Raviown Goals

It's been a tremendous weekend of soccer, at all levels. So many players, staff, and fans gave everything they had to deliver days worth of epic moments for viewers. I'm buzzing, and feeling grateful. My soccer bucket is full.

My circle of friends who enjoy having a beer and watching a game is shrinking. So many guys now only care about their prop bets or whatever and would rather channel surf from one game to the next. It's like people lost their attention span to actually enjoy sports. I don't want to become that guy.

It's a tremendous honor to play a midweek game that kicks off at the same time as the league's other great rivalry, Chicago vs Vancouver.

You can tell MLS is maturing as a league because it's ruining the fun for both fanbases instead of just one. Progress!

Five of the first six games against playoff teams 👀

Seattle invented not being in the Epstein emails.

I'm not trying to throw any shade but this is a funny comment because Becher had the worst xG - PSxG per attempt on the team, and frequently did worse with his opportunities than he should have.

Podcasts remain the most versatile medium. I love listening to them while driving, exercising, or doing chores, which is why they’re my preferred way to consume content. Next for me is reading; I love a good Substack post ported to an e-reader.

Clear and thoughtful assessment. It's striking to read how much work this roster needs with so few slots available. Any concern our healthy GAM balance is a red herring, or is there reason to hope we can still put it to good use without asking Wray to pull some rabbits out of his hat?

They picked the right day to bury the Yaro story.

I think CITY announcing moronic roster decisions every Chat City Tactics Eve is actually a conspiracy by the tactics industry to sell more clicks.

I was an early adopter of the Lutz-out agenda and relieved when we sent him packing. Every decision since then has left me wondering why we fired him. 'What changed' is a great question.

It's exhausting! I appreciate your courage, resilience, and advocacy in St. Louis even when it feels incessantly hopeless.

He's such a good person and genuine friend to so many families in St. Louis, mine included, that I am bothered about being upset we brought him back. No need to put Josh or the fans in this situation. Let him work in the academy if you want to give the man a job.

This quote and photo is prime meme material.

Wray said he wanted to make more data-informed decisions and be careful not to block player pathways to the senior roster. This seems like an indisputable violation of both those preferences. What a buzzkill.

One of Wray’s remarks during his introduction made me worry that he would be reluctant to rock the boat once he arrives—when, in fact, we need someone who can come in and be ruthless. Could Yaro’s return be a sign that Wray is beginning his tenure too passively? #AllForCITY

As spicy as the Kansas rivalry has been, a Chicago rivalry has a higher ceiling. You've already got heat from Cubs/Cards and Blackhawks/Blues, plus history with the Fire and STLFC in the Open Cup. And, that new Fire stadium looks way more fun than Kansas' outlet mall parking lot experience.

presented by Continental Tire

The distribution of games across the two "seasons" is really what I care about. Any idea of how balanced the schedule would be between the breaks?

Is it true that Seattle invented divisions?

USL: Promotion and Relegation!
MLS: No. What the people really want is a Central Division.

I used to pray for times like this.

That's an interesting question, and if I squint, I can see a little humor in CITY giving Lutz the boot in favor of a sporting director with more North American chops, only for the league to move to a more European-friendly calendar a few years later.

"But the billionaires could sell their players for more money if we change the calendar" just doesn't do it for me. You know what does? An MLS Central Division. #AllForCITY

MLS is nearly insufferable right now, so restructuring the competition format and playoff structure is a much more palatable proposal than the calendar change by itself. The league should lead with that, and use it as the foundation for showing fans why a calendar change matters in that context.

Will adjust once we find out what Wray plans to do with this roster, but assuming we run it back:

Stretch Goal: Host a home playoff game.
Realistic Goal: 8-9 seed, reaching the play-in game.
Prediction: 10-12 seed, just outside play-in.
Bare Minimum: Minimize dropping points at home.

Let's talk some footy! 🫶

Huge, if true.

There was a bounty of exhilarating domestic soccer games this weekend and none of them were played by Messi's team.

Hold on, let me ask Siri.