Kinda interesting news, but not incredibly relevant to MLS (unless you're interested in the tangential discussions of what "the rest of the world" is doing with respect to their domestic league calendars). http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100913/sp_soccer_afp/fblrus now, I don't think this decision will have any bearing one way or the other on MLS's operations, but it is interesting to see a very "harsh-weather" country opting to take on a autumn-spring schedule. I would assume that it is safe to guess that MLS will not be "premature" in any of the operational decisions that they will make for their own league.
Hopefully they take a very long break for the Russian winter, otherwise there is going to be a lot of frost bitten soccer players in their league. Yeesh.
This is just insanity. Are they really going to play home games in the winter in Tomsk and Novosibirsk and Perm, where average winter temps are in the range of 0-10 degrees F? And Moscow and St. Petersburg aren't much better. Best case scenario, they're still talking about most November through March home games being played below zero degrees C. I have to wonder about the motivation for this. Could FIFA have dropped a word in their ear during the inspection tour for their World Cup bid?--after all, we know they have a bee in their bonnet about the so-called "international" schedule. Or do they think this will help them grab more Champions League cash? I seriously doubt there was a clamor among Russian soccer fans to spend more days watching people kick an orange ball around in a blizzard.
so am i understanding this correctly: meaning this 2010 season will run from March 2010 to November 2010. and the next season (2011-12) will run from August 2011-May 2012. looks like there will be no RPL from November 2010 (end of this season) to August of 2011 (start of next season). that seems like an awful long time to go without regular season play. i wonder what if anything they will do to address that and what if any effect it will have on revenue and/or player's decision to stay in the league. and again. MLS not moving to a Aug-May schedule has at least (if not more) to do with the US sports calendar (ie going up against the "big boys" of NFL, CFB, NBA, CBB, NHL) as it does with the weather. i personally would NEVER want to see MLS move away from the MAR-NOV schedule that sees it only go up against MLB for the vast majority of its season.
Heard it through the grapevine that they'll have a three-month break for winter. Might as well be Apertura/Clausura.
Why? Just because they move to an Autumn-Spring schedule doesn't mean they can't have a long winter break. The only obvious difference is that the champion is awarded in late May instead of late November. I imagine the winter-break will go from about early December to early March, pretty much like the off-season break is like currently. This change makes total sense.
I doubt this will happen. The transitional season will probably just be longer (maybe 45 league games instead of the usual 30). They'll probably play the usual 30 matches from March 2011 to November 2011, and then play the last 15 league matches from March 2012 to May 2012.
There is less need for MLS to make this change because there is no major incentive to be aligned with the Champions League here in North America like there is in Europe. As it stands now, when an RPL team qualifies for the CL they don't partake in the CL for almost a full year later. This hurts their chances of success. Of course the same is true for MLS wrt the C'Caf CL but since its not nearly as lucrative there isn't the same incentive.
They should just tell UEFA that the Russias are doing like the Brazilians so leave us alone . It would be weird here in the USA to have such a long break in the middle of the season. Then again we can play a bunch of all star games in domed stadiums.
exactly, as the article states there will be "a transitional championship (the "2011 season") that finishes in the spring of 2012" so we can assume that is an "18-month season" that gets them ready for an autumn start of a 12-month season for 2012-13. it could be an interesting case study for MLS to keep an eye on. (of course, Russia's reasons for doing something with their league schedule {moving to an autumn-spring league schedule} might not be all that comparable to MLS's reasons for or against doing the same thing -- or something different. either way, I don't see MLS actually taking the initiative to try "something crazy" with their league schedule until perhaps the next time the US hosts a World Cup, or 2-3 more World Cups.) again, I agree that this move may indeed be "premature" (or naive or wrong) by the Russia league, but obviously they're taking a step that they think will be beneficial for their business in the long run. so yes, this might be something for MLS to keep an eye on.
absolutely. there isn't the same present incentive or urgency here (for MLS in the Concacaf competition zone and market), but I do believe that eventually the business reasons concerning international club competition (as well as a more efficient involvement in the international transfer of players) will strongly weigh on MLS's decisions about when to start and when to finish a season.
That doesn't make sense. A 3 month break for winter? Their current off-season break is 4 months during the same time frame....Might as well be what they currently have, with a 1-month break in June (which they also do anyway for the ECs and WCs).
It makes total sense because, as mentioned above, there are advantages associated with awarding a champion in May instead of November. Meanwhile the only disadvantage I can think of is the need to have a "transitional season" which is a one-time thing and, thus, not a big issue.
Russia doesn't have the NFL, NCAA, NBA, and NHL to contend with. Still, if I'm Ivan Russkijy, ain't no way in heck I'm gonna be sittin' in a stadium come November, much less February.
The Ukraine already has basically the system you're suggesting...a three-month winter break in the middle of the season, with a month or less "offseason." I'm not saying it's impractical, but I'd be reluctant to say it makes "total sense." I'm not sure how much this helps the teams with European performance, either. Yes, the teams will have been crowned champions six months more recently, but the knockout stages will still be happening during the "offseason" or "preseason" for the Russian teams.
NHL? Hockey is way more popular in Russia than in the USA. Not to mention there are countless other sports that are popular there. PS... the MLS Cup final is in late November in Canada in the middle of NCAA, NFL seasons.
The winter-break idea probably wouldn't go over too well with Americans but Europeans are fully used to it. True but we're talking about a third-tier UEFA league here. Anything after the KO stages is gravy. The key issue is sending their best teams in the first place IMO.
Russia's switch to Winter Sched, could this means MLS is next ... I know this debate could go on and on, but don't they have a pretty harsh winter in Russia...This might work for MLS to take a three-month break in December, January and February, this way MLS can stay clear of NFL. Russian Revolution Shouldn't be Inspiration for Major League Soccer FanHouse
Another league is switching to the standard schedule...clock is ticking on the MSL. I thought MSL was a real eastate site But I get it. All Euros want their champions crowned in May Fine. Do we have to do that? No But should we? Perhaps It would not be that hard. Start the season on the 4th of July ( or later in July) taking three months off in winter , and then playoffs and MLS cup on May. Yes, you would cede all of June to baseball, but who give a flying f-ck. Every other June will be European Championship and World Cup anyway. The season start date could always be changed up a bit if necessary because of the calendar in connection with those other big tournament and our own tournaments in this hemisphere. It might even benefit soccer in this country long term. Just sayin...............