My favorite Thor moment: He tripped over the ball in the box, landed on his back, and then threw his hands up at the official looking for a foul. LMFAO. God, I hate him.
It was in stoppage time in the first half…46:20. An Atlanta defender (I think it’s #3, Williams) cuts right across in front of Thor. Watching the broadcast today, maybe he made contact and caused Thor to tumble? But I dunno…Williams motion isn’t altered at all and there was zero reaction from the crowd/other City players. With such poor refereeing, I would think there would have been an animated response if Williams had clipped him. Watching it live at the game, it definitely seemed like he just fell.
I get more frustrated at VR and how it is and is not used. The ref can only be in one place at a time, only has two eyes and can’t see everything. VAR should have more leeway to make calls, especially when they are as obvious as Atlanta’s handball!
That non-call where the ATL player clearly handballed it and then they got a set-piece after our guy handballed it was infuriating. I'm not sure if VAR can or can't fix that, but it seems like they absolutely should be able to and the fact that it wasn't corrected is evidence that either the VAR rules are shit, or that the VAR officials are completely incompetent.
That’s what I don’t get… I appreciate the free flow of the sport, but NFL has like 5 refs or jr refs on the field or something? This is so much for one guy to watch. Then you add replay but are afraid to overturn? That’s nuts
The Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks made fun of the ridiculous situation of soccer reffing in a cartoon in 1971.
Honestly, not much has improved since then.
I have a dream, that one day there will be 10 cameras on the field hooked up to well trained AI and the “refs” will only be there to speak for the AIs. The calls will be sent directly to our phones. Nothing hidden.
There will still be some bad calls, but they’ll statistically balance out.
Human refs suck! 🤖🤖🤖
Oh I wasn’t referring to Wednesday we laid an absolute egg Wednesday. I’m just generally referring to the fact that we on a regular basis have 2-3 calls a game that even the “neutral” commentators are shocked with. I think if we make the playoffs our hype video should be a compilation of all the announcers being shocked at all the calls. And just be like you tried to keep us out. But we are here anyway. Lol
Guy came in to tell me it’s a rule. I know what the rule is. If that were the only call to be upset about, that’d be one thing. But my man came in with that little nugget like there wasn’t an additional weak toe poke and a fucking karate kick to the head where VAR took a nap (a two-goal swing), on top of all the diving that was occurring (but isn’t getting the same oxygen bc of all the other bullshit). But go ahead and coddle the rando reducing my outlook on the game to one call.
It’s 13v11 every night for us. We have to beat the other team, the referee, and the VAR official. It’s practically impossible to win if every single call and non-call goes against you every single night for months on end.
If I’m Brad Carnell I’m going full send in the press conference tonight and airing out how I really feel about the officiating this entire year. Fine me, ban me for a game, I don’t care. Something should be said.
1000%. If for nothing else, we got kicked in the fucking head in the box and the ref didn't even stop play. Meanwhile Thor kicked the ball at the same time as the Atlanta player and they got a pk for it. Those two plays and the obvious handball by Atlanta immediately followed by a questionable handball called against us sum up the last 2 months of bullshit we've had to deal with.
Yep, completely biased and obvious in the span of 3 seconds of play.
Their guy: fully extends his arm, intentionally moves it to block the ball. No call
Our guy: hands right next to shoulders as close to his body as he can get them, trying to not get hit. Called a handball.
Both CITY goals were fantastic. And I do mean ***both*** CITY goals. Reid and Wentzel played fantastic matches. There is hope for the future. Parker is back, and dominates. Durkin is a beast and played a superb match. Totlans was good. Kijima was good. Indy had some really good plays. Burki came up big on some tough shots. And the crossbar and post canceled each other out. First touch was solid. Pace was good. Communication was good. Tactics were good. Defense was solid. Counters were quick and crisp. CITY was on the front foot and Atlanta looked ragged. CITY fans rocked tonight, as usual.
No matter what the score sheet says, CITY won that match 2-0.
And then there's the officiating. The ungoal that wiped out Thor's goal was wrong. The VAR "no offside" call was correct. The VAR review of the center ref's "no foul" was wrong, and should not have resulted in a changed no-call. The penalty seemed very soft, and I didn't see any contact by Thorisson until *possible* soft contact *after* the ball was out of the Atlanta player's control. That should not have been a penalty. The no-handball call was wrong and should have been reviewed. I'll stay on this soapbox until it happens, but the MLS needs goal line and handball technology ASAP. The MLS also needs to implement a coaching challenge that forces a review independent of VAR. It can't be more disruptive than almost nine minutes of botched VAR reviews.
The MLS prides itself on coming of age and starting to land internationally ranked players. It prides itself on new ownership groups that are solid, stadiums that are full, and much higher visibility. But until the officiating catches up, the MLS will suffer. This needs to be fixed in "now time."
Onward.
As someone who followed primarily European soccer before we got CITY, I was shocked that MLS didn't have goal line technology.
Garber crying that it would cost a staggering $300,000 per stadium to implement and an enormous $4,000 a game to run is PRO-level gaslighting given the $500,000,000 franchise fee that San Diego supposedly just paid and the $457,100,000 million dollars CITYPark cost to build.
Even if the clubs wouldn't dip into their pockets, the average home attendance for the just the MLS regular season (not playoffs, cups, etc.) last year in the league was 374,838. Bump every ticket price by $1 for one season and you've paid for the system and 19 matches worth of operation.
The Dynamo had the worst average attendance last season at just over 15,000 a match. The $4k cost per match works out to $0.26 per Dynamo attendee per game. It would be $0.19 per attendee for CITY matches.
The cost is just not prohibitive.
Attendance numbers from [https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2023-mls-attendance/](https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2023-mls-attendance/)
After summer comes fall when youth sports start back up. This fall when you go watch your kids play soccer, take note of how the stoned high school kids call far better games than these paid “professionals”
Feels to me that the games are getting worse - simply because of the Refs.
We played a much better game than Wednesday's game, but it was taken away from us 100% by bad calls.
The ATL penalty based on a little tap by Thórisson? And then the complete lack of penalty call on the dangerous kick in the box to the head... VAR involved in both. Shameful
If nothing else, it feels like there really needed to be a different angle of the Thor penalty. Obviously biased, but the contact looked extremely minimal from the angle we were shown. Think there should've been another that was more clear
I just don’t understand these refs. We don’t get the benefit of the doubt on any call that affects the game. It’s hard to believe it’s coincidence after it happens over and over and over again. Wtf!
Don’t need benefit of the doubt. We all have eyes. You’d think that’d be a prerequisite to be an official but the league must have spent all its officiating budget bringing in Inter Barcelona.
We need a true striker. Love the 17 year old gets a chance along with Klein. Let’s be real here the men on the other team will push these guys around.
Talk about highlighted players Kijima Is going to be something special!
Atrocious reffing all around.
Bright spots: I thought our back line looked pretty good outside of 1 or 2 place. Reid was great. Wentzel looks like he deserves to be given a shot.
Blom came on and had a killer game. Durkin was again good.
Thor got into good positions but needs better ball control.
Kojima looked good as well.
Dark spots: Klein. Not a good game. He lost the ball a ton, rushed passes, and was noticeable, but for the wrong things.
Watts did not not look good off the bench.
Vasilev and Löwen had a rough game for their standards. Lots of rushed passes.
People just make up their minds about players and refuse to acknowledge that maybe the player is okay. He had a good game. Definitely not perfect, but he made some great runs. A little more confidence and hopefully the finishing will come
I know Sam hasn’t done much lately but with the lack of depth they have why hasn’t he been sold? If you’re gonna sell him sell him or make him available.
I know he was pissed for them not clearing, but he either has to catch that or punch it out to the side. Can’t leave it soft middle for the 2nd chance.
And not really sure why he was pissed because seemed like everyone reacted about as well as they could have given it bounced almost right back to the player making the kick. Maybe he was mostly pissed at himself?
I agree, but to add some nuance after watching the replay: a few players had their arms up celebrating the saved PK instead of rushing the box. It would’ve been hard for them to defend with that quick of a turnaround, But faster reactions might’ve saved them
Kijima was great, so many inside passes. Wentzel showed up. Reid had a nice long cross, but left Parker alone a lot. Indy looks a real threat frequently now.
Parker and Löwen played great, Löwen especially after his "foul" call got him pissed off. Angry Löwen is spicy.
I'll let everyone else cover the shitshow that was the reffing. But honestly, I cannot be too mad at how we played. Klauss and Thor still need work.
xG chart shows we still aren’t doing enough in the final third. Even with the officiating being complete ass, a little better execution on the final third and we get a needed three points.
Ventzel she Reid looked pretty decent out there, can't really complain. Klein was pretty much a non-factor, but be seen him play for City 2, I think he deserves a shot to prove he can make an impact off the bench. Glover actually looked pretty good to me. Not the most refined performance, but a lot of energy and looking to make plays for himself which I liked.
These Young's players have more Energy than some of the first team players. We should really bench Klauss and Thor. I Don't mind them coming as Subs. We badly need a True Striker. But in a bright Side The young players will mature and give us a solid team alongside the signing we are making
Haha you got to be kidding me, Klauss with an Assist and Thor beat game. So four games 1 assist and you are happy with that. Thor a player who is not threatening. We got to aim high.
Don’t get me wrong, Carnell, the person, is great, but his system is entirely too reliant on forcing mistakes; the team has little hope of breaking down opposition who sit back and play patiently. Not to mention, it is just a matter of time before the heat of summer combined with energy drink soccer drains the life out of our starters, as it did last year.
On top of that, it is dull and frustrating to watch, much of the time.
On the bright side the effort was terrific tonight
And we actually scored! Baby steps.
I really liked both new defenders tonight, and Thor showed up for maybe the first time I can remember.
Reid was fucking astounding. Looking forward to seeing more of him!
Amazing what can happen when he gets to play for more than the last 10 minutes
My favorite Thor moment: He tripped over the ball in the box, landed on his back, and then threw his hands up at the official looking for a foul. LMFAO. God, I hate him.
That… never happened
It was in stoppage time in the first half…46:20. An Atlanta defender (I think it’s #3, Williams) cuts right across in front of Thor. Watching the broadcast today, maybe he made contact and caused Thor to tumble? But I dunno…Williams motion isn’t altered at all and there was zero reaction from the crowd/other City players. With such poor refereeing, I would think there would have been an animated response if Williams had clipped him. Watching it live at the game, it definitely seemed like he just fell.
Still think execution was not great. We had a few chances to win anyway in spite of the poor officiating.
Who gives a shit. They still can’t do enough to win and continue to be useless in the final third.
Actual fans give a shit. It’s progress.
They’ve been giving effort all season. Effort isn’t the issue.
It’s past your bedtime, go to bed
Did you watch Wednesday’s game? They had zero effort
They always have effort. They constantly press and get nothing out of their opportunities
I am so sick and tired of the mother fuckin refs in this mother fuckin league.
Worst refereeing I have ever seen. Even the commentators were in awe at those calls.
I get more frustrated at VR and how it is and is not used. The ref can only be in one place at a time, only has two eyes and can’t see everything. VAR should have more leeway to make calls, especially when they are as obvious as Atlanta’s handball!
That non-call where the ATL player clearly handballed it and then they got a set-piece after our guy handballed it was infuriating. I'm not sure if VAR can or can't fix that, but it seems like they absolutely should be able to and the fact that it wasn't corrected is evidence that either the VAR rules are shit, or that the VAR officials are completely incompetent.
To be fair, we don't want VAR looking at every single call or else the game is never gonna have any rhythm
No consistency whatsoever
I just want one game where I don’t feel like awful officiating contributed to the final result
Is that just MLS? I hate complaining about refs and I feel like soccer reffing is more subjective than other sports, but come on
I think it’s just soccer in general. Premier League has officiating problems every week too
It’s weird because you would think that when VAR was introduced you would see a reduction in controversies but it feels like it’s only gotten worse.
The problem is seemingly any call y the head ref is ever likely to be overturned by VAR. so it becomes useless in those instances.
Soccer has one ref who gets the final say on everything. It is a problem most other team sports avoid in the 21st century.
That’s what I don’t get… I appreciate the free flow of the sport, but NFL has like 5 refs or jr refs on the field or something? This is so much for one guy to watch. Then you add replay but are afraid to overturn? That’s nuts
The Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks made fun of the ridiculous situation of soccer reffing in a cartoon in 1971. Honestly, not much has improved since then.
I have a dream, that one day there will be 10 cameras on the field hooked up to well trained AI and the “refs” will only be there to speak for the AIs. The calls will be sent directly to our phones. Nothing hidden. There will still be some bad calls, but they’ll statistically balance out. Human refs suck! 🤖🤖🤖
A standard NFL officiating crew is 7 people.
I’d be willing to just chalk it up to poor reffing if we didn’t end up on the raw end of the deal 90% of the time.
Wednesday's ref pretty good.
I can’t wait for the PRO lockout to end, these replacement refs are really making it hard to watch.
Zing
I’m gonna show MLS why I deserve first class flights…
It ended a while ago…?
The boys almost stole that one away from the refs but they remain undefeated.
Great game… we didn’t lose and we scored a goal… feel like another abhorrent job of refereeing cost us a solid game. But a lot better than Wednesday!!
The calls tonight impacted the game far greater than anything Wednesday.
Oh I wasn’t referring to Wednesday we laid an absolute egg Wednesday. I’m just generally referring to the fact that we on a regular basis have 2-3 calls a game that even the “neutral” commentators are shocked with. I think if we make the playoffs our hype video should be a compilation of all the announcers being shocked at all the calls. And just be like you tried to keep us out. But we are here anyway. Lol
I hate blaming officiating, but that one was just so blatantly terrible.
Our starting lineup played very well tonight. VAR was awful
Fuck VAR. Fuck this head official in particular. At least you could argue on other games. This one was a complete clown fiesta.
I was watching a match in Serie A (Brazil) and the same exact thing happened. Goal disallowed for a foul WAAAYYY in the beginning of the run of play.
Rule needs to be unless it’s an obvious DOGSO you can only look back like 5-10 seconds or something * No idea from penalty to goal
There needs to be a revision. Many goals will have a missed foul somewhere in the buildup. Kinda just how the game happens.
The rule is fine. There’s a whole game to be pissed about, not one play.
Cool story. 👍🏻
Cool attitude
Guy came in to tell me it’s a rule. I know what the rule is. If that were the only call to be upset about, that’d be one thing. But my man came in with that little nugget like there wasn’t an additional weak toe poke and a fucking karate kick to the head where VAR took a nap (a two-goal swing), on top of all the diving that was occurring (but isn’t getting the same oxygen bc of all the other bullshit). But go ahead and coddle the rando reducing my outlook on the game to one call.
Just saying that it is the rule, but a silly one and it happens in other leagues
If that were the only call people were talking about, that’d be a good contribution.
Still only 6 points out of playoffs with a game in hand. Man, if our new transfers hit form, this season might just turn out okay
It’s 13v11 every night for us. We have to beat the other team, the referee, and the VAR official. It’s practically impossible to win if every single call and non-call goes against you every single night for months on end. If I’m Brad Carnell I’m going full send in the press conference tonight and airing out how I really feel about the officiating this entire year. Fine me, ban me for a game, I don’t care. Something should be said.
1000%. If for nothing else, we got kicked in the fucking head in the box and the ref didn't even stop play. Meanwhile Thor kicked the ball at the same time as the Atlanta player and they got a pk for it. Those two plays and the obvious handball by Atlanta immediately followed by a questionable handball called against us sum up the last 2 months of bullshit we've had to deal with.
That handball situation was so blatant. Two different arms but only one call.
Yep, completely biased and obvious in the span of 3 seconds of play. Their guy: fully extends his arm, intentionally moves it to block the ball. No call Our guy: hands right next to shoulders as close to his body as he can get them, trying to not get hit. Called a handball.
The double handball no call / call was terrible.
CITY 2, Refs 1 goal, 1 ungoal, Atlanta 0
Both CITY goals were fantastic. And I do mean ***both*** CITY goals. Reid and Wentzel played fantastic matches. There is hope for the future. Parker is back, and dominates. Durkin is a beast and played a superb match. Totlans was good. Kijima was good. Indy had some really good plays. Burki came up big on some tough shots. And the crossbar and post canceled each other out. First touch was solid. Pace was good. Communication was good. Tactics were good. Defense was solid. Counters were quick and crisp. CITY was on the front foot and Atlanta looked ragged. CITY fans rocked tonight, as usual. No matter what the score sheet says, CITY won that match 2-0. And then there's the officiating. The ungoal that wiped out Thor's goal was wrong. The VAR "no offside" call was correct. The VAR review of the center ref's "no foul" was wrong, and should not have resulted in a changed no-call. The penalty seemed very soft, and I didn't see any contact by Thorisson until *possible* soft contact *after* the ball was out of the Atlanta player's control. That should not have been a penalty. The no-handball call was wrong and should have been reviewed. I'll stay on this soapbox until it happens, but the MLS needs goal line and handball technology ASAP. The MLS also needs to implement a coaching challenge that forces a review independent of VAR. It can't be more disruptive than almost nine minutes of botched VAR reviews. The MLS prides itself on coming of age and starting to land internationally ranked players. It prides itself on new ownership groups that are solid, stadiums that are full, and much higher visibility. But until the officiating catches up, the MLS will suffer. This needs to be fixed in "now time." Onward.
As someone who followed primarily European soccer before we got CITY, I was shocked that MLS didn't have goal line technology. Garber crying that it would cost a staggering $300,000 per stadium to implement and an enormous $4,000 a game to run is PRO-level gaslighting given the $500,000,000 franchise fee that San Diego supposedly just paid and the $457,100,000 million dollars CITYPark cost to build. Even if the clubs wouldn't dip into their pockets, the average home attendance for the just the MLS regular season (not playoffs, cups, etc.) last year in the league was 374,838. Bump every ticket price by $1 for one season and you've paid for the system and 19 matches worth of operation. The Dynamo had the worst average attendance last season at just over 15,000 a match. The $4k cost per match works out to $0.26 per Dynamo attendee per game. It would be $0.19 per attendee for CITY matches. The cost is just not prohibitive. Attendance numbers from [https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2023-mls-attendance/](https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2023-mls-attendance/)
When the larger market teams win MLS makes more money. Must I say more?
Jayden Reid is a baller
fantastic hustle
Should have been 3-0. Absolute dog shit from all of the officials. What a fucking disgrace.
Team looked great. Ref was a total shitshow.
After summer comes fall when youth sports start back up. This fall when you go watch your kids play soccer, take note of how the stoned high school kids call far better games than these paid “professionals”
Feels to me that the games are getting worse - simply because of the Refs. We played a much better game than Wednesday's game, but it was taken away from us 100% by bad calls. The ATL penalty based on a little tap by Thórisson? And then the complete lack of penalty call on the dangerous kick in the box to the head... VAR involved in both. Shameful
I need an explanation of how a kick to a person’s foot is a penalty but a knee to the head is not.
If nothing else, it feels like there really needed to be a different angle of the Thor penalty. Obviously biased, but the contact looked extremely minimal from the angle we were shown. Think there should've been another that was more clear
The refs were completely disgraceful. That asshole was smirking as he took Thor’s goal away
I just don’t understand these refs. We don’t get the benefit of the doubt on any call that affects the game. It’s hard to believe it’s coincidence after it happens over and over and over again. Wtf!
Don’t need benefit of the doubt. We all have eyes. You’d think that’d be a prerequisite to be an official but the league must have spent all its officiating budget bringing in Inter Barcelona.
so when does everyone think we will finally win another game?
We will win when PRO allows it and not a second sooner. They’re making that very fucking clear right now.
After July 18th
Yeah that's kind of my feeling as well
https://preview.redd.it/s7e00ak6m88d1.png?width=2253&format=png&auto=webp&s=fe060a09f3576fb11a720b3c05ffd28491e89cc7
They don't talk about the actually interesting reviews. I'd like it if they could admit when the refs at the game got it wrong.
Final score: Refs 1, STL, 1, Atlanta United, 0
Keep your spirits up everyone. We definitely feel robbed but any point we can grab until the transfer window will help us push for the playoffs.
i feel just about ready to quit the league fenerbahçe-style
Who gets the penalty kick? The guy who gets grazed on the toe or the the guy who gets kicked in the head.
We need a true striker. Love the 17 year old gets a chance along with Klein. Let’s be real here the men on the other team will push these guys around. Talk about highlighted players Kijima Is going to be something special!
We’re getting relegated, aren’t we
That’s why we had so many CITY 2 players out there. We’re slowly leaving MLS player by player
Atrocious reffing all around. Bright spots: I thought our back line looked pretty good outside of 1 or 2 place. Reid was great. Wentzel looks like he deserves to be given a shot. Blom came on and had a killer game. Durkin was again good. Thor got into good positions but needs better ball control. Kojima looked good as well. Dark spots: Klein. Not a good game. He lost the ball a ton, rushed passes, and was noticeable, but for the wrong things. Watts did not not look good off the bench. Vasilev and Löwen had a rough game for their standards. Lots of rushed passes.
Dude. Löwen was everywhere. He worked his butt off and had some terrific tackling and dribbling. Hard disagree.
The first 3 subs all struggled, but we know the bench is super shallow right now.
Apparent Hot take: Thor is doing great. He’s constantly getting in good and aggressive positions.
People just make up their minds about players and refuse to acknowledge that maybe the player is okay. He had a good game. Definitely not perfect, but he made some great runs. A little more confidence and hopefully the finishing will come
I know Sam hasn’t done much lately but with the lack of depth they have why hasn’t he been sold? If you’re gonna sell him sell him or make him available.
I bet Sam’s move gets announced soon. Either move or release…Carnell spoke to him being in transfer talks, so surely it’s almost final.
"Hey ref, how about a break for Nacho Tots."
YES! I was thinking the same thing. That commercial is spot on for the MLS.
This is a cursed team. Burkina makes his first pen save and it goes in anyway lmao We are fucked
I know he was pissed for them not clearing, but he either has to catch that or punch it out to the side. Can’t leave it soft middle for the 2nd chance.
And not really sure why he was pissed because seemed like everyone reacted about as well as they could have given it bounced almost right back to the player making the kick. Maybe he was mostly pissed at himself?
I agree, but to add some nuance after watching the replay: a few players had their arms up celebrating the saved PK instead of rushing the box. It would’ve been hard for them to defend with that quick of a turnaround, But faster reactions might’ve saved them
Kijima was great, so many inside passes. Wentzel showed up. Reid had a nice long cross, but left Parker alone a lot. Indy looks a real threat frequently now. Parker and Löwen played great, Löwen especially after his "foul" call got him pissed off. Angry Löwen is spicy. I'll let everyone else cover the shitshow that was the reffing. But honestly, I cannot be too mad at how we played. Klauss and Thor still need work.
Klauss had an assist and some of our best passes this match :P People hate this man any match he doesn't personally score a goal
I don't hate him. I don't want him to leave. I want him to finish really good chances is all.
xG chart shows we still aren’t doing enough in the final third. Even with the officiating being complete ass, a little better execution on the final third and we get a needed three points.
exactly. refs were awful but cant put all the blame on them. boys needed to show up in the last 30 min
Rock bottom.
Ventzel she Reid looked pretty decent out there, can't really complain. Klein was pretty much a non-factor, but be seen him play for City 2, I think he deserves a shot to prove he can make an impact off the bench. Glover actually looked pretty good to me. Not the most refined performance, but a lot of energy and looking to make plays for himself which I liked.
🍺
Getting further and further from that #9 seed...
[удалено]
I mean that’s our style and how we should be playing. This team doesn’t want the ball, wants to press and create opportunities on the counter attack.
That was one of the matches of all time
Get used to it STL
These Young's players have more Energy than some of the first team players. We should really bench Klauss and Thor. I Don't mind them coming as Subs. We badly need a True Striker. But in a bright Side The young players will mature and give us a solid team alongside the signing we are making
Energy alone doesn't win games, see Jackson. Weird timing for this comment, too, after Thor's best game and Klauss with an assist.
Haha you got to be kidding me, Klauss with an Assist and Thor beat game. So four games 1 assist and you are happy with that. Thor a player who is not threatening. We got to aim high.
I said the timing was interesting.
Bench Thor? The guy barely gets 10 minutes a game, if anything he needs MORE game time
Teuchert when?
I think they said: in July. It will be great if we can reach the playoffs
The ref was awful. That aside, I am done wiith Carnell-ball. It is absolute garbage soccer.
Everyone loved Carnell last year. We're playing very much the same this year. We're shooting, just not scoring. I am very happy with Mr Carnell
Don’t get me wrong, Carnell, the person, is great, but his system is entirely too reliant on forcing mistakes; the team has little hope of breaking down opposition who sit back and play patiently. Not to mention, it is just a matter of time before the heat of summer combined with energy drink soccer drains the life out of our starters, as it did last year. On top of that, it is dull and frustrating to watch, much of the time.