RSL
Soccer Potpourri
MLS
- Grant Wahl: Six reasons why the Red Bulls are MLS’ most intriguing story
- Jason Davis: Increasing the Pressure in Major League Soccer
- Avi Creditor: In ever-changing MLS landscape, the RSL way remains constant
- Soccer Newsday: Has the Market Called Time on Chivas USA?
- Devin Pleuler: Possession trends and what they say about Major League Soccer
Interesting Reads
- Tom Dunmore: A Bohemian Footprint: Supporting American Soccer Nationwide
- Footiebusiness: What American Soccer Can Learn from Japan – an older post, but worth a read.
- Barney Ronay: It takes all sorts to be a football journalist – so now we’re all at it
- Free Beer Movement: Taking the Longer View of MLS, the National Teams, and American Soccer
- Guardian: England risk falling to third in Uefa coefficient rankings
- Best Eleven: FIFA Confederation Ranking Comparison – March 2013
The Business of Soccer
The Dark Side
- Associated Press: Egyptian soccer federation torched
Tournaments
- Jonathan Wilson: The Question: is the away-goals rule counterproductive?
- Guardian: Champions League: how has dominance changed hands between Europe’s top leagues?
- UEFA Champions League: UCL round of 16 concludes
- Europa League: Europa League Update
- CONCACAF Champions League: CCL semifinals set
Soccer Potpourri
MLS
- WV Hooligan: MLS and USL-PRO Talking Partnership – I love this move. It’s something I’ve commented on in the past. Make so much sense, which makes it almost surprising that MLS is going for it, given their penchant for questionable past developmental decision.
- Stumptown Footy: The MLS SuperDraft: Why It Means Less Each Year
- Andrew Wiebe: Opta Spotlight: Statistical look at RSL’s 2012 season
Interesting Reads
- Guardian: Uefa hits Málaga with one-season European ban for missing payments
- Zac Lee Rigg: A survival guide to retirement
- Spiegel Online: Violence Against Referees Spikes in Germany
- Guardian: FC Union Berlin: a remarkable club with their very own Christmas tradition
- SI.com: Zenit fans demand all-white, non-gay team
- NY Times: In Wake of Deadly Riot, Egyptian Team Plays On
Gotta See It to Believe It
The Business of Soccer
Soccer Potpourri
MLS
- Tony Edwards: Expansion class of 2004(RSL and Chivas USA) – And More in A Good Read
- Jeremiah Oshan: Adrian Hanauer Takes Us Behind The Scenes Of MLS Transfer Window – A Good Read
- No Short Corners: The Beautiful League
Interesting Reads
- Guardian: Scottish football finance pays penalty as Rangers kick off in bottom league
- EPL Talk: A Defining Season for the Fenway Sports Group at Liverpool FC
Tournaments
- Copa Sudamericana: First Legs Underway
- UEFA Champions League: Qualifying Rounds Continue
- Europa League: Europa League Qualifying Underway
The Business of Soccer
- Barca: Barcelona Post Record Profit for Last Season
- Goal.com: Manchester United tops Forbes’ most valuable team list
- Stumptown Footy: Football brands from around the world by Brand Finance
CCL(11-12) Attendance
I had a little extra time, so I put together this chart of the last three years attendance in the CONCACAF Champions League knockout rounds along with last year’s group phase numbers. As with all my posts, if you find any errors, please let me know by commenting.
There isn’t much we can glean from the numbers. Some of the stadiums outside of the USA, Canada and Mexico are small. Columbus draws terribly for this tournament, not unlike how they’ve been drawing in recent league play.
One thing to look for is if the change in the tourney’s structure effects group play attendance. Going from 4 groups of 4 to eliminating the preliminary rounds and going with 8 groups of three means there are 4 group games versus 6. Only the group winners advance, vs the top two in the old model, adding importance to each match. Whether that shows up at the gate is something we will find out shortly.
Take Me Out to the Playoffs – Semifinals
Welcome to the 3rd edition of ‘Take Me Out to the Playoffs’.
| 5 year comparison | ||||||
| Quarterfinals Totals(both legs) | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 17,041 | CHI, CHV, DAL, DCU, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY | ||||
| 2008 | 14,960 | -12.22% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY, RSL | |||
| 2009 | 20,755 | 38.74% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, LA, NE, RSL, SEA | |||
| 2010 | 18,551 | -10.62% | CLB, COL, DAL, LA, RBNY, RSL, SJ, SEA | |||
| 2011 | 20,776 | 11.99% | COL, HOU, LA, PHL, RBNY, RSL, SEA, SKC | |||
| Semifinals Totals | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 20,645 | NE v CHI – HOU v KC | ||||
| 2008 | 17,348 | -15.97% | CLB v CHI – RSL v RBNY | |||
| 2009 | 23,548 | 35.74% | LA v HOU – CHI v RSL | |||
| 2010 | 22,390 | -4.92% | LA v FCD – COL v SJ | |||
| 2011 | 22,138 | -1.12% | LA v RSL – SKC v HOU | |||
| Playoff Totals | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 17,762 | NA | MLS Cup 2011 Houston v Los Angeles Sun, Nov 20, 9:00pm(ET) |
|||
| 2008 | 15,437 | -13.09% | ||||
| 2009 | 21,314 | 38.07% | ||||
| 2010 | 19,319 | -9.36% | ||||
| 2011 | 19,025 | -1.52% | ||||
Observations
A record crowd at Livestrong Park saw their heroes fall a game short of going to the MLS Cup final. A good crowd, but not a sellout at the Home Depot Center.
The numbers are just about even with last year. They would be higher except for the wildcard fiascos(at the gate), where the Dallas and Colorado games averaged under 9,000.
| 2011 MLS Cup | |||
| Semifinals | |||
| Sporting KC | 0 | Kansas City – Hillcrest Road | 20,839 |
| Houston | 2 | Dynamo Theory – Zach Woosley | |
| Los Angeles | 3 | LA – Official Blog | 23,437 |
| Real Salt Lake | 1 | RSL Soapbox |
MLS Cup Final
Houston v Los Angeles – Sun Nov 20 9:00pm ET – Home Depot Center, Carson, CA
I’ll be there. Contact me if you’d like to meet and talk footie.
MLS Throw Ins
| Cups Won | ||||||
| Supporters Shield | MLS Cup | US Open | SuperLiga* | Total | Years in MLS | |
| Chicago | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 14 |
| Chivas USA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Colorado | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| Columbus | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 16 |
| D.C. United | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
| FC Dallas | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| Houston(SJ) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 |
| Kansas City | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| Los Angeles | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 16 |
| New England | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| RBNY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Portland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Real Salt Lake | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| San Jose | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Toronto FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Vancouver | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Miami | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Tampa Bay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
As you can see, I am listing the ‘old San Jose’ accomplishments where they belong(IMO), with the Dynamo. I know the deal was that the Quakes would retain the ‘legacy’ of the original team, but I choose reality, i.e.; the franchise that won the cups resides in Houston.
* NA SuperLiga held 2007-2010.
They Qualified
2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League
- Los Angeles – Supporters’ Shield – Group Stage
- Houston – MLS Cup Participant: Winner = Group Stage – Loser = Preliminary Stage
- Real Salt Lake – MLS Cup Participant: Winner = Group Stage – Loser = Preliminary Stage
- Seattle – US Open Cup – Preliminary Stage
Take Me Out to the Playoffs – Quarterfinals Leg 2
Welcome to the 3rd edition of ‘Take Me Out to the Playoffs’. If you are adventurous, try out my new player statistics pages, but remember it’s a work in progress. All feedback will be greatly appreciated. And for historical regular season attendance records, try MLS Attendance.
The playoff numbers look like this…
| 5 year comparison | ||||||
| Quarterfinals – 1st Leg | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Home Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 14,245 | Chicago | Dallas | Kansas City | RBNY | |
| 2008 | 10,476 | -26.46% | Kansas City | New England | RBNY | RSL |
| 2009 | 19,985 | 90.77% | Chivas USA | New England | RSL | Seattle |
| 2010 | 17,230 | -13.78% | Colorado | Dallas | San Jose | Seattle |
| 2011 | 16,718 | -2.98% | Colorado | Philadelphia | RSL | RBNY |
| Quarterfinals – 2nd Leg | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Home Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 19,838 | New England | Chivas USA | Houston | DC United | |
| 2008 | 19,444 | -1.99% | Chicago | Columbus | Houston | Chivas USA |
| 2009 | 21,526 | 10.71% | Chicago | Columbus | Houston | Los Angeles |
| 2010 | 19,871 | -7.69% | Salt Lake | Columbus | New York | Los Angeles |
| 2011 | 24,834 | 24.97% | Houston | Kansas City | Los Angeles | Seattle |
| Quarterfinals Totals(both legs) | ||||||
| Avg | +/- | Teams | ||||
| 2007 | 17,041 | CHI, CHV, DAL, DCU, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY | ||||
| 2008 | 14,960 | -12.22% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, KC, NE, RBNY, RSL | |||
| 2009 | 20,755 | 38.74% | CHI, CHV, CLB, HOU, LA, NE, RSL, SEA | |||
| 2010 | 18,551 | -10.62% | CLB, COL, DAL, LA, RBNY, RSL, SJ, SEA | |||
| 2011 | 20,776 | 11.99% | COL, HOU, LA, PHL, RBNY, RSL, SEA, SKC | |||
| Home Playoff Games History | |||
| Teams with Home Games in 2011 | |||
| GP | Avg | < 10,000 | |
| Colorado | 16 | 10,162 | 10 |
| Dallas | 17 | 10,558 | 7 |
| Houston | 7 | 26,268 | 0 |
| Kansas City | 15 | 9,867 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | 25 | 19,895 | 1 |
| New York | 13 | 13,886 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | 1 | 18,539 | 0 |
| Real Salt Lake | 5 | 16,523 | 0 |
| Seattle | 3 | 35,783 | 0 |
Observations