MLS/American Soccer thread

Haha..I just came here to see how you're doing...

 

The Sixers have prepared me for this season.

 

:tumbleweed:

 

Do you love it when your local team gives up a game losing goal with like 5 seconds before the whistle blows? Of course you do.

Tomorrow the California Classico. I hate San Jose.

 

I wouldn't know that feeling supporting the winning streak Union woooo! That beverages pre during and post game made work rough Monday

 

Le Toux has got your back. That guys has to be like 50 now, right?

San Jose with only 10 men is fun to beat.

Vancouver away next.

Shout out to the 0-3 Seattle Sounders!

 

Houston have been fun to watch, without being particularly effective. A Dynamo team with an awful defense and some attacking flair is all a bit worrying. Maybe I'll enjoy this season more than I expected.

 

Just don't give them your heart

 

#Zlatangeles

 

King of the East! Also what DP magic will LA work to make that happen?

 

Ah, yes. The magic of Bruce Arena.
Fact: Gerrard leaves soon, like end of season or sooner. Not soon enough really. So that's one DP spot open.
Speculation: Keane retires at the end of the season, though I think he could do another year effectively. So that's two DP spots.
Now, Nigel De Jong has in his contract that if he plays a certain number of games this year, he can negotiate to get one of the DP spots next year.
Similarly, I can see a contract written where Zlatan joins the team now in such a way as to fit in the salary cap this season, and he gets access to an open DP spot next season, too.
Boom! Problem solved.

 

Fitz, how do you see LAFC doing when they enter the MLS? I saw the design of their stadium, it looked v nice! Lovely logo too.

 

I think it's a flop in the making. Galaxy have already slaughtered an in town MLS team once before. This one seems to be marketed to the sort of urban hipster that goes to Portland games, but this isn't Portland. What sort of Angeleno has standoffishly waited on the sidelines as the Galaxy won cup after cup but will pop out for LAFC? It's a kooky concept and I don't buy it. Admittedly I'm biased as a a Galaxy fan and lack the imagination having billions of dollars brings you, but thumbs down.

It'll be fun to go to a couple more away games without getting on an airplane though.
Also, five years from now when LAFC folds, the stadium will still be there for Angelenos to enjoy...

 

http://www.brotherlygame.com/2016/5...ve-compensation-for-zlatan-ibrahimovic-rights

MLS is confusing at times

 

You don't discover Zlatan. Zlatan discovers you.
#Zlatangeles

 

Sooo... NYC FC 0 - NY Red Bulls 7.

That's a humiliating result, and Lampard being labelled the worst ever MLS signing is a damming verdict on his time so far in the states. He should never have gone on loan to Man City, and instead should have honoured the agreement he made with NYC.

Fitz - do you agree with those that say he's been rubbish? What's the NYC support like?

 

Funny you should ask that. I was just googling NYCFC attendance for 2016, but couldn't get to a result that was helpful.

But Yeah, Lampard and to a somewhat lesser degree Gerrard are flops.
There's no polishing the **** that is Lampard at NYCFC.
Gerrard on the other hand is producing at the end of games when the result is no longer in question, but still beginning to produce a little after being totally out of sync until recently. Most LA fans can't wait for Gerrard to go back next season.

I can only imagine how NYCFC fans feel about Lamps... If I had to guess: They no longer really think about him. It's a bust and they're already over it. Maybe Ben knows more about their mindset? He lives closer than I do and follows an Eastern Conference team, too.

I was not hopeful that NYCFC would do well as far as support goes, but owing to how terribly the other MLS team there has been run, they have managed to collect a fair amount of disgruntled RBNY fans. The only NYCFC supporter I know was the 2012 or 2013 Red Bull New York Supporter of the Year. Management of the business side of the club alienated him so much he jumped ship. They've also seemingly been able to tap into the urban sporty hipster types that Seattle, Vancouver and Portland are known for, because they play at the familiar Yankee Stadium, which is a horrible place to play soccer. I don't know what if any factor the connection Man City has played so far.

Coincidentally I follow a J-League team that was recently invested in to the maximum allowable for a foreign company by City Group. The folks I know who are die hards supporters of Yokohama F-Marinos don't seem to care at all about the connection, but the soccer landscape in Ameica is different. There is a huge divide between those who follow and support local soccer and those who turn their noses up at it and follow only European teams. I am curious myself to know what if any effect the Man City connection has had on support for NYCFC.

 

Just checked in with my NYCFC fan friend. He mentions 20k season ticket holders which is the number NYCFC uses but there is some speculation that the number includes 2-3 game packages and isn't just full STH numbers. On the other hand, soccer in NYC is so cheap compared to baseball, basketball, hockey and football that I can see a lot of people buying just for the Yankee stadium experience described below that they don't have to pay $900 FOR A SINGLE GAME on stubhub.

"Season ticket holders are around 20k They broke that over the winter. Attendance is dependent on the game and weather thus far. I've seen a few that were 20-25k and on up to 35k
dmographics are the right mix: hipsters from Brooklyn, a ton of Westhcester county soccer mom's with kids.
BUT the supporters section is still a mess. one org is allowed to be the official SC of the NYCFC and they suck. There's been a ton of smaller groups that have formed and are of various ethnicity's and mix's

Game day is ****ing awesome
because it's the Bronx and there's already been 100 years of businesses surround YS for baseball, they cater the same way they do for Yankees fans. it really feels like being in England.
Lots of people, excitment about the game, leaving shuts down river ave while people are underneath the L paryting until their herded off by the NYPD. It can be 30 minutes, it can be 2 hours."

Sounds like a great game day!

 

so much to unpack there

 

I've only hear positive things about NYCFC. They have definitely tapped into the hipsterish culture, but all the NYC is the greatest city of all time culture that exists as well aka people who thought it was below them to travel to NJ. Though with all that has also come with the wanna be hooliganism, did you see the video of the two fans groups meeting up in the middle of the street and chucking crap at each other.. it was pathetic

 

Yeah, he takes a lot of crap about it but the way he explains it, his reasoning is sound. The RBNY front office did a great job alienating fans and generally screwing things up for a while under a guy named Chris Heck until he was fired, then took a while to turn the boat around. Part of the process of getting him fired was fans leaving for Cosmos at first, then to NYCFC as a real viable alternative.

I guess I'd put it this way: if there was only one club in London, but it actually played in the Midlands and disrespected you as a customer, and then another club opened in Soutwark somewhere, would you keep going to Midlands or give the other place a go? That is literally the thought process New York soccer fans went through over the years.

As far as the fan fighting stuff, it's lame. Sad really. If it happens at the ground, I blame the lack of foresight of the security in use. If it happens away from the stadium, it's usually newbs with no common sense trying to pretend they're bad asses. I've usually gone to the supporters bars to drink with them before and after games when on away trips and have never had a problem. In general, all soccer fans in America have much more in common with each other than not. Most of the time we get along, though it's fun to point out to Seattle fans that they've never won MLS Cup and our team has five.

 

i guess when you say it like that, its entirely reasonable. its just at face value it all seemed a bit 'modern football'y

 

Ramsés Sandoval is the best commentator in world sports. Or the most irritating, I can't decide. What a debacle for Viera et al. You know you've chucked in the towel when Dax McCarty scores his second headed-goal in a game.

 

I wouldn't blame a Red Bull fan for moving to NYCFC as Ftiz said they were crappy to their fans, and NYCFC stadium is a lot more convenient train wise to get there. Also I have an unconditional love for Dax, he is the prototype MLS player, idk why I feel he just is.

 

Crazy end to the MLS transfer window. This feeling of optimism is odd

 

It gets crazier

 

For example:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/la-sp-donovan-20160908-snap-story.html

Donovan officially makes MLS a retirement league by unretiring to play for the Galaxy after Zardes breaks foot, De Jong blows off to Turkey, Keane gets old and some other guys get hurt.

Edit:
When asked about the signing of Donovan, Galaxy coach and GM Bruce Arena replied "People have finally convinced me that we need to get younger, that we can't rely just on older players like Keane (Age 36) or Gerrard (36). That's why I reached out to Landon (34)".

 

Publicity stunt?

Trying to figure out how Houston slowly became a franchise without direction or an identity. The team is dreadful, attendances are terrible and the front office continues to make some mysterfying moves.

 

Must be nice to pull a Landon Donovan out of wilderness if needed

 

It is indeed nice! Well, if he scores a lot of goals, it'll be nice. If not...well, it'll be fun.

Lukey, this is 100% real. All those injuries have gutted the top tier of players. Galaxy genuinely need help now. He knows the staff, most of the contributing players, and is familiar with the coaching staff's methods, goals and perspectives, the facility, the league, the refs, the competition... It's a really simple solution to big problem. Now it just has to work.

 

All Canada all the time

 

God I hate 2016

 

I know this is an old thread (and it's no longer 2015), but the MLS is still happening over the Summer (for those perhaps unfamiliar, the MLS season follows more of a calendar year format, rather than the August-May format that is used over here), so if anyone else is interested, I'm up for some MLS chat in the interim. I'm a Columbus Crew fan.

 

@Levon How'd you become a crew fan?