Indeed. Bolton, who finished up 13th, were in deep relegation mire well into the second half of the season. And seven teams qualified for Europe anyway.
I think the one thing we can probably safely say is that by the end of the season, Blackpool will have shown they're not Premier League quality.
I had the luxury of watching the Coca Cola League Championship playoff games 2009-10 and the FA Cup game between Tottenham and Leeds (in League One then). I would say none of the MLS teams can match the teams in playoffs (Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Cardiff City, and Blackpool). The pace, precision of passing, pressure, and execution in the final third are all superior to all the MLS teams of recent years. An MLS team at its peak (such as RSL at the end of 2009 and LA Galaxy at times in the first half of 2010) may be able to give these teams a run for their money. However, it is more like the Leeds team taking on Tottenham in the FA Cup 4th round in 2010. Although playing as underdog, they can still cause an upset. Leeds at that time was the elite team in League One. An average MLS team is probably on par with an average League One team. A good MLS team can probably match a League Championship team in mid-table or lower half. By the way, these playoff games offered 5-start entertainment... if you are the lucky ones to have watched them: Nottingham Forest 3 Blackpool 4 (semi-final second leg) Cardiff City 2 Blackpool 3 (final) Cardiff City 2 Leicester 3 (semi-final second leg)
Most of us are proud of the progress MLS has made, but we're not unrealistic. The roster size rules make things hard to compare over the course of a season, but I can see the Dallas first 11 play and make an educated guess that Cardiff would outclass them, but Leicester might not. I for one do think most American MLS players are monetarily undervalued because they can't get work permits to play in the UK. That's simple economics. How undervalued? That is a different question, and one that makes this thread worth having.
Just because Leeds beat Spurs in a cup game that doesn't mean they were "Elite" as you say, Cup games are notorious for these kind of results. Even that Leeds team with Beckford would struggle in the MLS. As for Forest I really don't rate them, who do they have that is world class? L.A, New York would win or get promoted from Championship with relative ease. The Championship is really overrated I would love to see the Anglo-Italian Cup brought back I think the likes Torino would destroy Forest. I would rate Serie B as a far better league standard than Championship.
The general level of MLS is not even close to the Championship. League 1 is a much more close assessment. If that.
Serie B is definitely not as good as the Championship. It's not a horrible league, but it's pretty clear that there's a difference. And Torino is a pretty big Serie B club, but it wouldn't destroy any team in the Championship.
What do people think the differences are between the Championship and MLS? Pace of the game? Possession and quality possession? Tactically? Technically? Athleticism? Intensity?
Excellent point. Free marketers/libertarians always clam up when this subject arises. If the unrestricted movement of capital is OK, why not the free movement of labor? The Economist tends to support this position, but I never hear US libertarians advocate for unrestricted immigration. Of course, they're crypto-Republicans, so I shouldn't be surprised, but it's a glaring omission. MLS comes out way, way ahead because the labor market for US players is so limited. If American players (and other non-EU players) could move freely, Premiership clubs would be financially healthier, and all US players would see an increase in pay. Of course, MLS teams have more or less unrestricted ability to sign players from anywhere in the world, so they would see either higher wages or worse players.
I think this notion is quickly going by the wayside and next year (with the addition of two teams) it will be nearly nonexistent. I say this as a Houston fan that seemed to play with this philosophy at the beginning of the season and are regretting that decision as we speak.
Yup. At this point, a random MLS game certainly means more to its season than any random selection of two or three NHL or NBA games does to those leagues'.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X8I25CF1zs&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X8I25CF1zs&feature=related[/ame]
Thierry Henry, Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan, Nery Castillo, Freddie Ljungberg, JPA, Alvaro Saborio, and Fredy Montero would score 30+ goals in League 1. Players of this quality do not play in League 1. In fact, I'd question if you've ever watched a League 1 match, because there is no comparison at all. MLS is (comfortably) Championship level.
That's funny, I remember we had a similar thread around time of the All-Star game, when we speculated how well the MLS All-Stars would perform in the Premiership, and by a large majority the consensus was "demoted"...
Jaja, The Chicago Fire went 1-2-1 (W-D-L) against those teams. They are not as good as people think, the crew and RSL could be better teams.
As I've pointed out before, the flip side of this is that there are also players in MLS that wouldn't look out of place in the English Conference. MLS clearly has a handful of players that are better than Championship level, but equally clearly it has players who are far worse. The variability in player quality is far more pronounced in MLS than in the Championship.
Great.post.was.just.about.to.post.something.similar.There.are,many.top.players.in.MLS.like.the.ones.mentioned.and.others.like.Montero.etc.but.there.are.very.basic.mistakes.that.occur.during.every.mls.game.that.wouldn't.happen.in.even.league.2.(space.bar.not.working)
What's wrong with Ricketts and Lewis? Lewis barely gets a run out anyways, it's not like he's a key member
For Lewis, age and lack of talent. For Ricketts, lack of talent. In the context of strolling into the Premiership, anyhow.