Dempsey to the Sounders?
Dempsey to the Sounders?
Great for the MLS and Seattle. Bad for fans of teams that aren't the media darlings. Usually a returning US playet has to go through allocation, with rights going to the team at the top of the allocation list, but I guess Dempsie doesn't count because he'll be signed as a designated player.
Just once I'd like to see the Crew get a major player off the transfer market. Who knows, maybe the new owner might have some cash leftover after buying the team.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
Supposedly MLS has a tv contract coming up soon with the second NYC team coming in with joint ownership from Man City and the Yankees, who allegedly paid $100 million for the team. Columbus is a charter member of the MLS with an established support base and a soccer specific stadium which was part of the deal. So $68 million doesn't sound too far off the value. If they can upgrade the stadium and put a winner on the field, there's no reason why they can't match KC's 19-20, 000 a game in attendance.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
What does this move do for Dempsey's game and the USMNT? Dempsey went from a top tier European team to a minor league club. I understand the move is all about $, but I can't help but think this won't do much for America's best players game.
Well, he's 30 years old and he probably wasn't going to crack Spurs' best lineup. If he's going to milk his remaining career for all it's worth and be in form for next year's World Cup, playing in MLS will do him more good than watching from Tottenham's bench.
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Yeah, I can't imagine this move gets made if Dempsey had any confidence he'd be getting regular PT with the Spurs.
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If Spurs sell Bale they will be reportably be bringing in about 4-6 top line players, that would most likely push Dempsey out. In saying that he wouldn't of had much of an issue moving to a mid level prem team but when you are getting on in years some times $$$ talks.
Melbourne to Cincinnati - September 1st - 12th 2013
Moving from the Premiership to MLS is certainly a big step down, but MLS is hardly a minor league. It stacks up quite nicely to all but the biggest leagues. A good article on just that topic is below.
http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2...-the-top-five/
I think that's a fair assessment. Some people over here believe that the MLS is inferior to all European leagues because they only see the EPL and the Champions League. What they don't see are some of the regular league matches between middle to lower table teams attended by a few thousand hard core supporters and no one else. Most European leagues are dominated by a few teams in big cities and the rest are small potatoes operations hopingto strike gold by developing a star they can turn around and sell to a bigger club.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
That article doesn't mention anything about the standard of football being played tho.
"The study brings into account attendances, finances, goals, competitiveness, caliber of players and managers, stadiums and success in continental competitions"
I wonder if the MLS lost points in that "study" for still calling it's self Soccer? If we wore looking at standard of play I would rate most teams similar to the Mid-low English Championship or High to Mid Dutch Erdevise league.
Last edited by Australian Red; 08-06-2013 at 10:50 PM.
Melbourne to Cincinnati - September 1st - 12th 2013
Probably a pretty good rating. Those are pretty solid leagues in the grand scheme of things. I would say the top teams in MLS are above that standard though. As some one who watches the league every week I am continually amazed at how rapidly it is improving. The biggest difference between MLS and a top flight league are finishing and first touch skills.
As for the term "soccer," your league uses it too.
Like all things it's hard to gauge, the gulf in class between teams can be massive. For instance the Dutch and French league have massive gulfs in class and talent from the top of the league to the bottom, which makes standards really hard to line up.
The A-league doesn't use it at all which is part of the reason the NSL is now defunct, there was a big overhaul when setting up the new league back 10 days ago and one of the main rules was that football is refered to as football. The only time you will ever see the word soccer is when refering to the National team Socceroos, which is an old moniker which dates back to long before i was born and is still used as more of a marketing/brand recognition sort of thing.
Last edited by Australian Red; 08-06-2013 at 11:34 PM.
Melbourne to Cincinnati - September 1st - 12th 2013
The MLS isn't on the same level as the English, German, Italian, and Spanish (sorry I didn't call them by the right name). Granted most of the top leagues are top heavy with a few great teams and the rest of them average.
One thing I have noticed in watching EPL as well as Champions League is the quality of first touches and passing. When you watch some of the fringe guys trying to make the USMNT, guys who are some of the best in the MLS, their first touches are pretty abysmal. Even if your a second tier EPL team, when your playing a Man U or Chelsea, your first touches have to be good, your passes have to be accurate, you have to be technically sound or your going to get beat by 5 goals.
The biggest thing I have found is in the MLS you can be sloppy and get away with it.
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