OT: Gooooooal!! The Association Football Thread #124 - USMNT, PL, MLS, etc.

[BenedictGomez]

hes just creepy,

Yes, that's it. He just creeps you out somehow.

 

[NJDevs26]

Don't kid yourself: being the most powerful man in American soccer means getting paid in other ways.

Considering it's FIFA involved, almost certainly - but then you just attract the corrupt corporate ***holes in addition to the buffoons.

 

[Devils Dominion]

do the Red Bulls have flex pricing too?
I heard they got a very light crowd yesterday.

Was thinking they over price some games like the Devils did vs Wash?

 

[Satans Hockey]

do the Red Bulls have flex pricing too?
I heard they got a very light crowd yesterday.

Was thinking they over price some games like the Devils did vs Wash?

No they don't, crowd was actually pretty good though, not a sellout but definitely pretty filled.

 

[njdevil26]

I would say there were 21k out of 25k in the building yesterday. Good crowd.

One of the worst things about MLS is their scheduling. Games should be primarily Friday and Saturday nights. Why they insist on competing with the NFL I will never know. Their playoff scheduling is ridiculous too. The knockout round is on a Tues/Weds. Away fans can't travel. If we make it to the next round, we'd play Toronto. Home match is a Tues/Weds so Toronto fans can't travel.... the Toronto leg would be on Sunday Nov 5 which makes it hard for our fans to go up there. Games should be on SATURDAYS. The MLS is a slave to their TV partners.

 

[Devils Dominion]

No they don't, crowd was actually pretty good though, not a sellout but definitely pretty filled.

Friend went and said a few totally empty sections and spotty center lower which sounded odd for the last home game of the season.

So, second hand source but something kept at least 5k away.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Friend went and said a few totally empty sections and spotty center lower which sounded odd for the last home game of the season.

So, second hand source but something kept at least 5k away.

The games are never sold out, just like the Devils really, usually a solid crowd though but it is what it is. There's a whole ton of issues when it comes to attendance around here for soccer. A major factor in our area is that there are tons of fans of the sport of soccer who look down on the MLS and would rather watch *insert foreign team* on tv instead of going to support their local team.

 

[Burner Account]

The games are never sold out, just like the Devils really, usually a solid crowd though but it is what it is. There's a whole ton of issues when it comes to attendance around here for soccer. A major factor in our area is that there are tons of fans of the sport of soccer who look down on the MLS and would rather watch *insert foreign team* on tv instead of going to support their local team.

I am one of those people.

 

[Satans Hockey]

I am one of those people.

Well thanks for helping prove my point lol I don't care who you follow but your local league will only get better with your support.

 

[sabremike]

There was a big crowd yesterday, but a ton of it was comps. There were people outside from groups with stacks of tickets just handing them out to people.

 

[NJDevs26]

I personally don't follow either all that much but if I followed one or the other (domestic or foreign) it'd be the Red Bulls. I can't really find a rationale to follow a team overseas, even in this age of internet making everything accessible and video games making it more interactive it's just not the same to me if you can't really GO to a 'home' arena to watch your team and have to read British or whatever papers for coverage.

Not that the Red Bulls get all that much coverage themselves, I see more coverage of them here than on any of the local networks and that's a big problem

 

[Burner Account]

Well thanks for helping prove my point lol I don't care who you follow but your local league will only get better with your support.

I just have no desire to watch MLS at its current quality.

I also don't want to support a league that encourages American players to abandon higher quality competitions overseas for easy paydays. It's bad for the national team.

 

[IcedMaidenDeth]

Other than maybe Donovan, I feel like most of the American players coming back home for easy paydays were already on the downswing of their career anyway.

In the long run though, I do agree with MLS that we need to grow our domestic league too if we want to be better internationally and I feel that the World Cup heroes returning did positively impact MLS, though I have no numbers to back that up.

 

[BenedictGomez]

I just took an online "sports" survey, which about 60% in you learn turned out to be funded my NYC FC, so they're spending some marketing dollars trying to understand the regional sports fan.

 

[NJDevs26]

I just have no desire to watch MLS at its current quality.

I also don't want to support a league that encourages American players to abandon higher quality competitions overseas for easy paydays. It's bad for the national team.

Is the EPL responsible for helping England's national team or running it's own business? Is the Bundisliga's first responsibility to help the German national team or promote its own league? I don't understand why the onus should be on MLS for telling American players they shouldn't play in their league for the greater good of the national team? They should aim to build a product good enough where players don't have to leave to learn how to play at a world-class level.

 

[Burner Account]

Is the EPL responsible for helping England's national team or running it's own business? Is the Bundisliga's first responsibility to help the German national team or promote its own league? I don't understand why the onus should be on MLS for telling American players they shouldn't play in their league for the greater good of the national team? They should aim to build a product good enough where players don't have to leave to learn how to play at a world-class level.

The EPL and Bundesliga are businesses and have to put their own interests first, but they're also both top-three leagues in the world and don't have that dilemma because they've reached the point you mention at the end of your post.

The MLS is doing what is in its own best interest, as any sports league does. But I think it's pretty clear that in terms of immediate growth, what's best for the MLS and the USMNT are conflicting.

Do you honestly see a point in time where MLS will attract the best talent? That it will somehow supplant the reigning leagues and clubs as leading global institutions in this sport?

 

[NJDevils7]

I just took an online "sports" survey, which about 60% in you learn turned out to be funded my NYC FC, so they're spending some marketing dollars trying to understand the regional sports fan.

What sort of questions were asked if you remember

 

[BenedictGomez]

What sort of questions were asked if you remember

Which sports do I watch (outside of soccer).
What sports do I actively participate/play in.
Which soccer leagues / INT events do I watch on TV.
How many soccer, NFL, MLB, NHL, other XYZ league games do I go to per year per each.
How many soccer, NFL, MLB, NHL, other XYZ league games do I watch on TV per year per each.
How much do you like soccer in general.
How many MLS teams can I name without looking.
What do I think of the quality of play of MLS.
How do you rate MLS quality versus La Liga, EPL (and 2 or 3 other leagues)
Have you been to a NYC FC game yet?
Why not? (pick from list of reasons)
Does the fact NYC FC plays in Yankees Stadium make me more/less likely to go there.
Does NYC FC various activities (things like charity and social work) make me have a better opinion of them or no.

Probably 10 or 12 other questions I'm not remembering, and the usual demo questions: race, age, sex, location, married, kids, income etc...

 

[njdevil26]

Anyone hear the news overnight? The owner of the Columbus Crew is moving the team to Austin Texas for the 2019 season if they don't get a downtown brand new stadium in Columbus.

Normally owners just do this as a negotiation tactic to get money from the public... but this guy has been in talks with Austin for over a year in private and are close to having a deal to play games at a local college while the stadium is getting built.

The mayor of Columbus says that the Crew owner has not been fully engaged in talks and it seems like he doesn't want to stay there anyway.

This guy is what is wrong with American sports.

 

[Satans Hockey]

I don't like the crew or their fans enough to be outraged over this. They had a winning season this year and are in the playoffs and could possibly finish 2nd in the conference and they have been drawing under 10k for a lot of their games, maybe the fans should have showed up.

 

[BenedictGomez]

This guy is what is wrong with American sports.

Maybe just MLS. I dont know of any other league where an owner could just, "See YA peeps, I'm OUT!" and leave tomorrow.

That said, Austin is one of the fastest growing towns in America, and people there have disposable income. Jobs are booming, taxes are low, and given the demo, I bet it's "soccer mom heaven".

 

[sabremike]

I don't like the crew or their fans enough to be outraged over this. They had a winning season this year and are in the playoffs and could possibly finish 2nd in the conference and they have been drawing under 10k for a lot of their games, maybe the fans should have showed up.

The owner bought the team with the intention to move them, therefore he has run them with no intention of building anything. In fact, he has been doing stuff to alienate people (most notably putting the team's games on a network most of the area doesn't get). The guy is a complete bag of filth.

 

[sabremike]

I just have no desire to watch MLS at its current quality.

I also don't want to support a league that encourages American players to abandon higher quality competitions overseas for easy paydays. It's bad for the national team.

Eurosnob: I don't watch MLS because it's shite mate.

Same Eurosnob: I don't watch MLS because they are signing the best American players to improve the league's quality and hurting the national team (and don't ask me how players from every significant CONCACAF team fill MLS rosters and are good enough to beat the US.).

 

[Satans Hockey]

The owner bought the team with the intention to move them, therefore he has run them with no intention of building anything. In fact, he has been doing stuff to alienate people (most notably putting the team's games on a network most of the area doesn't get). The guy is a complete bag of filth.

All this information just got released so what were the crew fans excuses before this not to show up to games this year?

 

[sabremike]

All this information just got released so what were the crew fans excuses before this not to show up to games this year?

Again: he has been doing stuff to undermine and wreck the market since he bought the team. He bought them so he could get a team cheaper than expansion and then move them.