Will the MLS or Chinese Super League ever become more than glorified pub leagues?

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Bit disappointed USA haven't started producing a better level by now , thought with the investment we would have at least seen a dozen Americans doing well in Europe's major leagues or an MLS side closing the gap on the south American teams a little bit they seem to have regressed as for China it's still early days but the standard is a disgrace. All each seem good for are a decent retirement packages for players who no longer give a fuck , does anyone see it changing ?
I'd personally love to see football grow and produce worldclass players and teams in America and China but just can't seeing it happening.
 
Pretty sure football (soccer) is way down the list of sports in the US of A. Baseball, American Football, Basketball, etc, etc are all ahead. I don't see that changing any time soon.

They have attempted to inject life into the MLS and other incarnations so many times before, nothing sticks.

When you have had people like Moore, Pele, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Beckham, Best, Eusebio, David Villa, Keane, Pirlo, Henry, etc, etc, etc, etc go to America and still it hasn't taken off or generated some interest at grass roots, then you know you're in trouble!!

As for China, that is just a retirement home at the minute.
 
Aren't most American professional footballers from well off families? Isn't that a bigger issue?

I'm not 100% sure so hopefully the American posters can word it better but aren't most professionals plucked from universities etc which are of course from the more well of families. They don't exactly go out scouting the poorer kids on the street type players in which most of the best players of all time were.
 
The MLS is growing but it does not have a rocket strapped to its back. It will probably overtake the MLB in a few years but that is also because of the decline of baseball.

There are other things that need to be addressed in the MLS and US football as well. Youth development, recruitment etc.

But is is a growing league but it also faces a couple of juggernauts in the NFL and NBA. The converts are die hards and connected to their clubs/teams/franchises/whatever.

Plus you can get some real banger goals in the MLS, like this one from today

 
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A
Aren't most American professional footballers from well off families? Isn't that a bigger issue?

I'm not 100% sure so hopefully the American posters can word it better but aren't most professionals plucked from universities etc which are of course from the more well of families. They don't exactly go out scouting the poorer kids on the street type players in which most of the best players of all time were.

The best players (the players talented enough to play in MLS) get scholarships to play for their universities so they and their families generally aren't footing the education bill. The issue is lower down at the school age level. Because of the sparse distribution of professional team academies and scouting networks across the U.S., youth club football is paid for largely by the parents of the players. Between paying for a trainer, facilities, referees, equipment, travel, it can be very difficult for many families to support the financial burden. It wasn't uncommon when I was playing to have some players be subsidized by the rest of the team so that they could participate. In all honesty though, the college draft becomes less and less important with each passing year as teams invest more money in their academies and scouting networks.

As for the state of MLS, it gets better every year. The number of teams in the league continues to expand and the level of play is pretty good. Frankly, the interest in bringing over older European based players is definitely waning with most MLS fans now hoping that their teams invest in young talent from South America or European players in their prime (championship level).

With all the concussion challenges NFL faces and the shift in America's demographics, I'm sure you'll continue to see greater interest in football in the U.S. at all levels.
 
Aren't most American professional footballers from well off families? Isn't that a bigger issue?

I'm not 100% sure so hopefully the American posters can word it better but aren't most professionals plucked from universities etc which are of course from the more well of families. They don't exactly go out scouting the poorer kids on the street type players in which most of the best players of all time were.
:deledoubt:

You serious dude?
 
:deledoubt:

You serious dude?

Think I read it wrong.

I think the guy above put it right. Youth football being a financial burden etc. So it was mostly the upper class kids playing it or those with families who could afford it. Isn't there/wasn't there some sort of pay to play system?

Imagine if that was the same system in the likes of Argentina etc. You may not have got a Maradona or a Messi.

Though it does look to be changing (US scouting). Watched quite a bit of MLS this season and their are some very talented young players. I guess it's all about them getting the opportunity though.

I guess football not being the most popular sport hinders that in some cases. Most of the greatest international footballing nations mostly have football as their number one sport. Which is why I guess America are likely to be the best at Basketball or American Football across the world.
 
It’ll take years to grow, maybe decades.

First you get the big names in to get the local kids interested, then you wait for them to grow up, so you can have more local players of a higher standard.
Then when your locals get to a high enough standard, you start paying the big money to bring big names in again
 
Until today they are not purely sporting experiences but they are a way to earn what they would not take in Europe. Apart from the retirement of Pirlo, Villa etc. I think of Giovinco (MLS), Pelle 'and Hernanes (China). Or Witsel and Oscar (China).

The USA is ahead because now football is also played among young people. China will have to work a lot before being decent.

However they are new markets and the top teams have started Academy and roads to promote themselves (see games of July-August).

However you have to build the teams but also the fans. I do not know the rules of baseball and American football.

I don’t think they have the skills to make criticism like this forum or the forum Vecchiasignora.com (Juventus).
 
For the record, average MLS attendance at 22k per game is comparable to average attendance levels in the French Ligue 1, Dutch Eredivisie, Italian Serie A.
 
i think the chinese super league will definitely become the best league in china, it's only a matter of time. Not sure about the MLS though, they have great competition from most high school and ladies leagues
 
I heard this right when we got knocked out of World Cup a qualification, but some pundit said the MLS is making Central/South American players better and not Americans. I found that spot on. If you look at the best players in the league, mostly all of them come from other countries.
 
The MLS and CSL will both at some point get to European League levels, why? TV Money .... when you have a potentially bigger TV audience than the whole of Europe combined it's inevitable that programmers will make it work. Almost the same number of Chinese as the entire population of Europe already watch CSL and EPL today, they just pay a fraction of the cost for the privilege, but that will increase ....

The drawbacks for the US is the owners insistence in trying to run football as they run the NFC or NBA ... pretty much as a private club for the super elite ... football doesn't work like that ... until they realize that football develops from the grassroots upwards, with every player whether from an Ivy League school or the backstreets of middle-of-nowhere having (maybe not an equal) but still a chance of success, where every team can strive to be promoted even if that's just from non-league division 9 to non-league division 8, but far more importantly promotion from the feeder leagues into the MLS ... until they grasp that it will always struggle ....

China's issue is they've moved from 3rd world to 1st world in a heartbeat ... people think there is no history of football in China but that's just wrong ... Football has been huge in China for a long time but the standards are very low and it's had almost no funding, that said football is regarded as the No. 1 spectator sport in China. Large crowds attend live games and large audiences tune in for televised games for both local Chinese teams and famous foreign ones. By one count 3.5 million of China's roughly 600 million soccer fans regularly attend soccer matches at local stadiums ... look at those numbers 600 million fans ... almost ten times the UK population and double that of the USA ... what China needs is success at International level which will gain government support and crucial investment, right now that still seems a long way off, but it will come ....
 
Was over my the new LAFC stadium today. Still pisses me off they were allowed to be a team. Scumbag MLS.
What is the story with LAFC? Seen a few people online saying they hate them. Was wondering what the beef was about. Shame if I am required to hate them, as their kit colours are lush.

As for promotion/relegation in MLS: As the sport in the US increasingly moves towards being more like what we recognise in the rest of the world I think it's inevitable it will be implemented at some point. This could be decades away, though. I speak as someone who occasionally enjoys watching an MLS game on the telly when I can't sleep so I consider myself an expert on the subject.
 
What is the story with LAFC? Seen a few people online saying they hate them. Was wondering what the beef was about. Shame if I am required to hate them, as their kit colours are lush.

As for promotion/relegation in MLS: As the sport in the US increasingly moves towards being more like what we recognise in the rest of the world I think it's inevitable it will be implemented at some point. This could be decades away, though. I speak as someone who occasionally enjoys watching an MLS game on the telly when I can't sleep so I consider myself an expert on the subject.

I think it’s pathetic that MLS would allow the creation of a team when there are many teams in the NASL that have established fan bases that would love to be in MLS. Also I find it pathetic that they would approve a second team in the same city. This league isn’t established enough for two teams in one city imo. And mostly I find it pathetic that people from LA would just start and support LAFC when the Galaxy has been an established team for 20+ years. That’s the team they should be rooting for. But LAFC is a new shiny object that has caught people’s attention. Their marketing team has been incredible. Since they were announced about 2 years ago you could buy hats, shirts, etc. So you’d see someone walking around town with an LAFC hat knowing that the team wouldn’t play their first game for another year. Nice fanbase...
 
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I think it’s pathetic that MLS would allow the creation of a team when there are many teams in the NASL that have established fan bases that would love to be in MLS. Also I find it pathetic that they would approve a second team in the same city. This league isn’t established enough for two teams in one city imo. And mostly I find it pathetic that people from LA would just start and support LAFC when the Galaxy has been an established team for 20+ years. That’s the team they should be rooting for. But LAFC is a new shiny object that has caught people’s attention. Their marketing team has been incredible. Since they were announced about 2 years ago you could buy hats, shirts, etc. So you’d see someone walking around town with an LAFC hat knowing that the team wouldn’t play their first game for another year. Nice fanbase...
Is there a similar grudge with New York City FC being formed on Red Bull New York's turf? To be fair, though, I would rather take a cucumber in a condom right up inside my harris than support a team called Red Bull New York, even if they were there first (albeit under a less sick-inducing team name). Then again, NYCFC are owned by City Football Group, aren't they? Ah. It's fortunate that me living in New York and having to decide who to support isn't a problem that is likely to come up any time soon.
 
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