Montreal deserves a team

[taboga]

Montreal you guys deserve a team right now. Seeing 56,000 fans show up to watch a Concacaf match is simply amazing. Houston barely has 10,000 fans and you show up and deliver 56,000 fans. I can feel the true passion you guys have for your team and I believe MLS is starting to rethink Montreal.

You guys have potential to be the best club in North America.

Anybody with common sense will make sure Montreal gets a team right away. This club will make money from the get go and anybody with some type of business skills knows this and will try and capitalize on it which bodes well for the future of montreal soccer and the future of the MLS and its image around the world. I guarantee some rich people right now are even more anxious to get a deal done now after seeing the last game in which a USL team(shall i repeat) outdrew every MLS team!

[RedRover]

Unfortunatly, that won't happen unless Joey Saputo decides to pay the $40 million franchise fee MLS layed out, plus an expanded Saputo Stadium. Don Garber and company only care about money, but it seems they have the hammer and can do what they want. Which is a crying shame, because Montreal is a far better soccer market than Ottawa or Miami can ever hope for.

[KLR650]

You guys have potential to be the best club in North America.
But do they need to be in MLS to be the best club?

[zidja]

Montreal you guys deserve a team right now.
We have one, thanks. :p

[Nerroth]

We have one, thanks. :p

Damn, you beat me to it!

[antnee7898]

But do they need to be in MLS to be the best club?
I'm all for MLS in Montreal. But I think they do. MLS will someday have Miami, The Whitecaps, possibly the Timbers, and Atlanta, as well as a possible 2nd team in New York. Huge markets that the USL will not have. MLS is the top league right now and the way things are going for a long time to come.

Although this a merger opp. if I've ever seen one!

[carnifex2005]

I'm all for MLS in Montreal. But I think they do. MLS will someday have Miami, The Whitecaps, possibly the Timbers, and Atlanta, as well as a possible 2nd team in New York. Huge markets that the USL will not have. MLS is the top league right now and the way things are going for a long time to come.

Although this a merger opp. if I've ever seen one!

Those definitely are big markets but NA is huge. The USL can easily be a viable league with teams from Minnesota, Phoenix, San Diego, San Antonio, Ottawa, Hamilton, etc... along with Montreal. Montreal won't be able to be as big as an MLS team but maybe Saputo doesn't care much for it and just wants to continue to have a viable finacial situation. Even if Vancouver gets to MLS, Montreal still are going to be playing them and Toronto twice a year in the Voyageurs Cup (Canadian Club Championship).

[Zoidberg]

But do they need to be in MLS to be the best club?

Exactly.

No need to be in MLS at all if they don't want. Only MLS. Who cares?

To each his own and time will tell where all will end up.

I know where I would place my wager however, and it ain't where they speak French either.

[nfitz]

There's more than one way MLS makes money. They'll make a lot more money selling out 20,000 seats of beer-drinking fans at the Big Cheese than they will with 6,000 soccer mums in Atlanta. Besides, who else has the money these days? Vancouver and Ottawa maybe ... even Phillie seems to be doing a runner.

I expect the reason we WILL see Montreal in MLS soon is because of MLS's greed for $.

[Zoidberg]

There's more than one way MLS makes money. They'll make a lot more money selling out 20,000 seats of beer-drinking fans at the Big Cheese than they will with 6,000 soccer mums in Atlanta. Besides, who else has the money these days? Vancouver and Ottawa maybe ... even Phillie seems to be doing a runner.

I expect the reason we WILL see Montreal in MLS soon is because of MLS's greed for $.

...so many errors here it's not even funny. Hope you are knocking a few back.:p

[Blizzard]

Exactly.

No need to be in MLS at all if they don't want. Only MLS. Who cares?

To each his own and time will tell where all will end up.

I know where I would place my wager however, and it ain't where they speak French either.

My view is that while certainly, in regards to a quality soccer club, Montreal does not need to be part of MLS, it would be beneficial to the city as a whole to be in the MLS fold.

It is good the profile of the city and the province plus it is can't hurt in terms of tourism. Visiting fans inject money into a city's economy.

Last year, many hundreds of TFC fans overnighted in Columbus eating in restaurants and renting hotel/motel rooms not to mention purchasing three thousand tickets to the match and drinking one helluva lot of beer!

I'm sure our presence was very welcomed by the local merchants.

During this economic downturn, this factor can't be ignored.

That said, I don't see Montreal joining up right now either.

B

[nfitz]

...so many errors here it's not even funny. Hope you are knocking a few back.:pYeah, I know that MLS isn't going to get the beer money - perhaps if they did, they'd change their marketing :)

However, MLS DOES make money when franchises are in the black. And they are making money because Toronto, unlike most other franchises, are in the black. So after the initial payment, are they going to make more money from a franchise like Montreal selling out every game, for from another American team that only has 10,000 coming out for a game.

Which is better in the long-term for MLS?

[Nazzer]

Isn't one of the main interests of the Montreal Impact as an organization to develop soccer players from the Quebec area and to give back to the local soccer community? If this is true then won't being an MLS 'franchise' where they have less control over the operations of the team and players based on salary and roster limitations make them less able to meet their organizational goals?

[carnifex2005]

Isn't one of the main interests of the Montreal Impact as an organization to develop soccer players from the Quebec area and to give back to the local soccer community? If this is true then won't being an MLS 'franchise' where they have less control over the operations of the team and players based on salary and roster limitations make them less able to meet their organizational goals?

Yes, and since you're a Whitecaps fan you may know that is the exact same way that the Caps are set up. That has been a bit of a sticking point for the Whitecaps. Apparently they have been trying to convince the MLS to keep the Whitecaps organization intact. Their current academy system already goes far beyond what the MLS rules currently allow.

[Nazzer]

Yes, and since you're a Whitecaps fan you may know that is the exact same way that the Caps are set up. That has been a bit of a sticking point for the Whitecaps. Apparently they have been trying to convince the MLS to keep the Whitecaps organization intact. Their current academy system already goes far beyond what the MLS rules currently allow.

Exactly what sort of things as an organization would clubs like Montreal and Vancouver no longer be able to do if they became an MLS franchise?

[carnifex2005]

Exactly what sort of things as an organization would clubs like Montreal and Vancouver no longer be able to do if they became an MLS franchise?

Quite a few things but the biggest is keeping their academy players. Rules currently limit teams to signing one academy graduate to a Generation Adidas contract every three years (unless the player graduates from the program sooner), and also prevents teams from signing players younger than 20 to developmental contracts. The first rule means that, theoretically, a team could be prevented from signing a high-level academy graduate because its Generation Adidas slot is already occupied.
In fact, several TFC academy prospects left them and came to Vancouver because of the MLS rules were so restrictive.
Also, the Whitecaps have far too many youth teams under their ownership. MLS are mandated to have less teams to control costs. The Whitecaps, under current rules, would have to get rid of some of those teams.

Kerfoot and Saputo must think that after pouring millions into your academy to have such restrictive rules, it isn't a very good return on your investment. In fact, what the Whitecaps have done this year (getting rid of veterans and then signing and starting to play a lot of their academy players) would have been impossible if they were in MLS.

[Nazzer]

Quite a few things but the biggest is keeping their academy players. Rules currently limit teams to signing one academy graduate to a Generation Adidas contract every three years (unless the player graduates from the program sooner), and also prevents teams from signing players younger than 20 to developmental contracts. The first rule means that, theoretically, a team could be prevented from signing a high-level academy graduate because its Generation Adidas slot is already occupied.
In fact, several TFC academy prospects left them and came to Vancouver because of the MLS rules were so restrictive.
Also, the Whitecaps have far too many youth teams under their ownership. MLS are mandated to have less teams to control costs. The Whitecaps, under current rules, would have to get rid of some of those teams.

Kerfoot and Saputo must think that after pouring millions into your academy to have such restrictive rules, it isn't a very good return on your investment. In fact, what the Whitecaps have done this year (getting rid of veterans and then signing and starting to play a lot of their academy players) would have been impossible if they were in MLS.

So it is mostly the developmental aspects then. I was aware of these things I just thought there might be something else too.

I don't understand why MLS would think it a good thing to have all of their restrictions on their acadamey system, wouldn't it be better to have a deep prospect pool run by each team if they have a low wage cap then they can sign there own guys from development and also spend less on transfer fees? Also, when MLS cut their reserve league it seemed so counterproductive to the goal of developing players, because now they seem to have to rely on USL to develop their players for them.

[filbox]

Forget Montreal, it's pritty obvious that they have no interest in joining MLS.. On the french bord (www.impactsoccer.com/indexe.php (http://www.impactsoccer.com/indexe.php)), it is rumoured that they are organizing friendlies with teams from ligue-1 and ligue-2. Other than miracle, it's not gonna happen. The North-Americain attitude and policies will never work with the Impact. Which is kind of sad because it explains why soccer can't compete with the big 4 leagues.

[Trident]

Forget Montreal, it's pritty obvious that they have no interest in joining MLS.. On the french bord (www.impactsoccer.com/indexe.php (http://www.impactsoccer.com/indexe.php)), it is rumoured that they are organizing friendlies with teams from ligue-1 and ligue-2.


What are you talking about? that's just a link to some barebones english version of the fan forum?

If you look at the french version, it says Montreal en MLS....

:rolleyes:

[filbox]

All I'm saying is that from all that's been said by the Impact it's pritty obvious that they're telling Garber to piss off...and aren't panicking if both Vancouver and Ottawa happen to get in MLS. It says in the french forum, that they are organizing freindlies in France, so are they exploring other options? They only know..