News: Friday, March 04 , 2016

It would be great to get Messi in MLS at 30 years of age. Especially a lot better then at 35/36. Only thing is though, if Beckham was lured with $250 million in 2007, along or including a new expansion team, what or how much can Miami or anyone else give Leo to bring him here?

 

Not MLS, but American soccer history He was the reason why I watched the NY Arrows every week on WPIX:
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...l-indoor-soccer-record-books?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

He was also a great outdoor player too. He was the last NASL outdoor MVP for the Golden Bay Earthquakes in 1984.

 

The article talked about that, but as I lived on the east coast, by 1893-84 the NASL was dead to me.

 

Yeah, those last few years.....


......the league was already dead, but the body kept twitching.

 

I must say even though the league was losing teams left and right and there was no organization whatsover, even in 1983-84, I still think individually and/or skill wise the players were still a lot better than today's MLS bunch. I mean MLS is a lot more stable and the game has changed. Athletes take much better care of themselves and the American players are also definitely better than they were back then. I still have yet seen however, some of the same skills as the old NASL players like Andranik Eskandarian,Johan Neeskens, Stan Terlecki, Steve Zungul , Godfrey Ingram or even a 35 year old Giorgio Chinaglia. For that matter, even players like Ray Hudson , Kaz Deyna, Steve Wegerle, Mike Connell ,Roberto Cabañas ,Jan van Beveren, Hubert Birkenmaier, Vladislav Bogicevic, Peter Ward, Ade Coker, Franz Beckenbauer, Pato Margetic, Arno Steffenhagen, Karl -Heinz Granitza, Carl Valentine, Peter Beardsley, Bruce Wilson, Roberto Bettega and Ace Ntseolengoe. I'm sure they could all easily play in MLS today and do quite well.

 

I don't think MLS is at all joking about their (long or mid-range) plans/hopes to sign players like Messi/Ronaldo.

There was a time when people thought MLS was joking about signing Beckham.

 

Or some of them may have ended up looking like Marquez, Djorkaeff or Defoe in MLS.

 

Many on the players I listed were all a lot better than any of those guys. Also, in the years 1974-1984 that I followed the old NASL, I can't remember too many players entering the league initially at 35 years of age. Some did but very few. I remember Pele was 35 , Bjorn Nordqvist of Minnesota was 36 and GK Kevin Keelan was 37 but I can't remember too many others who initially came into the league at an advanced (35+) age.

 

Yeah, in large part because foreign leagues weren't paying such massive and tv-funded salaries to players. It was certainly a different time for the sport. Too bad those in charge of the original NASL got so much wrong and or couldn't properly manage or benefit from and sustain their business.

 

odd how the name on the back of their jerseys mean more than how they actually ply in those jerseys....they literally wouldn't see the field if mls was a meritocracy....but when you make 100x what your teammates, you are unbenchable.

 

Different world and time in soccer both here and abroad. Not comparable in any way.

 

MLS is absolutely going to try and sign these guys.

 

[QUOTE="Fiosfan, post: 33672935, member: 166489

MLS Countdown: Drogba will sit out turf games
SA

View attachment 67780 [/QUOTE]

DISGUSTING and DISAPPOINTING- i went throught his with thierry henry's refusal to play at BC Place Stadium and now i get the same disrespect from drogba- why the MLS lets this type of contract to be endorsed is a mystery- does it really attract the casual fan to come to a game when such superstar players refuse to put their body on the field for up to 30-40% of the road games, even as a time-watering, easier-on-the body sub? IMO, it makes the MLS look very immature and desperate- give me top professional players like robbie keane and clint dempsey who i have seen multiple times at BC Place- i even got to see beckham 2x

both henry and drogba were/are sublime, dynamic players, but as far as making an impact in other markets- NADA!! and all MLS supporters help pay their enormous wages and have to accept the fact that they will never get to see these type of players grace their fields- of course if you are in the city where these glamour players are you are over the moon to watch their impact on the home games and team-

as for me, i look forward to the day when MLS decides they dont need these type of aged players who want to set up special contracts and still take home the loot- lets invest in high quality players like a giovinco who comes to play in every game whether at home or on the road

 

Yes you are right. It was definitely a different time. Its not really comparable but the players skills were better and the games were more exciting than today's MLS. Again, the game has changed and MLS franchises are a lot more stable , more profitable and a lot more organized but I still have yet seen players like many of those guys I posted. I could just imagine what players like Chinaglia, Cubillas, Karl -Heinz Granitza, Steve Zungul , Godfrey Ingram and Roberto Cabañas would do in MLS. Even when you compare eras, Beckham, Pirlo and Gerrard would have been one among the crowd....

 

Bogie wouldn't make it today. He would be hanging with Adu. My guess is Carlos Val would have a much tougher time not only in MLS today, but the Colombian League also.

The game is so much quicker, more physical and two way.

I hear uncles in Germany have the same lament about todays Bliga believe it or not. Not like the 60's and 70's built on skill. Holland? A joke compared to the skill of the old days.

I hear the same complaints about the old cool NBA player and the more cultured hitter in baseball.

Nostalgia is like drinking. Often makes you see what you want to see, while ignoring all the changes and flaws.

There are truths there, but context rarely rears it's head.

 

That's maybe an opinion that not everyone would share. (Nostalgia is a fun thing, though.)

People enjoy seeing what players like Henry and Donovan and Higuain and Dempsey and Keane and Giovinco and Martins and Kaka do in MLS. These guys are quality players.

 

In ten years people who followed MLS from day one will complain that we don't have players like we did in the early days.

The circle will continue.

 

Those guys did well. I am not saying they weren't good in MLS. I remember Kaka when he came up at Milan and he was a spectuacuilar player. I didn't really follow him in Orlando last year only when he came to San Jose but I wasn't all that impressed when I saw him live. Nostalgia or not though, I still haven't seen anyone like Chinaglia, Granitza, Best or Franz. No way, not even close.

 

Or Oldthar...