<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/nycfc-philadelphia-union.jpg"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/nycfc-philadelphia-union.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-136809" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20150417_WST_136724_nycfc-philadelphia-union-600x425.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=425" alt="nycfc-philadelphia-union" width="600" height="425" srcset="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/nycfc-philadelphia-union-600x425.jpg 600w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/nycfc-philadelphia-union-150x106.jpg 150w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/nycfc-philadelphia-union-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/nycfc-philadelphia-union.jpg 1761w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a></figure></div>
If I had written a story about the Philadelphia Union a week ago, I might have rightly considered them the worst team in <a href="worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/category/leagues-major-league-soccer/">Major League Soccer</a>. However, a victory and a draw over New York City F.C. has at least bandaged some wounds. But a team in 2014 that had a playoff position in their grasp still has some major questions.
The strange thing is, the squad based in Chester, PA could actually have the talent to compete for MLS Cup, at least by my estimation. Depth is certainly an issue, but there are some excellent players in Philly’s squad.
But with all that, there was a wrench in the Union works up until recently.
The Union thought they were buying a proven leader last summer as they lined up Algerian goalkeeper (and World Cup veteran) Rais M’Bolhi to take up between the posts. In the grander picture, it became a move that still provides punch line after punch line for pundits around MLS. Not only was M’Bolhi a big ticket item, he was a big ticket item at a position of abundance in the United States – and on the Union.
M’Bolhi came in and supplanted Zac MacMath, a 2011 first round SuperDraft pick, and also vaulted Andre Blake, the first pick overall in 2014. While the SuperDraft isn’t the quickest or most reliable way to add quality to your side, early picks often provide the best chances to gain solid achievers in the league. Few teams spend early draft picks on goalkeepers anymore, let alone two in four seasons.
I doubt it needs much explanation on how illogical it would then be to trump both of those investments at that position on a high priced Designated Player. Add it up, and that comes to three resources a team can use to develop its quality, or at the very least, its depth.
Certainly the estimated&nbsp;$500,000 salary is the most glaring, and M’Bolhi’s performances and attitude have done nothing to justify that costly maneuver. A major gaffe in the fall of 2014 cost the Union a shot at making the playoffs. Finally after a disappointing loss to Sporting Kansas City two weeks ago, Head Coach Jim Curtin pulled the plug.
The real irony is that John McCarthy, the Union’s goalkeeper in both Saturday’s 1-0 victory&nbsp;and tonight’s 1-1 draw&nbsp;against NYCFC, likely earns around the league minimum (salary numbers should be released by the MLS Players Union in May). He was the Goalkeeper of the Year in USL for the Rochester Rhinos last year, but theoretically was available for a song to all 20 teams for 2015.
So after a coveted Designated Player slot and two high SuperDraft picks, the Union got by with a guy they could have signed for little.
That’s not to say that McCarthy is going to be the next US international star goalkeeper – Andre Blake ought to be starting when he returns to fitness. But maybe the philosophy that thinks spending precious resources on the goalkeeper position is finally quieted (cough Nick Sakiewicz cough).
If not, maybe in the future they’ll at least try not to use them all in the span of a four-year period.
&nbsp;

Philadelphia finding you don't need to buy good goalkeeping - World Soccer Talk

Philadelphia finding you don't need to buy good goalkeeping

<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/mls-live.jpg"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/mls-live.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-135938" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20150409_WST_135930_mls-live-600x338.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=338" alt="mls live" width="600" height="338" srcset="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/mls-live-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/mls-live-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/mls-live-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/mls-live.jpg 620w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a></figure></div>
Just when you thought it was going away, MLS Live is back. And while it could be better, the internet streaming package offered by <a href="worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/category/leagues-major-league-soccer/">Major League Soccer</a> ($75.99 for the full season) is a product worth considering.
In 2014, MLS came to an agreement with ESPN on streaming rights, which was bundled with their current television deal. But as the 2015 season approached, the MLS Digital announced that they would be reclaiming the internet package, apparently due to difficulties at ESPN in monetizing their streaming platform, ESPN3/WatchESPN.
That meant MLS Live was back, and for the most part, there are few changes in the interface. Let’s go through this system part by part to discuss the service.
Fee: The biggest change potential subscribers will notice is the price. It was about a 10-15% increase in price over 2014, depending on when you purchased your subscription. Additionally there are fewer matches streamed via MLS Live due to the increase in matches aired on ESPN and FOX networks (2 per week, plus a match on Univision).
Platforms: As was the case last year, you can use this on your PC, Apple product (TV, iPhone, Ipad), Chromecast, Roku, or on Android devices. Since the long term existence of this product is in question, it’s not a surprise they haven’t incorporated additional devices (such as gaming platforms or other tablet devices).
Reliability: On the PC, I’ve rarely had a problem with MLS Live. Streaming works very well in that interface. On my Roku 2 (which is a wireless device), I can experience some buffering delays on matchday. Since other streaming apps work seamlessly via Wifi on my device, my assumption the delay comes from the server.
Additionally, I tried <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/03/26/with-nasl-espn-deal-nasl-games-now-more-accessible-online-than-mls/">streaming some of the NASL</a> opening night matches via WatchESPN on my Roku. The quality of the HD stream was excellent, even though some of the camera work and commentary was less professional than MLS’s locally produced streams.
Interface: The PC interface is relatively simple to use. You can choose to stream a single match, or up to three matches on one screen (if you have the required bandwidth). For the primary match in your window, you have a great deal of video control. You can pause, rewind 10 seconds, and hit the “slow motion” button to go frame-by-frame. You can also click on the time bar to back up or move ahead in larger intervals. Closed captioning is also available with a single click.
You can also turn the scores on or off, which is great if you prefer not to be spoiled. If you do turn on the scores, the time bar gets annotated with icons to help you find important sequences. You also get match report data and lineups.
Multiple Match Viewing: The alternate screens are not large, but they are big enough to get the gist of what’s happening. You can also swap midstream between matches to magnify the game of your choice. The two alternate panels have a subset of the player controls.
On Demand Replays: After the match is over on the PC, you get a choice between the full game or a condensed replay (~ 20 minutes long). On other platforms you can choose either of those, or select a shorter highlight package.
Archives: You can watch matches as far back as 2010. It’s up to you whether you find 5 full seasons worth of archived footage useful.
Overall: It may not be fair to compare MLS Live to WatchESPN, but MLS opened themselves up to that analysis once they were unable to make it work on ESPN’s service this year. Chris Schlosser and crew have put a lot of work into making MLS Live a good streaming service for the league’s product.
Would it have been better on WatchESPN? There is little doubt in my mind that the additional device support and unequaled stability of The Worldwide Leader’s product would have opened the league up to a whole new bevy of viewers, especially the younger demographic.
For those who can’t get enough domestic soccer, the price is quite affordable. But suffice it to say, most of us will be anticipating the service moving to WatchESPN, preferably for 2016.
&nbsp;

Review of MLS Live: It isn't ESPN3 but it's good enough - World Soccer Talk

Review of MLS Live: It isn't ESPN3 but it's good enough

<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/MLS-Timbers-Real-Salt-Lake-Soccer.JPEG-0ddce.jpg"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/MLS-Timbers-Real-Salt-Lake-Soccer.JPEG-0ddce.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-89333" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20150327_WST_134694_MLS-Timbers-Real-Salt-Lake-Soccer.JPEG-0ddce-600x400.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=400" alt="MLS Timbers Real Salt Lake Soccer.JPEG-0ddce" width="600" height="400" srcset="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2013/11/MLS-Timbers-Real-Salt-Lake-Soccer.JPEG-0ddce-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2013/11/MLS-Timbers-Real-Salt-Lake-Soccer.JPEG-0ddce-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2013/11/MLS-Timbers-Real-Salt-Lake-Soccer.JPEG-0ddce-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2013/11/MLS-Timbers-Real-Salt-Lake-Soccer.JPEG-0ddce.jpg 606w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a></figure></div>
If it hasn’t been clear to you over the last decade or two, get used to this idea: in American soccer, it’s either the MLS way or the highway.
<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/03/25/watch-minnesota-united-mls-press-conference-to-announce-new-mls-team-livestream/">Yesterday marked the announcement of Minnesota United FC (MNUFC)</a> making the big move from the North American Soccer League up to Major League Soccer for the 2018 season. Dr. Bill McGuire, MNUFC owner, was able to bring the state’s Twins (MLB) and Timberwolves (NBA) ownership groups on board to successfully bid for a franchise.
With the announcement has come articles numbering the days to NASL’s 2nd Division implosion. MNUFC is a powerhouse of that league, no doubt – though not quite the gem the New York Cosmos are made out to be.&nbsp; Still, Minneapolis/St. Paul is a signifcant market for MLS to claim. Getting MNUFC could certainly weaken the NASL, no doubt about it.
Just like every other independent (non-MLS Reserve) team in the lower divisions, MNUFC had aspirations of being in the top division. Who can fault a club that can align the resources to meet MLS’s hefty demands? Teams from Sacramento to Pittsburgh all wish their metropolitan markets (and just as important, their pocketbooks) suited Don Garber and the MLS owners.
But let’s face it, losing a team like MNUFC isn’t the NASL’s real problem. Their Achilles heel is that MLS doesn’t like them very much.
A week ago, Bill Archer at Big Soccer wrote about the MLS/NASL battle.&nbsp;<a href="http:\/\/www.bigsoccer.com/blog/2015/3/20/can-the-cosmos-really-manage-to-destroy-the-nasl-twice">reporting on the dissolution of a potential relationship</a>&nbsp;between MLS and the NASL, which would have brought the leagues closer together in their dealings. In that article, the New York Cosmos is cast as the main culprit behind the downfall of that pact, leaving MLS to bargain (and ultimately align) with 3rd Division USL.
At the moment, there is a turf war. You have MLS and USL on one side, NASL on the other. In a growing soccer country, there are markets galore. Phoenix, Detroit, San Diego, Nashville, Memphis, St. Louis, Cincinnati, which of those might be the next Minneapolis or St. Paul? Yet the <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/03/05/nasl-could-suffer-greatly-due-to-mls-and-its-new-cba-deal/">NASL is already being doomed by many writers</a>. Why?
I’m not here to predict the future. But if NASL does fold, it won’t be because of one team changing alliances. It’s because they’ve been shut out of the system by MLS.
To an extent it’s indicative of business today. Out with the Mom &amp; Pop, in with the merged conglomerate. I think we’ve become somewhat immune to this in the public, developing a tolerance to the news of BigCo being bought up by BiggerCo, and eventually driving LittleCo out of business. The lower overhead costs of the merged means the ability to undercut the market price. Once the competition goes, the free market dynamic is compromised.
The US Soccer Federation sees the crowded sports market as reason enough to believe in the single entity. Keep costs down and the league succeeds. Overspend and goodbye soccer.
Does that hurt the soccer consumer in the US? That all depends on who you ask, whether it be an MLS executive, a Cosmos owner, a player in either situation, or the average fan of either or these enterprises. They all have different interests, some aligns, some competing.
But as the days pass, the entities that dare to defy MLS are having the pressure amplified.
Even Jurgen Klinsmann is now cast as a rogue villain out to ruin the good thing MLS has going. Every Yanks loss is met with hopeful smirks from analysts that the German will be run off by the Federation. When the US was killing it in 2013, they loved him. Then he suggested MLS needed some changes, and now he’s a heel.
That’s the theme, it seems. Cross MLS, and your days will be numbered for you. The league continues to expand its size and power in the US and Canada, and it appears the health of the sport in North America will be dependent upon its continued success.
And for the unbiased consumers, we can only hope it’s the right path.
&nbsp;

It's MLS or the highway for American soccer - World Soccer Talk

It's MLS or the highway for American soccer

<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/08/geoff-cameron-e1409111242286.jpg"></a><figure class="image"><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/08/geoff-cameron-e1409111242286.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-112256" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20140827_CMS_115104_geoff-cameron-600x442_d9855d4f.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=442" alt="geoff cameron" width="600" height="442"></a></figure>
Rumors abound that American international Geoff Cameron is being courted both within the Premier League as well as on the continent. <a href="http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/25/us-star-geoff-cameron-lined-up-by-italian-giants-lazio-numerous-pl-clubs/">ProSoccerTalk links Cameron</a> to a number of clubs, the biggest name being traditional Serie A contender Lazio.
But recent moves to big clubs have hampered many an American abroad. From Clint Dempsey to Jozy Altidore, Maurice Edu to Michael Bradley, a move up the prestige ladder isn’t always a guarantee of good times. It’s something that should make Cameron think twice about taking a step up.
Cameron featured for the Potters as soon as he made the move to England, but thus far in the new campaign he has not played a minute for Mark Hughes. While Cameron gained a transfer to England on his performances as a central defender at the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/08/24/lee-dixons-criticism-of-referee-kevin-friend-was-unwarranted/">Houston Dynamo</a>, then manager Tony Pulis inserted Cameron at right-back in his four central defender setup.
Last year, Hughes stuck with Cameron at right-back after the departure of Pulis. But in the summer he signed a natural fullback in Phil Bardsley which has pushed Cameron to the bench, at least for the time being.
There are other Premier League sides interested in Cameron. But each of those clubs – primarily Southampton, Sunderland, and Hull City – would be lateral moves at best. Lazio, who at one time were consistent challengers for Champions League spots in Italy, would certainly be a big jump up for the suburban Bostonian.
That is the type of situation that would impress USMNT head coach <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/07/13/jurgen-klinsmann-and-his-role-in-germanys-2014-world-cup-win/">Jurgen Klinsmann</a>. The German has long stressed the importance of players challenging themselves at the highest level. Lazio’s history of aspirations towards greatness would likely please Klinsmann.
Another important aspect could be the chance for Cameron to slot in at one of his natural positions. PST reports that would be possible at Lazio, as well as some of the other interested EPL clubs. With Ryan Shawcross, Marc Wilson, and Robert Huth at Stoke, Cameron’s chances of getting time centrally are scant.
So why not move?
While Cameron rides the bench at Stoke City right now, Bardsley was not very impressive with the Black Cats the last couple of years. He has also had issues with discipline off the pitch. Perhaps with hard work on the training ground, Cameron could regain the spot at right-back again.
It’s also been well documented the difficulties American players have had bedding in at a new club. We saw this in Italy last year, with Michael Bradley leaving Chievo a hero and becoming surplus to requirements at Roma. His best shot for playing time approaching the World Cup came from a transfer back to North America, at Toronto F.C.
Cameron may be best served moving within the Premier League, especially one that will play him centrally. He is well acquainted with the players and style within the EPL, and should quickly mesh into a side such as Southampton or Hull City. It’s true that both of those teams could be in for a fight to avoid relegation, but there are no guarantees for the Potters to remain safe either.
Sunderland are also reported to be interested, and that would be an intriguing proposition. They also employ embattled US striker Jozy Altidore. Perhaps a fellow Statesider on the squad would help settle Altidore, who really needs to regain the form he once had at A.Z. Alkmaar in the Eredivisie.
Whether it’s remaining at Stoke, moving within the Premier League or sliding into a more prestigious side like Lazio, Cameron needs to judge the situation wisely. Bigger money can be tempting, but it doesn’t always result in a happy ending.

Geoff Cameron Must be Calculated and Logical About His Playing Future

Geoff Cameron Must be Calculated and Logical About His Playing Future - World Soccer Talk

The #1 Source for Soccer TV Schedules, Streaming Links, Cord Cutting Reviews, Soccer News and Interviews With Broadcasters.

latest articles by

Leagues: MLS

Philadelphia finding you don't need to buy good goalkeeping

ESPN

Review of MLS Live: It isn't ESPN3 but it's good enough

Leagues: MLS

It's MLS or the highway for American soccer

News

Geoff Cameron Must be Calculated and Logical About His Playing Future