Install the app
How to install the app on iOS

Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.

Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.

  • Participation within this subforum is only available to members who have had 5+ posts approved elsewhere.

Sir Landon Of Donovan

Status
Not open for further replies.
DualityNSNO said:
He's also 31, by the time his contract's over I think he'd be 32.
People were raging over signing Alcaraz cuz he's 30.

As much as I loved him - I'm glad this ship has sailed.
Click to expand...

I will again have to agree with AF on this one

I was annoyed that another obstacle was being put in front of Duffy during a key point in his development

Right now we have Mirallas on the right and he could easily move inside if Donnovan came in
 
One step at a time...footy fans in the States are vocal but 80% of this country couldn't give two ****s about the sport. If you want to talk about a sport here being ripe for the promotion/relegation model then it'd be MLB as the majority of the infrastructure is there and has been for a good while, yet it'll never happen.
 

UP

ALL

NIGHT

FOR

images
 
Kay20 said:
I answered only because it was brought up in the thread, and it gets pooped on a ton. We wouldn't be "defensive" about it if people actually were accurate about it. And no one has really brought up the A league except for one random reference.

You call it defensive, I call it uninformed.

Move this into the World Football thread where people won't get so offended.

EDIT: I love Everton, and I love LA. The two normally don't intermix, so it's usually not a problem until someone brings it up. Just like when my Arsenal/Spurs/Man U friends bag on Everton, I rage at them in the same manner.
Click to expand...

It's cool, I feel I am pretty accurate about the league, it's entertaining, but not very skillful in general. My "can't string 5 passes together" was more an emotional than factual statement, it's just a sentence based on my viewing of the league.

I enjoy watching the MLS, it's not a great advert for football (again in my opinion of course), but it's great that it's so well supported and defended as that means there's a real passion for the game in the USA and that's great for the long term future of football worldwide.

One day, the Americans are going to get it right skill wise and become a dominant force, they have the money, the fitness, and attitude already, I don't think it'll be long.
 
Elong said:
I watch a wee bit of MLS because it's on ESPN a lot over here, and what I've seen, the fitness levels are defo on a par with the EPL, the speed of the game isn't far off either, the problem is the skill level, they're so fit and energetic because of the excellence of the USA's fitness programs that the technical side of the game can't keep up.

It's like they try stuff they're not quite capable of yet. Beckham played wonderfully for LA Galaxy over there because he had so many willing runners to get onto his balls (I'm sure there's a joke there).

Agree with that Bill? They are nearly there, just lacking a bit of technique.
Click to expand...

To a certain extent, yes I do.

The USA is still waaaay behind in terms of youth development when compared to the European clubs. Even the 2nd and 3rd tier clubs have very good youth development programs. Take a team like Ajax for example. Famed for it's youth development and there's really nothing in the USA that comes close.

(I'm not going to get into the issues of a multitude of sports for children to choose from in our country...that's a different topic for a different day.)

We're still reliant on physical play and fitness to get to some sort of a competitive level. It is however at that point where there is a drop off. When you see a player like Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey who actually have well above average technical ability on the ball, players like them are, well, I won't say a dime a dozen in Europe, but there are plenty of them.

MLS clubs are working hard to work on building academy systems which will develop our players at a younger age so that by the time they're 16-18 years old, they have a real opportunity to contribute on the MLS level, and by that extension, the USMNT level. Unfortunately, the resources aren't quite there yet so it's still going to be a work in progress.

The other main difference between MLS clubs and clubs in the 2nd & 3rd tier European leagues is squad depth. There is a noticeable drop off from your top 11-14 and the rest of the squad on average. Even the 2nd tier European leagues have two good players at each position and several who can play above average at multiple positions. MLS has a way to go in developing squad depth. That always goes to why an MLS club can beat European teams in friendlies (mainly due to fitness levels) but also because starting eleven to starting eleven, we're competitive. But put an MLS club in say the Belgian first division and they'd struggle over the course of a season due to injuries, suspensions, etc....

The players the clubs have brought over from Europe have been, for the most part successful. My Houston Dynamo brought over Andrew Driver, an Englishman who was recently playing with Hearts. He's been a revelation for us and has done extremely well. May not have been a household name over in the UK but he's becoming more well known in MLS. Players like that with his ability set a great example for American players who haven't been exposed to the training and instruction he's no doubt received from a young age.

Trust me, we're working on it. If any of you had seen the start of MLS in 1996, you'd have genuinely cringed at the quality of play. It wasn't real good. But we've gotten much better and still have a lot of room to improve.
 
Artetafan said:
The main problem I have with the MLS as an outsider is there's no promotion-relegation system.

I honestly think that's critical to having a decent league. It's not fair that chivas are still there every year when they're not as strong as some non MLS american sides.

Promotion and relegation is crucial if you want your league to be a meritocracy. Given the whole american dream culture it surprises me that they're so against it in sport.

I work with a man who runs a football club in the tenth tier of english football and if that team got really good they'd be able to win the fa cup this year and the champions league within 15 years. (And that isn't just theoretical, wigan and wimbledon have won FA Cups having started from that position.) In the american league he could be running the best team in the country and win the open cup every year and his team would still be never given a chance to even compete in the MLS and the north american champions league.

For a league that has introduced the salary gap I desperately want european football to have it just seems obviously unfair.
Click to expand...

Not enough money in the game for that (yet).

No owner in the USA would take the risk that they're buying into a club only to have the possibility of being relegated.

European club owners/buyers understand that risk but then there's quite a bit more money to be gained for the risk. MLS isn't anywhere close to that.
 
Hellerad said:
Feel free to move this to the MLS thread since we have gotten off topic, but I'll respond to AF.



I agree with you, and I'm confident that 90% of football fans here in the States agree with you. But is isn't feasible right now (hopefully it will be in a few decades) for a couple of reasons:

1. The league is young (formed in 1996) and has only recently begun to be profitable. This means it is a pretty big risk to invest money in the infrastructure. That risk is magnified if teams risk falling out of the top tier, which is the only tier with any real chance of profit.
2. There is no billion dollar/pound/euro TV deal. In fact, advertising revenue as a whole is a fraction of what it is in England. So there is no real end game for a business man looking to invest in a lower tier club to fight for promotion.
3. Local support is growing quickly, but it isn't stable yet. Americans don't have generations of local support to keep filling the stands every week. Relegated teams in England may take a hit on attendance, but it doesn't evaporate. I don't think anybody really knows how relegation would affect a club over here.
4. The United States is HUGE. Travel expenses would kill lower league teams unless they were completely regional. Even then, you would have to have regional winners compete nationally for the promotion spots. That could make for a nice Americanized playoff system, and it could also result in huge regional disparity (much like NCAA football).
5. MLS is a single entity structure. Club owners own a % of the league. I imagine a system could be created to preserve that, but there is a chance the entire structure would fall apart with a promotion system. With that said, if 1-4 can be resolved, I'm all for getting rid of the single entity structure.

I hope we see it someday. The NASL is growing quickly, but I have no clue how the financial structure of the USL and NASL can be compatible with the MLS one-entity structure.
Click to expand...

Wish I had seen your post before I posted. Well stated and much better than my attempt.
 

TX Bill said:
Wish I had seen your post before I posted. Well stated and much better than my attempt.
Click to expand...

Nah, they were both good eye openers.

Yours and my part of the world both have the same problems in that there's more money available in playing other sports, whether it be NBA, NFL or Baseball, or Rugby, Aussie Rules or League over here. It's so far down the pecking order financially that there will always be a struggle to find and develop the best sportsmen out there.
 
Glad this thread was moved. Great posts by hellerad and tx bill. I love promotion and relegation and agree that it is what makes European football so excellent. Sadly I also agree that it is unlikely to happen here due to tne financial risk.

I hadn't heard it said, but the idea of a team doing really well never making it to then mls is not entirely correct. The league expands when they think they can handle it. Sometimes, the new team is a team like this mancity/ny thing, but if you look previous to that, the mls "promoted" teams in Vancouver and Portland. While it wasn't official promotion, it is the same ownership group, name, fan base, etc.

Not nearly as good as real promotion and relegation.
 
TX Bill said:
No owner in the USA would take the risk that they're buying into a club only to have the possibility of being relegated.
Click to expand...

Add to this that no sport in the US allows relegation and promotion. Expansion and contraction, yes, but teams are not relegated for performance. This is an absolutely foreign concept in the American sportscape, and fans won't understand this (although would be a great idea for MLB at least). I'm not optimistic that MLS combines with either of the lesser leagues to create any tier structure.
 
TX Bill said:
To a certain extent, yes I do.

The USA is still waaaay behind in terms of youth development when compared to the European clubs. Even the 2nd and 3rd tier clubs have very good youth development programs. Take a team like Ajax for example. Famed for it's youth development and there's really nothing in the USA that comes close.

(I'm not going to get into the issues of a multitude of sports for children to choose from in our country...that's a different topic for a different day.)

We're still reliant on physical play and fitness to get to some sort of a competitive level. It is however at that point where there is a drop off. When you see a player like Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey who actually have well above average technical ability on the ball, players like them are, well, I won't say a dime a dozen in Europe, but there are plenty of them.

MLS clubs are working hard to work on building academy systems which will develop our players at a younger age so that by the time they're 16-18 years old, they have a real opportunity to contribute on the MLS level, and by that extension, the USMNT level. Unfortunately, the resources aren't quite there yet so it's still going to be a work in progress.

The other main difference between MLS clubs and clubs in the 2nd & 3rd tier European leagues is squad depth. There is a noticeable drop off from your top 11-14 and the rest of the squad on average. Even the 2nd tier European leagues have two good players at each position and several who can play above average at multiple positions. MLS has a way to go in developing squad depth. That always goes to why an MLS club can beat European teams in friendlies (mainly due to fitness levels) but also because starting eleven to starting eleven, we're competitive. But put an MLS club in say the Belgian first division and they'd struggle over the course of a season due to injuries, suspensions, etc....

The players the clubs have brought over from Europe have been, for the most part successful. My Houston Dynamo brought over Andrew Driver, an Englishman who was recently playing with Hearts. He's been a revelation for us and has done extremely well. May not have been a household name over in the UK but he's becoming more well known in MLS. Players like that with his ability set a great example for American players who haven't been exposed to the training and instruction he's no doubt received from a young age.

Trust me, we're working on it. If any of you had seen the start of MLS in 1996, you'd have genuinely cringed at the quality of play. It wasn't real good. But we've gotten much better and still have a lot of room to improve.
Click to expand...

Driver was a key part of Hearts team but any team outside of Rangers and Celtic barely get any press over here

I'm glad he's doing well for you Bill. I always liked him
 
TX Bill said:
To a certain extent, yes I do.

The USA is still waaaay behind in terms of youth development when compared to the European clubs. Even the 2nd and 3rd tier clubs have very good youth development programs. Take a team like Ajax for example. Famed for it's youth development and there's really nothing in the USA that comes close.

(I'm not going to get into the issues of a multitude of sports for children to choose from in our country...that's a different topic for a different day.)

We're still reliant on physical play and fitness to get to some sort of a competitive level. It is however at that point where there is a drop off. When you see a player like Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey who actually have well above average technical ability on the ball, players like them are, well, I won't say a dime a dozen in Europe, but there are plenty of them.

MLS clubs are working hard to work on building academy systems which will develop our players at a younger age so that by the time they're 16-18 years old, they have a real opportunity to contribute on the MLS level, and by that extension, the USMNT level. Unfortunately, the resources aren't quite there yet so it's still going to be a work in progress.

The other main difference between MLS clubs and clubs in the 2nd & 3rd tier European leagues is squad depth. There is a noticeable drop off from your top 11-14 and the rest of the squad on average. Even the 2nd tier European leagues have two good players at each position and several who can play above average at multiple positions. MLS has a way to go in developing squad depth. That always goes to why an MLS club can beat European teams in friendlies (mainly due to fitness levels) but also because starting eleven to starting eleven, we're competitive. But put an MLS club in say the Belgian first division and they'd struggle over the course of a season due to injuries, suspensions, etc....

The players the clubs have brought over from Europe have been, for the most part successful. My Houston Dynamo brought over Andrew Driver, an Englishman who was recently playing with Hearts. He's been a revelation for us and has done extremely well. May not have been a household name over in the UK but he's becoming more well known in MLS. Players like that with his ability set a great example for American players who haven't been exposed to the training and instruction he's no doubt received from a young age.

Trust me, we're working on it. If any of you had seen the start of MLS in 1996, you'd have genuinely cringed at the quality of play. It wasn't real good. But we've gotten much better and still have a lot of room to improve.
Click to expand...

I think this is a great post.

People seem to forget that the MLS is basically still brand new.

It's still going to take years for it to get close, but it is getting better all the time.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.

Welcome to GrandOldTeam

Get involved. Registration is simple and free.

Register
Back
Top