Off The Pitch: MLS Club Relegation to USL?
July 24, 2007
Have you seen some of the recent results of the Open Cup? Its into the quarter finals now and several MLS clubs have been knocked out by USL teams. Is there something here that I should be aware of or is this crazy?
I have often wondered if the top tier USL Teams like Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders and the bottom tier MLS clubs like Chicago and Salt Lake should be given the opportunity to fight for the opportunity to play in the big league just like EPL, etc.
I mean c’mon there are enough USL teams with sometimes more passionate fanbases than MLS. I vote that we institute relegation so that we can drive a consequence to the underpeforming franchises and reward the top of the USL. Hey just looking for ways to drive more of a competitive nature within the clubs.
Maybe this could spur furhter USL expansion knowing that teams at the top of the table could get promoted. With the rest of the world practicing and executing this reward / consequence strategy why shouldn’t we do it here?
Just thinking out loud….
Cheers, Jason
Comments
2 Responses to “Off The Pitch: MLS Club Relegation to USL?”
Got something to say?
Jas - great idea in theory and one that I had always thought could work, but after a while realized it couldn’t happen that way.
This is only because our system here in the US is a little different. In Europe, like England for example, investors purchase a team - not a team in a particular league….So if an investor comes in and purchases Leeds United, they purchase the team - no matter what league they are in. There are no more expansion teams either.
In the MLS - investors purchase an MLS franchise, meaning the team HAS to be in the MLS…how would that look after they plop down $25M for a franchise and after the first season they are in the USL (where franchises are $5M)
The only way in which the MLS can potentially have a relegation / promotion type scenario is if they started a 2nd (Division) MLS league - in the other cities that never had a chance, or a 2nd team in a current market, when they fill up the current league with the 17-18 teams they are hoping for. Then they can start implementing this very thing.
It is a very interesting situation and one I hope eventually happens!
What can I say? I really think that relegation/promotion is one of the more attractive things about soccer. In American sports teams like the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Clippers have almost seemed contented to wallow in failure and not try to improve. It would not be like that if the MLS had promotion and relegation. I would think that it would raise the interest in, and attendance of, teams playing in other divisions, too. And that would be great for soccer in the US.