***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (3 Viewers)

[Sebowski]

Mourhinjoke

"I congratulated the Betis players because they gave it their all and fought from the first minute to the last with great spirit and sacrifice," Mourinho said."They aren't to blame for Benzema's goal being ruled out or the clear penalty in the last minutes of the match and therefore they deserve my respect because they played better than Real Madrid."Despite benefiting from the referee's two mistakes, they deserved to win."

 

[Good Posting Judge]

KOLO! http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/kolo-toure-had-affair-with-student-by-pretending-1455570

Atletico up a goal and a man after 21 minutes. Looks like they'll keep pace this week.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Atletico cruises pretty easily.

Atletico/Real next weekend. x 100.

 

[GoFishTN]

Spurs and Saints win.

 

[The Gator]

Mourhinjoke

"I congratulated the Betis players because they gave it their all and fought from the first minute to the last with great spirit and sacrifice," Mourinho said."They aren't to blame for Benzema's goal being ruled out or the clear penalty in the last minutes of the match and therefore they deserve my respect because they played better than Real Madrid."Despite benefiting from the referee's two mistakes, they deserved to win."

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Mourhinjoke

"I congratulated the Betis players because they gave it their all and fought from the first minute to the last with great spirit and sacrifice," Mourinho said."They aren't to blame for Benzema's goal being ruled out or the clear penalty in the last minutes of the match and therefore they deserve my respect because they played better than Real Madrid."Despite benefiting from the referee's two mistakes, they deserved to win."

(That's 11. get it?)

 

[Good Posting Judge]

1) After Alves went off, Barca had a 100% Masia lineup on the field. Impressive.

2) I really like Montoya. He doesn't foray in as far (or as much) as Alves it seems, which is good given the fragility of Barcelona's defense. There were more than a few times where he had the dam plugged.

3) I'm not crazy about playing Puyol in fixtures this tough. I'd much rather see Masch out there.

As much as I'd like to see Barca win the title, I hope Atletico makes a run at it and doesn't sell Falcao during the winter break. I'm sure Chelsea will be knocking, but I hope they make a run at it. Real/Atletico next week is going to be massive. If RM loses, they're definitely toast. Barca's only real test between now and the winter break will be the home fixture against Atletico, other than that it's the 2nd half of their tie against Alaves in Copa, a meaningless CL game against Benfica, and some very winnable Liga games.

 

[Sebowski]

As much as I'd like to see Barca win the title, I hope Atletico makes a run at it and doesn't sell Falcao during the winter break. I'm sure Chelsea will be knocking, but I hope they make a run at it. Real/Atletico next week is going to be massive.

Totally agree. New quotes from Falcao say he really wants CL titles. Right now, Atlético is more likely than Chelsea to be in CL next year. I'm sure when 100's of millions are in his face he'll be able to rationalize it by think Chelsea has a better chance at actually winning one, but he'd be pulling a Dempsey.

 

[bentley]

#### Liverpool.

May have to pull a Truck here and suddenly become a Barca expert.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

#### Liverpool.May have to pull a Truck here and suddenly become a Barca expert.

Why not both? I follow Swansea casually.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Saturday is Beck's last game as a Galaxy player and highly likely his last game in MLS (I am not buying any of the NY rumors). But could it also be Landon's last game ever as a soccer player? He is doing his best to make sure everyone knows there is a chance this is it.

Landon Donovan hints MLS Cup may be his last game with L.A. GalaxyLandon Donovan, U.S. soccer's greatest player, has played in 313 MLS games and 144 with national team. At 30, he admits he's weary, and unsure if he'll be back.Two years ago, after the longest season of his long career, Landon Donovan returned to his Manhattan Beach home, drew the curtains, turned off the phone and spent two weeks trying to recover.He eventually emerged from his sequestration to have one of his finest Major League Soccer seasons in 2011, leading the Galaxy with 15 goals, including the score that gave the team its first title in six years.Exhausted again, Donovan will go back into hiding after Saturday's MLS Cup final, his 49th game in 48 weeks. Only this time he says he's not sure he'll return."I'm going to take as much time as I need and decide if and when I'm ready to come back," he said. "I can't put a time frame on that. If it takes two weeks and I'm ready to go again or two months or a year or two years."Or never. I don't know."Which means Saturday's game, in addition to being David Beckham's last competitive match in a Galaxy uniform, could also be the last in Donovan's storied career, one that has seen him start more games, score more goals and record more assists than any player in national team history.If he walks away now, he'll do so as arguably the greatest U.S. soccer player of all time. And he'll do so with no regrets."I'm aware of what I'm feeling, what I'm going through," he said. "And if I wake up one day and I say 'you know what? I'm going to come back and play,' then I'll be here within an hour. If that doesn't happen, if I wake up and I say 'you know what? That's enough,' then I'll let the people know who need to know and I'll get on with my life."In recent years, late-season weariness and career reflection have become a fall tradition for the 30-year-old Donovan. But this time is different, because in addition to fatigue he has also battled knee and hamstring injuries this season. And given Donovan's serious, often introspective nature, some close to the Galaxy say that has led to bouts of uncertainty.He has done little to mask those feelings. Four months ago, Donovan said he would consider retiring when his MLS contract expires after next season. Then last month he changed that, saying he wasn't sure he'd sure he'd make it that far, questioning whether he'd be ready to play when the final round of World Cup qualifying begins in February.National team Coach Juergen Klinsmann responded by praising Donovan's honesty."I find it very courageous of him to talk openly about what is going through his mind," Klinsmann said. "I can understand all those thoughts. . . . He's carrying this topic with him since quite awhile."Whatever he decides to do will be very respected by us."It's clear that Klinsmann sympathizes with Donovan since he, too, dealt with similar mental and physical fatigue during a 17-year playing career. But few have ever endured a heavier workload for a longer period than Donovan, who has averaged a game every eight days for the last 12 years — including 313 MLS games and 144 caps with the national team. And he has played in competitions on six continents, including the Olympic Games, World Cup, English Premier League and CONCACAF Champions League."What we're faced with now is a 30-year-old elite athlete that started [playing] at 16," said Dave Sarachan, the Galaxy's associate head coach. "So he's accumulated a lot of minutes and miles. Eventually things start to wear down and it's new to Landon. Mentally it was a hard year for Landon from that standpoint."But when he's been healthy he's been the most influential player we've had."And that's what head Coach Bruce Arena expects he will be Saturday against the Houston Dynamo, when a win would give Donovan a record fifth MLS title."Landon's been outstanding at times," Arena said of his captain, who was second in the league with 14 assists and is a good bet to make the MLS First XI, the postseason All-Star team that will be announced Monday. "The month of July he was probably as good as any player in the history of this league."That's what separates Landon from other players. He should make a difference in games."As for what happens after that, Arena is leaving that up to Donovan. But at least one teammate believes there's a good chance the Galaxy's star playmaker will still be mulling his future when training camp starts in February."I wouldn't be surprised," said defender Todd Dunivant, who has played eight seasons alongside Donovan. "Let's be honest, he's the best American to ever play. And he's been doing it since he was a teenager. That's difficult."If he needs time to step away, if he's going to step away for good, that's up to him."

 

[NewlyRetired]

Cameron has really shown some serious versatility for Stoke this season.

So far this year he has played holding midfielder, center back, right back and left back.

Meanwhile Edu is having a hard time even sniffing the Stoke bench.

 

[TLEF316]

Landon really just bothers me. Boo hoo, I'm a rich pro athlete who has had the honor of traveling the world to represent my country.

If you want to quit, just quit. Stop being so melodramatic about it. 99% of guys would trade lives with him in a second

 

[SmoovySmoov]

#### Liverpool.May have to pull a Truck here and suddenly become a Barca expert.

Et tu, bentley?The draws are killing me also, but at least Sterling was inches away from the winner, while Enrique's goal was offsides by a shoulder tip. They easily could be up in the Top 4 right now. Just have to convert some of these draws to wins. I think the good times are coming back. Just my opinion.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Landon really just bothers me. Boo hoo, I'm a rich pro athlete who has had the honor of traveling the world to represent my country. If you want to quit, just quit. Stop being so melodramatic about it. 99% of guys would trade lives with him in a second

normally I am not bothered by this type of stuff but this has gone on too long IMO. I have no issues whether he wants to stay or retire but to continually mentioned it in the media is a bit much especially when the sum total of what he says is "I might or I might not".

 

[Senor Schmutzig]

From Grant Wahl:

New World Cup 2014 host city posters unveiled. My favorites: Rio de Janeiro, Manaus, Brasília http://goo.gl/IGnzh

My favorite is Recife.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

I have a really weird question: Is there a good way to get real-time updates from games (ideally, most of the major leagues), specifically goals and red cards? A comprehensive Twitter feed, perhaps?

 

[NewlyRetired]

I have a really weird question: Is there a good way to get real-time updates from games (ideally, most of the major leagues), specifically goals and red cards? A comprehensive Twitter feed, perhaps?

ESPN does a pretty good job for a ton of leagues in relative real time with their Live Scoring link. Maybe a minute slower than twitter. Today is slow but can give you an ideahttp://soccernet.espn.go.com/scores/_/date/20121126?cc=5901

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Landon really just bothers me. Boo hoo, I'm a rich pro athlete who has had the honor of traveling the world to represent my country. If you want to quit, just quit. Stop being so melodramatic about it. 99% of guys would trade lives with him in a second

normally I am not bothered by this type of stuff but this has gone on too long IMO. I have no issues whether he wants to stay or retire but to continually mentioned it in the media is a bit much especially when the sum total of what he says is "I might or I might not".

Once you mention it once, it's probably going to be mentioned again. Any reporter is going to ask. And if Landon then decides to clam up, everyone will accuse him of going mum as an attention seeking vehicle as well.

 

[CBusAlex]

I have a really weird question: Is there a good way to get real-time updates from games (ideally, most of the major leagues), specifically goals and red cards? A comprehensive Twitter feed, perhaps?

ESPN does a pretty good job for a ton of leagues in relative real time with their Live Scoring link. Maybe a minute slower than twitter. Today is slow but can give you an ideahttp://soccernet.espn.go.com/scores/_/date/20121126?cc=5901

The ESPN ScoreCenter mobile app can also send notifications for just about any league or international tournament in the world.

 

[The Z Machine]

As much as I'd like to see Barca win the title, I hope Atletico makes a run at it and doesn't sell Falcao during the winter break. I'm sure Chelsea will be knocking, but I hope they make a run at it. Real/Atletico next week is going to be massive. If RM loses, they're definitely toast.

Next week will be HUGE if my boys can get points in the Bernabéu. They haven't won there since 1999, and RM has had a dominating spell in the derbi in the last decade. It should be a barn-burner.

 

[The Z Machine]

Cameron has really shown some serious versatility for Stoke this season. So far this year he has played holding midfielder, center back, right back and left back. Meanwhile Edu is having a hard time even sniffing the Stoke bench.

Talk about versatility, Sergio Ramos played nearly 10 minutes at the Number 9 position in RM's loss to Betis. They needed more offense, and he was the pivot up top. He played well all game, although they lost.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Isco

Pretty stuff. Video quality is meh.

 

[El Floppo]

Isco

Pretty stuff. Video quality is meh.

Thay was insane.I saw a guy (Bruno Conti) in Italy do something very similar live in 81- to this day the coolest soccer thing I've seen in person and really difficult to describe.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Isco

Pretty stuff. Video quality is meh.

Thay was insane.I saw a guy (Bruno Conti) in Italy do something very similar live in 81- to this day the coolest soccer thing I've seen in person and really difficult to describe.

Also, the official groundskeeper for Antigua and Barbuda is laughing at Malaga right now.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Some people have shown interest in my proposed Great Footy Draft. I'm looking to start it in about two weeks or so, with the meat of the tournament (where we do crazy narrative threads) happening over the holidays. Here is an initial draft of some rules and comments (and an appeal for opinions on a few issues). If someone doesn't want to commit to a draft slog, but would like to help write updates or offer ideas for organization, please feel free to comment.

So you’re thinking of participating in Scooby’s All-Time Footy (or Soccer if you prefer) Draft. Welcome! While I wish I didn’t have to do so, we’re going to have to institute some rules. Before we go over them, however, I thought I’d start by stating what the rules are (and are not) designed to accomplish. They most certainly are not designed to provide a framework by which we can all determine who drafted the best all-time soccer team. I wouldn’t know how to ensure that. And isn’t that kind of a boring question anyway? It is nearly certain that nobody who didn’t land one of the three or four top picks in the draft could ever win a competition where the FFA is voting on rosters. You’re not going to win without Pele, Maradonna, or Messi on your team. Sorry, them’s the breaks. Well, **** ‘em, I say. We’re in this to have fun. To amuse one another. And to prove absolutely nothing other than to show that a draft based upon a sport that 60% of the FFA hates can provide an entertaining FFA spectacle. I envision this as a “narrative draft” where we work together to craft entertaining matchup threads that voters and viewers in the FFA will enjoy following. Sublime goals. Ridiculous howlers. Red cards. Injuries. Impact substitutions. Crazy pitch invasions. Joey Barton tweeting commentary. You name it. The emphasis is upon the presentation of the competition. Now, because I recognize that this isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, keep in mind that owners can be as involved or uninvolved in the narrative as they want. Entertaining stuff will happen in the game. While I’d love for the owners to generate ideas for that, I’m happy to do it myself if need be. Just don’t be too disappointed when John Terry is suspended for abuse for calling Paul Scholes a “Ginger ****.” (and it goes without saying that if you draft Scholes, you better hope you win every vote because otherwise that sucker is getting a red card for a late tackle at some time.) With that said, I do want the draft to be a little educational and to at least pay lip service to the history of the game. So, here are the rules.Each team will select a starting XI and ??? (more on that later) substitutes, comprising a “game day roster.” Each roster must have at least 3 players from before 1971, and at least six players from before 1991. Yes, players that satisfy the “before 1971” category will also qualify as one of the players from “before 1991.” You can have Pele, Garrincha, Just Fontaine, Di Stefano, Puskas, and Gordon Banks and never pick a player from 1971-1990. Or you can have Pele, Di Stefano, Puskas, Ruemi######, Hugo Sanchez, and Dino Zoff. The goal of this requirement was to have some form of diversity in the sides considering that most sides would probably have a recency bias otherwise. In other words, if Rio Ferdinand were picked ahead of Franco Baresi, I might have cried. But I resisted the tempation to have too many requirments, such as African or Asian players. Whatever you feel about VBD, George Weah shouldn’t go before Michel Platini in an all-time draft just because he occupies a position of scarcity.Obviously, some players “straddle” eras. I tried to choose logical end points (it’s clear that Pele should be considered mostly on his 1958-1970 career and not on his NASL title with the Cosmos), but there are players who might prompt arguments. For instance, Beckenbauer is probably best known for his 70s body of work (a European Championship, a World Cup, three straight European Club titles, another European Championship final), but he also had signature moments from 1966-1970 (a great World Cup showing in England, the “Game of the Century” in 1970, several German cup titles). To avoid too much argument, the rule is that any leeway will be construed in favor of the player unless it just makes no sense to do so. If you can point to a major title (where the player was an actual contributor, not like Ronaldo in the 94 World Cup), then the player can qualify for that era. But please don’t point to Maradonna’s career in Argentina in the late 70s or in the 90s when the guy was winning World Cup, Serie A, and European Club Cup titles in the 80s. So those are the guidlines. Beckenbauer as a pre-71 is OK. Maradonna isn’t (nor is he a post-91). Now let’s talk about the size of the draft and the organization of the tournament. I’m of two minds about this. I would really like to structure the tournament like a major soccer tournament. With a group round followed by knock out rounds. The reason is simple. In a “narrative draft”, I want to be able to play with home/away fixtures, hostile/racist crowds, big comebacks, sackings etc. With that said, I recognize that every draft can begin to feel like a slog by the end of the draft. If we have 16 teams in the draft, that’s 176 players drafted if we only did starting rosters. 224 players if teams need only select 3 “game day” subs. That’s 288 players if we did full 18 rosters. Of course, we could also have fewer teams (and may be forced to as we’re nowhere close to 16 participants yet). With as few as eight, I could do two groups, a semi, and a final. With 10 – 14 teams, I’d have to tweak the setup a bit. So it’s up to you guys. I’m interested in hearing how deep in a player pool we should go and how you’d like to get there? No subs? Just three? Only attacking subs? How many teams?

 

[El Floppo]

But in

 

[The Gator]

blah blah blah.... while Enrique's goal was offsides by a shoulder tip.

My

 

[Soulfly3]

I have a really weird question: Is there a good way to get real-time updates from games (ideally, most of the major leagues), specifically goals and red cards? A comprehensive Twitter feed, perhaps?

For your mobile get Score Mobile FCmake sure it's the FC edition (purely soccer)

it's canadian based (run by a sports network) and I have some good friends who help run/program it. It's basically in real time, very customizable and offers almost every league that exists

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Looks like great fun Scooby. I can't participate as a drafter, but will be following this.

 

[The Z Machine]

I have a really weird question: Is there a good way to get real-time updates from games (ideally, most of the major leagues), specifically goals and red cards? A comprehensive Twitter feed, perhaps?

For your mobile get Score Mobile FCmake sure it's the FC edition (purely soccer)

it's canadian based (run by a sports network) and I have some good friends who help run/program it. It's basically in real time, very customizable and offers almost every league that exists

I use FotMob for scores and such. I'll check this one out too.

 

[The Z Machine]

My knowledge of pre-1990s soccer is limited. I can try to participate, but I'll follow scooby's lead on content generation.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

My knowledge of pre-1990s soccer is limited. I can try to participate, but I'll follow scooby's lead on content generation.

Like every other draft, I imagine the vast majority of picks will come from wikipedia (where you can generally find the players of the tournament for every world cup, every European Cup winner, and the top three European Footballer of the Year voting from DiStefano/Kopa on) or someone googling "best all-time center backs" or something. There's a guy on the Big Soccer forums who has done a top 100 of every position imaginable. I'm lucky if I know 30 (and I generally disagree pretty strongly on the relative position of the 30 I know). If the 3-6 rule seems too challenging, that's the type of comment I'd appreciate hearing. Just in my own opinion, it seems pretty easy to identify the top attacking players from these eras. Identifying defenders or non-attacking midfielders might be a lot harder. They don't earn the soccer equivalent of "black ink".

 

[NewlyRetired]

Steven Goff just broke an interesting story. Kevin Payne, who has been the head executive of DC United since 1996 has been let go from the team. I think Payne was the most tenured employee in MLS at league or team level. Goff reports Payne will join another MLS side.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/wp/2012/11/27/exclusive-kevin-payne-leaving-d-c-united/

 

[NewlyRetired]

MLS best 11 was announced and no real surprises. Good to see Zusi, Besler and Pontius make it. All 3 could have a chance to make the WC2014 team if US qualifies.

MLS BEST XI

Goalkeeper – Jimmy Nielsen (Sporting Kansas City)

Defenders – Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Aurelien Collin (Sporting Kansas City)

Midfielders – Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders FC), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Chris Pontius (D.C) United), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Forwards – Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Steven Goff just broke an interesting story. Kevin Payne, who has been the head executive of DC United since 1996 has been let go from the team. I think Payne was the most tenured employee in MLS at league or team level. Goff reports Payne will join another MLS side. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/wp/2012/11/27/exclusive-kevin-payne-leaving-d-c-united/

This makes sense to me. United has drafted well in recent seasons (Pontius, Kitchen, Korb, and DeLeon). Kitchen and Pontius, however, were both considered no-brainers at the time. The academy has also produced two very good starters. But other than being gifted De Rosario, Payne hasn't made a particularly great trade or DP move in forever (I guess McDonald came in a trade, and he's been a good CB). And Boskovic just seems like the latest in a long line of attempts to bring in a Riquelme-type CAM playmaker when the league hasn't really supported that type of a player in a decade. DC's attendance has also been slipping, despite the improvement of the team. They probably need a "name" if they can get one. Not Kaka or Lampard, but not some guy from the Swiss or Austrian league either. At the very least, they need an honest to God lead the line forward who can both finish chances and be involved in the game. Salihi was actually pretty good at the first part, but DCU needs more than a poacher.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

MLS best 11 was announced and no real surprises. Good to see Zusi, Besler and Pontius make it. All 3 could have a chance to make the WC2014 team if US qualifies. MLS BEST XIGoalkeeper – Jimmy Nielsen (Sporting Kansas City)Defenders – Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Aurelien Collin (Sporting Kansas City)Midfielders – Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders FC), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Chris Pontius (D.C) United), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)Forwards – Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

Ah, the classic 3-1-3-3. Am I the only one who hates Best XI's that are composed of a formation and collection of players that you'd never run out in a competitive game? I love Chris Pontius. But he's an attacking player who didn't have as good a year as the other attacking players. Get a real midfielder. And don't just play 3 center backs.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Steven Goff just broke an interesting story. Kevin Payne, who has been the head executive of DC United since 1996 has been let go from the team. I think Payne was the most tenured employee in MLS at league or team level. Goff reports Payne will join another MLS side. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/wp/2012/11/27/exclusive-kevin-payne-leaving-d-c-united/

This makes sense to me. United has drafted well in recent seasons (Pontius, Kitchen, Korb, and DeLeon). Kitchen and Pontius, however, were both considered no-brainers at the time. The academy has also produced two very good starters. But other than being gifted De Rosario, Payne hasn't made a particularly great trade or DP move in forever (I guess McDonald came in a trade, and he's been a good CB). And Boskovic just seems like the latest in a long line of attempts to bring in a Riquelme-type CAM playmaker when the league hasn't really supported that type of a player in a decade. DC's attendance has also been slipping, despite the improvement of the team. They probably need a "name" if they can get one. Not Kaka or Lampard, but not some guy from the Swiss or Austrian league either. At the very least, they need an honest to God lead the line forward who can both finish chances and be involved in the game. Salihi was actually pretty good at the first part, but DCU needs more than a poacher.

From what I have read from various sources, this appears to be more of an off the field issue than an on the field one. The stadium is by far and away the most important item on the new owners plates and they may have felt that Payne was not the best guy for the job which obviously takes a much different skill set than running the soccer side of things.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

From what I have read from various sources, this appears to be more of an off the field issue than an on the field one. The stadium is by far and away the most important item on the new owners plates and they may have felt that Payne was not the best guy for the job which obviously takes a much different skill set than running the soccer side of things.

Fair enough. I guess I thought that was finally moving in the right direction. RFK is a pit, but it's a pit with good memories for me, so I've never really been obsessed with getting a shiny new stadium. It's no surprise that I preferred Redskins games there to Fed Ex (because Fed Ex is awful). But I think I even liked Nats games there better than Nats Park. I guess I'm just an old curmudgeon.

 

[NewlyRetired]

From what I have read from various sources, this appears to be more of an off the field issue than an on the field one. The stadium is by far and away the most important item on the new owners plates and they may have felt that Payne was not the best guy for the job which obviously takes a much different skill set than running the soccer side of things.

Fair enough. I guess I thought that was finally moving in the right direction. RFK is a pit, but it's a pit with good memories for me, so I've never really been obsessed with getting a shiny new stadium. It's no surprise that I preferred Redskins games there to Fed Ex (because Fed Ex is awful). But I think I even liked Nats games there better than Nats Park. I guess I'm just an old curmudgeon.

It is not the condition of the stadium that is the issue, it is more the finances. Renting out the big stadiums almost saw MLS go under a decade ago. It was only after they started to build the stadiums and have control of the revenue that the leagues fortunes turned around. DC is the biggest drain on the league right now as the stadium continues to kill any chances of them growing. Even though NE is literally dead in the water, they are better off financially than DC is because Kraft controls the revenue up here. Only Chivas is in as bad a spot as DC but they have a much better deal at HDC than DC does at RFK.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

I'll even introduce my own MLS topic. In an interview, Don Garber has stated that David Beckham has "overperformed" his mega-deal with MLS. Discuss.

It is certainly true that MLS has really grown to an extent that I didn't think possible over the course of Beckham's contract. I also thought that when I got a chance to see him play, that Beckham remained a very, very good MLS player. Obviously, not a versatile player at his age, but I think he's still among the best deep lying playmakers around. Paired with Juninho's energy, he was excellent in CM. Along with Henry, he helped stage a nice little renaissance of big name DPs delivering the goods.

But it's hard to be THE story playing as the DLP. He got assists and the odd dead ball goal. He remained famous, but not really for his soccer. And it's hard to know if he really was responsible for the exploding popularity of the league or whether it was more the popularity of the game in general (which is my thesis, but that could be confirmation bias). Probably the biggest Beckham story while he was here was the negative stories from Wahl's book, much of which I thought was unfair to Becks.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I'll even introduce my own MLS topic. In an interview, Don Garber has stated that David Beckham has "overperformed" his mega-deal with MLS. Discuss.It is certainly true that MLS has really grown to an extent that I didn't think possible over the course of Beckham's contract. I also thought that when I got a chance to see him play, that Beckham remained a very, very good MLS player. Obviously, not a versatile player at his age, but I think he's still among the best deep lying playmakers around. Paired with Juninho's energy, he was excellent in CM. Along with Henry, he helped stage a nice little renaissance of big name DPs delivering the goods. But it's hard to be THE story playing as the DLP. He got assists and the odd dead ball goal. He remained famous, but not really for his soccer. And it's hard to know if he really was responsible for the exploding popularity of the league or whether it was more the popularity of the game in general (which is my thesis, but that could be confirmation bias). Probably the biggest Beckham story while he was here was the negative stories from Wahl's book, much of which I thought was unfair to Becks.

Multiple angles here. The league is up in every measurable category(attendance, ownership diversity, merchandising, expansion, stadium development, player development, etc etc) since Becks and Blanco(gets too ignored in these discussions, he was a huge igniter for the league business) arrived in 1997 outside of TV ratings. It is impossible to quantify exactly how much can be attributed to Becks but I think all can agree his simple presence was huge.On the field it was two different stories. I felt he was a joke in the beginning. He was either hurt or playing poorly or doing what ever he could to try and get back on the English national team. But in the last two years when he has concentrated on MLS and been healthy, I think his play has been very good. Not a top 11 type player but certainly a top 25 type player over the last two years. Unless Messi or Ronaldo come over at 31-32 years old, the league is not going to have anyone like him to market around for a long long time. While I think the growth will slow, simply because it has to, I am still hopeful that the league will advance slowly in different areas over the next 5 years.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Ives just reported that Payne is heading to Toronto FC to become their president.

http://www.soccerbyives.net/2012/11/report-payne-leaving-d-c-united-for-another-mls-club.html

 

[NewlyRetired]

FIFA is running a vote for the top goal of the year.

They have picked out 10 (ranging from huge names like Messi/Neymar/Falcao to no names like Hasli, to even having a goal from a women's game). No Zlatan though which makes Andy sad :(

Here is the link where you can vote with all 10 video clips

http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/puskasaward/index.html

Which one did you guys like the best?

 

[NewlyRetired]

One interesting note from Garbers state of the league address yesterday.

The league is now spending about $20 million a year on youth development. He mentioned that it was not that long ago that the league was barely spending $20m on the actual players salaries league wide (I assume this must be the 2002-2004 time frame).

 

[Eephus]

I'll even introduce my own MLS topic. In an interview, Don Garber has stated that David Beckham has "overperformed" his mega-deal with MLS. Discuss.It is certainly true that MLS has really grown to an extent that I didn't think possible over the course of Beckham's contract. I also thought that when I got a chance to see him play, that Beckham remained a very, very good MLS player. Obviously, not a versatile player at his age, but I think he's still among the best deep lying playmakers around. Paired with Juninho's energy, he was excellent in CM. Along with Henry, he helped stage a nice little renaissance of big name DPs delivering the goods. But it's hard to be THE story playing as the DLP. He got assists and the odd dead ball goal. He remained famous, but not really for his soccer. And it's hard to know if he really was responsible for the exploding popularity of the league or whether it was more the popularity of the game in general (which is my thesis, but that could be confirmation bias). Probably the biggest Beckham story while he was here was the negative stories from Wahl's book, much of which I thought was unfair to Becks.

Multiple angles here. The league is up in every measurable category(attendance, ownership diversity, merchandising, expansion, stadium development, player development, etc etc) since Becks and Blanco(gets too ignored in these discussions, he was a huge igniter for the league business) arrived in 1997 outside of TV ratings. It is impossible to quantify exactly how much can be attributed to Becks but I think all can agree his simple presence was huge.On the field it was two different stories. I felt he was a joke in the beginning. He was either hurt or playing poorly or doing what ever he could to try and get back on the English national team. But in the last two years when he has concentrated on MLS and been healthy, I think his play has been very good. Not a top 11 type player but certainly a top 25 type player over the last two years. Unless Messi or Ronaldo come over at 31-32 years old, the league is not going to have anyone like him to market around for a long long time. While I think the growth will slow, simply because it has to, I am still hopeful that the league will advance slowly in different areas over the next 5 years.

You can't really expect Garber to say anything other than that about Beckham, especially not now. There will be plenty of time for unnamed sources to talk about him after he's gone. But there's no denying that his time in MLS coincided with unprecedented success of the league. Maybe it was good timing or luck or the star power of Becks. It may not have been an unqualified success on the field but the Galaxy have had their moments. The contract was big by MLS standards but AEG could afford it. Posh and Becks were able to maintain their high media profile and some level of private anonymity in the US. When considering the alternatives of an occasional run out with a top European side or a similarly big money deal in Russia or China (if those were even alternatives in 2007), it's hard to argue Beckham made a bad choice.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I'll even introduce my own MLS topic. In an interview, Don Garber has stated that David Beckham has "overperformed" his mega-deal with MLS. Discuss.It is certainly true that MLS has really grown to an extent that I didn't think possible over the course of Beckham's contract. I also thought that when I got a chance to see him play, that Beckham remained a very, very good MLS player. Obviously, not a versatile player at his age, but I think he's still among the best deep lying playmakers around. Paired with Juninho's energy, he was excellent in CM. Along with Henry, he helped stage a nice little renaissance of big name DPs delivering the goods. But it's hard to be THE story playing as the DLP. He got assists and the odd dead ball goal. He remained famous, but not really for his soccer. And it's hard to know if he really was responsible for the exploding popularity of the league or whether it was more the popularity of the game in general (which is my thesis, but that could be confirmation bias). Probably the biggest Beckham story while he was here was the negative stories from Wahl's book, much of which I thought was unfair to Becks.

Multiple angles here. The league is up in every measurable category(attendance, ownership diversity, merchandising, expansion, stadium development, player development, etc etc) since Becks and Blanco(gets too ignored in these discussions, he was a huge igniter for the league business) arrived in 1997 outside of TV ratings. It is impossible to quantify exactly how much can be attributed to Becks but I think all can agree his simple presence was huge.On the field it was two different stories. I felt he was a joke in the beginning. He was either hurt or playing poorly or doing what ever he could to try and get back on the English national team. But in the last two years when he has concentrated on MLS and been healthy, I think his play has been very good. Not a top 11 type player but certainly a top 25 type player over the last two years. Unless Messi or Ronaldo come over at 31-32 years old, the league is not going to have anyone like him to market around for a long long time. While I think the growth will slow, simply because it has to, I am still hopeful that the league will advance slowly in different areas over the next 5 years.

You can't really expect Garber to say anything other than that about Beckham, especially not now. There will be plenty of time for unnamed sources to talk about him after he's gone. But there's no denying that his time in MLS coincided with unprecedented success of the league. Maybe it was good timing or luck or the star power of Becks. It may not have been an unqualified success on the field but the Galaxy have had their moments. The contract was big by MLS standards but AEG could afford it. Posh and Becks were able to maintain their high media profile and some level of private anonymity in the US. When considering the alternatives of an occasional run out with a top European side or a similarly big money deal in Russia or China (if those were even alternatives in 2007), it's hard to argue Beckham made a bad choice.

Heck, even the very existence of this thread is arguably because of Becks. If I remember correctly we had a thread about Becks signing with MLS that grew into a general soccer discussion which spawned this thread.

 

[Moe.]

FIFA is running a vote for the top goal of the year. They have picked out 10 (ranging from huge names like Messi/Neymar/Falcao to no names like Hasli, to even having a goal from a women's game). No Zlatan though which makes Andy sad :( Here is the link where you can vote with all 10 video clipshttp://www.fifa.com/ballondor/puskasaward/index.htmlWhich one did you guys like the best?

Apparently Zlatan missed the deadline by a very short amount of time. He will win next year no doubt. From what I've read Neymar is the favorite to win again this year.

 

[NewlyRetired]

FIFA is running a vote for the top goal of the year. They have picked out 10 (ranging from huge names like Messi/Neymar/Falcao to no names like Hasli, to even having a goal from a women's game). No Zlatan though which makes Andy sad :( Here is the link where you can vote with all 10 video clipshttp://www.fifa.com/ballondor/puskasaward/index.htmlWhich one did you guys like the best?

Apparently Zlatan missed the deadline by a very short amount of time. He will win next year no doubt. From what I've read Neymar is the favorite to win again this year.

outside of the women's goal, I have such a hard time picking through these, they are all so incredible. I really appreciate the incredible skill and speed of the long runs, but still stunned by the degree of difficulty of the one time volleys from horizontal crosses (the 25 yard volley from a corner kick was a once in a life time connection).

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Heck, even the very existence of this thread is arguably because of Becks. If I remember correctly we had a thread about Becks signing with MLS that grew into a general soccer discussion which spawned this thread.

Isn't a Zidane to the Fire rumor on page 1? Good times.This thread actually helped get me back into the game after dropping it in the 90s. When it started, I had only seen the Baloon D'Or winner (Kaka) with his national team. Somewhere around page 50 or 60 there's a confused post from scooby wondering why a guy who seemed like a good, but not great player, was named the best player in the world. I'm definitely an example of a guy who went from a every World Cup type of fan, to an EPL follower, to a Champions League follower, to a "watch European football all Saturday" fan, to a guy who now watches MLS. Being a eurosnob actually warmed me to the MLS game. I grew to appreciate what the league does well, and what has improved.