MLS kicks off Friday

[Simster]

I get the history but the fact remains the owners of New York Cosmos are worse off because they're in the second tier of a second rate league, while the MLS are also worse off because they don't have the big global side that can captivate the soccer world like the Cosmos did in the mid-70s. The earning potential of both is severely curtailed.

After the departure of Thierry Henry the New York Red Bulls star player is now Bradley Wright-Phillips, while NYCFC had no one playing last night of any consequence. Personally, the whole league needs more than the odd Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard to get me watching regularly.

They've just signed a record domestic TV deal - $90m a year I believe. Clearly that is very small beer compared to what we see here, so you're not going to see more than the odd Frank Lampard in MLS for a good while. They could of course spend a fortune for the best players in the world, but it remains unlikely that a TV contract will cover those costs. Indeed, they are far more likely to go the way of the old NASL following that model.

Their model is working a treat - centrally owned, stadiums built with the sport in mind which enable them to control matchday revenue, and a collective bargain agreement that has just been negotiated that ensures the lesser North American players can earn a reasonable living playing in the league, even if they don't make it to stardom.

You have to remember where they've come from. After the NASL collapsed, nobody in the US watched the sport until the mid 90s. Nowadays, the sport is very much mainstream (World Cup viewing figures dwarf figures for all their traditional sports except the NFL), even if MLS isn't. But that league is inching towards the big 4 sports leagues now, bit by bit. Attendances will average over 20,000 this season, there is talk of stadium expansion, Atlanta have sold 19,000 season ticket deposits for when they start in 2017 and various cities are clamouring to join - Minneapolis even has two competing ownership groups.

It's now all about TV ratings. Once they can crack TV viewing figures (which remain minuscule), then the big TV contract money will come, then the multitude world class players in their pomp. Personally, I reckon MLS will be in the top 5 football leagues in the world in around 10-15 years time.

 

[Simster]

Erm David villa, personally at 33 (I think) I'm amazed he is there and not in a top team in Europe.

I think Giovinco at TFC from Juve is the biggest signing. He's 27 and a really top top player and is costing $7m a season. They've also got Michael Bradley (US captain) and Jose Altidore (a bust at Sunderland but has had success elsewhere and scores for fun internationally). But Toronto are spending big on their designated players because they've got 30,000 seats to fill.

 

[Brovion]

Hey @Simster you seem to know about these things: I see the 'other' big name of the old 1970s NASL, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, have reformed and they too are in the new NASL. Is there a chance they could get into the MLS? Or will the potential Beckham franchise stymie that?

 

[Simster]

Hey [MENTION=232]Simster[/MENTION] you seem to know about these things: I see the 'other' big name of the old 1970s NASL, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, have reformed and they too are in the new NASL. Is there a chance they could get back into the MLS? Or will the potential Beckham franchise stymie that?

Not in the foreseeable. In the next expansion round, it'll be two of San Antonio, Minnesota (two bids) and Miami. Vegas was mooted, but MLS couldn't be arsed with the local politics.

It's actually a bit of a headache. Miami is headed by Beckham, who they really want involved (despite the hefty discount he gets on the expansion fee), but getting a downtown stadium done in Miami is proving a nightmare. Minnesota is a nice problem to have - you have an NFL ownership group with a brand new NFL stadium good to go against a local football(soccer) mad group who are still trying to get a downtown smaller stadium done. Then there's San Antonio who weren't previously serious contenders until the last 3 or 4 months when they really have got every single duck in a row - deep pocketed owners, downtown stadium, a massive list of season ticket deposits and local politicians heavily on board. San Antonio is something like the 25th biggest media market (so smaller than the other two locations), but they really are set, and only have one other major sports franchise in town.

Tampa Bay (Mutiny) did have a franchise but it got contracted in the dark days (2002).

 

[Brovion]

Not in the foreseeable. In the next expansion round, it'll be two of San Antonio, Minnesota (two bids) and Miami. Vegas was mooted, but MLS couldn't be arsed with the local politics.

It's actually a bit of a headache. Miami is headed by Beckham, who they really want involved (despite the hefty discount he gets on the expansion fee), but getting a downtown stadium done in Miami is proving a nightmare. Minnesota is a nice problem to have - you have an NFL ownership group with a brand new NFL stadium good to go against a local football(soccer) mad group who are still trying to get a downtown smaller stadium done. Then there's San Antonio who weren't previously serious contenders until the last 3 or 4 months when they really have got every single duck in a row - deep pocketed owners, downtown stadium, a massive list of season ticket deposits and local politicians heavily on board. San Antonio is something like the 25th biggest media market (so smaller than the other two locations), but they really are set, and only have one other major sports franchise in town.

Tampa Bay (Mutiny) did have a franchise but it got contracted in the dark days (2002).

Cheers for the reply. I hereby appoint you NSC's official Fountain of Knowledge on all things MLS!

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

It’s been interesting to see how MLS has grown and developed in the time I’ve lived in the States. I’ve followed red Bulls for a while – both as a season ticket holder and casual spectator. They seem to have adopted a solid business model and have not attempted to expand too quickly. The standard of play seems to be somewhere between League 1 and Championship to me, and Red Bulls had an average attendance of about 18 – 19,000 last season which is pretty respectable. They do need to develop their own domestic players and rely less on imported aging ex-Premiership players like Beckham, Henry etc. They will continue to thrive as there is a big demand for live soccer from ex-pats and also from the influx of Hispanics and Latinos. I’ve also been impressed with the customer service and attitude towards their fans – Red Bulls screwed up one day with the food and drink concessions (sound familiar?) and within a few days they had issued season ticket holders with an email apologizing and added $10 to our swipe cards. Must have cost them a bit but a good PR gesture.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Erm David villa, personally at 33 (I think) I'm amazed he is there and not in a top team in Europe.

Ok, I'll give you that but from what I saw last night he was off the pace. The reality is the quality of players on offer is well below the Championship, let alone the top leagues of Europe and South America.

 

[Pavilionaire]

They've just signed a record domestic TV deal - $90m a year I believe. Clearly that is very small beer compared to what we see here, so you're not going to see more than the odd Frank Lampard in MLS for a good while. They could of course spend a fortune for the best players in the world, but it remains unlikely that a TV contract will cover those costs. Indeed, they are far more likely to go the way of the old NASL following that model.

Their model is working a treat - centrally owned, stadiums built with the sport in mind which enable them to control matchday revenue, and a collective bargain agreement that has just been negotiated that ensures the lesser North American players can earn a reasonable living playing in the league, even if they don't make it to stardom.

You have to remember where they've come from. After the NASL collapsed, nobody in the US watched the sport until the mid 90s. Nowadays, the sport is very much mainstream (World Cup viewing figures dwarf figures for all their traditional sports except the NFL), even if MLS isn't. But that league is inching towards the big 4 sports leagues now, bit by bit. Attendances will average over 20,000 this season, there is talk of stadium expansion, Atlanta have sold 19,000 season ticket deposits for when they start in 2017 and various cities are clamouring to join - Minneapolis even has two competing ownership groups.

It's now all about TV ratings. Once they can crack TV viewing figures (which remain minuscule), then the big TV contract money will come, then the multitude world class players in their pomp. Personally, I reckon MLS will be in the top 5 football leagues in the world in around 10-15 years time.

I remember saying pretty much the same thing in 1978 but 37 years on here we are.

I know the Prem and Champions League football didn't happen 'til the 90s but the global reaction to what was happening in the North American Soccer League, and the internationalisation of the game when Spurs signed Ardiles and Villa, Birmingham got Tarantini showed the direction the game was going in.

As a 10-year old buying Shoot! magazine it wasn't just the Cosmos with Pele and Beckenbauer, but the host of other true greats: Banks, Moore, Hurst, Best, Eusebio, Carlos Alberto, Giles, Gerd Muller, Cruyff, Lorimer, Neeskens - the list goes on.

I think the American public will stick with it, especially if the national side continue to be successful, but they'll need to get the bigger stars in.

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

Looks like it’s going down to the wire for Sunday’s NYCFC inaugural game at Yankee Stadium

NYCFC pitch preparations

Also appears to be pissing off the Yankees faithful - which can't be a bad thing

 

[Simster]

Looks like it’s going down to the wire for Sunday’s NYCFC inaugural game at Yankee Stadium

NYCFC pitch preparations

Also appears to be pissing off the Yankees faithful - which can't be a bad thing

Heh heh, damn right.

All very amusing. Remember this is largely being driven by muppets who refuse to take the train to Harrison. It's not in NY etc etc. Fine. Deal with a team of mercenaries including "stars" like fat Frank who reneged on his deal to be there at the start of the season. And good luck watching games in a baseball stadium. Tits.

 

[Lower West Stander]

They've just signed a record domestic TV deal - $90m a year I believe. Clearly that is very small beer compared to what we see here, so you're not going to see more than the odd Frank Lampard in MLS for a good while. They could of course spend a fortune for the best players in the world, but it remains unlikely that a TV contract will cover those costs. Indeed, they are far more likely to go the way of the old NASL following that model.

Their model is working a treat - centrally owned, stadiums built with the sport in mind which enable them to control matchday revenue, and a collective bargain agreement that has just been negotiated that ensures the lesser North American players can earn a reasonable living playing in the league, even if they don't make it to stardom.

You have to remember where they've come from. After the NASL collapsed, nobody in the US watched the sport until the mid 90s. Nowadays, the sport is very much mainstream (World Cup viewing figures dwarf figures for all their traditional sports except the NFL), even if MLS isn't. But that league is inching towards the big 4 sports leagues now, bit by bit. Attendances will average over 20,000 this season, there is talk of stadium expansion, Atlanta have sold 19,000 season ticket deposits for when they start in 2017 and various cities are clamouring to join - Minneapolis even has two competing ownership groups.

It's now all about TV ratings. Once they can crack TV viewing figures (which remain minuscule), then the big TV contract money will come, then the multitude world class players in their pomp. Personally, I reckon MLS will be in the top 5 football leagues in the world in around 10-15 years time.

I'm really not sure about this.

Yes the MLS is growing but from what I have seen from living in the States, the only time your average man in the street shows any interest is when the national team are playing in the World Cup. I went to a fair few Red Bulls games last season and their supporter base is predominantly Latin American. Sure New Yorkers go but more for the entertainment value than because they actually support the club - and because your average American sports fan has the attention span of a gnat, there is a constantly flow of getting up and sitting down during play (would cause a riot at the Amex). Getting massive piles of food to eat is a major part of watching live sport over here and "soccer" just isn't geared for that. Any sporting conversations in our office at the moment revolve around NFL free agency, how good the Rangers are and how rubbish the Knicks are - despite there being a new soccer team and the MLS having only just kicked off.

I agree TV coverage will help - and its a lot better this year - but I personally think football has got a long long way to go before entering the mainstream.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Portland vs LA tonight. Looking forward to seeing if the Timbers can get going. get the axe out. Orlando won their first away match which surprised me given the shambles of their first home match.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Oh, and NYC kick off at the Yankees stadium now

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Anyone else watching this appalling coverage on Sky ?

Its making ITV look professional, only 1 static camera covering the players coming out and the anthem, even then the person controlling that cocked it up !!

 

[Hampster Gull]

Anyone else watching this appalling coverage on Sky ?

Its making ITV look professional, only 1 static camera covering the players coming out and the anthem, even then the person controlling that cocked it up !!

Yes. The main camera has a poor angle. Might save myself for the 11pm kick off

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

Flipping between this game and the ice hockey at the minute – and the Rangers game is the more exciting. Still seems weird seeing footie played in a baseball stadium – but the NY Cosmos played in the old Yankee Stadium.Views from behind the two goals are probably OK, but a big gap between the sidelines and the first row of spectators. A bit like the away supporters being a long way from the pitch at Withdean I suppose.

Quite impressed that they’ve sold 15,000 season tickets but I’ll continue supporting Red Bulls as I’ve been watching them for the last 4 years.

 

[jay d]

Think the nyc game is very enentertaining. Great goal from villa , showboating anfd end to end stuff

 

[Hampster Gull]

Think the nyc game is very enentertaining. Great goal from villa , showboating anfd end to end stuff

yep, enjoying it. There are a couple more goals left in this one

 

[Simster]

How on earth it wasn't 3-1 or 4-1 at half time to NE is anyone's guess!

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

2-0 NYCFC - Patrick Mullins, who last season was actually drafted by New England, comes on and within 1 minute scores with his first touch.

As it stands, last seasons MLS Cup finalists have failed to score in 2 games, after a previous 3-0 defeat to Seattle.