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OT: ST. LOUIS CITY SC 2023: The New Kids on the Block

oPlaiD

Registered User
Dec 3, 2007
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623
On a more serious note, I was impressed by the level of play of the team. Sure, they got gifted a goal, but they were the more dangerous team on the whole and they were playing against one of the top 4 teams from last season and one expected to be a top team again this year. CITY also has the lowest payroll in the league and built a team around a vision of the style they want to play versus maybe the typical perception of the most perceived talent, and it showed.

You'd expect an expansion team to look rough and like they still needed more time together to get fully organized, but they definitely did not have that problem. They played on the same page, the moment wasn't too big for them, they didn't falter when they took a lead, gave up the lead, and fell behind. They also showed they had a team identity that they all buy in to. Which was a little refreshing given the state of things around here...

I don't know if they'll win the cup or make the playoffs or have a winning season or never win another game, but at least I won't be embarrassed to watch them.
 
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mk80

mk80

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Jul 30, 2012
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oPlaiD said:
On a more serious note, I was impressed by the level of play of the team. Sure, they got gifted a goal, but they were the more dangerous team on the whole and they were playing against one of the top 4 teams from last season and one expected to be a top team again this year. CITY also has the lowest payroll in the league and built a team around a vision of the style they want to play versus maybe the typical perception of the most perceived talent, and it showed.

You'd expect an expansion team to look rough and like they still needed more time together to get fully organized, but they definitely did not have that problem. They played on the same page, the moment wasn't too big for them, they didn't falter when they took a lead, gave up the lead, and fell behind. They also showed they had a team identity that they all buy in to. Which was a little refreshing given the state of things around here...

I don't know if they'll win the cup or make the playoffs or have a winning season or never win another game, but at least I won't be embarrassed to watch them.
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I think one thing that helped was a lot of the team played together on City 2 last summer so there was already a core group established that everyone was added into.
 
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Ceiling Unlimited

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Apr 29, 2020
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oPlaiD said:
On a more serious note, I was impressed by the level of play of the team. Sure, they got gifted a goal, but they were the more dangerous team on the whole and they were playing against one of the top 4 teams from last season and one expected to be a top team again this year. CITY also has the lowest payroll in the league and built a team around a vision of the style they want to play versus maybe the typical perception of the most perceived talent, and it showed.

You'd expect an expansion team to look rough and like they still needed more time together to get fully organized, but they definitely did not have that problem. They played on the same page, the moment wasn't too big for them, they didn't falter when they took a lead, gave up the lead, and fell behind. They also showed they had a team identity that they all buy in to. Which was a little refreshing given the state of things around here...

I don't know if they'll win the cup or make the playoffs or have a winning season or never win another game, but at least I won't be embarrassed to watch them.
Click to expand...
Agreed. They were better than I expected them to look. The quality of service on set pieces particularly stood out to me. I'm always amazed at how poor it can be when I would watch USMNT games. They were hitting them to spots pretty accurately and letting players run on to it (as it should be). There seemed to be some fatigue/hydration/cramping issues in the second half; hopefully those will get sorted as the season progresses. I do like how they have tried to build from the core outwards (keeper, central d/midfield/forward) - seems like a good strategy. I think it will be a challenging year for them and I'm still not expecting much, but I liked the compete level and flashes of quality.
 

Novacain

Registered User
Feb 24, 2012
4,362
4,875
Another game were if you watch the highlights you can say "Man, look at how lucky City was", but if you watched the game it felt like we were the better side. This is a real fun team, and I think we actually have a shot at the playoffs, which would be incredible for our first season.
 
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Bobby Orrtuzzo

Bobby Orrtuzzo

Ya know
Jul 8, 2015
12,789
9,717
St. Louis
So I’ve only seen highlights (I refuse to add another streaming service), but my question is, is the team actually GOOD or have they just been riding a “new team why not us” high so far? To my (limited) knowledge I’m of understanding that Charlotte isn’t the best team but the Austin and Portland are good to decent
 

oPlaiD

Registered User
Dec 3, 2007
832
623
Bobby Orrtuzzo said:
So I’ve only seen highlights (I refuse to add another streaming service), but my question is, is the team actually GOOD or have they just been riding a “new team why not us” high so far? To my (limited) knowledge I’m of understanding that Charlotte isn’t the best team but the Austin and Portland are good to decent
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Austin was in the semifinals last year. Portland was kind of decimated by injury, but they're also notoriously strong at home.

I don't think anyone would say the team is GOOD like top-of-the-table expectation good, but I'd be pretty comfortable saying they are definitely not a BAD team in the MLS like everyone predicted them to be at the start of the season, and should definitely be in the pack. Starting 3-0 already gives them a big leg up on getting a playoff spot with the expanded format even if they struggle some this season.

They've scored a lot of goals off of what you could easily label as luck/out of character mistakes by the opposition, but their strategy is one that creates those mistakes by applying constant pressure and stretching the fitness of the opponents, so in many ways they make their own luck.

The team lead in expected goals in all three of their matches and had the better run of play by most people's eyes. I'm not really sure what sources are strong for soccer analytics, but Footy Stats has CITY ranked #7 in the league in expected goal differential. Their actual goals outpace their expected by the highest margin in the league so you can point to that as another indicator of luck, but it's more like they're lucky on top of outplaying their opponents so far.

I haven't seen any data on it but I would not be surprised if playing a heavy press style leads to the team outperforming xG and underperforming xGA, which would be true of the season so far. Being aggressive against the opposing backline will force mistakes that create opportunity but also leave you vulnerable to counterattack. It's chaotic, but it's also pretty fun and leads to more action on the pitch.

Last night was also fun because you really could see the team has a lot of belief in each other and their style and won't back down. They looked terrible in the first five minutes and conceded that goal but it didn't affect them. In the 81st minute they were protecting a 1 goal lead but they still weren't afraid to commit two players to pressure the opposing goalkeeper with the ball in his box. Most teams in any sport would be turtling in a similar situation but CITY is committed to playing their style. To me that's fun to watch and shows that the coach and the team have instilled the type of belief in each other we wish the Blues had this season.

That said, it's only three games. But there are real reasons to have at least some level of excitement. Ultimately, though, everything is gravy at this point. The team has the lowest payroll in the league and expectations were low. If they lost every game from here on out, the season would still be a success. But I certainly don't think that will happen.
 
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Spicy Panger

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Jan 17, 2015
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77
oPlaiD said:
Austin was in the semifinals last year. Portland was kind of decimated by injury, but they're also notoriously strong at home.

I don't think anyone would say the team is GOOD like top-of-the-table expectation good, but I'd be pretty comfortable saying they are definitely not a BAD team in the MLS like everyone predicted them to be at the start of the season, and should definitely be in the pack. Starting 3-0 already gives them a big leg up on getting a playoff spot with the expanded format even if they struggle some this season.

They've scored a lot of goals off of what you could easily label as luck/out of character mistakes by the opposition, but their strategy is one that creates those mistakes by applying constant pressure and stretching the fitness of the opponents, so in many ways they make their own luck.

The team lead in expected goals in all three of their matches and had the better run of play by most people's eyes. I'm not really sure what sources are strong for soccer analytics, but Footy Stats has CITY ranked #7 in the league in expected goal differential. Their actual goals outpace their expected by the highest margin in the league so you can point to that as another indicator of luck, but it's more like they're lucky on top of outplaying their opponents so far.

I haven't seen any data on it but I would not be surprised if playing a heavy press style leads to the team outperforming xG and underperforming xGA, which would be true of the season so far. Being aggressive against the opposing backline will force mistakes that create opportunity but also leave you vulnerable to counterattack. It's chaotic, but it's also pretty fun and leads to more action on the pitch.

Last night was also fun because you really could see the team has a lot of belief in each other and their style and won't back down. They looked terrible in the first five minutes and conceded that goal but it didn't affect them. In the 81st minute they were protecting a 1 goal lead but they still weren't afraid to commit two players to pressure the opposing goalkeeper with the ball in his box. Most teams in any sport would be turtling in a similar situation but CITY is committed to playing their style. To me that's fun to watch and shows that the coach and the team have instilled the type of belief in each other we wish the Blues had this season.

That said, it's only three games. But there are real reasons to have at least some level of excitement. Ultimately, though, everything is gravy at this point. The team has the lowest payroll in the league and expectations were low. If they lost every game from here on out, the season would still be a success. But I certainly don't think that will happen.
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Great summary!
 

tfriede2

Registered User
Aug 8, 2010
4,520
2,984
Xerloris said:
It's not a comparison. It's a warning to fans to not get to excited.
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It was a Debbie downer tweet. Everyone is aware that they’re an expansion team that isn’t expected to be good this year. Fans are happy that they’re doing well - we don’t need a reminder that they might fall off a cliff like a Blues team that resembles zero of City SC.
 
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