The MLS thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
Unlucky for Sporting KC today, really wanted to see them against LA in MLS Cup.

Taylor Twellman has gotten really annoying lately. Harkes is worse than ever. I really think ESPN should clean house. Keep Ian Darke and start from scratch with everyone else.
 
Aside from a few matches, NBC and Versus will be doing MLS the next two years. US Soccer matches too. American commentators either dumb down everything completely or are incredibly stupid themselves.
 
Think it's a good thing for the league that LA is in the final. Nobody gave a feck about the game last year because it was FC Dallas v Colorado Rapids. Having a more 'marquee' team should result in more interest/coverage.
 
RSL vs Houston would've been awful for ratings. Galaxy playing for MLS Cup in LA will make the atmosphere awesome and I'm sure that will carry over to television.
 
Seattle-LA, or LA-NY would have been the ideal teams for the final probably. At least in terms of ratings. Houston does have a huge market though so it's not bad that they made it in terms of appeal.

KC would have been the least attractive of the teams for the final. Philly would have been pretty decent, also. DC United could have helped save themselves had they made it that far.
 
Seen in a couple places yesterday, but it seems that "karma" is out to get all the players who turned the US down for bigger international teams. Michael Hoyos was in ICU earlier this year after a car crash, Giuseppe Rossi tore his ACL a few weeks ago and now Neven Subotic is out for the season after having his face smashed by the Greek that used to play at Liverpool.
 
As a DC supporter, I can't see them moving in the next five years. They understand how important it will be to keep them in DC. Too many VA-based fans like myself would still follow the team, but I'm not treking two plus hours one way every weekend to see them play, nor would most.

DC are still profitable and managing well under a gruesome slave-like lease at RFK. I think they'll give it a couple more years and wait for the economy to get better before doing some drastic like this. DC are the Manchester United of the league, a team with true history and the team with the most trophies. We've been rebounding for a few years, but Olsen and a new generation of youngsters are steadying the boat once more.

The owner needs to allow others in who have the actual cash to build a stadium. For a millionaire, he's just too poor in today's modern footballing world.
 
Christ, DC is pretty much a suburb of Baltimore. Put the stadium between them, like Arlington for the Texas Rangers is between Dallas and Ft. Worth.
 
davisjw said:
DC are still profitable and managing well under a gruesome slave-like lease at RFK. I think they'll give it a couple more years and wait for the economy to get better before doing some drastic like this. DC are the Manchester United of the league, a team with true history and the team with the most trophies. We've been rebounding for a few years, but Olsen and a new generation of youngsters are steadying the boat once more.
Click to expand...
Liverpool would be the better example. They won trophies years ago and they're stuck in an unsuitable stadium.
 
Manchester United of the league... not at all. More people know about LA Galaxy and NY Red Bulls than DC United.

As I said on another page, and another poster above stated, DC United = Liverpool.
 
MrMarcello said:
Manchester United of the league... not at all. More people know about LA Galaxy and NY Red Bulls than DC United.

As I said on another page, and another poster above stated, DC United = Liverpool.
Click to expand...

How? DC was the dream team in the past with a deep history, first team to play and win internationally. Now they have had a long period of disappointment only to begin a come back built on youth.

Liverpool have nothing of that. DC made it's stamp on the team with forward thinking management in the beginning and have a deep history full of firsts. They still employee ex players in coaching and staff roles. And with an exception of jealousy, DC like United are a rather liked team compared to the venom of other successful teams like Chelsea and City.
 
forevrared said:
They also don't look one bit better than they did with Bradley in charge. Probably worse, in fact.
Click to expand...

At least they've stopped conceding goals within the first 10 minutes every game!

I think Klinsi is attempting to do too much with too little. I agree that the US needed to shift away from the play of Bunker Bob and that they have more technical players, but he's trying to play a loan striker in Jozy and the available strikers just aren't good enough for that. Coupled with the fact that their wingers don't offer much support and Dempsey holds onto the ball far too long, trying to do far too much, means they've suffered recently.

He has them organized but relies on limited players like Edu and Beckerman. Jones and Williams are made for the middle of the pitch - both technical and defensive, whereas the new German boy (Johnson?) is a far better winger. He's not great and if Donovan can find himself, the US will do better. Shea had his first outing against a tough team since Colombia and failed to make any impact.

With an early huge penalty shout and a gaff by Goodson, the game could of gone the other way. Saying that, if Spain had their shooting boots on it could of been a very one sided score-line. But the defense held up against an inform Benzema and Ribery as well as other very formidable French players so there are some good things.

It's a rebuilding time, I just hope that Klinsi has sorted the team out before qualifiers because no longer are teams such a cake walk in their federation.
 
The thing with Klinsmann at present is that he's got time to experiment. Bradley wouldn't have added new players to the squad but would depend on his favorites. We'd have gotten results from some of the matches, but we would learn nothing about our team or possible players. We have some more technical players in the squad now, but they need to learn to play together.

The experimentation is good but won't produce great results in friendlies. That's the entier point of friendlies though--to learn about the team. Winning them means nothing if it doesn't improve the team or teach them something.
 
The MLS has once again changed the regular season and playoff formats.

LOS ANGELES — With the addition of the Montreal Impact to MLS in 2012, bringing the league’s total to 19, many have wondered how the schedule would look when there are 10 clubs in the Eastern Conference and only 9 in the Western Conference.

Now we know.

According to the plan approved by the MLS Board of Governors on Saturday, some things will remain the same, but there will be changes as the league shifts to an unbalanced schedule, or a conference-based schedule.

“We have established a fair and compelling format for the 2012 season,” MLS executive vice president Nelson Rodriguez said in a statement. “This regular season will include more games between regional rivals and less total travel than we have seen in recent years. Because of the wide geographic distribution of MLS clubs, this structure should improve the quality of play, while continuing to give every club an equal chance of qualifying for the MLS Cup Playoffs.”

Each club’s total matches will remain the same, at 34 regular-season matches, and the regular season will run from mid-March through October, as it has in recent years.

Here is how the conference-based schedule will work:

Western Conference clubs will play each other three times, totaling 24 matches. They will play four conference opponents twice at home and once away, and play the other four conference opponents twice away and once at home. The location arrangement will be reversed in 2013.

West clubs will complete their schedule by playing each of the 10 Eastern Conference clubs once. Five of matches will be at home and five will be on the road. Again, the arrangement will be reversed in 2013.

Due to the higher number of clubs in the Eastern Conference, things are a little different on that side. Each club will play a total of 25 conference matches.

Each East club will play seven of their conference opponents three times each (21 total games) and the remaining two conference opponents twice each (4 games).

To complete their full slate, East teams will then play the nine West teams once each. Those nine games will be split either five at home and four away or vice versa. The locations will be reversed in 2013.

The league says it plans to announce the full schedule earlier than they have in previous years.
Click to expand...

LOS ANGELES – The MLS Cup Playoffs and the league's grand finale are getting new looks in 2012.

The MLS Cup final will no longer be a neutral-site game, according to a plan approved on Saturday by the league’s Board of Governors. Instead, the league’s championship match will be played at the home venue of the participating team with a higher regular-season point total.

That effectively brings an end to the system of rotating the MLS Cup final to different venues around the league, as MLS has done since its inaugural 1996 season.


The playoff format itself will also get a tweak. As in 2011, the playoff field will remain 10 teams. However, the top five teams in each conference will qualify for the postseason without wild card spots.

The No. 4 team in each conference will then host the No. 5 team in its conference in a single-elimination game for the right to face its respective conference’s top seed in the Conference Semifinals.

The Conference Championships will shift to two-leg series instead of a single game, as they have been since 2003.

“The MLS Cup Playoff format in 2012 gives increased reward to clubs that fare well in the regular season and removes the possibility of clubs winning the opposite conference championship,” said MLS executive vice president Nelson Rodriguez in a statement. “Having a competitively determined site for MLS Cup is one of the most exciting improvements our Board of Governors has adopted. We believe this provides every club a tremendous incentive during our regular season and ensures a festive and boisterous setting for our championship game.”
Click to expand...
 
The Galaxy are heavily favored and should be given the amount they pay for Beckham, Donovan, and Keane.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.