Goodbye, Columbus; goodbye back-to-back losses; goodbye missed opportunities and lack of focus and players who aren’t quite match fit. The past is past and there’s nothing we can do about it now, so, at the risk of engendering yet more comparisons between myself and Mark McGwire, let us leave the dead bury themselves and think about the future.
NYCFC and the bye week
Because the good news about a bye week after two losses – one of which may have kissed our playoff hopes goodbye – is that we can’t lose any more ground. The bad news, of course, is that we can’t gain any more either.
Or can we? Here are the outcomes I’ll be hoping for this weekend to improve – however marginally – NYCFC’s slim playoff chances.
Let’s start with New England hosting Orlando City. Tough call, right? Not really. The Revs are on a five game unbeaten streak, Jermaine Jones is finally back, and everyone north of the Mianus River is convinced they’re headed back to the MLS Cup Final. I wouldn’t go that far, but I do think they’re a lock to stay in the top six, so I’m pulling for them to put a beatdown on the Simbas in Foxboro that will not only keep all three points in Beantown, but will do some damage to Orlando’s goal differential before they bid Gillette Stadium goodbye.
A half hour after that game starts, the hapless Chicago Fire kick off against the Impact in Montreal. We need Chicago to steal three here. And they owe us. That gift we gave them back in Gameweek 8 when NYCFC put on a clownshow at Toyota Park – remember that? It’s payback time, fellas. And you can do it! Montreal are on a three game losing streak! You guys are 2-2-2 over your last six! Come on! (And yes, I realize this would launch them into the 6th spot, but with games against DC, the Revs and two against the Red Bulls, I think they’ll kiss it goodbye pretty quickly).
Later that night, Toronto take on Seattle in Seattle. Okay, look. Montreal is a pipedream. But this game? This has real possibilities. For while TFC are coming off back-to-back wins, they’re traveling all the way across country and are facing a team coming off a big Cascadia derby win who must ABSOLUTELY win or they can say goodbye to their playoff hopes. A team who have only lost four times in Seattle this year and who are +9 there. Toronto, on the other hand, have only won four times on the road and are -8 when they leave BMO. So yes, I’ll be wearing Rave Green for this one.
A half hour after that game starts, San Jose host the, um – what’s a stronger word than “hapless”? – Philadelphia Union? Look, I like the Union. Do I think they can beat San Jose? Well, no. But imagine if they played them really, really evenly. Imagine if that game Saturday night was a real barnburner, end-to-end, with passion and energy and fouls and frustration. What would that do to San Jose’s confidence? Would the wheels come off ? I sure hope so – and I’m hoping it so much that I’m willing to let Philadelphia climb (briefly, barely) back into contention for that last playoff spot if it means San Jose is a Grade A trainwreck by the time they come to Yankee Stadium on September 19th.
And then the final game of the byeweek – Sunday at 7pm, our friends the Crew host Dallas. The Crew are +12 at home, and haven’t lost since getting thumped by Orlando a month ago (though they should have lost on August 19th BUT I’M OVER THAT). Dallas, on the other hand, although they just beat last place RSL, lost their previous three, have only three road wins all season, and are -6 on goals away from Frisco. So what am I looking for? A bloodbath. Not actual “blood” mind you, but the kind of exhausting slugfest that wears a team out. Nothing would make me happier than seeing The Hoops face down on the pitch when the final whistle is blown. Exhausted. Wiped out. Run ragged. Needing seven full days to even hope to recover – and only having six before NYCFC show up.
If the games break this way, not only will NYCFC not have lost any ground to Orlando and Montreal, but they’ll actually have gained a game in hand on the Simbas, and be in a better position to take points from Dallas and San Jose.
Is it at all likely that this will happen? No. But if I have learned anything covering NYCFC this year it is that the inevitable never happens and the unexpected constantly occurs.
So goodbye, logic. Hello playoffs. Perhaps.
