on the Miami game and watch it after, it's not like you'll accidently hear the score
But seriously, are they expecting Messi to play, I am interested in watching it myself, it is a championship game so you'd hope the players care, even if nobody knows what the US Open Cup is.
Good point. If MLS is like overseas, the lineup and game day squad gets announced exactly 1 hour prior to kickoff. So you can go to twitter in 39 minutes at 7:30 and check Inter’s account for the announcement.Put the DVR on the Miami game and watch it after, it's not like you'll accidently hear the score
But seriously, are they expecting Messi to play, I am interested in watching it myself, it is a championship game so you'd hope the players care, even if nobody knows what the US Open Cup is.
Is it on Peacock?
My prediction, not that it means anything, is he will be in the squad but not starting.
We went to see him a year ago today in New Jersey and I'm glad we did. Never know when injuries may crop up, enjoy the games he gets to play in the US
And now 3-0.
Apparently someone forgot to tell Houston that Miami would beat them even without Messi.
Lost 2-1. Messi and Alba didnt play. Good. The big game is Saturday. Win and In, basically. Id easily take the L today if it meant Messi plays Saturday.
Messi has played a total of 38 minutes since leaving the Ecuador game early. I think it's safe to say that he's hurt
He’s out for Wed vs Chicago and the hope is for him to get some minutes next Saturday vs Cincy.
Things are dire for Miami.
They probably need to go 3-0-1 the rest of the way, which isnt impossible even without Messi.
Attendance for Saturday's home game was terrible. They are building that new stadium but Miami is such a crappy sports town, I predict they will have to relocate within 20 years. When Messi leaves, they are going to draw 5K.
There’s only one Messi. One can say that they can just bring in another big star on the downside of their career. But there’s only one way to go after Messi.
Terrible sports town. Terrible soccer town. I couldn't believe they brought MLS back there but Beckham had a clause to buy a team cheap and that was the last best place he could live. They're going to relocate eventually. Nobody in South Florida cares about MLS. I couldnt believe I got the great seats I did for what I paid. Just no demand down there.....or at least not what demand should be in a 16,000 seat stadium with Messi.
Based on your "even without Messi" predictive powers you have just guaranteed if he doesn't come back they aren't coming anywhere close to the playoffs.
It was 1-1 until the 70th or so. Even game. Then Chicago just finished their chances. Honestly, besides the goals, the 2 teams played pretty evenly. Miami even had 63% possession though that doesn't always tell the whole tale. Even without Messi, I think Miami has the better team. They are basically done now. Need to win all 3 and get some help. And how crazy is this? They will be without 10 players for 1, maybe 2 Charlotte games due to the international window since craptastic MLS makes them play through it. Can you imagine being a Miami fan with a chance to make the playoffs and your whole team leaves for the last 2 games, most just to play in rather meaningless internationals? Ridiculous.
CONMEBOL is playing world cup qualifiers again. As is AFC. UEFA is playing qualifiers for next year's European championships. CONCACAF is playing Nations League games.
All of them are more important than a random MLS game.
Well, OK, maybe not that last one.
I haven't seen a full list but Josef Martinez has been called up by Venezuela and, in addition to Messi, Argentina has called up Facundo Farias for the first time.CONMEBOL is playing world cup qualifiers again. As is AFC. UEFA is playing qualifiers for next year's European championships. CONCACAF is playing Nations League games.
All of them are more important than a random MLS game.
Well, OK, maybe not that last one.
CONMEBOL is playing world cup qualifiers again. As is AFC. UEFA is playing qualifiers for next year's European championships. CONCACAF is playing Nations League games.
All of them are more important than a random MLS game.
Well, OK, maybe not that last one.
Lets run through this:
Argentina - they just won the World Cup, they arent going to finish 8th, 9th, or 10th in CONMEBOL. I realize there is no chance this would ever happen but Argentina should have let them finish with Miami. Their WCQ is meaningless. Its like us having a qualifier for the Gold Cup. We were always going to make it.
The other South American players - not sure who is all going but ok, they play for teams who arent guaranteed the World Cup.
Canada - friendlies. Miller should play
Taylor, Krystof - Euro Nations league which are glorified friendlies
Who else?
Only the top 6 in CONMEBOL automatically qualify. You think that's safe for Argentina, but in 2018, four years after making the WC Final, their qualification came down to the last game, and they only finished four points ahead of the 7th spot (after winning their last game). South American qualifying is brutal and nothing's guaranteed.
They also want to keep developing their team ahead of next year's Copa.
Not Euro Nations league, qualifiers for next summers European Championships.
Which is only the second biggest soccer tournament on the planet.
The 7th place team goes into a playoff vs either Oceania #2, Concacaf #7, Concacaf #8, or Asia #7 or Asia #9, or Africa #10.
Argentina is guaranteed to finish at least 7th and can beat Trinidad & Tobago to make the WC. Messi missing 2 games wont cost them the WC. Trust me.
Ok. Then I give Taylor my blessing to go rep 🇫🇮 . The non-Argentinian South American guys too. Everyone else: no.
Well a lot of people except you. Because it’s due to the fact that Miami is missing the playoffs and you had them as the best team in the league.
They are the best team in the league with Messi. And I mean a lot of talking heads were saying he could go on loan to Barcelona in January. Maybe sooner now?
