USMNT soccer team thread

DeGrozz said:

Again, I don't think what you are saying is correct. TV contracts is not where most of the income comes from. The MLS TV deal is only $90 million. That money does not even cover the base salaries and allocation money that the MLS pays out. Adding a bunch of smaller market, less supported teams, isn't going to increase everyone's piece of the pie. The league's merchandising deals are only worth $125 million. Clubs primarily survive off of ownership investment, sponsorships, fans in the door, and expansion fees that are remitted back to the clubs.

So I guess the questions are:

1 - If NASL teams have zero shots at making the MLS, where's the extra talent going to come from? Talent is thin as it is and there are few other options to get more players with the roster rules. The talent pool is not going to automatically expand because the MLS sets up teams in small markets. We are essentially creating USL/NASL v2.0 or 3.0, you can call a rose by any other name but...

2 - It's expected that new teams to the MLS will have soccer specific stadiums. In order to be suitable for an 'MLS premier division' it would need to be at least 18K (SJ's stadium size as a minimum measurement). I'm not sure how hoping to get 10K 17 times a year invigorates investors to spend 100's of millions in investment. And to Alsacs point, I'm not sure it's going to incentivize a guy like Kraft to move forward on a SSS in the city limits of Boston.

3 - How do you attract DP talent if you say 'yeah, we'll pay you now, but there's a chance you get shipped to Salt Lake City, Utah in 9 months if we don't stay up. You can sign on the dotted line.'

I just don't see how anyone could thing a second division makes sense right now. We don't have the infrastructure, we don't have the talent pool, and we don't have a fanbase that can support it... yet. Hopefully in 20 years it can be a serious conversation though.

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HRE Otto IV said:

1. I agree there isn't enough talent. A two tier MLS actually helps that. Garber wants to expand past 30 teams. Would you rather see 24 Premier teams with the best talent in MLS or 32 MLS teams with same talent pool? NASL would die which it is on the way too anyway.

2. MLS is a long term investment.

3. DP players can still choose where they go on loan. Also do you think outside of NY or LA these guys care where they play? So how is it different?

Relegation would happen when MLS expands past 30 teams. That is far from right now. It will be at least a dozen years.

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upperdeck said:

interesting they are admitting the screw up on the goal in the Panama game now..

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upperdeck said:

interesting they are admitting the screw up on the goal in the Panama game now..

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IthacaMatt said:

MLS is going to screw it all up and try to be like the NFL, where there are about 30 teams broken into conferences who eventually meet in a soccer Super Bowl of sorts. They've already devalued the regular season title by not having everyone play home and home, just like NCAA conferences over-expanded and hurt the product. They are trying to create playoffs at the end of the season, just because that's how we do it here. We don't do season long tournaments running in parallel to the regular season.

European and South American soccer is like the college football bowls used to be, back until the 1970s or 80s. Back then, going to a bowl (i.e. playing for a cup) was a big deal, not just a "performance trophy". And you had a bunch of teams who could consider their years successful, if they won the Peach Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl, and so on. Now, with the college football playoff and the BCS before it, and our winner-take-all society, those things have been devalued to American fans.

But the cups still matter, to a pretty decent extent, in a lot of these European and South American leagues. In Spain, if anyone other than Barca or Real wins the Copa del Rey, it's a memorable season for that team. The New Year's Day bowls were the last hold-outs, but now they have even been devalued by TV overexposure with other games.

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Fjoinkay said:

The US team was going to the World Cup in Russia with Klinnsmann at the helm. Everything pointed in that direction. His observations about US soccer offended some people, but he he had clear and accurate vision and those offended were blind for one reason or another.

With his vision he took a long-term approach. He tinkered with lineups for development reasons. He was comfortable with struggle on the journey. Unfortunately, the easily offended, blind to the truth about US soccer, and in some cases resentment filled people ended up getting their way. The results more than a year later speak for themselves.

The delusions about US soccer and the need to pretend that US soccer is something that it isn't (yet) continue to shock me. Watching Alexi Lalas trash talk Michael Ballack in the studio during World Cup and World Championship coverage is exhibit A. Using basketball as an example, Lalas' behavior with Ballack is like a European basketball pro who could never make it in the NBA sitting in the TNT studio talking smack to Charles Barkley. Doesn't make a bit of sense and would never happen. With US soccer the pretend world became the the default mindset-- a pretend universe initially designed for tv but eventually the people who should know better drank the Koolaide and lost their way. And the ship sank.

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CUSU said:

USA beating Paraguay 3-0 in U17 World Cup, will move on to the quarter finals.

Tim Weah, yes the Weahs son, with a beautiful strike to go up 2-0, look it up

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Forza Azzurri said:

By Weah, you mean George Weah?

Played for Milan in the mid-nineties. Tremendous striker...

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CUSU said:

USA beating Paraguay 3-0 in U17 World Cup, will move on to the quarter finals.

Tim Weah, yes the Weahs son, with a beautiful strike to go up 2-0, look it up

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Alsacs said:

Weah picked PSG over English clubs recently right?

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Alsacs said:

Jermaine Jones wants young U.S. talent to try Europe over MLS

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DeGrozz said:

Jones is right here that the young players need to take the challenge and go to Europe to develop, but I started thinking -- is it that our young players aren't taking the challenge or is it that no one really wanted our players who are in the 22-30 "prime" year ranges.

Morris obviously was a big mistake -- he's stagnated in the MLS. But I can't really think of many other players who are turning down reasonable (D1) Europe offers over the MLS. We've got 3 or 4 keepers that I believe could play in a top-5 Euro league, but I don't think there are any offers for them. Other than that -- am I missing a bunch of people? Our players who are in the 16-22 year range seem to be doing all right making moves or entering into agreements to head over at 18.

Really, the only players that come to mind that chose MLS over a legit chance in Europe during their prime years were Altidore, who was in a terrible run of form before coming to Toronto and needed a change in scenery, and Morris. I think Besler had some interest at the end of WC2014, but I think his form dipped more because of injuries and so much missed time in 2016 than anything.

Who else is there? I'm guessing Acosta will try to make a move from Dallas this winter. Christian Roldan could be a name to look for. EPB is already Man City bound. Tyler Adams doesn't have an offer...

It's kinda like saying all your kids should go to Ivy League schools, but if the Ivies won't accept them, then your best option may be SUNY.

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DeGrozz said:

Big Sam threw his hat into the ring.

He get results with less talented teams, but he is definitely not a protege of the 'beautiful game'.

I'm kind of indifferent.

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