North American Pro Soccer 2022

[Dilbert]

FC Cincinnati has been mathematically eliminated from capturing the wooden spoon for a fourth year in a row!

 

Tonight FCC had their biggest win in their MLS history, a 6-0 victory over San Jose.  With the win FCC jumps Columbus into 6th place in the East. This was San Joses first ever trip to Cincinnati and the last and only other meeting between the two was in 2019 in what would be Alan Koch's final game as head coach. He was replaced by Yoann Damet (interim), Ron Jans, Yoann Damet (interim) Jaap Stam, Tyrone Marshall (interim) have all come and gone since.

 

FC Cincinnati now travels to Salt Lake for the first time ever at America First Field (new name replaces Rio Tinto Stadium, effective tonight) next Saturday followed by a Tuesday night game at Seattle

[Digby]

Cincy should be good for a playoff spot at this point. Good for them! Miami haven't made that leap and I can't see this year's inconsistent Revs picking up all the points they need rest of the way. 

[Digby]

 This is crazy! I can't believe this is true. (About LAG, that is.)

[FiddySicks]

I don’t really find that to be too terribly surprising. It’s alarming, for sure. But it also feels like LAG have been just throwing at the wall to see what sticks for awhile now. I think the extent of how bad it’s really been has been uncovered by LAFC coming into the market and challenging them, but it’s not necessarily a new development. 

[Dilbert]

53 minutes ago, FiddySicks said:

 

I don’t really find that to be too terribly surprising. It’s alarming, for sure. But it also feels like LAG have been just throwing at the wall to see what sticks for awhile now. I think the extent of how bad it’s really been has been uncovered by LAFC coming into the market and challenging them, but it’s not necessarily a new development. 

I think LAFC has really dampened the market for LA Galaxy. The Galaxy were once the darlings of MLS, even being in Carson. Now with LAFC arriving and being a very good club from the start and playing in LA proper, I think LAFC is starting to pull away as LAs team. I know LA can support two teams, but It might be better for the Galaxy if they were to move to maybe San Diego to once again have a market to themselves.

[gosioux76]

41 minutes ago, Dilbert said:

I think LAFC has really dampened the market for LA Galaxy. The Galaxy were once the darlings of MLS, even being in Carson. Now with LAFC arriving and being a very good club from the start and playing in LA proper, I think LAFC is starting to pull away as LAs team. I know LA can support two teams, but It might be better for the Galaxy if they were to move to maybe San Diego to once again have a market to themselves.

 

Perception wise, I can see how you'd come to that conclusion. But the Galaxy still seem to draw a good crowd, and this year, and in most prior years, have pulled in more people per game than LAFC, though that's likely due to capacity restraints. 

 

Through September 11, the Galaxy rank No. 7 in MLS attendance this year by drawing an average of  22,752 per game to a stadium with a capacity of around 25,000. LAFC come in at No. 9, have mostly filled its 22,000-capacity stadium, averaging 21,980 per game.  SOURCE: https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2022-mls-attendance/

 

It's worth noting that the Galaxy's 2022 figures represent a nearly 70% jump from 2021, when it ranked 15th in the league by averaging only 13,400 fans. (LAFC was No. 6 last year.) Last year appears to have been an anomaly, though. In 2019, it was No. 6 in the league with 23,200 per game.  (SOURCE: https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2021-mls-attendance/)

 

So while LAFC might have stolen some of the Galaxy's thunder, so to speak, the Galaxy seem to have little trouble getting butts in seats. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

5 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

So while LAFC might have stolen some of the Galaxy's thunder, so to speak, they seem to have little trouble getting butts in seats. 

 

That's Chicharito though, right?

[gosioux76]

9 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

That's Chicharito though, right?

It could be. But even if that's the case, the result is the same. 

 

In fact, it could serve as a defense for the way LA Galaxy is run. While Philly has invested in analytics and scouting to build a winning team, the Galaxy continue to build around star power. The on-field results may not be great, but they're pulling in the ticket revenue. Philly, meanwhile, ranks No. 16 on the MLS attendance list with just over 18,000 fans per game. 

[FiddySicks]

That’s kind of the thing. Galaxy has always had a model that’s been sustained by throwing big money at designated players. It’s not necessarily a bad move, but that’s what I mean about throwing stuff at the wall. They took a big swing at Beckham and that broke up a lot of the stagnation they previously had (It’s hard to really emphasize how rough the Chivas USA era was for soccer in LA), and it was a smashing success. It’s been a lot more of that since. Nice if you can do it, but it’s not exactly a thing most clubs can do. 

[Dilbert]

A much needed victory for FC Cincinnati in Salt Lake tonight. We remain tied for 5th with Orlando and hold the 6th playoff spot in the East. A break from league play with FCC back in action next Wednesday for a Leagues Cup Showcase event hosting Chivas at The Tickle, then its off to Seattle on Tuesday the 27th for another crucial match.

[GDAWG]

 

[Digby]

That Wave stadium looks very cool and a better setup than even some MLS teams -- San Diego should have MLS at this point while we're at it -- but I absolutely hate the trend of turning stadium floodlights into club strobes. I would like to watch a soccer game, not be given a headache!

[GDAWG]

 

[Dilbert]

Good to see a team that suspended operations for a season actually return. I believe Taft was closed for renovations and there have been talks of building a new stadium in OKC for a while now.

[Dilbert]

LA Galaxy will host LAFC to open next season at their former home, the Rose Bowl, in February 2023. The league will have an unbalanced schedule next season and LAFC and LA Galaxy will play each other three times. One at LAFC, one in Carson and a second Galaxy home game played in Pasadena.

 

I like this idea. I could see many of the teams play three derby games each year with one at a larger site.  I like the Galaxy and Earthquakes at Stanford. I could see others like Red Bulls and NYCFC at MetLife, Columbus and Cincinnati at Ohio Stadium, Houston/Austin at Dallas in the Cotton Bowl. This could bring an edge to the rivalries and bring in higher attendance.

[MJWalker45]

9 minutes ago, Dilbert said:

Columbus and Cincinnati at Ohio Stadium

I'd prefer they play somewhere on grass. If this was happening during the window when European teams come over to visit it could work. Cleveland would be an option as well and there'd be less work involved in prepping the field. 

[Dilbert]

4 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

I'd prefer they play somewhere on grass. If this was happening during the window when European teams come over to visit it could work. Cleveland would be an option as well and there'd be less work involved in prepping the field. 

Agreed, bring in a natural grass surface. But yeah even venues outside current MLS markets. Maybe get Atlanta to Birmingham, Orlando to Tampa, DC to Baltimore. Heck even get New England at Fenway would be interesting.

[MJWalker45]

7 minutes ago, Dilbert said:

Agreed, bring in a natural grass surface. But yeah even venues outside current MLS markets. Maybe get Atlanta to Birmingham, Orlando to Tampa, DC to Baltimore. Heck even get New England at Fenway would be interesting.

I'm fine with this idea, because it's one game a year. I really want NYCFC out of Yankee Stadium because one day that grass is going to end someone's career, let alone how bad those games look on TV. 

[Digby]

22 minutes ago, Dilbert said:

Agreed, bring in a natural grass surface. But yeah even venues outside current MLS markets. Maybe get Atlanta to Birmingham, Orlando to Tampa, DC to Baltimore. Heck even get New England at Fenway would be interesting.

 

I've always been on board with this for the reasons @MJWalker45stated and the need for the team to have the occasional Boston appearance -- really miss the halcyon days of US Open Cup games at Harvard's soccer stadium -- but the era of soccer games at Fenway (even including Liverpool) seems to have ended, and the assumption is that the Krafts and John Henry have little-to-no relationship. 

 

I think this Rose Bowl thing is kind of an exception. Most big rivalry matches take place in more modern NFL stadiums that can be expanded as needed, or simply haven't got the traction that El Trafico has. No way NYC/NYRB would fill MetLife.

[Dilbert]

3 hours ago, Digby said:

 No way NYC/NYRB would fill MetLife.

Id honestly would rather see NYC play at a mostly empty MetLife for all games than see them play on a hap hazard pitch at Yankee or Citi.