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Right... They really need to split the league into two, and do relegation/delegation. And to stop adding teams left and right.
It’s still not going to replicate the UK thing where every town has their football team and there are a half dozen tiers with promotion and relegation between them. I have to drive an hour to see the New England Revolution at Gillette. In the UK, I’d be going a few miles to support my local team at 3:00 every Saturday.
Look at population vs attendance data. In the UK, it’s not unusual for 10% of a small city to show up to a soccer match on a Saturday. New England is 13 million people and the Revolution barely fill the lower bowl at Gillette on a good weather Saturday night.
I understand that feeling! I just do not understand the rapid expansion MLS has been undertaking. But what do I know???
Population-wise, the US is a much larger nation than most of the countries with prominent football leagues, so on that scale we can support larger leagues (even with a lower level of enthusiasm). What needs to scale up is the academy systems, so we get a proportionate level of quality.
Right... They really need to split the league into two, and do relegation/delegation. And to stop adding teams left and right.
The "relegation" system in the MLS is to not make the playoffs. In a way, it reflects the differences between US and European history. Relegation is a class-based system, where teams know their place and rarely rise above it. In contrast, the MLS is more optimistic and lets teams achieve a higher level every year just by applying some extra effort. The MLS really should increase the prize money though, so there's more of an incentive.
I try and watch MLS when it starts every season and I just can't get into it. Not sure how well it's growing. They keep adding new teams and it feels as though i's diluting a league already low on quality? I try and watch it each season and fall away by the fourth match or so. The quality just isn't there yet.
Well there is a lot and I mean a lot of soccer talent globally. And attendance at games from I can tell is pretty good. The stadiums dont fit as much as an NFL, but get filled close enough to capacity. Plus NFL plays 8 home games, and like 2 preseason. MLS will play like 20+ home games. So dont need to cram everyone in at once. Plus the season has no competition except for baseball. That is the smartest move MLS made.
I could get behind that! MLS League 1 and MLS League 2. I'm sure some marketing firm would develop was cooler names, and in no time it would be the Nike League X or the Under Armor League Y. But that would be fun.
There are 29 teams currently. What you can do is go back to top 20 teams in the top division MLS. The bottom 9 teams will join the USL championship. But all the USL Championship teams with subpar stadiums will be relegated to USL Div 1. And promotion/relegation can only happen between MLS and USL Championship.
It’s still not going to replicate the UK thing where every town has their football team and there are a half dozen tiers with promotion and relegation between them. I have to drive an hour to see the New England Revolution at Gillette. In the UK, I’d be going a few miles to support my local team at 3:00 every Saturday.
Look at population vs attendance data. In the UK, it’s not unusual for 10% of a small city to show up to a soccer match on a Saturday. New England is 13 million people and the Revolution barely fill the lower bowl at Gillette on a good weather Saturday night.
Britain is known for having great football from EPL down to the lowest leagues
Population-wise, the US is a much larger nation than most of the countries with prominent football leagues, so on that scale we can support larger leagues (even with a lower level of enthusiasm). What needs to scale up is the academy systems, so we get a proportionate level of quality.
But with lower population densities. And if you compare area to area, Europe still has way more pro teams. Even when you break down by country/city, many cities have two big teams, and the nearest city will likely have two as well.
For example Liverpool, and Manchester both have two. They are next door. London has like 6 teams. Milan has two major teams. Torino has two as well. Then close by Genoa, and Marseille have one each. Rome has two teams. Madrid has two; Barcelona has two; Valencia has two. All the cities in between each of these major cities has its own teams.
For example Liverpool, and Manchester both have two. They are next door. London has like 6 teams. Milan has two major teams. Torino has two as well. Then close by Genoa, and Marseille have one each. Rome has two teams. Madrid has two; Barcelona has two; Valencia has two. All the cities in between each of these major cities has its own teams.
Burnley, Blackburn, and Preston are all 10 miles apart. Newcastle and Sunderland are less than 10 miles apart. In the UK, every town has a football team. It might be semi pro and in a local league but there’s a team and football at 3pm every Saturday. It’s not just the big money teams that qualify for Champions League. And London has way more than 6 teams. There are 7 just in the Premier League. Two in Championship. One on League One. Three in League Two. Four in National. That’s 17. A bunch of smaller teams in the lower leagues. There are other teams inside the M25 like Watford that aren’t within the London city limits that I’m not counting.
Burnley, Blackburn, and Preston are all 10 miles apart. Newcastle and Sunderland are less than 10 miles apart. In the UK, every town has a football team. It might be semi pro and in a local league but there’s a team and football at 3pm every Saturday. It’s not just the big money teams that qualify for Champions League. And London has way more than 6 teams. There are 7 just in the Premier League. Two in Championship. One on League One. Three in League Two. Four in National. That’s 17. A bunch of smaller teams in the lower leagues. There are other teams inside the M25 like Watford that aren’t within the London city limits that I’m not counting.
Soccer has no competition in Britain aside from maybe Rugby. I always wondered how British can watch so much soccer. I think its probably because its almost exclusively watched live, and it turns into a sort of massive local social gathering. Britain is very dense, and everything is packed together. The fans likely just go out and walk to the stadiums, stop and shop on their way, and that is how they do community/socializing.
America does not have that. People have to drive over, so no interaction. So I dont know how or why US needs that many teams. US does have a lot of teams if you look at the USL. Most metros have a team.
Soccer has no competition in Britain aside from maybe Rugby. I always wondered how British can watch so much soccer. I think its probably because its almost exclusively watched live, and it turns into a sort of massive local social gathering. Britain is very dense, and everything is packed together. The fans likely just go out and walk to the stadiums, stop and shop on their way, and that is how they do community/socializing.
America does not have that. People have to drive over, so no interaction. So I dont know how or why US needs that many teams. US does have a lot of teams if you look at the USL. Most metros have a team.
So you’re saying you can’t imagine how it could be better to drive a couple of miles to watch a football match in person with thousands of people from your city than to sit in your living room watching some corporate-owned sports franchise play a game in a stadium 50 miles from your house?
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