Chelsea close to signing Adu

[gosioux76]

My point being that,while training in the Chelsea system would be better for him,he wont play alot for a while.I mean Shawn Wright Phillips wasnt even on the bench for there game with Liverpool,and he cost them 20 some million.

Chelsea just buy players now to keep the Arsenals and the Man Utds from getting the,m

I'm pretty sure the Times of London story linked at the top of this thread said Chelsea would likely loan Adu out to gain first-team experience.

[Mac the Knife]

Really? Cause average game attendance for the MLS says otherwise. Average of about 14,842 a game last season. Last NHL season was 16591. The NBA is at 17,059 this season. Surely that puts the MLS at the 5th best attended sport in the USA, but I'd hardly say that America doesn't care about the sport. It's just the media fails to give it the attention that obviously it's fans say it deserves. In fact, the MLS is as successful at the gates as the Coca-Cola Championship League in England. That's one level below the Premier League (which averages over 33,000) which is considered by many as THE Premier League in the World.

So anyone telling you that American doesn't care about soccer, might not be as educated as you think they are. That or they hate soccer personally and just want to see it disappear.

Don't hate soccer.

Would like to see it succeed.

But am realistic about its popularity.

Attendance numbers look good? Glad to hear it.

Oh, by the way, how are their TV ratings? Have they climbed beyond the realm of non-existant yet?

[yh]

I think it's in the best interest of the American game to send its best players abroad rather than tie them down to MLS, at least at this stage of the game. By sending our best players out of the country to play with and learn from the best players in the world it should help strengthen the national team. If the national team can become a perennial power and legitimately challenge for if not - dare I say - win a World Cup in the next 20 years it might then work to build a big enough domestic soccer infrastructure to make the USA a more attractive destination for not only the country's best players but perhaps a few international marquee players still in their prime playing days (unlike Pele or Beckenbauer were in the 70's.)

[Sodboy13]

The problem when you bring up MLS attendance numbers is, those figures have been stagnant/slightly declined since the formation of the league in 1996. Teams averaged about 17,000 a contest in that inaugural season (with numbers no doubt buoyed by the newness and curiosity factors.) 10 seasons on, and attendance sits at about 15k. This shows to me that MLS has done virtually nothing to expand its fan base, or at least its base of those who wish to attend games. For those interested, here's the statistical breakdown, courtesy of kenn.com:

MLS ATTENDANCE SUMMARY 1996-2005

Year G Total Avg Growth Median*

1996 160 2,785,001 17,406 15,093

1997 160 2,339,019 14,619 -16.0% 12,733

1998 192 2,747,897 14,312 -2.1% 11,871

1999 192 2,742,102 14,282 -0.2% 12,973

2000 192 2,641,085 13,756 -3.7% 12,690

2001 158 2,363,859 14,961 +8.8% 13,431

2002 140 2,214,878 15,821 +5.7% 14,108

2003 150 2,234,397 14,898 -5.8% 13,719

2004 150 2,333,797 15,559 +4.4% 13,285

2005 192 2,900,716 15,108 -2.9% 12,619

T 1,686 25,303,092 15,008 -13.2% 13,188

As you can see, throw out the first season, and attendance numbers are almost statistically stagnant through the history of MLS. The addition of soccer specific stadiums has apparently had a negligible effect on drawing power. One note of encouragement, though, is that RSL and Chivas drew averages of 18k and 17k respectively during their first campaigns. And no, I'm not a soccer hater. I plan on cheering the Fire in Bridgeview this year.