Wasn't sure where to put this so I made a new thread MLS, Liga MX plan revamped Leagues Cup in 2023 with all 47 teams https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-l...evamped-leagues-cup-in-2023-with-all-47-teams
Money grab. Trying to capitalize on Mexican league fans spending money in the US. Potentially a response to SUM possibly not getting the new USSF media rights.
So bush league. Pause the MLS season for a month for this crap which nobody cares about so advertisers can sell pickup trucks, hamburgers and beer to young Mexican men. And they expect us to care? I think attendance next week will show exactly how much we dont.
Path 1: Do the years-long work and commit to the huge investment required to make MLS the kind of truly exciting and high quality that fans will watch, week in and week out, because it's just so damned entertaining. Path 2: Every couple of years conjure up another gimmick that you just hope causes people to spend money on the league. What I find truly dumfounding here is that this whole idea seems to tacitly admit the MLS regular season is boring. But instead of trying to fix that foundational problem, the league has decided to create some shiny new entity that really will just take our attention further away from their core product.
I wonder if they are not thinking "merger" with this being the first step (it also aligns with the Mexican schedule).
This is my problem with it. It kinda of says MLS is everything you thought it was. (Not that any crew fan needed the reminder.) I saw some people that like the idea but man I'm not too hyped. I liked the monterrey CL match because I was thinking we win that game we are a step closer to the club world cup. Would be great to see the crew play a competitive game versus bayern or Chelsea.
I think that this tournament was inevitable and, in the long run, it will do more to move the needle forward for MLS than anything in the last 15 years. Most MLS GMs and owners are going to push on the salary and roster restrictions harder than ever in order to be competitive with the big Mexican clubs and that is decidedly a good thing. Bob Kraft and the Hunts will finally get overruled at the CBA table. But of course people are going to shit all over this because people shit all over anything MLS does. Mark Abbott could literally show up at some of y'alls houses with a crisp hundred-dollar bill and you'd get pissy because it's not five twenties. It's so tiring. Just stop watching if you hate it so much.
So then what happens with the games that would normally be played during that time? Will the season start earlier, run later, or just cram in a bunch of midweek games? None of those options are something I’m cool with.
From what I’ve read (which isn’t much), both leagues will shut down for the duration of this competition. Which means a league schedule that’s longer calendar-wise or with far more midweek matches. Unless they’re going to reduce the number of league matches, and I don’t see that happening.
Well, okay. But you're including an intermediate step that, you know, technically hasn't happened yet and might cause those of us who criticize the league to take notice: investment in talent. We'll see if that happens. I'd welcome it. Not so much because I'll care all that much about this tournament. But because it would improve the MLS product on display, week in and week out. But if it doesn't happen, or if the new developmental league is the only investment we see in the near term, then again, what we're being sold is another MLS gimmick, where the same modest product is being hyped as something top shelf. And about that roster investment you seem to think is likely, MLS just negotiated a new CBA with the players. How would this big new investment mesh with that agreement?
I said long term. MLS teams are going to get their asses handed to them - embarrassed, some might say - by the big Mexican teams for a few years before owners and GMs get tired of it. I think the real measuring stick will be down-table. We know Club America and Chivas and Cruz Azul are going to beat up on MLS, but what about Atlas and Necaxa and Xolos and the rest? Especially against mid-table MLS teams. Those are going to be the interesting matchups. If mid-to-low tabel MLS teams get beat by mid-to-low table Liga MX teams, it may speed up the MLS salary changes. NFL owners hate to lose, even if they're collecting big royalty checks as consolation.
Hooray! Another pointless "cup" for players to get hurt on, to take them out for the MLS season. I'm 100% with Bill on this. Hate this idea. Hate. It.
Despise. I'll say it again: I don't believe a competition is made better by making it more international, and I don't give a rat's ass about Mexican soccer. I'd already be in a position to not care about half the matches, because I have no interest in watching Mexican teams play against each other. WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER COMPETITION. We already have a league so big (and getting bigger) that it's becoming more and more difficult to play everyone just in MLS. We already have the CCL to satisfy some people's need for MLS/Liga MX competition/measuring sticks. We already have schedules that are more and more congested due to the avoidance of winter weather, FIFA windows that we already don't completely avoid, and lest anyone forget, the U.S. Open Cup. And given that a big part of our fanbase is already suffering from sticker shock regarding the price tag for tickets at the new stadium, I'm not in all that big of a hurry to jump into the "let's open up the wallets and raise all the salaries so we can compete with Mexico" camp. The only way I could look at such a tournament as anything other than a big, annoying boil on the ass of American soccer would be if they only did it once every four years. Do it in non-World Cup, non-Gold Cup years. Then, perhaps the scarcity of the whole thing might make it something to look forward to.
Long term, indeed. New CBA lasts another what, five or six years? And I doubt the one after that will be all that better. So, 15-20 years? Oh joy…
I am in the minority. I love it. It’s will be interesting and fun. Bring some life to the summer schedule. All teams will have fill strength sides. I am in to it.
Will it be fun when your team gets bumped from the tournament in the first round and you have to wait 2-3 weeks to see them play again? Because lots of MLS clubs are going to fall into that category.
This was essentially my reaction on a text thread after the news broke and in other conversations. Does the MLS regular season even matter anymore? The league is telling us, "not really."
This is about the only reasonably compelling argument I have seen in favor this tournament. It also relies on MLS actually sticking with it through the end of this CBA and not backing out of this tournament after being humiliated several years running.
Despite how this year has gone - watching the Crew play soccer is fun. Watching the Crew play teams outside the regular MLS teams is both good and fun. Watching the Liga MX regularly is really fun. Combining all that - also really fun. Sue me for being excited to watch more Crew Soccer lol Who cares what their motives are behind it? They've talked about this for years now. People seem shocked that both leagues are doing exactly what they told us they were going to do lol
Curious if it will be more games added to the schedule or replace games. Home and away or just hosted in US? Will be interesting as more details come available.
Some additional reported details from the Athletic Will be played entirely in the US and Canada for at least the first year Played annually “This is really about whetting the appetite of corporate sponsors and the fans,” said a source at a Liga MX club. (notice the order in which things are placed, my addition) “Think about the fact that there’s no sports betting going on in the month of August,” Garber said. “There’s no other competition, it’s a light period of time in the sports calendar here in the major leagues. There’s so many reasons why this makes a lot of sense.” Multiple sources said that MLS will continue to play a 34-game regular season, a stance Garber echoed in his comments to assembled media. One challenge that we have heard from teams has been the offseason is to long. If you didn't make the playoffs you were off for like 5 months. This will certainly mean games are going to start earlier in the season. I also think MLS needs to expand the salary cap to build the depth it will require to not only compete but push games across more of the calendar.