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Retired US Soccer / World Cup Thread (RIP)

I'll go ahead and speculate... I think Donovan and Dempsey will make the GC roster.
 
I'm sure it's been posted, but have you all seen the column about Luke Rodgers and Landycakes? Sheer awesomeness. Rodgers looks like a poor man's Rooney, no (just without the skill, hardware, touch and scoring ability), no?
 
siff said:
I'm sure it's been posted, but have you all seen the column about Luke Rodgers and Landycakes? Sheer awesomeness. Rodgers looks like a poor man's Rooney, no (just without the skill, hardware, touch and scoring ability), no?
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Other than Donovan responded and asking who Luke Rodgers is, no. Linky?
 
TuffaloDeac10 said:
Think we'll... like... play to win?
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Herm.jpg
 
Read yesterday that Aresenal's chief scout (read this on Twitter) likened the level of play in MLS to lower table EPL clubs or high table Championship play.

Thoughts?
 
siff said:
Read yesterday that Aresenal's chief scout (read this on Twitter) likened the level of play in MLS to lower table EPL clubs or high table Championship play.

Thoughts?
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I think the better MLS sides would contend for playoff spots in the Championship. A team like QPR this year would shit on them tho.
 
deacvision7 said:
I think the better MLS sides would contend for playoff spots in the Championship. A team like QPR this year would shit on them tho.
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Agree with this. The MLS has had a couple really good sides of their own though. RSL is this year's darling, but the lack of talisman Javier Morales hurts them so much now.

After them, this season is all about NY Red Bulls. The Galaxy are good, but I really think NYRB could be special if they put it all together.
 
deacvision7 said:
I think the better MLS sides would contend for playoff spots in the Championship. A team like QPR this year would shit on them tho.
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Probably about right. In one off games the MLS teams could hang in the lower end of the Premier League, but it's the quality of depth that's still the biggest difference over the course of a season. It's definitely trending in a positive direction though.
 
I'd tend to agree that the better MLS clubs are high championship/low prem quality depending upon the day.

The biggest difference between most leagues and MLS, though, is that the bad teams aren't that much worse than the good teams. The bad teams are also likely championship caliber...just low or mid level. It takes a lot for an MLS team to be really, really horrible. It does happen occasionally, but it's tough and usually requires some injuries and bad luck to further the badness.
 
Bottom of the Prem League destroys the MLS in quality. Maybe not in a one off game, but we see League 2 sides knock off Premier League sides in one off tournaments on occasion

Just look at some of the players at the bottom of the Premier League. Even if they are out of form or had bad years they'd be the very best players in the MLS besides maybe Donovan

West Ham: Demba Ba, Scott Parker, Hitzelburger, Obinna, Upson, Tompkins, Wayne Bridge.
Blackpool: Charlie Adam, DJ Campbell (if Robbie Findlay and Edson Buddle could be prolific scorers in the MLS, this guy would destroy it), guy with that long volley
Wigan: Rolladega, Alcaraz, Cleverly, McCarthy, N'Zogbia, Victor Moses
Blackburn: Samba, Diouf, Jermaine Jones, Roque Santa Cruz, Ryan Nelson, Martin Olssen, Phil Jones
Wolves: Jarvis, Doyle, Fletcher. A guy like Ebanks-Blank would be by far the top scorer in the MLS

I hope the MLS fans don't just mindlessly negrep me here for not agreeing on the quality. We've been hearing this type of stuff about MLS=lower level Prem league for years. Remember Alexi Lalas? Then we have the top performers in the MLS like Edson Buddle going to second division German team near the bottom of the table or Robbie Findlay rotting on the bench on Nottingham Forest. Now maybe the midfield quality is better with guys like Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden going overseas and actually playing well, but even that's not great. The MLS is closer to midtable Championship, which is still improvement. When it was close to being disbanded a few years back it was closer to League One.
 
tintinisahottie said:
Bottom of the Prem League destroys the MLS in quality. Maybe not in a one off game, but we see League 2 sides knock off Premier League sides in one off tournaments on occasion

Just look at some of the players at the bottom of the Premier League. Even if they are out of form or had bad years they'd be the very best players in the MLS besides maybe Donovan

West Ham: Demba Ba, Scott Parker, Hitzelburger, Obinna, Upson, Tompkins, Wayne Bridge.
Blackpool: Charlie Adam, DJ Campbell (if Robbie Findlay and Edson Buddle could be prolific scorers in the MLS, this guy would destroy it), guy with that long volley
Wigan: Rolladega, Alcaraz, Cleverly, McCarthy, N'Zogbia, Victor Moses
Blackburn: Samba, Diouf, Jermaine Jones, Roque Santa Cruz, Ryan Nelson, Martin Olssen, Phil Jones
Wolves: Jarvis, Doyle, Fletcher. A guy like Ebanks-Blank would be by far the top scorer in the MLS

I hope the MLS fans don't just mindlessly negrep me here for not agreeing on the quality. We've been hearing this type of stuff about MLS=lower level Prem league for years. Remember Alexi Lalas? Then we have the top performers in the MLS like Edson Buddle going to second division German team near the bottom of the table or Robbie Findlay rotting on the bench on Nottingham Forest. Now maybe the midfield quality is better with guys like Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden going overseas and actually playing well, but even that's not great. The MLS is closer to midtable Championship, which is still improvement. When it was close to being disbanded a few years back it was closer to League One.
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I hear what you're saying, tin. The difference (right or wrong) is that it's the Gooner's chief of scouting saying it, not the goober Alexi Lalas. FWIW, I think the bigger difference is depth. MLS doesn't have it.
 
I agree that the MLS is largely midtable Championship level, but referencing Findlay doesn't make the point. He's been injured since he got there. Let's see what he does next year when he's healthy. That should provide a good comparison point, given his relative success in MLS.
 
siff said:
I hear what you're saying, tin. The difference (right or wrong) is that it's the Gooner's chief of scouting saying it, not the goober Alexi Lalas. FWIW, I think the bigger difference is depth. MLS doesn't have it.
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The bigger difference is him saying it to an American audience, and believing it (like actually signing any players)
 
I don't at all think MLS teams are low level Prem teams. I think the good MLS teams are there (like RSL this year before Morales went down) but not the rest of the league.

And let's not forget who most of the "stars" are in the MLS. Even someone like Javier Morales came from the Spanish League 2. There are some top quality guys (Donovan and De Rosario come to mind as guys that have had European transfer rumors for a while) but by and large the talent in the MLS isn't all that stellar.
 
Oh, and I will say that the success of guys like Stuart Holden has to mean something. Four years ago, he was a young kid riding pine on the Houston bench behind De Rosario. Now look at the kid.

There's obviously young talent in the MLS. I won't be surprised when someone like Andy Najar is playing in Europe as a 20 year old in a couple years.
 
I knew his name I swear. I got him up to an 85 in FIFA last year and he was awesome
 
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