New expansion team Charlotte FC just broke the MLS record for attendance at their first home game. 74,479 at the Bank of America stadium to see them take on LA Galaxy.
I don't understand why this league keeps expanding. Well I do, money. But the depth in the talent pool is nowhere near what is needed to keep up with adding new teams every year.
On a personal note, a Charlotte away day sounds superb.
The MLS commentator just stated that Charlotte were looking to sign a player from Derby, managed by DC United and Derby Country manager "Wayne Errning".
I don't understand why this league keeps expanding. Well I do, money. But the depth in the talent pool is nowhere near what is needed to keep up with adding new teams every year.
The challenge they have is that they don’t have any kind of promotion / relegation in place, which leads to the league becoming bloated with new teams.
On the surface, I imagine a US wide pyramid structure would be a pretty incredible set-up if done properly. But as is the case with most American sports - they don’t see value in it unless it is “major”.
The current clubs in MLS would also never vote in favour of relegation in order to protect their own investment.
Lets not forget that the European Super League idea was largely driven by the American owners of Liverpool/Man United.
Some MLS games can be great fun (the winner from Alvarez for the Galaxy against Charlotte is well worth a find) . A lot of the time the defending is absolutely comical however.
In terms of expansion , it sounds like Vegas is next with the Villa owners bankrolling that. New teams in their first season often seem to struggle , although Atlanta and Nashville came in and did pretty well. Charlotte from the highlights of the first 2 games I've seen look all over the shop , seeing Christian Fuchs starting at CB was a suprise.
I don't understand why this league keeps expanding. Well I do, money. But the depth in the talent pool is nowhere near what is needed to keep up with adding new teams every year.
The challenge they have is that they don’t have any kind of promotion / relegation in place, which leads to the league becoming bloated with new teams.
On the surface, I imagine a US wide pyramid structure would be a pretty incredible set-up if done properly. But as is the case with most American sports - they don’t see value in it unless it is “major”.
The current clubs in MLS would also never vote in favour of relegation in order to protect their own investment.
Lets not forget that the European Super League idea was largely driven by the American owners of Liverpool/Man United.
I agree with you up until the last point, because from what I understand it really was Juve and Barca who were pushing the Super League. Maybe Henry and the Glazers were the strongest within England, but I believe they also have the least money/most debts of the English owners.
Yeah I don't see how this works unless you get to an NBA (and probably soon to be MLB) situation where almost everyone is in the playoffs. 28 teams in the league, 29 next year when St. Louis joins. Phoenix, San Diego, and Las Vegas all rumored to be candidates for expansion. I imagine they're going for that magic number 32.
I can speak to San Diego having lived there for five years, it's a great city for soccer, and it's great to have the Wave joining the NWSL. But as you say it's not just supporters who don't want promotion/relegation, it's the owners who paid tens of millions (maybe into the hundreds of millions, I'm not sure what the going rate is) for MLS teams. Not MLS Division 1 sides.
They seem to have found a new business model of developing players through the clubs' own academies, and buying cheap and promising players from Latin America, then selling them onto Europe for "big" fees. And the academy system is something that has been much needed in this country for a long time. But I don't see how this model is sustainable for 28 clubs.
If the objective is to get 20k supporters on average in the grounds, then they're doing that. And maybe that, plus being dedicated to Home Grown and young and promising players is enough. But there has always been the desire for the MLS to be a league recognized as being competitive on the international stage, maybe akin to Holland or Belgium or Portugal to start. And I don't see that happening. I think they're going to expand themselves into obscurity. Looking at that Charlotte FC roster, I have never heard of any of the players, and usually even with expansion sides I've heard of one or two.
I don't understand why this league keeps expanding. Well I do, money. But the depth in the talent pool is nowhere near what is needed to keep up with adding new teams every year.
The challenge they have is that they don’t have any kind of promotion / relegation in place, which leads to the league becoming bloated with new teams.
On the surface, I imagine a US wide pyramid structure would be a pretty incredible set-up if done properly. But as is the case with most American sports - they don’t see value in it unless it is “major”.
The current clubs in MLS would also never vote in favour of relegation in order to protect their own investment.
Lets not forget that the European Super League idea was largely driven by the American owners of Liverpool/Man United.
I agree with you up until the last point, because from what I understand it really was Juve and Barca who were pushing the Super League. Maybe Henry and the Glazers were the strongest within England, but I believe they also have the least money/most debts of the English owners.
Barcelona and Juventus were heavily in favour of the Super League, but I think in Barca’s case it was a situation where they literally had no choice but to back it considering the financial mess they are in. Juventus’ repetitive success in Serie A had contributed to a decline in interest in the league - and there isn’t a great market internationally for games like Udinese vs Crotone.
Project Big Picture was the idea that became public just prior to the Super League - which was in itself an English club only project in order for the top PL clubs to “support” the pyramid during COVID but in return get all the voting rights, authority on the game. When that was unanimously thrown out, they then tried the Super League.
The likes of Barca/Juve are still pushing the Super League idea because it’s the only way they can grow at this point. Now they’ve lost their two biggest assets (Messi and Ronaldo), interest from neutrals internationally is very low.
They say ‘no player is bigger than the club’, but I genuinely think the Messi/Barcelona situation is probably the closest it has come to being challenged at the top level.
Imagine how good a US/Canada type pyramid could be though if done the right way. 100 clubs, all city based.
The pyramid structure used in Europe perfectly personifies what the “American dream” is meant to be, right? The notion that anybody can get to the very top. American sports would be absolutely fascinating if that level of structure was in place throughout.
How long will Becks put up with Fizzer at Inter Miami?
Naff season last year, saved by a few good results at the end when they couldn't qualify for the playoffs. Awful start this year, losing 5-1 to an Austin side that really struggled last year.
How long will Becks put up with Fizzer at Inter Miami?
Naff season last year, saved by a few good results at the end when they couldn't qualify for the playoffs. Awful start this year, losing 5-1 to an Austin side that really struggled last year.
I watch Austin closely and they are a completely different side to the team that played in 2021. They could be really good and by the end of the season... you might be talking about one of the best home teams in the league. How good they are overall is still yet to be determined but it took them 12 games to score 10 goals last season. This year they've bagged 10 in only two.
Yes, the wins have only been against Cincinnati and Miami but the identity of the team is finally settled. MLS experience in Urruti, Martins and Finlay have been a huge boost, they are all already contributing a huge amount to the cause. Their presence is allowing the flair players like Cecilio and Driussi to really play with freedom that they were not able to last season.
The Austin back line is improved but perhaps still the weakest part of the team - I think better opponents may have punished Austin there so something to keep an eye on as they move forward.
All this is to say, I don't think Miami should be judged too harshly after this weekend's result. At least not until you know how good Austin are. They are a club who turned over 30+ players during the winter window and will need time. I saw enough from them, especially in the second half, to think that they will do alright this year. Miami have games against LAFC (H), Cincinnati (A) and Houston (H) coming up which should definitely paint a clearer picture.
Whitecaps just put in the most abject 90 minutes I've ever seen from a football team, and that's saying something with Charlton at the moment. One goal in three games.
Then they concede a goal. And now Brek Shea has got himself sent off and it’s not even half time yet.
Brek Shea, that's one I haven't heard for a while. Was at one point considered a rising star for the US. Really didn't turn into anything. Wasn't he at Stoke for a while? Or was it Forest? Like I feel like he was contracted to someone in England and basically never played for them.
Oh Callum if you're an Austin FC fan and you ever go to a match, keep an eye out for a sponsor called Three Wire Systems. I used to work for them and made them a lot of money. If you could boo them when they come up on the screen I'd really appreciate it .
Oh Callum if you're an Austin FC fan and you ever go to a match, keep an eye out for a sponsor called Three Wire Systems. I used to work for them and made them a lot of money. If you could boo them when they come up on the screen I'd really appreciate it .
Then they concede a goal. And now Brek Shea has got himself sent off and it’s not even half time yet.
Brek Shea, that's one I haven't heard for a while. Was at one point considered a rising star for the US. Really didn't turn into anything. Wasn't he at Stoke for a while? Or was it Forest? Like I feel like he was contracted to someone in England and basically never played for them.
Absolutely correct! Was at Stoke and barely played for 2-3 seasons.
Then they concede a goal. And now Brek Shea has got himself sent off and it’s not even half time yet.
Brek Shea, that's one I haven't heard for a while. Was at one point considered a rising star for the US. Really didn't turn into anything. Wasn't he at Stoke for a while? Or was it Forest? Like I feel like he was contracted to someone in England and basically never played for them.
Absolutely correct! Was at Stoke and barely played for 2-3 seasons.
I wonder what childhood memory i replaced with the memory of a blonde haired 6'4" left-footed beanpole winger/fullback being on the books at Stoke City and never playing for them.
Today we find out if Austin are actually good or not. Two big home wins against traditionally poor sides followed by a hard fought and disappointing 1-0 loss away at Portland.
Seattle at home this afternoon should be a really good barometer for the team.
Do the new teams get a big advantage in the first season when they start with expansion drafts etc.? Seem to recall some of the recent expansion teams doing well straight off the bat, and in the NHL Vegas got off to a great start too
Do the new teams get a big advantage in the first season when they start with expansion drafts etc.? Seem to recall some of the recent expansion teams doing well straight off the bat, and in the NHL Vegas got off to a great start too
The expansion draft allows new teams to pick five unprotected players from other teams to help build out their squads. I forget how many players team can protect but it's at least a dozen so you rarely get better than a squad player / bench filler. As far as I'm aware, the only other advantage is being given first pick etc in the academy draft selection process but those players usually take a year or two to develop and aren't ready to contribute immediately.
Austin are in their second season where things have clicked with some well recruited additions over the winter - alongside the maturity of some of the young players they already had on the team. Signing Driussi on a designated player contract helped too... he is currently one of the best players in the league.
By contrast, their first season was poor finishing 24th out of 27.
Comments
The MLS commentator just stated that Charlotte were looking to sign a player from Derby, managed by DC United and Derby Country manager "Wayne Errning".
On the surface, I imagine a US wide pyramid structure would be a pretty incredible set-up if done properly. But as is the case with most American sports - they don’t see value in it unless it is “major”.
Lets not forget that the European Super League idea was largely driven by the American owners of Liverpool/Man United.
In terms of expansion , it sounds like Vegas is next with the Villa owners bankrolling that. New teams in their first season often seem to struggle , although Atlanta and Nashville came in and did pretty well. Charlotte from the highlights of the first 2 games I've seen look all over the shop , seeing Christian Fuchs starting at CB was a suprise.
Yeah I don't see how this works unless you get to an NBA (and probably soon to be MLB) situation where almost everyone is in the playoffs. 28 teams in the league, 29 next year when St. Louis joins. Phoenix, San Diego, and Las Vegas all rumored to be candidates for expansion. I imagine they're going for that magic number 32.
I can speak to San Diego having lived there for five years, it's a great city for soccer, and it's great to have the Wave joining the NWSL. But as you say it's not just supporters who don't want promotion/relegation, it's the owners who paid tens of millions (maybe into the hundreds of millions, I'm not sure what the going rate is) for MLS teams. Not MLS Division 1 sides.
They seem to have found a new business model of developing players through the clubs' own academies, and buying cheap and promising players from Latin America, then selling them onto Europe for "big" fees. And the academy system is something that has been much needed in this country for a long time. But I don't see how this model is sustainable for 28 clubs.
If the objective is to get 20k supporters on average in the grounds, then they're doing that. And maybe that, plus being dedicated to Home Grown and young and promising players is enough. But there has always been the desire for the MLS to be a league recognized as being competitive on the international stage, maybe akin to Holland or Belgium or Portugal to start. And I don't see that happening. I think they're going to expand themselves into obscurity. Looking at that Charlotte FC roster, I have never heard of any of the players, and usually even with expansion sides I've heard of one or two.
Project Big Picture was the idea that became public just prior to the Super League - which was in itself an English club only project in order for the top PL clubs to “support” the pyramid during COVID but in return get all the voting rights, authority on the game. When that was unanimously thrown out, they then tried the Super League.
Naff season last year, saved by a few good results at the end when they couldn't qualify for the playoffs. Awful start this year, losing 5-1 to an Austin side that really struggled last year.
Yes, the wins have only been against Cincinnati and Miami but the identity of the team is finally settled. MLS experience in Urruti, Martins and Finlay have been a huge boost, they are all already contributing a huge amount to the cause. Their presence is allowing the flair players like Cecilio and Driussi to really play with freedom that they were not able to last season.
The Austin back line is improved but perhaps still the weakest part of the team - I think better opponents may have punished Austin there so something to keep an eye on as they move forward.
All this is to say, I don't think Miami should be judged too harshly after this weekend's result. At least not until you know how good Austin are. They are a club who turned over 30+ players during the winter window and will need time. I saw enough from them, especially in the second half, to think that they will do alright this year. Miami have games against LAFC (H), Cincinnati (A) and Houston (H) coming up which should definitely paint a clearer picture.
A very likable team in a very likeable city.
Then they concede a goal. And now Brek Shea has got himself sent off and it’s not even half time yet.
Whitecaps just put in the most abject 90 minutes I've ever seen from a football team, and that's saying something with Charlton at the moment. One goal in three games.
Surprised at the Cincinnati result!
Phil Neville looking sheepish on the touchline.
Absolutely correct! Was at Stoke and barely played for 2-3 seasons.
Seattle at home this afternoon should be a really good barometer for the team.
Whitecaps collapse as usual.
Whitecaps also doing you a favour beating FC Dallas (who were 2nd).
I must say it was great having a night of MLS on the box. Worst thing about not living in Europe is not having football on the telly after work.
Austin are in their second season where things have clicked with some well recruited additions over the winter - alongside the maturity of some of the young players they already had on the team. Signing Driussi on a designated player contract helped too... he is currently one of the best players in the league.
By contrast, their first season was poor finishing 24th out of 27.
@Callumcafc Did Austin mainly acquire players from within the MLS, or have there been business from outside the states?