In my opinon, first rate = Spain, England second rate = Italy, Germany, France third rate = Holland, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Mexico, etc, etc forth rate = MLS and the rest
In my opinion, First rate - leagues that play soccer Life's too short to get haughty about the things I enjoy, but YMMV
Do you guys think that Mr. Sir Robson might not have had a hierarchical rankings of leagues in mind, and was simply making the distinction between "good" and "bad" leagues? This discussion about whether he meant to group MLS with leagues in the Netherlands or France or Bhutan is pretty silly, in my opinion.
I didn't start this thread to discuss the merits of where our league ranks compared to others and I didn't start it because I care what foreigners think of the league. Pure and simple, I find Sir Bobby's column amusing. He's a master at catering to his audience and the Dailey's audience believes everyone her has kippers for breakfast cuz we're all millionaires (sorry for the obscure Supertramp lyric reference). It's the same audience that believes our league doesn't have promotion/relegation because we are arrogant and refuse to get in line with the rest of the world (If you've ever run into a EuroSnob at your local bar, you know what I'm talking about). I find it amusing that almost every tabloid in the UK finds it necessary to take the league down a notch or two when the opportunity presents itself. I can hardly wait to read the doom and gloom predictions of how the league will collapse ala NASL with the departure of Beckham. Hell, if it sells papers, more power to 'em.
I still don't understand the venom here. I love MLS, I'm a long-time season ticket holder who attended the first games back in 1996, and I know that my league is second rate. So what! Why are people insulted? The CFL is second rate compared to the NFL, yet it is a viable alternative for professional football both for the players and coaches in that league and that country's fans who want to see the game live in their hometown. If a Heisman trophy winner snubbed the NFL to go to Canada for a bigger payday and we said that he was going to a second-rate league, would that make us snobby Americans? No, because its the truth. Ease up on Bobby Robson.
I don't think people are insulted by the comment as much as they are by the way it is posited by the British media that we need to listen to their annointed experts to know how middling we are.
It is perhaps important to remember that he was talking about Beckham going to AC Milan, and his reasons for going. He wasn't really even discussing MLS, just mentioning that MLS isn't good in comparison to a top level league, where you have to play at the top of your game to retain your place in a top side. He could have used a kinder expression, and probably would have done if he'd considered American readers, but he didn't. The truth is he probably didn't even write it. Those are more likely to be the words of a ghost writer fleshing out Bobby Robson's opinions.
look i know my league is 2nd rate, i dont need some chump like sir bobby whose never seen an MLS game in his life to make that comment to me. hey bobby, go watch "your close friend's" team get their heads stomped in. I know its second rate, but you dont have what it takes field a winner here, so does that make you 3rd rate?
I actually don't get how it is we even hear about this stuff. I mean who, in the United States, is reading the British press for any reason whatsoever? It's clear that 85 percent of what is said and done there would never be accepted by mainstream Americans. Their "press" is like The National Enquirer, or worse. Yet some person, I assume an American, decided to read what was written over there and post it on Big Soccer as if it was worth listening too. Am I really the only one who doesn't give a cr*p what the Brits think about MLS? I can't figure out why any American cares at all.
To be honest there are few first rate leagues. Some of you have hurt feelings but it's the truth. In your estimation if the US wins the world cup what percentage of the players will be playing in the US vs Europe? You have people here in the US who feel that way. That's not a Eurosnob argument that's just an uninformed/ under informed view. I don't think you understand the English and their mentality. Americans have a similar mentality too but it's not as pronounced as the English. The tabloids in England write disparaging things about everyone so MLS being in the firing line shouldn't be unexpected. I think you have an inferiority complex. No where did he say you promotion or relegation is needed, so why did you mention it? It doesn't take a Eurosnob who pleasures his/herself to a promotion/relegation battle to realize the league isn't top class yet. There aren't enough quality teams and players to have that system. You caught feelings over an honest assessment, you chose to bring up promotion/relegation when that has nothing to do with what Sir Bobby Robson said. Let's be honest the league isn't top notch yet, that evident in the play, that's not a Eurosnob argument, that's the truth. Results show that.
You don't have to listen or read it but Bobby Robson is a respected figure in football, that's why he has an audience. This isn't like some second rate journalist working for the Daily Mail. He has his own column along with a few others. He chose to talk about a popular topic. A guy who took Newcastle to the Champions League as well as won trophies at Barca and Porto deserves to be heard, no? If he's talking to Carver, I don't think he is totally out of the loop, the man knows his football.
FYI, I carry a British passport, so I'm pretty sure I've got a grasp on the whole English and their mentality thing, but thanks for making a generalization, not only about the English but Americans too. BTW, most BSer's recognize the EuroSnob argument is frequently an uninformed argument. I'll spell it out for you later in this post. I think you have a tendancy to jump to conclusions. If you read my post, you'd understand I wrote about the Daily's subscribers. Forgive me for making a generaliztion, but some of them would subscribe to the National Enquirer if they moved here. Don't believe me? Here's a link to the Daily's home page: Daily Mail I used a Eurosnob's uniformed view of promotion/relegation as a means of identifying the type of audience the paper caters to, nothing more. Any individual who has had to tolerate a Eurosnob's uniformed opinion on the subject can easily identify the paper's audience. I also made a reference to millionaires having kippers for breakfast, but then again you'd need to understand the English and their mentality to comment on that now wouldn't you?
For the record, I don't really give two shits what Sir Bobby thinks or even if he does. I just wanted to cap on his "good friend" John Carver.
I have watched a lot of sports in my lifetime. I have listened to lots of commentators, experts and pundits. Their level of success on the field of play or in coaching is often inversely related to their ability to give coherent analysis. Jim Kelly was one of the best quarterbacks ever, but I heard him do commentary once and wondered how the kid with Down's Syndrome got into the booth. So, no, I don't think he "deserves to be heard" about MLS because he was a success in Europe. I really don't care what he says about MLS. I just bristle at the suggestion that I should care.
you are comparing Jim Kelly to Sir Bobby Robson... Robson has actually worked in TV, and is very articulate... Kelly obviously isnt... Jim Kelly had the one season with ESPN and has never worked a job in broadcasting again... Robson has worked for years in broadcasting and writing articles... this is kind of silly