Sporting KC
Soccer Potpourri
MLS
- Black and Red United: Is MLS’s Unbalanced Schedule also Competitively Unequal? “Third Games”
- Brian Strauss: Reborn to run: Sporting Kansas City finds glory with innovative approach
- US Soccer Players: Questions: Rosters, Limits, and Markets
The Business of Soccer
- ESPN FC: Clubs demand more World Cup cash
- Liga MX: Slim buys stake in Mexican soccer
- 200 Percent: Financial Fair Play, Salary Caps & The Polarisation Of Footballs Financial Model
- Guardian: UEFA withholds prize money from 23 clubs in first fair play sanctions
- SoccerBlog.com: Salary cap restrictions on the table for the Premiership
- ESPN FC: Footballers not exempt from 75% tax
- La Liga: Valencia’s Academy Generates €159 million In Transfer Fees
The MLS 500 Club – Kansas City
The charter clubs of MLS are crossing the 500 regular season games played threshold this season. This is the first in the 9 part series with all time records in league play. First up is Kansas City with 501 leagues games played.
Note: This is a corrected post. The original had the draws and losses reversed in the total section at the top. The team by team numbers are OK. My apologies.
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
Thursday Soccer Tidbits
MLS
- Greg Seltzer: Top 5 MLS Spines
- Podcast: Around the League – Week 9
- SKC: Sporting Club Network Unveiled
- MLS_UK: Diary of an MLS Convert(East) – Diary of an MLS Convert(West) – Week 10 of Glenn Williams’ brilliant series.
Interesting Reads
- The Sport Collective(via Fake Sigi): The Problem with Punditry
- Tim Vickery: Ronaldinho’s moment of truth is at hand in Brazilian championship
- Guardian: Premier League players are in dream world where casino always pays out
- Run of Play: Exploitation, Youth Soccer and College – More of a ‘what-if’ piece, which is addressed in the comments. But still, some thought provoking stuff worthy of further consideration.
- Guardian: Home Grown Players, not just in MLS
The Business of Soccer
- David Conn: Record income but record losses for Premier League
- English Leagues: Nearly one in seven season ticket holders not renewing, claims survey
- David Conn: FA told to end ‘financial craziness’ of Premier League and curb excess
Tourneys
- Copa Libertadores: Quarterfinals 1st legs
- HexagonalBlog: Nicaragua in, Belize out of CONCACAF Champions League
- CONCACAF Champions League: 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League Draw
- Europa League: Prolific Falcao leads Porto to glory
- J Hutcherson: The Status Of The Europa League
Friday Football Potpourri
Starter Fun
- Special1 TV: Conspiracy at the Nou Camp
MLS
- Sporting KC: Tactical Thinking: Searching for the right pair
Interesting Reads
- FIFA: FIFA alarmed by global match-fixing threat
- Duncan White: of the Telegraph(via Sanford’s Soccer Net describes how match-fixing gangs make money out of football
- Ben McCormick: posting at MatchFit USA comments on Reyna’s Big Step for Youth Development in the USA
Tourneys
- UEFA Champions League: Barca, Man U in Final
- Copa Libertadores: Copa Lib Update – Santos draw gains quarterfinals, defending champ Internacional out
- US Open Cup: Opara Late Extra Time Goal Send Quakes Through
- Robert Jonas: The value of the U.S. Open Cup – A good read by a guy that I follow for his informative posts.
- Nutralite Canadian Championship: Toronto, Vancouver to Meet in Final
- Europa League: Porto v Braga in all Portuguese Final
Around the World
- ESPNSoccerNet: Liverpool hoping for Asian tonic
- Backwards Pass: The article above came to me by way of … Why Asian Football Is So Delicate
Friday Soccer Potpourri
Starter Fun
- Special 1 TV: Through the Keyhole
MLS
- After Thursday night, can there be any doubt that Cascadia is the epicenter of MLS fan support?
- While there have been several player moves on the last day of this transfer season, the big news is the return of US International Benny Feilhaber to MLS.
- Steve Davis: Major League Soccer in Perspective; My, How You’ve Grown
- Kyle McCarthy: Disappointing Midweek Fixtures Caused by Wider Systemic Issues Within MLS
- Steve Davis: No matter who plays, RSL turn in top performances
- Sporting KC: Sporting Kansas City at forefront of MLS innovation
- Jason Davis: A Difference of Opinion on Qwest Field Turf
- Tactics: The Third Central Midfielder
- MLS_UK: Diary of an MLS Convert(East) – Diary of an MLS Convert(West) – Week 5 of Glenn Williams’ brilliant series.
Interesting Reads
- SoccerLens: Runs, Zones, and More Secrets of Great Playmakers
- Guardian: Barça’s Lionel Messi is a great but Ronaldo is lacking, says Johan Cruyff
Around the World
Tournament Update
- Copa Libertadores: Santos, Catolica, LDU and Cruzeiro Through to Last 16
- UEFA Champions League: Real Madrid, Schalke, Man U and Barca advance to semifinals
The Business of Soccer
- EPL: Birmingham City’s Place in Europe Threatened by Financial Concerns
- EPL: Premier League has Plenty of Questions for Birmingham City to Answer
- Arsenal: Usmanov won’t sell Arsenal Shares to Kroenke
Tuesday Potpourri
MLS
- Sporting KC: Sporting KC Using Soccer To Create Social Change
Around the World
- CONCACAF: A Roundup of Central American Action
- USMNT U20: The Aftermath: US U-20 World Cup Failure – from MatchFit USA
- Andrea Canales: The Copa America Conundrum
- RSL-AZ at Dallas Cup: Real Salt Lake-Arizona wants to surprise the world at Dallas Cup – I live in AZ, so you get this story.
The Business of Soccer
- Arsenal: Stan Kroenke takes Controlling Stake in Arsenal with 62.89% of Shares
- David Conn: Stan Kroenke is a Custodian of Arsenal with a Different View of Values
Interesting Reads
- David Hills: Said and Done
- Guardian: Respect? I remember that time at Old Trafford …
- Simon Turnbull: How the once beautiful game can get rid of its snarling face
- Ken Berger: Cuban’s Proposed Media ‘takeover’ Wrong on Many Levels – not directly soccer related, unless you read between the lines
- Neil W. Blackmon: Relegation: An Appreciation, For All The American Fans Who’ve Felt It’s Ugly Relative, Resignation
News and Views – A Late Wednesday Post
MLS
- Vancouver v New England: Draw in foul plagued match
- Climbing the Ladder: Domestic/Foreign Minutes Played by Team
- Fake Sigi: New York attendance problems: conspiracy or fact?
- MLS_UK: Diary of an MLS Convert(East) – Diary of an MLS Convert(West) – Week 4 of Glenn Williams’ brilliant series.
- J Hutcherson: What College Basketball Showed MLS
The Business of Soccer
- The Yanks are Coming: For Love of the Game… I Mean, The Money: Why Soccer Shares the NFL’s Labor and Financial Predicament
- Chris Savino: Supporter loyalty programs translate into additional revenue for MLS
- England: Football League Clubs take 26% Revenue Cut Under New Sky Deal
Interesting Reads
- David Hills: Said and Done
- The Guardian: Jay DeMerit’s Watford Dream and a Friend in Need Make Compelling Film
- The Independent: Warner in new World Cup ‘ticket scandal’
Tournaments
- UEFA Champions League: Real Madrid, Schalke, Man U and Barca win 1st legs in quarterfinals
- Copa Libertadores: Liga de Quito draw 1-1 at Independiente, Santos wins
- CONCACAF Champions League: RSL, Monterrey in Finals
- US Open Cup: SKC over Houston – DCU down Philly
- CONCACAF U-20 World Cup Qualifying US U-20′s Fail to Qualify for World Cup
News and Views
MLS
- MLS Talk: Why the English Find MLS a Strange Experience – In some ways the comments are more interesting than the main post.
- Tactics: New York Red Bulls Have Infinite Potential If They Clear A Couple Speed Bumps
- Tactics: Portland and Vancouver
- Missing Players
- A few changes since my initial post on this subject. The Guadeloupe friendly v Racing Club de Lens has been canceled, so Stephane Auvray will not miss SKC’s match v Chicago. Also, Chivas USA had three players called up to their respective national teams and they will miss both the next MLS match and a US Open Cup play-in match.
| FIFA Dates | |||
| Mar 25-27 | |||
| MLS | US Open | ||
| Colorado | Cummings | 3/26 – CHV | |
| Chivas USA | Boyens, Moreno, Umana | 3/26 – COL | 3/28 – PTL |
| Houston | Taylor | 3/25 – SEA | |
| Sporting KC | Kamara, Thomas | 3/26 – CHI | |
| Los Angeles | Donovan | 3/26 – RSL | |
| New York | Agudelo, Coundoul, Miller Marquez, Ream, Richards |
3/26 – CLB | |
| RSL | Alvarez, Johnson, Soborio | 3/26 – LA | |
| San Jose | Stephenson | 3/26 – FCD | |
| Vancouver | Boxall, DeMerit | 3/26 – PHL | |
Interesting Reads
- David Hills: Said and Done
- Jason Davis: Bin Hammam to Take on Blatter for FIFA Presidency
- CONCACAF: The new(and old) World Cup Qualifying Process
- Howard Hamilton: Don’t Expect a CONCACAF-CONMEBOL Merger Anytime Soon
- Soccer by the Numbers: Destroying the Soul of Soccer, One Statistic At a Time
The Business of Soccer
- UEFA: Platini Announces Agreement on Centralised TV Rights
- Manchester Utd: Manchester United’s parent company announces record £104.6m loss