If the Middle School League Had a Lick of Sense

Discussion in 'Prem talk, Those Other Leagues, and International' started by FFCinPCB, May 2, 2008.

  1. FFCinPCB

    FFCinPCB New Member

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    Wouldn't they have (a) more than one match on Thursday nights (for the different time zones), and (b) at least two or three matches on Friday nights??
    At least at the beginning of their season, and the end of the European seasons.

    Guarantee they would at least double their television audience of footy fans who are sitting on pins and needles for Saturday mornings.

    Discuss. :3d footy:
     
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  2. BarryP

    BarryP New Member

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    I agree with the idea of Friday night games Christian but I think the MLS has its hands tied a little bit with a maximum of 7 games per week. The seven games are being broadcast over four different networks (FSC, ESPN, HDnet, and Telefutura) with the remaining games available on Directv or MLSlive. So the question is who would carry Friday night games.

    (a) Good luck getting ESPN to broadcast more than one game on Thursday night, let alone adding a Friday night game, when they rarely rebroadcast Champions League games. They have all those available channels to rebroadcast cheap product like poker why would they want invest any more into soccer. When soccer starts to put up good ratings ESPN will just outbid everyone for the rights to broadcast the best time slots.

    (b) That leaves the remaining four media outlets. HDnet and Telefutura are probably not viable options for a move to Friday night in terms of attracting a mass audience. FSC has cultivated Friday night programming in the form of the USL, college games and indoor soccer. I doubt they would be interesting in switching to Friday nights.

    The one that makes sense to me is the Direct Kick/MLS Live package. Why they cram three games into Saturday night instead of moving one of them to Fridays is beyond me. If they spread the games out on Friday/Saturday I would be more likely to subscribe to the Direct Kick package. The Saturday night games that are offered are really compressed into a short period of time.

    The downside to having more Thursday/Friday games is the impact it could have on attendence. People who have to drive any distance to attend games are less likely to do so on either of these nights.
     
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  3. FFCinPCB

    FFCinPCB New Member

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    BarryP, I bow down to your superior broadcast knowledge. :3d smile:
    I had no idea. But, if I can read between the lines, I think you at least support one match on Friday nights. Then let it be so!!

    Somehow, I doubt "they" are listening.
     
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  4. BarryP

    BarryP New Member

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    I support the MLS broadcasting as many matches as possible on widely carried national networks (especially those that broadcast in HD)!
     
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  5. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    As Barry said ESPN owns the rights, they paid for them, and so they choose when and how many games to show. I'm sure the league would love to get three games on ESPN but really only the NFL can get a triple header. I know this may disappoint your notions of MLS as an all-powerful ever present evil American soccer overlord PCB but you'll probably get over it, eh.

    BTW I thought you had signed a pact with Don not to bad mouth MLS unless someone directly mentioned you.

    In any case I still say you need to come up with a new faux acronym. You don't even have the letters in the correct order. Your letting yourself down bro.
     
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  6. FFCinPCB

    FFCinPCB New Member

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    Spencer, yet again either not reading my post thoroughly enough, or quite frankly, just not using the ol' headbone.
     
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  7. andyns

    andyns New Member

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    I found myself watching Toronto-New York the other night. The whole time I was thinking, if only this game meant something, then I would have been interested.

    Until MLS has one table with no playoffs, it will never reach real fans. The lack of playoffs is football's greatest asset, and they've totally missed the boat.
     
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  8. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Sorry, Andy... seen that argued over and over.

    For now.. at this point in MLS... you are dead wrong. The current playoffs system -circa 2007- extends the excitement much further into the season than if it were single table.

    There IS an award for winning single table. If you want to diss MLS for not emphasizing that more, go ahead. But since it's a "Fans' Award", surely they bear some responsibility, as well.

    For single table to work, you need relegation/promotion. Now tell me who you're going to get to invest in an MLS franchise when it would be likely they would go down to USL for at least the first season after founding one.

    AT THIS POINT IN TIME!!!!

    And by the way... who says that game didnt mean anything?

    It meant AT LEAST as much as any September game in the Prem.
    Look at the STANDINGS!
     
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  9. WhitesBhoy

    WhitesBhoy Active Member

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    #9
  10. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    I read it. It's crap.

    And I resent Franek constantly putting a straw man personna around me. Where did I ever say MLS was other than a Division One league?

    It isnt. But it's the only game in town and this commenter says it best, expressing the view I've had from the beginning:


    We can argue about which young players are better served playing in Europe, and in what leagues/teams, but expecting equal results when playing the World Stage big-boys is a non-starter with me.
    I simply dont GAF! It, frankly, is the equivalent of Cardiff or Motherwell fans expecting more than realistic from their clubs.

    What THAT writer wants is the return to NASL paradigm, no matter he implies otherwise.

    You wanna argue League equity? How about this: Duncan Oughton of the Crew would be starting if he played in Australia. As it is, he seldom gets in MLS games, yet still picked for the NZ All-Whites roster.
    What does that mean? Nothing.
     
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  11. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    And anuvver f'ing! Did the plank even watch the Toronto games he cites?

    If you saw the PRI match, TFC stunk up the place. There were two reasons... one, TFC has a team ego that no matter what manager says, leads to upsets against an inferior team. The way you win against a much better team {which TFC isnt} is to take 'em out of their comfort zone. PRI played like crap {MLS standard} but they managed to bring TFC to their level.

    Against the BIG BOY, TFC played much, MUCH better but superior talent told the tale.
    Can anyone really says the results would have been vastly different if Barca had played Fulham in the Pre-Season?

    Oh, and before replying, is there really a diff between losing 3-1 or 5-1? If you think so, been watching footy long?!!!!
     
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  12. IanHux

    IanHux New Member

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    Yeah the article was complete crap. It pisses me off how people can say the quality of play resembles something like a torn down barn when they haven't even given the league any attention..... but thats just my ranting. As far as international competitions go, yes the league does need a higher cap and more players but I'd rather that happen when the league is completely financially stable enough to do so because people like that DC fan get it. As long as there is a team to support and watch live in person, we shouldn't care
     
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  13. WhitesBhoy

    WhitesBhoy Active Member

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    Yes, nothing better than a fan base that lets anyone with an opinion know that their constructive cristicism is crap, that settles for less, and that doesn't care.

    Isn't it time for Middle School League fans to get past their insecurities? I think the leagues itself did years ago. Or does that speak more to the quality and overall knowledge of an MSL fan? Is it time, or past time, to claim that the quality on the field is being held back by the quality in the stands?
     
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  14. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    ohfucrineoutloud!

    Does one have to point out countless numpty opinions on various BPL club sites?

    And wth do you stand.. You who've spent years pointing out various MLS shortcomings yet have no real answer to the issue other than, I assume, if you throw money at it, they will come.
     
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  15. WhitesBhoy

    WhitesBhoy Active Member

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    Oh great, now I have to dig that thread up again. I think the last time I did it was for Spencer. While I'm doing that, enjoy another opinion from someone who posted a comment about the article:

    Brett:

    This was an excellent analysis and commentary.

    When Mr. Garber took over as MLS Commissioner 10 years ago, I recall an interesting quote. "I've only seen a few soccer games in my life, and I want the play to be a secondary element to the stadium experience." Given his background in NFL Europe, that was not a surprising thing to hear.

    Reading the impressive list of NASL players by Robert brought back some very good memories. But the fact remains that the powers that be in US Soccer/MLS still do not fully respect the sport and its fans in North America. We still see gridiron stripes, along with unofficial pitches, that are stark reminders of the 1970s and early 1980s. It sends the message that the product is second-class. The quality of play, as you noted, is not a priority. Mr. Garber et al seemed surprised that MLS has competition from foreign leagues for the hearts, minds, and dollars of American fans?

    Losing to amateur teams should be a wake-up call, along with some of the less than impressive displays against the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Even John Harkes leveled some criticism on ESPN with regards to the last two friendlies.

    — Steve Amoia
     
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  16. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    Well, Clint Dempsey wasn't playing, so ... .

    I don't want the NASL back. I don't want leagues full of temporary mercenaries and half-lame over-the-hill superstars. Those of us who remember the NASL well [and who want to tell the truth]. will tell you that the overall quality of the play is much better in the MLS and the overall quality of the Americans playing in the MLS is 15-20 times better than it was then.

    I think the slow growth mode will work. We'll never be a top-flight world league, but there's room for a 2nd or 3rd tier quality league that puts on good football and supplies good players to the rest of the world.

    But I would like to see more football available on telly, since that's what this was about.
     
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  17. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    We don't tend to judge the merits of the Premier League on their performance in the Ueffa cup because the teams tend not to prioritize it. I'd argue that this is the equivalent for MLS teams.

    But of course the truth of the matter is that MLS will never fully satisfy its europhile critics. Its on and off the field successes will be cast aside and corresponding shortcomings immediately highlighted.

    I could for example point out that 8 MLS teams now play in soccer specific stadiums and that another 5 were under construction but it wouldn't matter. Some guy named Steve would post a comment on yanks abroad about how the presence of any NFL stadium was empirical proof that Don Garber didn't respect the game. Then PCB would cite it as a great opinion on here.

    And do dig out that thread PCB because I can't remember you issuing anything beyond your condescending "MLS needs to live with in its means and drop the whole ambition thing." Which would, it seems, contradict the view of your columnist who would like the league to spend money it doesn't have.

    And as long as were dissecting article comments I particularly liked this one by Mark;

    I think the MLS is done. It is almost pointless. The rest of the world hardly consider it worth the expense of playing against.

    Which perfectly explains all the recent super club friendlies and why five of the seven players, in the poll question on the same page, are products of MLS.


    Round and round it goes...
     
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  18. WhitesBhoy

    WhitesBhoy Active Member

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    Spencer, feel free to review, take notes, and raise your hand when I start asking if anyone has questions later.

    You are a smart college kid now, so please make sure you reference things correctly. At no time did I say I adopt Latham's opinions in his article as my own. But the general tenor of his article was agreeable.
     
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  19. BarryP

    BarryP New Member

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    Good Lord on high I have never seen so many people, including the author himself, miss the point of an article so spectacularly!

    For the record, which will surprise nobody, I am an unabashed fan and supporter of the MLS. Also for the record, which may surprise almost everyone, I agree with Christian that Brent Latham has a point. However, I am not sure he knows how to make a point because he either failed to research some of the facts involved in how teams were awarded their CONCACAF Champions League slot or conviently glossed over those facts in his article.

    What did Latham get right or at lease partially right?

    The answer to that is the way the US awards two of its four CCL positions is a JOKE (but I believe the MLS is only responsible for one of those jokes). Teams that finished 7th (NY Red Bull) and 10th (DC United) in the MLS should not be extended invitations to the CCL. If you feel otherwise you are entitled to your opinion just as you are entitled to be wrong. I know the MLS wants the MLS Cup to have meaning but trying to give it meaning by granting a CCL spot to the MLS Cup runner-up as a contingency plan seemed like a bad idea before NY Red Bull was awarded the slot. Now it is a cinch that it is a bad idea. Any system that awards a CCL slot to the train wreck that is NY Red Bull should be fixed immediately. For the sake of their fans I hope NY can get its act together in the near future but that organization is in shambles. They were lucky to make the Cup last season. To their credit they made the most of their opportunity but they should not be representing the US or the MLS in the CCL. Chicago finished third in regular season points and should have been given the third CCL spot awarded to the MLS.

    I love the idea of the US Open Cup but unless the teams that compete in the Cup begin to take it seriously then it should be stripped as a qualifying event for the CCL. Give it to the fourth place finisher from the MLS regular season or the winner of the USL. Whatever is done with the slot it should be given to a team that has earned the slot with its starters and not is second stringers.

    What did Latham get wrong?

    You cannot blame the MLS for either Toronto or DC being in the CCL. Outside of the MLS granting both cities franchises they did nothing to help them gain entry into the 2009 CCL. Toronto finished third from the bottom in points in the overall MLS standings. Anyone want to see Newcastle in this seasons UEFA Champions League? Me either but because Canada gets a slot Toronto was in the tournament. Does Canada even have a professional soccer league? Whoever decided that the winner of a three team tournament should get an entry slot into the CCL must have been heavily drinking. I know Canada is part of CONCACAF but having a professional league would seem like a requirement for being given an entry slot into a club soccer tournament wouldn't it?
     
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  20. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    Oh my bad. I didn't realize we were now in the practice of posting op-ed's which we find mildly interesting, and on the whole generally agreeable, but ultimately to which we are willing to stake nothing on. I better go dig out every piece Nicolas Kristof has written in the last year.
     
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