MLS

[happytorq]

Was at the Revolution/Portland game this evening - finished in a 1-1 draw. My match report here:

http://www.prostamerika.com/2011/04/02/ ... int-40256/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you think MLS is boring or 'not very good', I'd suggest you head over to MlSSoccer.com and look at the highlights of the Vancouver/Sporting KC game.

[happytorq]

Starting to believe that it's only me who reads this thread, but anyway, I have another radio show to plug;

http://www.winninguglyradio.com/2011/04 ... e-116.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(Really, it's great)

bosh!

I'll post some MLS stuff once I've gotten caught up. was in england for just over a week and missed quite a few games.

[ferrarilover]

I'm here, reading away.

Matt.

[happytorq]

"Americans don't 'get' football. They don't understand the culture".

If you've ever said anything like this - and I did, a few years back - I'll refer you to this:

http://www.thefreebeermovement.com/2011 ... night.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Southampton Gull]

I watched a lot of their stuff on Youtube last night, they seem like very good and committed fans, couldn;t stand that National Anthem crap though, their singing was dire.

I've been impressed by some of what I've seen of the MLS but they need to up the quality now, they need players like Beckham, Henry etc in their prime, not the end of their careers.

[happytorq]

I watched a lot of their stuff on Youtube last night, they seem like very good and committed fans, couldn;t stand that National Anthem crap though, their singing was dire.

I've been impressed by some of what I've seen of the MLS but they need to up the quality now, they need players like Beckham, Henry etc in their prime, not the end of their careers.

The national anthem singing wasn't that great, but it was impressive in that it was so different - usually they wheel out one person to do it and it's not as..emotive. I thought it was good that they got the whole crowd singing it. To be fair it doesn't come across that well in the video. A lot of the supporters clubs do various 'tifos' - crowd displays using banners and cards etc, and they are pretty good too. Seattle did a good one against Portland.

http://wvhooligan.com/2011/05/15/seattl ... sive-tifo/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WRT quality - It depends on what you want from it. I mean, it's not La Liga or Prem quality, but it's not dire as people make it out to be. It's just....so much fun, even if the football itself isn't always that great. (and at the moment, I'd put it at about Championship level). That said, some games are top quality - the NY/LA game a few backs was honestly one of the most exciting games I've seen for years, even if it only ended 1-1.

I'd far rather watch a competitive league with genuine fans and approachable players than a 'good' league with soulless arenas and ivory-tower-living players.

[Jerry]

That's what we've been missing at Plainmoor: a bloke with a chainsaw chopping up a giant log!

The problem with US "soccer", and indeed all American sports, is the "closed shop" nature of it. In your experience do they understand the concept of promotion and relegation and would they consider implementing it?

[happytorq]

That's what we've been missing at Plainmoor: a bloke with a chainsaw chopping up a giant log!

The problem with US "soccer", and indeed all American sports, is the "closed shop" nature of it. In your experience do they understand the concept of promotion and relegation and would they consider implementing it?

Timber Joey is a Portland celebrity (seriously, he has players asking for pictures with him). Every time Portland scores, he takes the chainsaw to the log and it gets passed around the crowd and later, presented to the goalscorer. I, for one, think this is awesome.

MLS being a 'closed shop' is interesting. I actually don't think it is necessarily a bad thing - the culture is very different to in Europe, and you have to remember that each club has paid $40M (at least - it's expected the Cosmos will be asked for $100M) for the right to play in MLS. Not having relegation is vital, then, because why would you spend that cash when there's a chance you could play in division 2.

Then, the structure of football outside MLS is always changing - because it doesn't have the financial support there are various leagues claiming to be the second division. Also, the simple fact that the country is so huge works against them - taking at least 25 people from California to the East coast would cost a fortune, and that's something clubs simply can't afford to do. Can you imagine if Torquay had to fly to Prague 5 or 6 times a season to play? We'd go skint in months.

There are quite a few people who fervently believe that promotion and relegation is important but to be honest, I don't think it'll ever happen; nor do I think it needs to. Eventually I can see MLS expanding to at least 24 clubs, and the play-off system (which I seriously doubt will ever disappear) gives them the end of season party that American sports need to have. It's all very well saying that "it should be a single table and the team with the most points wins" but that's not what Americans are used to, and it wouldn't work. It also makes it unlikely that a single team is going to dominate in the way that Man U or Barcelona can do - another plus for me.

MLS is slightly different to most of the sports here; it's not like NFL or NHL where they are the only league worth playing in. If players want more money, they can just move to Europe (assuming any team in Europe wants them). There is a pretty small salary cap which is designed to make sure that clubs aren't putting themselves in financial danger. The cap is only $2.675M this year, which explains why some players are on $25k a year! (the 'star' players are called designated players and only about $335k of their salary is included in the salary cap - the rest has to get paid by the club itself. I think it's fairly obvious that the cap needs to be improved, and it will - it goes up every year and actually they've been pretty smart by not overextending too soon. This is only the 16th season, after all.

(I realise I've gone on, but I'm a fan.)

Not everything is perfect - I don't like that MLS teams cram friendlies against European teams in the middle of the season and I think it's poor that MLS carries on during the World Cup and Gold Cup (CONCACAF's continental championship, which happens every two years) - it can mean that the better teams lose have their team at a critical time. But the game here is growing, and despite some of the (valid) criticism levelled at it, I think they've given themselves a platform to ensure that the league lasts a hundred years.

They've already drawn level with NASL (of Cosmos 'fame') - that league ran from 1968-1984 - and they've done that by making efforts not to repeat the mistakes that league made.

Chris.