Soccer Thread 2022-2023

[HomerSimpson98]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Well, they have deep pockets at Manchester City.

lol - well done

[miami_fan]

If you have ESPN+, I implore you to turn on the Sheffield Wednesday vs Petersborough match right now.

[sovereignstar v2]

condolences, Fergie Jr

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

If you have ESPN+, I implore you to turn on the Sheffield Wednesday vs Petersborough match right now.

Since I was born in Sheffield, that would have been worth it right there. I've followed Sheffield United since I was a kid (they're more the university part of town). They were just promoted back to the Premier League.

[SirFozzie]

As a fan of Cambridge United, I have to laugh when something like this happens to their rival.

So.. Ha. HA!.

[miami_fan]

BTW I send a tentative congrats to the Sheffield Wednesday supporters for conducting what looked like a fun pitch invasion. Hopefully everything remained as good-natured as it seemed to be when the broadcast ended. Also a full blooded congrats to their manager Darren Moore leading the team after all the racial abuse he received over the last five days.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Well, they have deep pockets at Manchester City.

I'm going to quote this just so I can appreciate the quality of this response on a new page.

[sovereignstar v2]

We might put 10 past De Gea in June.

[flere-imsaho]

I don't care. My other club just got promoted.

[miami_fan]

Hardcore MLS fans,

San Diego will be the 30th franchise in MLS beginning in 2025. I am not going to mention the R-word. I know that is not a non-starter.

Is anything else changing? Getting rid of the salary cap? Changes to the single-entity structure? Getting rid of conferences? First phase/Second phase like in Argentina? Anything?

[SirFozzie]

I think there will be P/R when they get to something like 36 teams, with a MLS-teams cup as well (like the League Cup in England, with the USOC staying FA-Cup like)

Get rid of MLS Season Pass, it was a privitization of the game just when it needed MORE public coverage, not less.

[sovereignstar v2]

👀

[sovereignstar v2]

[whomario]

1 more win for Dortmund to finally end Bayerns streak of titles (at 10). Bayern has been absolute shambles recently and Dortmund would win despite loosing badly to Bayern recently but wouldn't look that gift horse in the mouth
39 points from 16 Games with a 50-16 Goal Difference has been a hell of a 2nd half of the season.

Nobody quote Ted Lasso about hope now

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I think there will be P/R when they get to something like 36 teams

What makes you so confident? I can't imagine any American owners going for this.

[flere-imsaho]

I really don't know what's going to stop Man City (in the EPL) now, until Guardiola leaves.

[cartman]

For the first time in their history, Brighton & Hove Albion will be playing European football

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

What makes you so confident? I can't imagine any American owners going for this.

I can't imagine any American TV networks going for this either.

[GrantDawg]

I don't know about television networks. It would make for great TV, making games among non-contenders worthwhile watching. But for owners? Imagine paying that huge franchise fee and being told that you could be playing in the A League next year if you aren't successful. Not to mention, there is no money in lower league soccer. Teams would go broke pretty quickly in the lower leagues.

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[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I don't know about television networks. It would make for great TV, making games among non-contenders worthwhile watching. But for owners? Imagine paying that huge franchise fee and being told that you could be playing in the A League next year if you aren't successful. Not to mention, there is no money in lower league soccer. Teams would go broke pretty quickly in the lower leagues.

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That's fine ... until you end up without New York, LA, or Chicago. Then your ceiling gets lower, and it devalues the TV deal. Unless you did something innovative like tying the annual rights fee to the size of the markets on a sliding scale, I can't see it flying here.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

What makes you so confident? I can't imagine any American owners going for this.

To be fair, we can't say that American owners won't go for relegation as Americans keep buying at least pieces of European clubs in the countries/leagues with relegation (19 clubs across England, France, and Italy) and are relegated (Fulham, Burnley, Maybe Leeds United? Maybe Spezia?). Even Chelsea had to sweat out relegation safety with a few weeks left in the season.

[Ksyrup]

We don't do relegation in this country, we do relocation. Americans don't want to watch a diminished product, but we will buy a repackaged product as if it was brand new.

[flere-imsaho]

It's one thing to buy into a league that already has promotion/relegation - that risk is priced in. It's quite another to agree to create that risk for oneself with no near-term or tangible benefit.

It's not as if broadcasters are saying they'll pay the MLS 20% more if they introduce promotion & relegation.

[JonInMiddleGA]

All fine and good ... until you consider the numerous realities of why it doesn't work here.

Foremost perhaps is the shortage of clubs that could be promoted. There's only one Division II league (MLS is the only D-I league) in the country and only 2 of its 24 teams meet the minimum seating requirement for D1.

And half of those don't even reach the halfway point so it's not as simple as adding a few temporary bleachers for the likely short stay they'd have in D1. You'd be talking about considerable rebuilding -- a process that has seen at least two D2 clubs suspend operations for several years while they upgraded/changed facilities. How many of those markets see building a new stadium as even remotely reasonable for a brief shot at a questionable level of "glory"?

Unlike the UK, there are precious few markets in the U.S. that can viably support multiple MLS franchises ... but with the current composition of D2 the issue of market exclusivity could come into play.

We're barely more than a decade from even being able to HAVE a league that could meet D2 requirements.

Talk of an detailed P/R system such as exists in leagues elsewhere in the world grossly overestimate the value of promoting to the MLS to a city that would frequently be asked to make major cost contributions to the building of stadiums that stand a good chance of being massively oversized upon relegation.

[flere-imsaho]

Yeah, I just don't see where that audience is going to come from, especially when you have 3 or 4 other major leagues with which to contend (depending on your view of the NHL).

Even a well-established minor league like AAA baseball tops out at capacity of ~16,000, and I'm sure average attendances are a good bit below that.

Average MLS attendance starts in the teens (thousands) and has plenty in the 20s, 30s, and even 40s.

That's a pretty big gap in matchday revenue between a D1 team and a putative D2 team that would average, at best, 5-10k.

[sovereignstar v2]

Brighton are a very likeable club right now

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Yeah, I just don't see where that audience is going to come from, especially when you have 3 or 4 other major leagues with which to contend (depending on your view of the NHL).

Even a well-established minor league like AAA baseball tops out at capacity of ~16,000, and I'm sure average attendances are a good bit below that.

Average MLS attendance starts in the teens (thousands) and has plenty in the 20s, 30s, and even 40s.

That's a pretty big gap in matchday revenue between a D1 team and a putative D2 team that would average, at best, 5-10k.

And this particular point is NOT an accident. The seating standards, the market size and so forth were set the way they were to prevent Hooterville from ending up in the top tier and having it appear "minor".

This country isn't the bloody U.K. or anywhere else in western Europe, these fanciful promotable minnows are not all predominantly located within three goal kicks of a reasonable sized city. It's all fun & games until Seattle has to play in Starkville, MS or Ottumwa, IA.

[sovereignstar v2]

Chelsea are complete SHITE

[flere-imsaho]

Yeah, I've been anxious before a lot of Man Utd games, but not that one.

[whomario]

20 minutes in, down 0:1, Bayern up and Dortmund just missed a penalty ...

Now 0:2

[sovereignstar v2]

Oh dear

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[sovereignstar v2]

.

[whomario]

Oh well ...

Bayern with internal drama (to cap it off they fired both Sporting Director Salihamidzic and 'CEO' Kahn today) and a lousy point total still winning is so typical Bundesliga...

At least Bochum stayed up

[SirFozzie]

Bayerndusel strikes again

[miami_fan]

The stuff of FM dreams!

Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu is the first player to go from non-league to the Premier League with the same club. What an incredible story. 🟠✨ #LutonTown

Luton Town from The National League to The Premier League in 10 years. pic.twitter.com/Quj1h8laDI

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 27, 2023

[Ksyrup]

Maybe that will be my new team to root for next year after Leicester disappears.

[whomario]

In Germany Heidenheim upstaged Hamburg to go up directly as another small club (the other im Darmstadt also not exactly big, though im the Bundesliga before). Down 0:2 they scored 2 in stoppage time on the road to secure promotion. 50k population, 15k stadium, 5th division in 2008. Missed out in the promotion Playoff in 2020. Only 6 figure transfer is their main goalscorer who they bought back from the club they sold him to for roughly the same amount.

[Lathum]

Crazy end to the Everton game. 10 minutes of added time and their keeper make an incredible save in the 94th minute.

Futbol is a funny game. They finished 17th in the league and were acting like they won the title. Relegation system is really awesome.

[flere-imsaho]

At least Everton sealed safety with a win. It'll be interesting to see what they do next year. Ownership & decision-making have been a complete tire fire.

[miami_fan]

Anthony Hudson leaves USMNT role as second interim hired - ESPN

"Our goal is clear: defend both of our Concacaf titles."

Are we sure?

[flere-imsaho]

Yeah, I could have sworn the goal was "provide plenty of make-work jobs for certain former national team players and their friends and family" but what do I know?

[sovereignstar v2]

The fix appears to be on again.

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[flere-imsaho]

You won. Stop whining.

And like it or not, that's the handball rule.

[sovereignstar v2]

https://twitter.com/EmanDaGoon/statu...KHsD2rvqA&s=19

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[sovereignstar v2]

https://twitter.com/bluemoon_mcfc/st...7YJdY1dUw&s=19

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[sovereignstar v2]

https://twitter.com/bealolufc/status...Rr_dywFow&s=19

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[SirFozzie]

Turns out the jackhole who wore a Man United shirt referencing Hillsborough (as 97-Not Enough) was a Britain-First Right Wing chud who had attacked an asylum center previously.


https://twitter.com/Marsh4LL1/status...83645236469760

[flere-imsaho]

1. Likely handball, given the arm movement, but I'd like to see another angle.

2. At least a yellow, if not a red. Casemiro being Casemiro. Even if it was a mistake at speed, it's still a very dangerous play (yellow), but I'd be more than willing to assume intent (red).

3. No foul, player attempting to establish space with the ball in front of him.

[MIJB#19]

Unreal ending to the Belgian league. 3 teams were virtual champions at some point during the last 15 minutes. I listened to the reports on the radio, reporters were getting crazy. Unreal stuff.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

1. Likely handball, given the arm movement, but I'd like to see another angle.

2. At least a yellow, if not a red. Casemiro being Casemiro. Even if it was a mistake at speed, it's still a very dangerous play (yellow), but I'd be more than willing to assume intent (red).

3. No foul, player attempting to establish space with the ball in front of him.

Agreed on all points.

Did you see this?



PGMOL chief Howard Webb went through a few decisions where VAR was involved. He explains the process and why the decision were made. I hope there do stuff like this more. I do not expect it to change the minds of people who believe the refs hate them. I do hope it helps fans and pundits understand and speak more intelligently on the VAR process.