MLS Thread.

[TX Bill]

Toluca can have some good friendlies from time to time.

I'd wager $20 that there's at least one pushing and shoving match between the Crew and Toluca.

Gonna be on TV too according to du Nord's blog:

Columbus Crew v Toluca - live at 7pm Central on FSC
-Wed Mar 10

I just may have to tune into that.

 

[MLS is not quite EPL]

Well, he's great. The rest of the team...maybe it's just because they're playing in front of 8k at Gillette every game. I just really have a hard time getting fired up to watch them.

Galaxy, Sounders, Crew...those are the games I make sure not to miss.

I understand the concern with so few people. Is it marketing? People just Patriot-mad up there? What? I mean 8k is below average, even for the teams that don't have the huge fanbases. BUT i don't blame you for having a hard time maintaining interest. especially with those damn football lines

As for the rematch, this time we won't have a keeper in need of anger management.

Haha! that was hilarious (in retrospect). Do you think part of that goes back to when Wicks was playing for Portland? There's a heated HATE rivalry there between us, you know.

Looking forward to the new Red Bulls stadium

Actually I am too. New stadia for soccer in this country is only a good thing, hoping that with Qwest coming online last year for MLS, your new stadium, the Philly one.... hopefully teams like Houston & DC, who are long overdue for their own new stadia, can get some too! I will admit having a nicer stadium makes it easier to sell tickets & attend games.

I'm jealous too. DC is almost exactly like Everton with their stadium situations. The difference is that RFK is literally falling apart.

I about twisted my ankle there last year for the Open Cup. There was pigeon crap everywhere and concrete was falling apart. When we pogo'd to our chants, the entire concrete section was shaking. It was not confidence inspiring, no.

You guys deserve a new stadium though.... I mean come on DC, you guys have like more hardware than any other team!

we have an excellent keeper in Frei and a good manager in Preki. He'll probly sign a stiker or two.

I love the Preki acquisition. I always thought he was fighting an uphill battle at Chivas. Frei is a franchise guy; you guys should take him into retirement, seriously.

Gonna be on TV too according to du Nord's blog:

Columbus Crew v Toluca - live at 7pm Central on FSC
-Wed Mar 10

I just may have to tune into that.

Will be one of the few times i root for the Crew. I HATE all things Mexican when it comes to soccer. Go Crew!

 

[Nordecke]

Will be one of the few times i root for the Crew. I HATE all things Mexican when it comes to soccer. Go Crew!

Will be a physical (sloppy) game I would imagine... Toluca is a solid squad and should win.. But i'm hopeing the Crew take it..

 

[spikeman]

Haha! that was hilarious (in retrospect). Do you think part of that goes back to when Wicks was playing for Portland? There's a heated HATE rivalry there between us, you know.

Did you actually see it happen? I had no idea what was going on until I got home and watched the replay. He cost us the game.

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

I was looking at the new Red Bulls stadium the other night, nice little ground.
Was it just that the Giants Stadium was so empty that they wanted a new one, because i saw an ad for an international to be played there, but also Mexico are playing one at the new Meadowlands, which i would imagine they will fill.

Are we to be invited back to defend our M.L.S. Cup ?

 

[MLS is not quite EPL]

Will be a physical (sloppy) game I would imagine... Toluca is a solid squad and should win.. But i'm hopeing the Crew take it..

Unfortunately, Toluca is in mid-season form, and you are.... well.... Let's just say I don't think any of the MLS squads are looking like a "threat" right now

But that said, please do work.

Did you actually see it happen? I had no idea what was going on until I got home and watched the replay. He cost us the game.

At the time, no. Like you, I was part of the "WTF just happened" crowd.

I would agree his actions definitely cost you the game, but I will say his red was warranted. At the time we had so many disagreements with DCU fans that were claiming Montero was a salesman, etc, etc. (he IS a salesman, by the way), but this time was a legit red by your boy Wicks there. I guess Montero got into his head? Montero must have been amazing then, because (at the time) he didn't speak English for crap.

But yes, that was a weird set of circumstances; I had never seen anything like that before.

I was looking at the new Red Bulls stadium the other night, nice little ground.
Was it just that the Giants Stadium was so empty that they wanted a new one, because i saw an ad for an international to be played there, but also Mexico are playing one at the new Meadowlands, which i would imagine they will fill.

Are we to be invited back to defend our M.L.S. Cup ?

Surprised you followed their new stadium build, that's cool man. Yeah it is looking amazing, I hope I can pull some funds together to go watch an away match there.

As far as the MLS Best game, I personally would love to see you guys return to "defend" your title... but I don't think they do repeats. You know what would make this year amazing, though? If Tottenham came this year and we beat them, with the winning goal coming from Donovan by a tap in the corner.

 

[pfim]

I was looking at the new Red Bulls stadium the other night, nice little ground.
Was it just that the Giants Stadium was so empty that they wanted a new one, because i saw an ad for an international to be played there, but also Mexico are playing one at the new Meadowlands, which i would imagine they will fill.

Are we to be invited back to defend our M.L.S. Cup ?

Giants Stadium (it's being demolished) was a dump, they actually built another stadium for the two American Football teams.

And no, it doesn't look good when MLS teams play in stadiums with 80k capacity. Internationals sell well there, but that's a different animal...plus, they played on the synthetic turf there, the ball bounces...

 

[pfim]

I understand the concern with so few people. Is it marketing? People just Patriot-mad up there? What? I mean 8k is below average, even for the teams that don't have the huge fanbases. BUT i don't blame you for having a hard time maintaining interest. especially with those damn football lines

I exaggerated, it's more like 12-14k per game. But in a stadium that seats 70k, there is no atmosphere at all.

I think a lot of the poor attendance is due to the location. It's Foxboro, hardly a booming metropolis down there. Sure, you can get 80k people do go down there 8 Sundays a year, but otherwise it's out of sight, out of mind.

I actually live in Maine, about 2 hours drive from Foxboro, so it's not like the club is right down the street.

It was good to see the two guys from Gambia the past two years, they added some excitement.

 

[Rook]

DC has great fans and when full RFK is a great stadium to watch footie, problem is its never even half full. However at least DC can pack in around 15K into RFK (50K capacity), KC (80K capacity) and New England (70K) usually get 8-10K.

Despite DCs large (for MLS) fan base the team is a threat to move. DC united says they are losing money and can't afford to survive unless they get a stadium (however all US pro sports teams say that when they are looking for public pork). There has been talk of a $150M US footie stadium in the DC suburbs in MD but due to the ecomony it was shelved, perhaps permentantly. There was also some mention of tearing down RFK and building a footie stadium on the same lot which would be the ideal location, ample parking for tailgaiting and rail access but DC is still smarting from shelling out about 700M for the Nationals baseball stadium. That stadium has done nothing for the ecomony and the area around it is still a dump. If NE and KC don't get one then they can't survive and will just be holding the MLS back. You could put Barca and Real Madrid on a pitch with NFL lines and an empty stadium and be repulsed.

There should be no more expansion until these big stadium issues are sorted out. The only big stadium that has a good atomsphere is Seattle's Quest field.

I loved Toronto's stadium despite the plastic pitch. Its the perfect size (19.5K). To be honest actually NextTurf fields aren't bad and are much better than what say Wigan had to play on over the winter

 

[Nordecke]

DC has great fans and when full RFK is a great stadium to watch footie, problem is its never even half full. However at least DC can pack in around 15K into RFK (50K capacity), KC (80K capacity) and New England (70K) usually get 8-10K.

Despite DCs large (for MLS) fan base the team is a threat to move. DC united says they are losing money and can't afford to survive unless they get a stadium (however all US pro sports teams say that when they are looking for public pork). There has been talk of a $150M US footie stadium in the DC suburbs in MD but due to the ecomony it was shelved, perhaps permentantly. There was also some mention of tearing down RFK and building a footie stadium on the same lot which would be the ideal location, ample parking for tailgaiting and rail access but DC is still smarting from shelling out about 700M for the Nationals baseball stadium. That stadium has done nothing for the ecomony and the area around it is still a dump. If NE and KC don't get one then they can't survive and will just be holding the MLS back. You could put Barca and Real Madrid on a pitch with NFL lines and an empty stadium and be repulsed.
There should be no more expansion until these big stadium issues are sorted out. The only big stadium that has a good atomsphere is Seattle's Quest field.

I loved Toronto's stadium despite the plastic pitch. Its the perfect size (19.5K). To be honest actually NextTurf fields aren't bad and are much better than what say Wigan had to play on over the winter

so true

 

[MLS is not quite EPL]

You could put Barca and Real Madrid on a pitch with NFL lines and an empty stadium and be repulsed.

Haha, that made me laugh.

There should be no more expansion until these big stadium issues are sorted out. The only big stadium that has a good atomsphere is Seattle's Quest field.

I think Toronto has a pretty good atmosphere too - you reference the stadium after but not the atmosphere.

And now, for entertainment. Which MLS team should you root for if you don't have a MLS team? (This makes little sense, but it still humorous):

[media]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ObmhpXd-SNU/S5U5zw_BiTI/AAAAAAAAAPc/O2iMjy1iWFc/s1600-h/mlsflowchart791x1024.png[/media]

Apparently I "hate" America?

 

[NHRevs]

If NE and KC don't get one then they can't survive and will just be holding the MLS back. You could put Barca and Real Madrid on a pitch with NFL lines and an empty stadium and be repulsed.

I saw Brazil v Venezuela at Gillette and was repulsed -- oh wait that was by the Brazilian supporters, nevermind.

The trouble is the Kraft's own Gillette outright and have essentially no motivation to build a second stadium.

 

[MLS is not quite EPL]

I saw Brazil v Venezuela at Gillette and was repulsed -- oh wait that was by the Brazilian supporters, nevermind.

Yeah, not a fan myself either.

The trouble is the Kraft's own Gillette outright and have essentially no motivation to build a second stadium.

I think the Krafts are horrible MLS owners; it's almost like their MLS team is an afterthought. His eyes are on Tom Brady only. I think the MLS should make a rule that no NFL owners can own a MLS team - it just introduces too much of a conflict of interest. Our league is infantile and needs owners that are 100% committed to and behind the teams - not owners distracted by NFL empires.

 

[MapleLeafEvertonian]

DC has great fans and when full RFK is a great stadium to watch footie, problem is its never even half full. However at least DC can pack in around 15K into RFK (50K capacity), KC (80K capacity) and New England (70K) usually get 8-10K.

Despite DCs large (for MLS) fan base the team is a threat to move. DC united says they are losing money and can't afford to survive unless they get a stadium (however all US pro sports teams say that when they are looking for public pork). There has been talk of a $150M US footie stadium in the DC suburbs in MD but due to the ecomony it was shelved, perhaps permentantly. There was also some mention of tearing down RFK and building a footie stadium on the same lot which would be the ideal location, ample parking for tailgaiting and rail access but DC is still smarting from shelling out about 700M for the Nationals baseball stadium. That stadium has done nothing for the ecomony and the area around it is still a dump. If NE and KC don't get one then they can't survive and will just be holding the MLS back. You could put Barca and Real Madrid on a pitch with NFL lines and an empty stadium and be repulsed.

There should be no more expansion until these big stadium issues are sorted out. The only big stadium that has a good atomsphere is Seattle's Quest field.

I loved Toronto's stadium despite the plastic pitch. Its the perfect size (19.5K). To be honest actually NextTurf fields aren't bad and are much better than what say Wigan had to play on over the winter

They have grass now for next season

 

[spikeman]

Soccer Insider - Eskandarian sidelined indefinetely

Alecko Eskandarian, a D.C. United fan favorite and MVP of the 2004 MLS Cup who was sidelined by concussions on two occasions, is taking an indefinite leave from soccer.
In an e-mail to the Insider, Eskandarian said: "As a result of injuries that I suffered, I am being forced from the game of soccer at this time. I have not been able to receive clearance by doctors, and therefore I must take a step back to focus on my health and recovery. This has been a very frustrating and disheartening realization for me, and I don't think the reality of it has set in yet. However, after consulting with several doctors, it is clear that I have no other option at this point in time."
Keep reading.....
Eskandarian, 27, starred at the University of Virginia and was drafted first overall by United in 2003. He scored 10 regular season goals the following year and helped United win the MLS title with a two-goal performance in the final against Kansas City.
However, in a midseason match against New England the following year, he suffered a concussion in a collision with goalkeeper Matt Reis and didn't return until the next season. After scoring seven league goals in 2006, he was traded to Toronto and later moved to Real Salt Lake, Chivas USA and Los Angeles.
With the Galaxy last summer, he was performing well until he suffered a broken nose and concussion during a friendly with AC Milan. Since then, he has been receiving treatment and visiting specialists.
"I want to thank my family, friends, teammates and the L.A. Galaxy for being supportive throughout this whole process, as it has not been easy," he said. "And I want to especially thank the fans for all their great support throughout my career. This is an extremely sad day for me because soccer has been an integral part of all 27 years of my life, but I will do my best to remain optimistic while on this road toward a full recovery."
Although he didn't use the word "retire," Eskandarian seems unlikely to play again and has explored other career opportunities. He will not be included on the Galaxy's roster this season.