2011 MLS Season Thread

[HailtotheYo]

Heeeelllooo Portland. 3-0 over LA, nice.

Yeah MLS .... 5 clubs in the CCL Group Stage (including LOL Toronto).

Seattle gets defending champ Monterray

Toronto/Dallas are doubled up with UNAM

Colorado gets Santos

LA gets Morelia

Honestly I think this is the best shot that MLS clubs have had to date.

[GoGo Yubari]

Portland beating LA is pretty much the only case where I can actually root for Portland in MLS play, because Portland aren't really a threat to Seattle's standings anymore and it takes points from the Galaxy.

Sounders vs. San Francisco was nuts. Like, it had astoundingly bad refereeing and fairly cynical play from SF (which led to Alvaro Fernandez's hilarious death glare at the ref after he got a yellow card), but the Sounders still overcame so all is well. Especially hilarious that it was Jaqua of all people to score the winning goal for us, too. I maintain that he's pretty bad but oddly useful outside of MLS play.

[HailtotheYo]

Jaqua works against non US clubs, I think, because they mostly aren't used to a big guy that can move decently ..... US/MLS defenders see his play and body type much more frequently

[HailtotheYo]

Also, Houston signs Carlo Costly .... NE signs Milton Caraglio ... Dallas trades Avila to TFC for Maicon Santos ... Chivas signs Laurent Courtois and David Lopes ... Dallas signs Daniel Cruz

[GoGo Yubari]

Eh, while I think that's a fair point to his potential value in the CCL, Jaqua's best play usually comes in the US Open Cup against MLS teams. He was scarily effective against LA last month, best part being it wasn't even a bad LA side.

[HailtotheYo]

^ true .... It does help that most clubs aren't fielding full squads majorily ..... Maybe he has some sort of Podolski syndrome

[HailtotheYo]

16 year old Diego Fagundez scored for NE this past weekend.

[Lineker]

@MLS

#MLS, NBC announce to three-year broadcast deal. 45 MLS & 4 #USMNT matches to appear on NBC & new @NBC_Sports Network. http://bit.ly/oq9JPY

[GoGo Yubari]

I am so excited for no more FSC announcers. Last Sounders game I watched on there they couldn't even pronounce Erik Friberg's last name right (they called him "Fry-burg").

[HailtotheYo]

Story

FUCK YEAH ! This is fucking huge. Rumored numbers put it at 10-12 million per year. Fucking awesome.

The potential going forward is even bigger. The deal (and pretty much all of the MLS TV deals) expires in 2014, on the heels of the WC. If the league gets HALF of the rub that the NHL did when it went to Versus, what the fuck out.

[HailtotheYo]

About the NBC deal:

“We’re going to try and get games on some of those weekends when the NBC Sports Network has Olympic programming, and we can throw right into live Major League Soccer games,” Miller said. “That’s the kind of lead-in and promotional platform that [MLS] probably hasn’t seen in while, and that’s one of the benefits that we think we bring to the table.”

Miller added that MLS will be regularly promoted during NBC’s other programming, giving the league more opportunities to reach casual soccer fans or potentially new fans that currently watch other sports programming on NBC.

“We won’t just be promoting Major League Soccer inside soccer games. We’ll be promoting Major League Soccer inside Notre Dame football games, the NHL, Indy Car, PGA Tour golf, obviously the Olympics next summer,” Miller said. “We’ll be able to reach the casual fan and I think that’s the way you really grow your base.

Oh fuck yes.

[Lineker]

This is really huge for the development of the game over there. David Beckham was right! It could be done!

[HailtotheYo]

Ives reporting Adu to Philly, NON DP

[GoGo Yubari]

I've heard conflicting stuff on DP or not. Also amazing that Chivas USA passed on him just like they pass on everyone ever.

[HailtotheYo]

Yeah, first Feilhaber and now Adu ... the #1 allocation spot restarts each year so what in the blue fuck are they doing ?

Houston signed Louis Camargo (Brazil).

[IAceI]

MLS really is going through a boom phase and good for them. I really hope, and don't see why they won't, stick to their current model. It's really good for helping bring through their own American talent while also being able to bring in name value players such as Henry and Beckham to help boost popularity.

There will always be a section of American culture that will shun soccer in the same was we English have a section that shun the NFL. I, for one, love American Football and I'm glad that the USA are getting to enjoy the sport we all love so much around the rest of the world. Not only that but they are doing well at it, both domestically and on an international level.

If a country like USA or China wanted to, they could easily pool their resources and end up with some of the finest teams around if you ask me. They are almost 'primitive' leagues so they can easily create rules to ensure home-grown talent is relied upon and also have the financial muscle to employ the best coaches and create the best facilities. We saw it in time for the 2008 Olympics where China essentially became a factory for World Class athletes in all disciplines and the medals they brought back proved their success. The Premier League is too far gone to really help the English national team, we're too set in our ways of foreign players and massive commercialism for it to ever really change.

But the USA aren't, and I hope that as the sport grows they keep with their current rules and use the draft to bring through players. There are plenty of examples where players have gone through the draft system and it hasn't hindered them nearly as much as people think it might. Sure, the rules are complicated regarding players - stuff like Designated Players, Generation Adidas and Drafts and the like; but you pick it up as you go along I suppose and I really enjoy watching the MLS matches on ESPN when I can sit down and watch them.

Long may the exposure of American soccer continue, it really has seemed to have been embraced lately and is booming because of it.

[GoGo Yubari]

LA gets Robbie Keane!

Philly gets Freddy Adu!

Chivas get Juan Pablo Angel!

MEANWHILE, IN SEATTLE:

[HailtotheYo]

Well, they were after Tagoe relentlessly BUT .... he wanted stupid wages, and just as things started turning in the discussions, Hoffenheim's strikers get hurt. Never got a name but there was strong indication they were after someone else as well.

[GoGo Yubari]

Supposedly the other striker they were going for was Djibril Cissé, or at least that's what some people are guessing right now from the hint they gave (that they wanted him but he signed for another club first). Still frustrating, because while I respect that Hanauer doesn't want to sign just anyone we're hurting for a reliable forward to pair Montero with and it showed in the frustrating Chivas game on Saturday. Hopefully he can at least pick up a good defender from somewhere before 9/15.

[HailtotheYo]

Yeah, that's honestly, the big issue facing the clubs with how the MLS works. His approach is the right one but it leaves you with this kind of situation because the 'emergency plans' can't go down like they do in Europe. Stilll I'd rather be in your position (willing, just couldn't find the player) than in New England Fan's position ... fuck Kraft.