New York Cosmos

kranmars

kranmars

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Took my kids to see the greatest franchise in the history of sports make its long overdue return on Saturday. The names have certainly changed, but that logo is what its all about. The level of play was pretty good, considering NASL is a step below MLS, and it was the first game. Sure this isn't the worlds' first super team any more, but who cares. What will happen to the NASL, and how it will incorporate into MLS is an ongoing discussion. But for now the most imporatnt thing is the Cosmos are back. I am hooked!

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, Cosmos!
 
Growing up my neighbors Uncle was Werner Roth. I was lucky enough to go to a lot of games and be in the locker room to meet some of the best soccer players that ever lived. Funny thing was I never played soccer only baseball and basketball.
 
Garber is nuts adding 5 more teams or whatever without putting in a relegation system. If he wants to add those teams, add in the NASL teams and have 2 divisions. And stop with all these shady BS rules that came to light with Dempsey returning to MLS. Lift the single entity garbage as well. Its holding the League back.
 
Garber is nuts adding 5 more teams or whatever without putting in a relegation system. If he wants to add those teams, add in the NASL teams and have 2 divisions. And stop with all these shady BS rules that came to light with Dempsey returning to MLS. Lift the single entity garbage as well. Its holding the League back.
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More than nuts, Garber is an arse.. The bravado the Cosmos showed irritated him. Garber is so drunk with his power, he wants everyone to fall in line. He wants single entity in thought as well. Putting a $100 million entry fee for team #20, up from $20 million, was a pure money grab he thought the wealthy Cosmos owners would just blindly hand over. He was lucky enough to have Man City and Yankees partner together and bail him out. But will these two last, or will they eventually sell the NYCSC name (the acronym works, New York Cosmos Soccer Club, anyone?), especially if the Steinbrenner's eventually sell majority interest to Rupert Murdoch, or Man City gets too much ? Will this shelve any progress made for a staduim in Queens in search of a new destination?

MLS may never reach the heights of the Big 4 (or 5) European leagues. But right now, the MLS is as good as many of the other leagues in Europe. The next step for MLS is to be as good as the Eredivisie Dutch league, which is in range, once they lift the single entity and cap restrictions.

As far as Garber wanting 24 teams, I am one of the few who thinks that isn't a bad idea. But, I would go to old baseball format, where the AL and NL pennant winner would play each other in the WS. Make two 12 team divisions, and the winner of each one play for the championship. It will add more to the regular season as well.

A far as relegation goes, I can't see it happeneing in the US. You won't get an owner to risk having an empty stadium if the team falls out of the first division.
 
Garber is nuts adding 5 more teams or whatever without putting in a relegation system. If he wants to add those teams, add in the NASL teams and have 2 divisions. And stop with all these shady BS rules that came to light with Dempsey returning to MLS. Lift the single entity garbage as well. Its holding the League back.
Click to expand...

More than nuts, Garber is an arse.. The bravado the Cosmos showed irritated him. Garber is so drunk with his power, he wants everyone to fall in line. He wants single entity in thought as well. Putting a $100 million entry fee for team #20, up from $20 million, was a pure money grab he thought the wealthy Cosmos owners would just blindly hand over. He was lucky enough to have Man City and Yankees partner together and bail him out. But will these two last, or will they eventually sell the NYCSC name (the acronym works, New York Cosmos Soccer Club, anyone?), especially if the Steinbrenner's eventually sell majority interest to Rupert Murdoch, or Man City gets too much ? Will this shelve any progress made for a staduim in Queens in search of a new destination?

MLS may never reach the heights of the Big 4 (or 5) European leagues. But right now, the MLS is as good as many of the other leagues in Europe. The next step for MLS is to be as good as the Eredivisie Dutch league, which is in range, once they lift the single entity and cap restrictions.

As far as Garber wanting 24 teams, I am one of the few who thinks that isn't a bad idea. But, I would go to old baseball format, where the AL and NL pennant winner would play each other in the WS. Make two 12 team divisions, and the winner of each one play for the championship. It will add more to the regular season as well.

A far as relegation goes, I can't see it happeneing in the US. You won't get an owner to risk having an empty stadium if the team falls out of the first division.
Click to expand...

You really think MLS is on par with Eredivsie? I really have become enamored with the game in the last two years and follow it closely and wish it would be really successful and popular in the US I just cant stomach most MLS games. Meanwhile I'll watch two teams in any of the Euro Leagues and be more entertained.
 
Garber is nuts adding 5 more teams or whatever without putting in a relegation system. If he wants to add those teams, add in the NASL teams and have 2 divisions. And stop with all these shady BS rules that came to light with Dempsey returning to MLS. Lift the single entity garbage as well. Its holding the League back.
Click to expand...

More than nuts, Garber is an arse.. The bravado the Cosmos showed irritated him. Garber is so drunk with his power, he wants everyone to fall in line. He wants single entity in thought as well. Putting a $100 million entry fee for team #20, up from $20 million, was a pure money grab he thought the wealthy Cosmos owners would just blindly hand over. He was lucky enough to have Man City and Yankees partner together and bail him out. But will these two last, or will they eventually sell the NYCSC name (the acronym works, New York Cosmos Soccer Club, anyone?), especially if the Steinbrenner's eventually sell majority interest to Rupert Murdoch, or Man City gets too much ? Will this shelve any progress made for a staduim in Queens in search of a new destination?

MLS may never reach the heights of the Big 4 (or 5) European leagues. But right now, the MLS is as good as many of the other leagues in Europe. The next step for MLS is to be as good as the Eredivisie Dutch league, which is in range, once they lift the single entity and cap restrictions.

As far as Garber wanting 24 teams, I am one of the few who thinks that isn't a bad idea. But, I would go to old baseball format, where the AL and NL pennant winner would play each other in the WS. Make two 12 team divisions, and the winner of each one play for the championship. It will add more to the regular season as well.

A far as relegation goes, I can't see it happeneing in the US. You won't get an owner to risk having an empty stadium if the team falls out of the first division.
Click to expand...

You really think MLS is on par with Eredivsie? I really have become enamored with the game in the last two years and follow it closely and wish it would be really successful and popular in the US I just cant stomach most MLS games. Meanwhile I'll watch two teams in any of the Euro Leagues and be more entertained.
Click to expand...

The MLS is close to Erdivisie, but not there yet. And will only do it if they eliminate the single enttiy and cap. However, I am confident it is ahead of the Swiss, Belgian, Scottish, Scandinavian, and Eastern Europen leagues. Just curious, other than the manin Euro leagues, what other ones have you seen. A lot of it is psychological. We see European soccer, and immediately think it is top level. But remember, the best players from every country play in 4 or 5 leagues, leaving those other leagues with fringe players.
 
Garber may be nutz, but the Cosmos storyline the past decade has had its embarrassing moments to be sure. This team existed for the purpose of selling merchandise for a team that wasn't even playing and that "team" they assembled to play at ManU last year (or year before) was just plain wrong. I think MLS/Metrostars tried purchasing the Cosmos name when MLS started...but that didn't happen. After seeing nearly 12,000 at Hofstra though, maybe Cosmos is correct to think it can shoot for the stars again. 12k for some low level footy based on a logo that still inspires, despite their corporate approach not working in the long term and ending their original run as an indoor soccer team. Sheeesh.

There is talk that more owners of Euro teams actually like the U.S. model because imagine putting in high money to own a squad, and then you're relegated? I love relegation, so much cooler than playoffs in American sports, but I can understand owners feeling that way.

Gotta agree with Moose about MLS/Euro comparisons. Until the MLS teams can start showing consistency in challenging teams in Concacaf champions league, I wouldn't compare it to Eredivsie. The Dutch league is pretty strong, just not on the financial level of EPL, La Liga, etc. But it feeds those leagues with WAY MORE quality players than MLS ever has. MLS has ways to go to be put on that level. I'm not sure MLS is stronger than FMF in Mexico at the moment. Is the league improving? Definitely. Is it a quality league? Sure. Is it top ten or twenty? Doubtful right now.

Regarding the new franchise with the Yanks/ManCity...this could be a disaster waiting to happen. They will not have a stadium any time soon...think about it...Yanks and Mets built on existing areas, and even that didn't come without some hassle and complaints (justifiable in ways I might add--Bronx still waiting for the park land return to be finished). Jets wanted the city bad...never happened. The Nets to Brooklyn? If not for eminent domain laws stealing that area, you'd still be rockin' the PATH to Newark. And the MLS is a summer league, so games at Yankee stadium, if it comes to that, will not be ideal for either team that's for sure. Hate to think MLS may have two NYC teams with both being in less than solid home situations. Red Bull Arena is awesome (heading to the Union match in a few weeks), but they have yet to reach any real impact on the live attendance front...Harrison, NJ...sheeesh. And now maybe a nomadic team that may have to play at Yankee Stadium, RB Arena, or Meadowlands? MLS should have waited for the stadium thing to be on better footing.

Lastly, expansion...keep in mind one thing...this is a large ass country in terms of geography and population. With twenty teams, there are still areas that are not represented, like the Southeast. I don't harp on the way MLS is growing, because, well it's working. Sure, it may bother hardcore footy fans that there is no relegation, playoffs, etc., but the model IS working, and for owners, it's business before purity of sport. Imbalanced scheduling is straight up tradition in every American sport. How often did I have to watch the Colts blast through their division with Manning in the fold? Until recently, the Mets would get the Yanks six times a year, while someone else got the Royals (props to their success this year) six times. I find it interesting that American sports fans hate on MLS for doing what we have seen in all the other sports in this country. As much as you may want it to be, this ain't Europe.
 
Garber may be nutz, but the Cosmos storyline the past decade has had its embarrassing moments to be sure. This team existed for the purpose of selling merchandise for a team that wasn't even playing and that "team" they assembled to play at ManU last year (or year before) was just plain wrong. I think MLS/Metrostars tried purchasing the Cosmos name when MLS started...but that didn't happen. After seeing nearly 12,000 at Hofstra though, maybe Cosmos is correct to think it can shoot for the stars again. 12k for some low level footy based on a logo that still inspires, despite their corporate approach not working in the long term and ending their original run as an indoor soccer team. Sheeesh..
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You are right when you say the original Cosmos ownership was a farce. Paul Kemsley bought the team after his relestate holding crashed. He wanted to use the Cosmos as a springboard to other financial avenues. He hired one guy, Eric Cantona to run the thing. It was a disaster, capped by the embarrassing loss to ManU which the Cosmos roster was filled with a couple of past their prime stars and Cosmos academy players. But this new ownership group wants to make noise. And that logo is iconic, and still resonates with a large fan base.

There is talk that more owners of Euro teams actually like the U.S. model because imagine putting in high money to own a squad, and then you're relegated? I love relegation, so much cooler than playoffs in American sports, but I can understand owners feeling that way.
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This is not part of American culture, and it will never be. Eurpoe is used to it. They accept it as fact.

Gotta agree with Moose about MLS/Euro comparisons. Until the MLS teams can start showing consistency in challenging teams in Concacaf champions league, I wouldn't compare it to Eredivsie. The Dutch league is pretty strong, just not on the financial level of EPL, La Liga, etc. But it feeds those leagues with WAY MORE quality players than MLS ever has. MLS has ways to go to be put on that level. I'm not sure MLS is stronger than FMF in Mexico at the moment. Is the league improving? Definitely. Is it a quality league? Sure. Is it top ten or twenty? Doubtful right now. .
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Again, I said the MLS' next level to get to is the Dutch league, but they are not there yet. Other leagues in Europe are mediocre. And I am far from a MLS cheerleader. I never became a Metrostars/Red Bull fan. I have been to Red Bull arena and it is a great place. But I have no emotional ties to the Red Bulls.

Regarding the new franchise with the Yanks/ManCity...this could be a disaster waiting to happen. They will not have a stadium any time soon...think about it...Yanks and Mets built on existing areas, and even that didn't come without some hassle and complaints (justifiable in ways I might add--Bronx still waiting for the park land return to be finished). Jets wanted the city bad...never happened. The Nets to Brooklyn? If not for eminent domain laws stealing that area, you'd still be rockin' the PATH to Newark. And the MLS is a summer league, so games at Yankee stadium, if it comes to that, will not be ideal for either team that's for sure. Hate to think MLS may have two NYC teams with both being in less than solid home situations. Red Bull Arena is awesome (heading to the Union match in a few weeks), but they have yet to reach any real impact on the live attendance front...Harrison, NJ...sheeesh. And now maybe a nomadic team that may have to play at Yankee Stadium, RB Arena, or Meadowlands? MLS should have waited for the stadium thing to be on better footing.
Click to expand...

This is why I think the Yankee/Man City marriage will ultimately end before NYCSC ever comes into the league. Man City is already getting some negative publicity that they will unfairly use NYCSC as a dumping ground for its Man City players. NYCSC may become the New York Cosmos Soccer Club afterall.

Lastly, expansion...keep in mind one thing...this is a large ass country in terms of geography and population. With twenty teams, there are still areas that are not represented, like the Southeast. I don't harp on the way MLS is growing, because, well it's working. Sure, it may bother hardcore footy fans that there is no relegation, playoffs, etc., but the model IS working, and for owners, it's business before purity of sport. Imbalanced scheduling is straight up tradition in every American sport. How often did I have to watch the Colts blast through their division with Manning in the fold? Until recently, the Mets would get the Yanks six times a year, while someone else got the Royals (props to their success this year) six times. I find it interesting that American sports fans hate on MLS for doing what we have seen in all the other sports in this country. As much as you may want it to be, this ain't Europe.
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St. Louis for example would be a city worthy of expansion. Lots of soccer tradition there. Also, I don't want Europe. I am a believer American soccer can succeed by being American, and not having to go out of its way to follow other countries soccer traditions. I have no problems with playoffs. My idea of the two 12- team league winners play for the championship, is intended as a middleground between the playoff and relegation contingents.
 
Back to my millering of all things from the greatest franchise in sports history. Good article about what a strong Cosmos will mean to the NASL and to soccer in the US in general. Of course it must be within team budgets, unlike the mid to late seventies NASL heyday, but if the Cosmos are the reason the MLS rids itself of the single entity system and absurd cap, it will be a boon to the quality of US soccer, imo.

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/...competition-strengthen-american-soccer-080813
 
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