Revs News, 2/11

Discussion in 'New England Revolution' started by The Magpie, Feb 11, 2008.

  1. The Magpie

    The Magpie Member

    Nov 19, 1998
    Cambridge, MA
  2. Hed7181

    Hed7181 Member

    Jul 1, 2003
    VA Beach, VA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  3. ngower

    ngower foolish grin

    May 24, 2006
    Nashua, NH
    US National Team = Bermudan National Team
    MLS All Stars = Bermudan Select

    That's what I'd assume, though don't hold me to it. As stated in the article, there isn't much of a big difference in the two.
     
  4. revs

    revs Member

    Apr 22, 2003
    MA
    ha as nathan said in the reply section of the article, who is khano going to play for, i say he pulls out a half for each team. I recall someone else doing the exact same thing, although i have no info who/when/where.

    First game of the preseason (right???) how does everyone think this one is going to go? all the backups going to get time? are we going to be pushing parky and/or twellman the whole 90 since they were just with the nats (granted we also did just have training camp too) i dont want any of our players hurt in the preseason due to mistakes from time management. is nicol back with the team yet??
     
  5. ngower

    ngower foolish grin

    May 24, 2006
    Nashua, NH
    It was Hed171 or whatever his name is, not me;)

    That's common for those sending away matches (name escapes me) like they did with Roy Keane, Dennis Bergkamp etc.
     
  6. Mick7184

    Mick7184 New Member

    Jan 21, 2007
    Franklin, Mass
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    testamonial is the name that escapes you
     
  7. rkane1226

    rkane1226 Member+

    Apr 9, 2000
    Club:
    Stade Brestois 29
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I have no idea where to post this and it doesn't seem worthy of it's own thread. Rev content is minimal too... Oh well...

    I seem to recall Steve Nicol comparing MLS to the level of France's Ligue 1. Over the weekend I heard/read that Ligue 1 (L1) had just signed a 4 year deal with Canal+ and Orange for television rights. The deal was worth 668 Million Euros per year. That is close to $1 Billion ($968M) for a 20 team league; $48.4M per team per year. On top of that they have attendance, Radio rights, merchandising and I suspect other sources of revenue.

    http://csport.over-blog.net/article-16418158.html

    I haven't been able to locate a list of salaries for L1 but the TV revenue leads me to believe they should easily be 10s of times higher on average. If SN is correct about the level of MLS play being comparable, the REVs in particular, then I just don't get it. MLS headquarters should be under siege from foreign leagues trying to figure out their extremely cost effective formula.

    Or maybe it's just those irritatingly high French taxes that levels the playing field... :rolleyes:
     
  8. ToMhIlL

    ToMhIlL Member+

    Feb 18, 1999
    Boxborough, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No way MLS is at the level of League Une.

    The French second division? Sure, but just take a look at how French clubs fare in Europe. OK, they aren't at the level of the top Italian and Spanish Champions League teams, but they are pretty good overall.

    It's a tough comparison to say "MLS is at the level of [x league]" because you need to be more clear on what you are comparing. Are you saying the "average MLS team" like say, the Colorado Rapids or Red Bulls? How would they do in a European league? Pretty piss-poor, I would venture. A top MLS team would do better, and depending on the league, the Revs could be anywhere from mid-table to just surviving relegation in a place like Belgium. But they couldn't compete for the better players like Anderlecht, and that would ultimately hurt them.
     
  9. rkane1226

    rkane1226 Member+

    Apr 9, 2000
    Club:
    Stade Brestois 29
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think we agree. I wish I could find the SN quote. I'm pretty sure he said it and was quoted in a local paper. At the time I recall going out to try to get info on L1 ticket prices to compare that (which I probably stored somewhere...). Anyway, I'd like to remember the details of what he said. SN knows his soccer so I wonder if he meant something different than I remember.

    Anyway, alot of money is floating around Europe to spend on soccer players. Wikipedia says this about NFL TV Contracts:

    "Currently, five American television networks (CBS, NBC, FOX, ESPN, and the NFL Network) are paying a combined total of US$3.1 billion per year to broadcast NFL games. However, the league imposes several strict television policies to ensure that stadiums are filled and sold out, to maximize TV ratings, and to help leverage content on these networks."

    So little old L1 gets 1/3 of the NFL. But now I am way off REV topic so I'll cut myself off.
     
  10. Mick7184

    Mick7184 New Member

    Jan 21, 2007
    Franklin, Mass
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    To me, the level of play in MLS is compared best to the ColaShip. The better teams in MLS are comparable to the top teams in the CCC, and the lower end teams are comparable to the lower end teams of the CCC. It's not a perfect comparison given the number of teams in the ColaShip, but I think it's the best comparision. Just me though.
     
  11. ToMhIlL

    ToMhIlL Member+

    Feb 18, 1999
    Boxborough, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, I'd agree in general that MLS overall would be about on par with the de facto second divisions in the biggest countries, and the first divisions in the smaller ones, provided you took away the biggest 2-3 clubs in each (Celtic, Rangers in SCO, Ajax, PSV, Feyernoord in HOL, Benfica, Sporting, Porto in POR, etc.)
     
  12. rkane1226

    rkane1226 Member+

    Apr 9, 2000
    Club:
    Stade Brestois 29
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm about to be accused of being all about the money but, never-the-less, Wiki Answers (I have no idea how reliable a source that is) says the average colaship salary is: £195,750 or $388,861 US. In general, I'd be inclined to think the generally higher average salary would make for generally better teams. However, in this case, at least the top, non-DP players in MLS make almost as much. I bet if you got rid of the promotable colaship teams then MLS top teams could be competitive.
     
  13. Mick7184

    Mick7184 New Member

    Jan 21, 2007
    Franklin, Mass
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    See I think the Revs(last year's Revs at least), Houston, and DC are comparable with and would compete hard with a team like Watford, or Derby for that matter.
     
  14. alexandre!

    alexandre! Member

    Oct 20, 2006
    inman square
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    I cannot attest to the other 19 clubs in the league, but tickets to Rennes run from about 12€ in the Roazhon Celtic Kop to 50-60€ for the big matches at the centre of the pitch. They are also different depending on the match, Lyon, Paris and Nantes (back when they were in L1 :)) will be more expensive than Nice, Metz or Valenciennes.

    I honestly have no idea what the salaries are like in Ligue 1. The tax structure (of the non-Monagesque clubs) makes it generally unappealing to most Western Europeans, so they must not be significantly higher than other leagues.

    I think Coach Nicol's comment about L1 is not necessarily about the quality of play? I do not recall it, but I find a lot of parallels between the two leagues- they are the two I follow most closely, so perhaps they are not real parallels but ones I invented in my head. In essence, MLS is like Ligue Un in miniature, and while I do not think there is any way MLS clubs could compete with your Lyon's, Marseille's and Rennes', perhaps we could compete favourably with Sochaux or Metz.

    Regardless, both leagues are sort of like feeder leagues. In France, the best young players get swooped up by teams in England, Spain and Italy- just as our best players get taken away by England, Benelux and Scandinavia. Ironically, L1 has found itself as somewhat of a haven for Scandinavian players who want to leave their countries but are not quite of the level of the super leagues- look at players like Isaksson back in the day, Källström, Edman, Elmander, Wilhelmsson, et cetera. The best players of our national team tend to go overseas as soon as they can, and such is the same with France. Marseille are having a hell of a time trying to keep Nasri, and eventually he will be gone to be with Henry, Trezeguet, Abidal, Malouda, Thuram, Mexès, need I continue? MLS's bread and butter players tend to be talented Central Americans picked up on the cheap who raise their profile considerably by playing in our league rather than by staying at home, which is generally what Ligue Un does with West Africans. The ANC ravages all the teams in the league, and that is generally considered a time for the minnows of the league to catch up a little bit.

    The two leagues also have a similar fan culture. The ultras in L1 are as dedicated as anywhere, but outside of Lens, Marseille, Paris and Lyon, there are a lot of empty seats outside of the supporters ends. The general attitude of French fans is that the best football can be found in England or Spain and they have relatively easy access to those matches. Everyone unites over the National team, though.

    edit to make this Revs Content: Was Dandy Town FC not available? I am sure Khano has some clout with them!
     
  15. RedRevs

    RedRevs Member

    Aug 24, 2005
    Cambridge
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Since we're all masochists I figured I'd post this here so we can get our hopes up and, well, you know the rest...
     
  16. KaptPowers

    KaptPowers Member

    Dec 29, 2003
    Arlington, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Hornets oughta be our sister club! :D
     
  17. Soccer Doc

    Soccer Doc Member+

    Nov 30, 2001
    Keene, NH
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Gabriel Badilla would be a mega huge signing. The kid is 23 with a reputation of being a solid defender at the highest level of play. That report seems to indicate that a deal in in process of being negotiated. Please Lord :)
     
  18. RedRevs

    RedRevs Member

    Aug 24, 2005
    Cambridge
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, he played in the World Cup, I'd be absolutely shocked if this happened, he's far to good.
     
  19. rkupp

    rkupp Member+

    Jan 3, 2001
    I think the Bermuda Select team is basically a Bermuda League all-star team, so they're likely be some Dandy Towners (Dandies?) on the field. ;)
     
  20. rkane1226

    rkane1226 Member+

    Apr 9, 2000
    Club:
    Stade Brestois 29
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Like I said, I was looking at prices when SN made the comparison. Here is what I got for L1 (at the time $1.45 per Euro):

    [​IMG]

    And here is what I got for MLS, note most MLS pricing is focused on the season ticket price but the median per game is still there. IIRC, i used non-promotional season ticket prices. I'm sure there are errors, I did this quickly.

    [​IMG]
    I also discovered, at the time, that NFL ticket prices are almost impossible to find on the internet if you want to compare.
    [​IMG]
     
  21. rkupp

    rkupp Member+

    Jan 3, 2001
    Ticket sales are only one form of revenue, but, does anyone really doubt that the French league has much more revenue (and higher cost of living, and favorable exchange rate) than MLS?
     

Share This Page