2010 MLS Season Thread

[K.C.]

Union vs. Sounders on ESPN2....New Union stadium (PPL Park) looks unbelievable.

[Kevin]

Tenbats might go see a union game.

So thats huge.

Go Henry and the Redbulls.

[Suspect Chin]

Someone sum up the main differences between this and the World Cup?

[Dan 'Hampton]

This is double a compared to the majors.

[K.C.]

This is double a compared to the majors.

Pretty much.

MLS has a lot of journeymen foreign players and young US players....most of the U.S. National team players got their start in MLS before moving on to European leagues.

The quality gap has closed somewhat between MLS and the upper echelon leagues, but it's still a pretty significant difference in play. Double-A to the Majors is a pretty accurate comparison.

The guy to watch in this game is Danny Mwanga on the Union...first pick in the draft last year, very young player from the Congo (although he's been in the U.S. for a few years and played at Oregon State). He has a chance to be very good.

[Suspect Chin]

Young brother runnin' by the name of 'Fred'.

[Snoogans]

Someone sum up the main differences between this and the World Cup?

again the world cup is far from the best soccer. EPL, la liga in spain, Serie A in Italy. Those are the best.

MLS is not near the quality. As was posted, its full of young americans and foreign guys who werent good enough to play in a big league in europe. Also, it will be full of guys soon who were stars in europe and went to america when they werent quite good enough for the top leagues anymore. That will end up helping the league the most

[Suspect Chin]

again the world cup is far from the best soccer. EPL, la liga in spain, Serie A in Italy. Those are the best.

MLS is not near the quality. As was posted, its full of young americans and foreign guys who werent good enough to play in a big league in europe. Also, it will be full of guys soon who were stars in europe and went to america when they werent quite good enough for the top leagues anymore. That will end up helping the league the most

Field size, number of players, most rules the same?

[Snoogans]

Field size, number of players, most rules the same?

HA. yea its all the same actually. Soccer rules are pretty universal. For awhile MLS used to stop the clock but now they just do it like the rest of the world

[Suspect Chin]

HA. yea its all the same actually. Soccer rules are pretty universal. For awhile MLS used to stop the clock but now they just do it like the rest of the world

For some reason the MLS field looked a little smaller but maybe it was just the camera angles.

Do they use any kind of goal line technology?

[Snoogans]

For some reason the MLS field looked a little smaller but maybe it was just the camera angles.

Do they use any kind of goal line technology?

no, no leagues do. In fact that whole debate, for the most part, is relatively new.

Its weird too because I watched alot of English games in the last 7 months and they dont make these kinds of mistakes. The officials at the WC have been FAR WORSE than any officials ive ever seen do league games. Maybe its nerves, maybe its not knowing the guys and how they react, but, for EPL at least, that shit doesnt happen. Not like this.

[Suspect Chin]

It's such a stupid argument that FIFA won't put institute new technology in the WC because the lower leagues/tournaments don't have it. Every other sport is in this exact same boat and no one else seems to have a problem.

[Dan G]

Field size, number of players, most rules the same?

MLS has a playoff format at the end of the season, just like every other American sport.

The rest of the world (except Mexico) has relegation. If you finish in the bottom 3 of the standings at the end of the season, you get sent down to a lower division. The 3 top teams from that lower division get promoted to take their place the following season.

[Snoogans]

It's such a stupid argument that FIFA won't put institute new technology in the WC because the lower leagues/tournaments don't have it. Every other sport is in this exact same boat and no one else seems to have a problem.

the main reason is if they do, then people will want more and more and eventually you wont have the human element. I agree, for goals they should have it, but it really should stop there. Just find competent officials. Like I said, the pro leagues seem to have fine officiating. Except for that one bald white guy in the EPL. I fuckin hate him. CALL A FOUL ASSHOLE....sorry i got off track

MLS has a playoff format at the end of the season, just like every other American sport.

The rest of the world (except Mexico) has relegation. If you finish in the bottom 3 of the standings at the end of the season, you get sent down to a lower division. The 3 top teams from that lower division get promoted to take their place the following season.

well yea, there will be alot of league stuff thats different. What i meant is the rules of the game itself is the same. Eventually we are gonna have relegation once they build up that division 2 league some. That will take time though

[Dan G]

well yea, there will be alot of league stuff thats different. What i meant is the rules of the game itself is the same. Eventually we are gonna have relegation once they build up that division 2 league some. That will take time though

It will never happen. American owners would never buy into a league with the possibility of their team being demoted. They'd lose too much revenue. I'd love for it to happen though.

I follow division 2 soccer more than I do the MLS.

[Dan 'Hampton]

MLS has a playoff format at the end of the season, just like every other American sport.

The rest of the world (except Mexico) has relegation. If you finish in the bottom 3 of the standings at the end of the season, you get sent down to a lower division. The 3 top teams from that lower division get promoted to take their place the following season.

The lower divisions in England have a playoff to see who moves up.

[Dan G]

The lower divisions in England have a playoff to see who moves up.

Only the teams fighting for 3rd place.

[Snoogans]

Only the teams fighting for 3rd place.

3rd for champ to EPL, i think 4th for the lower ones cause they do 4 teams up and down. But still its a pretty cool idea. 4 team playoff for the last spot.

relegation rules in itself. They should do that shit in baseball.

[Suspect Chin]

MLS has a playoff format at the end of the season, just like every other American sport.

The rest of the world (except Mexico) has relegation. If you finish in the bottom 3 of the standings at the end of the season, you get sent down to a lower division. The 3 top teams from that lower division get promoted to take their place the following season.

Yeah I've heard about that. Could you imagine if the Orioles and Pirates got sent down every year and two AAA teams were sent up?

I guess it wouldn't work in MLB because the farm league teams are controlled by the big league team, so all the best players are already in the majors. Apparently there is no farm league or affiliation between the big league soccer team and the lesser leagues?

[Snoogans]

Yeah I've heard about that. Could you imagine if the Orioles and Pirates got sent down every year and two AAA teams were sent up?

I guess it wouldn't work in MLB because the farm league teams are controlled by the big league team, so all the best players are already in the majors. Apparently there is no farm league or affiliation between the big league soccer team and the lesser leagues?

the thing is in England they have like 100+ pro teams with equal sized facilities. If minor league stadiums held 40K they could do it

[Dan G]

Yeah I've heard about that. Could you imagine if the Orioles and Pirates got sent down every year and two AAA teams were sent up?

I guess it wouldn't work in MLB because the farm league teams are controlled by the big league team, so all the best players are already in the majors. Apparently there is no farm league or affiliation between the big league soccer team and the lesser leagues?

Your analogy would work better if it was the NFL and the CFL (assuming both leagues followed the same rules.)

Farm teams in soccer are called reserves.

[K.C.]

again the world cup is far from the best soccer. EPL, la liga in spain, Serie A in Italy. Those are the best.

MLS is not near the quality. As was posted, its full of young americans and foreign guys who werent good enough to play in a big league in europe. Also, it will be full of guys soon who were stars in europe and went to america when they werent quite good enough for the top leagues anymore. That will end up helping the league the most

Most people say MLS is somewhere in the range between the 15th to 20th best club league in the World.

That sounds about right, I think.

It's getting better, though. The league is getting more respect because of the players they've developed that have gone on to play well in European leagues, and like you said, that will bring an influx of on the bubble type players from Europe back across.

The biggest thing, though, is developing the American stars to feed the national team. They're obviously going to get most young American players, so if we develop good youth players, it'll raise the profile of MLS.

Ideally, will it ever be as good as the top European leagues? Not likely...the contract disparity is gigantic. The entire Union payroll is like 2 million. But I think MLS can grow enough financially to the point where it's on the cusp of that Top 10 in the world status, and it's not a huge stretch to say a top MLS club team could compete with some average to good teams in those better leagues.

[NickyL0885]

Without Beckham, MLS would never have grown. Henry would not be joining NY/NJ if Becks never came over.

[Dan G]

One real bad thing about the MLS is their schedule. The rest of the world runs their season from August - May, but MLS runs from March - November. This conflict results in several MLS players having to leave their teams so they can play for their countries.

So basically the LA Galaxy are playing without their 2 main strikers (Donovan and Buddle).

[Snoogans]

but the galaxy only miss them for a couple games. Its not a huge hit and they are still a top team. Besides this is once every 4 years, i think they can deal. They couldnt play games in half their cities if they played the same times as europe and south america.

Lampard already said he is gonna come to MLS the last couple years. For those type of guys, its actually a bigger payday than what they would get in the twilight stayin in europe. Henry was being courted by west ham I think or the wolves, but they werent offering what the Red Bulls are, cause they know how much those guys will bring in.

Also i heard that EPL was interesting in investing in the MLS and sending older guys and young reserves to teams to play here. They see how much money would be in the US if soccer got bigger, and its still a great value to get in on that now. That would really make the league alot better and help US players get alot better, coaches to get better, etc.

[Dan G]

but the galaxy only miss them for a couple games. Its not a huge hit and they are still a top team. Besides this is once every 4 years, i think they can deal. They couldnt play games in half their cities if they played the same times as europe and south america.

The World Cup isn't the only time they play. The Gold Cup is a yearly tournament. There was the Confederation's Cup last season. Not to mention World Cup qualifying matches and international friendlies, which they already have one scheduled against Brazil in August.

The MLS season doesn't take a break, so Donovan has been away from his team since the end of May and probably won't return for another week or 2. That's more than a couple games he's missed.

[NickyL0885]

One real bad thing about the MLS is their schedule. The rest of the world runs their season from August - May, but MLS runs from March - November. This conflict results in several MLS players having to leave their teams so they can play for their countries.

So basically the LA Galaxy are playing without their 2 main strikers (Donovan and Buddle).

Not true. i think the Russian league runs the same time frame as MLS.

[Dan G]

Not true. i think the Russian league runs the same time frame as MLS.

I'm pretty sure Russia take a 6 week winter break. I know the German's do.

[NickyL0885]

I'm pretty sure Russia take a 6 week winter break. I know the German's do.

Either way, NO ONE is coming out to a game in say...Philly or NJ for a game in January/February. Regardless of how good the team is. Sure, people come out in snowfall for NFL games, but NFL is a bigger draw. Even though MLS is cheaper and you know it wont last forever. 2hrs compared to 3-4hrs.

[Dan G]

Either way, NO ONE is coming out to a game in say...Philly or NJ for a game in January/February. Regardless of how good the team is. Sure, people come out in snowfall for NFL games, but NFL is a bigger draw. Even though MLS is cheaper and you know it wont last forever. 2hrs compared to 3-4hrs.

Well another thing is MLS would have to fight the NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball, and the NHL for fans and TV time.

Operating throughout the summer, they're pretty much only competing against MLB.

If they did join the rest of the world's schedule, it wouldn't be a bad idea to follow Russia and Germany and take a winter break.

[KnoxHarrington]

On relegation: I can never see that coming to American sports, any American sport, for one big reason: imagine trying to line up the corporate and tax money to build a stadium if there's a chance your team will get sent down. Who's gonna pay upwards of several hundred million dollars to build what could be a minor league park?

And in practice, isn't it usually the same few teams that bounce back and forth between divisions? I mean, it seems incredibly unlikely that one of the top-line, richest teams in the EPL, like Man U or my beloved Arsenal or those Chelsea fags, will ever be in danger of relegation.

[Dan G]

On relegation: I can never see that coming to American sports, any American sport, for one big reason: imagine trying to line up the corporate and tax money to build a stadium if there's a chance your team will get sent down. Who's gonna pay upwards of several hundred million dollars to build what could be a minor league park?

And in practice, isn't it usually the same few teams that bounce back and forth between divisions? I mean, it seems incredibly unlikely that one of the top-line, richest teams in the EPL, like Man U or my beloved Arsenal or those Chelsea fags, will ever be in danger of relegation.

Very rarely do teams bounce back up. When a team gets relegated, usually the star players leave because they don't want to play in a lower division. When that happens the teams drop to even lower divisions.

Leeds United were once a top team, but they got relegated. I think they fell all the way down to league 1. They're steadily climbing back up though, I believe this coming season they're in the Championship League, which is directly below the Premier League. They did lose their top striker though.

Juventus in Serie A in Italy were relegated a few years ago as a punishment for a match fixing scandal. Their key players stuck around, so they bounced back in just 1 season.

[Suspect Chin]

Are there stipulations in star players' contracts saying that they are released from the contract if their team gets relegated?

[Dan G]

Are there stipulations in star players' contracts saying that they are released from the contract if their team gets relegated?

I doubt it, but soccer contracts seem suspect. Every year you'll hear about players wanting to leave their teams for whatever reasons. There's no free agency, so what teams will do is sell the rights to a player to other teams. That way the team gets something back for losing a player.

[Melk]

On relegation: I can never see that coming to American sports, any American sport, for one big reason: imagine trying to line up the corporate and tax money to build a stadium if there's a chance your team will get sent down. Who's gonna pay upwards of several hundred million dollars to build what could be a minor league park?
It exists in the United Soccer Leagues (though those are developmental clubs, at best). There is a persistent rumor over the past few years that one of the major athletic wear companies in the states will buy out the USL and attempt to run it against the MLS. It sounds like a sucker's bet to me, but you never know what idiotic ideas corporations come up with.

As terrible as the idea of relegation is, many foreign investors are investing in division 2 and 3 teams in Europe. For example, a Malasyian businessman is the primary owner of the Division Two Welsh side, Cardiff City. With the increased investment, they will be able to buy better players and effectively compete for promotion to the Premier League (.net psychic: Cardiff City will be in the Premier League by the 2011-2012 season).

If you can get foreign investment in some of the domestic teams, it could work. Beckham is owed his own team upon retirement from active play in the MLS, this could result in a new club (perhaps a Paul Kemsley-headed resurrected New York Cosmos).

There has been talk about the Miami Fusion franchise being resurrected as Barca Miami (A Barcelona FC-owned franchise). Apparently, one of the things that was keeping them out of the MLS was the hope of a slight change in the MLS's rules regarding designated players. The rumored goal in the Barca US business model would be to allow them to rotate their developing stars to the MLS in the Primera División off-season.

Granted, these are all rumored scenarios. But, I think the properly-motivated foreign investors can make a respectable and competitive MLS.

As a huge Chicago Fire fan and former Chicago Sting fan, I am hoping for the best out of American soccer.

[K.C.]

On relegation: I can never see that coming to American sports, any American sport, for one big reason: imagine trying to line up the corporate and tax money to build a stadium if there's a chance your team will get sent down. Who's gonna pay upwards of several hundred million dollars to build what could be a minor league park?

And in practice, isn't it usually the same few teams that bounce back and forth between divisions? I mean, it seems incredibly unlikely that one of the top-line, richest teams in the EPL, like Man U or my beloved Arsenal or those Chelsea fags, will ever be in danger of relegation.

First off, the EPL is not the model of sport...it has a ton of issues, namely the fact that there's seemingly four teams total that can compete. (Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool)

Only four teams have ever won it.

The Scottish Premier League is even worse...it literally should just be called Celtic vs. Rangers.

Now, relegation works for soccer to a point because the teams aren't as under the thumb of the league as American teams are...they're much more autonomous.

Teams can compete in tournaments, friendlies, and other leagues if invited to do so. They largely can control that, too.

In baseball, if the Phillies wanted to play an exhibition the Tokyo Giants, I'm pretty sure MLB could mandate they aren't allowed to do so.

As for MLS, it's a tough sell with the league how it is right now. If the league becomes financially profitable, and they build good fanbases, you still have to get the U.S. fans to buy into the fact that they're a fan of the team wherever they go and that the team is not just limited to the league they play in.

And in the respect, that's a very foreign concept to American sports fans...it'll take a lot of time. They need to just focus on stabilizing MLS right now.

[spoon]

Someone sum up the main differences between this and the World Cup?

The US somewhat cares about the WC when still alive. Soccer ended Saturday for four years unless Billy Staples sees his shadow in the unemployment office or JustJon posts on this site.

[spoon]

Ger Man Y!

Ger Man Y!

[NickyL0885]

Landon Donovan's return tonight on ESPN 2. Seattle Sounders vs LA Galaxy. 1030pm.

Should be a good game.

[Tenbatsuzen]

Landon Donovan's return tonight on ESPN 2. Seattle Sounders vs LA Galaxy. 1030pm.

Should be a good game.

Tough own goal for Jango Fett there towards the end.

[K.C.]

Got to see a Union game yesterday. Amazing venue. Parking is a little challenging and they seem to be working through it until they can get it better organized, but the stadium is one of the best in any sport I've been to.

[spoon]

Got to see a Union game yesterday. Amazing venue. Parking is a little challenging and they seem to be working through it until they can get it better organized, but the stadium is one of the best in any sport I've been to.

damn matt is going to so upset u saw his favorite team play and his missed chance to use terrible nicknames he read on deadspin.

[K.C.]

Union beat Celtic FC in a friendly tonight. VERY nice win...first international friendly win, too.

[cougarjake13]

how do they get these teams from europe to play these friendlies ??


imagine if one of their stars got hurt in a meaningless match


you'd never see an nfl team going overseas and playing a franchise over there if they had a american football league

[Dan G]

how do they get these teams from europe to play these friendlies ??


imagine if one of their stars got hurt in a meaningless match


you'd never see an nfl team going overseas and playing a franchise over there if they had a american football league

These are pre-season matches for European teams. While they may be meaningless as for wins/losses, they are important for the players to get fit and learn to play with new acquisitions.

Think of these matches like spring training baseball. Players don't play the entire games, just enough to stay fit and help the manager decide which players work best together, formations to use, etc...

[NickyL0885]

These are pre-season matches for European teams. While they may be meaningless as for wins/losses, they are important for the players to get fit and learn to play with new acquisitions.

Think of these matches like spring training baseball. Players don't play the entire games, just enough to stay fit and help the manager decide which players work best together, formations to use, etc...

Also, teams want to expand their brand as much as possible. So, if they can pick up a few fans by playing here, it's a job well done. This country is so big, so clubs want to capture as much of it as they can even it is only means merchandise sales.

[Snoogans]

its actually a great idea for both sides. MLS team fills the arena a few games, gets some cash, English and whoever get to spread their brands to the US. Tickets on stubhub for normal games are like 10-15 low end, for these games they are like 65 low end

[Dan G]

Also, European teams having pre-season here isn't new. Teams have been coming here since the 1970s.
They just come here for the warm climate and as mentioned before, spread their brand.

Asia and Australia are also heavily involved with pre-season. Typically teams will rotate each season and play in a different country to establish a fan base.

[K.C.]

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[K.C.]

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Le Toux is quickly becoming one of the best players in MLS. He's definitely going to be one of the player or coaches picks to be on the All-Star team, and he seems to get better every game.

Wonder if he's going to start getting a little international recognition, especially with the French team in pretty much complete disarray right now.

...Although, he's said before that he'd play for the US team if they ever offered him a shot...he's pretty much an expat here at this point.

[K.C.]

Union vs. Manchester United at Lincoln Financial Field tonight...match is on ESPN2.

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[Dan G]

This thread failed to hold any interest.

Right now the 2010 MLS Championship is on ESPN.

Colorado Rapids vs. FC Dallas, live from BMO Field in Toronto.

[cougarjake13]

This thread failed to hold any interest.

Right now the 2010 MLS Championship is on ESPN.

Colorado Rapids vs. FC Dallas, live from BMO Field in Toronto.



heard something about a fluke goal