General Soccer Thread

[thrill]

Taylor Twellman, who has always been a bit annoying, has hit new levels since going to Apple. Their broadcasts leave a ton to be desired. Fox's too. CBS is the best soccer platform in the US by far, so at least I can watch a bunch of Americans in their Serie A coverage without getting mad every 5 minutes.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Taylor Twellman, who has always been a bit annoying, has hit new levels since going to Apple. Their broadcasts leave a ton to be desired. Fox's too. CBS is the best soccer platform in the US by far, so at least I can watch a bunch of Americans in their Serie A coverage without getting mad every 5 minutes.

Twellman is gonna do his thing, and maybe I don't notice this because outside of St. Louis City road games I don't watch a ton of full matches, but I've been pleasantly surprised with the quality of the announcers(plus the picture quality is unimpeachable). Moving away from team-specific broadcasters caused some gripes but it's been a big win because they not only kicked the worst/most homerish broadcasters to the curb, but the rotation has mellowed out that instinct for those that they did keep.

[BottenFieldofDreams]

I haven’t liked this announcer model. It’s surface level stuff and three-year old narratives over and over and over again.

Because I’m at most home games, this has always been the case for me with the Timbers on TV (away games I mean) when I haven’t been able to get the local call—and sometimes I’d choose to watch the home broadcast. The problem is I don’t get the insight/story/culture of the opponent-specific announcers. Some crews do more homework than others.

Anyway, they are going to replace all the announcers for all games with Messi audio content soon anyhow.

[thrill]

Taylor Twellman, who has always been a bit annoying, has hit new levels since going to Apple. Their broadcasts leave a ton to be desired. Fox's too. CBS is the best soccer platform in the US by far, so at least I can watch a bunch of Americans in their Serie A coverage without getting mad every 5 minutes.

Twellman is gonna do his thing, and maybe I don't notice this because outside of St. Louis City road games I don't watch a ton of full matches

Yeah you haven't heard Messi Twellman. It's new levels of Gus Johnson wannabeism.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Taylor Twellman, who has always been a bit annoying, has hit new levels since going to Apple. Their broadcasts leave a ton to be desired. Fox's too. CBS is the best soccer platform in the US by far, so at least I can watch a bunch of Americans in their Serie A coverage without getting mad every 5 minutes.

Twellman is gonna do his thing, and maybe I don't notice this because outside of St. Louis City road games I don't watch a ton of full matches

Yeah you haven't heard Messi Twellman. It's new levels of Gus Johnson wannabeism.

Admittedly I've been second screening a lot of Leagues Cup on a tablet while the TV is occupied with something else, but that doesn't surprise me too much. Thank goodness for MLS 360 when league play resumes.

[BottenFieldofDreams]

I wear an Apple Watch because it can tell me my blood sugar—incredibly valuable. I feel like I’m an excellent use case for smartwatches. Knowing that Messi is about to a free kick is NOT.

I’m down at the river on a Sunday evening. Apple TV is blowing me up all night, getting pinged with every time Messi exhales.
I fixed notifications when I got home.

I didn’t see the game. I’m assuming Zivin combusted and Twellman left after the free kick to start a Messi Cult. I did see the free kick. Wicked.

Those defensive issues will be fixed by European league aces in the off-season undoubtedly.

I might need to find a new site rather than MLS proper to check scores and stats for my sanity.

[mikechamp]

Women’s soccer is a great sport. And without most of the men’s bull [expletive]. But I think it’s gotten a little more BS-y over the years.

I’ll never be able to just accept the time manipulation and fake pain. I hate it. The MLS development league is experimenting with keeping any “injured” player down 15 seconds or more off the field for at least three minutes.

Stoppage time has improved a lot in the last 10 years. Used to be life flight could land and take a guy pretending to be hurt away and it would still be three minutes. Always three minutes.

You know that move where the goalkeeper dives and lies prostrate over the ball for 40 seconds to keep it safe? It’s weird that the risk is only present after 85’.

In England, it isn't an experiment; it's happening (cue the meme):

New laws to cause 'chaos' in EFL, say QPR and Charlton managers

The English Football League will use a more "accurate" way to calculate added-on time during matches. Meanwhile, injured players who leave the field for treatment will have to wait at least 30 seconds before being allowed back onto the pitch.

Football's law makers - the International Football Association Board (Ifab) - announced its wish to "create fairer conditions for both teams in terms of the amount of time available in a match" at the start of the year. Those guidelines have formed the basis for the EFL's initiative to add the exact time taken to deal with goals, substitutions, injuries, penalties and sendings-off, as well as implement a multi-ball system.

In line with Ifab guidance, after play is restarted while an injured player is being treated they will not be able to return to the pitch until at least 30 seconds has elapsed. That period could be extended if play is in the vicinity of the player looking to re-enter the pitch.​

Players and managers will also face tougher punishments for poor behaviour as part of a charter introduced by the Football Association. New measures stated players "must not confront, invade the personal space of, or make physical contact with the match officials". Should two or more players surround an official "in a confrontational manner" it will result in a yellow card and be reported to the FA.

Bosses and coaches, meanwhile, must adhere to new rules covering the technical area - and will not be permitted to enter the pitch at half-time or full-time to confront officials. During the match only one person can stand at the front of the technical area and, while a second person can stand, they "must remain very close to the technical area seating".

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66397352

[BottenFieldofDreams]

I know things are going extremely well, but Zivin (former Timbers guy) and Twellman have earned perma-mute. Is there a backlash to their hysterics on Twotter, etc?

I’m fairly neutral. Truly, I’d like this whole situation a lot better with less cocaine in the booth. Man, next year when they reward Martinez and Taylor by replacing them with Euro stars, and the questionable backline becomes World Cup experienced to the man, I’m not sure my tv set will be equipped to handle Zivin and Twellman. I’ll need some kind of amp or something.

I hate to say this, but I kind of want Monterrey to beat Miami 8-0 just so these two have to call it.

[BottenFieldofDreams]

Three goals on three shots and only the last one was a half-decent chance. At least God likes favorites and frontrunners. Bastard always has.

May be a little Bundesliga period in the MLS. I’ll root for them to fail, because that’s how I root. But I’m not too bothered by them winning. I do really enjoy watching Messi.

[thrill]

Last night was interesting because they did a decent job of containing Leo (his goal aside) and Busquets in terms of their direct impact on the game, but the problem was Messi was so deep in Jim Curtain's head that all of Philly's players were totally focused on those two and the rest of the team just carved their press into ribbons. The only surprising thing about the Miami experience is how well the rest of the roster compliments Messi and Tata's tactics.