Will the NASL Ever Compete head to head with MLS?

With regard to pointless debates, this is BigSoccer.

Portugal has the 5th league in Europe now by coefficient and I think any MLS team would neither win the league nor be relegated there in any given year. The leagues are hard to compare, but I don't think it's irrelevant to compare league revenues/attendance/television contracts/talent - not to make you more secure in your MLS fandom, but in order to show MLS is achieving steady growth relative to the rest of the world.

 

Like the first year?

Let me give it a try, this is comparing Toronto FC to the worst teams in the leagues right?

England D1 and D2,
Bundesliga, not sure about Bundesliga2
Spain
Italy
Mexico
Argentina (I mean River was relegated and the bottom 4 are in danger)
France a maybe.
I would say Brazil, but some of the bottom Brazil teams can be bad, so not sure about this one.
Maybe J-league

I say 7 and 4 maybes.

 

To be fair, if Toronto were in the J-League, they'd be really worn out from all the travel.

 

I don't disagree. I'm more saying that if anyone is going to make a bigger investment, it should be MLS and from a control and direction standpoint, it would be better if they did it on their own.

 

I acknowledge there have been efforts. Remember, FC Dallas had the best Academy rating last year and I've seen the six home grown players they have signed, and some playing for the first team.

I'm more just saying that much more can be done, that MLS is in the best position to do it, and that there isn't enough professionalism in most lower division teams to be worth much to MLS teams needing a level of play that is a better scenario than college. As improved as the MLS Reserve Division is, it isn't clearly better for players of talent to go through. Not saying it is worse, just saying it isn't *clearly better*. A lot of young players of talent right now have to choose between getting games in college at a lower level, or playing sporadically in a better league.

Back to the affiliation thing - this is about training and games at a level to develop that next generation. And having seen that FC Dallas has at the pro and development academy level - obviously, from a distance - and what is needed to cross that barrier, and compare that to what is currently at the NASL or USL Pro level, and I don't see many of those teams with the resources to really be that bridge. Some definitely are, but most aren't.

Part of it is the level of play. Why don't more MLS teams have teams in the PDL? Why don't more players get loaned out? I think those are indications of what I'm talking about.

Again, I'm just saying there is a lot of work to be done, and different groups could be much more aggressive about making it happen. I get that this may not be a fair expectation, but it is what the game needs to get to that next level.

And I get that it surely won't happen overnight. But I'm just saying I think there are more things that can be done now.

 

Reserve Divisions aren't really designed for player development. They're designed to keep first team players who aren't getting regular minutes somewhat close to match fit so they're ready if needed.

Barcelona's reserves aren't their development squad. Barcelona B - which plays in a lower division - is. There are plenty of teams in Spain, Germany, and Mexico (to name 3 or the top leagues in the world) that have developmental squads in their countries minor leagues.

Fun fact, Kasey Keller and Rayo Vallecano only made it to La Liga because Atletico Madrid B finished in a promotion playoff spot. As they were ineligible for promotion, that playoff spot fell to Rayo Vallecano - who then won promotion. In a cruel twist, Atletico Madrid was relegated from La Liga the following season, forcing the B squad down a level. But I digress.

 

If Toronto was in the J-League they would be relegated to the amateur Leagues.

 

Some of those bottom J-League teams aren't exactly world beaters. Consadole Sapporo might be worse than TFC.

 

Interesting article;

You can bet your bottom dollar that, aside from a proposed New York City franchise and possibly Orlando, the NASL will be MLS commissioner Don Garber’s first port of call when it comes to expansion.
The San Antonio Scorpions are in their first NASL season. They’re currently top of the table and average 8000 fans per game. They’re also building a new stadium, thanks to the generosity and determination of real estate millionaire Gordon Hartman.
Give them time and an incentive to develop, and they will surely become capable of becoming an MLS team, following in the footsteps of the ‘Caps, the Timbers, the Impact and the Sounders. They’re just one example.
The NASL is a springboard for the MLS – a level where aspiring cities can have football while building for the future.

http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/07/12/apl-must-become-a-league-springboard/

 

I know I never do anything without consulting an Australian.

 

So other than being potentially third, they could very well be first on the list. Oy.

 

Every time I begin to question Soccer in America, I just tell myself: "At least we're not Australia."....But seriously, I never thought we'd get to a point where other developed nations would look up to MLS & the NASL as a model for strengthening their own domestic leagues. Even Japan has publicly expressed their admiration of MLS, in part, because of the Soccer Specific Stadiums we've built. The J-League has been around longer than MLS and yet the majority of their clubs do not own their own venues.

 

Well any team plays in the FIFA WC 2002 Stadiums? I assume the States/National government own those stadiums. Kind of like Toyota Park and Bridgeview.

I wonder how many J-League teams and owned by Baseball owners and play in Baseball stadiums ala Seattle and New England with Football?

 

J-1
Big Swan Stadium - owner the Niigata Prefecture; 42.3K with a track around the field
vel-5 Stadium - Fukukoa city; 22.5K; Soccer Specific
Nagai Ball Gall Field - Osaka City; 20.5K S.S.
Osaka expo - Commemorative Organization for the Japan World Exposition '70; 21K with a track around the field.
Júbilo Iwata Stadium - Yamaya Motors (Who used to own the team I believe); 16.9K S.S.
Kashima Soccer Stadium - Ibaraki Prefecture (but the Antlers are the operators); 40.7K S.S.
Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium - Hitachi Ltd. (They also used to own the team); 15.9K S.S.
Todoroki Athletics Stadium - Kawasaki City; 25K with a track around the field
ND Soft Stadium Yamagata - Yamagata Prefecture; 20.3K with a track around the field
Toyota Stadium - Toyota City; 45K S.S. (The stadium is outside the city, so that is a problem)
NACK5 Stadium Omiya - Saitama City; 15.5K S.S
Hiroshima Big Arch - Hiroshima City; 50K with a track around the field
Outsourcing Stadium Nihondaira - Shizuoka City; 20.3K S.S.
Saitama Stadium 2002 - Saitama Prefecture; 63.7K S.S.
Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium - Yamanashi Prefecture; 17K with a track around the field.
Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium - Kobe City; 30.1K S.S.
Nissan Stadium - Yokohama City; 72.3K with a track around the field

So it looks like f the current J1 teams 2 play in stadiums owned by their parent company and 1 operates the stadium.

The problems is that Japan has too many way to big stadiums from the world cup, they are too big for current J-league needs and 2 or 3 have ugly running tracks around the field that leaves the people far away from the action.

Many other are relatively good stadiums, which J-league teams should think about buying. Some of them if owned by the team could destroy the track and build more stands.

I guess Japan likes to do stadium building the American way, where the tax payers pay for the stadium.

At least 10 of the stadiums are S.S. stadiums.

I see 3 stadiums that are huge problems, they are multi-use (track) and way too big; Hiroshima, Nissan and Big Swan.

 

Makes everyone wonder what Qatar will do with all those big stadiums after the World Cup in 2022.

 

If you believe the Qatari, they are going to be built so that large portions of the stadiums can be removed and shipped off to third world countries to build stadiums there.

 

Just wondering is it a possibility that Cosmos can start a trend again since their is no salary cap and the owners have a lot of money?

 

Absolutely not, its hard enough getting quality DPs to play for the MLS now that Russia, China, and clubs in the Middle East are starting to pay top dollar for aging European players. Just think about trying to proposition them to come to D-2 in America. The best the Cosmos can hope for is to build a solid infrastructure a.k.a a stadium plan, solid scouting pipeline, and stable ownership if they want to complete their dream to move up to the MLS

 

"...

O'Brien cautioned that although the NASL doesn't have a salary cap, it would be "not a very smart business decision" to throw around huge sums of money to sign players for a second-division team (particularly since there's no way of getting promoted to the top flight). But he does want to bring in some recognizable players and a coaching staff that will give his team the best chance to win."​

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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...7/13/new-york-cosmos/index.html?sct=sc_t11_a0

 

I've heard that they might sign Ronaldinho.

 

Nah you were misinformed, Ronaldinho has already signed with Atletico Mineiro

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/jun/05/ronaldinho-atletico-mineiro-flamengo

 

didn't Pele come out of retirement to sign with Cosmos back in the day? Ronaldo is 35...then theirs Roberto Carlos...

 

You're thinking waaayyyy too big there bud. This is division 2 in America...... just be happy that America has yet another club that will hopefully be stable financially

 

It seems like the Cosmos have said straight out that they aren't going to be overspending on players, I think they even said something about returning to their 'humble roots'. This is going to be pre-Pele Cosmos.

BUT, if the Cosmos wanted to get very agressive, of course top level players who could go to MLS or even China/Middle East probably won't come to D2 unless they were given incredible amounts of cash. I think the best the Cosmos could possibly do is to sign the kinds of players that the proposed Indian soccer league had identified. I actually believe that this league was going to be D3.

They had contracted Crespo, Cannavaro, Fowler, Pires, Okacha, Sorin, and even Santino Quaranta. Those guys are all officially retired or basically retired. Now lets say you actually signed all those guys, would they actually draw any better than a well marketed NASL team? I'm not sure. Would soccer fans in NYC go out to Long Island to watch Crespo or Cannavaro play the Atlanta Silverbacks? The Cosmos would end up dropping millions in player salaries, and I just don't know how much they'd end up getting out of it.

 

Randy Horton, baby.