fannorth Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Hi there everyone it is my first post on the website. I just came back to Canada after spending 15yrs in Poland(They are doing great this year. #1 in their group. Already Qualified for the WorldCup. Hopefully will kick England's ass Tmrw!!! We need a Tie, England needs a Win). So I tried updating myself on the state of Soccer in Canada. My most important question is: Vancouver, Toronto & Montreal play in the USL 1st Division right? Toronto finished Last in 2005 with a Total of 17Pts!!! My Question is how many teams are releguated to USL 2nd Division? I tried looking around the net for the answer couldn't find anything. So I started thinking OMG could it be none is releguated from USL 1st to 2nd Division? How is that? Wouldn't releguation provide more of a Competitive edge to the game? And now I read that the MLS is offering Toronto an "exclusive" spot even thou they finished LAST out of 12Team. Clearly Money is speaking.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Observer Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 There is no concept of relegation in North American sports (as there is no concept of the team gaining the most points at the end of the year being crowned champion....as there is always the end of the year playoffs to establish the champion). Clubs own franchises (they pay to enter the league much the way you pay to buy a McDonald's franchise from the parent company) and they can finish last every year if they want but still compete in the league the next year. This is because owners will not take the risk of losing a bundle by "going down" to the next division. On Toronto, its the MLS offering a franchise to the MLSE ownership group who have no involvement in the USL 1st Div side the Toronto Lynx. So in theory, both teams could still exist in 2007. As for a lack of competitiveness, relegation does not really provide that in Europe. It certainly means bad teams go down but essentially only 2 or 3 teams (in most leagues) have a realistic chance of winning the title any given year so European leagues are the exact opposite of being competitive. In North America, leagues are more dare i say it "socialistic" as the "free movement of labour" is constrained by collective bargaining agreement between the league, the franchises, and the players which essentially means players wages are capped, and their rights are purchased from junior leagues with no officialiation with the professional league when they become an adult through a draft where the worse team the year before picks first. They call this "parity" as this in effect is attempt to make the league more entertaining to the fans which it probably does...but also means that North American sports are more about entertainment than sport...it also means fans are not as tribal about their team as in Europe..so the ambience at professional match in North American is completely different. As leagues are North American wide instead of like in Europe where they are only country wide (assume for instance that every state in the U.S. had its own league...that essentially is what Europe is now), the quality of the league is far superior to any European league as the concentration of the players is greater. Moreover, large cities only have a one (or in some extreme cases two sides)...and small cites such as Manchester would likely have none. Therefore, the cost of ticket is in the stratoshphere compared to European football which also means the wages are....therefore, only businesses can afford the best seats or season tickets (or extreme die hard fans)...and sports have really become a means of entertaining your client rather than watching the match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Distance Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 quote:Originally posted by fannorth Hi there everyone it is my first post on the website. I just came back to Canada after spending 15yrs in Poland(They are doing great this year. #1 in their group. Already Qualified for the WorldCup. Hopefully will kick England's ass Tmrw!!! We need a Tie, England needs a Win). England are playing so poorly at the moment, that Poland have a good chance of winning today's game. However, there is nothing riding on this game (except maybe pride) as both teams have already qualified for the World Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zacRWE Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Sigma I think if England finishes first in their group they have a chance to be one of the 8 #1 seeds in the World Cup.... according to BBC Leicester. ya, sure thats true... but should they really be considered? Im thinking NO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fannorth Posted October 12, 2005 Author Share Posted October 12, 2005 quote:Originally posted by An Observer There is no concept of relegation in North American sports (as there is no concept of the team gaining the most points at the end of the year being crowned champion....as there is always the end of the year playoffs to establish the champion). That is absolutely true but if one takes into account that the USL has 12 teams that equals to 22games per yrs plus play-offs, women's team & any exhibition games. There are a few Extra ways to improve the ammount of days one uses the facility. In Poland(other EU countries as well) you have a few titles. League Title - eg. in polish Mistrz Orange Extraklasa (meaning the on that wins USL 1st Division with the most points). Country's title - eg. Puchar Polski where u have teams seeded against eachother eg. 1st & 3rd division in some cases, sometimes a few surprises happen. USL 1st Division 12teams 2nd Division 9teams that translate into some extra few games=$$ for the owners since u can sell those games as premium ones. Next season I belive PZPN(equivalent of CSA) wants to introduce a "Wild Card" meaning a 3rd Division team if she wins the Country's Title(or 2nd Division) are given a shot at the 2nd Division vs the team that was due next to be releguated. About releguation in Poland: 1Division Bottom 2teams go to 2nd Division. Top 2teams from 2nd go to 1st. 1Division 3rd team from the Bottom plays home-away vs. Top 3rd team in 2nd Division. Whoever wins gets promoted or demoted. Don't rmbr exactly how many get releguated in 2nd league to 3rd but I belive it's 4teams!!! But all we have would have to do is integrate some of the leagues into 1 one day MLS - Premiership USL1Division - 1league USL2Division - 2league Thus we could have team being releguated and so forth. Well just my thought and wishfull thinking. Since probably MLS & USL hate eachother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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