• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

2021-22-23-24 News Thread

The United Soccer League has applied to US Soccer to create a new first division in 2028. Along with the creation of the division, they’ll implement promotion/relegation through all 3 levels of the league pyramid.

Getting approval from USSF could be a challenge. They have strict requirements for professional club standards at each tier, with the top tier needing 12 teams across more than one time zone and stadiums above 15,000. 75% of clubs must also be located within a city with over 1,000,000 people. Only 4 of the 24 teams in the 2nd tier Championship have a stadium that meets the capacity requirement. With no other pro/rel leagues, what would happen if a team with a sub-15,000 seat stadium is promoted? Or is that a first year requirement? If those standards were applied in The UK, Luton and Bournemouth would be blocked from promotion to the Premier League.
 
So, based on the constant drumbeat online for pro/rel in the US, we can safely assume that once this "one simple trick" is installed, the USL leagues will rapidly overcome the doddering MLS and dominate the US pro landscape. Right? If I've been told that pro/rel is the answer to all our pro league problems once, I've been told it a million times. And who am I to argue with the collective wisdom of randos on the internet?
 
So, based on the constant drumbeat online for pro/rel in the US, we can safely assume that once this "one simple trick" is installed, the USL leagues will rapidly overcome the doddering MLS and dominate the US pro landscape. Right? If I've been told that pro/rel is the answer to all our pro league problems once, I've been told it a million times. And who am I to argue with the collective wisdom of randos on the internet?
My prediction is that US Soccer denies their application for Tier I status and the USL files suit. So it might be the next decade before it’s resolved.
 
The US looks set to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup, after submitting the only bid. But, as with the 2026 Men’s World Cup, it could be spread across other CONCACAF countries although Mexico seems most likely.. Only one valid bid was submitted for the 2035 Women’s World Cup so it will be held across the UK.

 
Both bids have multi-site twists. The US/Mexico bid apparently at least hints at group stage games in Jamaica and Costa Rica, which would mean massive cash outlays just to get decent pitches installed and stadiums brought up to accessibility standards. The UK bid looks designed to allow all four Home Nations to claim host status although I'm not sure FIFA is going to let that slide. But they are proposing to use stadiums in the UK, Scotland, Wales and No. Ireland in the groups. That will mean finally following through on a new stadium in Belfast that has been delayed a million times. Scotland already has several suitable venues as does Wales. Oh, they apparently plan to use Man United's proposed new spaceship/stadium for the Finals, which seems ... VERY optimistic, especially by British standards. Wembley would be a very nice backup plan, I'd think. Or maybe that new dockside stadium in Liverpool.
 
A tourist from Arizona got on the wrong boat in London and, instead of a hop on/hop off tour, he was on a boat with Southend United fans on their way to a match. They adopted him, gout him into the ground and now he’s Southend til he dies.

 
Fairly lazy hire, IMO ... but less lazy that re-hiring Gerrard would have been. Then again, you can't get more lazy than Celtic's last managerial search and that has worked out OK even if Brendan Rodgers STILL annoys the crap out of me.
 
It's so weird how he waited so long to be pragmatic (he also had a very pragmatic game plan against Villa right before the final, so I wasn't as shocked as everyone else).

The biggest issue with Ange is that his style was just unsustainable. Anyone who wants to point to the injuries that he dealt with as a defense, I would like to point to the huge outlier Spurs were in terms of high intensity sprints on both offense a defense the leading cause for the injury issues.
 
Spurs contacted Brentford seeking to hire Thomas Frank as their next coach and hope to have it resolved in the next 48 hours. The cost to bring in Frank and is back room staff is expected to be about £10 million.

Frank joined Brentford as an assistant in 2016 and replaced Dean Smith in 2018 when Smith left for Villa. He brought them to the Championship playoff final in his first full season and won promotion the following year.
 
Anyone going to any of the CWC matches? Had no interest until my S-I-L got me tix to PSG v Botafogo for my early Father's Day gift. And now my fellow Pasadena Reds are planning a River Plate v Monterrey visit. Both at the Rose Bowl here.
 
Anyone going to any of the CWC matches? Had no interest until my S-I-L got me tix to PSG v Botafogo for my early Father's Day gift. And now my fellow Pasadena Reds are planning a River Plate v Monterrey visit. Both at the Rose Bowl here.
I’m wasn’t planning on it. I forgot that Charlotte was hosting matches until you posed the question. It’s 3 hours away, so theoretically, I could only go to a weekend match, which limits me to Real Madrid - Pachuca or a round of 16 match. But looking at the schedule, there is a match at Audi Field in DC next Wednesday and I’ll be at my office in the western suburbs next week. The cheapest ticket is $91, and it’s a 1 hour drive or 90 minutes on the Metro. But I’m not saying no…
 
The matches here have gotten really cheap: $30 for PSG/Botafogo (SIL paid a little more) and now the River/Monterrey match is going for as little as $20. So many tix available.
 
Back
Top