Lion Links: 9/17/18

It’s a melancholy Monday morning, my fellow Mane Landers. Well, that match summed up the season pretty well, didn’t it? Despite the drubbing, I hope you were able to enjoy some of your Sunday. I was able to paddle along the Suwanee River with some friends, so that was nice. Hopefully, you didn’t drown your sorrows as the Lions fell to last place in the Eastern Conference. Regardless, let’s get to the links!

A Monumental Failure

Orlando City made it 11 straight road losses after falling to the Chicago Fire 4-0 Sunday night. While there were some surprises in the lineup for the Lions, they certainly didn’t help one bit. Yoshimar Yotún returned and played fairly well, but he’s only one player. Orlando showed no effort, had no chemistry, and Chicago was the much better team yesterday. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but this team won’t be making the playoffs this season.

• Scott Carnevale has your match recap.
• Ethan Smith has your player grades and Man of the Match.
• Here is the view from the other side from Hot Time In Old Town

Check back later today for The Bearded Guy’s five takeaways from the loss.

O’Connor Calls Out the Team

This Orlando City squad has quit on this season. James O’Connor has made it no secret that he’s been putting different players on the field and in different areas to get an idea of what he’s working with heading into the off-season and next season. Some players seem to be putting in the effort and others simply are not. O’Connor made it very clear from the moment he arrived back in Orlando that he expects his players to put in the work. Evidently, some have decided that they don’t need to play for a spot on this team next year. We can be sure that O’Connor is watching and making note of the commitment each player is exhibiting. It will be interesting to see if the embarrassing loss prompts those that weren’t trying so hard to give a little more.

USMNT Coaching Search

It’s a bit of a mystery as to why the U.S. has not found the next head coach for the USMNT. Given the lack of information, you could be excused for thinking that nobody is even looking. It’s taking so long that former Manchester United, Everton, and West Ham United boss David Moyes is soliciting for the position. Citing the growth within MLS, as well as the growth of the sport in general in the U.S., Moyes said he’d have to consider the job if offered. Unfortunately, it’s pretty obvious that no one from U.S. Soccer has approached the Scot. Not that he’d necessarily be a perfect fit for the Yanks, it is still nice to have some idea of what is happening. It would be even nicer if there were more rumors about the search so we could feel like progress was being made.

Messi in Miami?

In a report that surprised exactly no one, it seems that David Beckham would like to lure Lionel Messi away from FC Barcelona to his newly minted MLS club in Miami. In other news, water is wet. I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, but Messi has spent his entire career at Barca and has stated publicly that he wants to finish his career there. It would be a huge get, but it would also be a huge amount of money, as Messi has a €700 million buyout, on a contract that has him at Barca through the 2020-21 season. It took Beckham several years to get the Miami team off the ground, so maybe he has the patience to wait for that contract to be done. Don’t hold your breath.

Free Kicks

• Nobody Zlatans like Zlatan.

• Liverpool and Chelsea stayed perfect in the Premier League, and both Manchester teams won. There was quite a bit more, including West Ham United getting their first points in a win over Everton. Here are the results and the current standings.
• Speaking of West Ham. Sky Sports said that new Hammer Lucas Perez refused to warm up for the second half of West Ham’s 3-1 win over Everton. However, West Ham boss Manual Pellegrino denied that was the case.
• We end our links with a farewell from former Orlando Pride Head Coach Tom Sermanni. I’m going to miss Sermanni. He’s a great interview, and an all-around fantastic guy. Good luck, Tom! Thanks for all you did for the Pride.

Just remember, after a match like yesterday’s, your Monday has got to be better. Right? Be kind to your fellow humans and check back for more coverage from The Mane Land.