No authority, it's just soccer. We watch games. We can see if most players' first touch is good or not, how they defend, how fluidly they can pass, the pace and athleticism. We can also see how players look when they swap between leagues or comparable leagues. It's nice to hear an opinion of people who know more than us, but that's a flawed approach in this case. It's like that NBA D-League guy that I mentioned. He was the D-League MVP a couple years ago. He then goes to Milan (the Italian league = one of the stronger leagues in Europe). He becomes a bench guy and performs miserably. They let him go. He goes back to the D-League and he's a D-League All Star again this year. He gives interviews where he says that D-League is stronger than European leagues. So, do i now have to share his opinion because he's this "authority" that's been in both leagues? If not, then do I only pick "authorities" that already agree with my opinion? Then that's confirmation bias.
I will not be surprised if it's going to be sold out plus it's on the same time and same night with the Texans game so there might be a chance that any few tickets are available.
I guess you lose me when you say it's a flawed approach to hear and go with the opinion of people who know more than us. Re. Your D-League player, biases happen especially when the person giving their thoughts does not speak objectively about the issue. In the case of your D-League player, even Stevie Wonder would be able to see that the DLeaguer wasn't speaking objectively. You wouldn't have to share the players opinion if an obvious bias or ignorance is being shown. That would be like taking the word of Robbie Rogers that MLS is a better and tougher league to play in than the Championship(If he said such a thing). No one in their right mind would agree considering Rogers barely made the Matchday lineups while at Leeds. I'm talking about situations where the player or coach in question was or is playing a similar role in the two leagues(whether it's bench player or starter) No you wouldn't only pick "authorities" that already agree with your opinion. One would give consideration to both and if the numbers point to the majority agreeing with one side over the other then there'd be no confirmation bias. Those with experience playing in(and watching) both leagues in comparison would make their thoughts known and if the majority opinion leans to one view over the other in such a debate then I doubt it'd be foolhardy to accept the majority opinion. I guess I like to hear the thoughts of those who've experienced both leagues in whatever sport a discussion is about.
Yup, I completely forgot it's a Texans gamenight as well. Yeah you might want to just call the Dynamo or buy the tickets online asap DaDakota.
Tbh, I don't know what we are talking about. I'm not going to go, find a bunch of players and make a poll. And your suggestion to ask Giles Barnes (or some other specific player) seems kind of meaningless to me for the reasons I mentioned. In the end, I have an opinion about MLS/Championship (which doesn't seem all that different from your opinion), and forming an opinion based on games seen is a pretty normal thing, so I don't know why talking to players is such a big deal in this thread.
IIRC the topic being discussed(or sub-topic in this thread) was whether the MLS was on the same level as the EPL and then that was corrected/changed to comparing the MLS with the Football League Championship. That's what we were talking about I believe. You're entitled to your opinion, I just tried to inform you that multiple players that have played in both leagues have shared their thoughts on them and despite most fans belief in their knowledge of various leagues because of time spent watching the leagues, it's probably best to take into account the thoughts of those that have actually played and coached in said leagues. ^ Hopefully that explained the gist of the conversation. Back to the original thread topic, sooo, Clint Dempsey is back in MLS. Time for the Seattle Sounders to make that playoff run.
Actually I said the MLS was about on par with the Championship - that is how all of this got started. DD
I guess the whole "speak to this and that and that player" thing just sounds a bit like bragging, to me. It didn't sound like your position was very different from mine, if at all. So it's all a bit over the top.
Oh ok, yes now I remember. I think others mentioned the EPL and I agreed with you regarding the Championship and we began discussing. Not sure how it would be so, since I was talking about interviews they've given(the players overseas currently) with other journos. To my recollection I didn't name a specific player I personally asked. (That would be bragging). Re. MLS players, they're the most accessible so I know anyone can go ask their thoughts-like Dynamo fans can ask Giles Barnes his thoughts while getting an autograph or picture(but as we've stated, his opinion might be a bit biased since the MLS is paying his wages right now). I think your position was that if MLS teams were in the Championship, that they would struggle to survive and would lose most matches but be competitive. My position was that with added depth(as necessary for any team in the FLeague Championship, MLS teams would be fine and wouldn't struggle to survive-the good teams obviously. A bad team is a bad team regardless.) I think I also emphasized my main point being the level of play. Whether an MLS team would survive an entire season there or not, my point was the level of play is similar. All good.
My original post was that the leagues are structured differently, and MLS teams would lack depth to survive the Championship marathon as presently constructed, but could be competitive in a playoff format where depth matters less. Your point seems to be that MLS teams might survive in the Championship with added depth. These positions are... similar. Or identical even. At first i thought your position had to be different since you were telling me to talk to players, which implied a disagreement. So my thinking was something like "Ok, he is saying that the players would disagree with my view; but the depth issue is so painfully obvious that he is either thinking of some specific player who happened to be full of BS. Which then has no value to me. Or he's trying to say that he talked to a lot of players and they all disagree with my view, in which case i don't know what's going on." But later, a few posts ago, when you clarified your view to a point where it looked extremely similar to mine, I lost you and what we were talking about. It started to look like you just wanted to say that you spoke to players. But it sounds like we were just talking past each other for the most part.
Did you buy the tix yet and how much are they going for(Were you able to get some sort of group rate)?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>428 seats left for Saturday's game. Get yours fast if you plan on going. It should sellout tomorrow based on current pace.</p>— Chris Canetti (@ChrisCanetti) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisCanetti/statuses/367803910481661952">August 15, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> does anybody really know
I think the only way to get tickets is either on craigslist, ebay, or some other online auction website where you can buy/sell stuff.
I think it is great for MLS, but for the USMNT, wouldn't it better to have the top guys playing in one of the Euro leagues? Kind of confused by the timing of the big transfers. I think it is good that Dempsey gets to go back to the Premier League on loan.
I am not sure it matters that much anymore, the MLS is pretty good, it is not top tier, but 2nd tier, and highly competitive, players can still be challenged, go over on a loan in WC years or alternate years and still get the challenge they need. The US is closing the gap - all over the place - heck the Austin Aztex played great soccer as a developmental league last year, we had season tickets and I was shocked by how good the play was. DD
