MLS kicks off Friday

[Kinky Gerbil]

Just looking at tickets for Orlando vs DC, $140 - that can't be right....

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Season kicked off last night. Sky showing a match tomorrow at i think 9pm. Orlando vs ny city, both new teams to the mls. Apparently 60k sell out for this. I will find time to catch this one

Yep. That's pretty impressive for a city with no real football heritage.

[tweet]574679482176503808[/tweet]

 

[Lower West Stander]

is this Orlando v NYCFC game on TV in the UK?

Its so bad its embarrassing.

 

[Hampster Gull]

is this Orlando v NYCFC game on TV in the UK?

Its so bad its embarrassing.

Its not that bad, but is poor. Feels like a kick off season game in august

 

[Simster]

Kaka's shot the only highlight so far. Apart from that, shit game. No better than watching Millwall v Blackpool

 

[Rookie]

is this Orlando v NYCFC game on TV in the UK?

Its so bad its embarrassing.

Wouldn't say its embarrassing. The artificial turf isn't helping, but I've seen worse.
Love watching kaka

 

[Lower West Stander]

Adrian Heath just been interviewed.

He was "really pleased with the 1st half".

I must be missing something......

 

[Simster]

Much better second half to be fair, still 0-0

 

[Hampster Gull]

Much better second half to be fair, still 0-0

Yes, has picked up. I don't really watch to see another PL or similar in Europe match, we get that all the time

 

[Lower West Stander]

Cracker!

 

[Hampster Gull]

1-0 NYC. Was looking likely and nice finish

 

[Simster]

Great finish there from Kaka.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Great finish there from Kaka.

I think he planned that.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I turned on and caught the last 10 mins. Fair play to Orlando, that's a great attendance and decent crowd noise.

I think those NYCFC shirts are pathetic, it's a poor man's Man City, their lack of identity is ironic because the New York Cosmos brand was so strong.

 

[Hampster Gull]

I turned on and caught the last 10 mins. Fair play to Orlando, that's a great attendance and decent crowd noise.

I think those NYCFC shirts are pathetic, it's a poor man's Man City, their lack of identity is ironic because the New York Cosmos brand was so strong.

Its a shame they didn't buy the cosmos and get them back into the mls

 

[Pavilionaire]

Its a shame they didn't buy the cosmos and get them back into the mls

If the MLS had a New York Cosmos then their TV audience would immediately be 50% bigger. I can't believe a deal wasn't done.

 

[Simster]

If the MLS had a New York Cosmos then their TV audience would immediately be 50% bigger. I can't believe a deal wasn't done.

True, but this had been rumbling on for years now. About a decade ago, MLS tried to buy the rights when the Cosmos club had been mothballed and only the badge existed. The owner of the copyright wanted a ludicrous amount of money, so MLS told him to get stuffed. Then a few years later, a new ownership group bought the rights and re-formed the club. The first thing they did was to make all sorts of noises about how they wouldn't pay £75m to join a single entity league, and walked into negotiations with the attitude that they held all the aces. The problem was, they were a decade too late. The thing is, you're talking about a deal not being done, but why would MLS make any sort of deal that represented a significant move away from single entity? In many ways, their league set-up is the envy of leagues around the world. The Cosmos have made their bed and are now lying in it. They are in NASL now, which has about three or four decent clubs capable of pulling in decent gates (10-12k), and the rest of them are pretty much part timers. I'm fairly sure setting up a league to look like Scotland's SPL is not the way to expand the game there.

 

[Simster]

Oh and this made me chuckle:

LIke. Can't believe the Toronto FC official twitter account actually tweeted it. Lolz.

 

[Pavilionaire]

True, but this had been rumbling on for years now. About a decade ago, MLS tried to buy the rights when the Cosmos club had been mothballed and only the badge existed. The owner of the copyright wanted a ludicrous amount of money, so MLS told him to get stuffed. Then a few years later, a new ownership group bought the rights and re-formed the club. The first thing they did was to make all sorts of noises about how they wouldn't pay £75m to join a single entity league, and walked into negotiations with the attitude that they held all the aces. The problem was, they were a decade too late. The thing is, you're talking about a deal not being done, but why would MLS make any sort of deal that represented a significant move away from single entity? In many ways, their league set-up is the envy of leagues around the world. The Cosmos have made their bed and are now lying in it. They are in NASL now, which has about three or four decent clubs capable of pulling in decent gates (10-12k), and the rest of them are pretty much part timers. I'm fairly sure setting up a league to look like Scotland's SPL is not the way to expand the game there.

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.

 

[Rookie]

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.

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