[Matte]

I am from Europe i know and see how good the biggest leagues in Europe are i even see alot of games form Premierleague, Scottish league, Serie A, Primera in Spain, French League, Belgian league, Bundesliga in germany, the dutch league in Holland, the scandinavian leagues except the Finnish league and the icelandinc one.

I even see some few things from the Leagues in Brazil Argentina and the southamerica in general.
They report more from clubs like Sao paulo than they report from MLS league.

In fact i know almost nothing of the league wich players is good any new talents from the clubs youth team at all.

so i have wrote together a asking list wich i hope you can asnwer me on.

Okay here we go go

1 Wich team have the most fans in general (even outside their own home state or city.) ??

2 Wich of the teams have the best youth from the own club

3 do the clubs have B teams in the way we have in Europe like Barcelona B. There younger players can play their way thru to the A Team??

4 Do the clubs have a well fuctioned infrastructure like many clubs in the highest level have in Europe.

5 Do the Clubs in the MLS have official supporteclubs backed up by the motherclub??

6 How is the league structure now or do they plan to have two leagues with possible relegation to a division lower like we have in Europe??

7 Is the interest for MLS increasing or decreasing??

I think i had more questions but i maybe take them later.
I hope you can answer me on my questions


Seeya

 

[deejay]

The league is single entity. This means that though the teams have different owners. Decisions are made at a board of the team's owners. The teams have a limit on the number of players they can hire and a limit on salary. This results in a league which is very even across the board as far as the level of the teams is concerned.

MLS does not have a well developed youth system yet. Most players are picked from the well organized youth and college leagues that abound across the US, although these lack in good coaching. There is a second tier of professional soccer called the A-league. There are also three other "developmental" leagues.

There is no easy way to compare MLS to other leagues. First of all most leagues have two to five teams which are better then all th rest. Second, MLS has no promotion/relegation. Third, MLS has a lot less teams than most leagues. Finally, the MLS has few players per team, approximately 20. The best way IMO is to see how regular MLS players do when playing in other leagues. However most of these are defenders!

Goalkeepers seem to be the leagues strong point. One MLS substitute is now a starter in one of Chile's best teams. Obviously Keller and Friedel are doing quite well in England. Also some other goalies have done quite well in English 1st divsion.

Defenders seem to mostly start in lower level 1st Bundesliga teams. Also one MLS defender is now starting in Vanney of FRance. Since most defenders in the US national team are MLS and not european based I'd have to say that these Euro-based players are about MLS average. This would have to be around lower end 1st Bundesliga.

Midfield is probably the weakest area in the MLS. Most of the better MLS midfielders are aging South American stars. Valderrama, Etcheverry, Stoikovich, Pareja, etc. A few who do stand out are Beasley, Convey, Mathis and Donovan, although Donovan's contract belongs to Bayern Leverkusen. No midfielder has gone from MLS to Europe that I can remember. Second, most of the national team midfielders have played many years in Europe.

Offensive also is a bit weak however we have quite a few young players that will be stars. MLS did have a truely great forward who was sold to the English Premier League where he does quite well (I forgot his name!). Currently the Colombian Serna, and the Guatemalan Ruiz are the best forwards though the young 18 yr olds Johnson and Quaranta are destined to be in the the US national team.

In general, the level of MLS is definitely better then the average 2nd Bundesliga or Belgian teams. Might be equivalent to the average French or Dutch side or the better 1st English Division sides.

 

[colocolo]

The MLS is a mediocre League in ALL aspects . Period . :lala:

 

[deejay]

The MLS is a mediocre League in ALL aspects . Period . :lala:

Care to explain why?

 

[CrewWall]

MLS, better than what was around in 1995. Personally, I think the level of play does get a little better each year.

 

[Viking64]

In fact i know almost nothing of the league wich players is good any new talents from the clubs youth team at all.

so i have wrote together a asking list wich i hope you can asnwer me on.

Okay here we go go

1 Wich team have the most fans in general (even outside their own home state or city.) ??
>
LA Galaxy, because they had Jorge Campos and Mauricio Cienfuegos from the start. And Cobi Jones, the most recognizable player for the US.

2 Wich of the teams have the best youth from the own club
>
teams don't control youth clubs, really. There is some effort to get MLS coaching onto "select" and "club" teams, which is the competitive teams in competitive youth leagues, ages 15 to 19.

3 do the clubs have B teams in the way we have in Europe like Barcelona B. There younger players can play their way thru to the A Team??

4 Do the clubs have a well fuctioned infrastructure like many clubs in the highest level have in Europe.
>
Not sure what you mean by infrastructure. If you mean personnel, like players growing up with the club, no. If you mean front office and stadium, that's different. Depends on the City

5 Do the Clubs in the MLS have official supporteclubs backed up by the motherclub??
>
To my knowledge, no supporters groups are official. Every MLS team has at least one supporters group (we have 3 in Dallas), that is self-operated, governed, etc. Most operate web pages, fanzines, and organize in and outside stadium activity.

6 How is the league structure now or do they plan to have two leagues with possible relegation to a division lower like we have in Europe??
>
Not likely, ever.
7 Is the interest for MLS increasing or decreasing??
>
Attendence in each city is going up, slowly. The long term picture is good, and as each stadium gets built, it gets better. The league average is about 16,000 now, for regular season games. The TV ratings are stagnant. MLS is re-working their media system, and so far it looks promising. the US doing well in the WC would be helpful.
Seeya

Some people will never be convinced that MLS is a tough league to play in.

 

[I am PZ]

Why is it that everyone wants to compare the MLS with other leagues? Bottom line is, we have professional footie in this country and there are quite a few that enjoy watching and going to the matches. If thats not good enough, so what? It's not like fans in countries not named England, Germany, Italy or Spain don't watch their local teams cuz they aren't as good as some other league.

 

[colocolo]

The MLS is as good or better than the World Cup, otherwise we woulnt have it while the Magna event takes place...............................Don't You See That ??

:lala::lala::lala::lala::lala::lala: