MLS 2019 | Page 2 | The Boneyard

MLS 2019

ETSA said:
I agree that promotion / relegation creates fan interest. It makes almost every game count towards moving up or avoiding being demoted. I follow a team in Germany that in a matter of about eight years has been demoted from 2nd division, demoted from 3rd division into 4th. After one year in the 4th division they entered a playoff among 5 other Regional league times and moved back to the 3. Bundesliga. That year they came in third and won a playoff with the third to last team from the second division (1860 Munich) to move back to the 2. Bundelsliga. The constant tension for the last two years has been to reach the 40 match points it usually takes to maintain second division status - the much coveted "Klassenerhalt". I wish the USL would get such as system started at 2nd and 3rd division level to introduce this exciting aspect of the game.
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I would like to see the USL do this as well. And I think the NPSL will do it sooner rather than later with their new pro division.

I can’t believe that K-Town fell all the way down to the German 3rd Division. That’s a really big club that has fallen far.
 
I also agree that USL should do it.

With MLS growing larger than they really should be with number of teams, they should split the league into two parts and do some sort of pro/Rel between those two parts. So basically no one leaves MLS. However, maybe make the upper tier receive a higher cut of the revenue? I don't know. I think just introducing it is a start. It is one thing to do it in USL or NPSL but no one really follows that league. I know the MLS thing is not going to happen but it guarantees that none of the precious owners lose any large chunks of money.
 
Forgive the soccer noob who basically follows only the Bolton Wanderers in their UConn-like death spiral. but why couldn't MLS add two "flex spots" to the league for relegation/promotion? All current MLS franchises are guaranteed eternal life in MLS, but each year two teams can be promoted/relegated from those two "open slots" through some kind of play-in tournament between the current occupants of those positions and the challengers from below?

This would build regional interest and open about one billion marketing opportunities.
 
Purple Stein said:
Forgive the soccer noob who basically follows only the Bolton Wanderers in their UConn-like death spiral. but why couldn't MLS add two "flex spots" to the league for relegation/promotion? All current MLS franchises are guaranteed eternal life in MLS, but each year two teams can be promoted/relegated from those two "open slots" through some kind of play-in tournament between the current occupants of those positions and the challengers from below?

This would build regional interest and open about one billion marketing opportunities.
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This is a good idea but I think it's crap that MLS teams get to stay. I'm assuming that in your plan MLS teams can't go down and only the USL,NASL, NPSL teams can do that through those flex spots? So let's just say that Hartford Athletic gains one of these promotion spots and finishes middle of their division while someone like DC United wins 3 games. HA then has to play in the Pro/Rel game because they aren't a MLS member? That would suck for them.

I like the idea but it would suck for those teams that bust their butts to get up there, and then have to play a game to stay up when MLS teams have worse records.
 
ZooCougar said:
I would like to see the USL do this as well. And I think the NPSL will do it sooner rather than later with their new pro division.

I can’t believe that K-Town fell all the way down to the German 3rd Division. That’s a really big club that has fallen far.
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Right, Kaiserslautern has such a great history in the Bundesliga. About the time I was becoming aware of the Bundesliga Köln played Kickers Offenbach in a German Cup match. Now Köln and Hamburg are both in the Second Bundesliga this year and Offenbach is in a Regional league - division IV. 1860 was in the 4th div. only last year (now third). The mobility up and down creates great interest and tension during the entire season.
 
ETSA said:
Right, Kaiserslautern has such a great history in the Bundesliga. About the time I was becoming aware of the Bundesliga Köln played Kickers Offenbach in a German Cup match. Now Köln and Hamburg are both in the Second Bundesliga this year and Offenbach is in a Regional league - division IV. 1860 was in the 4th div. only last year (now third). The mobility up and down creates great interest and tension during the entire season.
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I was living in K-Town when they got sent down. You could hear the whole city grinding it’s teeth at once during the process.

I don’t think the US will ever have anything like that in sports.
 
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UCFBfan said:
This is a good idea but I think it's crap that MLS teams get to stay. I'm assuming that in your plan MLS teams can't go down and only the USL,NASL, NPSL teams can do that through those flex spots? So let's just say that Hartford Athletic gains one of these promotion spots and finishes middle of their division while someone like DC United wins 3 games. HA then has to play in the Pro/Rel game because they aren't a MLS member? That would suck for them.

I like the idea but it would suck for those teams that bust their butts to get up there, and then have to play a game to stay up when MLS teams have worse records.
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It does suck, but it’s all about the dollars. MLS is never going to be a meritocracy in the context of other leagues.
 
Revs fans were annoyed Kraft was listed as only the Patriots' owner in the press when his primary problem was reported :)
 
Just more proof it's not the Patriot Way, it's the Belechick Way.
 
Meanwhile down south, Miami will now play in a 'temporary, 18,000 seat stadium down in Ft. Lauderdale (why they don't just use FAU's 29,000 seat stadium is beyond me) before moving to the 'planned' stadium in Miami that is scheduled to be opened by 2022. I have friends in S Florida who insist that Miami and Ft. Lauderdale are two separate markets. Odds on any of this ever happening?

Beckham bid gets nod on Ft. Lauderdale site
 
Mr. Conehead said:
Meanwhile down south, Miami will now play in a 'temporary, 18,000 seat stadium down in Ft. Lauderdale (why they don't just use FAU's 29,000 seat stadium is beyond me) before moving to the 'planned' stadium in Miami that is scheduled to be opened by 2022. I have friends in S Florida who insist that Miami and Ft. Lauderdale are two separate markets. Odds on any of this ever happening?

Beckham bid gets nod on Ft. Lauderdale site
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Yup. They will play in Lockhart Stadium. Former home of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and the Miami Fusion.
 
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Mr. Conehead said:
Meanwhile down south, Miami will now play in a 'temporary, 18,000 seat stadium down in Ft. Lauderdale (why they don't just use FAU's 29,000 seat stadium is beyond me) before moving to the 'planned' stadium in Miami that is scheduled to be opened by 2022. I have friends in S Florida who insist that Miami and Ft. Lauderdale are two separate markets. Odds on any of this ever happening?

Beckham bid gets nod on Ft. Lauderdale site
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It's right up there with the Revs getting a real stadium. Problem is, NE is a set team, whatever Miami is, has not been established or has played a game on any pitch. I'm still skeptical they even become a team.
 
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Waquoit said:
I doubt Friedel is getting fired. The Revs don't care, he's the face of the franchise.
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I hope they don’t he’s sort of becoming MLS’s village idiot. Alexi Lalas is jealous.
 
Mr. Conehead said:
I have been to both USMNT and Red Bulls (lord, how much I can't stand the name) matches in Harrison both from the city and from the burbs. From the City, basically take the PATH from WTC (about 20 minutes) to get there and its a 10 minute walk from the Harrison PATH station. Technically, its about a 15 minute walk from Newark's Penn Station for people who take NJ Transit; but, its rare to do as its Newark, though the route would take folks from two of the safest neighborhoods in Newark - the business district and upper Ironbound. With respect to driving, I usually park at the PATH station garage and walk over, again simple, and the immediate area around the Arena has become nice with new residences, hotels, and basic restaurants driven by the recently re-built PATH station. The challenge is that while the area immediately around the Arena has been built, the space in between the Arena neighborhood and the highways (I-280 and Route 21) has not. That space is not dangerous; but, its tricky to navigate, especially at night. The Arena itself is nice as its designed for soccer, so the sight lines are good and the roof keeps the sound in. Much better that NYCFC's use of Yankee Stadium. Simply stated, I think this biggest issue for Red Bulls is that its in Jersey and not NYC proper and that impacts people's perception of the team. The Red Bulls are also a bit nervous in that NYCFC has developed a training facility on the west side of the Hudson in Rockland County NY, which historically been considered Red Bull territory. The big question thus becomes where will NYCFC build its own stadium.

A shout out to the town of Harrison, its a small, tough, factory town of about 17,000 people with a lot of soccer heritage. It's high school, which has about 700 students, has won over 25 state (NJ) soccer titles. I think its a national record or something. Harrison High also has a really bitter soccer rival with next door Kearny High school (1,600 kdis), which is the hometown of Tony Meola and John Harkes.

The World Cup is an obsession in North Jersey cradle of American soccer
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Good write-up. Harrison has done some good work on that area. It was always blue collar and relatively safe. Some of my Newark law school classmates lived there. My son plays at the field directly across the river that you can see in the picture in this thread. It's really cool to see the Red Bulls stadium in the background while playing a youth soccer game.

Red Bulls (I agree that the name sucks) could make the location work. It's a hotbed of soccer culture and is not too hard to get to from most areas of north and central NJ. From what I've seen they've done an okay job with their academy and trainers, but NYCFC has definitely encroached into what they believed was their territory. But watching a game at Yankee Stadium is a bad experience.

Kearny was awesome in the past. In high school, my JV team used to be their sacrificial lamb at their tournament to give them an easy first win. We beat them one year and I'm not sure we knew how big of a deal it was. Kids were on the ground crying. Kearny's demographics have changed and their youth program is mediocre.
 
Chuck said:
Good write-up. Harrison has done some good work on that area. It was always blue collar and relatively safe. Some of my Newark law school classmates lived there. My son plays at the field directly across the river that you can see in the picture in this thread. It's really cool to see the Red Bulls stadium in the background while playing a youth soccer game.

Red Bulls (I agree that the name sucks) could make the location work. It's a hotbed of soccer culture and is not too hard to get to from most areas of north and central NJ. From what I've seen they've done an okay job with their academy and trainers, but NYCFC has definitely encroached into what they believed was their territory. But watching a game at Yankee Stadium is a bad experience.

Kearny was awesome in the past. In high school, my JV team used to be their sacrificial lamb at their tournament to give them an easy first win. We beat them one year and I'm not sure we knew how big of a deal it was. Kids were on the ground crying. Kearny's demographics have changed and their youth program is mediocre.
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As a FYI, the Red Bulls training facility is deep in the Jersey burbs off the Main Line in Whippany and not far from the NY Jets training complex (they're basically at each end of main runway at Morristown Airport). I've been to the Red Bulls complex as some of the local kids play for or against the Red Bulls junior teams and its beautiful.

From there, travel about 30 miles up Route 24 to I-287 and and then swing South on the Palisades parkway just before the Hudson and the NYCFC Training camp (adjacent to World Class Soccer) is right there. One can argue if the Red Bulls competes with NYCFC for New York's soccer fans; but, they are definitely competing with each other for the same youth dollars.
 
Mls will not be taken seriously until a team makes a legit run at CCL. See ya, Sporting KC
 
LIuconn said:
Mls will not be taken seriously until a team makes a legit run at CCL. See ya, Sporting KC
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And Sporting is easily a top 5 team. What a buzzsaw.

It’s time to fire literally every MLS and USSF exec who thinks that single entity, parity and low salary caps are the way to go. The league is no longer in danger of going out of business overnight.
 
Yeah, not knocking KC at all. It's an MLS problem. Noticed no tweets from MLS water-carrier Alexi last night after that drubbing.
 
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LIuconn said:
Yeah, not knocking KC at all. It's an MLS problem. Noticed no tweets from MLS water-carrier Alexi last night after that drubbing.
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The question is if MLS Executive leadership actually cares or if their focus on in generating revenue.
 
Mr. Conehead said:
The question is if MLS Executive leadership actually cares or if their focus on in generating revenue.
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The only way they are making money is through expansion and SUM which makes money through managing the the USMNT and USWNT. And that is the biggest margin by far.
 
Busy day in US soccer news...

First,a bit of good news. MLS is finally joining the rest fo the world in allowing solidarity payments. I have my doubts; but, I do hope that some of this money is seen by the youth programs at the bottom as the 'pay to play' format is a critical issue. Now, maybe a relegation structure will be next (LOL)...

MLS clubs to begin receiving solidarity payments

Speaking of relegation, the pause in MLS expansion plans lasted, what, a few months? MLS has officially announced that they are looking to add Sacramento and St Louis as teams #28 and #29. Both cities deserve it; but, MLS ownership has become addicted to the $200 Million franchise fee (or more) and I can see the league at 35 to 40 teams within the next 10 years, which is insane unless relegation is put in place.

MLS to expand to 30, eyes St. Louis, Sacramento

Speaking of money, USSF is facing a suit by USMNT Player's Union (USNSTPA) hosting its final pre-Gold Cup warm-up match in May against Venezuela at (U of) Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium on a temporary grass pitched laid over an artificial turf field is unsafe and risky for every player's career. Remember how the field looked in Dallas and Phoenix recently? I can't blame the players as they are risking their careers, especially the USMNT players who are expected to be in camp for the Gold Cup who are making serious Money now in Europe. The Union claims that USSF only cares about making money. That's like accusing me of being addicted to ice cream or breathing.

Players union opposes U.S. friendly in Cincinnati
 
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Mr. Conehead said:
Busy day in US soccer news...

First,a bit of good news. MLS is finally joining the rest fo the world in allowing solidarity payments. I have my doubts; but, I do hope that some of this money is seen by the youth programs at the bottom as the 'pay to play' format is a crtical issue. Now, maybe a relegation structure will be next (LOL)...

MLS clubs to begin receiving solidarity payments

Speaking of relegation, the pause in MLS expansion plans lasted, what, a few months? MLS has officially announced that they are looking to add Sacramento and St Louis as teams #28 and #29. Both cities deserve it; but, MLS ownership has become addicted to the $200 Million franchise fee (or more) and I can see the league at 35 to 40 teams within the next 10 years, which is insane unless relegation is put in place.

MLS to expand to 30, eyes St. Louis, Sacramento

Speaking of money, USSF is facing a suit by USMNT Player's Union (USNSTPA) hosting its final pre-Gold Cup warm-up match in May against Venezuela at (U of) Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium on a temporary grass pitched laid over an artificial turf field is unsafe and risky for every player's career. Remember how the field looked in Dallas and Phoenix recently? I can't blame the players as the are risking their careers, especially the USMNT players who are expected to be in camp for the Gold Cup who are making serious Money now in Europe. The Union claims that USSF only care about making money. That's like accusing me of being addicted to ice cream or breathing.

Players union opposes U.S. friendly in Cincinnati
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Hard to stop expanding when you need $200M expansion fees to keep you afloat.
 
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