Thursday 24 Jan 2019

Are these games streamed? This could get me to watch.

 

FC Cincinnati acquires midfielder Stanko
https://local12.com/sports/fc-cinci...-sc-freiburg-soccer-mls-major-league-fc-Vaduz

So FCC hired themselves a Stanko, the jokes write themselves.

 

Maslsoccer.com

 

Ranks of MLS teen signings grow rapidly - SA (paywall)

As of Jan. 23, MLS clubs or their USL second teams have under contract 63 players born in 2000 or later, ie. they are young enough that they still have eligibility in this season's Development Academy.

Biggest hitters

Atlanta United (6)
Andrew Carleton, 2000 (Atlanta United)
Chris Goslin, 2000 (Atlanta United)
*Jackson Conway, 2001 (Atlanta United 2/USL Championship)
George Bello, 2002 (Atlanta United)
Diego Lopez, 2002 (Atlanta United 2/USL Championship via FC Golden State)
Alessandro Castro (Honduras), 2002 (Atlanta United 2/USL Championship)
*2019 signing.

FC Dallas (5)
Jesus Ferreira, 2000 (FC Dallas)
Chris Richards, 2000 (FC Dallas, on loan to Bayern Munich/GER)
Bryan Reynolds, 2001 (FC Dallas)
Thomas Roberts, 2001 (FC Dallas)
*Ricardo Pepi, 2003 (North Texas SC/USL League One)
*2019 signing.

Philadelphia Union (5)
Brenden Aaronson, 2000 (Philadelphia Union)
Faris Moumbagna (Cameroon), 2000 (Bethlehem Steel/USL Championship via Montverde Academy)
Michee Ngalina (DR Congo), 2000 (Bethlehem Steel/USL Championship via Montverde Academy)
*Ben Ofeimu, 2000 (Bethlehem Steel/USL Championship)
*Selmir Miscic, 2003 (Bethlehem Steel/USL Championship)
*2019 signing.

Real Salt Lake (4)
*Luis Arriaga, 2001 (Real Salt Lake)
*Lionel Abate Etoundi (Cameroon), 2001 (Real Monarchs/USL Championship via AS Fortuna)
*David Ochoa, 2001 (Real Salt Lake)
*Julian Vazquez, 2001 (Real Salt Lake)
*2019 signing.

Toronto FC (11)
Ayo Akinola, 2000 (Toronto FC)
Julian Dunn, 2000 (Toronto FC)
Jordan Faria, 2000 (Toronto FC II/USL League One)
*Terique Mohammed, 2000 (Toronto FC II/USL League One)
*Noble Okello, 2000 (Toronto FC)
Luca Petrasso, 2000 (Toronto FC II/USL League One)
*Jordan Perruzza, 2001 (Toronto FC II/USL League One)
*Mehdi Essoussi, 2001 (Toronto FC II/USL League One)
Rocco Romeo, 2001 (Toronto FC II/USL League One)
*Jayden Nelson, 2002 (Toronto FC II/USL League One)
*Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, 2004 (Toronto FC II/USL League One)
*2019 signing.

 

Finally official, those 4 DP's tho...

Atlanta United signs Gonzalo “Pity” Martinez
https://www.atlutd.com/post/2019/01/24/atlanta-united-signs-gonzalo-pity-mart-nez

 

How terrific that Sacramento came up with a billionaire for their bid, something which, along with a history of soccer support is what MLS demands from expansion teams.

Well, except for Austin.

 

Sacramento was late with Garber's payola.

 

my guess for the #28 expansion choice coming by the end of 2019 is now down to 3 chasers- sacramento, st louis, and phoenix (it does fill an area of the USA void of MLS)

 

Shouldn't the real question be who is 31 & 32?

Detroit, Tampa Bay, Carolina, San Antonio, San Diego....

 

The exception that proves the rule?

 

Minneapolis.

The Frozen North Derby.

 

That right there is the best argument for a long, long pause at 30.

Sacramento absolutely, St Louis is a place MLS has wanted to be for along time (and belongs) and Phoenix because of geography.

Detroit - not with that stadium. MLS has made it clear and they're right. Tampa Bay - maybe you can make a case for 3 teams in Florida but lets see how Miami shakes out first. Carolina - please; that poor horse has been so beat by this point it resembles a rug.

San Antonio - sure, let's have FOUR Texas teams . San Diego -How many damned Cali teams do you want?

Rather than try and shoehorn teams into shaky situations - and that leaves aside the ongoing joke in Austin - let's solve some of the existing problems first, shall we?

-New England - either they get a decent building or Bob Kraft has to sell. We're done screwing around, and original owner be damned, that doesn't give you perpetual rights to mismanage a team. Put up or get out, pal.

- Chicago - a disgrace. That should be one of the premier, flagship teams in the league, hands down. A baboon could make money with a soccer team there. A solid professional could sell 45,000 seats a week.

- Philadelphia - just sad, Don. Another market that could literally be at the top of the league. You screwed the pooch and instead of biting the bullet and making some tough choices you spend all your time playing grab ass with some West Coast frat boy who thinks his Daddy's money entitles him to something. (Hint: Hey! Don! He thinks you're a schmuck too)

- Montreal - another league basket case that Don couldn't wait to jam into the league with no decent stadium plan, little money and less expertise. Saputo belongs back in USL and that team belongs in St Louis.

 

I think you need to look at what has changed, and how it affects things...

Charlotte - the Panthers new owner expressed interest in MLS when he bought the team. Give him a year or so to settle into NFL ownership and see how he holds up to the Haslem's, Blanks, and Krafts pressure to join the league. They could join in 2020 or 2021. This easily could be team 28.

Tampa - Late last year, the Rowdies were bought by the guy who owns the Rays, and the Rays are looking for a new stadium. Apparently the land the Trop is located on is very desirable for redevelopment, and there is plenty of money for a stadium. I wouldn't be surprised if they consider putting in an MLS caliber stadium and moving up. Tampa/Orlando would be a good rivalry -think Cincinnati/Columbus if the cities were about half again bigger. Anyhow, this is probably 2-3 years from an announcement and another 2 to begin play - a candidate for 29/30.

The other 3 that are interesting is Sacramento, Phoenix, and St. Louis. They've had some recent changes in bid structure, which may move them closer to getting in.

 

If by "Carolina" people mean Raleigh-Durham, as much as I hate to say it, we'd be a bad fit. We would drag the league down. There was a sliver of hope when Karmanos put the Hurricanes up for sale, because an out of town owner might have wanted to move the team. That would open up a large amount of sports-entertainment spending and make the Triangle, IMO, a very, very strong candidate.

But the new owner is keeping the Canes here, so I don't see it.

I can't speak to Charlotte.

States are political entities, not economic entities. If California splits into North California and South California, does that change San Diego's viability? No.

 

Having lived in Michigan most of my life. And having worked and played in and around the City of Detroit. It is my opinion that MLS at Ford Field will not work. And as Bill stated above.... MLS knows it. So unless the row of Billionaire's they have lined up figure it out MLS Detroit is on life support!

MLS liked the failed County Jail site, but I always thought the better target would have been the old Tiger Stadium site on Michigan Ave. The Corktown neighborhood would have been perfect for an MLS stadium. With all of the necessary infrastructure in place. Alas it is now home for the Detroit Police Athletic League. (A VERY worthy development) But what could have been.....

I still feel like Sacramento is Charlie Brown. And Don Garber is Lucy holding the football. I see St. Louis or Phoenix next.

 

Yeah, I agree with that assessment. The triangle just isn't a great fit for a major sports league IMO. I'd much rather see an MLS team in Charlotte with Tepper. People from there love their Panthers and Hornets, and the area likes soccer a lot, too. I think a team in NC is a must, and it has to be in Charlotte.

 

I have to disagree about that.

As of 2007, Impact were a 15 year-old team in a MLS worthy downtown stadium, attracting over 150,000 fans per season.

They've proven capable of capturing the attention of the whole of French Canada, attracting attendances of over 60k and big TV audiences..

How could MLS have ignored them?

 

But that is never gonna happen. Kansas City were saved when someone bought the team from the inept original owners (and that will also likely happen with Columbus), but that isn't going to happen here. Bob Kraft is in his late 70s and isn't going to be around forever, but his imbecile son, Uday is even more clueless.

But they won't ever get a "decent building" because it makes no sense for Kraft to shell out $250M for a stadium when he's already got one and the team plays rent-free and keeps foot traffic going to the mall. Even the biggest stadium proponents recognize that.

The only positive remotely feasible scenario is if someone like Henry or James Palotta, the guy who owns Roma and the Celtics were to buy the team. They'd have to have a place for a new stadium lined up toot-sweet. Sure, Kraft would let them play at Gillette for a "reasonable" fee, like the $200,000/game the Metros paid at Giants Stadium, or the zero $ concessions/parking money DC United got at RFK. Or they could try their luck at one of the local college football stadiums (BC, Harvard, BU), all of which are permanently colored turf and have lots of their own problems. Still, if a stadium were under construction, it could be OK for a couple of years.

But why would Kraft sell? They make loads of money off of SUM and the Revs turn a modest profit with almost no effort involved, so that would have to be worth a lot for him to give it up. Maybe too much for the new owners to afford, especially if they are buying land and building a stadium.

Yeah, all of those places are like New England to varying degrees. Big cities, major sports markets with a long-time sports culture. If any of those owners did the kinds of things we are seeing in now several markets, they certainly would thrive.

I used to hear it from Brit expats that "MLS is crap," but the problem is that those guys are judging the entire league on the Revs, who are not indicative of "MLS." If they ever saw a game in Seattle, Toronto, Portland, Atlanta, and I suspect Cincinnati, they would have a different view. We need to get the crap markets up to the standard of the top markets, and the problem is the owners and nothing else.

 

In 2007 they were playing in a USL caliber shithole. They put some money into adding 7000 seats, but it did not make make a silk purse out of a pigs ass.

"Downtown" is a relative term, apparently.

The total cost of the place was around $40 million. Now they're looking for a $50 million renovation to include some premium seating and such but it's on hold because they're losing, on average, $11 million a year which even Joey admits is "unsustainable"

Their attendance is weak, and is propped up by blatantly papering the house or, as they prefer to phrase it, discounted group sales.

Even Don Garber is on record as calling the Impacts business metrics "a problem"

Montreal needs fixing.

 

Uday. Classic. I will steal this.

For the little that it's worth, I think a soccer stadium in the Seaport District - ten years ago - would have been the greatest location in the country, next Beckham's original site in Miami that Carnival Cruise lines managed to get their political puppets to kill.


A far sighted ownership would have recognized the potential. It's probably way too late now - that much land there these days would bankrupt Croesus - but whatever.

My point though is that at some point doesn't the league as a whole - a "single entity" if you will - have the right to say "your penury is ruining a prime market for us and we can't afford the waste". Is Bob Kraft some kind of god who cannot be challenged?

I just feel that the days of easy expansion pickings are drying up, and earning money is going to get harder. Even Hunt is spending some money, much as it must pain him to blow it on something other than the Chiefs. Meanwhile, Kraft rides along on the waves of his partners' spending. Does he even send them thank you cards for doing all the heavy lifting and making him even richer while he does nothing?

Last Fall, MLS stood in front of a Judge in Columbus Ohio and swore on a stack of bibles that all teams in MLS are owned by one central corporate entity. Either that was a bald faced lie or they can decide as an entity what the vest course for some of these teams is.

 

The Athletic posted an article about the DP rule situation (nothing new). Advocating for increasing the # of DPs to reach its goals.

League would probably be better if they increased the # of slots to 4-5, but then we’d have fewer HGs seeing playing time.

 

Not saying they don't need fixing but MLS would have been mad to ignore them.

 

Would like to see Tepper get his team in Charlotte but not at Bank of America Stadium. They would be another New England Revolution. He will need to build a shiny new soccer specific stadium.

 

Good for Landon. Must be nice getting paid a quarter million bucks to fvck around for a few months.