Menace Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 (edited) I don't dispute MLS is huge in America, but personally speaking I can't see myself staying up till midnight to see Yedlin and players of that irk play. Saudi Arabia have really only started taking their league seriously in the last 18 months. MLS has been around for a good 10-15 years - I couldn't tell you 10 people I know that watch it. And that's with Beckham, Zlatan and now even with Messi there. Edited July 25, 2023 by Menace Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toon25 Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 33 minutes ago, Deuce said: Don’t most English clubs bus their squads several hours across the country for matches? We have planes here that accomplish the same. not to mention that Europe-based players already have to travel across the continent for UEFA competitions. Doubtful MLS will ever be the pre-eminent sports league in the U.S., but it’s a massive sports market with a lot of space. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jul/01/mls-flights-commercial-travel-soccer I was also thinking of an article I read a year or so ago where a former player was talking about the ballache of travelling so much between games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 18 minutes ago, Menace said: I don't dispute MLS is huge in America, but personally speaking I can't see myself staying up till midnight to see Yedlin and players of that irk play. Saudi Arabia have really only started taking their league seriously in the last 18 months. MLS has been around for a good 10-15 years - I couldn't tell you 10 people I know that watch it. And that's with Beckham, Zlatan and now even with Messi there. I was watching highlights of Messi's debut and almost spat all over my screen when I saw Yedlin was playing right back for his team ... and still over hitting every cross. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 17 minutes ago, Menace said: I don't dispute MLS is huge in America, but personally speaking I can't see myself staying up till midnight to see Yedlin and players of that irk play. Saudi Arabia have really only started taking their league seriously in the last 18 months. MLS has been around for a good 10-15 years - I couldn't tell you 10 people I know that watch it. And that's with Beckham, Zlatan and now even with Messi there. You’re thinking of MLS now, but I’m talking about the MLS of 20 years from now. Even someone like Yedlin is miles better than the average MLS player of 20 years ago, and he’ll eventually be eclipsed. I’m not convinced the Saudis have a sustainable business model. They’re really just gonna throw money at top players indefinitely? Think they’ll likelier to fuck it all off after they’ve secured their inevitable World Cup. Anyhoo, it’s all speculative at this point. I just wouldn’t sleep on it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toon25 Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 25 minutes ago, Menace said: I don't dispute MLS is huge in America, but personally speaking I can't see myself staying up till midnight to see Yedlin and players of that irk play. Saudi Arabia have really only started taking their league seriously in the last 18 months. MLS has been around for a good 10-15 years - I couldn't tell you 10 people I know that watch it. And that's with Beckham, Zlatan and now even with Messi there. Aye, this is where I am Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubaricho Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 (edited) 21 minutes ago, toon25 said: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jul/01/mls-flights-commercial-travel-soccer I was also thinking of an article I read a year or so ago where a former player was talking about the ballache of travelling so much between games. I mean, baseball players, hockey players, and basketball players do it all season with many many many more games (162, 82, and 82 respectively) and don’t bitch at all. Sometimes they even finish a game, go to the airport, fly halfway across the country, and wake up the next day and play. The soccer kids bitch about having to fly once a week? Edited July 25, 2023 by cubaricho Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrone Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 12 minutes ago, cubaricho said: I mean, baseball players, hockey players, and basketball players do it all season with many many many more games (162, 82, and 82 respectively) and don’t bitch at all. Sometimes they even finish a game, go to the airport, fly halfway across the country, and wake up the next day and play. The soccer kids bitch about having to fly once a week? Aye, but they are are similar to wrestling, it's not really a sport ?♂️ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubaricho Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 Hockey not really a sport. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrone Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 3 minutes ago, cubaricho said: Hockey not really a sport. Well dancing on Ice with stick's ?♂️ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaqen Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 The trouble with any of these leagues like the Saudi one is they don't have the history or anything to make watching it interesting for most folk in Europe. It's a lot different to them buying the golf or hosting F1 etc. Football is much more than just about the standard or players on display. It's watching Everton games because you want to see them get beat and relegated, it's watching European games as you want the English sides knocked out, it's watching two shite Milan teams play each other on a Sunday night because of the rivalry. It's just hard to care about rich Saudi club 1 v rich Saudi club 2. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubaricho Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 Just now, patrone said: Well dancing on Ice with stick's ?♂️ Most soccer players would get fit for a coffin if they got hit anything like this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 58 minutes ago, Menace said: I don't dispute MLS is huge in America, but personally speaking I can't see myself staying up till midnight to see Yedlin and players of that irk play. Saudi Arabia have really only started taking their league seriously in the last 18 months. MLS has been around for a good 10-15 years - I couldn't tell you 10 people I know that watch it. And that's with Beckham, Zlatan and now even with Messi there. It's been around for double that time - but I think your point is spot-on. I won't be watching Inter Miami any time soon. I think this is where KSA will miscalculate - the belief it is about 'names'. Since the PL breakaway, only once has a player in England been voted World Player of the Year (in any of its various incarnations) A league only really needs to be watched by locals to be viable tbf. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 4 minutes ago, Jaqen said: The trouble with any of these leagues like the Saudi one is they don't have the history or anything to make watching it interesting for most folk in Europe. It's a lot different to them buying the golf or hosting F1 etc. Football is much more than just about the standard or players on display. It's watching Everton games because you want to see them get beat and relegated, it's watching European games as you want the English sides knocked out, it's watching two shite Milan teams play each other on a Sunday night because of the rivalry. It's just hard to care about rich Saudi club 1 v rich Saudi club 2. 100%. It is the 'watching eleven shirts on a washing line' argument that Tommy Docherty put forward. The standard of football isn't the point - at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrone Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 4 minutes ago, cubaricho said: Most soccer players would get fit for a coffin if they got hit anything like this. ?♂️ Most "American football players" would do similar if they played rugby ? Swings and roundabouts Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 7 minutes ago, patrone said: ?♂️ Most "American football players" would do similar if they played rugby ? Swings and roundabouts Padding and helmets are for wimps, etc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrone Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 1 minute ago, TheBrownBottle said: Padding and helmets are for wimps, etc Dunno, more the point is that they need them as they try to hurt the opposition rather than win with tactics ?♂️ I'm no expert like Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 Just now, patrone said: Dunno, more the point is that they need them as they try to hurt the opposition rather than win with tactics ?♂️ I'm no expert like It's all a bit silly, tbh. Grid iron, ice hockey and rugby are all sports where you can get hurt badly playing. This is also the case with football. All a bit daft Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranna Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Kimbo said: I'm becoming increasingly convinced this is part of a Saudi plan to make themselves the main driver of a super league. I don't see how their domestic league can become a success like this in the medium to long term. The goal eventually has to be commercial viability, but the money being thrown about has no chance of ever being that. PIF isn't just going to flush billions down the toilet year after year. When the league starts to become successful are they going to start offering less money? That seems unlikely. The money only makes sense in the context of a super league. They'll build the profile of their chosen clubs, build relationships with the top players, and build relationships with the ESL clubs by taking their deadwood and shoveling money into their pockets, then in 2-3 years they will make their move. The point is that there is no governance or accountability for Saudi clubs, the government can print as much money to sign all the players they want. If they are willing to be part of the European football system somehow, it will totally change the landscape on how they deal with finances, FFP will hit them hard, and the party will be over. I don't think most players would prefer a 200k p/w move to a Saudi club (in a FFP scenario) instead of a move to Newcastle or Man Utd for 100k p/w. They will have to always break the bank with offers above 500k p/w, but for how many players they can offer it? Can you imagine 15 players earning 500k p/w, it's chaos. Edited July 25, 2023 by cranna Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrone Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 17 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said: It's all a bit silly, tbh. Grid iron, ice hockey and rugby are all sports where you can get hurt badly playing. This is also the case with football. All a bit daft Well I was joking like ?♂️ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 2 minutes ago, patrone said: Well I was joking like ?♂️ As was I Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrone Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 4 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said: As was I ?♂️ ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 1 hour ago, patrone said: Well dancing on Ice with stick's ?♂️ Football fan calling ice hockey dancing ffs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 1 hour ago, cranna said: The point is that there is no governance or accountability for Saudi clubs, the government can print as much money to sign all the players they want. If they are willing to be part of the European football system somehow, it will totally change the landscape on how they deal with finances, FFP will hit them hard, and the party will be over. I don't think most players would prefer a 200k p/w move to a Saudi club (in a FFP scenario) instead of a move to Newcastle or Man Utd for 100k p/w. They will have to always break the bank with offers above 500k p/w, but for how many players they can offer it? Can you imagine 15 players earning 500k p/w, it's chaos. Why would they comply with UEFA rules? The ESL teams would love a Saudi run international club competition. If they can take the best players and the best teams, they can dictate anything to UEFA. They don’t actually need UEFA. Real Madrid and Saudi could confirm Madrid’s 14 CL titles have carrried into this new thing plus all the other winners and just go from there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 2 hours ago, Jaqen said: The trouble with any of these leagues like the Saudi one is they don't have the history or anything to make watching it interesting for most folk in Europe. It's a lot different to them buying the golf or hosting F1 etc. Football is much more than just about the standard or players on display. It's watching Everton games because you want to see them get beat and relegated, it's watching European games as you want the English sides knocked out, it's watching two shite Milan teams play each other on a Sunday night because of the rivalry. It's just hard to care about rich Saudi club 1 v rich Saudi club 2. We had a UAE FC vs Russian Oligarch FC final recently. English fans don’t watch much non English football. Not even the champions league. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 12 minutes ago, The College Dropout said: English fans don’t watch much non English football. Not even the champions league. Stick it on terrestrial TV and that all changes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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