Off Topic: Soccer and NASCAR

[froot loops]

He was capping a lot of players from Europe, most of them weren't actually playing much at their club level and hardly any of them panned out at all. I guess maybe Brooks.

He did a lot of busy work that accomplished nothing by the time he started the Hex he and then Arena were relying on the old players.

Complaining about the MLS is time old tradition, but at minimum you should be able to get out of the Hex with MLS players. All of the other teams don't have players conquerin Europe. The ticos have 3 players playing overseas and they swept the Americans.

Fraq is right, he was in over his head from day 1.

[chemiclord]

Ya know, you say they should... but they've clearly proven they can't. Because MLS is a garbage league with garbage talent.

[edindetroit]

Well when you put it that way.....

[chemiclord]

Froot has a boner for MLS that it has never deserved. And he hates it when people tell the truth about that shitty league. Everything that it does is on the cheap (well, except the expansion fees for their little Ponzi scheme they've got going on). The results speak for themselves, a substandard league developed by awful coaching using talent that can't hack it anywhere else (either because they are too old or hurt to hang in Europe or were never good enough to hack it in the first place).

For example, Toronto FC was the biggest spender in MLS at $22 million in total compensation. That would put them nicely in England's League One (their third tier division). And the rest of the owners in MLS threw a fit about Toronto's "irresponsible spending." Because the goal isn't to actually field competitive teams outside MLS. It's about doing the bare minimum. As long as their league looks competitive to the masses (people who probably don't watch much of the actual class leagues in Europe) , and as long as the USMNT looks like a semi-capable side in international play, the people pulling the strings could care less about results.

The sooner it dissolves and a real league that actually seeks to be competitive outside of its little bubble comes into shape, the better.

[froot loops]

I have no stake in the MLS, but look at all of the big teams in the Hex the main league is the MLS. Just look at the fucking rosters. They lost to a nearly semi-pro team in TNT that would love to have MLS players.

If you are talking about taking on Germany or Belgium, no shit. But qualifying for the World Cup in CONCAF should be accomplished at minimum with some MLS players. There will always be a mix. Nearly every national has a mix of domestic league players and players from the big leagues. if you become a power than all of the players will, but they aren't there yet.

But again, chemiclord is speaking, he likened Liverpool's history to the Lions. Dumbass.

[Marko69]

But again, chemiclord is speaking, he likened Liverpool's history to the Lions.

[chemiclord]

I likened their Premier League history to the Lions because of how they were repeatedly snake-bit in the inventive ways they found to lose the trophy over the last twenty some odd years. Of course, Froot likes to misrepresent that. Though since I didn't specify that at the time, that's a fair comeback. Can't wait for him to invoke my support for Stephen LeFors next.

And yet again... just because the USMNT should be able to escape the hex they are in, clearly they can't. And a lot of that has to do with the absolutely dismal development that MLS oversees domestically. They should be better than they are, but that would require a little bit of risk and a lot of investment. And MLS can't have that.

[Malto Marko]

Heh, heh.

Yesterday was the Detroit Grand Prix. The premier race was delayed for about half an hour because the pace car driver (a GM Exec) spun out and crashed the pace vehicle in turn 2 of warm up laps.

This, has to be a first.......

[froot loops]

I likened their Premier League history to the Lions because of how they were repeatedly snake-bit in the inventive ways they found to lose the trophy over the last twenty some odd years. Of course, Froot likes to misrepresent that. Though since I didn't specify that at the time, that's a fair comeback. Can't wait for him to invoke my support for Stephen LeFors next.

And yet again... just because the USMNT should be able to escape the hex they are in, clearly they can't. And a lot of that has to do with the absolutely dismal development that MLS oversees domestically. They should be better than they are, but that would require a little bit of risk and a lot of investment. And MLS can't have that.

1. Almost every criticism of the MLS you have, I will probably agree with. But having the league is better than not having one at all.

2. Klinsmann deserves a ton of criticism of how that team was ready for the beginning of the Hex. The two biggest games that they would have and they were not ready and had a crap game plan.

[chemiclord]

I'm honestly not so sure of that. There are honestly times where I think MLS's existence holds back the development of the national team, simply because MLS exists only to promote itself, and as long as the national team doesn't embarrass the domestic league, there is absolutely no motivation to improve the quality of play. It shouldn't take a humiliating exit in World Cup qualification to get the purse holders to put some time and money into development.

But hey... we'll see if this is the wake-up call.

And I will never pretend Klinsmann was a particularly good on-the-field manager. He wasn't. And yeah, he absolutely should get dragged over it. But he wasn't wrong in his criticism of the infrastructure of how U.S. Soccer does business. He had to take a chance with marginal players in Europe because the talent being developed on this side of pond was trash. There's absolutely no excuse that players like Altidore and Bradley were among the best USMNT had for the last decade... but they were, mostly because there was absolutely no interest on the part of MLS and U.S. Soccer to develop anyone while the aging out crop was still recognizable (and therefore marketable).

[Marko69]

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/loris-karius-liverpool-real-madrid-champions-league-final-sergio-ramos-a8383396.html

Turns our you were right about Ramos, Chemiclord. That dirty bstd!

There is a bit of bullshitness about the story...... but it does explain two keeping errors that my granddaughter could?ve saved.

[chemiclord]

That's nothing new for Sergio Ramos. For every time he's been tossed for his dirty play there's three or four "unfortunate circumstances" that he gets away with.

He intentionally hurts people to get a competitive advantage. He's the dirtiest player in the sport, and should be banned for life.

[TheLondonLion]

Errrr, no.

Suarez (who they used to idolose) is also just as dirty.

Worth mentioning as well that the hospital where Karius received his dubious concussion diagnosis has a trustee of one John Henry, who has donated them a million dollars. Pardon my cynicism over a club whose entire existence is a lingering, hysterical D list soap opera steeped in victimhood aptly demonstrated by their pathetic whinging post CL final.

[Marko69]

Need Oz here to defend his heroes!

[froot loops]

Bringing up Suarez seems like weak sauce Whataboutism. When he bit a guy in a Liverpool uniform he served a 10 game suspension. I don't remember an outcry about that suspension and I certainly don't remember any excusing his last bite from the World Cup and he was gone after tbat. But maybe I'm mistaken.

Take that logic further, since Liverpool fans rooted for Suarez they should keep their trap shut about any other opposing player for the rest of eternity.