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MLS roundup: Whitecaps, D.C. United win late ones; FCD, Sounders in disappointing draw

By Andy EdwardsMar 28, 2015, 11:30 PM EDT
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The fourth Saturday of the 2015 Major League Soccer season is in the books, and while one of the day’s biggest games left a bit to be desired, the rest of the league was looking out for us with most of the goals we were missing last week, and even threw in a couple of late winners, just for good measure.

Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Portland Timbers

Carl Robinson’s Whitecaps are rolling right along now, and this time they might just be able to keep it up. The balance between attack and defense feels like it’s been worked out, and if that’s the case, good luck beating these guys. | FULL RECAP WITH HIGHLIGHTS

FC Dallas 0-0 Seattle Sounders

No longer perfect, are FCD, but they’ll be thankful to manage a point after an early red card. As for the Sounders, they’ll just be happy when they get Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins back. | FULL RECAP WITH HIGHLIGHTS

Columbus Crew SC 1-2 New York Red Bulls

Don’t look now, but Jesse Marsch’s Red Bulls are tops in the Eastern Conference, with a game in hand on most. Bradley Wright-Phillips scored Red Bulls’ first from the penalty spot and set up Mike Grella for the winner with 20 minutes left to play. There’s a good-to-great chance we all underestimated this year’s Red Bulls.

D.C. United 1-0 LA Galaxy

Don’t ever give up, kids. Stick with it and you’ll get your reward. If you gave up on D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy even 30 seconds before it was over, you missed everything you needed to see from this one. | FULL RECAP WITH HIGHLIGHTS

New York City FC 0-1 Sporting Kansas City

Soccer that looks like ping pong — that’s essentially what you’re going to get every week at Yankee Stadium as the small playing field lacks the space to spread the field and connect passes. On Saturday, it was more of the same as Sporting KC handed NYCFC their first defeat. | FULL RECAP WITH HIGHLIGHTS

New England Revolution 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes

The Revolution got their first goal of the season — hey, it only took four games — and the kind of dominant performance — in the first half, at least — that so many expected from them all season long, before the Earthquakes made it a game in the second 45. | FULL RECAP WITH HIGHLIGHTS

Montreal Impact 2-2 Orlando City SC

Three goals in three minutes just before the half-hour mark was the highlight of a thoroughly entertaining affair at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Ignacio Piatti put the hosts up early (14th minute) before Jack McInerney doubled the lead (27th), then Pedro Ribeiro (29th) and Kaka (30th) brought the Lions level again, which is exactly where things finished.

Your weekly reminder that Kaka is still a really, really, really good player: this goal. Your regular reminder that MLS still does silly things: Orlando’s four-man bench.

Houston Dynamo 0-0 Colorado Rapids

If a scoreless game between two bottom-dwelling teams is played while five other games between playoff-competing teams are also being played, did that game really happen? That’s a question you’ll have to ask Dynamo and/or Rapids fans. Even if it did happen, 17 total shots with just five on target suggests very little actually occurred during said game.

Liverpool reverse furlough decision

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By Joe Prince-WrightApr 6, 2020, 2:10 PM EDT
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Liverpool have announced they will no longer seek financial help from the UK government to pay non-playing staff during the coronavirus pandemic with the furlough scheme.

Over the weekend Liverpool announced they would take advantage of the furlough scheme from the UK government, which will pay 80 percent of wages of any staff impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Liverpool had announced that staff not needed over the next few weeks would be paid 80 percent of their wages by the UK government and they would make up the remaining 20 percent as part of the furlough scheme.

That decision by their billionaire American owners the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) enraged Liverpool’s fanbase.

Peter Moore, the chief executive officer of the runaway Premier League leaders, announced on Monday that the decision would be reversed after talks which included supporters groups, the Mayor of Liverpool and FSG.

“We believe we came to the wrong conclusion last week to announce that we intended to apply to the Coronavirus Retention Scheme and furlough staff due to the suspension of the Premier League football calendar, and are truly sorry for that,” Moore said. “Our intentions were, and still are, to ensure the entire workforce is given as much protection as possible from redundancy and/or loss of earnings during this unprecedented period. We are therefore committed to finding alternative ways to operate while there are no football matches being played that ensures we are not applying for the government relief scheme.”

Moore added that Liverpool will be financially impacted by this crisis and they are trying to find ways to offset the loss of revenue due to the season being suspended.

“But in the spirit of transparency we must also be clear, despite the fact we were in a healthy position prior to this crisis, our revenues have been shut off yet our outgoings remain. And like almost every sector of society, there is great uncertainty and concern over our present and future. Like any responsible employer concerned for its workers in the current situation, the club continues to prepare for a range of different scenarios, around when football can return to operating as it did before the pandemic. These scenarios range from best case to worst and everything in between,” Moore continued.

“It is an unavoidable truth that several of these scenarios involve a massive downturn in revenue, with correspondingly unprecedented operating losses. Having these vital financial resources so profoundly impacted would obviously negatively affect our ability to operate as we previously have. We are engaged in the process of exploring all avenues within our scope to limit the inevitable damage. We thank the many amazing people in our club, at all levels, who are committed to helping us do just that, despite the complexity and unpredictability in the world and our industry.”

The backlash against Liverpool’s decision follows plenty of criticism for Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur who did the same, as many leading voices believe that the billionaire owners of Premier League clubs should be paying their staff during this unprecedented pandemic instead of getting help from the government.

Many Liverpool’s fans and former players slammed the initial decision so it is good to those concerns have been addressed, as the Reds recorded a pre-tax profit of $51 million last year alone and $153 million profit the year before that.

VOTE: Premier League March Madness playoff final

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By Joe Prince-WrightApr 6, 2020, 1:30 PM EDT
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Our Premier League March Madness tournament began on Monday and we had some early drama in the relegation playoff semifinals.

The opening two games of our bracket produced two surprise winners, as #20 Norwich City edged out #17 Watford after winning 50.48 percent of the vote, while #19 Aston Villa comfortably beat #18 Bournemouth with 62.14 percent of votes.

[ LIVE: March Madness PL hub ] 

That means Norwich will now face Aston Villa in the final, and Villa won both of their meetings in the Premier League this season. The first with a 5-1 win at Carrow Road, the second with a undeserved home win at Villa Park.

What do the winners get? If you win the relegation playoff final you are exempt from relegation and finish as the 2020 tournament as #17 seed, while the runner up will be relegated along with the two semifinal losers.

If you want to see the full game schedule, seedings and bracket, here is the post you need as the tournament will run all week long:

Monday: Relegation semifinals, final
Tuesday: Sweet 16
Wednesday: Elite Eight
Thursday: Final Four
Friday: Championship game

Plus, our own Nick Mendola handicapped the field and here is who he thinks will be the favorites to win it all and which teams you should look out for as dark horses over the next few days. His predictions are wild and Arsenal fans will want to prove he is correct and they pick up a first piece of silverware under Mikel Arteta.

Okay, vote below (until 3 p.m. ET) for the two relegation playoff finalists as our Premier League March Madness tournament continues!

Report: Premier League prepares for June return

Liverpool v Southampton recap highlights
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By Joe Prince-WrightApr 6, 2020, 12:53 PM EDT
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The Premier League is reportedly preparing to return to action in June as the current season remains suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ] 

Multiple reports across the UK, including this one from the Daily Mirror, claim that the government has given the Premier League the green light to return to action from June, provided the situation has improved as expected by then.

Per the report, Premier League clubs have been told that they should prepare for games to be played from June 1 onwards behind closed doors and there is a ‘tentative agreement for the top flight to resume behind closed doors after the 20 clubs mapped out a plan with senior officials on a resumption of matches.’

The report adds that ‘in principle, with government health officials hopeful of a coronavirus peak in the UK in the next few weeks, they will sanction games under strict guidelines.’ 

Plans are in place for players to be isolated together and away from the public, as they could begin training in May so they can prepare for the current campaign resuming.

With the situation in the UK deteriorating over the last week and the country on lockdown, these tentative plans can of course change quickly.

Premier League players have had differing views on what should happen to the 2019-20 season and Luke Shaw is the latest to say games should not be played behind closed doors. But if teams play two games per week in empty stadiums or training grounds from June 1, there is the real possibility the season could be finished by the start of July and then FA Cup and Europe competitions could follow.

The overwhelming feeling from Premier League clubs, the league itself and many other individuals is that the 2019-20 season should be finished whenever it is safe to do so. Recent PL club meetings came to that agreement and that is the official stance.

However, the next big question is whether or not fans will be able to attend games for the rest of the season and this report seems to suggest that is totally off the table and if the current campaign is concluded, fans will not be present.

Luke Shaw: Scrap season and start again

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By Joe Prince-WrightApr 6, 2020, 12:00 PM EDT
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Man United and England defender Luke Shaw has said the 2019-20 season should be scrapped and started again if games cannot be completed.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ] 

Shaw, 24, was speaking during a FIFA 20 competition which was streamed on Twitch to raise funds for UNICEF’s Combat Corona campaign.

“Scrap it and start again. Start it again, yeah,” Shaw said. “It’s got to be, you know. If we can’t carry it on, it’s got to be void.”

All 20 Premier League clubs remain committed to completing the 2019-20 season whenever ‘safe to do so’ but there’s no resumption date currently lined up.

One option is for games to played behind closed doors, when possible, but Shaw isn’t keen on that either.

“Fans are so important. You realise it even more (now),” Shaw said. “I think the sport is for fans really… I think if you don’t have fans, and you don’t play in front of fans, it just doesn’t feel right. Especially on matchday, the fans are always amazing and always help the team. Whether it’s home or even away, our fans are always brilliant and I feel like they’re always there with us.”

The view of Shaw differs slightly from other Premier League players who have discussed the current suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic but there is a general consensus that they want to move onto the next season as soon as possible. When it comes to Shaw, his views are very interesting as Man United had rallied to be three points off the top four and had plenty of momentum ahead of the final nine games of the current league campaign, as well as being in a great position in the latter stages of the Europa League and FA Cup.

Man City star Kevin de Bruyne wants to move on from the 2019-20 season as soon as possible as he doesn’t think the start of the 2020-21 campaign should be delayed and is concerned about players being injured if they are asked to resume the season quickly.

Other players are fine to wait to see what the Premier League plans but Tottenham forward Harry Kane has also expressed his desire to move on from the current campaign if games cannot be completed by the end of June.

It is intriguing to hear so many differing views from Premier League players on when the season should resume, if at all, but Kane, Shaw and De Bruyne are all saying something slightly different. Therein lies the problem. How will a consensus be reached between PL clubs with so many different ideas and opinions on what should happen next?

If you throw club affiliations and rivalries into the mix, why on earth would a Man United star want the current season to be deemed as ‘void’ when Liverpool are 25 points clear at the top of the table and just five points away from securing the Premier League title…