Off the top of my head, this season the MLS table seems as stretched as it's ever been. I would guess this might be the biggest drop from 1st to last. Of course, there are more teams than ever, as well and I don't know if the number of teams affects points statistically (same number of games). I'm sure one of the stats folks would have some insight there. I've seen this posted a few times recently but it seems like Scally did, in fact, get some first team league minutes for NYCFC (70 in total in 2020, 65 of them in one game). Not that that is much for a scout to go on, but it's just a correction of the factual.
I just cited it. 20 years of barely having any representation at the highest levels of the Concacaf champions league. Liga MX has literally had ten times the number of finalists. See also the Leagues Cup for teams 4-8. Same story. On the pitch, Liga MX is SO dominant, frankly the record of the Championship v Premier league is probably better
His ability to dig himself out of difficult situations to win people over is impressive. McKennie to stay at Juventus? https://t.co/T8OFJ8Io8Q— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) October 28, 2021
And that's already been addressed. 2023 Leagues Cup will provide a more accurate gauge of relative levels of the leagues.
Addressed? With a lame excuse about calendar? that's laughable. It hasn't remotely been addressed. Liga MX has a large gap with MLS. End of discussion. Want that to be otherwise? Win some games.
Dest is the Joe Scally of La Liga Sergiño Dest, ranked against the rest of U20 players in La Liga:Dribbles completed: 1stTackles won: 1stAssists: 2ndChances created: 1stKey passes: 1stAccurate crosses: 1stAccurate passes: 2ndDuels won: 1stFouls drawn: joint 1stMinutes played: 1st pic.twitter.com/4BtC4q0aZ1— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) October 29, 2021
Because of COVID, the schedules are way more unbalanced than ever before. I think this was a major reason the standings are so stretched this year.
If mismatched calendars cause you to fail to make the finals 90% of the time, and keep you from the title for 20 years running, then you have a serious quality issue
How relevant is 20 year history? We are talking about today, no? Look at the last 5 years to compare the quality today. It's not as stark as you say.
MLS does win some games. Then the next obstacle is win CCL. MLS has won CCL before. Next obstacle is win CCL now. When MLS will eventually win CCL next obstacle will be, win 5 times in a row. Then next obstacle will be win more times than Liga MX so we can say the gap is finally there. It's a never ending cycle. If you think MLS isn't a good league, fine. We are seeing that more and more scouts from Europe think otherwise, which is what matters. Other National Federations are also looking at MLS (including FMF) to call in players to their National teams. They must consider MLS of being of a decent enough level to call up players to their NT.
I can guarantee that there's not a single "MLS-lover" on this site that claimed that 10 years ago MLS was up to the level of Liga MX. Maybe 5 years ago someone would have argued the point. Today, there's plenty of argument. I'd like to note that Jeff Agoos was named "All-time best 11" in 2005 before he retired. That was 16 years ago. Jeff Agoos, all-time best 11 in MLS.
That and Juve straight up need him. He's increasingly looking like the glue that is keeping that machine going and clawing back into the champions league slots eventually.
lolwut? Shall we review the last five tournaments? All five Champions - LIga MX 8 of 10 finalists have been Liga MX (2 MLS) 12 of 20 Semi finalists have been Liga MX, v 7 for MLS That's pretty stark. Also, I've reviewed the calendars and it's shifted around, with the later rounds happening in summer when MLS teams should be in full form. I really don't see how anyone gets their way around that record.
Yeah, MLS won..... 21 years ago. My college age kid wasn't even born yet. No, the poitn is that if you *consistently* don't match up over a long period of time, then that's the sign of a big gap between them. I actually think the comparison to championship v premier league teams in the FA cup is illustrative. Yes, sometiems the championship teams do well and go deep, but generally the later stages of the FA cup are all premier league, which shows that the premier league is a stronger league. MLS is a decent league with some solid players who get sold on. However, it isn't on par with Liga MX, nor any of the big five in Europe. I don't really see how it is controversial to say that. If MLS were on par with Liga MX, I'd expect an even record between them, or at least close to it. We just don't see that.
Jeff Agoos was very solid player and an undisputed leader. Made a huge contribution to us getting to the 2002 WC, won a record 5 MLS Cup championships. Was better than most of Mexican defenders, would have made their NT team as well. That's how he was rated a year ago: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/picking-25-greatest-players-mls-history-andrew-wiebe
Why even bring up the top 5 leagues in Europe? If that is the case then Liga MX isn't on their level either. To some Liga MX is the 3rd best league in the Americas, to others it is the second best in the Americas. Yet if we go by your logic of winning Continental cups then Ecuador and Paraguay leagues *should" be above Liga MX since they won Copa Libertadores in the 20 years Liga MX participated and Liga MX didn't win once. But I'll stick to the "Liga MX is the 2nd best league in the Americas", IMO. Anyone can debate whether it's #2 or #3 but either way that's a high bar to pass. Should a newly formed league be on par with the second or third best leagues in the Americas right off the gate? Many people really think so that yes, MLS should have being in par with Liga MX since year 1. Being realistic that is impossible for anyone to do. For the 26 years MLS being around it is growing at a rapid pace.. Is Liga MX better than MLS? Yes, but not much better as it was years back. And yes, gap is closing. Money has alot to do with it and it's one of the things many people don't understand. MLS, by its own doing, is limited by how much they spend and how they spend. Liga MX is the opposite. You spend as much as your wallet can handle. Only limiting factor in Liga MX is the number of foreigners you can have. Liga MX highest spenders have better teams because they *usually* spend more. As MLS keeps on increasing the salary cap, teams keep on getting better but still limited by their own rules. Money, just like Liga MX, is how MLS is improving. You brought up EPL vs Championship. Who spends more and who has better teams? Sure, the team that spends less sometimes does win, as you stated, but the one with the bigger budget usually wins. We see this all over the world in UCL, Copa Libertadores, CCL, or any club level competition. More money equals better players, better players equals better team, better teams equals a better league. That's how Liga MX has improved and that is how MLS is improving by spending more too.