MLS/American Soccer thread

Discussion in 'General Football & Other Sport' started by sonofben, Mar 2, 2015.

  1. sonofben

    sonofben Reservist

    Since the old thread has been locked down, and quite a few years old, I figured a new thread was in order, as well as a name change, as there may be no MLS to discuss this season.
     
  2. PowerJugs

    PowerJugs Doyley Fanatic

    So there's no agreement between clubs and organisation then?
     
  3. Hornets4life

    Hornets4life First Year Pro

    There must be some agreement as sky have got the rights to show MLS games. They announced the other day.
     
  4. hornmeister

    hornmeister Tired

    It's goign to be the Sky World Sotcher Series. Matches that are drawn at full time will get an extra 5 minutes multiball.
     
  5. Pozzo Out

    Pozzo Out Squad Player

    I heard this will be worth an extra point, can you confirm?
     
  6. hornmeister

    hornmeister Tired

    It's put to a public vote by text message costing $5 plus standard network rate.
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2015
  7. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    STRIKE AVERTED!
    I know you were all on tenterhooks over it.

    "Here’s a look at some of the key factors in the deal which have leaked out so far…

    Length: The new CBA is a five-year deal, which is what the players wanted after the league dug their heels in for a seven-year deal.
    Minimum salary: The new minimum salary in the league is up from $36,500 to $60,000, which is one of the main areas MLSPU wanted to improve. They got that done.
    Free agency: Ah, this was the main sticking point as the players had to settle for a form of restricted free agancy many would see as being a league win. Only players aged over 28 and have given MLS eight-years service would be able to select which club they move to next. It’s a start, but certainly not what players were hoping for.
    Salary cap: There is a 15 percent increase in the salary cap, which although seems modest, it wasn’t one of the sticking points as the Designated Player rule continues to have added importance around the league.
    So, who are the winners? Many would argue that the league got a better deal here, but it is worth noting that a strike from the players was very likely as little as 12 hours before the deal was signed."
     
  8. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Wins for the players are:
    1) some form of free agency, so the genie is out of the bottle
    2) short duration of agreement, just 5 years
    3) 64% increase in minmum salary

    Wins for the owners:
    1) very weak form of free agency
    2) league play begins on time tomorrow night
    3) minimal financial concessions for now

    It is very interesting to see which owners were the hardliners and which wanted to make the pie bigger for the players. FC Dallas owner and NFL/MLS backbone the Hunt Family were the biggest regressives. Someone wanting to grow the league faster could simply buy out the Hunts and -bam- roadblock moved.
     
  9. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    I think you are getting your Euro X Factor confused with the beautiful game. ;)
     
  10. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Also, 15% increase in the salary cap. It will he interesting tomsee how much of that is gobbled up by minimum salary increases...
     
  11. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    First kick tomorrow... I'm excited to get back to live footy!
     
  12. LinsladeOrn

    LinsladeOrn First Year Pro

    How does the cap work in the MLS - is it the same as the NFL?

    As ever, hoping Toronno can make some waves this year, been very impressed with the signing and performaces of Giovinco.
     
  13. hornmeister

    hornmeister Tired

    Fitz, how does all these contracted to club stuff an allocations work in the US. Surely you are the land of the free and should be able to work for anyone? In essecence negotiating your own contracts.

    It's ceertainly differenct tot he rest of the world and may cause headaches on the international transfer market.
     
  14. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Ah yes... you see, soccer is a commie country sport, so Americans shouldn't be surprised to see the free market abridged in MLS.

    I kid of course, but basically, American market style exonomics are suspended within the league, yet the league as a whole operates as a single rich european team would. You got your Man City, your Chelsea, your Barcelona, and your MLS. A single entity acting as a unit to obtain and sell players. That's about as broad a stroke as I can give it without getting into the weeds.

    The criticisms of both supporters and detractors of the league center around the lack of choice both players and teams have. The Galaxy, for example, have been very smart playing the salary cap and allocation system, but despite their smarts, they still get screwed occasionally. Last year, Galaxy had their sights on Sacha Klejstan, occasional USA player and currently in Belgium or somesuch. They moved a couple of useful young players to clear space for him, but the League tried tomshift him elsewhere, essentially interfering in the trade (transfer), causing Kljestan to tell the league to shove it. Galaxy LOST those promising players, and got nothing in return. I was angry. It all worked out, but we see the risible Leonardo too often in center back rather than the bright young African kid who had looked to displace him. The players had little control over their fate, the teams all got screwed, except whoever got Kofi, and the league has no one to be accountable to over it.

    Even if the league does things 80% correct, that leaves a lot of crappy transactions. In the Championship, you get those transactions too, but you laugh at the team that does them, and the man behind them gets the axe.

    That is the legacy of the financial wreckage of the NASL collapsing in the 80's... I'll take what I can get when it comes to local soccer, but then again...I get to see the 5 time and defending champ each week.

    Linsladeorn, I don't really know how the NFL salary cap works. Not in any detail, at any rate. MLS' cap is flat, but full of exceptions like crazy. Homegrown players are exempt. The three designated player contracts count for $300-50k each, but teams (not league) can pay any amount theynwant over that, but just for those three players. A program called Generation Adidas has a limit on salary hit (related to direct player investment/sponsorship), and probably some other loopholes I haven't got the mind power to keep track of.
     
  15. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Week one is in the books and Jozy Altidore scored twice for Toronto. This Whitecaps fan seems to only be able to count to one though.
    [​IMG]


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  16. Timbers

    Timbers Apeman

    To let Jozy score against you once is bad, but twice, crikey! A Long season methinks for the 'caps.
     
  17. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Giovinco man, Giovinco


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  18. LinsladeOrn

    LinsladeOrn First Year Pro

    That seems about right re: the cap. During the Draft wasn't there talk of winding down the GA programme due to the tiny number of players eligible in the draft? (I may be mis-remembering). I think there was also dissenting talk of removing the whole Draft too, I found that idea interesting. When it was announced Arie had returned to the States to play for Penn, surely he must have one-eye on the draft? (Although not many keepers get picked).
     
  19. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    To be honest, the player acquisition rules are so arcane, i barely follow drafts. I get interested in re-entry drafts (of established players) and the transfer of established players from outside of MLS into the league, because I prefer the players to do some work before i take note of them. I do pay attention to the specific players the Galaxy draft though.
     
  20. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    San Jose hasn't won a game since August 2014...
    Down 1-0 up in Seattle after a goal by Clint Dempsey in the first minute, they take a red card and go down to 10 men in front of a crowd of 40,000.

    Final result:
    Seattle 2-3 San Jose

    I'm no Quakes fan, but that is a thing of beauty right there.
     
  21. sonofben

    sonofben Reservist

    2 games in 2 terrible refs wooooo!
     
  22. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

  23. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    This kind of stuff cracks me up... So corny
     
  24. LinsladeOrn

    LinsladeOrn First Year Pro

    It's pretty terrible - but just remember at least you aren't a fan of a team which has a man cut a bit off a tree when a goal is done.

    Worst thing in world soccer right there. #Cringe
     
  25. hornmeister

    hornmeister Tired

    I actually quite like it. Anyone let Lucas know he's being ripped off?
     
  26. sonofben

    sonofben Reservist

    How dare you talk about Joey Timber in that way. He is a national treasure.
     
  27. LinsladeOrn

    LinsladeOrn First Year Pro

    That notwithstanding, it's a pretty cringey thing.
     
  28. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    At JeldWen or whatever they call their stadium there in Portland, the chainsaw man walks the slice around the stadium and over towards the away fan section. It is really hard not to run over and sock him in the mouth.
     
  29. Hornets4life

    Hornets4life First Year Pro

    From the games i have watched so far on sky sports the standard is awful. I dont know if its because its the first few games and players arent at their best yet. The crowds all seem very enthusiastic which is good to hear but from a football point of view its like womens football just no quality.
     
  30. luke_golden

    luke_golden Space Cadet

    Standard is pretty low and tends to be played at a slow pace, but it's getting better. Once I stopped trying to compare it to European leagues, I found it much easier to enjoy. I imagine within the next 10 years, the standard will continue to grow as more and more players from Europe see it as a viable career move earlier in their playing career.

    Fitzy can no doubt defend the league more astutely than me.
     
  31. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    There is nothing to defend. The league is salary capped to stay fiscally responsible, so unlike nearly every other league in the world, teams aren't able to destroy the league to win silverware. That being said, I don't feel a need to defend it from people who will only watch it one time and move on. Why bother? If it isn't your thing, it isn't my problem, right?
     
  32. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    In fact, I would put the shoe on the other foot. I find Premier League unwatchable. Here, soccer fans have choices about what leagues to watch because our tv sports broadcast market is so strong, and those choices say a lot about you.

    Most fans everywhere, not just England or America, have no idea how much money is spent for their entertainment on Saturday at the park. Like Gladiator games in ancient Rome, as long as there is blood, who cares how it got there? In England, everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it. Like how business is ruining the sport, how tickets are outrageous, how privileged the players are and they make too much money, how the real fans are being left behind...but no one does a thing about it. They keep eating it up...

    You gotta ask what you're getting for your 5x salary, your 50x salary in England compared to MLS? How are English teams doing developing talent for England? How are those English teams faring in Europe? Everton has a fair few solid English players, but Kiev pilloried them yesterday. I don't even know if there are any English teams at all playing in Europa or Champions League at this point. Are there? Yet how much was spent to get there? Not to salt the wounds, but MLS trained players finished over England in 2010 and 2014 World Cups, too. What are you getting for your money? Fans of English professional football tend to disconnect England and English football and say 'I don't care about England...club over country' but...that is just silly. The one leads to the other. The failure of England on the world stage is the failure of English Football Association. The game is sick...broken...in England.

    I forget where the post was (maybe the old thread?) but I recall reading somewhere that since 2008, one single Premier League team on their own spent more in transfer fees than the entire cumulative history of MLS Salaries all time...-ALL TIME-...going back to 1996. And how many teams in Europe operate under finances that would get a typical CEO in any company worldwide fired? Most European leagues are miles behind with regard to financial management, miles behind where MLS has to be to make it in the crowded sports market of the USA, because they have to be sharper to survive here.

    There are four teams, maybe six, that dominate the game in the premier league and that dominance is nearly completely based on an imbalance of finances. I find that laughable and consequently, I find Premier League completely silly, and a near total waste of time. The only thing worse is Spanish top flight and Champions League.

    To me, much of European football is like porn. The actors may do these fascinating things, but inside you know they are sad broken people with horrifyingly dark secrets and no future except more of the same.
     
  33. luke_golden

    luke_golden Space Cadet

    Galaxy playing a real dirty game tonight. Barnes is the best player on the field and has been the victim of a ludicrous number of fouls.
     
  34. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    You may be a little biased.
     
  35. sonofben

    sonofben Reservist

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