North American Pro Soccer 2018

[Sodboy13]

18 hours ago, Gothamite said:

It’s really good soccer, and it’s local

 

*may not apply in Chicago

[MJWalker45]

18 hours ago, McCarthy said:

Anthony Precourt just sucks so hard. 

 

He's born with a winning lottery ticket, could've done literally anything with pops' money. Could've gotten charitable, could've :censored:ed off to a private island and done all of the drugs, could've remained just a normal sleazebag in the energy sector. No, instead, out of all his options he chooses, seeks out, the path where he lies to and robs from an entire American city. It's like he was trying to be a villain in a cartoon. That's perverse and psychotic.

 

Austin, enjoy your trust-fund dingleberry who sucks so much the best site he could get for a stadium is in the burbs and you'll be stuck with an albatross in a bad location when in 7 years he flips the team and goes off to something else up. Enjoy that. 

Will Trapp after being interviewed yesterday:

 

[Digby]

On 8/15/2018 at 5:46 PM, Gothamite said:

 

That’s true enough.   I really tried to get into MLS in the early 2010s, but without a team in New York it just felt hollow.   I considered Portland (where I went to school) and Philly (out of respect for the Sons of Ben), but I couldn’t do it.   So much easier when you have a local club. 

 

Here's hoping Boston gets a team someday.

[Digby]

On 8/15/2018 at 9:45 PM, Bucfan56 said:

Considering the size, moreso than Ohio needs two, I think. 

 

This is a weird determining criterion, particularly when the two existing Texas markets in MLS have never managed to rise above "shoulder-shrug" in all their combined years. Kinda Columbusy actually.

[Gothamite]

38 minutes ago, Digby said:

Here's hoping Boston gets a team someday.

 

Indeed.  

[SFGiants58]

1 hour ago, Digby said:

 

This is a weird determining criterion, particularly when the two existing Texas markets in MLS have never managed to rise above "shoulder-shrug" in all their combined years. Kinda Columbusy actually.

 

Stupid original/real Quakes.

[Sport]

Ohio doesn't need two teams, but just by virtue of how dirty Columbus is getting done and the success of FC Cincinnati I think Ohio should have two teams. Plus the rivalry would be tops. If Cincinnati was a quarter mile across the river into Kentucky (and culturally it basically is Kentucky. I live here I'm allowed to stay these things) would this be the same discussion? They're in the same state, but they're different enough that you're not going to get much overlap between the fanbases. I've never met a Crew fan from Cincinnati and I doubt very much that any Crew fans will become FC Cincinnati supporters should the Crew move to Austin. A heavy percentage of Crew fans will likely never watch MLS ever again after this. 

 

Columbus could be a good MLS market, but it's never been given fair shake in this new era, especially when you learn about the things Precourt was doing to actively suppress interest in the market. I feel in my heart of hearts that right now Precourt has become such a sniveling villain that all it will take to turn Columbus into a good MLS market would be literally anyone else owning the team. If he's forced to sell to a local owner the fans will sell out the stadium just to give him a big middle finger. 

 

 

[Digby]

Regardless, having a Cincy/Columbus rivalry would be smart -- MLS remains a regional league, and the local rivalries are what give the league life rather than cannibalize (though I'd love to see LAFC's business effect on LAG...something tells me we aren't privy to those numbers). I know Austin is a cool town and all but it's hard to imagine it moving the needle at a national level any more than Columbus does.

[MJWalker45]

16 minutes ago, Digby said:

Regardless, having a Cincy/Columbus rivalry would be smart -- MLS remains a regional league, and the local rivalries are what give the league life rather than cannibalize (though I'd love to see LAFC's business effect on LAG...something tells me we aren't privy to those numbers). I know Austin is a cool town and all but it's hard to imagine it moving the needle at a national level any more than Columbus does.

Moving to the same state as the two teams with the lowest league attendance figures doesn't make sense either. It also supposedly shuts out San Antonio which means another more ferocious rivalry won't take place either. I wonder if the Crew were forced to play 2019 in Columbus would the Hell is Real derby matches change MLS's minds on the matter. I still don't know where the Austin team is planning to train as that's not really been addressed so far as I'm aware. UT's soccer stadium is also the track and field stadium so they'd have to deal with that mess for the first 3 months of the season if they were to work out of there. 

52 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

Ohio doesn't need two teams, but just by virtue of how dirty Columbus is getting done and the success of FC Cincinnati I think Ohio should have two teams. Plus the rivalry would be tops. If Cincinnati was a quarter mile across the river into Kentucky (and culturally it basically is Kentucky. I live here I'm allowed to stay these things) would this be the same discussion? They're in the same state, but they're different enough that you're not going to get much overlap between the fanbases. I've never met a Crew fan from Cincinnati and I doubt very much that any Crew fans will become FC Cincinnati supporters should the Crew move to Austin. A heavy percentage of Crew fans will likely never watch MLS ever again after this. 

 

Columbus could be a good MLS market, but it's never been given fair shake in this new era, especially when you learn about the things Precourt was doing to actively suppress interest in the market. I feel in my heart of hearts that right now Precourt has become such a sniveling villain that all it will take to turn Columbus into a good MLS market would be literally anyone else owning the team. If he's forced to sell to a local owner the fans will sell out the stadium just to give him a big middle finger. 

 

 

Some Save The Crew peeps said they might "root" for FC Cincinnati, but they would not ever support it to the same levels as they have with Columbus. When people screen shot pictures of a bottle of ketchup and mustard as the only condiments available at the stadium last week it's just disgusting that no other owner has openly called that out. I know they all probably have an agreement of some sort, but I'm certain that if Jerry Jones can be told to shut up and play by the rules by other NFL owners, MLS owners should be able to do the same thing. 

[Sport]

Oh it's far worse than just the condiments. The bathrooms need repairs, some of the stadium lights are out and he hasn't replaced the bulbs, the facilities are dirty. He's purposely letting the stadium fall into abject squalor and it's borderline unsafe and irresponsible. All so he can, what, twist the knife even further into the people he's stealing the team from? Okay, psycho, if that's how you're going to play. He also pulled cartoon villain moves like only having two open gates for playoff games so the stadium looked emptier on TV during kickoff. I don't know why any other MLS exec or owner would put up with a guy who does crap like that. 

 

He's spent years purposefully tanking the market to justify the move. It's really going to suck to watch when he gets to Austin and starts actually putting effort into helping his team in the community where he wants to be.

[MJWalker45]

22 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

Oh it's far worse than just the condiments. The bathrooms need repairs, some of the stadium lights are out and he hasn't replaced the bulbs, the facilities are dirty. He's purposely letting the stadium fall into abject squalor and it's borderline unsafe and irresponsible. All so he can, what, twist the knife even further into the people he's stealing the team from? Okay, psycho, if that's how you're going to play. He also pulled cartoon villain moves like only having two open gates for playoff games so the stadium looked emptier on TV during kickoff. I don't know why any other MLS exec or owner would put up with a guy who does crap like that. 

 

He's spent years purposefully tanking the market to justify the move. It's really going to suck to watch when he gets to Austin and starts actually putting effort into helping his team in the community where he wants to be.

Pretty much, or he'll quit five years in and sell it off to someone else who get it and they turn into the Browns--->Ravens 2.0. 

[4_tattoos]

I know it wouldn't have been possible due to MLS being on a different calendar than EPL, but I can't help but wonder where D.C. United would be in the standings right now had Wayne Rooney been with the club all season long. They showed flashes of being better than a last place team before Wayne came, and since then he gave them the ultimate spark.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

5 minutes ago, 4_tattoos said:

I know it wouldn't have been possible due to MLS being on a different calendar than EPL, but I can't help but wonder where D.C. United would be in the standings right now had Wayne Rooney been with the club all season long. They showed flashes of being better than a last place team before Wayne came, and since then he gave them the ultimate spark. 

 

Montreal is in the 6th spot with 33 points on 26 games. DC has 27 points on 22 games. They could potentially have 39 points when they catch up to in games played. Of DC's remaining 12 games, 9 are home.

 

Last year, you needed 50 points to make the playoffs in the east. That would require averaging nearly 2 points a game the rest of the season, which is super hard, but easier considering their schedule. That's winning six of their home games, their last road game against Chicago, and two ties somewhere else along the way. Not easy, but given their current run of form, not impossible.

[Red Wolf]

Rivalry Week starts tonight, and it looks like there are actually rivalries (or should-be rivalries) this time around. Last year there were like two rivalries for the week. 

[WJMorris3]

Rochester is officially back, likely in 2020, as a member of USLD3.

[Brian in Boston]

20 minutes ago, willmorris said:

Rochester is officially back, likely in 2020, as a member of USLD3.

 

Well, that's what Rochester Rhinos co-owners David and Wendy Dworkin are saying.

Rochester approved For USL Division III

They've announced that they've received approval - subject to their developing a suitable plan to construct a stadium - from the United Soccer League to join USL D3 in time for the 2020 season. To that end, they've declared that they will vacate Marine Auto Stadium by year's end. Further, they've apparently begun looking for suitable stadium sites in Monroe County and shared their plans with county officials. Their next steps will include seeking out partners - likely, other sports franchise owners - interested in sharing a multi-use facility... to say nothing of helping to shoulder the costs of building said structure.

Time will tell if they - and their "potential stakeholders" - will be able to come up with the cash necessary to bring their plans to fruition. 

It seems like only yesterday - it's actually been nearly 15 years - that Sports Illustrated was running stories touting the possibility of the Rochester Rhinos "Raging into MLS". Major League Soccer's Mark Abbot, citing the then-pending construction of PAETEC Park (now, Marine Auto Stadium), was quoted as saying that the league was "very interested" in bringing Rochester into the fold. The Rhinos owner at the time, Frank DuRoss went so far as to say that "f everything can be worked out on both sides before Nov. 30, the MLS will be in Rochester in 2004."

  

[Jer15]

I believe it was in this thread that we spoke about fan behavior. 

I stand pretty hard on the side of "it's a right not a privilege". 

 

So, I wanted to bring attention to what Toronto FC did about a supporter's group call "Inebriatti". 

 

These guys are Ultras. In my mind, there's no question that this is a positive move by TFC. There are a few great groups in BMO but this one always came off to me as the group that tried so hard to break the rules, in my opinion, for no reason at all. 

Some people are gone for good. 

Some have an opportunity to redeem themselves should they decide to take the fan conduct class at a cost of $250. 

 

Anyways, just wanted to point out something positive. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

$250! That's incredible.

 

Screw those guys, and good on TFC for doing the right thing. I don't know why people can't just go and watch a game without making a nuisance of themselves, but here we are. The more teams crack down on this behavior, the better; it really has no place in a modern professional league.

[MJWalker45]

https://www.themaneland.com/2018/8/1/17639438/orlando-city-will-host-2019-mls-all-star-game

 

If the rumors are true, will we still see a red, white or blue jersey for the game? Maybe they'll bring in Arsenal again since they're expected to move over to adidas, or they may go with a Spanish team instead.

 

https://www.mystatesman.com/sports/soccer/city-mls-franchise-dubbed-austin/NKsuids1tKnXyrbwozIOiP/

Also, He who shall not be named rolled out the new badge for his possible new team should they escape Ohio intact. Lot's of folks are looking at it as stealing the idea from the "Respect Your roots" tifo that was unveiled last month at Mapfre. IT's reported to be based on the Treaty Oak, which as a transplanted Texan is something I hadn't heard of before last night, even though they said it's a well known thing. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_Oak_(Austin,_Texas)

 

Also, Travis County is now asking that the deal include PSV pay up to the county as well since they'll be losing money if the deal agreed on goes forward. 

https://www.mystatesman.com/news/local-govt--politics/travis-county-plans-challenge-tax-exempt-status-mls-stadium/3FinX5cQ4FlC7ysWCOuq6M/

 

[Sport]

It's weird that they're claiming it's based on that tree when nothing in their explanation graphic had anything to say about this famous tree. The explainer was hilariously hypocritical, though, with bullshirt like "for club and city", which leads me to believe Precourt is a petty enough bastard to make his entire badge a middle finger to the people in Columbus who made it harder for him to steal their team.