Soccer Potpourri
MLS Starter
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Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know by now that Manchester City of the EPL and the New York Yankees of MLS have partnered up to be the 20th franchise in MLS.
I’m not going to link to any of the gazillion stories that have flooded the soccersphere, just do a search and you’ll find all you want to know, and more.
I will, however, give you my two cents on this announcement. It’s good. Having grown up in the New York metro area, I can say that the Red Bulls are a New Jersey team. Period.
Money is the driving force in a league that still has too many teams that struggle to achieve financial stability. Television is the cash cow that the league has yet to milk and another team in the #1 media market with owners of deep pockets is the smart way to go. I have written several articles over the years about the need for MLS to tap national TV revenues more deeply in order to achieve the level they aspire to and this is the best way to try and gain appreciable levels of TV rights fees increases when all of the contracts expire in 2014.
That’s it from me. Writers like Grant Wahl, Steve Davis, Drew Epperly and others have written some good pieces on the expansion. I’d advise you to peruse them if you want more opinions. And for a good laugh, read the comments or the twitter stream of #MLS for the usual moronic postings from the ignorant mob.
MLS
Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Week 12
The Week 12 numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||||
| Week 12 | 110 GP | YTD | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2009 | 13,148 | 8 | 15,007 | 14,731 | 92 | |||
| 2010 | 19,861 | 51.06% | 4 | 16,456 | 14,327 | 16,673 | 13.18% | 93 |
| 2011 | 14,765 | -25.66% | 10 | 17,500 | 6.34% | 17,245 | 3.44% | 116 |
| 2012 | 18,579 | 25.83% | 13 | 18,668 | 6.68% | 18,590 | 7.80% | 120 |
| 2013 | 19,221 | 3.46% | 10 | 17,250 | -7.60% | 17,250 | -7.21% | 110 |
| 2009 225 Game Season – 2010 240 Game Season 2011 306 Game Season – 2012-13 323 Game Season |
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| YTD – 110 Games | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>18k | |
| 2009 | 15,007 | 14,292 | 15.45% | 26.36% |
| 2010 | 16,456 | 14,327 | 10.00% | 34.55% |
| 2011 | 17,500 | 17,596 | 9.09% | 50.00% |
| 2012 | 18,668 | 18,051 | 3.64% | 50.91% |
| 2013 | 17,250 | 17,250 | 7.21% | 46.85% |
Here are the home attendance comparisons to 2012:
Top 20 in Points per 90 in 2013
These numbers are as of the 100 game mark, Sunday May 12.
Check top 20′s for any season on the MLS Player Statistics Page.
| 2013 Players with 700 minutes minimum – Top 20 PPM | Team | Player | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Points | Pts per 90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | Jack McInerney | 800 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 1.575 |
| MTL | Marco Di Vaio | 781 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 1.383 |
| LA | Mike Magee | 802 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 1.347 |
| HOU | Will Bruin | 825 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 1.200 |
| POR | Ryan Johnson | 844 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 1.173 |
| NY | Thierry Henry | 868 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 1.141 |
| POR | Diego Valeri | 798 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 1.128 |
| KC | Claudio Bieler | 995 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 1.085 |
| SJ | Chris Wondolowski | 1080 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 1.083 |
| HOU | Giles Barnes | 767 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 1.056 |
| TOR | Robert Earnshaw | 887 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 1.015 |
| KC | Graham Zusi | 967 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 0.931 |
| HOU | Andrew Driver | 712 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0.885 |
| CLB | Dominic Oduro | 845 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0.852 |
| HOU | Brad Davis | 745 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 0.846 |
| DAL | Jackson | 868 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0.829 |
| POR | Will Johnson | 990 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 0.818 |
| POR | Darlington Nagbe | 904 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0.796 |
| NY | Tim Cahill | 961 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0.749 |
| NY | Fabian Espindola | 860 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0.733 |
| 2 points per goal, 1 per assist | ||||||
Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Week 11
The Week 11 numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||||
| Week 11 | 100 GP | YTD | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2009 | 16,066 | 9 | 14,883 | 14,882 | 84 | |||
| 2010 | 19,522 | 21.51% | 9 | 16,393 | 14,303 | 16,529 | 11.07% | 89 |
| 2011 | 18,275 | -6.39% | 12 | 17,527 | 6.91% | 17,480 | 5.75% | 106 |
| 2012 | 16,704 | -8.60% | 11 | 18,766 | 7.07% | 18,592 | 6.36% | 107 |
| 2013 | 15,812 | -5.34% | 15 | 17,053 | -9.13% | 17,053 | -8.28% | 100 |
| 2009 225 Game Season – 2010 240 Game Season 2011 306 Game Season – 2012-13 323 Game Season |
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| YTD – 100 Games | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>18k | |
| 2009 | 14,883 | 14,138 | 16.00% | 26.00% |
| 2010 | 16,393 | 14,303 | 11.00% | 34.00% |
| 2011 | 17,527 | 17,596 | 10.00% | 50.00% |
| 2012 | 18,766 | 18,114 | 4.00% | 52.00% |
| 2013 | 17,053 | 17,072 | 6.93% | 45.54% |
Here are the home attendance comparisons to 2012:
About Those MLS Midweek Matches
MLS has had its first week of multiple midweek matches. In case you aren’t aware, they are necessary due to a busy international schedule that includes the U-20 World Cup, the Gold Cup and World Cup Qualifiers. Over the years, the MLS schedule has slowly evolved in an attempt to minimize the conflict between league and international play.
Poor turnouts in DC, New England, and New York has spawned a mild buzz in the soccersphere about weekday matches and their impact on overall attendance. Given that game day revenues are a major contributor to MLS teams’ bottom line, it’s still a topic that merits some consideration.
Here are the attendance breakdowns of midweek(M-F) matches v weekend matches since 2008. Note that July 4 has fallen midweek 3 times.
You’ll notice the minimal impact that playing midweek has on ‘MLS2′ clubs, i.e.; the Cascadia trio and Toronto. Kansas City also holds up well, in recent years in their new stadium and before that in Community America Park.
| 2013 | Weekends | Weekdays | ||||
| Avg | GP | Avg | GP | Avg +/- | % +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 15,937 | 5 | 10,112 | 1 | -5,825 | -36.5% |
| DC United | 14,619 | 4 | 10,116 | 1 | -4,503 | -30.8% |
| Kansas City | 19,369 | 4 | 18,795 | 2 | -574 | -3.0% |
| New England | 13,627 | 3 | 8,040 | 1 | -5,587 | -41.0% |
| NY Red Bull | 18,625 | 3 | 12,115 | 2 | -6,510 | -35.0% |
| Portland | 20,674 | 4 | 20,674 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| San Jose | 10,525 | 5 | 10,048 | 1 | -477 | -4.5% |
| 2012 | Weekends | Weekdays | ||||
| Avg | GP | Avg | GP | Avg +/- | % +/- | |
| Chicago | 16,932 | 14 | 13,955 | 3 | -2,977 | -17.6% |
| Chivas USA | 13,078 | 14 | 12,952 | 3 | -127 | -1.0% |
| Colorado | 15,218 | 14 | 14,974 | 3 | -243 | -1.6% |
| Columbus | 14,558 | 14 | 13,647 | 3 | -911 | -6.3% |
| Dallas | 14,311 | 13 | 13,178 | 4 | -1,133 | -7.9% |
| DC United | 14,991 | 12 | 11,098 | 5 | -3,893 | -26.0% |
| Houston | 20,939 | 11 | 20,959 | 6 | 19 | 0.1% |
| Kansas City | 19,253 | 13 | 19,897 | 4 | 645 | 3.3% |
| Los Angeles | 23,543 | 14 | 21,239 | 3 | -2,304 | -9.8% |
| Montreal | 24,644 | 14 | 14,037 | 3 | -10,606 | -43.0% |
| New England | 15,042 | 14 | 9,146 | 3 | -5,896 | -39.2% |
| NY Red Bull | 20,310 | 12 | 13,413 | 5 | -6,897 | -34.0% |
| Philadelphia | 18,277 | 14 | 17,011 | 3 | -1,266 | -6.9% |
| Portland | 20,438 | 14 | 20,438 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Salt Lake | 18,834 | 13 | 19,910 | 4 | 1,075 | 5.7% |
| San Jose | 14,135 | 14 | 9,364 | 3 | -4,771 | -33.8% |
| Seattle | 44,321 | 12 | 40,181 | 5 | -4,140 | -9.3% |
| Toronto | 18,245 | 13 | 17,861 | 4 | -385 | -2.1% |
| Vancouver | 19,821 | 12 | 18,645 | 5 | -1,176 | -5.9% |
| 2012 July 4 – Wednesday | ||||||
| Colorado | 18,757 | |||||
| Dallas | 21,508 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 27,000 | |||||
| Montreal | 12,085 | |||||
| Salt Lake | 20,363 | |||||
| 2011 | Weekends | Weekdays | ||||
| Avg | GP | Avg | GP | Avg +/- | % +/- | |
| Chicago | 14,688 | 13 | 12,927 | 4 | -1,760 | -12.0% |
| Chivas USA | 15,395 | 15 | 10,589 | 2 | -4,806 | -31.2% |
| Colorado | 14,774 | 13 | 15,047 | 4 | 273 | 1.8% |
| Columbus | 12,303 | 14 | 11,636 | 3 | -667 | -5.4% |
| Dallas | 13,215 | 15 | 10,203 | 2 | -3,012 | -22.8% |
| DC United | 15,355 | 12 | 14,814 | 5 | -541 | -3.5% |
| Houston | 17,801 | 15 | 16,892 | 2 | -909 | -5.1% |
| Kansas City | 17,590 | 9 | 18,058 | 8 | 468 | 2.7% |
| Los Angeles | 24,202 | 12 | 21,254 | 5 | -2,948 | -12.2% |
| New England | 13,808 | 15 | 8,822 | 2 | -4,987 | -36.1% |
| NY Red Bull | 19,608 | 11 | 19,841 | 6 | 233 | 1.2% |
| Philadelphia | 18,351 | 12 | 18,037 | 5 | -313 | -1.7% |
| Portland | 18,627 | 10 | 19,112 | 7 | 485 | 2.6% |
| Salt Lake | 17,620 | 14 | 17,471 | 3 | -149 | -0.8% |
| San Jose | 12,092 | 16 | 8,122 | 1 | -3,970 | -32.8% |
| Seattle | 38,438 | 13 | 38,682 | 4 | 244 | 0.6% |
| Toronto | 20,084 | 14 | 21,119 | 3 | 1,034 | 5.2% |
| Vancouver | 21,294 | 12 | 18,281 | 5 | -3,013 | -14.2% |
| 2011 July 4 – Monday | ||||||
| Los Angeles | 27,000 | |||||
| Salt Lake | 16,139 | |||||
| 2010 | Weekends | Weekdays | ||||
| Avg | GP | Avg | GP | Avg +/- | % +/- | |
| Chicago | 17,367 | 8 | 14,040 | 7 | -3,328 | -19.2% |
| Chivas USA | 14,553 | 13 | 14,718 | 2 | 165 | 1.1% |
| Colorado | 13,837 | 13 | 10,024 | 2 | -3,814 | -27.6% |
| Columbus | 14,880 | 14 | 11,304 | 1 | -3,576 | -24.0% |
| Dallas | 10,927 | 11 | 10,508 | 4 | -419 | -3.8% |
| DC United | 14,940 | 13 | 11,877 | 2 | -3,063 | -20.5% |
| Houston | 17,555 | 13 | 15,714 | 2 | -1,841 | -10.5% |
| Kansas City | 10,342 | 13 | 9,928 | 2 | -415 | -4.0% |
| Los Angeles | 21,420 | 12 | 21,506 | 3 | 86 | 0.4% |
| New England | 13,487 | 14 | 5,990 | 1 | -7,497 | -55.6% |
| NY Red Bull | 19,847 | 11 | 14,576 | 4 | -5,271 | -26.6% |
| Philadelphia | 19,656 | 12 | 17,636 | 3 | -2,020 | -10.3% |
| Salt Lake | 17,149 | 11 | 16,944 | 4 | -206 | -1.2% |
| San Jose | 9,935 | 11 | 8,901 | 4 | -1,034 | -10.4% |
| Seattle | 36,162 | 11 | 36,205 | 4 | 44 | 0.1% |
| Toronto | 20,265 | 13 | 21,676 | 2 | 1,411 | 7.0% |
| 2009 | Weekends | Weekdays | ||||
| Avg | GP | Avg | GP | Avg +/- | % +/- | |
| Chicago | 14,129 | 12 | 16,928 | 3 | 2,799 | 19.8% |
| Chivas USA | 14,714 | 14 | 20,379 | 1 | 5,665 | 38.5% |
| Colorado | 12,934 | 13 | 8,409 | 2 | -4,526 | -35.0% |
| Columbus | 14,850 | 14 | 8,793 | 1 | -6,057 | -40.8% |
| Dallas | 9,858 | 13 | 29,227 | 2 | 19,369 | 196.5% |
| DC United | 17,302 | 12 | 11,233 | 3 | -6,069 | -35.1% |
| Houston | 17,228 | 14 | 14,516 | 1 | -2,712 | -15.7% |
| Kansas City | 10,103 | 13 | 9,731 | 2 | -372 | -3.7% |
| Los Angeles | 20,326 | 14 | 21,679 | 1 | 1,353 | 6.7% |
| New England | 13,732 | 15 | 0 | NA | ||
| NY Red Bull | 12,092 | 12 | 14,086 | 3 | 1,995 | 16.5% |
| Salt Lake | 16,708 | 9 | 15,876 | 6 | -832 | -5.0% |
| San Jose | 14,782 | 13 | 9,774 | 2 | -5,008 | -33.9% |
| Seattle | 30,760 | 12 | 31,444 | 3 | 684 | 2.2% |
| Toronto | 20,335 | 13 | 20,409 | 2 | 74 | 0.4% |
| Dallas was part of a Mexico v Colombia doubleheader midweek | ||||||
| 2008 | Weekends | Weekdays | ||||
| Avg | GP | Avg | GP | Avg +/- | % +/- | |
| Chicago | 17,211 | 12 | 16,328 | 3 | -883 | -5.1% |
| Chivas USA | 13,506 | 13 | 25,572 | 2 | 12,066 | 89.3% |
| Colorado | 13,438 | 13 | 15,095 | 2 | 1,657 | 12.3% |
| Columbus | 14,795 | 13 | 13,499 | 2 | -1,296 | -8.8% |
| Dallas | 16,143 | 10 | 8,345 | 5 | -7,797 | -48.3% |
| DC United | 21,297 | 11 | 15,817 | 4 | -5,480 | -25.7% |
| Houston | 18,115 | 11 | 13,706 | 4 | -4,409 | -24.3% |
| Kansas City | 11,032 | 13 | 8,435 | 2 | -2,598 | -23.5% |
| Los Angeles | 25,648 | 11 | 27,000 | 4 | 1,352 | 5.3% |
| New England | 16,834 | 10 | 19,074 | 5 | 2,240 | 13.3% |
| NY Red Bull | 16,386 | 14 | 9,521 | 1 | -6,865 | -41.9% |
| Real Salt Lake | 16,688 | 10 | 15,163 | 5 | -1,525 | -9.1% |
| San Jose | 13,975 | 14 | 10,046 | 1 | -3,929 | -28.1% |
| Toronto FC | 20,154 | 13 | 19,894 | 2 | -261 | -1.3% |
| 2008 July 4 – Friday | ||||||
| Colorado | 18,776 | |||||
| Dallas | 16,765 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 27,000 | |||||
Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Week 10
The Week 10 numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||||
| Week 10 | 85 GP | YTD | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2009 | 13,779 | 7 | 14,839 | 14,740 | 75 | |||
| 2010 | 14,068 | 2.09% | 8 | 16,151 | 13,667 | 16,193 | 9.86% | 80 |
| 2011 | 19,912 | 41.54% | 8 | 17,151 | 6.20% | 17,378 | 7.32% | 94 |
| 2012 | 20,215 | 1.52% | 11 | 18,626 | 8.60% | 18,808 | 8.23% | 96 |
| 2013 | 16,267 | -19.53% | 8 | 17,272 | -7.27% | 17,272 | -8.17% | 85 |
| 2009 225 Game Season – 2010 240 Game Season 2011 306 Game Season – 2012-13 323 Game Season |
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| YTD – 85 Games | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>18k | |
| 2009 | 14,839 | 14,225 | 16.47% | 23.53% |
| 2010 | 16,151 | 13,667 | 12.94% | 34.12% |
| 2011 | 17,151 | 16,313 | 9.41% | 48.24% |
| 2012 | 18,626 | 18,197 | 3.53% | 54.12% |
| 2013 | 17,272 | 17,448 | 6.98% | 47.67% |
Here are the home attendance comparisons to 2012:
Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Week 9
The Week 9 numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||||
| Week 9 | 77 GP | YTD | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2009 | 15,113 | 7 | 14,736 | 14,839 | 68 | |||
| 2010 | 19,212 | 27.12% | 8 | 16,246 | 13,611 | 16,429 | 10.71% | 72 |
| 2011 | 16,547 | -13.87% | 12 | 17,125 | 5.41% | 17,142 | 4.34% | 86 |
| 2012 | 20,195 | 22.04% | 12 | 18,304 | 6.89% | 18,626 | 8.66% | 85 |
| 2013 | 17,737 | -12.17% | 9 | 17,377 | -5.07% | 17,377 | -6.71% | 77 |
| 2009 225 Game Season – 2010 240 Game Season 2011 306 Game Season – 2012-13 323 Game Season |
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| YTD – 77 Games | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>18k | |
| 2009 | 14,736 | 14,225 | 18.18% | 23.38% |
| 2010 | 16,246 | 13,611 | 12.99% | 33.77% |
| 2011 | 17,125 | 17,139 | 9.09% | 49.35% |
| 2012 | 18,304 | 18,027 | 3.90% | 50.65% |
| 2013 | 17,377 | 17,396 | 7.69% | 47.44% |
Here are the home attendance comparisons to 2012:
Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Week 8
NOTE: This is the post for last week’s matches. Away on holiday. This week’s games will be posted in a day or two.
The Week 8 numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||||
| Week 8 | 68 GP | YTD | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | +/- | GP | Avg | +/- | Avg | +/- | GP | |
| 2009 | 14,874 | 9 | 14,839 | 14,807 | 61 | |||
| 2010 | 14,459 | -2.79% | 7 | 16,398 | 13,639 | 16,081 | 8.60% | 64 |
| 2011 | 14,680 | 1.53% | 10 | 17,446 | 6.39% | 17,239 | 7.20% | 74 |
| 2012 | 15,799 | 7.62% | 10 | 18,572 | 6.45% | 18,368 | 6.55% | 73 |
| 2013 | 14,924 | -5.54% | 10 | 17,329 | -6.69% | 17,329 | -5.66% | 68 |
| 2009 225 Game Season – 2010 240 Game Season 2011 306 Game Season – 2012-13 323 Game Season |
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| YTD – 68 Games | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Median | %<10K | %>18k | |
| 2009 | 14,839 | 14,248 | 17.65% | 23.53% |
| 2010 | 16,398 | 13,639 | 14.71% | 33.82% |
| 2011 | 17,446 | 18,087 | 7.35% | 51.47% |
| 2012 | 18,572 | 18,175 | 1.47% | 54.41% |
| 2013 | 17,329 | 17,072 | 7.25% | 44.93% |
Here are the home attendance comparisons to 2012:
Soccer Potpourri
Quick Note
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Take Me Out to the Ballgame, my weekly MLS attendance report, will not post on Monday after Week 8 as I will be otherwise occupied. I will post it along with Week 9 sometime around April 29 or 30.
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MLS
- Through 7 games Sporting KC have yet to yield a 2nd half goal
- Through 5 games New England have yet to yield a 1st half goal
- Through 7 games Dallas has conceded 7 goals, all in the 2nd half and 6 in the final 15 minutes
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- Graham Parker: Can MLS escape the violent side of soccer’s globalization?
- Kyle McCarthy: Recent revelations about the top Mexican earners obscure the financial differences between Liga MX and MLS
- Dave Zeitlin: Is the Philadelphia Union’s Amobi Okugo the future of the US national team defense?
- medium.com: Perception versus reality in Major League Soccer – Thanks to Drew Epperly for pointing me to this.
- Earl Reed: Quantifying early 2013 MLS season ugliness
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