Canadian Premier League

[Alex D]

4 hours ago, GuillermoDelQuarto said:

Does anyone else want CPL to try continuous OT for cup games?  you wanna win over the hockey crowd or not?

3 on 3!

[grasshopper1917]

19 hours ago, top cheese said:

I also don't think using existing CFL fields would be an issue. You could simply look to sell tickets just for the lower bowl. I would expect as a start up league you would be looking at 5000-6000 as average. If your being generous. Doesn't Moncton have a 30000 seat stadium at the university of Moncton.

why would Ottawa or Edmonton want to continue to operate franchises out of an unstable USL or NASL when they could enter this.

The stadium in Moncton seats 10,000 and is expandable to 20,000 with temp seating (it has been expanded a few times). They also have a Junior hockey team that draws about 4000 - 4500 people a game. However I think Halifax has a much larger population base (400,000 vs 70,000 Moncton). Also seems to have a good population base that support soccer and a few teams in the NS senior league. 

Using existing CFL fields would defiantly be an issue in my mind. Sticking a soccer field and 5000 fans in a 25,000 - 35,000 seat stadium designed for football is a recipe for poor atmosphere and a poor fan experience. Not to mention the optics for television are brutal. MLS had the right idea pushing their franchises to build soccer specific mls size stadiums.

With that being said on a practical side of course using some CFL stadiums as the league gets started will be a necessary step. Some stadiums on an optimistic side may be able to draw some nice crowds and configure the places to have a decent atmosphere and look ok for tv. Ultimately though I think the goal should be for each franchise to have a appropriately sized soccer specific complex. Many MLS teams took a decade or so to get their permanent homes started - this may be a timeframe for Canadian clubs to explore.

I dont think a league can be a long term serious endevour unless its teams have proper places to play and thrive. That's just my opinion though.

 

[Gopherbashi]

I've skipped some pages here, but I'm honestly hoping that there isn't this "GTA team" that everyone always talks about.

How much pro soccer do people really think the GTHA can handle?  3 pro teams?  NYC couldn't even support 3 teams properly before the Cosmos bit the dust.

Leave it at TFC + Ham, and if interest warrants it (and that's a huge if, IMO) maybe then look at putting a third GTHA team once you're nice and stable.  I really hope they aren't crazy enough to drop one here at launch.

[GuillermoDelQuarto]

30 minutes ago, Alex D said:

3 on 3!

lol I was thinking more like 7 on 7 honestly haha, but shit, if we're getting up to the 200 minute mark maybe lol

[GuillermoDelQuarto]

6 minutes ago, Gopherbashi said:

I've skipped some pages here, but I'm honestly hoping that there isn't this "GTA team" that everyone always talks about.

How much pro soccer do people really think the GTHA can handle?  3 pro teams?  NYC couldn't even support 3 teams properly before the Cosmos bit the dust.

Leave it at TFC + Ham, and if interest warrants it (and that's a huge if, IMO) maybe then look at putting a third GTHA team once you're nice and stable.  I really hope they aren't crazy enough to drop one here at launch.

in 10 years or so Sauga seems plausible.  short term I agree, the last thing we want to do is kill TFC

[Complete Homer]

10 minutes ago, Gopherbashi said:

I've skipped some pages here, but I'm honestly hoping that there isn't this "GTA team" that everyone always talks about.

 

Toronto is a big market, and Hamilton will go after a pretty different market. I think it'll be fine. 

The Cosmos failed for a lot of reasons, the capacity to support 3 teams wasn't the largest at all. Just like years of RBNY getting poor attendance had no bearing on NYCFC's success at the ticket office 

[Gopherbashi]

6 minutes ago, GuillermoDelQuarto said:

lol I was thinking more like 7 on 7 honestly haha, but shit, if we're getting up to the 200 minute mark maybe lol

It's not something the CPL should do, but I'd like to see some variation of actual soccer as a tiebreaker.  Maybe some 5v2 set pieces or no-keeper play.

[-Hammer-]

No one likes penalty shots, so I'd like to see an overtime that pulls players off the field as it goes on. This makes getting carded a MUCH bigger deal if it goes to OT. That said, stick to FIFA rules. Having gimmick rules is a surefire way hurt the league at inception. Have the broader discussion after it's well established.

[GuillermoDelQuarto]

1 minute ago, -Hammer- said:

No one likes penalty shots, so I'd like to see an overtime that pulls players off the field as it goes on. This makes getting carded a MUCH bigger deal if it goes to OT. That said, stick to FIFA rules. Having gimmick rules is a surefire way hurt the league at inception. Have the broader discussion after it's well established.

it would be interesting to see what MLS does.  They've shown the most willingness to flout tradition.  Maybe USL would be the place to test it?

[Gopherbashi]

11 minutes ago, -Hammer- said:

No one likes penalty shots, so I'd like to see an overtime that pulls players off the field as it goes on. This makes getting carded a MUCH bigger deal if it goes to OT. That said, stick to FIFA rules. Having gimmick rules is a surefire way hurt the league at inception. Have the broader discussion after it's well established.

Might work well in hockey, where you can sub players every 30 seconds.  Not so much in soccer, where your players are wiped after 120 minutes on the pitch.

Wouldn't be entertaining, safe, or produce a good result if you pushed people like that.

[GuillermoDelQuarto]

19 minutes ago, Gopherbashi said:

Might work well in hockey, where you can sub players every 30 seconds.  Not so much in soccer, where your players are wiped after 120 minutes on the pitch.

Wouldn't be entertaining, safe, or produce a good result if you pushed people like that.

I mean you could always play around with the amount of subs allowed.

Just feel like it's worth exploring somewhat.  I feel like half of the new fans we gained with the MLS semi-final we lost with the final being decided by PKs.  I'm willing to try new things if it's in the good of the sport in North America, as long as the principle is the same as bringing in VR.  Small changes but nothing massive that will completely alter the fabric of the game as we know it.  Tweaks as opposed to overhauls.

But I feel like this is just one where we should agree to disagree. 

[Kent]

I think CPL, and MLS for that matter, should stick with FIFA rules. That being said, I would support FIFA making changes like taking a player from each team off the field for every 5 minutes from the start of extra time, rather than after playing half an hour extra first. I suppose this would make it golden goal. They could also allow a 4th sub at some point, either the start of extra time, or maybe when it gets down to 7 on 7 or something. I'm not sure if I would reduce teams to less than that, but probably. Anyways, something along those lines would probably be better than a shootout in my opinion (but not as ideal as a game that is decided in extra time).

[-Hammer-]

2 hours ago, GuillermoDelQuarto said:

it would be interesting to see what MLS does.  They've shown the most willingness to flout tradition.  Maybe USL would be the place to test it?

Well, it is pretty much what the NHL does in hockey in the AHL and the NFL has been known to look at CFL rule changes when they have their meetings.

That said, people readily and appropriately call the AHL a somewhat bush farm league and the often say the CFL is bush (which I feel is unjustified) so yeah...the USL is where this gets tested, not the CPL.

[C2SKI]

2 hours ago, Kent said:

I think CPL, and MLS for that matter, should stick with FIFA rules. That being said, I would support FIFA making changes like taking a player from each team off the field for every 5 minutes from the start of extra time, rather than after playing half an hour extra first. I suppose this would make it golden goal. They could also allow a 4th sub at some point, either the start of extra time, or maybe when it gets down to 7 on 7 or something. I'm not sure if I would reduce teams to less than that, but probably. Anyways, something along those lines would probably be better than a shootout in my opinion (but not as ideal as a game that is decided in extra time).

7 on 7 after 100+ minutes could become agonizingly slow. I don't think it would open the game up as much as it does in hockey.

[GuillermoDelQuarto]

/\ I'd be interested to see someone give it a try.  Not saying we should necessarily do it.  

Curiosity u know

[dyslexic nam]

This thread has seriously run its course if we are honestly discussing anything like these sorts of rule changes.  When CPL happens, it should stick to traditional rules.  That mean regular season draws and pk's after extra time in games where there must be a winner.

It will be hard enough establishing a solid fan base among those who are predisposed to watch euro footy or MLS - lets not alienate that base right from the outset by implementing mickey mouse rules that would absolutely make us look bush league.  We are not trying to invent Calvinball here.

 

[matty]

14 hours ago, Gopherbashi said:

I've skipped some pages here, but I'm honestly hoping that there isn't this "GTA team" that everyone always talks about.

How much pro soccer do people really think the GTHA can handle?  3 pro teams?  NYC couldn't even support 3 teams properly before the Cosmos bit the dust.

Leave it at TFC + Ham, and if interest warrants it (and that's a huge if, IMO) maybe then look at putting a third GTHA team once you're nice and stable.  I really hope they aren't crazy enough to drop one here at launch.

Having a team in one of the big 3 markets would be a big boost to the league's image and the GTA as the largest would help the most, especially at the launch. It's the largest media market and most likely to be able to score you TV viewers.

Also Cosmos didn't die because of lack of support.

 

[Gopherbashi]

4 minutes ago, matty said:

Having a team in one of the big 3 markets would be a big boost to the league's image and the GTA as the largest would help the most, especially at the launch. It's the largest media market and most likely to be able to score you TV viewers.

Also Cosmos didn't die because of lack of support and suggesting that TFC2 will contribute to a GTA CPL team's struggles to make a dent is ridiculous.

 

Not suggesting TFC2 would - I'm suggesting that TFC, Hamilton, and Vaughan/Mississauga/GTA wouldn't be sustainable at the caliber we're hoping for.

[matty]

1 minute ago, Gopherbashi said:

Not suggesting TFC2 would - I'm suggesting that TFC, Hamilton, and Vaughan/Mississauga/GTA wouldn't be sustainable at the caliber we're hoping for.

Sorry missed the H there but I still disagree. Hamilton will not greatly impact a Toronto team unless for some dumb reason they name a Toronto team "Golden Horseshoe FC".

[Ansem]

16 hours ago, grasshopper1917 said:

The stadium in Moncton seats 10,000 and is expandable to 20,000 with temp seating (it has been expanded a few times). They also have a Junior hockey team that draws about 4000 - 4500 people a game. However I think Halifax has a much larger population base (400,000 vs 70,000 Moncton). Also seems to have a good population base that support soccer and a few teams in the NS senior league. 

True, Halifax has over 417k in their metro area but 1.6 million people are within 3 hour drive from Moncton. Granted it won't guarantee anything on weekdays but on weekends, it's a new thing to due for families and friends to do...getting into Moncton for a top league match while invigorating the Moncton core economy.

[Oranje]

1 hour ago, Ansem said:

True, Halifax has over 417k in their metro area but 1.6 million people are within 3 hour drive from Moncton. Granted it won't guarantee anything on weekdays but on weekends, it's a new thing to due for families and friends to do...getting into Moncton for a top league match while invigorating the Moncton core economy.

3 hour drive makes for a long fucking day. That is essentially Calgary to Edmonton and I am not sure how many Calgarians made the trek up to Edmonton to watch the Eddies play once, let alone regularly, but I am going to venture a guess and say very, very few.

Having lived in the Maritimes, it'd be a real shame if the CPL doesn't use the rivalries between the cities when planning, even though population probably dictates otherwise. But with Sydney starting a 'tech renaissance' of sorts and hopefully kick-starting a revitalization of Cape Breton, I'd love to see the Cape Breton (real) Highlanders vs. Halifax Explosion a few years down the line after CPL kicks off.

[BuzzAndSting]

14 minutes ago, Oranje said:

3 hour drive makes for a long fucking day. That is essentially Calgary to Edmonton and I am not sure how many Calgarians made the trek up to Edmonton to watch the Eddies play once, let alone regularly, but I am going to venture a guess and say very, very few.

Having lived in the Maritimes, it'd be a real shame if the CPL doesn't use the rivalries between the cities when planning, even though population probably dictates otherwise. But with Sydney starting a 'tech renaissance' of sorts and hopefully kick-starting a revitalization of Cape Breton, I'd love to see the Cape Breton (real) Highlanders vs. Halifax Explosion a few years down the line after CPL kicks off.

Yikes... That would be a... bad name. But I did find it funny.

[GuillermoDelQuarto]

7 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

This thread has seriously run its course if we are honestly discussing anything like these sorts of rule changes.  When CPL happens, it should stick to traditional rules.  That mean regular season draws and pk's after extra time in games where there must be a winner.

It will be hard enough establishing a solid fan base among those who are predisposed to watch euro footy or MLS - lets not alienate that base right from the outset by implementing mickey mouse rules that would absolutely make us look bush league.  We are not trying to invent Calvinball here.

 

hahaha yea you're probably right, I think we're just bored

[Oranje]

29 minutes ago, BuzzAndSting said:

Yikes... That would be a... bad name. But I did find it funny.

I don't feel it's any worse than Chicago Fire. Unless almost 100 years later is too soon...

[BuzzAndSting]

Just now, Oranje said:

I don't feel it's any worse than Chicago Fire. Unless almost 100 years later is too soon...

Very true, never even put that together.