Do you research any of this, or are you just content to pull shit out of your ass and fling it against the wall? There is no correlation between attendance, money spent, and results - none. The top 5 spenders tend to have the top highest attendances, but from there the correlation falls apart. And there's no correlation between either attendance and form, or spending and form: The most we can say is, some teams make better use of their resources than others do. It's not because of any freeloading or rigging of the system - otherwise, you'd expect teams like CHI and COL nearer to the top of the table, too, and SEA nowhere near the top. Some teams are just competent, and others aren't. Best example - compare Columbus and Colorado. They have similar attendances, similar salary figures, yet one finishes 4th, and the other 19th.If the system were rigged, that shouldn't happen. All you're proposing is to reward teams like NYC, TOR, etc. for incompetence in building a roster under the rules of the league. That is far more terrible than the system we currently have.
It's so weird that 1) they give the trophy to the owner and 2) that it's in a locker room. Do it on the field.
So the reason that NYCFC can't surround Saunders and Poku with better players than the likes of Lampard and Pirlo is the salary cap? That doesn't add up. That's not how it works. I don't think you know what you're talking about.
Regarding the Ivanschitz goal...what's the rule on goalie punts again? From the replay, it looked like Frei was fully out of the box when he kicked the ball, and the ball was close to out of the box too when it was released.
If Seattle advances, i wonder what the plan is for scheduling. The Seahawks have home games on both Sundays.
This is one of the more irrational things I've ever seen on Big Soccer... and we all know that's saying a lot. The salary cap is what keeps this league solvent. Period. You imagine a league such as the European leagues... but they are not fiscally sound. Remember that English Premiership sides do sometimes go into bankruptcy.
I noticed that and was thinking the same thing. I didn't remember it leading to the Ivanschitz goal, but yeah, he was clearly outside the box. Maybe it's like the footfault rule in tennis and it's just rarely called.
Nobody forced the Man City group to buy into our league. They knew the constraints before they signed, or, if they didn't they are idiots (and I don't think anyone believes that). I think some folks imagine that the transfer market of world soccer is some kind of perfect free market, a la Adam Smith. It is not, for several reasons both specific and non-specific to soccer. ALL leagues have rules that constrain who they can bring in. Some of the rules are labor and/or immigration laws of the nation. Some leagues mandate a certain number of the players must be of their nationality. Other leagues disallow 3rd party participation in contracts (UK) such that it must be resolved prior to a transfer. (Spurs were not able to bring in Motinho due to 3rd party who couldn't be bought out in time to allow the transfer: http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/footbal...-scuppered-spurs-move-for-moutinho_43823.html). Etc. Your arguments that all MLS needs to do is get rid of the salary cap and all would be better is faulty because of the fact all clubs in every league in the world must figure out how to operate in their local rules domain and how those rules interact with the international domain. There is no idealized league or collection of leagues in which players naturally find their best price and teams naturally are able to buy their best players based on their financial wherewithal. Anyway, even in the esteemed highest leagues in the world, the finances are often not so rosy. This is what MLS is trying to prevent. Serie A is crumbling under financial failure. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26351331 Specifically, Parma FC is bankrupt and now relegated due to finances, being unable to play matches last year. "However, more astoundingly than that, Parma are broke. Well and truly broke. Penniless. This has led to two Serie A matches, against Genoa and Udinese, to be postponed as no money is available for security and electricity. Thankfully, the home match against Atalanta over the weekend was played as the other Serie A clubs voted to give a five million euro loan to the Gialloblu. Interestingly, Cesena was the only club to vote against the loan while Napoli, Roma and Sassuolo abstained." http://worldsoccertalk.com/2015/03/10/the-malaise-of-parma-f-c-is-a-saddening-italian-soccer-story/ The EPL has seen teams go into bankruptcy. Portsmouth, most recently. MLS is not perfect on this, obviously. The closure of Chivas USA must be pointed to. But, the way it was handled was so much better than the way it would have been elsewhere. The team operated by the league for a year, players knew it was a swan song year. The players got their paychecks. Therefore, they had time to prepare to transfer to other teams rather than a mad scramble. The league absorbed the situation rather than cut it off. Kinder for all the human beings involved. Players actually getting their paychecks matters a lot. There are a surprising number of teams that simply don't make their payroll week-in week-out. The top Euro leagues rarely fail on this, (however, see Portsmouth, above). But, top division outside of Europe do see this happen a good bit. You can make all kinds of claims that it might somehow be better if we'd just get rid of that pesky salary cap, but it would be a very bad idea to do it. The soccer would become more boring because everyone would know which teams were going to win each year (read the Serie A article above about how it is losing appeal, and attendance money, because of lack of top to bottom competitiveness). The league would be in financial trouble because of out of control bidding for a few top players willing to come to the US, which would further unbalance the league. MLS has a very solid plan. It will become a financially solid, and world class soccer league within 15 years, more or less, because of this plan. Rather than fight it, enjoy the ride.
He can be anywhere as long as he doesn't handle the ball outside the box. Most keepers carry the ball forward and release it right at the line so that the ball is actually kicked outside the box. That's legal
Trifling. The ref is free to not call the foul if he feels it has no effect. You may observe it, but in terms of game management, you give the GK a warning.
Ease up on my Metsies!! I am watching the DC v NY game now. I noticed MLS has gone out of its way to not show the travesty from the DC v NE game and just touches the Boswell incident. Just saw the Zubar tackle, DC can't complain about ref calls at the moment.