By the time you read this, Montreal will likely have already been named the 19th MLS franchise, to begin play in 2012. What has long been a foregone conclusion will finally be done, and the league will have added a third Canadian franchise in the span of a five years.


With the long history the two countries have in professional sports, I'm happy to have another Canadian team, from a city that supports the game and provides natural rivalries in several permutations across the league.


MLS could do much worse by placing teams in American cities without proven track records of supporting soccer, particularly if those expansions teams land in stadiums far from city centers; it's not easy to find stadium deals in the rights places, and Montreal requires almost no leaps of faith.


Montreal finally being officially named will inevitably lead to the "Who's 20?" discussions across the blogosphere. There seems to be at least a few candidates and factors to consider. Garber's continued proclamations that the league needs to get back into the Southeast is just one, though its difficult to see MLS choosing Florida without an absolutely perfect set of circumstances.


Who is next is made more difficult because cities we might consider possibilities won't have the built-in infrastructure that Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and Montreal did. Essentially, there are no more obvious "promotion" candidates, so number 20 will likely follow the Philadelphia model rather than the Seattle one; handicap the situation at this very moment is difficult, but a second New York team are my slight favorites over Atlanta with Miami and St. Louis as long shots. Still, none of those cities have successful teams currently (though that might be a bit unfair to the newly formed AC St. Louis), none have optimal stadium possibilities, and only one or two have potential ownership groups we might call "solid". It doesn't appear to me that this next round will be as easy as the last few.


MLS has hit on almost every expansion choice they've made in this latest batch, with results still to be seen in Vancouver and Portland. They've leveraged interest in the sport, owners who wanted in, and cities ready to support first division soccer into a league with more passion, attention, and relevance than ever before. Despite any ill effects it might have had on the quality of play around the league, expanding rapidly while the possibility existed, and into markets with proven or vocal fan bases, was the right decision.


I'm just glad Montreal is finally done. Do something about that name though, Monsieur Saputo.


I'll update this post after the announcement press conference with any details pertaining to Montreal's entry.

MLS commissioner Don Garber visited today Montreal to discuss possible MLS expansion with Impact owner Joey Saputo according to a league press release. On the agenda were talks with Quebec's Minister of Finance Raymond Bachand regarding possible government funding for Stade Saputo stadium renovations.


Stade Saputo currently seats 13,000 spectators and could be upgraded to 20,000 with Quebec provincial assistance.

“We continued our discussions with the Saputo family about a future MLS expansion team in Montreal and had very productive meetings with Minister Bachand about securing funding for the expansion of Saputo Stadium,” Garber said following his morning meetings. “We’ve stated many times that Montreal would be a great market for MLS and we look forward to continuing our discussions.”

Garber recently reiterated that Montreal remained a front-runner for the league's next expansion spot during the buildup to the MLS Cup Final in Seattle.

“We are very happy with the visit of the MLS executives in Montreal,” declared Impact President Joey Saputo. “The meetings this morning with Minister Bachand and Mayor Tremblay were very positive. It's clear for us, and now more than ever, that the arrival of MLS in Montreal is only a question of time. We are hoping to have news in the first quarter of 2010.”

Rumors of an imminent announcement regarding Montreal's MLS future have been bouncing around both the US and Canada for weeks. Garber's visit appears to be just one more small step towards that announcement happening, though it might that securing provincial funding for Stade Saputo's upgrade is a prerequisite.


It's also interesting that Garber would travel to Montreal and discuss expansion with Saputo, then have the league issue a press release, all while the unresolved CBA negotiations still hang over the league's head.

Via telephone conference call yesterday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber gave his annual "State of the League Address" in which he covered all manner of issues related to Major League Soccer and took questions from some of North America's most prominent soccer journalists. Some of what The Don said was worth comment, and some of it was typical Commish-speak; following is the important bits related to expansion, with my thoughts where applicable. Subsequent posts should be forthcoming addressing Garber's statements on other issues (parity, CCL, stadiums). My previous post on the CBA is here.


Philadelphia enters MLS in 2010, and Portland and Vancouver are to follow in 2011. After adding several other teams over the past few years, Major League Soccer is now on track to a be an eighteen team league by 2011. Long acknowledging that their goal is to get to twenty teams, Garber faces question on expansion fairly regularly now.

"Today, we believe we are going to be a twenty team league. What we think in 2020 or 2025, I can't answer and won't be around to have to address. This is a big country, it's the size of a continent, and along with Canada, it gets even bigger. We're covering 300+ million, which is far bigger than any other country where you have the eighteen or twenty team leagues in Europe or other parts of the world. We don't have promotion and relegation, so the size of the league is less relevant than a league that might have a second and third division.

Twenty teams works for several reasons, but perhaps most importantly for a balanced schedule. Beyond twenty, and with other competitions being in play for the top clubs, the number of league matches gets unwieldy. That's not to say that stopping at twenty should be the end of things, and even Garber notes that MLS could, and legitimately so, be much larger down the road.


My concern is that if MLS does choose to expand beyond twenty, it needs to go far enough that "conferences" actually make sense again, allowing for a balanced schedule within the conferences. Splitting further into divisions doesn't make sense to me; not everything can go "traditional" the way some would hope, but there does needs to be a balance between an American-style league and what most of the greater soccer world uses.


Twenty is the best number for those "traditional" elements, so I'm fine with getting there and holding; we'll leave the discussions of talent pools and over-extending for another day. I did find it a little interesting that Garber stated flatly that he wouldn't be around in 2020 or 2025 to face the issue; I guess this means American soccer won't have it's own Pete Rozelle or David Stern.


As for the nineteenth team, which would obviously have to be added before the league can worry about twenty, it's a repeat of what we've already heard:

"We've had productive conversations with Montreal to be our 19th team. We have not put a timetable as to when that team would join the league if we're able to reach agreement with them. We do not have any active discussions going on of note for the 20th team and certainly don't have any timetable for the 20th team."

Montreal for nineteen. That eventuality has been out there for quite some time, and I would imagine that "discussions" would boil down to what Saputo needs to pay to get into MLS. It was the issue from the beginning, and isn't like to have gone away simply because the sniping has quieted down. Saputo wants into MLS, that much is clear; if he gets provincial money to upgrade Stade Saputo that will offset his expansion fee expense, things will move fairly quickly, I assume.


Meanwhile, I'm actually doubtful that some type of timetable hasn't been discussed for number twenty. Garber and the MLS board probably have a short list of possible cities with potential ownership groups identified, with their favorite candidates and cities highlighted with little smiley faces next to them. I don't know that anything has been discussed seriously, or if it's just a matter of occasional contact and "Hi, how's your wife?", but something has been done. An outside target date, even if it's five years down the road, has been mentioned by someone at MLS HQ, they're just not going to tell us.


Garber also responded to a question regarding Detroit, where it's being reported that a Canadian real estate firm hopes to put an MLS team in the Silverdome (which they just purchased for around $600,000). Garber shot it down, stating that the league hadn't had any discussions about Detroit for some time.


Nothing groundbreaking from the Commish on expansion, but since it's always top of mind for fans of an expanding league, his words are worth reviewing.


What do you make of Garber's expansion-related statements?

This post is meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Or not. It was supposed to be, but apparently I failed. Maybe the Crew really should be moved...

Another playoff run, another Columbus disappointment, and I don't mean on the field. Despite having what has been the best team in Major League Soccer over the last two seasons, Columbus fans still fail to show up in big numbers at Crew Stadium. Last night, only 10,109 could be bothered to watch the men in yellow go down to Real Salt Lake. Lest you think this is an aberration, brought on by the opponent (no one ever accused RSL of being a big draw) or the day of the week, note that during last year's run to the Cup final, Columbus only averaged 13,000 between two home matches.


That, my friends, is what we call "not good enough".


Perhaps you're inclined to put the onus of poor attendance on Hunt Sports Group, the owners of the Crew and proprietors of one of the league's other poor attendance performers, FC Dallas. Unfortunately, HSG can't be used as an excuse. Americans love a winner; it's proven, it's true, and it generally means people show up to partake in the glory. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Crew have been winners in recent years. Americans love a winner?


I guess it the axiom doesn't apply in good old C'bus.


Why that might be, I have no idea. It doesn't make sense to me that metropolitan area with a population of 1.7 million (good for 32nd in the country) can't provide enough fans to fill a stadium with a capacity of 22,555. The Crew's regular-season average over the last two years is less than 15,000. Sure, Columbus is college football town. Sure, it's not a city with a large Hispanic population that could augment their soccer fan base. Sure, the game is a tough sell in the Midwest, a part of the country dominated by American football and college basketball. Still, none of those represent reasonable excuses for why the Crew can't draw a decent crowd.


Crew Stadium itself is a landmark of American soccer, the first dedicated venue for the sport in the United States built in the modern era. It will always be viewed as representative of the rise of soccer here, a monument to the builders of MLS and their dedication to the sport. But that history, and that status as both an MLS first and as a reliable home for the US National Team, should not keep the league from doing what is necessary. Major League Soccer just isn't working in Columbus, Ohio. Believe it or not, it's time to move the Crew.


Don't be so shocked. MLS has shown the necessary callousness in the past when it was clear a market wasn't cutting it. Yes, they went back to San Jose despite evidence that the place was a deathbed for stadium deals. Yes, they went into Salt Lake City before Toronto, though that hasn't worked out so poorly. But they killed the Florida teams, as they should have, and have shown good foresight with expansion teams since. Forget Crew Stadium; if the Crew can't draw respectable crowds, why should they remain in Columbus?


Back in the summer, when DC United was going through stadium plan travails, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said what needed to be said to the local governments of the region: Find a place for United, or the league might find it necessary to move the team. DC United is one of the flagship franchises in MLS, and yet they weren't deemed untouchable from the distasteful step of moving clubs like chess pieces, to homes that will both properly appreciate them and maximize the league's bottom line. United's situation is clearly different than that of Columbus, and yet somehow they're related; original MLS teams, each with issues in their markets, whose future in those markets should not be assured.


Anathema? I don't think so.


Luckily enough, there's a market in North America ready and willing to accept a Major League Soccer team: Montreal. There's a stadium (ready to be expanded), an owner who could take the Crew off the hands of the Hunt Sports Group (who would be better off focusing on one club), and a fan base ready to show up. "Perfect" doesn't begin to describe it.


Montreal is an MLS market waiting to happen. The city's eventual entry into the league is seen as a foregone conclusion, and the people there have proved that they'll fill any stadium presented to them. Stade Saputo, sold out on a regular if not consistent basis? Done. Olympic Stadium, with 50,000+ for a CONCACAF Champions League game? Done. It's a matter of simple math; Montreal offers fans willing to spend their hard earned money on soccer while Columbus continues to prove that winner or not, they just won't come out.


Canada is the new frontier for Major League Soccer. A whole other country connected to the United States by cultural links, common language (mostly), and sporting history, the Great White North has much to offer as place to grow the game. I may be American and proud of it, but even a flag-waving, red-white-and-blue-bleeding, son-of-a-serviceman like me can't deny that for MLS to be successful, and therefore for soccer to become a prominent sport in this part of the world, it must go where it's wanted. And it's wanted in Montreal.


I don't think we can say the same for Columbus.


There are a lot of very good, very passionate, Crew fans. The beauty of the Nordecke and the movement that created it shouldn't be dismissed. But a few thousand hardcore supporters just can't make a soccer club, no matter how rabid they are. Columbus had its shot, and I guess you could call it a decent fourteen year run; but it's better to get out too early than too late, and all of those empty seats at Crew Stadium during a crucial playoff match only confirms that the time to get out is now.


MLS, make it happen. Send the yellow boys north, where you have an owner and a city ready to embrace them.

*UPDATE 11/10* Since this still seems to be getting some attention, I should probably point you in the direction of the follow up post as well.

The LA Galaxy still have six league games remaining in the 2009 MLS regular season, appear to be headed for the playoffs, and could still overtake Houston for the Supporters Shield; simply put, David Beckham and company have everything to play for, a shocking turn of events after last years complete and utter debacle.

But instead of discussing his club's chances for the MLS Cup or Supporters Shield, LA's English superstar is covering anything but. His potential destination after the American season has concluded is a hot topic; throw in some rumblings about his possible involvement in the ownership of an MLS club when his career is over, and we seem to have veritable "flurry" of distracted Beckham news this week.

First, the loan: that Beckham is bound for European shores come January is not news, but which club he ends up with is a hot topic for some. Most of us assumed it would be back to AC Milan, and the Italian giants are at the top of the player's list; but other teams have been mentioned, and Beckham himself claims that "three or four" other clubs are interested. Beckham is desperate to get into Fabio Capello's England World Cup squad, of course, and heading back to Europe is therefore a necessity.

Beckham has also hinted that a return to the Galaxy after the World Cup is not necessarily a foregone conclusion, despite his earlier statements that he was committed to a return; the Englishman's MLS contract has an option in his favor after this season, one he could use to get out earlier than expected.

That Beckham is considering leaving America early isn't much of a surprise, especially in light of the negative response he's received since returning to MLS this year. At this point, it's almost impossible to take anything he says at face value, with his consistent flip-flopping on his "commitment" having become the most reliable thing he does.

The other bit of Beckham news revolves around his potential involvement in MLS as a team owner. According to Jack Bell at the New York Times Goal Blog, Beckham and the various entities that surround him have reached out to Montreal Impact owner Joey Saputo to partner in the Canadian club's MLS future.

Saputo danced around the subject of potential partners when questioned, and the league stated that they have no knowledge of Beckham's interest in Montreal. The timetable on the Impact entering MLS (something which is viewed as a certain eventuality) is still undertermined, with most observers believing 2012 is the best bet. Saputo, interestingly enough, has registered domains for both 2011 and 2012 (following the MLS model for expansion teams of "montrealmls20XX.com").

Beckham "owning" the Impact in some capacity is an interesting is a possibility that I had never considered, though I suppose it's as good a place as any for this option to be exercised. MLS would still like to place a second team in the New York market, and it's believed that Garber would push Beckham in that direction.

Either way, I question exactly how "involved" Beckham would be, no matter which franchise he becomes involved with; I suspect that he would be a silent partner trotted out on occasion for a photo op every now and then, rather than a integral part of the club's operations.

What do you make of Beckham's most recent volley of Europe talk, and his potential involvement in a Montreal MLS team?

MLS has released their All-Star Game media schedule, and in the mix is a planned "special announcement" by Don Garber at 2:30 MT (4:30 ET) Monday.

Word on the street is that Montreal is on the verge of being announced as Major League Soccer's nineteenth franchise.

Could the two be connected?

This past week, we learned that Montreal's entry into the league would be on the agenda for the league; with the new news that Garber has an announcement planned (with no detail provide), speculation is easy.

Add to it what Duane Rollins has heard over at the 24th Minute, and two plus two now appears to be four.

Keep your ear to the ground and your eyes on MFUSA tomorrow for any updates.

For what it's worth, you guys know that I'm solidly on the side of "expansion is good", and Montreal makes sense as an established soccer market with a stadium ready made to be upgraded.

Joey Saputo has told the Vancouver Sun that Montreal entering the league will be on the agenda of MLS officials when they meet ahead of the All Star Game in Utah next week.

Joey Saputo believes that the Impact's expansion hopes no longer rest in the bid process. Essentially, Montreal's original bid that fell apart thanks to a disagreement over the expansion fee still carries weight with the league, and with Saputo willing to play the same expansion fee as Portland and Vancouver ($35 million, reduced from the original amount of $40 million), he believes they are on track to enter MLS in 2011 or 2012.

Saputo is nothing if not a picture of supreme confidence, and while he may seem to be getting ahead of himself, the smart money is on Montreal becoming an MLS city sooner rather than later. If the Impact receive the Quebec provincial government's assistance to upgrade Stade Saputo to meet league standards, there's no reason to believe that they won't skip another bid process and become the next expansion franchise.

Montreal's impressive support of the Impact during this year's CONCACAF Champions League (55,000 attended their home leg against Santos Laguna at Olympic Stadium) surely grabbed the leagues attention; while not all of those tickets were sold at full price, the number alone is impressive. Combined with a solid organizational infrastructure, strong home attendance at Stade Saputo, and the apparent desire of MLS to exploit the passionate fans in Canada, Montreal's entry might be a foregone conclusion.

It is interesting that MLS leadership will review Montreal's "dossier" next week, separate from the normal expansion review process. What that means, or how quickly things will move because of it, remains to be seen.

Montreal's dalliance with Major League Soccer, even after their original bid failed, continues unabated.

A week ago, MLS Commissioner Don Garber posted a glowing review of Montreal as a potential Major League Soccer city, a missive that seemed oddly random at the time.

We now know, thanks to a story from The Canadian Press, that Garber's words came one day after he met personally with Impact owner Joey Saputo.

"Whatever happened in the past, it's time to turn the page on it and move forward," Saputo said. "They see Montreal as a great market, we see Montreal as a great potential franchise in the MLS and it's time for us to look at that."

I guess we can consider that bridge fully functional; a little charred perhaps, but certainly not burned.

Saputo maintains supreme confidence that he will soon bring MLS soccer to Montreal, a confidence that is no doubt bolstered by his belief that the Quebec provincial government will provide aid to expand Stade Saputo.

"We've been speaking to the provincial government, and it's going very well," he said. "The ball is in their court, but the conversations we've had with them have been very positive. I see no reason why it shouldn't happen."

Stadium expansion would take place in two phases, with the total capacity to be raised to 21,000 by fall 2010. That's an extremely quick turnaround if Saputo secures the $45 million (Canadian) needed from the Quebec government. The only reasonable conclusion to make is that the Impact (or their renamed successor) expect join MLS in 2011. Have promises been made?

Saputo beliefs that it wouldn't take much to transition his USL side to MLS, declaring that he would only need to pick up "three or four players". While I don't if that's necessarily the case, it could be that Garber agrees with Saputo's assessment of his organization, and will fast track their entry.

Your thoughts on MLS in Montreal? When do you expect it to happen? Is this all posturing for the moment, or should we expect Montreal to be added to the expansion roster sooner rather than later?

Steven Beauregard, new Montreal-based contributor to the fantastic 24th Minute (not to mention Match Fit USA reader), reports that Joey Saputo expects another expansion announcement from MLS within three weeks.

Of course this means that Saputo expects the Impact to get the call, though it clearly depends on the Montreal owner securing $25 million in stadium upgrade funding from the provincial government of Quebec.

While I wouldn't put it past MLS to quickly name another expansion side, especially if Saputo has all of his ducks in a row, it is just a flabbergastering (made that word up) piece of news.

If we take Saputo at face-value, it appears that perhaps he has worked out a deal with Garber and the board of governors; if the provincial money comes through, Saputo no longer needs to negotiate down the expansion fee. Stadium upgrades taken care of, Joey can foot the MLS bill himself without reservation.

Whatever damage Saputo did to his relationship with MLS is a moot point now. The league clearly wants Montreal, and without the shenanigans Saputo pulled, they would certainly already be on track for 2011.

Are we really to believe that the league will arbitrarily bump up the number of 2011 entrants because Montreal re-enters at the thirteenth hour?

While it would keep the conferences balanced, I'd like to propose another possibility:

The league is worried enough about Portland's ongoing stadium issues that Montreal is now poised to swoop in.

Of course, Montreal can still be added if Portland works out their situation, as the Impact's ownership situation and potential stadium (again, dependant on the government's help) more than meet Major League Soccer's requirements.

It's just a thought. Perhaps Saputo is blowing smoke, perhaps the league really is considering a third team for 2011, or perhaps it won't matter if Quebec doesn't pony up.

Wow.

WOW.

Absolutely unfreaking believable.

Montreal's collapse last night is quite possibly the most heartbreaking ending to any sporting event I have ever seen.

I was only able to catch the last half hour or so of the match, but it appears that I turned it on at just the right time.

Despite the almost impossible nature of Santos Laguna's comeback, it somehow always seemed inevitable; the Impact was simply gassed, and no matter how many players they packed into the box, it wasn't going to stop the Mexicans from scoring.

Anyone, ANYONE who claims soccer is boring to watch should be forcibly held down and made to watch at least the last fifteen minutes of that match. Call it "A Clockwork Red Card" (or something more clever).

The lasting impact (no pun intended) of Montreal's fantastic crowd last week is yet to be seen; but give the team and the organization credit for captivating soccer fans both north and south of the border.

One more note: no team from MLS or USL will win the new CCL as long as two things remain true.

1. Teams from those leagues are forced to play in the knockout stage while still in their pre-season

2. Mexican teams maintain their voodoo mind control over MLS and USL teams in Mexico

Perhaps I will be back later on this good lookin' Friday to share more of my groundbreaking analysis.

Oops, meant to share this:

I received a text message late last night, which sums up Montreal's collapse and Santos Laguna's comeback about as well as one could.

It said, "That was just wrong!"

Yes, yes it was.

If you've been paying attention, you know that I'm extremely interested in what the Montreal Impact have cooked up for Wednesday night when they take on Santos Laguna at home in the CONCACAF Champion's League.

While the number of tickets that Montreal has apparently sold is impressive, I wanted to be fully educated before I spouted off that American clubs need to look north to Quebec for a little lesson in how to market a team. Sure enough, there are a couple of facts that dampen my enthusiasm just a little. Without first hand knowledge of the Impact's tactics, however, I don't feel comfortable attempting to qualify their success; besides, if the team is able to get 50,000 to a soccer match in the dead of winter and in the heart of hockey season, regardless of how they did so, it will be difficult not to be impressed.

Rumors that Montreal may reenter the expansion sweepstakes on the strength of their attendance Wednesday night now include an appearance by Don Garber at Olympic Stadium, something that would be very telling if it actually happens. I'm not sure why Garber would attend the match after the Saputo expansion bid has been rejected, unless he was open to their reduced entry fee proposal. Anything is possible in the current economic environment, although the other bids still in play would seem to make a discount for Montreal unlikely.

Besides, what does selling 50,000 tickets, severe discounts and handouts or not, really mean when it's for a one off match? Civic pride and the underdog status of the Impact are major factors, and maybe the people of Montreal are just excited that they have something on Toronto; it would still seem be a stretch to say that those things are certain to carry over if MLS puts a team in Quebec. Viewed in context, I don't think the ticket sales numbers alone are enough to bring Montreal back into the expansion mix; besides, there is still the little matter of the actual attendance, something which could be significantly affected by the weather.

The actual effect of the Impact's "success" should be negligible. Montreal is still unlikely to secure an expansion franchise, and the club itself is unlikely to significantly improve on it's 2008 attendance (just less than 13,000). Perception is important, however, and the shadow cast by both the Impact's progression through the Champion's League as well as their ticket sales bonanza for Wednesday's match will not bode well for MLS. Unfortunately for the league, this is exactly the type of information that will be picked up by the mainstream American media as well as the soccer-hating public as evidence that American soccer is failing. While those of us with a little knowledge understand the extenuating circumstances at play in Montreal and the context in which their sales numbers should be viewed, none of that will matter to the anti-soccer masses.

Without a "Beckham bump", would any MLS team be able to match what the Impact have done? I don't get the sense that any of the American clubs are capable; Houston's attendance for their CCL match tomorrow night should be a good indication that even the top teams in MLS struggle to sell out (although I suppose Atlante-supporters could help to fill Roberston), no matter the stakes. Toronto may be the only organization in the league that could legitimately sell 50,000 tickets to a match that doesn't involve David Beckham. So what is it about these Canadian clubs that has them light-years ahead of their American counterparts?

Perhaps the cultural differences between the two countries are such that soccer will always get a fairer shake with sports fans north of the border; maybe Americans are just incapable of the freedom of thought it takes to appreciate soccer, while Canadians embrace the game with a more continental attitude. It often seems that Canadians, while clearly proud of their country, are less burdened by the collective national self-image that keeps so many Americans from opening their minds to anything new.

My small history of personal interactions with Canadians does not give me a proper platform from which to speak to the reasons that it seems they get it and we don't; and I know I'm glossing over (or leaving out completely) the cultural differences between the cities in question themselves. Toronto and Montreal are probably as different as Boston and Dallas. It just seems that the as the successes for soccer in Canada pile one on top of the other, American clubs are left behind, choking on the dust of the Canuck express powering away into the distance. Seattle's season ticket sales gives me hope that the U.S. is not a lost cause, however, and I'm optimistic that Philadelphia will make a similar impact in 2010.

I'll be rooting for the Impact on Wednesday, and I hope they fill Olympic Stadium to capacity. I even hope Garber shows up. Not to revive the Montreal expansion bid, but to get marketing tips from the Impact front office.