Fútbol chatter

[Bruce]

The merger has been discussed for a few years, but would not happen until after the 2026 World Cup at the earliest. Liga MX is moving towards a more American model (no pro/rel, franchising), but they'd need to be kept in a separate division.

I'd be strongly opposed to a merged superleague, since it would bring a whole ton of logistical problems mostly for American teams. The financial benefit would be nice, but otherwise watching our teams having to play in substandard conditions at the Azteca outside of CCL would be awful.

[Bruce]

MLS returns on July 8!

To backfill the missing regular season games, there will be a special tournament at Disney World for all 26 teams until August 11.

Teams will be seeded into 6 groups, with games counting towards regular season points. The top finishers will advance to a knockout tournament; the winner of this tournament will get a CCL berth.

54 matches, three times per day.

[thspfc]

MLS returns on July 8!

To backfill the missing regular season games, there will be a special tournament at Disney World for all 26 teams until August 11.

Teams will be seeded into 6 groups, with games counting towards regular season points. The top finishers will advance to a knockout tournament; the winner of this tournament will get a CCL berth.

54 matches, three times per day.

This is a brilliant idea. The champion was going to have an asterisk anyways, so why not make it unconventional? Looking forward to this.

[thspfc]

My Spurs put forth a solid performance against United today, but I don't think a point is good enough right now. Tottenham will need to go on a remarkable run if they're to play UCL ball in 2020-21.

[Bruce]

The NWSL Challenge Cup won't have the Orlando Pride after 6 players test positive for COVID. They apparently went to a bar and caught it there.

All around dumb decisions.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states-nwsl-womens-league/story/4118894/orlando-pride-pull-out-of-nwsl-cup-after-10-positive-coronavirus-tests

[Bruce]

Liverpool have won the Premier League

As there are seven matchdays left in the season, they are the earliest to win it. But since it's already late June (well after the traditional end of the season), they are also the latest to win it.

[thspfc]

Liverpool have won the Premier League

As there are seven matchdays left in the season, they are the earliest to win it. But since it's already late June (well after the traditional end of the season), they are also the latest to win it.

I'm getting tired of the 98-100 point title seasons. I would rather see a team win the title after fighting through a few losses and setbacks than see a team win every game they play.

[SEWIGuy]

Hey it's better than Spain where only one of the last fifteen (soon to be sixteen) champions weren't Real or Barca.

[Bruce]

Liverpool have won the Premier League

As there are seven matchdays left in the season, they are the earliest to win it. But since it's already late June (well after the traditional end of the season), they are also the latest to win it.

I'm getting tired of the 98-100 point title seasons. I would rather see a team win the title after fighting through a few losses and setbacks than see a team win every game they play.

Try MLS, the record is 70 points and the playoff champion is usually not the league leader.

Seattle won it all in 2016 after climbing up from the bottom of the standings in a few months!

[thspfc]

Liverpool have won the Premier League

As there are seven matchdays left in the season, they are the earliest to win it. But since it's already late June (well after the traditional end of the season), they are also the latest to win it.

I'm getting tired of the 98-100 point title seasons. I would rather see a team win the title after fighting through a few losses and setbacks than see a team win every game they play.

Try MLS, the record is 70 points and the playoff champion is usually not the league leader.

Seattle won it all in 2016 after climbing up from the bottom of the standings in a few months!

I'll go for the significantly higher quality play of the EPL over some chaos in MLS.

[ftballfan]

The NWSL Challenge Cup won't have the Orlando Pride after 6 players test positive for COVID. They apparently went to a bar and caught it there.

All around dumb decisions.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states-nwsl-womens-league/story/4118894/orlando-pride-pull-out-of-nwsl-cup-after-10-positive-coronavirus-tests

For making dumb decisions, those players should be suspended for a few games even after they have recovered and can return to play

[thspfc]

The NWSL Challenge Cup won't have the Orlando Pride after 6 players test positive for COVID. They apparently went to a bar and caught it there.

All around dumb decisions.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states-nwsl-womens-league/story/4118894/orlando-pride-pull-out-of-nwsl-cup-after-10-positive-coronavirus-tests

For making dumb decisions, those players should be suspended for a few games even after they have recovered and can return to play

They can't be suspended because if they are, they'll complain about sexism, and that's bad for the club.

[ftballfan]

The NWSL Challenge Cup won't have the Orlando Pride after 6 players test positive for COVID. They apparently went to a bar and caught it there.

All around dumb decisions.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states-nwsl-womens-league/story/4118894/orlando-pride-pull-out-of-nwsl-cup-after-10-positive-coronavirus-tests

For making dumb decisions, those players should be suspended for a few games even after they have recovered and can return to play

They can't be suspended because if they are, they'll complain about sexism, and that's bad for the club.

I feel that a male athlete did something similar (going to a bar or club maskless and catching COVID-19), they would likely get suspended or fined after recovery

[Bruce]

So the first MLS game of the new tournament was messy.

The 8 minutes of silence at the beginning was a nice touch. The stadium looks interesting for a temporary build (with the main cameras in a temporary tower, drones to provide aerial footage, and bigger walls because there's no ball boys).

The medical team isn't very experienced, given they took 8+ minutes to get an injured player stretchered off the field.

Orlando City was having a drive-in watch party

https://twitter.com/OrlandoCitySC/status/1281049801723990018

[thspfc]

Messi is on his way out of Barcelona, most likely. The end of an era in La Liga. Manchester City, PSG, and Inter seem to be the most likely destinations.

[JayhawkCO]

Messi is on his way out of Barcelona, most likely. The end of an era in La Liga. Manchester City, PSG, and Inter seem to be the most likely destinations.

Watch City get them and somehow avoid FFP backlash yet again.  Ugh.

Chris

[thspfc]

Messi is on his way out of Barcelona, most likely. The end of an era in La Liga. Manchester City, PSG, and Inter seem to be the most likely destinations.

Watch City get them and somehow avoid FFP backlash yet again.  Ugh.

Chris

I wouldn't be surprised. 

[JayhawkCO]

Messi is on his way out of Barcelona, most likely. The end of an era in La Liga. Manchester City, PSG, and Inter seem to be the most likely destinations.

Watch City get them and somehow avoid FFP backlash yet again.  Ugh.

Chris

I wouldn't be surprised. 

Oh, also, COYS.  At least we got Hojbjerg.

Chris

[Buck87]

I'm really liking what the Columbus Crew have been doing so far this season.

Will be interesting to see what the MLS phase 2 scheduling plan looks like.

[Buck87]

The MLS final 4 is set:

Columbus vs. New England in the Eastern Conference Final
Seattle vs. Minnesota in the Western Conference Final

[mgk920]

The MLS final 4 is set:

Columbus vs. New England in the Eastern Conference Final
Seattle vs. Minnesota in the Western Conference Final

What clubs would have been relegated, if MLS were a true 'first division'?

Checking the final table and going on the basis of the three relegations being the last place team in each conference plus a wild card (second from the bottom team with the worse record), they would be:

(Eastern Conference)

- FC Cincinnati (16 points)

(Western Conference)

- Houston Dynamo (21 points)

(wild card)

- DC United (21 points in Eastern Conference)

(Note - Second from the bottom in the Western Conference is LA Galaxy, 22 points and -19 total goal differential, while Real Salt Lake, also with 22 points, has a -10 goal differential.  Those two would 'survive'.)

Mike

[Alps]

The MLS final 4 is set:

Columbus vs. New England in the Eastern Conference Final
Seattle vs. Minnesota in the Western Conference Final

What clubs would have been relegated, if MLS were a true 'first division'?

Checking the final table and going on the basis of the three relegations being the last place team in each conference plus a wild card (second from the bottom team with the worse record), they would be:

(Eastern Conference)

- FC Cincinnati (16 points)

(Western Conference)

- Houston Dynamo (21 points)

(wild card)

- DC United (21 points in Eastern Conference)

(Note - Second from the bottom in the Western Conference is LA Galaxy, 22 points and -19 total goal differential, while Real Salt Lake, also with 22 points, has a -10 goal differential.  Those two would 'survive'.)

Mike

Who would take their place in the next league down?

[JayhawkCO]

Messi is on his way out of Barcelona, most likely. The end of an era in La Liga. Manchester City, PSG, and Inter seem to be the most likely destinations.

Watch City get them and somehow avoid FFP backlash yet again.  Ugh.

Chris

I wouldn't be surprised. 

Oh, also, COYS.  At least we got Hojbjerg.

Chris

COYS!

Turns out the Hojbjerg signing was quite the diamond in the rough!  He's been our best defensive mid since Dembele. 

Chris

[mgk920]

The MLS final 4 is set:

Columbus vs. New England in the Eastern Conference Final
Seattle vs. Minnesota in the Western Conference Final

What clubs would have been relegated, if MLS were a true 'first division'?

Checking the final table and going on the basis of the three relegations being the last place team in each conference plus a wild card (second from the bottom team with the worse record), they would be:

(Eastern Conference)

- FC Cincinnati (16 points)

(Western Conference)

- Houston Dynamo (21 points)

(wild card)

- DC United (21 points in Eastern Conference)

(Note - Second from the bottom in the Western Conference is LA Galaxy, 22 points and -19 total goal differential, while Real Salt Lake, also with 22 points, has a -10 goal differential.  Those two would 'survive'.)

Mike

Who would take their place in the next league down?

I wish that there was pro-rel system here in North America so that there would be worthy second and lower divisions.  I was just positing the likely thing in the top division.  I suspect that those relegation games in the last few weeks of the season would have been seriously interesting and entertaining, too (especially if fans were allowed to attend those games as normal).  As for where the hypothetical 'promotions' would have gone, I would put the geographically farthest west promoting team into the western conference, the geographically farthest east promoting team into the eastern conference and the team that was geographically in the middle into the conference that sent down the wild card, where they would all remain for their tenure in MLS.

Mike

[NWI_Irish96]

I wish that there was pro-rel system here in North America so that there would be worthy second and lower divisions.  I was just positing the likely thing in the top division.  I suspect that those relegation games in the last few weeks of the season would have been seriously interesting and entertaining, too (especially if fans were allowed to attend those games as normal).  As for where the hypothetical 'promotions' would have gone, I would put the geographically farthest west promoting team into the western conference, the geographically farthest east promoting team into the eastern conference and the team that was geographically in the middle into the conference that sent down the wild card, where they would all remain for their tenure in MLS.

Mike

Big market teams make too much of the MLS revenue from both TV and ticket sales, so there's no chance they expose Chicago, for example, to potential relegation.