With camp well underway and the first competitive game less than 3 weeks away, it's time to start an official thread for the new season. We'll begin with some significant news, Seattle have signed a third DP, Brazilian midfielder Joao Paulo.

https://www.sounderatheart.com/sounders ... e-sounders

Miguel Ibarra training with Seattle.

https://www.sounderatheart.com/2020/2/1 ... e-sounders

Si, you're the resident Loon around here, can you give us any insight?

First competitive match of the year is tonight. Lodiero and Svensson are out, Shipp is questionable, everyone else is ready to go, including new signee Miguel Ibara.

Here's tonight's starting lineup.

Worst part of the MLS schedule, having to play fully fit clubs in the Champions League without having even one MLS match under our belt to get a little fitness in.

I'll take two away goals though, even though we had a 2-0 lead (should have been 3-0 if Morris was selfish).

SeatownJay wrote:Miguel Ibarra training with Seattle.

https://www.sounderatheart.com/2020/2/1 ... e-sounders

Si, you're the resident Loon around here, can you give us any insight?

Ibarra is a nice little creative player, but just hasn't settled anywhere.

Was the best player on the team before they moved to mls.. then got a,move to Mexico that didn't pan out.

He will be good cover for your midfield.

Re MNU: they've revamped their roster again and are expected to challenge for top 3 in the West. Very exciting attacking players to balance the defenders added last year.

I'll be their opening day. Excited for the season.

Uncle Si wrote:
Re MNU: they've revamped their roster again and are expected to challenge for top 3 in the West. Very exciting attacking players to balance the defenders added last year.

I'll be their opening day. Excited for the season.

As long as Ozzie's there, I will also be a fan of MNU. My favorite Sounder of all time.

Sgt. Largent wrote:Worst part of the MLS schedule, having to play fully fit clubs in the Champions League without having even one MLS match under our belt to get a little fitness in.

I'll take two away goals though, even though we had a 2-0 lead (should have been 3-0 if Morris was selfish).

Olimpia's goal scorer shouldn't have even been on the pitch. He should have been shown a straight red for his jumping kick into Frei's ribs, but CONCACAF gonna CONCACAF I guess.

Lodiero's tendinitis issue will keep him out of the season opener tomorrow.

Ibarra currently leads the league in missed shots by a comfortable margin.

SeatownJay wrote:Ibarra currently leads the league in missed shots by a comfortable margin.

Terrible, just terrible. Not hard to see why MUFC let him go..........he was also a non factor in the Olimipia match.

Luckily the MLS is a league where one great player can make all the difference, so let's hope Lodeiro's tendinitis heals up and he can get back on the pitch. I'm very anxious to see how he and Joao Paulo work together.

Speaking of MUFC...


Put the timbers to it the other night. Controlled large portions of thst match, then became opportunistic when it mattered.

Good start.

Ibarra is an ok player. He will have the odd excellent display and you'll get very hopeful, then he will move around for 90 minutes and do little but take others touches and space.

Never your worst player on the field, rarely your best.

Uncle Si wrote:Speaking of MUFC...


Put the timbers to it the other night. Controlled large portions of thst match, then became opportunistic when it mattered.

Good start.

Ibarra is an ok player. He will have the odd excellent display and you'll get very hopeful, then he will move around for 90 minutes and do little but take others touches and space.

Never your worst player on the field, rarely your best.

So he should fit right in. This seemed to be the Sounders overall game plan for all the players for the first 60 minutes on Sunday.

JustTheTip wrote:

Uncle Si wrote:Speaking of MUFC...


Put the timbers to it the other night. Controlled large portions of thst match, then became opportunistic when it mattered.

Good start.

Ibarra is an ok player. He will have the odd excellent display and you'll get very hopeful, then he will move around for 90 minutes and do little but take others touches and space.

Never your worst player on the field, rarely your best.

So he should fit right in. This seemed to be the Sounders overall game plan for all the players for the first 60 minutes on Sunday.

This problem is not unique to the Sounders, most MLS clubs have a very hard time fielding dangerous lineups with backups, as was the case Sunday with no Morris or Lodeiro. Ibarra and Leyva is quite a big drop in quality.

It's why the game completely changed when Morris came on in the 2nd half.

Since we're out of the Champions League, shouldn't be an issue anymore going forward, no more two matches in four days.

Uncle Si wrote:Speaking of MUFC...


Put the timbers to it the other night. Controlled large portions of thst match, then became opportunistic when it mattered.

Good start.

Ibarra is an ok player. He will have the odd excellent display and you'll get very hopeful, then he will move around for 90 minutes and do little but take others touches and space.

Never your worst player on the field, rarely your best.

Sounds very much like Christian Roldan

MLS suspending season.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... nd-season/

This tournament is a waste of time. Like watching preseason and I think the Sounders are treating it as such, they look rusty and struggling in the heat. Sucks that it counts against regular season.

Sounders are typically slow starters at the best of times but they look like they lack squad depth this year. Arreaga is...not good. An absolute liability. They miss the likes of Smith, Shipp, Torres, Kim and Rodriguez. Joao Paulo will help with Rodriguez but there are still holes.

Glasgow Seahawk wrote:This tournament is a waste of time. Like watching preseason and I think the Sounders are treating it as such, they look rusty and struggling in the heat. Sucks that it counts against regular season.

Sounders are typically slow starters at the best of times but they look like they lack squad depth this year. Arreaga is...not good. An absolute liability. They miss the likes of Smith, Shipp, Torres, Kim and Rodriguez. Joao Paulo will help with Rodriguez but there are still holes.

The Sounders have no excuses for their poor showing in the tournament thus far. The Timbers are winning their group and they have arguably better teams in their group compared to the Sounders group. Shame the Sounders continue to blow early tournaments. They played horrible in the Champions league tournament too.

Last night was more like the Sounders we love and know. Through to the next round.

Vancouver beat Chicago this morning, meaning Seattle finish 2nd in the group and will face either Portland or LAFC in the Round of 16.

Just saw some clips of RWB at Tacoma.

Bit young but getting minutes. Youth team destroyed european competitions and considered one of the best teams of the decade in youth competitions.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/reed-ba ... ler/793957

Nice performance last night in Portland. Always good to beat the Timbers.

Since the 2020 football season(games) began last night, the Sounders wanted to score a touchdown of their own. This team loves to ride the roller coaster. Looked terrible against Portland but world beaters against SJ. Of course SJ decided to leave their defense back home in Northern California.

hawkfan68 wrote:Since the 2020 football season(games) began last night, the Sounders wanted to score a touchdown of their own. This team loves to ride the roller coaster. Looked terrible against Portland but world beaters against SJ. Of course SJ decided to leave their defense back home in Northern California.

SJ still man marking across the field?

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Uncle Si wrote:

hawkfan68 wrote:Since the 2020 football season(games) began last night, the Sounders wanted to score a touchdown of their own. This team loves to ride the roller coaster. Looked terrible against Portland but world beaters against SJ. Of course SJ decided to leave their defense back home in Northern California.

SJ still man marking across the field?

Yup. They were down 4-0 in the first 20 min or so but still didn't make changes. I felt very sorry for their GK (who isn't very good himself but he was left on an island most of the game by his teammates).

Brad Smith is back!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mls/brad-smith-officially-rejoins-sounders/ar-BB199wck?ocid=hplocalnews

Sounders FC just keeps winning. Playing superbly right now. Ruidiaz, Arreaga, and Svesson are out on international team duty but they won w/o them. This is a good sign.

Seattle finishes the regular season 2nd in the West and will host LAFC in the first round of the playoffs.

SeatownJay wrote:Seattle finishes the regular season 2nd in the West and will host LAFC in the first round of the playoffs.

Solid game, and they left two easy goals on the field.

Threedee wrote:

SeatownJay wrote:Seattle finishes the regular season 2nd in the West and will host LAFC in the first round of the playoffs.

Solid game, and they left two easy goals on the field.

More than two, Morris missed wide and then both Morris and Lodiero hit the frame. There may have been one or two others as well.

On to the Western Conference finals.

It's on..

Very excited for MN United. A bit maligned and under appreciated in the MLS. But this team can score goals.

Will be a very good final I think.

Uncle Si wrote:It's on..

Very excited for MN United. A bit maligned and under appreciated in the MLS. But this team can score goals.

Will be a very good final I think.

I was wondering which team you were rooting for last night, Si.

Rooting for the Sounders and also against my favorite Sounder of all time, Ozzie is really difficult.................as he's not just my favorite Sounder of all time, he's the greatest Sounder of all time.

FIGHT ME!!

SeatownJay wrote:

Uncle Si wrote:It's on..

Very excited for MN United. A bit maligned and under appreciated in the MLS. But this team can score goals.

Will be a very good final I think.

I was wondering which team you were rooting for last night, Si.

Long past any affiliation with Sporting. we had to cut ties when MN united came in and set up their Academy.

Late start...

Seattle had the better of it so far. MN just trying to possess to gain a bit more control of the tempo. Certainly a gap in the quality of the two teams at midfield. Seattle looks to go forward with every pass. MN making decisions once the ball at their feet.

ahh $h!t!

what a free kick that is.

what a game

Hey, the Sounders won at Pete Carroll ball!!

Sounders were slightly off most the night. Happy to see them play through it and pull everything together in the last 20 minutes.

MN United are now officially a pro sports team in MN.

No city celebrates gut punch losses more than Minneapolis

That might've been the most entertaining half of soccer I've watched this year.

KitsapGuy wrote:

Classic Little Big League

I hope Russell Wilson (Sounders part-owner) was watching. That's how you finish games. Congrats Sounders. Now bring the MLS cup home again.

Wow.

I had a hard time getting to sleep last night, I was so geeked up. Just sad there wasn't 60k fans going berserk there last night. That kind of match deserved that kind of crowd.

Congrats to the Sounders and their great fanbase.
Bring home another Championship!
Seattle Pride!

I think a ton of credit in this needs to go to Schmetzer.

He made the big decisions at halftime to exploit the already gaping wide channels with faster players. But its a bit deeper than that. One of his subs, and a Sounders fan can correct me if im wrong, was let go from the squad at one point, and brought back specifically for the role filled the other night.

In contrast, MN United's coach has repeatedly come under fire for his conservative approach to games. I enjoy the way the team plays in the attacking 3rd. However, their possession and build up play is laborious, tedious, and inefficient. It lacks pace, creativity, ingenuity. They have been successful that all of those things emerge once the ball gets near goal.

But back to the game, Heath failed to impact the game with subs. He failed to adjust his tactics with a 2 goal lead. Possession was still slow in the middle part of the field, creating turnovers and breaks for Seattle. But also, it isolated the forwards, who were left chasing the ball without help. What sense does it make to press from the front if the midfield cannot join because they were just defending your box? They were exhausted trying to do both. And here was Heath's failure... he didnt change anything, not even a player. This is a reflection of poor decision making, not just in the moment, but in the months previous where planning a team around situations is important.

The last goal shows that. Not a single United player had the energy, physically or mentally, to attack the ball.

Not disappointed. It was a great run for the local team. Heath, despite the criticism above, has take the team to two finals over the last 2 years. And the club is only 4 years old. And Seattle certainly deserves to advance. They were better throughout. As a coach (much lower level, of course), i was fascinated by the decisions of the two coaches and the impact it had on the result.

KitsapGuy wrote:

LOL at Wilson recording a video of awkwardly cheering on the slo-mo replay.