Pro/Rel for MLS? and Week 5 League Roundup

Greetings, soccer fans! Welcome back to the Sons of a Pitch: An American Soccer podcast. This week in Major League Soccer saw a flood of goals, a couple hat-tricks, and a spectacular debut from TFC's Pozuelo. But first, we turn to an issue that is never far from American soccer fans thoughts: Promotion and Relegation.

In a prior blog post, Nick put forth the arguments against Pro/Rel, and Mike agrees the league is not yet ready for such a system. Briefly, Pro/Rel is not suitable for the MLS or US Soccer because of the lack of:

financials
media coverage at all levels
overall popularity
de facto promotion via expansion franchises
potential to drive away talent.

What are your thoughts on Pro/Rel for MLS? Should it be implemented? Can it work?

Next, the hosts break down the Week 5 action from around the MLS. With a weekend that saw 42 goals scored, the major headlines were from the offensive side of things. Specifically:

TFC stays perfect; Pozuelo with a brace in his debut
Sporting KC has an offense! Ties MLS single game scoring record with a 7-1 victory
Gyasi Zardes scores again, despite the haters
LAFC and Carlos Vela dominate the Quakes; Vela is early MVP favorite
Pomykal leading FC Dallas' "Play your kids" movement

Thanks for listening! Be sure to leave your comments below and follow us on twitter @SOPSoccer.

Greetings, soccer fans! Welcome back to the Sons of a Pitch: An American Soccer podcast. This week in Major League Soccer saw a flood of goals, a couple hat-tricks, and a spectacular debut from TFC’s Pozuelo. But first, we turn to an issue that is never far from American soccer fans thoughts: Promotion and Relegation.

In a prior blog post, Nick put forth the arguments against Pro/Rel, and Mike agrees the league is not yet ready for such a system. Briefly, Pro/Rel is not suitable for the MLS or US Soccer because of the lack of:

financials
media coverage at all levels
overall popularity
de facto promotion via expansion franchises
potential to drive away talent.

What are your thoughts on Pro/Rel for MLS? Should it be implemented? Can it work?

Next, the hosts break down the Week 5 action from around the MLS. With a weekend that saw 42 goals scored, the major headlines were from the offensive side of things. Specifically:

TFC stays perfect; Pozuelo with a brace in his debut
Sporting KC has an offense! Ties MLS single game scoring record with a 7-1 victory
Gyasi Zardes scores again, despite the haters
LAFC and Carlos Vela dominate the Quakes; Vela is early MVP favorite
Pomykal leading FC Dallas’ “Play your kids” movement

Thanks for listening! Be sure to leave your comments below and follow us on twitter @SOPSoccer.