Well, I was one of the first people to come on this board at the beginning of the season and complain about the lack of quality in MLS. So, I decided to come back onto the board and praise MLS for what it has shown me since then. What I have seen in the last 2-3 weeks has certainly impressed me, the quality is evident from top to bottom, and the pace of the games is very exciting to see at times. I only wish we didnt have to live with watching the first 3-4 weeks of crappy football while our players got back into a playing grove. What is the pre season for? So, I will eat crow. Keep it up MLS, certainly the most exciting football I have seen so far in this young league.
I agree. I was thinking about all the Leagues i've watched, in ecuador we used to get alot of foreign league games, and thats also the benefit of having a massive satelite dish... And MLS is better than any central american league. better than the ukrainian league, belgian league, any of the nordic leagues, some scottish league games can be VERY entertaining but i think MLS is better. not including colo colo i think the level of play is about as good as chile, scratch that, not including the top 4 teams i think MLS is as good as every S. American league barring brazil, and argentina. The Mexican League has alot of good teams, and alot of crap ones to. Which got me to thinking... (and yes this thread DID have a point) maybe in a couple of years people OUTSIDE of the U.S. will actually tune into watch MLS games. Assuming MLS expansion doesn't dilute the level of talent each team has we should actually see 10 equally talented, GOOD teams.
I differ in opinion I think the play has been decent at best. I think there are some good games and some HORRIBLE GAMES. LA, CHI, Metro, and Crew provide some good games. The Rest are all off. I think the play will get better in the coming years but right now it's nothing to cheer about.
I'd ad KC, San Jose, and now DC to the list -- and maybe Crew is sliding down while Rapids are moving up. I'm an MLS fan, but I watch Europe and SA leagues, if only to weight the scale of comparison, so to speak.
great post. I couldn't agree more. the first four weeks were dreadfully dull. When watching you were praying just to see one goal in a game. however, the last few weeks have been very good. Many exciting games with goals and the teams that looked totally awful in the beginning(DC,Colorado) have started to play much better. I can't wait for the stretch run in september that should be some great play. The question I have is what goes on in the preseason that makes these teams come out so unprepared? Maybe MLS coaches could get some advice from other leagues on how to improve their preseason training.
No doubt the quality of play has improved every season. Now it's time to do something about the incompetent refs.
I agree with the first post. For the first part of the season, there were some seriously dire matches. Esp. on ESPN2 (just by random luck, I assume, the FSW matches were usually better.) But it's looking alot better now. Maybe it has something to do with the long offseason and/or the way the coaches do pre-season training. With all of the matches players are going to miss for Nat duty, I wonder if coaches train differently than in most leagues, if they have to work more with the whole squad, to the detriment of the first 11.
I can hope, but very doubtful at least in Mexico. Today on ESPN2 on Dishnetwork Mexico, ESPN2 was supposed to be showing an MLS game. Never came on, they subbed in a Spanish League game. Maybe if MLS had a Mexican player or three, there might be some interest. But even when ESPN2 is on schedule to show MLS, it's not there. It's funny, I like Mexican soccer a lot better when I see it live than on TV. For some reason Mexileague on TV never impressed, but in person, it's alright. But I miss MLS, in case you could not tell.
That boring league produced the majority of the squad that has owned Mexico for the last 3 years. 2-0 does have a nice ring to it.
I can only really compare to Germany and England, which aren't exactly typical leagues, but the effect sure seems alot more pronounced in MLS.
I think one can attribute this to the long MLS offseason and the roster shakeups each year. The longer you are away from competitive matches, the longer it takes to get that sharpness back.
One thing the last few weeks has shown is there's more depth in the league than I initially thought. Fine young players seem to be poping up all over the place.
Keep in mind as well that just about every MLS squad does some serious personnel changes during the off-season and it may take a few matches to get on the same page as new teammates. I do know that it's great to watch the MLS Wrap show highlights and show friends some of the great goals that are being scored this year. Quality pops.
Did Huss put you up to this? Tell him planting idiots on the boards will not drive up subscriptions. Some folks need more than an ignore list to pay their $30.