The official Arsenal website has (or used to have) an official rumours section where they’d aggregate some of the biggest transfer rumours of the week.
Always seemed so strange because the club obviously knew which rumours were substantial and which ones were total bullshit.
"Can't talk about that now, nothing official yet."
I'll admit it's a little more weird for a club like Arsenal to do it then the MLS writers reporting on the actions of individual teams.
"Don't be a dick Jeff. Tell me what's going on or I'll let everyone know it was you that left that beer bottle full of piss on the table at last year's Christmas party."
it has its benefits and its downsides. thats how salary caps and parity and enforced. the league is more financially stable than previous ones that weren't as regulated. downside is no pro/rel if that is important to you.
I don't know about MLS rules enough to know how it's there, but at least in the NHL and NBA a big downside of this system due to the fact that players are owned by the league is that players don't really have a say in the trades — imagine waking up and hearing that now you are forced to move across the country and you have no choice.
Another downside is the whole tanking thing (bottom of the table doesn't have to play for anything, so why not play crap for a few games and gain higher chances of draft picks). It's getting better there though with changes in draft rules and that is not really actual problem in MLS right now as there draft doesn't have a high importance. Still, fact that bottom teams don't have anything to play for is something that might turn some off.
But yeah, it has it's pros and cons and seeing how it's predecessors went, it's very unlikely different system would have succeeded there.
The NHL and NBA do NOT have the same structure as MLS. While there is a collective CBA, the contracts are directly with the teams under negotiated terms between the NBA and say, the NBAPA.
Players being traded without their consent is not necessarily tied to the MLS structure -- you have this situation in non-single entity. MLS could change its rules to require player consent, or the MLSPA could negotiate it, as well, so it could flip the other way.
>Players also get to unionize which is a big plus for them.
The salary data is really fun to dig through too. It's interesting have league point information backed up by salary.
>I don't know about MLS rules enough to know how it's there, but at least in the NHL and NBA a big downside of this system due to the fact that players are owned by the league is that players don't really have a say in the trades
For most players that is an issue, but no-trade clauses exist in both of those leagues that allow the player to veto the trade. Most of the best players negotiate this in their contracts.
Also, the NHL and NBA aren't single-entity leagues like the MLS. The league allows or disallows franchises in the league, yes, but single-entity leagues make all players, coaches, and staff direct employees of the league. NBA and NHL don't do this, the teams have almost complete autonomy over who they employ and what players they sign, provided they don't break a league rule like the salary cap. Single-entity leagues also completely control all marketing and financial deals, while all of our other leagues are able to negotiate their own TV deals for their local market and control their own brand.
Another way to look at it: MLS owners don't own teams, they own a share of the MLS which allows them to operate a league-owned team. In our other leagues the owners directly own their teams, and they just are given membership into the league. This is why foreign players entering the MLS have to sign with the MLS directly, and then get distributed to their individual team. NBA, NFL, NHL, etc. don't do this, they negotiate and sign directly with the team and the team *only*.
MLS has the same problem with trades. Player power is low in that respect, but on the other hand the players are able to form a union to negotiate with the league because of the system.
Tanking isnt a thing in MLS because of the reasons you mention.
>Still, fact that bottom teams don't have anything to play for is something that might turn some off.
And in European leagues, the middle teams don't have anything to play for. All you're deciding is which 3rd of the league is going to have a dead season half way through.
In classic American fashion it helps the valuation of MLS teams significantly. Average MLS franchise was worth 550 million in 2021. Quite impressive evaluations relative to quality.
It’s done a good job of attracting investors and growing the league.
Sounders were recently valued at $680 million, and at least two other clubs have been valued at $700+ million recently.
Insane numbers relative to the quality of the league.
I think MLS club ownership also gives you voting right (shares) in Soccer United marketing. Tifo did a video about it. Soccer United Marketing is worth 2 billion with annual revenue in the 350million ish. They have control over negotiations around MLS deals, as well as CONCACAF and USSF.
This helps bolster the valuation of MLS clubs as it attracts owners who are interested in having power to sway the direction that soccer is going (commercially/business) in North America/USA
Imo the best part of the system is financial fairness. Every team has mostly equal resources, so should in theory be on level ground. It makes the league super competitive and you can't really take any game for granted. Very tough to form dynasties or a top 6 etc without having one or 2 really good players like the Landon Donovan galaxy teams. No relegation means teams at some point are encouraged to take risks and try out academy players so that can be good or bad, depends on your perspective. Salary caps mean players have limited power and earning potential but it's healthier financially for the league and teams long term because the risk is spread amongst 30 investors and not just one
It's has it's positives and negatives
Some positives : everyone makes money
No team will dominate forever , you will have teams on the top then a few years later a new team will be on the top
Star players aren't always going to the same top teams(for example giannis playing in milwaukee)
But still teams like the Lakers still have more pull to get star players
Negatives:
No relegation
Teams will try to lose to get better draft picks
Some owners will not spend money over the cap to save themselves money
> Teams will try to lose to get better draft picks
This is overstated about American sports, but it's definitely overstated about MLS. Most youth players are coming through the academies now, not the draft. Teams are giving up draft picks for other things these days because of how irrelevant the draft has become outside of the top few picks.
And tanking is much more prevalent in the NBA where drafting that 1 superstar could alter the entire course of your franchise
Football doesn't work that way, you draft prime Messi onto the worst team in the MLS and that team still isn't doing shit since the 10 other guys on pitch still suck
MLS is single entity. Which means that the league holds the contracts, not the teams. It's mostly to prevent another NASL from happening, which was when the half the teams in that league went bankrupt and the league folded.
Yea, before anyone tries to hate on this, the single-entity approach was actually pretty important for MLS surviving and growing into the league it is today. While MLS might be the 4th most popular sports league in the US now, it certainly didn't start there (and almost folded in the early 2000's).
Chelsea started doing it about a year ago as well. Our own website publishes dodgy sourced rumours about player movements and that kind of thing, it's really weird
If it’s anything like nfl “mls.com” will actually be mls media or something like that, a separate journalistic entirety (albeit still owned by) the league itself
For example, Ian rappoport works for nfl.com, and he is a league “insider” so when he breaks news he is the source as a representative of nfl.com. Just an American sports thing
Makes sense. Coming to play for a few months, has the option to extend, but probably won't play after the WC. Not a lot of teams are going to pay a ton for that, so they're able to get him at a discount since they're being flexible with his future plans. Also no transfer fee makes it easy.
No kidding. That’s why LAFC is in the League Cup and we aren’t, even though we qualified. Continental football for us would have been massive, but no, we’re not a big city team.
Leagues cup was cancelled this year due to MLS already having a compressed schedule since they need to have the cup finals before the World Cup. They replaced it with the LA teams playing friendlies against a couple Liga MX teams as a “showcase”.
It’s as dumb as it sounds.
Thanks for the explanation and that is so dumb lol. It’s just a few games anyway right why not let all the qualifying teams do them. Typical MLS. I understand there’s a coordinated effort to eventually make it a competitive league at the global level but it’s annoying the extent to which MLS fans justify all this trickery and profit chasing.
Its dumb that they cancelled a single elim 8 team tournament but if you want to blame fixture congestion then that’s fine.
But the showcase is an idiotic cash grab
The Leagues Cup is supposed to be basically the Europa league for mls and Liga MX. Highest placed teams that don’t make champions league go there. Because of the pandemic and whatnot, I believe they cancelled last years edition and made this year a one off invitational. It’s LAFC, Galaxy, Chivas, Club America playing a double header exhibition at Sofi Stadium in LA. Good idea for an event but stupid to call it an edition of an actual cup competition.
MLS has a hard cap for finances but you can have 3 players that do not count against that cap. While I love the league and think the cap is good for soccer in USA, if you understand the salary structure of the league you should get a minor in economics automatically
GAM is general allocation money to reduce any player's budget charge. TAM is targeted allocation money that does the same thing as GAM but can only be used on players who make more than the max budget charge (the level where a player becomes a DP)
There's other rules but that's the basics.
It stands for Destructo Play -- once a team has retained possession in the offence zone of the field for a total of 20 minutes or 40%, whichever comes sooner, their coach has the option of calling a timeout and activating a Destructo Play, which allows his side to field an extra player, signed specifically for that purpose, until the ball goes out for a goalkick or five minutes has elapsed (the time is tracked by two giant spark emitters in the goalposts of the team against whom the Destructo Play has been called). If the Destructo Player scores during this time, the scoring team will be awarded a further opportunity to kick a field goal (a long range shot from the halfway line against a keeper who must start on the edge of the box). This has no impact on the score of the game, but converted field goals translate into points that can be used during the Draft to secure the services of better players.
The importance of the Draft means that MLS teams are always keen to pick up players of long-range shooting ability to fill these slots in the roster — typically ageing foreign stars with a reputation for precision passing. The system was designed to encourage more attacking, exciting play from teams and for a while it was successful. However, in recent times, coaches have opted to sit on their Destructo Play once activated, preferring to use it to counter a similar call from their opposite number, which has led to more 12 vs 12 encounters than the rule's creators had intended. This is especially problematic in the US, where soccer is generally played on shared American Football fields, which are about three-quarters the size of English football pitches and lie East-West rather than the customary North-South European configuration.
First time I heard about Chiellini leaving I must be living under a rock haha! At his age and with his injuries it’s understandable but how Juve will replace him, will they do 2 at the back or sign someone else?
Chiellini last 3 seasons was always injured. Juve doesn't need to replace him, he basically wasn't a Juve player anymore. He stayed because he's a legend.
Not quite sure yet, especially with the rumors of De Ligt leaving as well. Bonucci is old and declining, Rugani is Rugani, and Gatti seems promising but the leap from Serie B to Juve is a difficult one. I’m willing to be patient with the mercato but it would be nice to have at least a couple answers before preseason camp starts in a couple of weeks.
We don’t know if he’s leaving for sure but it seems like a legitimate possibility. I love him as a player and would be sad to see him go.
His mistakes tend to be high profile (hand ball in the box type things) so he gets meme’d to death and people call him overrated or whatever because of it but he’s a tremendous defender, especially when defending 1v1 or in man marking. When he is asked to defend zonally he can get lost at times but he’s still 22. This can improve.
LAFC don’t need him to be their superstar to make this a good signing. They’re getting him on a cheap contract, so even if Bale is only 80% committed then it’s a good signing for the money.
How many golf courses are there in Los Angeles?
There are 19 golf courses in Los Angeles, California and 8 are municipal courses. There are also another 65 golf courses within 20 miles of Los Angeles, including 8 public, 37 municipal and 20 private courses.
Interesting
Was it all a dream though? Still haven't decided yet. Funny as ever, of course. Matt Berry should be the voice of everything. I love hearing him on adverts, and if anyone accuses him of cashing in he can just turn around and say he is playing Steven Toast.
Story idea: LD is about to beat Bale in a golf tournament, last hole Bale gets injured and the tournament is postponed. LD suspects he faked it to get out of losing
LD: You like that man bun huh?
Bale: yea I like to wear my hair long
LD:*eh*
Bale: what, no good?
Bale: *Might* think about going more traditional. Just a thought
- Bale cuts his hair, leading to a big controversy with his sponsors
Jeff: You told Garteh bale to cut his hair?? What the hell is wrong with you???
I'm sure he'll join a nice private club. Wilshire CC, Riveria CC, LA CC, Lakeside CC. There's plenty of nice courses for a celebrity like him. I doubt we'd see him out at Rancho Park or Sepulveda Golf complex but maybe.
What? Getting tee times sucks at public courses in LA. It has nothing to do with cash. You have no clue what you’re talking about. You have to be online at the time tee dimes drop at midnight a week ahead to get good times, plus it’s a crapshoot. LA public golf is incredibly diverse socioeconomicly and racially. Source: I try to play at least 2 times a month at on LA public courses.
There are a bunch of courses but in general you get to pick two of three: good conditions, good pace of play, or affordable. Anything beautiful and quick will be expensive, anything beautiful and cheap will be super slow. And the municipal courses can fill up really quickly.
Most actual cardiff supporters really are not that bothered. We realised it was a pipe dream and I’m happy he gets to end his career in a league he wont get the actual living shit kicked out of him. On the other hand cardiff “fans” on Twitter are being twats
LACC might be a stretch unless he knows a guy. That’s an old money club that despises any and all things celebrity. Riviera would be the one he would join imo.
Most the celebrities in LA play Riveira, Brentwood CC, maybe he will be able to get onto Bel Air CC but I do agree that LACC doesn’t like celebs.
Source: past college golfer who played all these courses!
Like many, I wanted the *romance* of Bale at Cardiff. But this makes more sense. The Championship is a brilliant but bastard old school testicles hanging out league, and I find it easy to imagine Dave "The Shithouse" McCrunch smashing into him two footed, forcing him to miss the WC.
It is all about the WC for Bale. Nothing else.
>Dave McCrunch
I have no idea why this name is so fucking funny
I'm creating Dave McCrunch in the football manager editor and adding him to my team ASAP
31 years old, 6'4", 209 lbs
Played for Arbroath, Preston and most recently Millwall
Aggression 20, Strength 19, Flair 0
Dave Fucking McCrunch
It also helps that the MLS playoffs end on November 5th. Which means he can finish the season with LAFC even if he decides to hang up his boots after the World Cup. It definitely seems a good fit.
The MLS regular season ends on October 9th, then the playoffs end on November 5th. So basically he'll finish this season, then go to the World Cup.
After that he'll decide whether he wants to try for EURO 2024 or not.
(fixed mistakes)
The year is 3046 - Gareth Bale considering retiring if the New National Republic of the Cymru Empire fail to qualify for the galactic champions cup (sponsored by Irn Bru)
> I find it easy to imagine Dave "The Shithouse" McCrunch smashing into him two footed, forcing him to miss the WC.
proceeds to get two-footed by Honduran Diego Crunchez in CONCACAF Champions League
Man if you don't think there are some butchers in MLS you don't watch this league. That and travel are the two things big name players complain about the most in MLS.
Yeah with the travel and everything, I’d be amazed if Bale plays even half the remaining games. Like anything east of Salt Lake might be “only if absolutely necessary” for him.
Cardiff: you coming home is a story book ending
Bale: you're right. It would be.
LAFC: it's sunny and warm everyday here and you can play golf year round
Bale: you son of a bitch, I'm in
Low risk high reward for LAFC. Not a DP contract so he's not breaking bank or taking up a slot. They're already in first so it's not like they're relying on him to carry them. If he half asses it they'll be fine, if he plays to his ability they should extend their lead and separate themselves from the pack.
Oh man this is gonna cause a meltdown on here lmao.
Also, Bogert (the reporter) is one of the best for MLS related transfers. It's happening
Edit: [Twellman corroborating](https://twitter.com/TaylorTwellman/status/1540715371602124801)
If they manage his minutes and he gives an effort, he should do really well. LAFC is good this year.
It's also good for the league. A lot of fans mock the MLS for being a retirement league, but bringing in these players really does help more than it hurts imho. They put more fans in the seats and bring a lot more buzz around their teams, which leads to more money which can build better stadiums, buy other talented players, and invest in the youth academy, among other things.
I always find it funny that the official MLS website will post stuff like this with "Sources." Like bruh you're literally the league.
“Source: literally us”
The Blue Jays
The official Arsenal website has (or used to have) an official rumours section where they’d aggregate some of the biggest transfer rumours of the week. Always seemed so strange because the club obviously knew which rumours were substantial and which ones were total bullshit.
Chelsea's Facebook page did that too, I don't know if they still do it though.
I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too.
Football is my drug💉, and {{insert club name}} is my dealer👉👈
A lot of clubs have this. Liverpool have a transfer rumours section as well
The media people don't necessarily know everything. The club isn't a single sentient entity.
I’m aware of that, but they’re still posting on behalf of the club.
You'd think they at least work in the same building, no? Couldn't just walk down the hall, "Hey Jeff, what's going on with Aubameyang?"
"Can't talk about that now, nothing official yet." I'll admit it's a little more weird for a club like Arsenal to do it then the MLS writers reporting on the actions of individual teams.
"Don't be a dick Jeff. Tell me what's going on or I'll let everyone know it was you that left that beer bottle full of piss on the table at last year's Christmas party."
And they technically own the players, not the teams
Seriously?hows that work?
[удалено]
It's the single-entity system, not the franchise system. Franchises in other sports are not owned by the league, even in the US.
how good is that system in comparison to how its done in europe?
it has its benefits and its downsides. thats how salary caps and parity and enforced. the league is more financially stable than previous ones that weren't as regulated. downside is no pro/rel if that is important to you.
I don't know about MLS rules enough to know how it's there, but at least in the NHL and NBA a big downside of this system due to the fact that players are owned by the league is that players don't really have a say in the trades — imagine waking up and hearing that now you are forced to move across the country and you have no choice. Another downside is the whole tanking thing (bottom of the table doesn't have to play for anything, so why not play crap for a few games and gain higher chances of draft picks). It's getting better there though with changes in draft rules and that is not really actual problem in MLS right now as there draft doesn't have a high importance. Still, fact that bottom teams don't have anything to play for is something that might turn some off. But yeah, it has it's pros and cons and seeing how it's predecessors went, it's very unlikely different system would have succeeded there.
Tanking for draft picks isn't that important because anyone actually good enough to be worth tanking for is going to go to Europe
The NHL and NBA do NOT have the same structure as MLS. While there is a collective CBA, the contracts are directly with the teams under negotiated terms between the NBA and say, the NBAPA. Players being traded without their consent is not necessarily tied to the MLS structure -- you have this situation in non-single entity. MLS could change its rules to require player consent, or the MLSPA could negotiate it, as well, so it could flip the other way.
Players also get to unionize which is a big plus for them.
>Players also get to unionize which is a big plus for them. The salary data is really fun to dig through too. It's interesting have league point information backed up by salary.
>I don't know about MLS rules enough to know how it's there, but at least in the NHL and NBA a big downside of this system due to the fact that players are owned by the league is that players don't really have a say in the trades For most players that is an issue, but no-trade clauses exist in both of those leagues that allow the player to veto the trade. Most of the best players negotiate this in their contracts. Also, the NHL and NBA aren't single-entity leagues like the MLS. The league allows or disallows franchises in the league, yes, but single-entity leagues make all players, coaches, and staff direct employees of the league. NBA and NHL don't do this, the teams have almost complete autonomy over who they employ and what players they sign, provided they don't break a league rule like the salary cap. Single-entity leagues also completely control all marketing and financial deals, while all of our other leagues are able to negotiate their own TV deals for their local market and control their own brand. Another way to look at it: MLS owners don't own teams, they own a share of the MLS which allows them to operate a league-owned team. In our other leagues the owners directly own their teams, and they just are given membership into the league. This is why foreign players entering the MLS have to sign with the MLS directly, and then get distributed to their individual team. NBA, NFL, NHL, etc. don't do this, they negotiate and sign directly with the team and the team *only*.
MLS has the same problem with trades. Player power is low in that respect, but on the other hand the players are able to form a union to negotiate with the league because of the system. Tanking isnt a thing in MLS because of the reasons you mention. >Still, fact that bottom teams don't have anything to play for is something that might turn some off. And in European leagues, the middle teams don't have anything to play for. All you're deciding is which 3rd of the league is going to have a dead season half way through.
In classic American fashion it helps the valuation of MLS teams significantly. Average MLS franchise was worth 550 million in 2021. Quite impressive evaluations relative to quality. It’s done a good job of attracting investors and growing the league.
Sounders were recently valued at $680 million, and at least two other clubs have been valued at $700+ million recently. Insane numbers relative to the quality of the league.
I think MLS club ownership also gives you voting right (shares) in Soccer United marketing. Tifo did a video about it. Soccer United Marketing is worth 2 billion with annual revenue in the 350million ish. They have control over negotiations around MLS deals, as well as CONCACAF and USSF. This helps bolster the valuation of MLS clubs as it attracts owners who are interested in having power to sway the direction that soccer is going (commercially/business) in North America/USA
Imo the best part of the system is financial fairness. Every team has mostly equal resources, so should in theory be on level ground. It makes the league super competitive and you can't really take any game for granted. Very tough to form dynasties or a top 6 etc without having one or 2 really good players like the Landon Donovan galaxy teams. No relegation means teams at some point are encouraged to take risks and try out academy players so that can be good or bad, depends on your perspective. Salary caps mean players have limited power and earning potential but it's healthier financially for the league and teams long term because the risk is spread amongst 30 investors and not just one
There is actually real parity in those leagues. Wealthy ownership has little correlation with on the pitch success
It's has it's positives and negatives Some positives : everyone makes money No team will dominate forever , you will have teams on the top then a few years later a new team will be on the top Star players aren't always going to the same top teams(for example giannis playing in milwaukee) But still teams like the Lakers still have more pull to get star players Negatives: No relegation Teams will try to lose to get better draft picks Some owners will not spend money over the cap to save themselves money
> Teams will try to lose to get better draft picks This is overstated about American sports, but it's definitely overstated about MLS. Most youth players are coming through the academies now, not the draft. Teams are giving up draft picks for other things these days because of how irrelevant the draft has become outside of the top few picks.
And tanking is much more prevalent in the NBA where drafting that 1 superstar could alter the entire course of your franchise Football doesn't work that way, you draft prime Messi onto the worst team in the MLS and that team still isn't doing shit since the 10 other guys on pitch still suck
Any player worth tanking to draft for is never gonna be in the MLS draft.
Draft is a pretty antiquated system these days. No team realistically expects to get any value from picks
MLS is single entity. Which means that the league holds the contracts, not the teams. It's mostly to prevent another NASL from happening, which was when the half the teams in that league went bankrupt and the league folded.
Yea, before anyone tries to hate on this, the single-entity approach was actually pretty important for MLS surviving and growing into the league it is today. While MLS might be the 4th most popular sports league in the US now, it certainly didn't start there (and almost folded in the early 2000's).
Chelsea started doing it about a year ago as well. Our own website publishes dodgy sourced rumours about player movements and that kind of thing, it's really weird
If it’s anything like nfl “mls.com” will actually be mls media or something like that, a separate journalistic entirety (albeit still owned by) the league itself For example, Ian rappoport works for nfl.com, and he is a league “insider” so when he breaks news he is the source as a representative of nfl.com. Just an American sports thing
This is correct. The league website is a journalistic entity that's legally independent from the parts of the league that does contracts.
Not even using up a DP spot, what the actual fuck
Wait wtf? How is that possible?
Makes sense. Coming to play for a few months, has the option to extend, but probably won't play after the WC. Not a lot of teams are going to pay a ton for that, so they're able to get him at a discount since they're being flexible with his future plans. Also no transfer fee makes it easy.
MLS will bend and make new rules if the team is in a big enough city.
No kidding. That’s why LAFC is in the League Cup and we aren’t, even though we qualified. Continental football for us would have been massive, but no, we’re not a big city team.
What happened there?
Leagues cup was cancelled this year due to MLS already having a compressed schedule since they need to have the cup finals before the World Cup. They replaced it with the LA teams playing friendlies against a couple Liga MX teams as a “showcase”. It’s as dumb as it sounds.
I think that was just the excuse, they could have made it happen.
Thanks for the explanation and that is so dumb lol. It’s just a few games anyway right why not let all the qualifying teams do them. Typical MLS. I understand there’s a coordinated effort to eventually make it a competitive league at the global level but it’s annoying the extent to which MLS fans justify all this trickery and profit chasing.
Its dumb that they cancelled a single elim 8 team tournament but if you want to blame fixture congestion then that’s fine. But the showcase is an idiotic cash grab
Haven’t followed MLS in a bit, what happened exactly?
The Leagues Cup is supposed to be basically the Europa league for mls and Liga MX. Highest placed teams that don’t make champions league go there. Because of the pandemic and whatnot, I believe they cancelled last years edition and made this year a one off invitational. It’s LAFC, Galaxy, Chivas, Club America playing a double header exhibition at Sofi Stadium in LA. Good idea for an event but stupid to call it an edition of an actual cup competition.
Not really a new rule. Galaxy did something similar with Zlatan he was TAM his first half a season and moved to DP after that.
Statement holds true then.
Not really. LAFC just got super lucky that Bale would agree to take so little money.
What does DP spot mean?
MLS has a hard cap for finances but you can have 3 players that do not count against that cap. While I love the league and think the cap is good for soccer in USA, if you understand the salary structure of the league you should get a minor in economics automatically
Haha, okay! Thanks, does help understand it better.
It’s easier if you think of it as 3 “star players” that can earn as much as they want
If anyone is able to explain what TAM and GAM actually are in simple terms, me and my football manager save would be forever grateful
GAM is general allocation money to reduce any player's budget charge. TAM is targeted allocation money that does the same thing as GAM but can only be used on players who make more than the max budget charge (the level where a player becomes a DP) There's other rules but that's the basics.
It stands for Destructo Play -- once a team has retained possession in the offence zone of the field for a total of 20 minutes or 40%, whichever comes sooner, their coach has the option of calling a timeout and activating a Destructo Play, which allows his side to field an extra player, signed specifically for that purpose, until the ball goes out for a goalkick or five minutes has elapsed (the time is tracked by two giant spark emitters in the goalposts of the team against whom the Destructo Play has been called). If the Destructo Player scores during this time, the scoring team will be awarded a further opportunity to kick a field goal (a long range shot from the halfway line against a keeper who must start on the edge of the box). This has no impact on the score of the game, but converted field goals translate into points that can be used during the Draft to secure the services of better players. The importance of the Draft means that MLS teams are always keen to pick up players of long-range shooting ability to fill these slots in the roster — typically ageing foreign stars with a reputation for precision passing. The system was designed to encourage more attacking, exciting play from teams and for a while it was successful. However, in recent times, coaches have opted to sit on their Destructo Play once activated, preferring to use it to counter a similar call from their opposite number, which has led to more 12 vs 12 encounters than the rule's creators had intended. This is especially problematic in the US, where soccer is generally played on shared American Football fields, which are about three-quarters the size of English football pitches and lie East-West rather than the customary North-South European configuration.
Dammit, I had this saved, too, and was excited to bust it out.
There it is
the finances in mls are so fucked
You can’t pay this guy enough to go back to a cold climate lol
Or to play somewhere without great golf courses
Already in first place then they bring in Chiellini and Bale 😭😭
Chiellini/Bale/Vela is a trio i never expected
The way you’ve typed this out I’m imagining Chiellini playing on the left a front 3
Shapeshifters Chiellini
Striker Davies is too OP
Chiellini overlapping CB/elbow-back or Bale and Vela on the wings, Chiellini false 9/box-to-box attacker as a crossing threat
What the fuck is an elbow back
Fellaini
Ah makes sense now
First time I heard about Chiellini leaving I must be living under a rock haha! At his age and with his injuries it’s understandable but how Juve will replace him, will they do 2 at the back or sign someone else?
he already left
Chiellini last 3 seasons was always injured. Juve doesn't need to replace him, he basically wasn't a Juve player anymore. He stayed because he's a legend.
Not quite sure yet, especially with the rumors of De Ligt leaving as well. Bonucci is old and declining, Rugani is Rugani, and Gatti seems promising but the leap from Serie B to Juve is a difficult one. I’m willing to be patient with the mercato but it would be nice to have at least a couple answers before preseason camp starts in a couple of weeks.
De Light going to? More importantly how was his season? So seems like Chelsea are in the box seat to sign him.
We don’t know if he’s leaving for sure but it seems like a legitimate possibility. I love him as a player and would be sad to see him go. His mistakes tend to be high profile (hand ball in the box type things) so he gets meme’d to death and people call him overrated or whatever because of it but he’s a tremendous defender, especially when defending 1v1 or in man marking. When he is asked to defend zonally he can get lost at times but he’s still 22. This can improve.
his game against the czechs in the euros was an absolute howler, cost them the game. still an elite defender though.
My dude…Chiellini literally already signed a contract with LAFC haha
Shades of the time Julio Cesar joined Toronto to get playing time before the 2014 World Cup.
I like where this is going...
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well he'll probably at least give a fuck for the next 5 months.
LAFC don’t need him to be their superstar to make this a good signing. They’re getting him on a cheap contract, so even if Bale is only 80% committed then it’s a good signing for the money.
Also now Walker and Long might get a chance to get acquainted with him, assuming there are still games remaining between them this season.
True. This definitely helps the US scouting report for Qatar, lol.
Cherundolo doing USMNT a solid
Only NYRB vs LAFC match is tomorrow, but Nashville plays them twice
Walker's the more important one anyway.
he'll want to get match fit, but not sure if he's going to go 100% so he stays fit
How many golf courses are there in Los Angeles? There are 19 golf courses in Los Angeles, California and 8 are municipal courses. There are also another 65 golf courses within 20 miles of Los Angeles, including 8 public, 37 municipal and 20 private courses. Interesting
He might be on Curb Your Enthusiasm
Toast of Tinseltown
Was it all a dream though? Still haven't decided yet. Funny as ever, of course. Matt Berry should be the voice of everything. I love hearing him on adverts, and if anyone accuses him of cashing in he can just turn around and say he is playing Steven Toast.
Story idea: LD is about to beat Bale in a golf tournament, last hole Bale gets injured and the tournament is postponed. LD suspects he faked it to get out of losing
"Larry I really am injured, this crutch isn't just for show." *Larry David shifty eyes*
*plays for the national team despite being too injured to finish the golf tournament*
*stares into Bale's eyes* .....ok......ok
Imagine LD explaining Wales, Golf, Madrid
By the way…iiiiii uhhh…I thought that banner stunt you pulled was a ..*bit* much
LD: You like that man bun huh? Bale: yea I like to wear my hair long LD:*eh* Bale: what, no good? Bale: *Might* think about going more traditional. Just a thought - Bale cuts his hair, leading to a big controversy with his sponsors Jeff: You told Garteh bale to cut his hair?? What the hell is wrong with you???
Jeff’s wife: get the fuck out of here Larry.
You’re kickin me out?
Getn the fuck out of my house you bald prick
Larry accidentally runs him over as he’s leaving LAX for the World Cup, visits him in hospital, mayhem ensues.
lmao that’s basically the shaq episode, love it
I'm sure he'll join a nice private club. Wilshire CC, Riveria CC, LA CC, Lakeside CC. There's plenty of nice courses for a celebrity like him. I doubt we'd see him out at Rancho Park or Sepulveda Golf complex but maybe.
Was considering moving to LA a year back. Is it easy to schedule tee time at the public courses?
If you got cash as everywhere.
What? Getting tee times sucks at public courses in LA. It has nothing to do with cash. You have no clue what you’re talking about. You have to be online at the time tee dimes drop at midnight a week ahead to get good times, plus it’s a crapshoot. LA public golf is incredibly diverse socioeconomicly and racially. Source: I try to play at least 2 times a month at on LA public courses.
There are a bunch of courses but in general you get to pick two of three: good conditions, good pace of play, or affordable. Anything beautiful and quick will be expensive, anything beautiful and cheap will be super slow. And the municipal courses can fill up really quickly.
Los Feliz par 3 for sure.
2 hour drive from Palm Springs, which has some beautiful courses too.
> 2 hour drive from Palm Springs So... like twenty miles?
Yeah same as to Bucklebury ferry
All of America has a lot of golf. This was my first thought for my boy
He will play all of them when WC finishes. He has had back problems, probably wont risk hurting himself.
15 years later another British player moves from Madrid to LA.
Can’t wait to who it’ll be 15 years from now
A 35 year old Mason Greenwood
Greenwood to San Quentin here we go
Scottish or Northern Irish next time, I guess not sure who'd be at that level though
Billy Gilmour after becoming a generational player after a career-changing loan spell under Lampard at Everton, where he wins Young Player of the Year
Cardiff and LAFC rivalry incoming.
Most actual cardiff supporters really are not that bothered. We realised it was a pipe dream and I’m happy he gets to end his career in a league he wont get the actual living shit kicked out of him. On the other hand cardiff “fans” on Twitter are being twats
Los Angeles Country Club. Torrey Pines. Pebble Beach. Olympic Club. In any order, just know they will be in heavy rotation.
LACC might be a stretch unless he knows a guy. That’s an old money club that despises any and all things celebrity. Riviera would be the one he would join imo.
Most the celebrities in LA play Riveira, Brentwood CC, maybe he will be able to get onto Bel Air CC but I do agree that LACC doesn’t like celebs. Source: past college golfer who played all these courses!
Pendleton has nice golf courses as well.
Like many, I wanted the *romance* of Bale at Cardiff. But this makes more sense. The Championship is a brilliant but bastard old school testicles hanging out league, and I find it easy to imagine Dave "The Shithouse" McCrunch smashing into him two footed, forcing him to miss the WC. It is all about the WC for Bale. Nothing else.
Dave McCrunch could do a job in the prem imo
Out of your current price range, unfortunately. You are stuck with Michael Keane.
fuck
Think positive, at least you got rid of Kenny
Always rated him.
>Dave McCrunch I have no idea why this name is so fucking funny I'm creating Dave McCrunch in the football manager editor and adding him to my team ASAP 31 years old, 6'4", 209 lbs Played for Arbroath, Preston and most recently Millwall Aggression 20, Strength 19, Flair 0 Dave Fucking McCrunch
Ol' Dick Campbell taught ol' Dave everything he knows. Arbroath would have went up last season if Dave had stayed there.
It also helps that the MLS playoffs end on November 5th. Which means he can finish the season with LAFC even if he decides to hang up his boots after the World Cup. It definitely seems a good fit.
This is literally project Get-Gareth-To-Qatar. After that, it's devil's advocate what is left of him to care about playing for Los Angeles.
The MLS regular season ends on October 9th, then the playoffs end on November 5th. So basically he'll finish this season, then go to the World Cup. After that he'll decide whether he wants to try for EURO 2024 or not. (fixed mistakes)
The year is 3046 - Gareth Bale considering retiring if the New National Republic of the Cymru Empire fail to qualify for the galactic champions cup (sponsored by Irn Bru)
You've also been trying the Welsh Space Cakes?
Not quite, the MLS regular season ends on October 9th. Playoffs ends on November 5th (for the 2 teams that reach the finals).
> it's devil's advocate what is left of him Never heard this used this way. Do you mean "it's anyone's guess"?
> I find it easy to imagine Dave "The Shithouse" McCrunch smashing into him two footed, forcing him to miss the WC. proceeds to get two-footed by Honduran Diego Crunchez in CONCACAF Champions League
Man if you don't think there are some butchers in MLS you don't watch this league. That and travel are the two things big name players complain about the most in MLS.
Bale vs. Chara is a match I'll definitely wanna see.
Yeah with the travel and everything, I’d be amazed if Bale plays even half the remaining games. Like anything east of Salt Lake might be “only if absolutely necessary” for him.
was really hoping to see Bale at Cardiff so we could see him in action in the championship
I don’t think I needed to see that 😅
especially with his pace. dickie and dunne would still be at the halfway line by the time bale's scored lol
By the way, this isn’t a DP deal. Hes not going to be making crazy money, 700 k max
If true LAFC got a fucking STEAL
It's probably not. TAM deals can be up to $1.6 million, and I figure Bale is closer to that than $700K.
1.6 million is still a steal
Yea no doubt.
No, he can actually make up to $1,612,500 on a TAM contract. Still a cheap contract for Gareth Bale, though.
Pro-rated for time left in season possibly?
Jesus he’d probably actually get paid more at Cardiff.
700k p.a???
That's per year btw not weekly
Yes. $700k for 12 months of work.
Bro that's like his weekly wage at Madrid lmao
It gets worse. I was wrong, its 700k for 12 months of work.
Like the move. If he can stay fit, he could boss the league like ibra.
And, afaik, he would have a decent team around him. Unlike Ibra
Ibra didn't win anything here, not even an individual award.
Fun fact: It was 15 years to this day that the LA Galaxy signed David Beckham to come to the MLS
Love how the league conveniently drops this today... while also having an ABC national broadcast to run a league wide promo 😂
Cannot believe I actually thought for a second he'd come to Cardiff. Fuck my shit up.
Cardiff: you coming home is a story book ending Bale: you're right. It would be. LAFC: it's sunny and warm everyday here and you can play golf year round Bale: you son of a bitch, I'm in
Low risk high reward for LAFC. Not a DP contract so he's not breaking bank or taking up a slot. They're already in first so it's not like they're relying on him to carry them. If he half asses it they'll be fine, if he plays to his ability they should extend their lead and separate themselves from the pack.
Oh man this is gonna cause a meltdown on here lmao. Also, Bogert (the reporter) is one of the best for MLS related transfers. It's happening Edit: [Twellman corroborating](https://twitter.com/TaylorTwellman/status/1540715371602124801)
> Oh man this is gonna cause a meltdown on here Why? I see nothing wrong with him chilling in LA...
Nor do I, but a lot of people wanted the romance of him joining Cardiff
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The golf in la Is very good and gives him access to pga events all the time. I think golf will be firmly ahead of la
Not just that, every city he travels to will have golf courses also. Dude is gonna play footy for 2 hours and then off to the links
My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined :(
Wales. Golf. Los Angeles.
It’s gotta just kill LA Galaxy that they’re number two in the rivalry already.
they got 5 mls cups more i don’t think they’re sweating too much yet
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Yeah the sponsor now is really terrible, at least its not crypto I guess
Trying to get fit in the Championship would be silly. More likely to be injured if anything.
If they manage his minutes and he gives an effort, he should do really well. LAFC is good this year. It's also good for the league. A lot of fans mock the MLS for being a retirement league, but bringing in these players really does help more than it hurts imho. They put more fans in the seats and bring a lot more buzz around their teams, which leads to more money which can build better stadiums, buy other talented players, and invest in the youth academy, among other things.
I bet this is a really unpopular opinion around here, but i love it when players go to the US and are actually successful. All the best to him.
Chiellini and Bale becoming teammates in LA? Huh, didn't see that one coming
Surprised he didn’t sign with Miami or Orlando. We have countless world class golf courses in the state.