MLS 2016 Season Thread

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Hackett

BAKAMAN
Mar 4, 2002
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The NYCFC field is a complete joke. It's not even close to being big enough under the rules for senior games. That would be like the NFL having an expansion team in downtown LA and since they don't have a real football stadium, having them play on a 80 yards football field...MLS is taking major steps backwards in the past years in too many things. Quality of playing field is one of them with all those dreadful synthetic...

I'm no fan of the artificial surfaces either but I think the MLS is actually trending in the right direction on this front.

I think outside of the the Pacific Northwest clubs (Seattle, Vancouver, and maybe Portland) there are barely any other synthetic fields left and most of those exceptions are short term solutions.

There is a thread about this issue buried somewhere in this forum, and I left it believing that the artificial turfs in the MLS are a lot less prevalent than I thought.
 

chasespace

Registered User
Jul 19, 2010
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Excuses Excuses Excuses...The fact is year after year Mls teams are getting destroyed by Mexican opposition. And with too many new teams the quality of play hasn't improved at all since 2010. I watch enough games to know that the playing level is disappointing. Lack of skill, lack of organisation, absolutely comical defending almost every game, referees that are simply put incompetent, not enough real grass field.

The quality of the tv product is also really bad, with plenty of terrible broadcasters and clown analysts. One game recently the analyst didn't even know that there's no offside on a goal kick...

As it has already been pointed out to you Liga MX is in midseason while MLS is starting their season come CCL QF's, if you don't understand how big of an advantage that is then you simply don't understand soccer.

Quality of play has improved. You have the likes of Giovinco, Keane, Bradley, Martins, Dempsey, Wright-Phillips, and others coming into the league all since 2010 when you claim the league became stagnant. You clearly don't watch enough games or simply watch "worst of" moments on youtube.

The lack of real grass fields is a strawman that has been beaten to death. Teams in the Northeast, Midwest, and Canada wouldn't be able to play at home in the first two months of the season and probably the playoffs as well depending on how soon winter wants to set in in those areas. The quality of turf being used in the league has vastly improved as it is no longer simply painted concrete and FIFA has even given a few of the turf fields it's highest level of certification.

You're basically mad the league isn't on par with those that have been around for over a hundred years. If all you can do is complain and refuse to see the advances the league has made in just the last few years alone then you're best served not trolling in this thread. There are plenty other threads in this section for you to discuss in.
 

Basement Cat

Frank Drebin
Nov 3, 2008
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Hoboken, NJ
Excuses Excuses Excuses...The fact is year after year Mls teams are getting destroyed by Mexican opposition. And with too many new teams the quality of play hasn't improved at all since 2010. I watch enough games to know that the playing level is disappointing. Lack of skill, lack of organisation, absolutely comical defending almost every game, referees that are simply put incompetent, not enough real grass field.

The quality of the tv product is also really bad, with plenty of terrible broadcasters and clown analysts. One game recently the analyst didn't even know that there's no offside on a goal kick...


Ok excuses, fine. NYRB reserve team beat Chelsea this past summer. NYRB also went to London and beat PSG and tied Arsenal in order to win the Emirates Cup a few years back. So....NYRB is a better team than PSG and the 16-23 year olds that beat Chelsea this summer are all better than Hazard and that bunch.
 

Pouchkine

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May 20, 2015
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I can enjoy the product today actually but, in the past couple of seasons it has stagnated. Giovinco and a few others are nice but the major problem with adding too many new teams too soon is that the US players that form the core of the league, their level is not good enough. And that's my major complain, the level of the average American player in the league hasn't improved in the last 5 years and that's where the league with their stupid expansions are burning themselves. It may improve in the future but at the moment it has not and that's the primary reason why La Liga MX is still clearly better than mls and beat the teams year and year out quite easily. For the image of the league this is terrible. And here in Canada it will take at least 5-10 years before we might see good players coming from the academies. And for TV when you have what like 12/20 teams in the playoffs it makes the 'regular" season seem irrelevant to most but the hardcore fans.
 
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Brock Anton

flames #badnwagon
Nov 8, 2009
21,119
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Westerly, RI
Ouch. How the heck do you expect to build a fanbase in an empty 75000 capacity synthetic field stadium?

The fanbase isn't the problem, the Revs actually have a pretty good following. Problem is, most are in Boston, and a good chunk of those are college aged kids with no real way to get to Gillette due to no public transportation being available for Revs games.

Give this team a stadium somewhere in Boston near a rail line (the rumored spot in Southie would be perfect), and watch it boom. You'll have Portland/SKC east in no time. I truly believe that.
 

Ugmo

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Oct 24, 2011
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but the major problem with adding too many new teams too soon is that the US players that form the core of the league, their level is not good enough. And that's my major complain, the level of the average American player in the league hasn't improved in the last 5 years and that's where the league with their stupid expansions are burning themselves.

Not sure where you've been, but there aren't even all that many American players on the expansion team rosters. I don't get the impression you watch MLS at all with your bizarre rants about synthetic fields (there aren't that many of them in MLS anymore) and American-heavy rosters.

For that matter, it's an asinine complaint anyway considering that MLS can simply bring in players from other countries if the Americans aren't good enough, which is exactly what happens.

The fanbase isn't the problem, the Revs actually have a pretty good following. Problem is, most are in Boston, and a good chunk of those are college aged kids with no real way to get to Gillette due to no public transportation being available for Revs games.

Give this team a stadium somewhere in Boston near a rail line (the rumored spot in Southie would be perfect), and watch it boom. You'll have Portland/SKC east in no time. I truly believe that.

Me too. I used to think the Krafts had poisoned the well by staying MLS 1.0 for so long, but the true potential of that market has become obvious over the past couple of years.
 

Vamos Rafa

Registered User
Jan 11, 2010
18,342
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I believe Seattle is the only non-SSS team that currently isn't looking to build a real SSS. I mean, remove the Seahawks and it's a great soccer venue but the stadium is too good by MLS standards.
 

Brock Anton

flames #badnwagon
Nov 8, 2009
21,119
10,869
Westerly, RI
I believe Seattle is the only non-SSS team that currently isn't looking to build a real SSS. I mean, remove the Seahawks and it's a great soccer venue but the stadium is too good by MLS standards.

Atlanta isn't going into an SSS either. It's sharing the new stadium with the Falcons.
 

Big McLargehuge

Fragile Traveler
May 9, 2002
72,188
7,741
S. Pasadena, CA
Atlanta, like Seattle, is at least building theirs with the MLS in mind. This puts them in the same situation as a Vancouver and less like shared venues of the before time, the long, long ago.
 

Ugmo

Registered User
Oct 24, 2011
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That is nuts. I still don't get why any player with anything left in the tank would sign with that outfit.
 

Ugmo

Registered User
Oct 24, 2011
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And last night's game was tough to watch. It was like 22 chickens running around with their heads cut off.

Or maybe 21 headless chickens plus Mix Diskerud.
 

Pouchkine

Registered User
May 20, 2015
2,731
294
The Montreal-Dallas game yesterday was one of the most awful mls game I have seen in years. The referee was terrible, the tv guys missed both goals and the overall quality of play was laughable.
 

Basement Cat

Frank Drebin
Nov 3, 2008
12,510
531
Hoboken, NJ
Had a blast at the red bulls game. They still don't look as sharp as last season but what character they showed to keep coming back despite the injuries. Who the hell thought Felipe had it in him?!?

Baah and Veron being out for an extended period of time would hurt though. Hopefully those are minor injuries.
 

Big McLargehuge

Fragile Traveler
May 9, 2002
72,188
7,741
S. Pasadena, CA
Another Galaxy game, anther pathetic display by a ref with no consistency pulling cards out of his ass.

Throwing out yellows like candy for the slightest foul early in the game, then calling nothing, then a straight red for a yellow (I've seen lesser plays called reds, but it's definitely in the weaker 10%), and just wildly inconsistent on what was a foul, what was a yellow, and hell, what was a red.

Again, the only positive is that the terribleness went both ways, the Galaxy had 3 yellows within the first ~20 minutes and only one of them was even borderline in my eyes...but the killer was the red.

Really not sure what San Jose was doing after LA gained the lead though, they seemed more intent on preserving a sensible margin of defeat than trying to level the game...and they still almost pulled it off with Wondolowski making it a 2-1 game as it closed in on stoppage time...but then they gave that right up with a blatant and stupid foul inside the box on Keane.
 

Pouchkine

Registered User
May 20, 2015
2,731
294
Just want to say something...the refereeing in MLS is the most horrible in all of pro sports I've ever seen only on par with WWF referees. Most refs seem scared and or very incompetent. They don't understand the game at all and have no idea of what is gamesmanship.They have no consistency and no logic in their handling of cards and all the rest...Don't they watch games sometimes on tv around the world too see how it's done? It's no rocket science. I know many 18 years old referees men and women who could ref most mls games miles better than those clowns.

I'm critical of the quality of play at times but overall on average it's decent and high level enough to be enjoyable, the things that are really making it tough are the refereeing and the quality of tv broadcasts. Yesterday we missed both goals in Dallas-Montreal game....
 
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