Sweet 16 for the Riverhounds

[Sean Miller Fan]

Upset 10-man NYCFC on the last kick of the ball from a corner. Will play Philly in Round of 16. 4 wins away from CONCACAF Champions Cup qualification and if they win that, they will qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup!

Terrible crowd at the game. Really surprising on a perfect night. Was at the previous 2 MLS games and they were jam packed. Way fewer fans than a regular USL game, which they draw very well for

 

[JamesSantelli]

I think the Hounds front office has no one else to blame for that light crowd than themselves. We knew the matchup and kickoff time on April 17, but they kept pushing that "two-match deal" in all their marketing for the next two weeks, until finally putting out single-match tickets for it on May 1.

I'm sure the financials of running a USLC franchise can't be easy, and you want to maximize ticket revenue. But that struck me as pretty fan-unfriendly for a club that usually does the right thing and offers a lot of ticket discounts.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Riverhounds the only USL team to make the round of 16, and as such they win a $50,000 bonus.

The Philly - Indianapolis match went to PKs where the Union won. Had they lost the Riverhounds would have hosted Indy in the next round. Instead they play at Philly.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I think the Hounds front office has no one else to blame for that light crowd than themselves. We knew the matchup and kickoff time on April 17, but they kept pushing that "two-match deal" in all their marketing for the next two weeks, until finally putting out single-match tickets for it on May 1.

I'm sure the financials of running a USLC franchise can't be easy, and you want to maximize ticket revenue. But that struck me as pretty fan-unfriendly for a club that usually does the right thing and offers a lot of ticket discounts.

The game vs Columbus 2 years ago was packed even though it required a 2 game ticket so I don't think that's it. I wonder if the casual Pgh soccer fan didn't even realize NYCFC was an MLS team. They came into the league with Pirlo, Lamard, and Villa but haven't had a recognizable player since. They did win MLS a few years ago and despite being an NYC team, they are anything but a glitzy team. I think this is partially due to their status as a Manchester City B team. I've always felt they needed their own identity and an ownership group who could compete with top clubs for world stars at the end of their careers or mid-tier world stars at the back end of their prime like a Shaquiri in Chicago or Lozano in San Diego. Man City won't do this because if they are going to buy players like that, they'd play for Man City, not NYCFC

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I've always felt they needed their own identity and an ownership group who could compete with top clubs for world stars at the end of their careers or mid-tier world stars at the back end of their prime like a Shaquiri in Chicago or Lozano in San Diego. Man City won't do this because if they are going to buy players like that, they'd play for Man City, not NYCFC

What stars at the end of their careers does Man City ever sign?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

What stars at the end of their careers does Man City ever sign?

None. Which is why they'll never sign any for NYCFC ever again. It was a 1 time thing when they were new to the league. Total waste of the NYC market. You need NYCFC to be the type of glamour teams that the LA teams and Miami try to be because NYC is the kind of market you can lure a Beckham/Ibrahimovic/Messi too. Or a Dempsey/Donovan/Pulisic closer to their prime.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

None.

So to recap, NYCFC can't sign any stars at the end of their career because Man City signs them all for themselves, and also Man City never signs players like that.

You get that that makes literally no sense at all, right?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

So to recap, NYCFC can't sign any stars at the end of their career because Man City signs them all for themselves, and also Man City never signs players like that.

You get that that makes literally no sense at all, right?

No, they dont sign any stars at the end of their careers because they dont fit the NYCFC "B team" model. NYCFC is the B team of Man City. They did bring in Pirlo, Villa, and Lampard early but that was just because they were the new kids. They seem to now have the philosophy of bringing in cheap non-name Europeans and South Americans like most other random MLS clubs. I am suggesting that they need to be a glamor club like Miami and the LA's. I will turn on NYCFC to see Mo Salah, let's say. Those are the types of guys MLS needs them to get. At least 1 of the NY teams needs to do this because you can sell living in NYC to top Euro club players. Those types of players won't ever want to play for Nashville, Columbus, Cincy, etc.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

No, they dont sign any stars at the end of their careers because they dont fit the NYCFC "B team" model. NYCFC is the B team of Man City. They did bring in Pirlo, Villa, and Lampard early but that was just because they were the new kids. They seem to now have the philosophy of bringing in cheap non-name Europeans and South Americans like most other random MLS clubs. I am suggesting that they need to be a glamor club like Miami and the LA's. I will turn on NYCFC to see Mo Salah, let's say. Those are the types of guys MLS needs them to get. At least 1 of the NY teams needs to do this because you can sell living in NYC to top Euro club players. Those types of players won't ever want to play for Nashville, Columbus, Cincy, etc.

But none of that, and I mean literally none of that, has anything to do with Man City. NYCFC has decided on what they think is the best way to construct their team. Oddly enough, a way that many other MLS teams work. They aren't signing old players at the end of their careers because they think that's not the best way to run the team, not because the people running City are preventing them from doing so.

By the way, one of the top glamour teams in MLS, the Galaxy, have played a dozen games this season so far. They've won all but 12 of them.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

But none of that, and I mean literally none of that, has anything to do with Man City. NYCFC has decided on what they think is the best way to construct their team. Oddly enough, a way that many other MLS teams work. They aren't signing old players at the end of their careers because they think that's not the best way to run the team, not because the people running City are preventing them from doing so.

By the way, one of the top glamour teams in MLS, the Galaxy, have played a dozen games this season so far. They've won all but 12 of them.

The Galaxy sort of lucked into MLS Cup a few years ago but have decided against the glamor route after Zlatan left. I meant them as a past and potential future glamor club. They were must-see TV with Donovan, Keane, and Beckham.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

The Galaxy sort of lucked into MLS Cup a few years ago but have decided against the glamor route after Zlatan left. I meant them as a past and potential future glamor club. They were must-see TV with Donovan, Keane, and Beckham.

Including Miami, how many MLS teams are there now that have three past their prime stars as their designated players?

I'll help you out here, if you can only count to one you can still count them all up.

Miami's it. Everyone else has realized that signing three old "stars" isn't actually the way to win games. Unless you can sign the goat.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

And by the way, even with the goat Miami is currently in 4th place. In the Eastern conference.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Including Miami, how many MLS teams are there now that have three past their prime stars as their designated players?

I'll help you out here, if you can only count to one you can still count them all up.

Miami's it. Everyone else has realized that signing three old "stars" isn't actually the way to win games. Unless you can sign the goat.

Well, prime or past their prime, I am talking about name-brand stars.

Toronto has 2 players from the Italian national team.

2 Mexican stars, Chuky Lozano and Hector Herrera play for SD and Houston

Olivier Giroux plays for LAFC

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Well, prime or past their prime, I am talking about name-brand stars.

Toronto has 2 players from the Italian national team.

2 Mexican stars, Chuky Lozano and Hector Herrera play for SD and Houston

Olivier Giroux plays for LAFC

The two players for Toronto are most certainly not "name-brand stars" under any real definition of what that phrase might mean. Lozano and Herrera are stars in Mexico, and literally no where else in the world. And of course Giroud is just one guy.

So in other words, another time when you made someone else's point for them. Thanks.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

The two players for Toronto are most certainly not "name-brand stars" under any real definition of what that phrase might mean. Lozano and Herrera are stars in Mexico, and literally no where else in the world. And of course Giroud is just one guy.

So in other words, another time when you made someone else's point for them. Thanks.

Insigne is. He was a starting forward on Italy's Euro 2021 Championship team.

And Herrera and Lozano are name brand stars in the US due to the large Mexican fanbase here and USMNT fans know them.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Insigne is. He was a starting forward on Italy's Euro 2021 Championship team.

And they were so happy with his performance that since then he has played a grand total of one game for Italy.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

And they were so happy with his performance that since then he has played a grand total of one game for Italy.

He was tied for the team lead in goals scored at Euro 2021. He was one of the most recognizable Italian footballers when he made the move to Toronto. I'm not sure what happened to his international career after that but he was a star in Europe when he made the move.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

he was a star in Europe when he made the move.

So much of one that they basically stopped asking him to play.

And in any event, he's one guy. Not three.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

So much of one that they basically stopped asking him to play.

And in any event, he's one guy. Not three.

A large part of why they stopped asking him to play is that he went to MLS. Italy and most of Europe frown upon that. They dont think you can play for a big national team if you are playing for and against MLS teams in your day job.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

A large part of why they stopped asking him to play is that he went to MLS. Italy and most of Europe frown upon that. They dont think you can play for a big national team if you are playing for and against MLS teams in your day job.

And the reason that he went to MLS instead of signing a big money contract with one of Europe's elite, as you would expect one of the best players in Italy to do?

It's like you can get yourself half way to a lot of actual answers, but you can never get all the way to the truth.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

And the reason that he went to MLS instead of signing a big money contract with one of Europe's elite, as you would expect one of the best players in Italy to do?

It's like you can get yourself half way to a lot of actual answers, but you can never get all the way to the truth.

You dont go from a starting forward on a Euro champion to MLS because you had no offers as a 29 year old. He went there because Toronto gave him a crazy amount of money. $15 million per year. At the time he went, he was a Top 10ish forward in the world.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

You dont go from a starting forward on a Euro champion to MLS because you had no offers as a 29 year old. He went there because Toronto gave him a crazy amount of money. $15 million per year. At the time he went, he was a Top 10ish forward in the world.

I don't think you understand how much money the best paid soccer players make. If he were making $15 million per year in England he wouldn't even be in the top 20 highest paid players in the league.

You are correct, he went to Toronto because no one else would pay him anywhere close to $15 million per season. Because no one else thinks he's worth anything close to that. And if he were a top 10 striker in the world, he'd be worth that and more.