I could imagine being an MLS fan again, but it would require divestment of the ownership of my local team (it's not Montreal, that was a protest action more than a decade ago and I don't think it's editable anymore). NWSL has some very entertaining teams these days.
Wrexham fans Anti-MLS fans who are still obsessed with the league USWNT casuals who think the men are legitimately terrible NASL oldsters who claim it was a golden age and…soccer fans! Yes. Some here actually just like the sport without all the baggage.
This is a really good point. I think something that is also being missed is that the other clubs, the ones who aren't being charged with cooking the books, are watching the prems response as well. If nothing happens, or it's a slap on the wrist, the other clubs would be pretty upset and may look into their own legal options.
He said MLS is the least popular league ... and that's not true at all. Outside of Barca/Real and select Bayern matches, MLS is quite a bit ahead in TV ratings over Bundesliga/LaLiga. EPL and LigaMX are the only leagues that regularly get higher ratings than MLS. He's not even close to anything remotely near being right. just imagine if serie a la liga bundesliga epl time slots were in evening prime time in usa mls would be destroyed same way world cup in time zone beats world cups in euro or other time zones
Anti-MLS fans overlap with some others just as the anti-US fans. But point is that the soccer landscape in this country is very broken and divided. Some want things done their way, others don't want to be associated with "minor leagues", others refuse to embrace the country they were born and raised in and prefer their roots and I can keep on going. Never ending story.
It's always been that way. Every time we get a national professional soccer league we end up with infighting.
The gatekeeping attempts by some soccer fans and even the media in this country is mind numbing. Soccer fans (and some members of the soccer "media") in the US are like the indie band fans.... as soon as it becomes mainstream they immediately start hating on it.
so you agree if euro leagues are being played in prime time slots like mls mls would be destroyed, prime example is mx league they routinely destroy mls in prime time slots
You could also argue that he's saying USL C is more popular. All of us are excluding something from his comparison, you just draw the line somewhere different than I do.
Bundesliga and Serie A ratings were generally quite low when they were being regularly tracked on cable, so I doubt prime time would help much. Prime time EPL “relegation thrillers” wouldn’t move the needle either.
It does happen. If the Italians can kick Juventus out of Serie A, the Premier League could certainly relegate Man City. If they went bankrupt, they'd certainly be gone, and would have to start again at some low level.
Nobody cares if Man City gets kicked out of the Premier League except Man City fans. There's no reason the League would "protect" them. They're not some sort of cash cow that the PL is milking. The TV companies and sponsors aren't going to ask for their money back if City are relegated.
I understand the frustration of some supporters and media members in the amount of time being taken on the investigation. The EPL and FA are in a bit of a pickle here though. IF the allegations against Man City are true, what would be a fair and just punishment? Man City, as long as CFG is funded by the Mansour family, isn't going to go broke. Would fines and transfer bans/restrictions be enough to dissuade other clubs from skirting/bending the rules? If they boot them from the EPL, and possibly the football league is that too harsh a step? What kind of message does that send to the power broker clubs in the EPL? Would that just puch those huge clubs to say F it and create a true breakaway league? If there is one thing the uber rich don't like being told, is HOW they can spend their money. Not to mention what happens to all of the star players on Man City's payroll? Ultimately the EPL and FA need to do their due diligence here in order to get the process and ultimate decisions "correct."
Man City aren't a Barcelona, a PSG or a Bayern. Nobody would really miss them if they were relegated. Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham are the four big clubs. Whatever happens to those clubs they'll always be considered a big club. 3 of them have been relegated since the 1950s. Behind them are a bunch of teams that have rotated in and out of the "big six". These include Manchester City, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Everton (maybe West Ham are in there). City have more money than the others...today. They're only a major marketing draw to overseas fans who've only started watching z English soccer in the last 10-15 years. The Scottish Premier League managed to survive without Rangers, who generate over 40% of their revenue for 5 seasons. Nobody, including the Premier League, really cares if City go AWOL for a few seasons. League revenue will stay the same, it will just be split among the other clubs.
Ok I stand corrected. There has been the occasional Yank at one or the other Glasgow clubs and that’s how I’ve followed this.
I think the bolded part is probably correct, but I wonder whether you are the best person to make this argument, since you have previously stated that you think TV ratings are made-up guesses.
But that goes for a lot of countries, yet still domestic leagues thrive. If you look at the Bosnian TV ratings for instance, you'll probably find that domestic league games are dwarfed by the big Serie A, Bundesliga and Premier League match ups. And good luck finding a pub in Ireland or Wales that's showing a football match from anything but the Premier League on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.