Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian
The Unobstructed View
i always thought the stadium in ny that the irish played at in the wc looked awesome, suppose with 7,000 in though it would be a bit [Poor language removed].
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American soccer
- Thread starter Nebbiolo
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Rook
Player Valuation: £80m
Having the goal over the GIANTS endzone and having football markings doesn't do much good either.
The states have the best stadiums in the world (why wouldn't they the taxpayers fund every penny). Some university stadiums (Tenneesee, Penn State, and Michigan) even can hold 100K+
I miss CT and CT lite loads, they were boss they were.
T
TsarDiniyar
Guest
Toronto for me, i've family there and have been to see them play, not very good, and i dont particularly care, but i do look for their results. Same as the Raptors in the NBA.
Scottoffee
Player Valuation: £10m
This just about says it all!...
Goal.com - Major League Soccer - Huckerby Named Newcomer of the Year
No doubt in a couple more years, with the ever-expanding number of teams, investment and guys like Henry joining Beckham, Ljungberg et al., the MLS will be a top league.
Right now though, they're still losing too many top youngsters like Altidore, Johnson and Adu and questions have to be raised about the quality when a guy that wouldn't get near a Premiership starting XI wins best newcomer.
btw - KC Wizards for me, ever since Richard Gough and Mo Johnson playing there back in the day - Paul Rideout for a bit as well.
Goal.com - Major League Soccer - Huckerby Named Newcomer of the Year
No doubt in a couple more years, with the ever-expanding number of teams, investment and guys like Henry joining Beckham, Ljungberg et al., the MLS will be a top league.
Right now though, they're still losing too many top youngsters like Altidore, Johnson and Adu and questions have to be raised about the quality when a guy that wouldn't get near a Premiership starting XI wins best newcomer.
btw - KC Wizards for me, ever since Richard Gough and Mo Johnson playing there back in the day - Paul Rideout for a bit as well.
toffeestillidie
Player Valuation: £35m
i don't really mind this, i'd rather MLS gained a reputation of being a springboard league, where players from countries all around the world with smaller leagues come to get noticed by teams in top leagues (villarreal and benfica). this is a similar role that the dutch league plays, (few can argue against their excellence in player development). i'd much rather it had this reputation than the retirement league, where washed up players can get their second chance at glory (and a whole lotta cash)..
so far MLS looks to be doing a good job of striking a balance, and its always interesting to think as i'm watching dc united games if one of the players on the pitch will be the star of tomorrow.
TX Bill
Player Valuation: £80m
To be fair, Huckerby played extremely well and made San Jose and much more dangerous proposition.
As I mentioned earlier, the quality has never been advertised as Premiership/La Liga standard and frankly, I doubt if it ever will be.
But too often, some hack from the UK does a piece on MLS without ever having been to a match and proceeds to denigrate the quality of it. Yet every player who has come over here, from the UK, South America, or elsewhere, has stated that the quality was much better than they though it would be and that it's a competitive league.
It would be like me, without having seen many Euroleague basketball games, trashing the quality and then making comparisons to the NBA. But believe me when I tell you. I watch Everton every weekend and I watch the Houston Dynamo every weekend so take it from someone who knows. The MLS has good quality players but we're still behind in terms of technical ability on the ball.
Lazy journalism at best and uninformed journalism at worst.
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Nebbiolo
Valuation: £108 million
There are too many other BIG sports in the US for "soccer" to compete. I mean they've got baseball (We Brits call it it "rounders"), basket ball (we Brits call that "netball") and American football (we Brits call it "rugby for girls"). 
But seriously, from the little I've seen there looks to be a decent quality game over there. Perhaps a few of those clubs really could have a stab at PL football, at least as relegation dodgers. And let's face it, whenever Everton play in the States, they regularly get at least one slap in the face by one of these so-called lesser teams.
But seriously, from the little I've seen there looks to be a decent quality game over there. Perhaps a few of those clubs really could have a stab at PL football, at least as relegation dodgers. And let's face it, whenever Everton play in the States, they regularly get at least one slap in the face by one of these so-called lesser teams.
TX Bill
Player Valuation: £80m
There are too many other BIG sports in the US for "soccer" to compete. I mean they've got baseball (We Brits call it it "rounders"), basket ball (we Brits call that "netball") and American football (we Brits call it "rugby for girls").
But seriously, from the little I've seen there looks to be a decent quality game over there. Perhaps a few of those clubs really could have a stab at PL football, at least as relegation dodgers. And let's face it, whenever Everton play in the States, they regularly get at least one slap in the face by one of these so-called lesser teams.
That's true as far as Everton are concerned when coming over here. I'd put a lot of that down to fitness though. The MLS teams are in midseason form so when they play Everton in a friendly, they usually have the upper hand.
Yes, MLS clubs could "compete" in the Premiership. However due to the lack of depth and the salary structure that MLS uses, they'd be relegated everytime. Forget the big three. If my Dynamo had to play the Everton's, Villa's, & Spurs of the world week in and week out, they'd have a tough time of it. Most of your Premier League bench players would be instant starters on most MLS clubs. Our top paid players would be your lower paid players.
In addition, the depth in MLS is poor. Once you get beyond your first team (say your first 16-18), there's a noticable drop off in terms of talent and ability.
The Dynamo are one of the deepest if not the deepest team in the league in terms of talent and most MLS observers would agree with that. Yet as many quality MLS players we have, and say over a 38 game schedule in England, we'd do ok in League One and would be probably lower end Championship if I'm being honest.
It's always fun to think about how an MLS team would do in another league but I never give a lot of creedence to how we do in one-off friendlies against English teams.
When I went to watch Everton play RSL last year, RSL won the match and played very well. Everton didn't play too well (Jagielka at right back anyone?) but if you put a fit Everton up against a fit RSL ten times in a row, Everton would win 8-9 of them and tie the other one or two. RSL wouldn't get a sniff in. And that's not to denigrate RSL, you could say the same for my Dynamo as well.
That's the gap in quality. But I will say that since 1996, we've improved greatly. An MLS team from 1996 wouldn't have had much of a chance against a Premier level team back then, friendly or otherwise. Today, they'd have a chance and they would defintely compete on the pitch. They certainly wouldn't embarass themselves.
toffeestillidie
Player Valuation: £35m
just to chime in on one of the things i like about MLS, the players seem like real people more than they seem like celebrities
when i went up to new york to watch dc, on the way back we saw Santino Quaranta eating at burger king with his family
hard to picture seeing a premier league star in those circumstances (though of course i could be dead wrong and that could be a regular occurrence, i would conjecture that it doesn't happen much)
when i went up to new york to watch dc, on the way back we saw Santino Quaranta eating at burger king with his family
hard to picture seeing a premier league star in those circumstances (though of course i could be dead wrong and that could be a regular occurrence, i would conjecture that it doesn't happen much)
SeattleToffee
Player Valuation: £25k
Seattle Sounders FC!!
Seattle is getting an MLS expansion team for next year. Seattle Sounders FC have Kasey Keller (local boy) and Freddie Ljungberg (past his prime maybe but fun for MLS). For whatever reason they waived the soccer specific stadium requirement which will lead to the same problems mentioned elsewhere. Shame because the team has sold 14000 season tickets for next year.
And for Nebbiolo: NFL is rugby for girls, eh? The reason American football players wear pads is because if they didn't there would literally be deaths. Name the toughest guy in the Premiership ever and I will introduce you to hundreds of American football players to bring that man's size/speed/strength into harsh relief. Probably not a popular fact around here, but the truth nonetheless.
Seattle is getting an MLS expansion team for next year. Seattle Sounders FC have Kasey Keller (local boy) and Freddie Ljungberg (past his prime maybe but fun for MLS). For whatever reason they waived the soccer specific stadium requirement which will lead to the same problems mentioned elsewhere. Shame because the team has sold 14000 season tickets for next year.
And for Nebbiolo: NFL is rugby for girls, eh? The reason American football players wear pads is because if they didn't there would literally be deaths. Name the toughest guy in the Premiership ever and I will introduce you to hundreds of American football players to bring that man's size/speed/strength into harsh relief. Probably not a popular fact around here, but the truth nonetheless.
Jamo Martinez
Player Valuation: £70m
astronomic wages + celebrity status = arsehole attitudes*
*Obviously there are exceptions but there does seem to be a pattern. Sportsmen paid a normal(ish) salary act like normal people and willingly mix with normal people. Sportsmen paid like royalty don't want to rub shoulders with the hoi poloi
*Obviously there are exceptions but there does seem to be a pattern. Sportsmen paid a normal(ish) salary act like normal people and willingly mix with normal people. Sportsmen paid like royalty don't want to rub shoulders with the hoi poloi
TX Bill
Player Valuation: £80m
Sorry but coming from someone who lives in the States and sees NFL games every weekend, NFL players ARE NOT superior atheletes to Premier League players. Sure, they may be stronger due to their size but when it comes to athletic ability, speed, agility, and fitness levels, there really isn't much comparison.
Because they are bigger, doesn't mean they are better.
Rook
Player Valuation: £80m
Rugby players are much different athletes than NFL players. NFL players are subbed and get constant breaks so they can concentrate on building fast twitch muscles. Many players are subbed out on for breaks after 2 plays (about 15sec of running). A 320lb (150kg) NFL lineman wouldn't survive 10 minutes of a rugby game. A rugby player likewise wouldn't survive 10 minutes on an NFL offensive or defensive line.
The difference between the NFL is a rugby match is as big as the difference between a 100M dash and a 5K run.
The difference between the NFL is a rugby match is as big as the difference between a 100M dash and a 5K run.
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