Atlanta United traveled north of the border Saturday evening and came home with a 1-0 loss vs CF Montreal. After an incredibly disappointing quarterfinal showing in the U.S. Open Cup, Atlanta continued to struggle to get anything going in rather flat performance. -Insert crying emoji here-. Here are final whistle thoughts from Montreal!
A slog
It’s stating the obvious but that match was just an ugly slog through mud. Atlanta just never felt like a cohesive unit. The match began and the most noticeable aspect of the Five Stripes throughout the first half was, unfortunately, the errant passes and lack of shots. The second half began and saw Montreal finally hit the back of the net, followed by Stian Gregersen receiving a second yellow (neither of his “fouls” should’ve been yellows)…and it just continued to be demoralizing from there. It just feels like this team needs a break and some reinforcements, neither of which are happening for almost another week.
Be the spark
We all know the transfer window is coming, but that doesn’t make this stretch of games any easier to digest. If there’s anything I’d like to see, though, is the team look and play like they feel they don’t need new talent coming in to provide a spark. Be the spark. Be the guy. Be offended that everybody is having the conversation that your team needs to bring in expensive outside talent to be good again.
Brad Guzan
The big, bald wall kept Atlanta United in this game, despite a lackluster performance by most everyone else. He deserves a ton of credit for providing some phenomenal saves and at least giving his attackers an opportunity to pull a draw. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but he was the most effective player in a Five Stripes kit.
Let us know below what y’all thought of the match!
Tough to feel positive when you get maybe 1 shot on goal for an entire match. Hoping we get a good coach and three new MLSXI-caliber players in the window, otherwise there is no reason to watch anymore this season.
See the question about whether this is the low point. It has been a low plateau since 2020.
This whole administration/front office needs to go. We will not see any change till that happens. They have had nearly 4 years, and we still average 1 point per game.
If drastic action is not taken it will be the same conversation and another rebuild 1 year, 2 years, 3 years from now. At that point I will no longer be a STH.
Embarrassing for an organization with a great stadium, welcoming city, fantastic support and funding. Should be top 4 every year.
We deserve a whole lot better.
I completely understand the team is currently experiencing a transitional overhaul, but that doesn’t justify the utterly boring play -I found myself dozing off throughout the match.
The front office has an incredible task ahead.
Serious question. Is this the lowest point in club history?
There are some positives in the sense that the roster is poised for a rebound, as we continue to see players come off the books.
At the same time, I’ve never felt farther away from the top. Its always felt like we were just a coach away or just a player or two away or just some injury woes away from being great again.
While Im not suggesting the club rush into a coaching hire and player acquisitions, it feels like the best case scenario is that we get a coach and some players in the winter, and hope for a GL Seattle Special summer of ‘25 transfer window, while realistically pinning in ‘26 as a year to really challenge for the top of the east.
I dont think we’ve ever been 18 months away from thinking about contention.
I think you are definitely right, especially with the benefit of hindsight, that there have been lower points.
In some of those periods you mention, I think many of us had various opinions about how we were straying from the 17/18 path. But for the most part, it felt like we were only 1-2 changes away.
The hardest part now (for me at least) is knowing how long it will still take to right the ship, even given our strong positioning to do so.
Are you thinking we will sign a coach and players this window? I know its all guesswork. Just curious. A lot of my concern about a very lengthy rebuild starts with a lack of confidence we will be able to take advantage of this window (basing that solely off the quiet rumor mill).
Dear Atlantistas, here we go.
I was watching Copa America, and got worried, and maybe my Atlantista friends can help me.
This competition was so far below the levels in terms of organization, and venues that we´ve grown accostumed to in South America, that I am not sure of what it means.
You are going to host a huge World Cup in 2026. Of course FIFA is not Concacaf+Conmebol, but some venues were so bad!!! They were just wrong. Fields were too small, camera work was from outer space (literally, you could not see the ball), many had very bad surfaces, and they had nothing of what a real soccer venue lools like. And, to top all that, a one hour 15 minute delay in the beginning due to problems with admission of ticket holding supporters to the stadium? This is so stratospheric bad, it is not even in the manuals. Games NEVER are delayed.
I am sort of convinced this had to do with Conmebol and Concacaf going crazy for the dollars. But, it affected the image of the US very negatively in the footballing world, and it made me worry about the World Cup. Can you please tell me it was all a Latin American mess (although here Conmebol can be quite efficient), and it won´t be repeated?
Atlanta Unite! Dear Atlantistas: there is nothing to be saved. You need to rewind, go back to the origins, fing a real global coach, build a real team, the way Miami did, or maybe build a winning MLS team (if they can do that in OHIO twice!!). I am afraid your current government doesn´t have what it takes, or they have hidden their abilities too well. You need a real football director who will hire a real coach, who will choose, train, and field a real team. Everything else are just teardrops in rain, as Roy Batty would have said.
It was a mess. The officials were awful all tournament outside of the final (that’s on CONMEBOL at least) and while complaints about turf were overblown, and a riot will always complicate thing, it was a bad look. The final needed more security (though it looked like they had loads, it wasn’t enough anyway) and the camera from outer space that one game was comical. I don’t know who in their right mind approved that.
But, everything that went wrong was fairly easy to fix, and the WC will have better funding, so I’m confident everything will be fixed.
I am sure it was a sum of inneficiencies, and I have the feeling that it was mostly because they wanted the $$. My one question: are these stadiums going to be used in the World Cup? Some seemed very inadequate, and it is not acceptable to have national teams play on smaller fields.
Some of them will (Atlanta and Dallas to name a couple), and I’ve heard there will me modifications to make the fields wide enough to meet WC specs.
I believe Atlanta´s stadium is among the best in the US, being covered, and having air conditioning too. Are the dimensions correct too? I refer to those mausoleums we saw in some games, no roof, small fields, horrible camera heights?
What I’ve read is our stadium will be modified to accommodate the wider field. It was not up to WC specs for the Copa.
Pineda out!!
To be fair, we’re still playing the Pineda system. So, Pineda system out?
Pretty sure RV has made some changes, especially in the last match, but maybe you should give him some tips…who knows…you too could be on the manager short list.
Respectfully disagree on Stan G’s first yellow, but he put himself in a bad position where a card happy ref had to make a decision and it did not go Stan’s way on the 2nd. Do agree that most refs would not have given a yellow on the 2nd. Stan has talent, but he also unfortunately has a bad habit of taking cards just like LGP did.
It looked like the game plan may have been deliberately to cede possession and look for breaks on turnovers. If so, that’s a weird plan against a team that is on the cusp of will they/won’t they make the playoffs and has the 4th highest goals allowed total in MLS.
I’ve supported Rob V in the past, but dang, he is really working hard to take himself out of contention for the full time job.
He shouldn’t be in the talks for the full time job. He’s been part of the coaching staff through ALL of these poor seasons. If he had the influence or ability to turn things around, he should have long already been part of that. It should really make us wonder if he’s even a good ASSISTANT coach, let alone a viable head coach. We’ve had the same problems through 3-4 head coaches now regardless of the players on the field – bad finishing, poor decision making, etc.
100%
I was coming here to type exactly this same thing you said: He shouldn’t be in the talks for the full time job.
Why if God’s name would they even consider an untested first time head coach after all the families they’ve had? That would be completely throwing in the towel on the big anyone this club one seemed to have.
I’m so disappointed in this organization. I heard Lagerway on Doug’s podcast talking about giving Valentino a fair chance and being diligent with their talent acquisitions and… Blah, blah, blah. It confirmed to me that this is from now on a team with its chief aspiration being “host a home playoff game.” Boo. Oh, and they’re raising season ticket prices.
Not only didn’t I watch last night, I forgot all about it. I just remembered about ten minutes ago they even played. I’ve missed like five matches ever. This team…
Rob is 1000% out of any contention for the full time job by now lol
If he isn’t then this franchise is truly doomed.
I don’t think Valentino should be the manager going forward. But losing MLS games with Luke Brennan as your best attacking option isn’t really definitive on your managerial acumen.
The season is over. We capitulated and sold most of our assets. Time to find a coach and rebuild AGAIN (hopefully in that order).
Why did I put a United sticker on my car instead of a magnet?
Apathy
Totally. I just watched the first 40 minutes and switched to the Copa. Glad I did