MLS 2012

Lets discuss Major League Soccer here for us in North America!

I'm glad to say that Montreal has finally been accepted into the league. Looking forward to March 10th!

Just bought tickets for Impact vs LA Galaxy.

Preds and discussion!

LOL sorry but this league is a retirement home. Adapt the league to the modern game or fuck off. Play-offs? west,east? what the fuck is this??

  On 2/19/2012 at 7:13 PM, YO303 said:

LOL sorry but this league is a retirement home. Adapt the league to the modern game or fuck off. Play-offs? west,east? what the fuck is this??

Take it easy, Grant Holt.

lol we won't see a domestic player of the quality of Holt in the MLS anytime soon. That lad scores goals with his eyes closed.

  On 2/19/2012 at 7:13 PM, YO303 said:

LOL sorry but this league is a retirement home. Adapt the league to the modern game or fuck off. Play-offs? west,east? what the fuck is this??

Who the fuck are you?

Been watching football religiously since age 4. I also go to a lot of football games around England and Europe and was there when Norwich beat Bayern back in the 90's

  On 2/20/2012 at 2:42 AM, YO303 said:

Been watching football religiously since age 4. I also go to a lot of football games around England and Europe and was there when Norwich beat Bayern back in the 90's

and collectively, England's psyche was healed just a little bit more. lol

  On 2/20/2012 at 2:42 AM, YO303 said:

Been watching football religiously since age 4. I also go to a lot of football games around England and Europe and was there when Norwich beat Bayern back in the 90's

I'm from Norwich... hell my whole family still lives there, well my grandparents and a dodgy uncle.

  On 2/20/2012 at 2:42 AM, YO303 said:

Been watching football religiously since age 4. I also go to a lot of football games around England and Europe and was there when Norwich beat Bayern back in the 90's

If only going to games made you an authority on all football matters, eh? I was at England vs Germany in 1996, give me a management job.

  On 2/19/2012 at 7:13 PM, YO303 said:

LOL sorry but this league is a retirement home. Adapt the league to the modern game or fuck off. Play-offs? west,east? what the fuck is this??

This is just not true. The MLS has special squad registration rules which greatly limit the amount of foreign players (some 3 or 4 per team, I think), and promotes the inclusion of young American players. There's a flat salary cap for the entire league, and each team is allowed only one designated player contract to which salary limitation rules don't apply - this is where some teams take the opportunity to sign an experienced European player to help develop the young players, which makes sense. Only one "retired" player per team hardly makes the whole league a retirement home.

Also, you should be aware that their draft system is designed in such a way that the worst off teams get the best youth talent in the following season, thus making the league a lot more balanced and unpredictable. Teams normally trade players for draft picks instead of lump sums. That and the salary cap rules make the MLS all about smart management decisions, and less about throwing big money at the squad to win titles.

lol the MLS is a mickey mouse league. I might go and watch some Whitecaps matches though - we just signed Lee Young Pyo (played with Spurs)...and it's always worthwhile when Henry comes through town.

  On 2/21/2012 at 11:13 AM, kokeboka said:

  On 2/19/2012 at 7:13 PM, YO303 said:

LOL sorry but this league is a retirement home. Adapt the league to the modern game or fuck off. Play-offs? west,east? what the fuck is this??

 

This is just not true. The MLS has special squad registration rules which greatly limit the amount of foreign players (some 3 or 4 per team, I think), and promotes the inclusion of young American players. There's a flat salary cap for the entire league, and each team is allowed only one designated player contract to which salary limitation rules don't apply - this is where some teams take the opportunity to sign an experienced European player to help develop the young players, which makes sense. Only one "retired" player per team hardly makes the whole league a retirement home.

 

Also, you should be aware that their draft system is designed in such a way that the worst off teams get the best youth talent in the following season, thus making the league a lot more balanced and unpredictable. Teams normally trade players for draft picks instead of lump sums. That and the salary cap rules make the MLS all about smart management decisions, and less about throwing big money at the squad to win titles.

The model is admirable and there are undoubtedly a couple of lessons for European football. Salary caps work for smaller leagues with import problems (Scotland and Holland?), but players of Champions League quality are mostly worth their wages as crazy as they might be.

Although I do agree with almost everyone else that a sustainable and sensible league doesn't make for exciting football. I don't watch MLS because I'm not familiar with any players aside from the European imports and never hear any high-praise about their competitive cups.

Also, history. There is little more important in the world of football than history. Liverpool-United. Real-Barca. Arsenal-Tottenham. A player who wears their heart on their sleeve and has the unwavering support of their boyhood club is worth just as much as Rooney/Messi.

  On 2/21/2012 at 10:27 AM, Gary C said:

  On 2/20/2012 at 2:42 AM, YO303 said:

Been watching football religiously since age 4. I also go to a lot of football games around England and Europe and was there when Norwich beat Bayern back in the 90's

 

If only going to games made you an authority on all football matters, eh? I was at England vs Germany in 1996, give me a management job.

Those are my football credentials. He asked who the fuck i was.

Look the MLS is fine if you are Mexican and you miss going to games, but the quality of that league its just bad. Nobody is going to take you seriously when you think signing Golden Balls beckham will make the league better. Also .. no relegation\promotion?? what is that all about?

It's fair enough to say the MLS doesn't have Champions League class players, and that it still lacks the history of a Barça-Real, a United-Liverpool, or even a Fluminense-Flamengo. The only way they can get the MLS to become interesting to watch for Europeans is if it starts churning out top quality homegrown players to Europe. Obviously that would mean a bit of a culture change regarding soccer in the US, but it could happen - some US players are already very good.

My point is that their model is smart, sustainable and aimed towards building a balanced and competitive league of homegrown talent. Which is, imo, what soccer needs in the US right now. The promotion/relegation thing is a concept non-existant in American sports: there isn't any of it in the NBA, NFL or MLB either, so I take it it would only feel weird if they had it for soccer.

^ agree with all of that.

I think it would be fun to introduce relegation however. There are some things in american sports *ahem salary caps* that I do approve of that could be implemented in Europe. Although american baseball players are so hideously overpaid it's fucking depressing.

The real problem is the college system in this country. It essentially ruins any hope of our league and national team being competitive with the best in Europe. It's never mattered in gridiron, baseball or basketball because there was no other precedent to compare it too, but having american talents play the game at a subpar level while they have to "go to school" for arguably the 4 most important and formative years of a footballers life is absolutely no way create talent that mimics what the ajax or arsenal academy can do. sure the odd ibesevic and dempsey survive, but the real talents (guiseppe rossi comes to mind) were plucked from the states and carted off to italy before the college system.

What's most depressing is that it will never ever change. Given that, it's really quite amazing how far the team has come since 94. I think what's most inspiring is the amount of young homegrown americans who've become obsessed. Having an immigrant parent (my excuse) makes it easy to latch on, but to have two cheesehead parents and suddenly you're a gooner for life is an interesting and exciting development.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubDIx3669Jw

Timbers Army!!!