MLS Question

does anyone in here just follow MLS thats from Canada? I find it hard to follow MLS because they only show Toronto FC games? if they want people to be interested in soccer in Canada in the MLS, might be a good idea to broadcast different games along with Toronto FC games!

does anyone in here just follow MLS thats from Canada? I find it hard to follow MLS because they only show Toronto FC games? if they want people to be interested in soccer in Canada in the MLS, might be a good idea to broadcast different games along with Toronto FC games!

I'm not from Canada, but ...

Do you get ESPN2? They have 1 game a week. So does Fox Soccer Channel (originated in Canada IIRC). HDNET (mostly nonexclusive) and Telemundo have a game a week too.

MLSNET.com (MLSlive.tv) shows all non-nationally televised games for ~$20 IIRC (streamed live online, then archived for viewing whenever). Right now for $10 you can go see all those games that are archived.

I'm not sure which channels you expect MLS to broadcast on? All their games on the main networks??? Even putting 1 game a week on ABC would bankrupt the league.

do you just follow MLS? whats your opinion on the MLS compared to Europe soccer?

do you just follow MLS? whats your opinion on the MLS compared to Europe soccer?

You'll get a lot of opinions. MLS teams spend ~$2-3 million per year on salary. A couple have a player making that much themselves on top of that salary cap. In England t eams spend ~$2 million to buy the rights to an average starter, then pay them that much each year in salary. So there's no point trying to compare MLS to the top leagues in England, Spain, Italy, & Germany. France edges out MLS by a signficant amount, probably Holland too. The top teams in other leagues (Celtic, Porto, etc) are better than MLS. A moderate edge probably goes to a few more leagues but it's fairly close as most European leagues are top heavy. MLS has parity. There are some good leagues like in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Japan that have talent that's better than many players in Europe. The point is that there's no NBA/NHL comparison in soccer. The talent is everywhere. The Champions League has most of the best 100-200 players, but outside that players are spread out quite a bit.

I think MLS has made enormous strides in the last 5 years to solidify the league. Whether or not the standard and style suits you is really up to trying it yourself. If you want to see the bulk of the US/Canadian American talent pool (outside the top 20-30 players) and you want to see regular games live in person, then MLS is something to consider.

I think they're MAYBE the 8th or 9th best league in the world.

And that might be a stretch.

better than top league in Portugal? also League 1 in england?

better than top league in Portugal? also League 1 in england?

The top league in Portugal is unique. The top 3 teams are among the best in the world (maybe one slight tier down). The rest of the teams are stocked with Brazilians. There's no real way to compare how an average Portuguese team would do against an average MLS team. I think it's fair to say the level is close enough between the two to not matter. Do you want to watch a league almost half full of Portuguese starters and half full of 2nd to 3rd rate Brazilians (though some good prospects do emerge)? Or do you want to watch a league full of the bulk of US/Canadian talent (the Canadian part not quite happening yet)?

MLS is probably better than League 1 (the 3rd tier in England) IMO. I'd compare the Championship (the 2nd tier) as close enough to even to MLS though MLS is more about parity. Stefani Migloranzi and John Thorrington played in League 1 and all came back to MLS and showed to be below average as starters. A bunch of players from Trinidad filter through League 1 and few of their peers stick around in MLS. There's no great way of comparing the two, but IMO League 1 is mostly British players deemed not good enough for the top two divisions. Most MLS starters could find a job in the Championship (though some would struggle due to style differences).

just don,t understand why in Canada they don,t show other games besides just Toronto FC all the time, people want to see the other teams too if they want Canada to have a passion for soccer and MLS they have a funny way to show it!

I see more game from EPL than I do on home soil, I'm a Manchester United fan! I know its across the world but Man U was the first team I saw on TV!

just don,t understand why in Canada they don,t show other games besides just Toronto FC all the time, people want to see the other teams too if they want Canada to have a passion for soccer and MLS they have a funny way to show it!

I see more game from EPL than I do on home soil, I'm a Manchester United fan! I know its across the world but Man U was the first team I saw on TV!

It sounds like you don't get many channels? Are you living on your own? Cause I think with most channel packages you get more than just Toronto FC games.

The way TV works is that the local team strikes a deal with a local channel, who will show most of their games. On top of that are some national TV deals (ESPN2, Fox Soccer Channel, etc) that give you the broad range of teams. For the diehards there is MLSlive.tv or a pay channel package ($70 a year). I don't believe you can't get the games. I think you must not be in a position to pay to get them (MLSlive.tv is around $20 for the year).

all we get is Toronto FC games, I have Fox Soccer Channel but in Canada its called Fox Sports World Canada and it does show any MLS, all it shows in the summer is that stupid United Soccer league in Canada, I get replays on the Fox Report and Skysports from England, Fox has there own in the USA and we have are own Fox and I don,t understand this at all! yes I have digital TV but no MLS, I see more European Soccer than from here, CBC shows all Toronto FC games but thats it! I see CL games, what ever TSN shows!

better than top league in Portugal? also League 1 in england?
The best MLS sides would definitely lose to Champions League clubs but probably beat the teams at the bottom of any domestic league table. There's a big difference between Man U and Derby, Inter and Reggina, Barca and Levante, etc. As a whole, MLS has often been equated to The Championship in England.

The best MLS sides would definitely lose to Champions League clubs but probably beat the teams at the bottom of any domestic league table. There's a big difference between Man U and Derby, Inter and Reggina, Barca and Levante, etc. As a whole, MLS has often been equated to The Championship in England.

I think in a one game exhibition or a short 2 game series, a MLS team could be respectable against most teams in the bottom of the standings in a lot of foreign leagues. However, if you dropped a decent MLS team into the Championship for a season, I doubt they'd hold up well. The depth just isn't there. I mean, even DC (probably one of the top 2 teams in the MLS when healthy) would be hard pressed over a full season just because of the depth issues. The salary cap severely limits the amount of money you can pay to players riding the pine. Most backups or sub players are late picks or RAW players who do maybe one or two things at a mediocre level and thats it.

how would Toronto FC do in the Championship league? or say against Derby, I say Derby because they look sick in the EPL?

how would Toronto FC do in the Championship league? or say against Derby, I say Derby because they look sick in the EPL?

Derby probably would beat most MLS teams 9 times out of 10.

how would Toronto FC do in the Championship league? or say against Derby, I say Derby because they look sick in the EPL?

Toronto being an expansion team was below average for a MLS team. Derby doesn't have much top tier fire power in the attack. If Derby came here to play Toronto during the EPL preseason, Toronto would likely win. That's about the only scenario of them facing each other. If Toronto had to go play a meaningful match in England, Derby would dominate. Toronto would have to be near 100% healthy to stand a chance.

Put the two teams with healthy lineups in a neutral site with no overtime, I'd guess 3 Derby wins, 6 draws, 1 Toronto win. I could see Edu, O'Brien, and Dunivant as starters for Derby. Wynne has more raw talent than just about anyone on Derby's defense. If he's on his game, he'd look amazing out there. I'm not sure if Cunningham has much left, but he'd probably be the fasted player on the pitch. Robinson and Brennan would have been borderline starters for Derby 2 years ago (cause Derby's a Championship level side) but both are aging a bit now. If Toronto had an average MLS keeper, he could probably start for Derby. Now that MLS adjusted the rules to give Toronto at least 10 international spots (I read that they'll have 15 next year and could trade for more). Toronto won't be stuck with the USL level Canadian talent like Reda and should be a better team for it.

I think in a one game exhibition or a short 2 game series, a MLS team could be respectable against most teams in the bottom of the standings in a lot of foreign leagues. However, if you dropped a decent MLS team into the Championship for a season, I doubt they'd hold up well. The depth just isn't there. I mean, even DC (probably one of the top 2 teams in the MLS when healthy) would be hard pressed over a full season just because of the depth issues. The salary cap severely limits the amount of money you can pay to players riding the pine. Most backups or sub players are late picks or RAW players who do maybe one or two things at a mediocre level and thats it.
The salary cap issues are much less of a concern against the poor Football League clubs. Furthermore, Championship teams dish out for overpriced Euro talent while MLS goes cheaper for undervalued US players and other low-cost unknowns.
Derby probably would beat most MLS teams 9 times out of 10.
Since "most" here is 7, maybe you're right. Derby is pretty terrible right now, though. If we're talking Wigan, then you're right. That Blackburn game spoke loudly.

There is a professional soccer league in Canada the link is below.

http://www.cpsl.ca/