If I were going to subscribe to one of the following, which one would you recommend and why? Soccer America Soccer Digest World Soccer Four Four Two Feel free to list any others.
I would subscribe to Soccer America because I could care less about european soccer and because Soccer Digest is a lame excuse of a mag, IMO. I know Soccer America charges a lot, but if you can pay it, it's worth it. There's always stuff on it you can't get even on bigsoccer.
Depends what you're looking for. If you want mostly MLS, WUSA, USMNT and college stuff then get Soccer America. If you want well written, witty coverage of the English game from the EPL down to the conference then go for 442. Personally, I subscribe to both of them.
I was faced with the same quistion. But I narrowed it down to 3 90 minutes (90minutes.com i think) They send you a free issue and it is great. It has some cool news on International and MLS, USL, WUSA. The best part is the coverage of the A-league. But it is very expensive 12 issues for 45 bucks!!! or Soccer America Which doesnt cover the USL. The Soccer Sheet (soccersheet.com) I think I will pick this because it covers everything well and it is very cheap. Only 23 bucks for it every week. It is also written by a local writer. So to break it down 90 mintues: too expensive, but nice Soccer America: Cheap and nice coverage but no USL. Soccer Sheet: Covers everything cheap O ya dont get Soccer Digest I used to get that and it was horrible!
World soccer is by far the best in the sense that they cover the whole globe. You get a great feel on what is going on throughout the globe in the footballing world. They provide stats from the MLS to the J-LEague to simple international friendlies. If you like a good look into English football and a touch of European action then 442 is what you are looking for. 442 is pretty good and gives you a lot of info and a good laugh or two for your money's worth. Soccer America is waste of money, most the stories that they cover are usually posted on BigSoccer, so you can save you coin by not getting that one. Soccer digest makes a nice coaster.
Soccer America is alright, but very inconsistent. Some of their writers (Paul Kennedy, I'm looking your way) are absolutely horrendous...he can't even be bothered to check his facts. Others like Ridge Mahoney deliver a good column every time. FourFourTwo is entertaining and well written, but if you want MLS news, you're not going to get anything in there. It mostly depends on what your focus is.
i dont get why people like Soccer America so much. i've gotten trial issues of the mag before, and it doesnt seem that great [plus its expensive for a whole year's subscription]. u can get most of the news from there off the internet [plus u wont have to wait 2 weeks for it]. i guess the only thing they offer are columns, and even some of those are available at their website [even though they upload it later on]
mls4houston, since you live in Houston, I suggest you just go to a Border's or Bookstop and browse through Soccer America, World Soccer, and FourFourTwo. I'm very certain that you can see SA and WS there, and I'm almost certain that I've seen 442 at one or both. I occasionally buy 442 off the shelf and it would only be at one of those stores. Reading what other people think is helpful, but you can go down to a store in Houston and see at least those three magazines for yourself. I used to subscribe to both SA and WS, but now just SA, so here's my take: I get SA because I'm most interested in MLS and the US national team and Ridge Mahoney is the best MLS writer I've ever read. I'd probably subscribe to SA just for Mahoney. But I also really like Paul Gardner and he gets two pages in every issue. I disagree with him more than half the time, but he's forgotten more about soccer than most of us will ever learn. He also writes well. There may only be like three people in America who enjoy Gardner (as you'll see from the flood of "Gardner sucks!!!" posts that will inevitably follow), so I suggest you read a few of his columns and decide for yourself - if you haven't already. WS does cover just about every first division pro league and senior men's national team on the planet. Their match reports/stats pages are more comprehensive than anything I've ever seen. If you want a global view, then it's definitely WS. I still buy an occasional issue of WS because sometimes I just wanna know what's going on in Albania or Moldova. But I stopped subscribing because I got tired of reading their very old-school views - especially anti-FIFA/Havelange/Blatter diatribes and condescending pieces on South American soccer. Havelange has been gone for years, but Brian Glanville just can't let him go. I follow Latin soccer fairly closely and there's no way I can stomach a regular Brian Homewood piece on Brazil. WS advertises itself as something like "Britain's oldest football magazine" - and it reads like it. Gardner also writes a piece for WS and is their US correspondent, but even that doesn't outweigh their schoolmarmish tone. I haven't read a Soccer Digest in about 15 years.
World Soccer and 442 for European football and Soccer America for US Soccer. I get my South American Fix from the internet and my Mexico fix from the local Spanish newspaper. I always admired how the Spanish community really cover the game, rumors and everything.
Have none of you ever bothered to read Emerald City Gazette? Seriously. All the droning on and on about the great English footy mags like 442 and WSC. Even a brand new 2 issue old glossy like 90 minutes gets some play. I'm not kidding. The magazine you should all be reading is Emerald City Gazette.
I have to agree. It takes me longer to read thru ECG than it does Soccer America. In many cases the writing is equal to that of the bigger magazines and often funnier. If you like MLS, you will get an excellent ground level view of it here. It is written by American soccer fans for American soccer fans. Nothing else will get you closer to the pulse of soccer fans in this country. I can't say enough good things. I have subscribed to Soccer America for over 4 years now. Say what you will, but they do a good job covering of MLS and the national team. Cost is not an issue for me, I only wish it came out weekly instead of bi-weekly. 442 is great. It is obviously England and EPL centric but it is fun to read and takes a while to work your way through it. Those 3 choices, ECG, SA and 442 are far and away superior to everything else I have seen.
I like I like them all, 90:00 Minutes is great. 442 is good for euro soccer. I still have to check out the ECG though. As for ECG being the only rag that covers from a fans perspective, I guess that would be cool. If you want to compare all the american rags though, I'd say: 1. 90:00 Minutes and ECG (if it's as good as people say it is) 2. Soccer America 3. Soccer Digest Not a lot to rank there since there are only 4 mags that are made here.
I follow college soccer, and Soccer America is the best there. Does ECG cover the college game at all?
Not specifically. no. I wouldn't necessarilyh say that ECG covers the sport from a "fans" perspective, but I understand why Northside Rovers (a regular contributor) would say that. Our last issue had a 7,000 word research paper on the origins of the rise of hooliganism in the English game in the 1980s and a 3,500 word analysis of what WUSA is doing wrong market-wise. Our main focus is on MLS. We also cover big events involving the National Teams and WUSA. We will, and have, publish just about anything to do with soccer. Getting back to the college issue. We don't solicit college articles. However, if one lands in my lap, I might very well publish it. I absolutely guarantee that any longtime fan of MLS will not want to miss out on our next issue.
What is Northside's real name so I'll know I'm reading him when I'm reading him. I know I should be able to recognize him from his humor, but I plead stupidity. I get Emerald and SA. They both have their problems but I definitely highly recommend both, especially for American soccer.
If you follow football regardless of the language, the best publications are, in my opinion: El Grafico (Spanish, Argentina) Don Balon (Spanish, Spain) Placar (Portuguese, Brazil) L'Equipe (French) World Soccer (English) La Gazzetta dello Sport (Italian), actually a daily newspaper, but great nonetheless.
La Gazetta dello Sport is available online --- free --- but FourFourTwo is now a suscription service. I think the journalistic quality of FourFourTwo is exceedingly high, higher than any other sport magazine I know. If you're interested at all in the English game, you *must* have FourFourTwo.
Andy, is it possible for me to receive a free trial issue of ECG so i can check it out before subscribing? also, as to promoting the magazine and getting more subscribtions: u may want to get in touch with Eurosport. i remember them 'selling' [whatever that means] a subsciption to Soccer America in their catalog. perhaps they will do the same for the Gazette [and maybe not even take any of the profits since the mag appears to really be a grassroots effort]
I must agree with those who say ECG is well worth reading. I find it both enjoyable and definitely worth my time. I think ECG does things just a little bit differently than the rest of the magazines said above, yet also differently than your typical fanzine. Highly recommended.
I prefer not to. I definitely let folks read them if I'm around, and I've been known to give copies to soccer newbies (sort of an evangelical thing about soccer that I have), but my margins don't allow me to do the "1 free issue" sort of thing. I have no real economy of scale, so every 83 cents postage (plus the envelope, paper, and toner) add up. Grrr. Eurosport is about five miles from my house, and I know the owners well. We've discussed stuff from time to time, and they are more than willing to help, but the ECG presents problems that SA doesn't. If ECG shows up in Eurosport or on soccer.com and some kid (or their parent) blithely orders a copy, then junior asks, "Mom and Dad, what does "************" mean?" If the ECG were a movie we'd be PG, not even PG-13, but in publishing, G is about the only thing that goes.
My pen name and name in real life is Chris Murphy. A few other folks who post in here write for ECG and write very well. You would be surprised how eloquent Mike Segroves can be - he can go whole paragraphs without insulting anyone. Andy Mead is also able to get hold of interviews with Bruce Arena, Keller and others. Good stuff. Where else will you get a back cover shot of Landon Donovan picking his nose?