trueviking Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I was wondering why it seems that when EPL teams and other top European sides come to the US, the MLS teams, no matter how poor (LA Galaxy) seem to hold their own...they often win or lose in close games...i am sure we will see the same in the Superliga competition. the pay scale difference would suggest that MLS sides should be completely outmatched even by Championship clubs, let alone Chelsea and Celtic etc..... i know the easy answer is that the european teams are training and the MLS guys are in full swing, but Man U is in asia demolishing every team they play...and even so, if the stanley cup champions went over to play a club in Belarus, they would win easily no matter what time of year. you guys all know the game very well...what is the reason that MLS continually stands its ground against what should be vastly superior opposition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPB Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Football is a funny sport. Trite but true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juby Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I dont really disagree with you but I think it should be said that they just wouldn't be taking it anywhere near as important as 3 points. Also asia is by far the weakest in terms of club play (Korea, japan and austraila have decent leagues, but besides them even the big money leagues like UAE are true player graveyards), well except for oceania? (austrailia is now in the asian confederation, new zealand still are in oceania?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Historically, this has been the case . Using the link below, click on the link button titled "Friendlies". It contains the results of all frienndlies involving NASL teams versus top euro sides. They pretty much held their own even then. Though it must be said that the domestic content of the NASL was punny compared to MLS. http://home.att.net/~nasl/nasl.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBird Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 quote:Originally posted by trueviking I was wondering why it seems that when EPL teams and other top European sides come to the US, the MLS teams, no matter how poor (LA Galaxy) seem to hold their own...they often win or lose in close games...i am sure we will see the same in the Superliga competition. the pay scale difference would suggest that MLS sides should be completely outmatched even by Championship clubs, let alone Chelsea and Celtic etc..... i know the easy answer is that the european teams are training and the MLS guys are in full swing, but Man U is in asia demolishing every team they play...and even so, if the stanley cup champions went over to play a club in Belarus, they would win easily no matter what time of year. you guys all know the game very well...what is the reason that MLS continually stands its ground against what should be vastly superior opposition? You have to understand before you make any suggestions of comparing two clubs you have to compare apples with apples not oranges. These clubs coming in from Europe or South American teams, the mentality is not to come in and win but to have a good showing and keep the game close. The focus of winning for these club, or losing is not the main objective nor the main focus, but rather a preparation for post season play, your example of Chelsea vs Galaxy if you add a cup or a league title to it where the clubs makes Millions $$$$$$ the result will be different I can assure you that. Tonight's game against TFC will be another indication of these thoughts it's for FUN. .....just because Toronto will win tonight's game or keep it close does not mean that the belong in these leagues. This Exhibition is exactly that both Clubs want to the public to be ENTERTAINED, SEE GOALS, and finally get a result that is COMFORTABLE. Tonight's game will be that Toronto F C 3 Celtics or 2 -1 result but Toronto will win. The focus is shifted to a different mentality of preparation when money is involved the club demands performances by each player on the field, and the public demand results from their home clubs or else, losing is never an option. In this situation The score would be Celtics TFC at the least a plus 4 for Celtics or the same for Chelsea vs Galaxy So compare apples with apples. MLs with MLS / Europe with Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 quote:Originally posted by BigBird Interesting. I thought that I was going to see Aston Villa Tonight. [8D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john tv Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Celtic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I pretty convinced it's because the European teams don't care. They're in pre-season just trying to get their fitness up without getting hurt, re-develop that comfort with the ball and finding their groove. Plus they're playing well out of sight of their fans. May as well be on the moon. Seem to recall MLS cobbling together an All Star team not so long ago to play an in-season Real Madrid in Madrid and being completely destroyed. Sure, it wasn't an MLS club side but then those more familiar with Real Madrid than I seemed to echo each other in offering the opinion that the Spanish giants coasted through the match, so there is a point there. These friendlies are just a little too friendly as far as the European sides are concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 There are actually lots of strange results (or at least what would be considered strange results had it not been preseason) all over the place, but they just go unnoticed in this part of the world unless an MLS team is involved. Mainz beat Liverpool 5-nil last preseason. Liverpool went to the CL final, Mainz got relegated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trueviking Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 i totally understand that the european teams dont care, but they should be so superior that even with half effort an EPL team should wax the floor with MLS....why do MLS teams care more than the others?...it is just as meaningless for them. you would think that at least sometimes the EPL team would wax them...but it never seems to happen. my example of hockey makes the point...if an NHL team went to play a club side in europe where the average pay was $70 000 per season, the quality would be so weak that even without trying they would win....why does it appear to be different in soccer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Cheeta I pretty convinced it's because the European teams don't care. They're in pre-season just trying to get their fitness up without getting hurt, re-develop that comfort with the ball and finding their groove. Plus they're playing well out of sight of their fans. May as well be on the moon. These friendlies are just a little too friendly as far as the European sides are concerned. I think that's one half of it but the other half is that, for the MLS guys, this is a pseudo-chance for them to "show their stuff" so they play with a little extra determination/aggressiveness and that shows in the scoreline. For most of them, these games will be the most glamourous ones they play, so they'll play these big teams a little harder, I would think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 quote:Originally posted by trueviking i totally understand that the european teams dont care, but they should be so superior that even with half effort an EPL team should wax the floor with MLS....why do MLS teams care more than the others?...it is just as meaningless for them. you would think that at least sometimes the EPL team would wax them...but it never seems to happen. When La Liga clubs come to the USA they do wax MLS teams quite frequently. But as you say, its rare for an Premier League club to blow-out an MLS team. Might be a combination of the hot weather and their lack of match fitness, since English teams rely more on their running than La Liga clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 It is weird... I mean how on god's green earth does Real Salt Lake beat Everton 2-0????? And even last summer DC United crushed Celtic 4-0 and it could have been much worse with all the chances they had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 There are only four truly good Premiership sides in Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. Everyone else is mediocre to borderline crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Macksam There are only four truly good Premiership sides in Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. Everyone else is mediocre to borderline crap. Well, that's not the reason because even the worst club in the Premier League is still miles better than any team in MLS. PS...Did you just come back from the MLS circle-jerk on BigSoccer? [8)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 quote:Originally posted by amacpher Well, that's not the reason because even the worst club in the Premier League is still miles better than any team in MLS. [8)] Prove it!!!! Beside your own bias against anything in Canada and the US, you have nothing to substantiat that claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBird Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Free kick Freekick thanks for letting me know **** I thought I was going to see Celtics my mistake then TFC will win 4-1 or 5 -2 a three goal + Aston Villa wont even care to show up...at least Celtics wouold have been a better game they take more seriuosly...its the beer.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john tv Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I can't speak for any other teams,but I can assure you that AJAX takes these games very serious. When they were here playing against the Blizzard which they won 1-0 they fielded Van Basten,Koeman,Rijkhard,van't Schip.just to name a few.Every night they had a 10 pm curfew.The coach at that time was Aad De Mos and I remember sitting in the restaurant across from the hotel and he said watch this with 5 minutes to go and yes here they were those famous Dutch internationals running accross the street with 5 minutes to go to beat the curfew. Tey travelled with the blazers,shirt and tie on and the practices were murder as well. Their philosophy was this is the AJAX name and we have to live up to our reputation and they sure were very serious about that. I even asked the coach about the seriousness of this game and that look I will never forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Free kick Prove it!!!! Beside your own bias against anything in Canada and the US, you have nothing to substantiat that claim. Nor can you refute it. [^] Look, even the most optimistic estimates put MLS at around the same calibre as the championship, or about the 12-15th best league in the world. That's a good couple of notches down from the Premier League. As I said, small clubs all over the world are hanging-in with giant clubs from Europe during preseason. You just don't notice it because you're focussing on the matches that involve MLS teams***. Some could probably even "hang-around" with the big boys in meaningful mid-season matches if they were given the opportunity. But remember, even the worst club in Premier League history (Sunderland 2005/06) kept the majority of their matches close. *** for example, at last check, non of the big clubs in England were winning today despite playing against a mid-table Dutch club, a top Austrian club and a club from the third-tier of English football</u>. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 quote:Originally posted by john tv I can't speak for any other teams,but I can assure you that AJAX takes these games very serious. When they were here playing against the Blizzard which they won 1-0 they fielded Van Basten,Koeman,Rijkard,van't Schip.just to name a few.Every night they had a 10 pm curfew.The coach at that time was Aad De Mos and I remember sitting in the restaurant across from the hotel and he said watch this with 5 minutes to go and yes here they were those famous Dutch internationals running accross the street with 5 minutes to go to beat the curfew. Tey travelled with the blazers,shirt and tie on and the practices were murder as well. Their philosophy was this is the AJAX name and we have to live up to our reputation and they sure were very serious about that. I even asked the coach about the seriousness of this game and that look I will never forget. John, I don't think anybody denies that pre-season is important. You need to make sure you're ready when your season kicks-off because unlike sports on this side of the pond, every match matters. What doesn't matter, however, are the results of these glorified scrimmages even though the club's top players often make cameo appearances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john tv Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Yes i may have suspitions as well,but that Ajax team sure made me think. I remember they even came of there season a week before the Blizzard game.So there was no time to relax either.It was go go go and they toured the US and Canada from here to Vancouver as well. I believe they won all their matches.I do know that these games made them view some of the covered stadiums and that is were they picked up the idea to build one as well.That I was told when I was the Ajax guest at the opening of the arena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 quote:Originally posted by amacpher Well, that's not the reason because even the worst club in the Premier League is still miles better than any team in MLS. PS...Did you just come back from the MLS circle-jerk on BigSoccer? [8)] Please, FC Dallas, New England Revolution or Houston Dynamo can work over the likes of Wigan, Sheffield United and Borough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juby Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 what? sheffield united is the only team there I'd agree with, and they got relegated, Middlesborough have the potential to beat the MLS allstars 12 - 0 as far as I'm concerned, when there in top form, most national teams would be hard pressed to stop them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Juby what? sheffield united is the only team there I'd agree with, and they got relegated, Middlesborough have the potential to beat the MLS allstars 12 - 0 as far as I'm concerned, when there in top form, most national teams would be hard pressed to stop them. Well, club football from the top leagues in Europe is so much better than national team football its not even funny. Even Sheffield United are deeper than any MLS team. On average, I think MLS teams have 3 or 4 players each that are easily EPL calibre, but then the drop-off is substantial. That's where the limited budget of MLS teams really shows (depth). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bxl Boy Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 With such a reflexion, we could also say that... USL teams beat MLS teams in US open cups MLS teams equals euro teams in their face to face So, USL equals a top Euro level... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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