Thursday 18 July 2019

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by Stuart95, Jul 17, 2019.

  1. Stuart95

    Stuart95 Member+

    Mar 11, 2012
    NoVA
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    New England Revolution 4, Vancouver Whitecaps 0 | 2019 MLS Match Recap
    https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...nd-revolution-vs-vancouver-whitecaps-fc/recap

    Atlanta United 5, Houston Dynamo 0 | 2019 MLS Match Recap
    https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2019-07-17-atlanta-united-fc-vs-houston-dynamo/recap

    Armchair Analyst: Massive midweek, mid-year MLS Q&A
    https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/07/17/armchair-analyst-massive-midweek-mid-year-mls-qa


    The friendly situation in MLS

    https://ussoccerplayers.com/2019/07/friendly-situation-mls-soccer-news.html

    MLS and USMNT Rumor Rater: Long leaving for the Premier League?
    https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-l...mor-rater-long-leaving-for-the-premier-league

    MLS, adidas partner with Germany FA on academy goalkeeping course
    https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/07/17/mls-adidas-partner-germany-fa-academy-goalkeeping-course

    Orlando City pushes through bumps, bruises while managing heavy schedule
    https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/or...-bumps-bruises-while-managing-heavy-schedule/

    Aaron Long and the Red Bulls way
    https://ussoccerplayers.com/2019/07/aaron-long-and-the-red-bulls-way.html

    MLS News: USMNT forward Jozy Altidore fended for calling Major League soccer refs 'absolutely terrible'
    https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/alt...absolutely-horrible/eawg6sawp8jr1wzgwcfo9plce

    LAFC's Vela only Mexican better than Gio - Herrera
    https://www.espn.com/soccer/america/story/3901490/lafcs-vela-only-mexican-better-than-gio-herrera

    Meet Paxton Pomykal, the next USA soccer star who is catching the eyes of Serie A and Bundesliga clubs
    https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/ne...ing-the-eyes-of-serie-a-and-bundesliga-clubs/

    Atlanta gets former No. 10 pick Adams from Fire
    https://www.espn.com/soccer/atlanta...tlanta-gets-former-no-10-pick-adams-from-fire


    Soccer notebook: For Austin FC, it's goodbye, PSV and hello, Two Oak Ventures
    https://www.statesman.com/sports/20...fc-its-goodbye-psv-and-hello-two-oak-ventures

    Former soccer prodigy Freddy Adu helping coach Anne Arundel youth team while looking to play again
    https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports...0190717-hxfnkfp6lbg2vfbrkzrbbpw2vq-story.html
     
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  2. Stuart95

    Stuart95 Member+

    Mar 11, 2012
    NoVA
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    New England Revolution 4, Vancouver Whitecaps 0 | 2019 MLS Match Recap
    https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...nd-revolution-vs-vancouver-whitecaps-fc/recap

    Diego Fagundez snaps goal drought, eyes bigger role with Revolution
    https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/ne...ez-revolution-goal-whitecaps-2019-role-arena/

    Atlanta United 5, Houston Dynamo 0 | 2019 MLS Match Recap
    https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2019-07-17-atlanta-united-fc-vs-houston-dynamo/recap

    Alberth Elis sent off, Atlanta United routs Houston Dynamo
    https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/at...lberth-elis-red-card-recap-highlights-photos/

    Toronto FC 3, New York Red Bulls 1 | 2019 MLS Match Recap
    https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2019-07-17-toronto-fc-vs-new-york-red-bulls/recap

    Toronto FC hangs Ashkicking on Red Bulls
    https://torontosun.com/sports/soccer/mls/toronto-fc/toronto-fc-hangs-an-ash-kicking-on-red-bulls

    Chicago Fire 2, Columbus Crew SC 2 | 2019 MLS Match Recap
    https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/07/17/chicago-fire-2-columbus-crew-sc-2-2019-mls-match-recap

    Late goal gives Columbus Crew a draw at slumping Chicago Fire
    https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/ch...mbus-crew-draw-slumping-chicago-fire-romario/
     
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  3. Gamecock14

    Gamecock14 Member+

    May 27, 2010
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Reading some of these articles about The Athletic poaching a lot of big english soccer reporters, If gathering a bunch of talented writers and allowing them to do in depth and high quality reporting is disrupting the industry, something is wrong with the industry.

     
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  4. Bill Archer

    Bill Archer BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 19, 2002
    Washington, NC
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    ISTM that they're not really changing anything other than who these people write for.

    If The Athletic wants to be a big player in UK sportswriting, well, OK. I gotta say that I don't much care. And while these are all fine writers they are far, far from irreplaceable. The Beeb and the Guardian will promote someone else.

    Seems mostly like The Athletic is trying to make a statement, and pick up some market share, but in terms of quality of coverage nothing much will change,
     
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  5. Baysider

    Baysider Member+

    Jul 16, 2004
    Santa Monica
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    So they're taking a bunch of writers who were available for free and putting them behind a paywall?

    But I guess the journalism industry isn't working, so if the Athletic can make a subscription model work, I can't object.
     
  6. GunnerJacket

    GunnerJacket Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 18, 2003
    Gainesville, GA
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    So the burritos chain Moe's went back to the promotion they did 2 years ago, offering $1 off a burrito for every goal Atlanta United scores at home the previous day. Last night the Stripes won 5-0.

    It is now 1:30 at my local Moe's and the line still reaches the door.
     
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  7. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Yes and no. Local daily paper sports writers are also mostly behind a paywall. The Athletic is aggregating the best talent and offering a single-price subscription. For fans, like me, with multiple teams in multiple locales, it's a great deal.

    The recent piece on the tactical analysis of Matias Almeyda in The Athletic is better than anything I've ever read in the [formerly San Jose but now just generic] Mercury News. Plus all Buffalo Bills coverage at the Buffalo News is behind a paywall even though you can read 10 articles per month from that paper online on any other subject. And in The Athletic there is random terrific stuff like the profile of the gay DC United ombudsman-turned-chauffeur for Wayne Rooney. So, yeah, why would I subscribe to the San Jose or Buffalo rags, when The Athletic provides a better product with one-stop shopping?
     
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  8. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There is something wrong with the industry, tho.. It's running short on money and is making drastic cutbacks. Readers are also less interested in reading longer stories, instead, they prefer smaller, bite sized articles. This has, in many cases, resulted in newspapers not giving reporters the time necessary to do big investigative stories. They also expect the writers to multi-task at a level not seen in previous generations. Reporters are now expected to be active on the various social media apps/sites. They are expected to not only be writers, but take pictures as well. They are expected to put out multiple articles a day, etc, etc. Even if newspapers had the money to allow for the big investigative stories, there isn't enough time in the day for the reporters to do all the other crap and still work on the big story.
     
  9. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    You're right and wrong. There is something wrong with the industry. But it's not that readers willing to pay for content are stupid and want shorter stories. That's partly why the industry is suffering. They have badly mis-diagnosed their problem.

    Readers who are willing to pay for content want good content. That means longer stories, with non-biased analysis. Not dumbed-down and simultaneously ridiculously editorialized.

    The problem is not just with the sports pages or daily papers. It has destroyed venerable publications like The Atlantic and The New Republic, to which I once subscribed for, literally, decades, but which are now condensed, modern versions of Reader's Digest which will not receive another penny from me.
     
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  10. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Two different sides of the same coin, perhaps? I think there is a difference between what the readers that are willing to pay want and what those that want the content for free want. The industry just hasn't figured out which side results in the most revenue, or, perhaps more likely, they are afraid to risk going behind the paywall and cutting off the readers that want it to free, so they are erring on the side that has the most people and hope that is the side that brings in the most revenue.
     
  11. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    I think that is where the misdiagnosis has arisen.

    Successful papers that add value and charge for it, like the Wall Street Journal, or the New York Times, which has a national audience and actual reporters, are entirely or largely behind a paywall. Local dailies in other places, like the Mercury News, have tried the same, but they have so seriously slashed their only added-value, which is local content (the Merc going to the extreme of excising the name San Jose from its masthead, along with more than half its staff and more than half its number of pages), that they cannot make that model work. But it is not the fault of the tried-and-true model -- "you get what you pay for" -- it is the fault of the shit they shovel. No one wants to pay for it -- even when it's free. I rarely visit the site anymore, even for the 10 (or however many) free articles I might read every month, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

    I recently read a piece about an old journalist in a small Texas town outside Dallas whose weekly paper has been bucking the trend. Their motto is, "we're the only paper in the world that cares about" such town. If only the [formerly San Jose] Mercury News cared about San Jose, and acted like it, they would not have lost readers like me and most the local Rotary Club that runs the place. It's not just soccer fans in San Jose who hate their local rag.
     
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  12. Macsen

    Macsen Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 5, 2007
    Orlando
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
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  13. TheJoeGreene

    TheJoeGreene Member+

    Aug 19, 2012
    The Lubbock Texas
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    sitruc repped this.
  14. TheJoeGreene

    TheJoeGreene Member+

    Aug 19, 2012
    The Lubbock Texas
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    The Athletic is, hands down, the best money I've spent in the last year. A few bad writers, like Jim Bowden for baseball and Dom L....... for hockey, but the overall quality is probably around a B+/A-. There are team specific writers that are simply excellent and the league level coverage is pretty good as well.
     
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  15. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    The flip side of that is the Crew have a promotion with local chicken wing chain Roosters. If the Crew score 3 or more goals in a home match, fans get $3 off their order the next day. Surprisingly we actually did hit the 3 goal minimum once this season. But there have been several advertised promotions the Crew let the fans down on.
     
  16. Ismitje

    Ismitje Super Moderator

    Dec 30, 2000
    The Palouse
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Athletic gets better and better for me, and at around $50 a year, it's an amazing deal. This article today on USL pondering dropping all MLS-owned USL-C teams down a division is a prime example of getting what you pay for. Props to Sam Stejskal for the piece.
     
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  17. Ismitje

    Ismitje Super Moderator

    Dec 30, 2000
    The Palouse
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Also today in The Athletic: nice interview with Utah Royals coach Laura Harvey on how NWSL blew an opportunity to promote itself during and following the WWC.
     
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  18. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Talk to me when the Athletic gets a new Sounders reporter.
     
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  19. Baysider

    Baysider Member+

    Jul 16, 2004
    Santa Monica
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy

    It seems a little premature. Right now the MLS teams make up 9 out of the 36 teams (including Loudon and Bethlehem). If that voluntarily fell to only 6 out of 36, it wouldn't be terrible.

    Dropping all 9 into USL-1 would swamp it before it built up any identity.
     

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