MLS/American Soccer thread

Sweet...I was wondering how he was doing. I guess that answers that. I saw Union snatched defeat from the jaws of victory last week.

I have a feeling this Galaxy v Sounders match is going to be ugly for us Galaxy fans. The team seems like it is cryogenic sleep waiting for Gerrard to arrive. I'm not happy about it all.

 

I had forgotten the MLS was a thing untill the CCL game last night. Rought game

 

Do any of you seasoned MLSers have any websites which list the home attendance for each game? All I can seem to find elsewhere is the highest, lowest and average attendance of each team.

Yankee stadium just does not work for soccer. It looks like a building site.

 

There is a really detailed and frankly boring series of threads on bigsoccer.com that goes into excruciating detail about attendance in MLS over the years.

 

Cheers Fitz, hopefully just what I'm after!

 

Really enjoying covering the league for The Footy Diary even if my chosen team (Toronto) are mid-table in their conference.

 

http://www.lagalaxy.com/news/2015/0...clocking-miles-exhausting-start-2015-campaign

Galaxy have traveled 38,367 miles so far in 2015. Probably comparable to other MLS teams. Gerrard thinks he will be resting here and spending a lot of time with his family...hope he can sleep on a plane.

 

Keane has been out with a difficult to heal groin injury. Or has he..? Rumor has it the contract Gerrard is getting has made Robbie Keane jealous and so he isn't playing to show how he feels... Either way, it seems like the whole team is dithering waiting for the mid July arrival of 35% of the team's wage packet in Stevie G. The whole thing ticks me off

 

A win a win!

 

Fitz, (or Sonofben, but I presume Fitz will know more due to location) what is the deal with LAFC? Do they realistically have a better chance of getting people into games than Chivas managed?

Also, insert contrived joke about Vincent Tan, team that does not yet exist and messing with its history.

 

Yes, more will go to LAFC (or whatever they end up being called) than Chivas. Here is why.
1) They aren't Chivas.
Chivas are from Guadalajara, so Chivas USA was supposed to excite the 30% of latinos in LA whose heritage is Guadalajaran Mexican. They were wrong. Guadalajarans thought Chivas USA was a joke and ignored them. Of course every non-Guadalajaran hated them because they had Chivas in the name.
2) They aren't owned by the Chivas ownership.
The Chivas owners made some of the most non-sensical business decisions I've ever seen in sports. They over spent on meaningless things, made deep commitments to unproductive concepts, and ignored basic business principles. The LAFC ownership couldn't possibly be that incompetent... They will come up with an appropriate marketing campaign suitable for Los Angeles and make a real go of what the Galaxy have left on the table.
3) They will have a true downtown stadium of their own, in theory.
It must be built first, but it seems like they are serious about constructing a downtown stadium which is accessible by the growing rail system here in LA. For many, it will be very easy and cheap to get to. Example: if you live in Culver City, you take a 10 minute train ride for $3, walk 5 minutes and you're there. $3 later, you're home again. To enjoy a Galaxy game in Carson, the same Culver City resident will drive 45 minutes in traffic, pay $15 to park, then have to fight traffic to get home after the game. Many many more people will have access to the stadium more easily than they do for Carson.

The big question is will the other team attract their own fans or constantly live in the shadow of five time champions LA Galaxy? I doubt many current Galaxy fans swap allegiance, though there will be some.

 

I'm sure Tan will provide some fun moments for LAFC haters...looking forward to those.

 

Cheers Fitz, I have to say the whole "Chivas USA" thing was more than a little corny. Notwithstanding it being deliberately exclusive I guess.

I would imagine that the new team will be in the shadow of the Galaxy for more than a little while - although I thought the same about NYC, and their attendances (I know not the best measure of success, particularly with how they are decided) haven't been too bad so far.

Speaking of organisations, who on earth at Orlando SC decided to build only an 18000 seat stadium?! That is going to look ridiculous if they carry on at the same level.

 

Florida is a notoriously poor pro sports market. 18k seemed overly optimistic to me when I heard it. Marlins and Rays baseball have terrible attendance generally, and with the exception of the LeBron James and classic Shaq years, the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic have had poor attendance as well. College sports are so huge there, there really doesn't seem to be room for an upstart sport like soccer. Keep in mind that the previous MLS clubs in Florida, Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny, both went bankrupt within three years. It is still a pretty big risk but Orlando seems to be succeeding. I have very low expectations of success for a Miami-based David Beckham owned team.

 

Miami will never, ever work. They just don't really support sports teams. Taking into account all of what you said is why I'm surprised by Orlando. I don't think anyone envisaged 18000 being too small, but it looks like it may just be in the long run. There has to be a happy medium between the Citrus Bowl and the stadium they are building.

It will also be interesting to see if the new Atlanta team will be supported in the long run when it gets going, another town which seems to take or leave its sports.

 

My theory is to sustain soccer in Florida, you need a team in Orlando AND a team to act as a local rival in Tampa. Fans could drive the what? 90-120 minutes between towns for away games and support the atmosphere at one another's stadiums. Miami is too far to fill that role, if it ever happens. However, it looks like Orlando is doing fine on its own, if they can sustain it...

 

What will happen if Beckham and his fellow investors are unable to find an area within Miami to build the stadium? Will they rip up their plans and find another city?

Also, quite ironic that Lebron James is one of the investors and a mate of Beckham's, yet he's left Miami himself and gone back to Cleveland!

Perhaps Beckham will look at a city like Las Vegas, who recently lost out on the opportunity to play in the MLS.

 

I'm sure there are places you could plonk a stadium in Miami, but they aren't the beautiful seaside picturesque location Beck's sees himself in. This is all about David Beckham. That's why it has to be Miami. Even though everyone knows Miami is one of the worst sports markets in America.

I don't know if MLS Commissioner Don Garber cares if it is Miami specifically, but more likely he wants the franchise to be in one of a very small number of markets including Miami. So if it isn't Miami, I don't think the league will lose much sleep. I think it is more Beckham's dream that is coming crashing down...

Incidentally, the only city Beckham is prohibited from owning a team in is Los Angeles. Personally, it would be great to have a team in Las Vegas. Greatest away game trip ever!!!

 

If I were the commissioner, I would put a full stop to the Miami debacle and insist that Beckham can buy into (but maybe not a controlling stake in) either: Charleston Battery, Richmond Kickers or Sacramento Republic with a view to giving at least one of those three an expansion slot before 2020.

Trying to force sports on the sun-drenched residents of Miami is doomed to fail.

 

That has always been the problem with Beckham. He, or his svengalis at 19 Entertainment, think they can do anything they want because the world is dying for more brand Beckham. They destroyed the Galaxy for two seasons with that thinking before the real owners of the Galaxy, AEG, muscled 19 out of the picture and Beckham became just a regular player again.

A point on ownership: The process of awarding a team to a city (other than the odd NYCFC, LAFC and Chivas decisions) is usually an exhausting and deep vetting. Though some of those locations could use financial help, I doubt any of them want the Beckham circus part of the equation. Some of those teams may well welcome his financial involvement, but some would probably not want it. The current owners of the club don't have to sell interest because Garber says so... If they gave Beckham an expansion franchise in a city that already has a well supported USL/NASL club like Richmond or Sacramento, the local supporters would likely turn on the MLS club. That is one reason why Miami is good for Beckham: no competition to get in the way.

 

http://www.nasl.com/news/2015/05/20/miami-fc-becomes-12th-nasl-club

No competition you say?

 

Yeah but...where will they play? And who will go watch them? And will anyone ever know if anyone does watch them? Show me some fans and then I'll agree.

 

2 in a Row! Watch out here come the Union. Just kidding NYRB played like crap.

 

Starting a basic FIFA 15 MLS Career, following as close as I can the rules for the league. I actually really like the logic behind the MLS in that clubs appear a lot more fiscally responsible with a maximum salary of up to $18,750 ignoring DP's (2 Max, 3rd at cost of one off $150,000) So far I understand a max of 30 first team players are permitted, 8 of which can be internationals and the rest domestics or 'homegrown' and a maximum of 2 signings per window, homegrown (ie: Academy) excluded.

Replicating a pool of players available isn't possible.

 

The system has a lot of logic to it, it's just very complicated to explain, isn't it? The actual MLS system is even more intricate, but still makes sense if you can see the forest for the trees.

 

If you want a full taste of MLS try playing as a club in Football Manager. I even struggle with the rules

 

I heard USA wasn't a footballing country. Hmm
[video=youtube;ofZ0Ueocl7I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofZ0Ueocl7I[/video]

 

Great week. Men's wins over Germany and Netherlands. U20 in the round of 16. U23 beat england. Women's won first game

 

Pirlo to NYCFC... must be nice to have money, and be a desirable city to live in...

 

Yeah... I'm not jealous of many euro players coming over to MLS but...goddammit I wanted Pirlo

 

Galaxy last three games were wins of 6-1, 5-1 and 5-0. What the hell is going on!?
Ben, as our English friends might say, I was "chuffed" to see the Union turn it all around on the Sounders tonight. Well done!

 

Weird... Jordan Stewart is playing for San Jose Earthquakes.

 

I always like JS Fitz, is he playing well?

 

Except for this match vs the Galaxy, I hadn't ever noticed him. His team won, and he had a cheeky strike that was hit well, but blocked by a defender. I'll have to pay attention to him going forward.

 

San Jose loves a former Watford player, they trialed Garath Williams back in the day.