Photo courtesy of Orlando City SC
By FRANCO PANIZO
MLS might be adamant about New York City becoming the next expansion team in 2016, but that is not stopping Orlando City from having high hopes of joining the league before then.
In their second fan forum of the year, Orlando City announced that they are still targeting 2015 as a start date to join MLS. Club president Phil Rawlins stated that MLS has told them that the proposed second team in the New York City market is no sure thing, and Orlando City even showed some early renderings (photo above) of what their proposed 18,000-seat stadium would look like.
“There’s going to be a limited amount of slots for MLS expansion,” said Rawlins. “We want to make sure Orlando is at the front of that list and we get one of those slots.”
Orlando City also announced that they hope to secure a stadium deal within the next six months and a pair of 2013 friendlies. The USL Pro club is set to host Michael Bradley and AS Roma on Jan. 2 and they will also take on a Brazilian side to be identified next summer.
Here are more stories from around the soccer world:
BRADFORD ELIMINATES ARSENAL IN CARLING CUP
If Arsenal was surprised when Bradford took the lead in their Capital One Cup quarterfinals match, they must have been in a complete state of shock when the game was over. Arsenal suffered a shocking penalty kick defeat to League Two outfit Bradford on Tuesday, falling 3-2 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw. Bradford went up in the 16th minute before Thomas Vermaelen equalized late to send the game into extra time and penalty kicks, where Bradford came out on top.
FULHAM WITHDRAW DEMPSEY COMPLAINT
Fulham have moved on from their Clint Dempsey saga. The Cottagers officially withdrew the complaint they made against Liverpool this past summer in regards to what they felt were inappropriate actions surrounding the transfer interest of Dempsey. Liverpool chairman Tom Werner issued a personal apology to Fulham, stating that his club was fully responsible for unprofessional behavior.
CORINITHIANS REACH CLUB WORLD CUP FINAL
Al-Ahly’s impressive run at the FIFA Club World Cup has come to an end while Corinthians have kept their dreams alive. Corinthians defeated the African club, 1-0, on Wednesday to advance to the FIFA Club World Cup final. The Brazilian outfit will face the winner of the other semifinals match between Monterrey and Chelsea.
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What do you think of Orlando City targeting 2015 as MLS start date? How surprised were you by Arsenal’s loss? Do you see Corinthians winning the FIFA Club World Cup?
Share your thoughts below.
Relocate Chivas USA to Anaheim or Orange County. It’d give a real rivalry with the Galaxy, wouldn’t take another club spot, and almost always has great weather.
Relocate Chivas USA to Orlando and still have NY2 as the 20th franchise! Win-win-win!
I love what Orlando has going on, but I can’s see MLS putting a franchise in another non Metropolitan city. MLS has made it very clear that there focus shifts toward signing big names more than developing every year. You really think Kaka is going to leave Madrid for Orlando? Never going to happen.
It’s amazing to me how people don’t realize that just because you can fill a stadium, doesn’t mean you should have an mls team. Ticket revenue is a very low level issue.
If you sell out a stadium, it is a sign that the franchise will stay alive. If youre Chivas USA or DC United and cant get butts in the seats, you shouldnt be around. NUMBERS ARE EVERYTHING. Every seat filled is likely a Ticket, Concession, and more than likely merchandise sale. Thats how to keep a team afloat
Numbers are everything. But you make more off tv deals than attendance. Sporting KC has an awesome stadium and awesome crowd. They also have the lowest average ticket price in the league. Portland also has amazing crowds, but their cheapest seats start at $5. Just because there’s a person in a seat, doesn’t mean that you’re making money. It’s all about box seats and tv deals, not general admission.
I take it you own a soccer franchise somewhere.
I don’t own a franchise yet. Lol. But it just amzes me how people don’t pick up on such obvious details. You honestly think that the MLS isn’t aware of Tampa or Orlando or Miami? They clearly know about them and have repeatedly chosen other franchises instead.
It’s also pretty obvious to me that the MLS is relatively uninterested in aggressively persuing a latin fan base.
The biggest thing South Florida has going for it is that Euro and Latin players would love to live and party there. That’s the real angle for getting a team. It has very little to do with attendance. Every move the MLS has made in the last few years is designed to create regional tv audiences and draw foreign stars.
NY2 is essential because it’s an easy sell to players. Fans will follow.
“It’s also pretty obvious to me that the MLS is relatively uninterested in aggressively persuing a latin fan base.”
MLS is uninterested in aggressively pursuing any fan base that refuses to show up at MLS games.
It doesn’t matter if there are huge numbers of Latin American fans in Miami if they are only interested in following their old clubs back home, and disdain MLS.
And a lot of those Latin American fans in Miami are baseball fans, anyway, not soccer fans.
“The biggest thing South Florida has going for it is that Euro and Latin players would love to live and party there. That’s the real angle for getting a team. It has very little to do with attendance.”
Hilarious.
So MLS is going to lose millions of dollars playing in front of empty stadiums in Miami, just because Euro and Latin players want to hang out and party on the beach in Miami.
Fabulous. Put you in charge of a business and it will be bankrupt within a week.
mls must stop at 20 or risk further alienating the traditional fan. It will be their death knell if they go over 20
Orlando City should join NASL.
I agree. I am a native Florididan living in LA, but I still think the MLS would be insane to take a risk on another Florida team. They barely support the pro teams they already have. I think the state as a whole could provide a large enough television market for it to be considered, but almost every Florida pro sports team struggles. With the disaster that is happening with the Marlins and their stadium, I think getting a sufficient stadium built would be an enormous challenge. I don’t see any reason why the MLS wouldn’t require any Florida hopeful to prove themselves further in a lower division first.
All that being said, I can see Beckham exercising his option in Miami, but I think it would be a major risk.
Numbers dont lie:
70K for AC Milan vs Chelsea (Sell out)
70k for Barca vs Chivas (Sell out)
20k for Honduras vs Jamaica (less than 1k tickets remaining)
14k for Nigeria vs Venezuela (Nearly sold out)
5-7k for the Strikers vs ANYONE
Fact is, If people in South Florida think something is going to be important, Theyll sell it out. MLS in SoFla will sell out.
I think that has more to do with it being a unique event. I have zero faith that stadiums in South Florida, especially Miami will still be full if the team is sitting mid/bottom of the table. Miami has the most fair weather sports fans across all sports.
“mls must stop at 20 or risk further alienating the traditional fan. It will be their death knell if they go over 20”
What the hell does this even mean??
FTL and Tampa need back into the MLS. Whether its mutiny vs fusion or strikers vs rowdies, the SE US needs clubs. OC$C needs to realize that if they go MLS, they need a built in fanbase. If they don’t win, they’ll be just another Atlanta silverbacks. They only draw well because they win.
Not, “whether” because two of those names suck.
Decent: Strikers, Mutiny
Awful: Fusion, Rowdies
You seem to be a knowitall who doesn’t.
Rowdies is a great name with a great history. It was a mistake of MLS to attempt to erase the USA’s soccer history and create new team names.
And the Ft. Lauderale Strikers is equally historic. The fact that a team with the moniker “Miami” was playing in Ft. Lauderdale really didn’t help with the marketing. And then again the product on field stunk.
Also for what it’s worth the Strikers are now actively seeking to build a new stadium or significantly modernize/renovate Lockhart Stadium. If they can pull it off it would surely put them firmly in place as the centerpiece of any South Florida MLS revival.
MLS is not adding a team called Ft. Lauderdale anything, no matter how nice the stadium. Miami or bust.
It’s New York, not Harrison. LA, not Carson. Dallas, not Frisco. Chicago, KC, etc. etc.
***”MLS is not adding a team called Ft. Lauderdale anything, no matter how nice the stadium. Miami or bust.”***
Bull$h1t.
Try this: “MLS is not adding a team called San Jose anything, no matter how nice the stadium. San Francisco (or Oakland) or bust.”
Same difference.
Ft. Lauderdale has consistently proven it can draw more paying soccer fans then Miami can. It did so in the 1970s, and it is doing so today.
24 teams is just the right number for MLS to stop at IMO. They can add the second NY team, as stupid as it is, and then still hit 4 additional markets and increase the national footprint.
If they come back to SOUTH Florida there is only one choice, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Would only be right to have the Tampa Bay Rowdies too. One of the best pro soccer rivalries in the history of American soccer(and the best rivalry ever in any pro sport between Florida teams for that matter), and two soccer markets that were among the most respected in the nation until MLS made an absolute mess of things in the 90s. With Orlando in the mix we could have a great 3 way Florida derby.
So you want MLS to stop at 24, meaning add 4 more teams after NY2, and you want THREE OF THE FOUR in Florida? When there are no MLS teams in Atlanta, Minnesota, St. Louis, Indy, Detroit, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, SF, Nashville, San Antonio, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Ottawa, etc. etc. put 3/4 new teams in Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale (not even Miami lol), and Tampa???
Brilliant post. Absolutely no bias there.
Glad to see people realizing that St. Louis needs to have a team. The town is sports crazy, it gives Chicago and KC a real rivalry( they hate us because the Cardinals are always good). And most importantly, the people here love futbol, we have a history of it. The ’50s team that beat England was mainly a St. Louis team. We have a growing Latino community and the largest Bosnian/ Croatian population in the country. The Busch family has a famous youth program in the city that would nicely convert into an academy if they would pony up the money for a team.
can we agree that 24 teams be the benchline for a decade or so? NY2, Orlando, St.Louis, Atlanta, Miami, Mnneapolis, Raleigh, SF can all fight for those 5 spots.
Wow, Orlando City had a meeting. With a picture. Golf clap to them for the big achievement.
How about they play a season or two in the 2nd division before they talk about jumping to the 1st? The USL leagues are a goofy little joke that lives on the turnover of the poor saps who pay franchise fees.
At least give that Rawlins ass some more time to flame out there and sneak out in the middle of the night, the way he did down in Austin.
hahaha there is virtually no difference between them other than fifa had to say one was 2 and one 3. oh and orlando city beat Newcastle United, not their scrubs either
Garber is focused on NY2 as the 20th, but reality is that MLS would probably expand anywhere at any time as long as there is: (i) super rich owner(s) with stable wealth, (ii) a good tv/soccer market, and (iii) solid stadium plans with the financing and land in place. The only caveat is that NY2 will substantially increase the value of the league and will almost certainly raise the entry cost for expansion teams wanting to buy in. That is why he is pushing NY2 now and why Orlando and other cities will probably have to stand in line for a bit longer.
This. My God, reason and logic on the internet?!? I never thought I’d live to see the day.
Do you guys even think about scheduling….with 28 games that is 56 games , add cup games you might end up with ov 60 gams a year. Not with this cap and rosters as you need more players for a long season. Season would have to start in February and finish in December , good luck playing that months in NE,NY and Toronto.
Balanced schedules are already gone bro, an they’re not coming back. Those who oppose expansion beyond 20 seem to forget this minor detail….
@2tone: Why stop at 28. I will not be happy until MLS has 100 teams! Here’s a quick list by population:
New York
Los Angeles
Chicago
Houston
Philadelphia
Phoenix
San Diego
San Antonio
Dallas
San Jose
Detroit
Jacksonville
Indianapolis
San Francisco
Columbus
Austin
Memphis
Baltimore
Fort Worth
El Paso
Milwaukee
Charlotte
Seattle
Boston
Denver
Washington
Portland
Nashville-Davidson
Las Vegas
Oklahoma City
Tucson
Long Beach
Albuquerque
New Orleans
Fresno
Sacramento
Cleveland
Kansas City
Mesa
Virginia Beach
Atlanta
Oakland
Omaha
Tulsa
Honolulu
Miami
Minneapolis
Colorado Springs
Arlington
Wichita
Santa Ana
Anaheim
St. Louis
Tampa
Pittsburgh
Raleigh
Cincinnati
Toledo
Aurora
Riverside
Bakersfield
Buffalo
Newark
Corpus Christi
St. Paul
Anchorage
Stockton
Lexington-Fayette
St. Petersburg
Plano
Louisville
Lincoln
Norfolk
Jersey City
Glendale
Birmingham
Henderson
Greensboro
Hialeah
Baton Rouge
Chandler
Scottsdale
Garland
Madison
Rochester
Chesapeake
Chula Vista
Paradise
Modesto
Akron
Lubbock
Fremont
Laredo
Glendale
Fort Wayne
Durham
Orlando
Reno
Montgomery
Yonkers
The Raleigh v Durham Derby has a lot of potential.
I live in BAton Rouge. maybe I could be in the starting XI. the team could make Toronto FC look like Barcelona
If we have MLS2 and then maybe a regional MLS3 with pro/rel this isn’t that ridiculous. Well ok maybe a little ridiculous but still. There are a lot of places that could support an MLS club. I don’t know what the tv ratings would be for Lubbock v. Yonkers though.
If MLS moves to 24 teams get rid of the playoffs and absolutely no more Canadian teams. 3 is more than enough.
I still want Vegas as an expansion team, I think you would get ton more supports traveling. I think then that you would start to see more supporters traveling every where. RSL, LA, CHIVAS would come out in droves, plus Seattle and Portland would be there every time. Then if you did decide to expand into Phoenix, you would get tons of people out. Vegas is a huge town as it is, they would have more than enough people to support it out there. I just think it is really important to create rivalries that are close together. I think we should eventually go to Florida, but nobody is even close to them to be their rivals. I love to create more of a culture of traveling supporters in this league.
+1
Vegas, like Miami is tough because the population is based on tourism and a revolving group of residents. It’d be hard to get a foundation growing. But they have shown they are interested..
You are correct. As an RSL fan, I would go to every game in Vegas.
The only Vegas team other than the Rebels that hasn’t died has been AAA Baseball and its just hanging on. Everything else has died quickly. I remember being at a Mexican exhibition game in the summer. Attendance was low and it was OVER 120 degrees on the pitch. You’ve got to be kidding, expecting someone to play in that heat.
Who would be crazy enough to spend 3 or 4 hundred million for an enclosed stadium only to have the team fold in a couple of years. Chivas USA gets better support than a team in Vegas would. Just to let everyone know I like Vegas. I have family there and I’m there on a semi regular basis. I know the town and I’m familiar with the fans. Rebels and the NFR (10 days once a year) and that’s about it, everything else has died quickly.
MLS should expand to 28 teams. 14 teams per division. Play all of the teams twice in each specific division which turns out to be 26 games, and then play 7 teams twice from the opposite division which comes to 12 games for a total of 38 games for each team. Then have playoffs and a championship game. 8 teams from each division make the playoffs.
East Coast:
Philly
New England
DC
NJ Red Bulls
NY Cosmos
Chicago
Saint Louis
Toronto
Montreal
Atlanta
Orlando City
Ft. Lauderdale
Nashville
Carolina
West Coast:
LA Galaxy
Chivas USA
Seattle
Portland
Houston
Dallas
Colorado
RSL
Vancouver
Sporting KC
San Jose
Pheonix
San Antonio
Edmonton
Actually replace Nashville with Minnesota.
agreed. but 28 seems too many. Cap it at 24 and the rest can be 2nd division teams. Though would be interesting to see Vegas get a team. Maybe a CSI plug in?
Vegas? Sorry, but if it doesn’t say UNLV and play at the Mack, it will get just about zero support. Too many other teams have tried and died to risk spending 1 to 2 hundred million on a stadium and then have the team fold in a couple of years.
No
Replace Fort Lauderdale
I hear Edmonton is wonderful in November, you can’t be serious.
Yeah even more funny than not including Minnesota is putting a ton of new teams in the southeast which has zero now for a reason but none in the west/sw (SF, San Diego, Sacramento, Vegas, Phoenix), and Edminton but not Ottawa, the last viable Canadian market. But hey pulling lists out of orifices is fun!
SF and Phoenix for sure needs to be considered. Maybe Vegas but why Ottawa?
It’s the fourth biggest market in Canada.
I loveeeeeee it. bFoFort Lauderdale, Nashville and Edmonton?
MLS is growing. Raise that salary cap to $5million in 5years. We are on our way to having the best league outside of Europe in a decade or 2. Loads of talented youth players. Thy just need encouragement to stick with the game. Having a miminum of 100K a yeae helps that. No talented 15yr old wanta to play if they think all they will get is a 35K a year on a 5year contract. No wonder they all go to Scandinavia or join basketball teams. No more NASL ruin fears. MLS is here to stay.
Seriously, it would be pants-on-head retarded for the league to wait until NY2 can join the fray if Orlando is ready before it. At the very least, Orlando joins at the same time as NY2.
I do not think that the MLS should, and will ,expand beyond 20 teams. There is a FIFA policy that only suggests that 1st Division Leagues reamin around 20 teams. This is more of a guideline, but FIFA does not take kindly to Federations who ignore their guidelines..
The MLS season is extending into DECEMBER, which a lot of people are worried that this is much too late as it impinges on the College Bowl season, and other sport franchise seasons, such as NHL Hockey, NBA basketball and of course, the NFL season.
In addition, the popularity of soccer means that we will have ongoing Bif Summer Friendlies, in addition to the US Open Cup and the Concacaf Champions League. The MLS does not have deep rosters compared to Mexico and by having a very long seson with numerous games outside of MLS League games, it really stretches and puts a lot of pressure on some teams. An example id the LA Galaxy, as good as they are, they played 3 out of 4 CCL games with their reserve team. Maybe it’s why they were able to advance and retain the MLS cup?
I think it’s time the MLS starts to consider a lower division “MLS” League (Minor League Soccer, anyone) This will allow promotion/ relegation, like the rest of FIFA, but more importantly, allow MLS expansion without impacting the already crowded schedule. MLS-2 will allow expansion into other markets and it will also retain a current investor/owners investment if/when they are relegated.
20th team should be in Florida or St.Louis or Atlanta but instead a 2nd NY club
relegation wont work for MLS at least until it is a major sport nationwide but thats not doable for 20-30years. But yes MLS should have a proper 2nd division. Perhaps 12-16 teams with say an abundance of MLS reserve players and college players.
Can someone explain why pro/rel won’t work? Within 15-20, we could have 40 teams easily in MLS/MLS2 with pro/rel.
Seems to me like the same sort of thinking that led MLS to debut with countdown clocks and breakaway shootouts. This works elsewhere and soccer fans by and large support it. And it makes sense here because there are way more than 20, 24 or even 32 markets that can support a professional team.
millions of dollara at stake. An American audience unfamiliar with the concept. in 40years sure but i doubt relegation could ever work within 20years
Do you really think soccer fans are “unfamiliar” with pro/rel? Maybe some casual fans but I don’t think it’s an alien concept to soccer fans at all. I find these arguments, the usual ones against pro/rel, totally unconvincing.
Attendance may decline following relegation but that hardly seems like a reason not to have it. And attendance should increase at promoted clubs.
Plus a robust MLS 2 would provide a great place for younger players to develop, helping to solve a major problem in our development system.
When 20-25 years from now you could easily have 40+ markets supporting an MLS/MLS2 club it seems counterproductive not to have it.
And when the MLS Team 2 in NY gets relagated how many fans do you think will follow and pay to watch the team? Or Dallas FC is in the second tier for a couple of years? Or Houston or LA? There are too many other sports options unlike “everywhere”. Everywhere does not have any other home town pro sports teams to compete with. This is reality in the U.S. we are not like everywhere else. Relagation will kill MLS.
I agree with this comment. The current system of investment affects movement to pro/rel. I’m sure that the original owners that (thankfully) bought into MLS were told other countries have pro/rel, but did not really expect that this system would be used here. They may not have put in the start-up money. Pro/rel may come in the distant future, but currently the top league in a country the size of the USA would have to ask for permission to go beyond the FIFA 20 team limit. Many of the Euro countries we are looking at are the same size as a US state like NY, CA, or TX, with multiple league levels in each.
MLS have already said it would expand beyond 20 teams, so FIFA has already given the Okay to MLS. Also the fact that MLS would be able to buy more talent, I don’t think the quality of the league would go down.
Every time someone advances this silly “MLS can’t/won’t expand beyond 20 teams because FIFA is agin’ it” agrument, God kills a kitten.
Seriously, enough with this stupidity. The FIFA preference has to do with a balanced home-and-away schedule; FIFA want fewer teams because fewer teams (for leagues with balanced schedules) means fewer games, which leaves more spots open for the FIFA international calendar.
None of this applies to MLS because MLS has an unbalanced schedule. The number of teams in MLS has nothing to do with the length of the MLS schedule.
Stop it already. For the sake of the kittens.
That’s a nice looking stadium. Red White & Blue…look out Columbus and KC!
Quite a big deal for Bradford, and not just for punching around a hapless Arsenal team. Bradford’s chairman said that the match yesterday wiped out half the club’s debts. Now, moving on to the next round, should take care of the rest. These cup competitions are just for giant killing, they can be commercial lifelines to the low rung clubs.
*aren’t just for*
Early Xmas gift for the club
Orlando will always be looking for the earliest opportunity to enter MLS. The fans recognize that the league wants NYC2 first, but that is far from a certainty. The league also wants representation in the Southeast, and Orlando has the most tangible all-around effort in pursuit of that goal.
Atlanta’s best chance is Arthur Blank, and he isn’t even trying right now — he is more concerned with replacing the Georgia Dome (which seems fine to me).
I think you might have missed the point of Arthur Blank wanting a new stadium for the falcons. One of the feature that he him self has put forth was that the stadium could house an mls soccer team, along with the retractable roof. These are facts that you can look up yourself
Agreed. They need 1 if not 2 teams in the Southeast. Suprised they waited this long. Florida is a hotbed for soccer
That’s why both the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny did so well.
San Jose, which is unquestionably a hotbed for soccer, has the highest rates in the entire US, had even lower attendance but wasn’t contracted because they had just won the league. And now San Jose is getting a stadium and no one questions whether or not MLS should be in the bay area.
I’m not from the south but stop holding what happened with the Fusion/Mutiny a DECADE AGO over the heads of an entire section of the country, it’s getting really old.
Miami and Tampa were not contracted because they drew poorly.
Miami played in Ft. Lauderdale and had an owner who couldn’t handle the losses. Nevertheless their attendance was improving in 2001.
Tampa had no owner at all, and a ruinous rent of Raymond James Stadium ensured MLS would pull out.
If it had simply been a matter of contracting the teams that had the poorest attendance, San Jose would have been gone in 2001, not Tampa or Miami.
Really? kpugs, be just a little more smug.
Lion4U, Chivas USA and MLS aren’t going to touch SD, Xolos OWN San Diego now, the town already has it’s club, let’s move on.
Why?San Diego, is huge and sooner or Later MLS will be there, like it or not chris.
Whether I like it or not has nothing to do with it. Are you from San Diego/ Southern California? The real estate down there is crazy expensive, and not even the NFL can keep a team there, NBA hasn’t bothered since the Clippers and the Padres draw empty seats, there’s a reason for this. As I said, the soccer fans of the area are being served already and the only way that they’d be displaced at this point is if a guaranteed champion team with big name stars was dropped into a state-of-the-art SSS. I think a NASL or USL team could work there, because with the lower divisions comes smaller expectations, as far as profits and attendance.
No my friend lives in San Diego. In NY,it is also hard to find land and expensive to build a stadium. However your point is pretty weak. The Padres are a horrible team, the reason they don’t draw isn’t because of their location rather then how bad they are. Also San Diego is a US city, with more then one type of Latino. Not all Latinos are Mexicans and follow the Mexican league, my friend is from El Slavdor. San Diego is a great market for MLS, and in 6-7 years would be a great spot for a team.
I live in San Diego and trust me there is no way an MLS team will play here in the next 20 years. The city is bankrupt and there’s no interest in public funding to keep the crappy Chargers here, nor should there be since taxes are so high already.
Unless you get someone in the area with hundreds of millions of dollars at his disposal willing to shell out for over-priced land somewhere, it’s not happening here.
Sure we all like the Xolos, but most people can’t get across the border to see the games. Takes forever.
Another nail in Arsene’s coffin. If he’s still in London this time next year, I’ll be shocked.
Arsenal and Liverpool definitely should have gone for Dempsey. They definitely could have used him
Liverpool did…and in an unprofessional manner according to Fulham, and now admitted to by Liverpool. Maybe Fulham AND Dempsey are not to blame for how things went down. It’s all Liverpool’s fault!!! #Homewreckers
Unprofessional = slandering a player you later admit was guilty of zero accusations made (Fulham)
Formal apology = a compromise for ending any legality on a petty issue that’s over and quite frankly all clubs are guilty of
Dempsey = guilty of stating for over a year out his ambitions to move on. A professional being honest in a profession that has very little credibility and/or honor.
I think you need to reaccess your outlook, “THomas”.
In regards to Fulham, if anything, it was Jol who was ‘unprofessional’ in his comments about the situation.
Liverpool, at many levels of the organization, were ‘unprofessional’ in starting the whole ordeal.
I guess looking at it now, as you pointed out, Dempsey had always stated his desire to play for a CL team and by keeping quiet on the issue he was probably the most professional of anybody.
Orlando City? How adorable.
Odds on Wenger being fired at Arsenal?
To be replaced by whom? Its a big club they’d need a massively respectable coach and unless Ancelotti is fired by then I dont see them getting Pep, Mou, Hiddink, or Trappatoni, maybe Haynekkes from Bayern.
Maybe a caretaker till the end of the season then get Swanseas coach Laudrop. He would sort of fit their style.
Anybody see Jermaine Jones is suspended four matches? If i looked correctly, he’s ineligible for the following games: Dec 15 v Freiburg, —-(Winter Break)—–, Jan 18 v Hannover, Jan 26 v Augsburg, and Feb 2 v Greuther Furth.. To me, I think that means we’ll be seeing him in Camp Cupcake to keep his form up a la this year when he captained both games, seeing as the next competitive game (outside of camp) he might be playing would be our Feb 6 qualifier vs Honduras.
Funny how he always seems to get suspended around this time.
Twice out of a decade long career… Yup, always..
Wow…sorry, guess I should have prefaced it with since he’s been involved with the USMNT
There really is not preface when a term like “always” is used.
Yes there is, I just did it:
Since Jones has been involved with the national team, he’s always been suspended from Bundesliga play during our January camp.
OLD SCHOOL FACEPALM!
“Almost” everyone that makes a comment on this site are perfect, so make sure you get your terminology correct before you make any kind of comment, otherwise they will eat you alive.
Tony, you are correct that one should make sure that one’s comment is correct.
For the record: “everyone … are” is incorrect. Everyone is singular, therefore your sentence should be should be ” everyone … is”.
#grammerdouchery
Cheers 🙂
Unlike the EPL, the Bundesliga doesn’t seem to reduce such suspension very often on appeal. But if ever there were a case that deserved it, this is it you would think. Any word on an appeal?
if MLS does expand to 24 teams i hope its the following : NY Cosmos, a team in Florida, St.Louis, Atlanta and a team in Minnesota. No more Canadian teams. Please. Plus Chivas USA should move to San Diego or at least out of Carson
Minnesota?
Yes, Minnesota. With a downtown stadium a team there’s would be a huge success. Same young hipster crowd as KC/Cascadia/NY2.
But I think MLS will expand even beyond that US/CA are too big in size and population to stop there. Every other major league here is 30-32 teams.
Let me help you out here. I think you mean 5 out of (maybe 6 if Chivas gets moved) : NY Cosmos, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Miami.
worst part of Arsenal’s lose is Gervinho’s miss from 4 yards out on an open net.
http://cadfael.tv/image/src/1355257750059.gif
Thanks for that, that is monumentally shocking
Wow. Poor Gervinho is having a rough go of it lately…guess the same can be said of Arsenal haha but he’s been in nightmarish form
Side note: .gif’s are the greatest thing ever.
+1 ^^^
I’ll take credit i thought for years Gervinho would have a been a tremendous asset considering their style I thought hed be better that Marouane (sp) but seeing how hes ruining that club it sort of makes me smile.
All thats gotta happen for them to lose a few more tottenham to mess up and everton to sell their talent to whoever and maybe theres a top 4 spot for Liverpool afterall.
A proud graduate of the Chad Barrett Finishing School.
Hahahahahahaa. hows he doing in Norway?
Gervinho: Hey Coach, how does I score?
Arsene Wenger: Believe in the ball and score yourself.
With the left foot? Why Gervinho, Why?
ARTIST IMPRESSION