PIERRE, OTTO, MURRAY, LRD, RICARDO, AXE, DD...

You guys don't need to read this. We've been saying this for years now. From today's Guardian:

Premiership inferior, says Lalas

Alexi Lalas, the president of LA Galaxy and the man responsible for taking David Beckham to Major League Soccer in the United States next month, has suggested that the Premiership is an "inferior product" whose global success is largely down to American marketing techniques.

"There's no accounting for bad taste," Lalas said in an exclusive interview with the Guardian. "That a segment of the world worships an inferior product in the Premiership is their business. English football now has the haves and the have-nots. It's just that the Premiership have become so skilled in presentation. They took a page out of American football and so now they have Saturday Showdowns and Super Sundays. I love it. This is high-calibre marketing - taking an inferior product and improving it through packaging."

Lalas hit out at English criticism of football in America. "The experts in England talk about David Beckham as if he's going into semi-retirement. It's insulting to say Beckham is on his way to Hollywood when he's coming to play in one of the most competitive leagues in the world. There are a lot of stars who would struggle here.

"There's this delusion that if it's English then it's great. But a whole world exists outside of England. That's reflected in the difficulties they had when everyone ran to the Premiership. Maybe it's OK for the fan but, for the average development of the players, their game is struggling."

The EPL may be inferior overall, but it's still a good league.

I don't mind him voicing his opinion, except when it comes to blatantly wrong statements like "the MLS is one of the most competitive leagues in the world".

Practically all of Europe, the J-League in Japan, the K-league in South Korea, a couple of African leagues' top teams, and most South American (and Mexico from Central America) have stronger leagues than the MLS. I've watched a few games and it is absolute rubbish. Some of the players can't control a ball, and watching wingers try to beat their man down the wing is painful, not to mention the "cross" they later put in.

kas wrote:I don't mind him voicing his opinion, except when it comes to blatantly wrong statements like "the MLS is one of the most competitive leagues in the world".

Practically all of Europe, the J-League in Japan, the K-league in South Korea, a couple of African leagues' top teams, and most South American (and Mexico from Central America) have stronger leagues than the MLS. I've watched a few games and it is absolute rubbish. Some of the players can't control a ball, and watching wingers try to beat their man down the wing is painful, not to mention the "cross" they later put in.

i agree i thought he was in the right until he said that, which is quite stupid.

kas wrote:I don't mind him voicing his opinion, except when it comes to blatantly wrong statements like "the MLS is one of the most competitive leagues in the world".

Practically all of Europe, the J-League in Japan, the K-league in South Korea, a couple of African leagues' top teams, and most South American (and Mexico from Central America) have stronger leagues than the MLS. I've watched a few games and it is absolute rubbish. Some of the players can't control a ball, and watching wingers try to beat their man down the wing is painful, not to mention the "cross" they later put in.

I was waiting for Lalas to do his own bit of selling the MLS, and that was it "the MLS is one of the most..."

I strongly disagree with your statement "all of Europe... have better leagues than the MLS". Right now, MLS is stronger than the Austrian, Polish, Danish leagues. I am convinced the MLS cracks the top 20 leagues in Europe right now, and within the next 5 to 7 seasons it will easily be on par with the top 12-15 from Europe.

#1 La Liga, #2 Serie A, then EPL, Brasil, France, Mexico, Argentina, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Colombia, Russia, Belgium, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Scotland, PERU, Ukraine, Turkey, Greece, Czechia, MLS.

Mexicanbecks wrote:
i agree i thought he was in the right until he said that, which is quite stupid.

Call it anything you want but "stupid". You should know that the packaging Lala's talking about is the English media hyping its own league. He knows this interview will be read all over the world because English media reaches fas places as Hong Kong, Singapore...

Lalas is packaging his team, his league, by using an English media outlet. The very least that he'll get from hyping his own league is probably more people from Asia tuning in to watch MLS. We (Americans) are the masters of hype and delluding people. Lalas is right, and I've said it long ago, the English media have used American marketing tactics to hype the EPL.

Puro wrote:

Mexicanbecks wrote:
i agree i thought he was in the right until he said that, which is quite stupid.

Call it anything you want but "stupid". You should know that the packaging Lala's talking about is the English media hyping its own league. He knows this interview will be read all over the world because English media reaches fas places as Hong Kong, Singapore...

Lalas is packaging his team, his league, by using an English media outlet. The very least that he'll get from hyping his own league is probably more people from Asia tuning in to watch MLS. We (Americans) are the masters of hype and delluding people. Lalas is right, and I've said it long ago, the English media have used American marketing tactics to hype the EPL.

im not denying the tactics involved but to say they are the most competitive leagues is ludicrous

Beckham is taking a back-step, when he goes to MLS. Really it IS a inferior league compare to the danish league...

If Del piero from Juve went to MLS, the Italians and media alike will right-fully say he's in semi-retirement and taking a huge back-step in terms of the quality of league etc..

Therefore, Alexi Lalas is the last person on earth I would listen to, with regards to any footballing matters....

We've bruised their ego when we have dismissed their league due to Becks going their, so people like Alexi Lalas gonna have to retort back, understandable, but we take it as a pinch of salt...

That Lalas guy is as stupid as several people that post on this forum.

At least we know why puro knows so little about football. He shares the same knowledge and opinions as american Alexi Lalas.

Obviously lalas didn't hear that in italy and in spain the media also says that beckham is going into semi-retirement, or he would have included them in with the EPL as inferior leagues.

The MLS is the new Qatar, which is where players like Batigaol went into semi-retirement.

and you are taking these comments seriouly puro ???

alexi lalas had awesome hair at world cup 94. i remember having the sticker album and being a big fan of his based solely on that

Puro wrote:#1 La Liga, #2 Serie A, then EPL, Brasil, France, Mexico, Argentina, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Colombia, Russia, Belgium, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Scotland, PERU, Ukraine, Turkey, Greece, Czechia, MLS.

Puro, I'm hoping for your sake that you put those leagues in random order, and not some chronological order.

kas wrote:I don't mind him voicing his opinion, except when it comes to blatantly wrong statements like "the MLS is one of the most competitive leagues in the world".

Practically all of Europe, the J-League in Japan, the K-league in South Korea, a couple of African leagues' top teams, and most South American (and Mexico from Central America) have stronger leagues than the MLS. I've watched a few games and it is absolute rubbish. Some of the players can't control a ball, and watching wingers try to beat their man down the wing is painful, not to mention the "cross" they later put in.

What I thought

Fey wrote:Ha! Lalas! Isnt that the guy who tried to look like Jesus? Anyway

a ginger jesus no less.

I think it's great, he comments on first the quality of the football in the premiership, when in comparison the MLS is light years behind, he then refers to the marketing of the game as 'american' yet SKY is owned by an Australian.

Further to this, he signs a player coming to the back end of his career (albeit in good form) who has played his best football in his days in The Premiership.

It says a lot when a club from the MLS has to pay a 32 year old £125million or whatever it is, just to take him the USA, Beckham isn't interested in the football, he realised however commercially it could extent his product life cycle if he cracks the USA.

I actually found that absolutely hilarious to read, and for the record, 3 Champions League Semi-Finalists, a 7-1 thrashing for Utd against Roma and Liverpool reaching the final, not bad for a 'inferior league' especially one which arguably commands some of the best managers and footballers.

Bring back the NASL !!

it was so easy for Cruijff ! - http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-5173540437318404315&q=Johan+Cruyff+MLS&total=1&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

NASL >>>> MLS

nothing has changed.

If the premiership is an inferior product what the f@ck is the NFL?!

Anyway, this man thinks it is a good idea to pay David Beckham a quarter of a billion dollers to try and raise the profile of "soccer" in the US, a country that any idiot can see will never embrace it. In other words he's paying to piss into the wind. He's an idiot.

He's certainly right to offer a corrective to the English Prem hype, even if he probably goes overboard in his righteous indignation about the merits of the MLS. I for one had to cheer.

Full interview here: http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2105972,00.html

Rupert Murdoch has been an American citizen for some time now, for the record, and is to all intents and purposes naturalized as far as I know.

Besides, it's complete bollocks to suggest that soccer will never catch on in the States – I know plenty of Americans who know far more than most Europeans, the numbers who play it are huge, and the numbers of people interested likewise, and ever-increasing even if less so as a proportion in such a massive country. there's every reason to look optimistically at the future of the sport over there, and Lalas had to fight back.

Seems a good guy.