Fútbol chatter

[hotdogPi]

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.

If, e.g.  Frederick MD becomes a top tier team, it can be a Baltimore/DC market. Xenia, OH? Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus. Hell, MI? Detroit fans will root for them. Weed, CA? There's a decent chance that Sacramento and Reno will root for Weed, even if the Bay Area doesn't. And this doesn't even include close suburbs that are closer to their main city than Gillette Stadium is to Boston (20 miles), which will probably be much more common than small towns.

[Alps]

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.

If, e.g.  Frederick MD becomes a top tier team, it can be a Baltimore/DC market. Xenia, OH? Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus. Hell, MI? Detroit fans will root for them. Weed, CA? There's a decent chance that Sacramento and Reno will root for Weed, even if the Bay Area doesn't. And this doesn't even include close suburbs that are closer to their main city than Gillette Stadium is to Boston (20 miles), which will probably be much more common than small towns.

The issue is Americans expect their franchises to be stable. I think soccer only succeeds in this country by avoiding pro/rel.

[Bruce]

There's not enough money in the lower leagues to make pro-rel even close to being feasible.

[Bruce]

The Sounders are back in the cup final, after rallying from 2-0 down to win 3-2. I love MLS.

The game winner, in which a local Goose slays the Loons:

https://twitter.com/SoundersFC/status/1336171764951392256

And full highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xizixqIi4jM

[Buck87]

With Columbus and Seattle advancing, it can now be said that 11 of the past 12 MLS Cup appearances (2015-2020) have been made by either Cascadia Cup or Trillium Cup teams. Atlanta is the one outside team to have crashed that party.

This year's MLS Cup will be the final playoff game at Mapfre Stadium. It could potentially be the final MLS game at Mapfre as well, but that will depend on how soon in the summer the new Crew Stadium will be able to open and whether or not Columbus will be scheduled to play all games on the road before that opening date or just most games on the road before that date.

[Buck87]

The Columbus Crew are MLS Cup Champions!

3-0 win over the defending champion Seattle Sounders, which is the largest margin of victory in MLS Cup history.

Quite a story for this team, go go from the brink of relocation to champions in just a few short years.

[Bruce]

1,500 people in the stands, more than a handful taking off their masks, and bunching together in groups.

Not a good look for the league. I hope the maskless fans are identified and banned.

[hotdogPi]

If we're down to slightly over 1100 , some of them must have already been banned. You can identify the maskless ones because they still show as emoticons.

[Bruce]

Charlotte FC will be the first MLS team to use PSLs and have also set really high inaugural season ticket prices. Fans aren't pleased, obviously, since MLS usually has affordable tickets to drive up support.



(Source: Charlotte Observer)

[Bruce]

MLS is back and the Sounders are continuing to break Minnesota's hearts. First goal of the season at Lumen Field was a screamer:

[Stephane Dumas]

On the other side of the pond, some teams left their current teams to create their own super league.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9484141/FIVE-Premier-League-teams-sign-European-Super-League-snub-UEFA.html

The big six of English football have joined a new European Super League - scheduled to start 'as soon as practicable' - in a seismic move that has triggered instant war across the sport.

The decision threatens to split England football with the Premier League indicating in a letter to clubs that it would not sanction any such competition - leaving Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham no choice but to back down or break away.

The group have all agreed to be part of a predominantly closed shop league also featuring Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.

[hotdogPi]

There's already a Champions League. Why do they need another one?

[US 89]

The Super League is horrible, and here is why, borrowing an analogy to college football I saw used online earlier today: imagine if a select few teams like Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Oklahoma, USC, and Notre Dame all formed their own conference and didn't participate in any of the college football playoffs or bowl games. That's essentially what is happening here. It's a machine that sucks money out of the smaller teams and dumps it into the big market blue bloods.

I hope FIFA/UEFA/FA/etc. do whatever they can to kill this.

[NWI_Irish96]

I keep hearing about this league, but one thing I'm not clear on. For these teams, would this super league replace their various domestic leagues, the champions/europa leagues, or both?

[JayhawkCO]

I keep hearing about this league, but one thing I'm not clear on. For these teams, would this super league replace their various domestic leagues, the champions/europa leagues, or both?

They wanted it to supplement those other things.  Basically it's the big boys (and Arsenal) saying that they want more of the money since they drive the popularity of the competitions.

It's crappy and I hope they block every bit of it.

That said, today is a good day in football as my club finally got a cancer removed.  (I'm a Spurs fan and Mourinho is, at last, put to pasture.)

Chris

[thspfc]

The most important thing to know is that the owners of the clubs are trying to make it exactly like American sports leagues. Stan Kroenke, Arsenal's owner, also owns the Rams. The Glazers (Manchester United) own the Buccaneers. Fenway Sports (Liverpool) owns the Red Sox.

[Stephane Dumas]

The most important thing to know is that the owners of the clubs are trying to make it exactly like American sports leagues. Stan Kroenke, Arsenal's owner, also owns the Rams. The Glazers (Manchester United) own the Buccaneers. Fenway Sports (Liverpool) owns the Red Sox.

The more I read about it, the more I'm sceptical about this. Could you imagine if some MLB/NFL/NHL/NBA teams leave their league to create their own league? Althought some teams of the former Arena Football League and various baseball/basket-ball minor leagues teams left their leagues.

[JayhawkCO]

The most important thing to know is that the owners of the clubs are trying to make it exactly like American sports leagues. Stan Kroenke, Arsenal's owner, also owns the Rams. The Glazers (Manchester United) own the Buccaneers. Fenway Sports (Liverpool) owns the Red Sox.

The more I read about it, the more I'm sceptical about this. Could you imagine if some MLB/NFL/NHL/NBA teams leave their league to create their own league? Althought some teams of the former Arena Football League and various baseball/basket-ball minor leagues teams left their leagues.

Conference realignment in college sports is the closest North American corollary.

Chris

[NWI_Irish96]

The most important thing to know is that the owners of the clubs are trying to make it exactly like American sports leagues. Stan Kroenke, Arsenal's owner, also owns the Rams. The Glazers (Manchester United) own the Buccaneers. Fenway Sports (Liverpool) owns the Red Sox.

The more I read about it, the more I'm sceptical about this. Could you imagine if some MLB/NFL/NHL/NBA teams leave their league to create their own league? Althought some teams of the former Arena Football League and various baseball/basket-ball minor leagues teams left their leagues.

Conference realignment in college sports is the closest North American corollary.

Chris

I don't think you get a real close comparison in American football because there is only one competition. We're talking about a superleague that wants to co-exist with regular leagues.

It would be more like Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas, Baylor, Michigan St, Indiana, UCLA, Arizona and Gonzaga deciding to replace the non-conference portion of their college basketball schedule with their own league that would run concurrently with their regular conference, crown its own champion, and not share any of the TV money with their conferences or the NCAA.

[JayhawkCO]

The most important thing to know is that the owners of the clubs are trying to make it exactly like American sports leagues. Stan Kroenke, Arsenal's owner, also owns the Rams. The Glazers (Manchester United) own the Buccaneers. Fenway Sports (Liverpool) owns the Red Sox.

The more I read about it, the more I'm sceptical about this. Could you imagine if some MLB/NFL/NHL/NBA teams leave their league to create their own league? Althought some teams of the former Arena Football League and various baseball/basket-ball minor leagues teams left their leagues.

Conference realignment in college sports is the closest North American corollary.

Chris

I don't think you get a real close comparison in American football because there is only one competition. We're talking about a superleague that wants to co-exist with regular leagues.

It would be more like Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas, Baylor, Michigan St, Indiana, UCLA, Arizona and Gonzaga deciding to replace the non-conference portion of their college basketball schedule with their own league that would run concurrently with their regular conference, crown its own champion, and not share any of the TV money with their conferences or the NCAA.

Yeah, I never said it was an exact match, but it's the closest we have here I think.  I did see a (not too serious) proposal for a Champions League type event for college basketball once the Bracket Busters things was cancelled.

Chris

[NWI_Irish96]

The most important thing to know is that the owners of the clubs are trying to make it exactly like American sports leagues. Stan Kroenke, Arsenal's owner, also owns the Rams. The Glazers (Manchester United) own the Buccaneers. Fenway Sports (Liverpool) owns the Red Sox.

The Glazers being a part of this is the ultimate hypocrisy. In a system where the richest teams get richer at the expense of the others, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers never even think about signing a player like Tom Brady and never, ever sniff a trophy of any kind.

[rawmustard]

The Super League seems to be falling apart as it obviously should. Chelsea and Man City are already planning to withdraw, Ed Woodward is resigning as Man United chairman over the debacle, and I can't imagine Real Madrid's chairman holding it together given the stark opposition throughout the world. Watching a livestream of the Chelsea protest has rejuvenated me as a supporter again.

[JayhawkCO]

The Super League seems to be falling apart as it obviously should. Chelsea and Man City are already planning to withdraw, Ed Woodward is resigning as Man United chairman over the debacle, and I can't imagine Real Madrid's chairman holding it together given the stark opposition throughout the world. Watching a livestream of the Chelsea protest has rejuvenated me as a supporter again.

Maybe these chairmen are finally learning that they need to listen to their fans. I think that was probably 50% of the reason Mourinho is out for us.  Fans (and Harry Kane) were getting restless.

Chris

[Bruce]

Meanwhile UEFA was able to sneak in their expanded CL format that screws over smaller teams unscathed.

[NWI_Irish96]

Meanwhile UEFA was able to sneak in their expanded CL format that screws over smaller teams unscathed.

Why not take the superleague concept and imbed it into the CL? The big money teams want more games against each other rather than lower quality/popularity teams from other countries. The little guys want a better chance to advance.

Take the top 5 from England, top 4 from Spain, Germany and Italy, and the top 3 from France into 4 groups of 5. Eight matches against superteams. Group winners face off with runners up from other groups to narrow it down to 4.

Take the top 20 from the rest of Europe and do the same thing. 4 groups of 5. Get a final four from this flight.

Surviving four teams from each flight are drawn into the quarterfinals, with a random draw and then play it out from there.

Big clubs get more marquee games against each other. Small clubs get half the quarterfinal slots.