Well your argument went downhill in a hurry. I agree with your first sentence but you suddenly equate the level of MLS to the level of TFC. The top clubs in MLS play a very difft style than the punt and run shown below the EPL in England. That being said, I don't think the top MLS teams would have any troubles with anything below EPL in England.
As MLS grows in revenue, number of teams and stature the league will attract better players. I'm not sure where it ranks right now compared to the English leagues -but I think it will continue to improve while the English leagues stay relatively stable.
With respect, and we are all entitled to our opinions, so I hope you don't take this personally, but I disagree on both counts competely. I would take the word of Steve Maclaren, that MLS overall is at the level of lower Premiership and higher Championship. And having seen a fair bit of MLS and a hell of a lot of League One last season as well as the Championship so far this season, there is no way that MLS overall is at the level of L1, whether it is higher L1 or not. Maybe it is at mid to higher Championship overall, but as a league it is in no way at L1 level. As for Welsh I will also again beg to differ. I don't mean to be rude but I would rather take the opinion of the Blackpool manager, Simon Grayson, who is no fool and who is quite clear about who he will and who he won't sign for us. He has turned down numerous players because he doesn't think they would do ok or us, and he has quite categorically stated that he will not sign any player who would not improve the squad. He clearly sees something in Welsh and believes that he could do a decent job for us. And in Grayson has got the best out of players who have struggled at other clubs, including players from L1 who are now doing well for us in the Championship, and players who have struggled at other Championship clubs, as well as one player, Wes Hoolahan, who Livingston were more than happy to let him come to us and who is widely regarded as one of the most naturally gifted players outside of the Premiership yet it took him coing under the coaching and management of Simon Grayson to get the best out of him. Welsh I have also seen play and from what I have seen of him, and I realise he struggled in MLS, I would strongly suspect thet Grayson will get the best out of him and he will do well for us. Oxford United of course are now out of league football having been relegated from League Two in the 2005-06 season to the Conference, and have played last season and this season in what is now the Blue Square Premier. I saw their two Play Off semi final matches last season when they eventually lost out on a trip to Wembley, losing on penalties to Exeter which is a heartbreaking way to lose.
And "punt and run" sorry but I watch a lot of football in England and the style of play outside the Prem is not at all "punt and run" or "long ball". There are a lot of teams from the Championship down who play good passing football on the deck, and a lot of football outside the Prem is a damn sight better to watch. As for the top MLS teams having no troubles with "anything" below the Prem, again I disagree completely and base that again on seeing a lot of football outside the Prem and seeing MLS regularly. There are some very good sides at the top of the Championship some of whom would be a match for the likes of Houston Dynamo, DC United, Chivas etc.
MLS is most definitely improving, even though it still gets overall a poor press over here. Maybe each MLS club needs more control and less central control by MLS, but the Superliga showed that the top MLS clubs are most definitely improving and long may it continue.
I completely see what you mean with your opinions...and also respect them equally. I'm just stating what I've SEEN this season...and overall, the standard of football in the MLS hasn't blown me away. I was very hyped about this season, having not seeing professional football in a couple of seasons, however, its been a little bit of a let-down on the pitch. I think Welsh will do okay for Blackpool, but he won't take the pitch by storm. I think Grayson is a great manager, and has taken Blackpool probably a little higher than their fan-base actually can cope with (no disrespect, but they are no "bigger" club than Oxford (but lets not go into that!!!!)). However, for all his effort, Welsh is a bit of a one-trick pony, and I'm sure most League 1 full-backs will have him in their back-pocket in no time! Last player to go from Oxford to Blackpool was Martin Aldridge (R.I.P). Seems a long time ago now!
Martin Aldridge that was tragic and was only discussed again recently with the Ray Jones death at QPR. RIP. With Blackpool, we aren't a huge club, but we can more than cope with being at this level and you are wrong that we are above our status. If you check our history it is only our recent history of the last 29 years that has been spent outside the top two flights of English football, and we spent a consecutibe period of over 30 years in what is now the Premiership. It is only recent times that we have declined, but we are on the way back and then some, but it takes time. Plus in the 1950s, Blackpool were the most popular club in England in the same way fans flock to see ManUre, whenever Blackpool were in town, we provided the home side with their biggest gate of the season. And that lasted for a few seasons in the 1950s. The last time we were in the top division in 1970, our attendances were often higher than some so called big clubs like Nottingham Forest, Derby County and a number of other clubs. The ground only holds 9,491 and we have filled the two home stands for each match so far with record season ticket sales and some matches later in the season already heading toward being sold out, months in advance. Plus the new South Stand is supposedly being started soon which, together with an extra 1,000 seats for away fans in the East Stand (which is a dreadful stand) will increase the capacity nearly 14,000. Once that happens we will be getting similar crowds to the likes of our Lancashire rivals Burnley and PNE as well as other clubs in this league. In addition so far we have taken to the two away matches 2,000 and 2,500 and are on course to take just under 4,000 to the next away match at Burnley. Wolves and Leicester fans were very impressed by the numbers we took as many clubs in this league take less, including Watford who took less than 1,500 the match before us. We are a lot bigger than you seem to think! As for Oxford they are getting some great attendances in the Conference and I hope they get back in the league where I think they belong! I take it you go to Toronto games? Only I was surprised to hear all the English style chants there!
I hope Oxford can make it back this season....its pretty depressing playing the likes of Farsley Celtic and Ebbsfleet! Yes I do go to Toronto games (missed only 2 this season due to friends weddings!). The atmosphere is fantastic, and a lot of the chants are English styled (although they are VERY P.C over here...."Dig and hole and bury him" replacing "let him die" and "he's blind he's deaf he wants to be a ref" usually replacing "the refearee's a w*nker"!)....I guess that's not exactly P.C, but a lot more conservative than the UK!. And streamers being thrown on the pitch always makes me laugh, as I'm used to coins and lighters flying past my head at Oxford games! Unfortunately, having seen a few hundred English matches in my time, and now seeing the MLS, the 'stereotypes' that the average British fan think of the MLS are largely true, and it will take time to change those stereotypes. the MLS will get there, slowly.
Close this thread - Andy is gone, many of us wish him well, but it is ridiculous to keep harping about somebody who is now long gone.
He's a former TFC player - some people are interested in how he will do on his next team - if you aren't interested - don't open the thread. It's actually very interesting to me to see how a player who didn't impress many in the MLS will do in another league. It will help us evaluate the level of play in MLS.
I agree, don't you blackpool fans have your own forum to rub out to Welsh with? He was garbage here, but excuse me, your manager is God and obviously see's a little Christiano Ronaldo in Welsh. TFC is a mediocre talented team. The top 8 teams in MLS could smash most if not all Championship sides, without a doubt. And BTW, we have a salary cap of 2.1 million, try building a team using that budget. Now if the rules allowed it and it made sense, own owner could build a Premiereship Level team, would that make sense? Nope. So outta here with "english this" "english that", THIS IS OUR HOUSE.
Jesus... take a valium. No one was being rude, and while they did sorta drift off topic for this forum, they don't deserve to be crapped on by you.
I totally agree. Just as I keep track of former CFL players when they move to the NFL (particularly Flutie, Garcia and Vanderjagt), seeing how a former TFC player fares in the UK is of interest to me. The Mo bashers might be pleased if Welsh does well as they can then take more shots at Mo for mishandling his players. If Welshie does poorly, it will confirm the opinion of the those that didn't rate him. The only problem I have with this thread is how it deteriorated. I'm not sure why we have to react so negatively to someone who disagrees with us. The comments were intelligent and well stated. It doesn't mean we have to agree but it doesn't mean we have to start acting like jerks either! B
1. No MLS team could "smash" a championship team...you really need a reality check if you think so! 2. I lived in the UK for 27 years, now have moved to Toronto and become a Canadian....Oxford United will always be my "home" team....TFC are now my second team....like it or lump it, that's the way it is. Both are MY homeS
I'm sorry, I just work for a company who is filled with eurosnobs and i'm used to hearing all sorts of MLS is a weak league kinda remark. The way i'm reading your posts is basically relaying the same message but in a polite way. I apologize as coming off as a jerk, just tired of hearing about how much better the english do everything then us.
Blackpool did go ahead in the 87th minute after superb build up play from Wes Hoolahan who found substitute Andy Welsh on the right. The team has been bolstered by the arrival of winger Andy Welsh, who has produced two highly promising displays from the bench, the assurance of Stephen Crainey in the previously troublesome left back position, and the return to form and fitness of striker Ben Burgess, who is now the leading scorer with three goals and he produced a performance of great promise on Tuesday night. He will be happy to put a year of struggle and frustration behind him. http://www.blackpoolcitizen.co.uk/m....mostviewed.seasiders_get_ready_for_teddy.php
Wow... you really think so?? The top 8 teams in the Championship would beat the top 8 MLS teams in 9 out of 10 situations, I think. It's always an incredibly competitive race for those 6 playoff/promotion spots and most of those teams wouldn't be too out of their depth in the Premiership. I know its easy to get hyped up by the MLS improvement over recent years, but realistically, we can compare ourselves to mid-table Championship quality (somewhere around the 6th-19th mark for our 13 teams), maybe lower half Ligue 1 (the French league, not English League One) standard.