The All-Encompassing Pro/Rel Thread on Soccer in the USA

So five years ago... how's it gone for Everton since then?

 

Late, late winner for Crawley today.

 

Soccer in the US looks like exactly that for almost its entire history. Overall, it's a long history of leagues folding because there were not enough surviving clubs to have a competition.

Other US sports also looked like that in the early years of professional team sports. There was a chronic shortage of clubs with the funds to travel regularly.

 

It lasted for over a decade in Europe. It didn't do too well in North America.

 

Yeah for pro/rel?

 

As pro sports have evolved here over the last, oh, 40 years, the closed system works just as much to the benefit of the incumbent players as the incumbent owners. If we adopted pro/rel in, say, baseball, the top 800 baseball players would make less money, just like the owners would lose. I don’t think Europeans understand the power of players unions…well, in 3 of the 4 major sports. In football, the players are in a weaker position.

 

At the moment we're aiming to be League Champions. I'll take automatic promotion. If we don't finish in the top three there are the playoffs. A few weeks ago the goal was not to be released.

 

I don't think they'll finish that high, in fact I thought perhaps they'd get relegated this season.

 

I pegged them for relegation both last season and this season!

 

Speaking of relegation scraps..... the one in the EPL is shaping up to be historical for all the wrong reasons.

 

As I predicted on this thread before the season began

 

So exciting. Very unpredictable.

 

What goes up
Must come down

 

So, like MLS for most of its existence then. Funny how you've had no problem calling that a closed league for years.

 

How many clubs are available in the what you call minor leagues? Bet these outnumber the non-existen NFL modelled clubs in European minor American football leagues.
Stupid argument from the closed league defenders. You got closed leagues to protect owners from clubs outside those closed ones.
If there's nothing to defend yourself against, like non-existent clubs and competing leagues, by definition it can't be a closed league.

 

That have the financial foundation to be able to survive in MLS without going bankrupt? Essentially none for the majority of MLS's history. But you know this, or you're intentionally ignoring the facts posted in this and many other threads for years in order to claim you don't know it.

 

Yep.

It's a thing, neither good nor bad by itself. Which is better, vanilla or chocolate? Depends on whom you ask, or even sometimes that person's mood.

 

Remind us of when the last time the three teams promoted to the Premier League were rleegated in their first season.

Another interesting stat is that since pro/rel was introduced to/from the Football League 35 years ago, no team promoted from the Conference has been immediately relegated. So exciting. Very unpredictable.

 

Another good argument for expanding from 1 automatic + 1 playoff spots to 2 automatic + 1 playoff spots

 

Only pro/rel scenario I really care about right now is Bob Bradley and Stabaek. Seems more intense from the perspective of following an American coach in Europe. The American trio at Leeds kind of desensitized me from a player perspective since they’re all still in top European divisions.

 

We'll see still a long season to go but yep does look like this could be an especially bad season for the newly promoted sides. Luton needing a dodgy penalty to draw a 10 man Wolves at home is not a good sign for them and then there's Sheff U, oooh boy.

But it's a long season and even if all three drop straight back like a stone that doesn't mean the system has failed. This would be the first time it happened in a quarter century and just last year all three stayed up. If this becomes the trend i'd be worried but we are a long way from that.

 

I mean American sports are amateurish and you can include mls into that most ridiculous thing about sports here all this talking your way to competitiveness. Most sports around the world they do the talking at pitch not press conferences rooms. I mean does any nfl MLB or ball coach ever say anulytjig else but we fight for championship that is our goal and if by half season we do not come close to it we will tank and wait for next season in REAL SPORTS there will be no.next season if they finish last pr last 3 they would be relegated. But here American act like their sports are so competitive when they are not they just entertainment like WWE with drama weiten in so people feel engaged

 

I mean in Europe baby men roll ground around cry act like 17th place trophy party.

 

At least Europeans don't celebrate getting the best draft choices.

 

Promising young signings are celebrated everywhere. But not as much as the winning that can eventually follow if things fall into place.