So...let's talk about Commissioner Garber

Discussion in 'MLS: General' started by Sempuukyaku, Mar 31, 2014.

  1. bana2166

    bana2166 Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Jamaica Hills-NYCity
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Haiti
    United FC kicks off soccer season amid MLS expansion rumors
    http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_25547363/united-fc-kicks-off-soccer-season-amid-mls

    Minneapolis is considered a front-runner for a final spot in MLS expansion plans to reach 24 teams by 2020, a league source told Sports Illustrated this week.

    Also, Twins owner Jim Pohlad confirmed this week that his family is interested in investing in a possible MLS franchise with United owner Bill McGuire.

    Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank is expected to pay between $70 million and $100 million to bring an expansion franchise to Atlanta, possibly in 2017, SI.com said.

    "MLS would be smart to pick a city like Minneapolis," said Aaron Pitchkolan, a United defender who played five years in MLS. "I think there is a lot of support here for a team."

    In January 2013, the North American Soccer League sold its Minnesota franchise to McGuire, the former United Health Group CEO who a few years ago made Forbes' list of 400 richest Americans with a net worth of more than $1 billion. McGuire rebranded the franchise as Minnesota United FC last March after previous pro soccer iterations in Minnesota went by the names Stars, Thunder and Kicks.


    Vikings 'stepping up' efforts to bring MLS to Minnesota
    http://www.twincities.com/vikings/ci_25573318/vikings-stepping-up-efforts-bring-mls-minnesota

    The Minnesota Vikings are "stepping up" talks with Major League Soccer about bringing a team to the Twin Cities, a team official told a group of metro-area business leaders Tuesday.

    Speaking at a luncheon hosted by the Minnesota Association for Corporate Growth, Lester Bagley, the Vikings' vice president of public affairs, said the team and its ownership are working to secure an MLS expansion franchise to play in the team's new downtown Minneapolis stadium.

    "We've been stepping up our conversations with the MLS," Bagley said after the luncheon, adding that "there are definitely other interests in the market."

    Those other interests include Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad and Bill McGuire, owner of the Minnesota United FC minor league soccer team, who confirmed last week that they have teamed up to launch a bid of their own.

    Bagley also pointed out during the luncheon that the Vikings stadium was designed to host -- among other events -- soccer games. It is outfitted with a "house reduction mechanism" that reduces its seating capacity from 65,000 to between 20,000 and 30,000 for a more intimate feel, he said.
     
  2. El Naranja

    El Naranja Member+

    Sep 5, 2006
    Alief
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So it's Donnie G's fault that a team got hot at the right time and beat everyone to the title? Do you hear NFL fans complaining about that? NHL? NBA? That's the nature of playoffs. Sometimes, all it takes is a team to barely scrape in, go on fire and blow everyone away. It happens.

    Wait...you're blaming Don for the fact that our 2nd/3rd divisions have been screwed up for decades and are only now getting some semblance of stability? When exactly would you have liked MLS to start their academy/affiliation system? As soon as MLS was able to stand on their own two legs like big kids, they started up an Academy system. Once USL Pro was stable (ish) MLS entered into a partnership with them. I fail to see what's wrong with any of this...

    Huh? DC and NE have played in their stadiums since Day, 1, 1996. Criticize them for that fact (especially DC, less so NE) but that has been the plan the whole time. And how has Seattle been bad in their stadium? It ain't perfect but it works for their particular situation.

    So what? If adding Blank and his 1.2 sh*tillion dollar stadium makes a TV deal (potentially) worth a lot more money, I don't think anyone will lose any sleep over it.
     
    JasonMa repped this.
  3. Mr. Vero

    Mr. Vero Member

    Apr 10, 2014
    It's time for MLS to really undergo a revolution. Garber has done great things but we need to approach soccer in the U.S. from a completely different perspective, if we want to see the sport grow in America.

    I have a feeling that a lot of people want MLS to grow, but fail to acknowledge the MOST IMPORTANT GOAL is for the U.S. as a country to grow into soccer. And those don't go hand in hand necessarily.

    The biggest obstacle right now is MLS as a "secret exclusive society" attitude. Basically, if you've "got the dough, you got the team." So, we're starving soccer hungry markets throughout the U.S. that don't have the "resources" (a.k.a. expansion fees). Only with approval (and loads of cash to pay MLS) can you join this fraternity.

    We need to move toward a European style FA like England, Italy, etc. Where one organization manages the semi-pro to the super-stars, 4th division to 1st division.

    Open up the markets to all cities/towns/areas that can meet the most basic pre-requisites of making a team. A system where all can participate. Just like in Europe, where a town like Sassuolo can have a club that doesn't even have a proper stadium but still compete against Juventus in Serie A.

    This way we develop grass-roots, community oriented soccer where there are strong bonds between fans and club.

    We can do this all without promotion/relegation as well - thanks to the huge geographic size of the U.S.

    Merge MLS/USL/NASL and open the league structure up - until then you're just tapping the bare minimum of potential.

    None of this is going to happen (I'm well aware of that). But, I'd thought I'd just be unrealistically idealistic about where soccer should go in this country.
     
  4. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You are aware of the PDL, the NPSL, the USASA, the NSSL, and the other affiliated leagues, right? What town doesn't have a team at some level that wants one?
     
  5. bana2166

    bana2166 Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Jamaica Hills-NYCity
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Haiti
    the whole concept of a wild card is a NFL & MLB concept, not NHL & NBA ......... Wild card concept certainly not a Soccer concept ......... it is juvenile to add a wild card concept to MLS Soccer .............16 teams make the playoff - thats that ....... A wild card concept in Soccer? Juvenile

    Thats was the mandate from FIFA before the USA was awarded the 1994 World Cup ...... Too establish a League and stabilize viable soccer system in America .......Yes, put stability in 1st, 2nd and 3rd division ..... thats was the mandate from FIFA

    Sporting KC (Kansas City Wizards), NY Red Bulls play in NFL stadium until they build their own stadium ..... if they are capable of building there own stadium ..... why can't New England & DC United to do the same ....... as some point MLS soccer need to bite the bullet and walk away from DC area and build a stadium in Virginia, Maryland or West Virginia .......... if they want build DC United a new stadium maybe the team needs to move to North/South Carolina ......
     
  6. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't think you understand what a wild card is. Its no different in any of the big 4 sports, its just a matter of what label they use. In all sports the division/conference winners and the top X teams with the best record make the playoffs. That's the same way MLS does it. The only difference is if its the top X teams per conference or top X teams league wide.

    NFL: 4 division winners plus top 2 teams in each conference
    MLB: 3 division winners plus top 2 teams in each league
    NHL: 2 division winners plus top 6 teams in each conference
    NBA: 2 division winners plus top 6 teams in each conference
    MLS: Conference winner plus top 4 teams in each conference

    Now MLS did do the crossover for a couple of years, which was odd, but not exactly unusual.
     
  7. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    I would argue that the crossover was the only time that MLS used a Wild Card. Wild Cards are teams that make the playoffs without regard to their divisional standings. Right now all MLS teams make the playoffs based on their conference standings, there are no divisions.

    Those other leagues have divisions and therefore do have Wild Cards which are all the non-divisional winners. Those Wild Cards qualify based on their overall conference standing, not on their divisional standing.

    BTW, the NBA has three divisions, not two, per conference.
     
    JasonMa repped this.
  8. El Naranja

    El Naranja Member+

    Sep 5, 2006
    Alief
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I take it you mean a European (ie English) concept. There is a wide variety of soccer in the world, yknow...

    No, the mandate from FIFA was to start up a 1st division league. MLS won out in the voting and have fulfilled their mandate from FIFA. 2nd and 3rd Divisions (and below) are USSF's problems. MLS doesn't have to do anything to help any of them. However, they feel that working with USLPro is a good thing (I agree). The fact that it'll stabilize that league is just a bonus, and frankly in MLS' best interest now.

    Not all markets are created equally. Some markets are much easier to get deals done than others. DC is probably the hardest market to build a stadium in. Boston ain't much better. DC's situation is much more critical and I'm sure at some point MLS will face some tough questions but I hope to hell they don't walk away from that market. It could be (again) a top notch market. A real league leader.
     
  9. bana2166

    bana2166 Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Jamaica Hills-NYCity
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Haiti
    Not limited to Europe only..........Majority of soccer around the world - Wild card is not a concept ....
     
  10. bana2166

    bana2166 Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Jamaica Hills-NYCity
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Haiti
    its not the concept of wild card that I don't understand .........Its not a concept that is associated with (World) soccer/football at all - Just like Wild card is not a concept associated with Golf, Tennis and etc ......
     
  11. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    How are you defining Wild Card? The Mexican playoffs have more than the very top team involved. Those are wild cards.

    Teams qualify for the UEFA (and other ) Champions League without winning their leagues. That is sort of a wild card.
     
    JasonMa repped this.
  12. bana2166

    bana2166 Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Jamaica Hills-NYCity
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Haiti

    Out of 208 members register with FIFA organization, you could only site a hand full of country like Mexico, USA, England and etc that uses a wild card concept ........... Since when does a hand full of country that use a wild card concept speak for 208 members - Since When?.....Please
     
  13. profiled

    profiled Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 7, 2000
    slightly north of a mile high
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    #38 profiled, Apr 18, 2014
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2014
    The 1994 World Cup for example.

    The USA qualified as the 3rd place team in their group as a wild card among the best 3rd place teams in all groups.
     
    JasonMa repped this.
  14. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    (Bold mine)

    So in 15 minutes you went from wild cards not being associated with soccer at all, to only being associated in a few countries. At this rate by the end of the day you'll be saying that almost every country has some sort of wild card...
     
  15. bana2166

    bana2166 Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Jamaica Hills-NYCity
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Haiti
    We are talking a wild card concept in a Soccer/Football League Division and you site wild card in 1994 World cup and I am the one that does not know why I am talking about .....

    at least NewTex brought the point of UEFA and Other Championship Leagues and I respect that point but You (Profiled) you site a World Cup in 1994 to defend a wild card concept ...... .. You (Profile) are comparing apples (League Deivision) and oranges (1994 World Cup) here ... .......
     
  16. profiled

    profiled Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 7, 2000
    slightly north of a mile high
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    #41 profiled, Apr 18, 2014
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2014
    To now it only matters about club leagues, not the world cup which includes all the members he sited...
     
    JasonMa repped this.
  17. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Speak for? Who said anything about speak for?

    You said "the whole concept of a wild card is a NFL & MLB concept, not NHL & NBA ......... Wild card concept certainly not a Soccer concept ......... it is juvenile to add a wild card concept to MLS Soccer .............16 teams make the playoff - thats that ....... A wild card concept in Soccer? Juvenile "

    Still not clear how you are defining Wild Card if you think the NFL and MLB have them but not NHL & NBA.
    The Wild Card concept is, in fact, a soccer concept in some places. What is your basis for calling it "juvenile"?
    I have no idea what " 16 teams make the playoffs - thats that" means.

    You said "Its not a concept that is associated with (World) soccer/football at all - Just like Wild card is not a concept associated with Golf, Tennis and etc ......"

    It is associated with soccer in a few places. So "at all" is incorrect. Various leagues and organizations use different systems. And Golf and Tennis do use Wild Cards for entry into tournaments. That is the term often used for players who are invited without qualifying directly. And not just in the U.S.

    Golf:
    http://sports.yahoo.com/news/golf-notebook-euro-captain-adds-061139991--golf.html
    --Captain Paul McGinley of the European Ryder Cup team announced that he will have three wild-card selections to complete his team for the 2014 matches, which will be contested at Gleneagles Resort in Scotland on Sept. 26-28, 2014.
    http://www.lpga.com/golf/news/2012/...nrise-lpga-taiwan-championship-qualifier.aspx
    Organizers of the 2012 Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship announced the staging of a new two-day qualifying event in which four wildcard berths will be granted the opportunity to compete in next month’s USD 2 million tournament that features an impressive all-star field made up of the top 68 players from the 2012 LPGA money list.

    Tennis:
    http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/info-for-players/misc/frequently-asked-questions.aspx#q11
    (A) 11 - I have been accepted into an ITF Pro Circuit tournament, am I now able to withdraw without incurring a fine in order to take up the offer of a Wild Card into another tournament?

    • A player may accept a Wild Card, this will be authorised on-site by the ITF Supervisor. Such authorisation will be only be granted to a player according to the following criteria
    1. Player has been nominated to represent their nation in an official team competition
    2. Player qualifies for entry into Qualifying or Main Draw of a Grand Slam tournament
    3. Player has been nominated to receive a Wild Card into a tournament offering the player a higher event status (i.e. Qualifying to Main Draw)
    4. Player has been nominated to receive a Wild Card into a higher prize money category, (MEN ONLY - unless player has already been accepted into a Main Draw)
    5. Player is forced to withdraw from a qualifying event as they are still committed to a previous week’s tournament but is not eligible to apply, or had been unsuccessful in applying for, a special exempt place

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelm...ards-tennis-free-lunch-may-cause-indigestion/
    A wild card grants entry into a tournament’s main draw or qualifying rounds for a pro who doesn’t make the ranking cutoff for a tournament. Tournament directors disburse them to reward up and comers, give a hand to players on the comeback trail and put butts in stadium seats.


    How are you defining Wild Card and how is it "juvenile"?
     
    JasonMa repped this.
  18. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well how about the just-completed World Cup Qualifying for UEFA? 9 groups, the top team in each group qualified, then the 8 best 2nd placed teams went into a playoff for the final 4 spots. The 9th best 2nd place team was eliminated. That's a wild-card, used by Europe, for the biggest soccer competition in the world, in the last year.
     
  19. profiled

    profiled Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 7, 2000
    slightly north of a mile high
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Or how about the UEFA Champions League where the 3rd places teams (wild cards) get knocked into the Europa League.
     
  20. nbtc971

    nbtc971 Member

    Dec 26, 2006
    My opinion on Garber is, he was doing a great job for the league, but at this point, what the league needs and what he is providing are two different things. First he decides that soccer needs to be in SSS on real grass, now he's getting the league into another NFL stadium on fake grass.

    His time has come and gone, he needs to get out of the commissioners chair and turn the reins over to someone who is going to be the good of the game first, not the all mighty dollar. TV contracts are important, but one of the reasons you still have a huge chunk of Americans, who love soccer but won't give the league a chance is, FAKE GRASS. Enough already. Let's get these guys on real grass and start working on developing our 2nd and 3rd tier leagues.
     
  21. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Um, are you somehow thinking that the MLS Board of Directors works for Garber and not the other way around? The Board decides on who gets in (Atlanta). The board decides on surfaces (Portland, Seattle). Garber does the Board's will, not the other way around.

    And how is it MLS's responsibility to develop the NASL an USL? Isn't that the NASL's and USL's responsibility?
     
  22. nbtc971

    nbtc971 Member

    Dec 26, 2006
    And you are pretty naive if you think the board doesn't take direction from the commissioner.
     
  23. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Direction, yes. But its not Garber making the decision to let Atlanta in (or NYCFC or whomever). That's on the board. Garber will give his input, but if you're going to claim that the decisions being made show that Garber is wrong for the job you're blaming him for decisions he's not making.
     
  24. nbtc971

    nbtc971 Member

    Dec 26, 2006
    I believe he has a larger input than you are giving him credit for. If Garber were to be against Atlanta, the board would vote it down. That is what I believe.
     
  25. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And I believe Garber would be against Atlanta only if he felt the Board would be against it (and likewise he was only for Atlanta because he thought the Board would be for it). I find it highly unlikely that any expansion bid would ever get to the point of the board voting on it with Garber's opinion being significantly different than the board's existing opinion, causing Garber's opinion to sway the vote one way or the other.
     
    El Naranja repped this.

Share This Page