MLS Discussion Thread

[franch1se]

Ok i need a crash course in MLS. Never cared for the league or to watch but now I'm getting a team next season and I want to go all in.

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by franch1se

Ok i need a crash course in MLS. Never cared for the league or to watch but now I'm getting a team next season and I want to go all in.

How much do you know about other soccer leagues? I want to know if I should compare and contrast with those, or use a league like the NFL as a basis for giving you details.

[franch1se]

Quote: Originally Posted by studbucket

How much do you know about other soccer leagues? I want to know if I should compare and contrast with those, or use a league like the NFL as a basis for giving you details.

Pretty much only watch the Premier League in regards to soccer.

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by franch1se

Pretty much only watch the Premier League in regards to soccer.

Quality: MLS is a step down from EPL. Probably better than the Championship, and good MLS teams would probably have a shot against the bottom of the EPL. The top 10-15 players on MLS clubs are quite good, but the salary cap keeps the bottom 15ish players from being great. Depth is where leagues like Liga MX are better than them.

Season: runs Feb-Nov to avoid the freezing weather in Toronto, Minnesota, New York, Montreal, etc. Teams play 34 games in an unbalanced schedule (too many teams to have a balanced schedule).

Other competitions: US Open Cup (like the FA Cup); CONCACAF Champions Champions Cup (like UEFA Champions League); Leagues Cup (a money grab from MLS and Liga MX that has all the clubs take a break in the summer and play a tournament between leagues.


Structure: MLS is a "single entity" so clubs are not truly independent. MLS technically pays transfers fees, not the clubs, though they try to obfuscate that a bit.


Transfers/Economics: Within the league, players can be traded (which is not like most soccer leagues). There is a limited free agency and a college draft. Teams are allowed to sign "Designated Players" (DPs) which only count for a certain amount against the cap (I think it's $1M) but the players can be paid way over that amount. Clubs can have 3 of these players, but there's weirdness when it comes to signing "young DPs" that give you an extra slot if you do things right.

There's also "Allocation Money" (Targeted = TAM and General = GAM) which is MLS funny money that can be used to help with cap management, trading within the league, and buying down contracts.


History/rivalries: We're in what I would call "MLS 3.0" now. 1.0 was the time pre-David Beckham joining the Galaxy and expansion of clubs like Seattle and Portland. 2.0 was from that Beckham + Cascadia expansions up to the expansion and success Atlanta and LAFC, which kicked off MLS 3.0. MLS 2.0 made the league a "real thing" and not just cute. MLS 3.0 is a step toward really being a true developmental league for Europe as well as being a buying league for South America and lower level European leagues.


Seattle - Portland, LA Galaxy vs LAFC, DC vs NY Red Bull, Miami vs Atlanta, and a number of others are some big rivalries.

The winner of the regular season gets the Supporters Shield. The playoffs (true league champ) gets MLS Cup.

The LA Galaxy are the most successful team in league history.

[franch1se]

Quote: Originally Posted by studbucket

Quality: MLS is a step down from EPL. Probably better than the Championship, and good MLS teams would probably have a shot against the bottom of the EPL. The top 10-15 players on MLS clubs are quite good, but the salary cap keeps the bottom 15ish players from being great. Depth is where leagues like Liga MX are better than them. Season: runs Feb-Nov to avoid the freezing weather in Toronto, Minnesota, New York, Montreal, etc. Teams play 34 games in an unbalanced schedule (too many teams to have a balanced schedule). Other competitions: US Open Cup (like the FA Cup); CONCACAF Champions Champions Cup (like UEFA Champions League); Leagues Cup (a money grab from MLS and Liga MX that has all the clubs take a break in the summer and play a tournament between leagues. Structure: MLS is a "single entity" so clubs are not truly independent. MLS technically pays transfers fees, not the clubs, though they try to obfuscate that a bit. Transfers/Economics: Within the league, players can be traded (which is not like most soccer leagues). There is a limited free agency and a college draft. Teams are allowed to sign "Designated Players" (DPs) which only count for a certain amount against the cap (I think it's $1M) but the players can be paid way over that amount. Clubs can have 3 of these players, but there's weirdness when it comes to signing "young DPs" that give you an extra slot if you do things right. There's also "Allocation Money" (Targeted = TAM and General = GAM) which is MLS funny money that can be used to help with cap management, trading within the league, and buying down contracts. History/rivalries: We're in what I would call "MLS 3.0" now. 1.0 was the time pre-David Beckham joining the Galaxy and expansion of clubs like Seattle and Portland. 2.0 was from that Beckham + Cascadia expansions up to the expansion and success Atlanta and LAFC, which kicked off MLS 3.0. MLS 2.0 made the league a "real thing" and not just cute. MLS 3.0 is a step toward really being a true developmental league for Europe as well as being a buying league for South America and lower level European leagues. Seattle - Portland, LA Galaxy vs LAFC, DC vs NY Red Bull, Miami vs Atlanta, and a number of others are some big rivalries. The winner of the regular season gets the Supporters Shield. The playoffs (true league champ) gets MLS Cup. The LA Galaxy are the most successful team in league history.

Thanks for the breakdown. Seems it runs like every other American sports leagues in terms of FA, Trades, draft etc and not like other Soccer leagues. Since EAFC was released essentially after the MLS season was just about over, do they update the game when MLS season begins in February? Do we know if SDFC will be patched in or do i need to wait until EAFC 26?

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by franch1se

Thanks for the breakdown. Seems it runs like every other American sports leagues in terms of FA, Trades, draft etc and not like other Soccer leagues. Since EAFC was released essentially after the MLS season was just about over, do they update the game when MLS season begins in February? Do we know if SDFC will be patched in or do i need to wait until EAFC 26?

I believe they usually update the MLS rosters, but you'll probably need to wait for next year's game to play as San Diego.

The single best writer about MLS is Matthew Doyle: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/topic...st-matt-doyle/

If I had to recommend 1 place to start reading.

[Majingir]

MLS TV studios are being moved to.....WWE HQ. Yes, you heard that right.

I mean if there's anyone who knows a thing or two about faking getting hit or injured it's soccer players.

But for real though, I wonder what this could really mean since the deal is happening because Endeavor who I believe owns IMG has a deal with MLS so they're just moving MLS studios into another one of their assets which is the newly built WWE HQ.

I imagine UFC might wind up in that office tower too at some point. Who knows how big Endeavor wants to be and who else they'll try to acquire if you have WWE, MLS and UFC running offices/tv studios out of the same building.