Footballing Hot Takes

Baxterman

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Aug 27, 2017
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You are grossly overestimating the bottom parts of those leagues. There's a reason why the top teams in say La Liga or France beat the bottom teams by cricket scores.

Jozy Altidore was an All-Star, MLS Cup MVP and a complete disaster at two bottom of the table EPL clubs.

Take a look at the MLS All-Star team and it is a who's who of guys who failed at low level European clubs and those are the best players in the league nevermind the run of the mill guys that make up most of the MLS teams and couldn't even get a sniff at those bottom of the league teams.
 

Live in the Now

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Dec 17, 2005
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Two of the best players on the best MLS team couldn't even qualify us for the World Cup. Enough said nothing else needs to be said period.
 

BKIslandersFan

F*** off
Sep 29, 2017
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Jozy Altidore was an All-Star, MLS Cup MVP and a complete disaster at two bottom of the table EPL clubs.

Take a look at the MLS All-Star team and it is a who's who of guys who failed at low level European clubs and those are the best players in the league nevermind the run of the mill guys that make up most of the MLS teams and couldn't even get a sniff at those bottom of the league teams.
Low level European clubs? I wouldn't call any Premier League/Serie A/La Liga clubs low level, regardless of their positions.
 

Baxterman

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Aug 27, 2017
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Low level European clubs? I wouldn't call any Premier League/Serie A/La Liga clubs low level, regardless of their positions.

I was referring to low level in the top leagues because that is what I was talking about earlier.

I already said that I wouldn't talk about the lower level European leagues because I didn't know about them.

The point is it isn't like MLS is made up of guys that couldn't crack Barca, RM, Bayern, City etc. they played for lower tier teams in the top European leagues and couldn't hack it at those clubs.
 

sabremike

Friend To All Giraffes
Aug 30, 2010
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Jozy Altidore was an All-Star, MLS Cup MVP and a complete disaster at two bottom of the table EPL clubs.

Take a look at the MLS All-Star team and it is a who's who of guys who failed at low level European clubs and those are the best players in the league nevermind the run of the mill guys that make up most of the MLS teams and couldn't even get a sniff at those bottom of the league teams.
He was also the leading scorer in the Dutch Eridivise, which isn't some bullshit league. And I've seen plenty of big names from Europe come over here and fail miserably (Oldfart Mattaus, Claudio Reyna and Rafa Marquez just to name a few I got to personally see).
 

Live in the Now

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He was also the leading scorer in the Dutch Eridivise, which isn't some bull**** league. And I've seen plenty of big names from Europe come over here and fail miserably (Oldfart Mattaus, Claudio Reyna and Rafa Marquez just to name a few I got to personally see).

He wasn't the leading scorer that year. Bony was and he couldn't take the step up to a good club either. Players like Finnbogason, same thing. The golden boot there doesn't mean that much.
 

Baxterman

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Aug 27, 2017
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He was also the leading scorer in the Dutch Eridivise, which isn't some bull**** league. And I've seen plenty of big names from Europe come over here and fail miserably (Oldfart Mattaus, Claudio Reyna and Rafa Marquez just to name a few I got to personally see).

That was one season in a league that is at best the 6th or 7th best in Europe (and which yer was it? I can't find a season he led the league). During his time in the EPL he struggled at two bottom half teams in Sunderland and Hull City scoring 2 goals in 60 games. He wasn't close to good enough. His move to Turkey again he wasn't close to good enough in that league either.

And this is one of the top 5-10 players in the MLS.

I am not sure listing an over the hill guy, a guy that was never good in Europe and Marquez really shows much of a positive light on the MLS.
 

BKIslandersFan

F*** off
Sep 29, 2017
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I was referring to low level in the top leagues because that is what I was talking about earlier.

I already said that I wouldn't talk about the lower level European leagues because I didn't know about them.

The point is it isn't like MLS is made up of guys that couldn't crack Barca, RM, Bayern, City etc. they played for lower tier teams in the top European leagues and couldn't hack it at those clubs.
But those leagues are elite of the elite leagues... And MLS is only 22 years old.
 

Cassano

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Aug 31, 2013
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Jozy Altidore was an All-Star, MLS Cup MVP and a complete disaster at two bottom of the table EPL clubs.

Take a look at the MLS All-Star team and it is a who's who of guys who failed at low level European clubs and those are the best players in the league nevermind the run of the mill guys that make up most of the MLS teams and couldn't even get a sniff at those bottom of the league teams.
Altidore was the worst player in the top flight of English football I've ever seen.
 

sabremike

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You are correct that he didn't lead the league as the only American player to lead a foreign league in goals was (iirc) Herculez Gomez in Liga MX. As for the Giovinco isn't any good stuff the reason he is playing in MLS is because at the time of his signing he became the highest paid Italian player wage wise in all of football. That's why he's here.
 

sabremike

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Aug 30, 2010
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TFC is the best team in the MLS, probably the best team in MLS history, and they're probably a mid to upper table club in the championship.
I'd argue our 2013 shield winning side with Henry and Cahill (when he still cared) was every bit as good if not better. Unfortunately in the playoffs we had a 3-3 aggregate with Houston and would've went through on away goals like TFC did this year. Unfortunately that didn't exist and we lost in overtime. I think this result directly led to the away goal rule being adopted the next season.
 

sabremike

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Aug 30, 2010
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Altidore was the worst player in the top flight of English football I've ever seen.
One difference: in MLS he gets calls whereas in England and Spain he didn't. Of course that doesn't explain all his failing but it does explain to a significant degree why he is much better in MLS.
 

Baxterman

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Aug 27, 2017
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But those leagues are elite of the elite leagues... And MLS is only 22 years old.

Ok but the comment was that MLS starting 11's would be competitive with most clubs in the world. In regards to posters talking about where they would finish in the Championship.

Maybe I missed understood that but I don't think that was meant to say they could hang with the top flight Armenian teams.
 

Baxterman

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One difference: in MLS he gets calls whereas in England and Spain he didn't. Of course that doesn't explain all his failing but it does explain to a significant degree why he is much better in MLS.

No it doesn't.

The one and only explanation as to why he is much better in MLS is that it is a vastly inferior league with much less talent than the EPL.
 

Cassano

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Aug 31, 2013
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One difference: in MLS he gets calls whereas in England and Spain he didn't. Of course that doesn't explain all his failing but it does explain to a significant degree why he is much better in MLS.
Doesn't get calls in Spain? Surely you jest.
 

BKIslandersFan

F*** off
Sep 29, 2017
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Ok but the comment was that MLS starting 11's would be competitive with most clubs in the world. In regards to posters talking about where they would finish in the Championship.

Maybe I missed understood that but I don't think that was meant to say they could hang with the top flight Armenian teams.
It might be right. If we take all the leagues in the world, money wise MLS would be closer to Premier League than a domestic league in Africa.
 

Deficient Mode

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Mar 25, 2011
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Some years ago they might have even been consensus top-4, but right now England, Spain, Italy and France are far ahead. Currently I would add Russia thanks to its greater depth despite lacking a Bayern, and even Portugal is pretty close. Germany has become a better version of Scotland with one dominant team and lots of complete garbage. It is telling that the German press actually celebrated Hoffenheim for being able to tie against Ludogorets Razgrad at home.

This is the take that you get when you know how bad the average German team is but you don't know that the average team in all but a pair of leagues is even worse. Russian and Portuguese leagues.... yikes.
 

Albatros

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Aug 19, 2017
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This is the take that you get when you know how bad the average German team is but you don't know that the average team in all but a pair of leagues is even worse. Russian and Portuguese leagues.... yikes.

Zenit, CSKA, Spartak, Lokomotiv and Krasnodar are all solid. In Germany there's Bayern and maybe Leipzig.
 

hatterson

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Apr 12, 2010
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The original comment was that the MLS is the top half of the championship and the bottom half of the premier league. That’s just hilariously off base.

That implies the best MLS teams are on the level of Stoke or the like. All you have to do is compare Stoke’s roster to TFCs and you see how absurd that is.

Now, if you took every single professional team in the world, sure MLS teasms are better than the majority of them, but that’s including domestic leagues in Africa, the non-popular ones in SA or Asia, the lower tiers of the big European countries etc.
 

sabremike

Friend To All Giraffes
Aug 30, 2010
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Brewster, NY
Doesn't get calls in Spain? Surely you jest.
How many times just in US matches have you seen 6 foot 6 Jozy get the ball near goal and fall down when anyone comes near him? It's like his go to move and MLS refs buy it constantly. I've said this elsewhere but it bares repeating: if you put Mike Petkie's heart in Jozy's body he'd be a starter in a major league.
 

Cassano

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Aug 31, 2013
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How many times just in US matches have you seen 6 foot 6 Jozy get the ball near goal and fall down when anyone comes near him? It's like his go to move and MLS refs buy it constantly. I've said this elsewhere but it bares repeating: if you put Mike Petkie's heart in Jozy's body he'd be a starter in a major league.
You must not have watched Didier Drogba in the EPL if you think those go uncalled. :D
 

Cassano

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Aug 31, 2013
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Another hot take: Drogba was the worst diver I've seen. Some of them were just blatantly hilarious. Still a great player though.
 
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