North American Pro Soccer 2018

[TBGKon]

19 minutes ago, Pharos04 said:

Man with all these new teams, the USL section is going to need a massive revamp at this point. 

 

I don't hate the identity.  It's a nice nod to the Hammers while being different.  It's too bad they won't be at Legion Field to fully bring it together.  The "Sparks" as they call it reminds me too much of the Steelers hypocycloids, especially with 3 of them.

Keep in mind that the USL is planning a D3 league starting in 2019 I think, so there's a strong possibility some teams will likely go down to the lower tier (possibly even the MLS 2 teams)

 

Current cities like Tulsa, Charleston, Colorado Springs, Reno, Raleigh could fit the bill of cities between 150k and 1mil in population.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USL_Division_III 

[FiddySicks]

Reno? No, that doesn't make any sense. The city itself ( :censored:, that whole metro area, for that matter) isn't very big, and 1868 had their inaugural season just this past season. There really wouldn't be room enough for another pro-level soccer team. 

 

EDIT: Ahh, nevermind. I understand what you mean now. I still don't see that happening, though. They have enough of a following to fit where they are right now I think. Reno is small, but they still have a better following than a good chunk of USL clubs. Sending the MLS 2 clubs all to D3 would make more sense because they have literally no fan following due to the structure of those clubs.

 

Also, considering that Sacramento's MLS bid is basically dead as a door nail, they could use that rivalry for gate revenue considering that season ticket holder revenue is very likely about to absolutely crater. 

[Gothamite]

13 hours ago, Bucfan56 said:

Sending the MLS 2 clubs all to D3 would make more sense because they have literally no fan following due to the structure of those clubs.

 

Except that the level of play is better in some of those 2 clubs than the other USL squads. Seems arbitrary, if not silly, to bump those players down to a lower level. Especially since we’re currently feeling a crisis in player development in this country. 

 

Better, I think, to encourage 2 clubs to build their own fan bases by staking out their own slice of territory, as Sounders 2 and Red Bull II are doing. 

[FiddySicks]

Oh I don't disagree with you and I also think that the II clubs should build their fan bases. Unfortunately though, that's not the way they're doing it with those clubs the way it's currently constructed. I can understand the logic to that as well, no matter if it's a bummer or not. Seattle can probably afford to have a Sounders II with the size of their fan base. But would a club like Real Salt Lake really want to risk cutting into their big club's fan base? It might be minimal, but you never really know. 

[MJWalker45]

3 hours ago, Bucfan56 said:

Oh I don't disagree with you and I also think that the II clubs should build their fan bases. Unfortunately though, that's not the way they're doing it with those clubs the way it's currently constructed. I can understand the logic to that as well, no matter if it's a bummer or not. Seattle can probably afford to have a Sounders II with the size of their fan base. But would a club like Real Salt Lake really want to risk cutting into their big club's fan base? It might be minimal, but you never really know. 

These teams are built more for strengthening the overall club. Other than being willing to pay less for a lower standard of soccer, they shouldn't lose a large amount of their fan bases.

[Corvus]

I have a feeling precourt is trying to make the Crew as bad as possible this year in order to justify his desire to move the team, they just traded Ola Kamara to LAG for Zardes and MLSbucks. Rumours they want to move out Meram too. 

[Gothamite]

12 hours ago, Bucfan56 said:

Oh I don't disagree with you and I also think that the II clubs should build their fan bases. Unfortunately though, that's not the way they're doing it with those clubs the way it's currently constructed.

 

Why do you say that?  

 

Sounders 2 have been moved to Tacoma. Red Bulls II moved to Montclair. ATL UTD 2 is in the suburbs of Atlanta. Even Portland is talking about possibly moving theirs.

 

Sure, there are some who remain in the same stadium/city.  But those are fewer and fewer, and the trend seems pretty clear; 2 teams are being put in places where they can carve out fan bases and territories of their own. 

[FiddySicks]

If that's the case then that's good. I just know that the majority of Republic road matches against the 2 teams are usually in empty/near empty stadiums. The whole philosophy, from what I've been told, is that the majority of those clubs are used strictly for training purposes for the bigger club. If the culture of that is changing, then that's a positive. 

[Sport]

FC Cincinnati news: They've been busy finalizing land purchases in the West End a couple streets behind Music Hall, which is the large, ornate brick building you see in this photo. Washington Park and Music Hall are sort of on the west edge of Over the Rhine. The main OTR drag is a block or two to the left of what you're seeing here. Downtown is a short walk south (upwards in this photo). The stadium would only be a few blocks away from the streetcar path too. Washington Park is one of my favorite places in the city. 

 

 

This has been my dream location long before they even showed the plans of where they were scouting. If this all becomes a reality, if they get the bid, I think there's no doubt Cincinnati would be one of the best experiences Major League Soccer will have to offer. My sense is FCC's locking down of this location is the holdup on the bid announcement. 

 

 

 

[Gothamite]

44 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

My sense is FCC's locking down of this location is the holdup on the bid announcement. 

 

I think you’re right.  Both bids have deficiencies; Cincinnati’s was the stadium, Sacramento’s was the depth of the owners’ pockets. I suspect MLS told them to fix and come back, and the one who does the best job will get the spot. 

[MJWalker45]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42657570

MLS reporting to BBC that Miami may be a reality sooner than later. 

[Gothamite]

Good on Beckham and Co.  They’ve finally put the pieces together. 

[Jer15]

I honestly thought it would never happen. 

[Digby]

Here in New England, the Revs’ Lee Nguyen is holding out for a trade and the Breakers NWSL team just abruptly folded up shop. Ugly situations.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

17 hours ago, mr.negative15 said:

I honestly thought it would never happen. 

 

I'll believe Miami MLS when there are players on the field.

 

21 minutes ago, Digby said:

Here in New England, the Revs’ Lee Nguyen is holding out for a trade and the Breakers NWSL team just abruptly folded up shop. Ugly situations.

 

The Revolution remain a total clown show. They're run by the Kraft kids, right?

[Digby]

Yep, Jonathan, who goes to a couple games a year and occasionally tells the local media that the stadium search continues.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

2 minutes ago, Digby said:

Yep, Jonathan, who goes to a couple games a year and occasionally tells the local media that the stadium search continues.

 

Well, if nothing else, this is good news for NFL fans burned out on the Pats.

[GDAWG]

On ‎1‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 1:55 PM, MJWalker45 said:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42657570

MLS reporting to BBC that Miami may be a reality sooner than later. 

Haven't we heard this before?

[MJWalker45]

United States of Soccer reported a web site up today counting down to Monday afternoon regarding the announcement. Looks like they'll be getting on the field sooner than we expected. 

[Mac the Knife]

On 1/24/2018 at 2:55 PM, MJWalker45 said:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42657570

MLS reporting to BBC that Miami may be a reality sooner than later. 

 

Meanwhile, on the women's side and up north on the coast, the Boston Breakers (women's soccer team, not the old USFL franchise) has evidently bit the dust.