The countdown is on. Hello Montreal in 2012.

Excited to hear Montreal is (finally) getting a MLS team?

The AP report also says that the league hopes club number 20 will be in the Southeast with Atlanta or somewhere in Florida mentioned as the possible destination.

“We’re confident that we’ll be able to announce a 19th team shortly, and our hope is that 19th team will be in Montreal,” he said Thursday during a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors.

“Eventually I’m sure we’ll get back to the southeast broadly and Florida more specifically,” Garber said. “I’m not quite sure what the timing is of that. but I can’t image this league will be fully expanded without having a team in Florida or south of Washington, D.C. We continue to have discussions in Atlanta. I think Atlanta’s a good sports market, also has some competition for its size, but lots of youth participation and a massive and growing Mexican population in Atlanta. Those are probably the two places where we look, South Florida and Atlanta, as the next places in the southeast.”

“We in the sports business sort of look at Florida as a difficult market. Many of the pro sports teams there have challenges, and there’s a lot of reasons for that: a lot of transient residents, a lot of international visitors that own second homes,” he said. “Weather is a big issue Florida, both in terms of rain and the fact that it’s very hot when you want to play your games. People have an alternative — they can go to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.”

Garber also discussed growing the league beyond what FIFA would like them to with an 18-club league. He stated due to the US (and Canada) being as large as it is and stretching over three timezones that expanding over 18 clubs seems logical. I still hold firm in my belief the league will eventually end up with 24 teams a few less than the standard in the professional sports leagues here in America.

Back to Montreal for a second though. We knew this deal was coming and really the timing makes sense now that things are all in order with the bid for Montreal owner Joey Saputo. I highly doubt he was able to work his way into the league for 2011 but 2012 will likely be the year Montreal comes into MLS. With the three big Canadian markets you have to wonder if MLS is done expanding in Canada. I think it is but some folks north of the border may thing otherwise.

Now as for the news about going back south I think its a good thing for the league to turn it’s focus down there. I know deep down Garber probably wants another club in New York as soon as possible but putting clubs back in the south right now if the right owners step up makes the most sense. I’d have to think Atlanta is the front runner right now for the South, unless someone in Miami steps up to the plate in a big way.

We’ve heard this before but it appears Montreal may be closer than ever to securing a Major League Soccer expansion bid. Montreal Impact owner Joey Saputo tells the Montreal Gazette he hopes to have a deal announced with the league.

He can gaze out at one end of the stadium adjacent to the Olympic park where new stands will be added as part of a planned expansion to 21,000 seats.

At the other end, Saputo can point to the spot where corporate suites will be erected once the Impact secures a new Major League Soccer franchise.

It’s all part of his master plan to build a successful sports business and put Montreal on the soccer map. Saputo hopes that within a few weeks a deal will be announced that will award the Impact an MLS franchise for 2012, at a cost of around $35 million U.S.

Once the franchise is obtained, he expects to go ahead with a $25-million plan to both expand the stadium and build an indoor practice facility, a project to be financed entirely by the Quebec government.

Saputo also talks about increasing his sponsorship dollars once his club enters the league. Currently they are doing pretty well but getting into MLS will only increase their numbers he says.

Even during a possible strike by the league Montreal could still get an expansion bid is pretty interesting to hear. We’ve heard for months how close they are but it wouldn’t shock me at all to hear around the start of the season that they are going to expand to Montreal in 2012.

No doubt in my mind that Montreal is still a great market to tap into for the league. Sure three Canadian cities in the league may ruffle a few feathers in some folks but to me its a wise move by the league to go this direction. It only improves the game in the US and in Canada, something I believe we are all the better for here.

Something we’ve known for a while is Montreal will be in Major League Soccer sooner rather than later. When the league decided to explore Montreal back in the fall as an expansion candidate it only meant the city was that much closer to getting an expansion bid.

Now it appears that the city could be possibly a year away from putting a MLS club on the field. Owner Joey Saputo told a French Canadian paper that if possible they’ll join in 2011, if not it should be 2012. (his quotes were translated below…my French was a bit rusty so I let Google do the work on some words I couldn’t remember)

“I met leaders of the MLS in Florida earlier this year,” he said today during the first day of camp the team. “Our bid is ready and even if we should be there in 2012, if necessary, can be as early as 2011. ”

“The leaders of the MLS, Don Gerber and Mark Abbott came to Montreal before Christmas and said they were well satisfied, he said. It is no longer whether, but when we get there. “

So 2011 huh? I suppose that means if Portland or Vancouver can’t make it for some reason they’ll step in as an expansion team. Have no fear Whitecap or Timber fans, that won’t be the case as both expansion bids there are looking far too good now to be replaced or even fall apart at this stage in the game.

I still believe Montreal will come in for the 2012 season. I also wouldn’t be shocked if they came in alone at that point too and the league stayed at an uneven 19 clubs for a couple seasons as they make a final push to find the best city available for the 20th club.

We’ve known for several weeks months that the next round of expansion in Major League Soccer would start with Montreal. The league has taken another step closer to getting to that point today as MLS commissioner Don Garber has traveled to Montreal to meet with Joey Saputo and some local government officials.

“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.”

“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.”

We all know it comes down to the stadium for Montreal and getting it expanded just enough to be MLS ready. In all honesty I would argue its MLS ready right now even at 13,034 seats. I mean a full Saputo Stadium will look better than a nearly empty Pizza Hut Park. I’m only half serious on that comment.

Expanding the stadium is a big deal though and I don’t mean to poke fun at any of it here. Its really a dealbreaker for MLS. But what I kind of find interesting is that why is Garber taking time away from dealing with the CBA to go visit Montreal here? That part seems weird to me.

MLS commissioner Don Garber said the only thing really standing in the way of expansion there is the stadium expansion. Currently Saputo Stadium is only a 14,000 seat stadium and would need to add probably at least 6,000 seats to be MLS ready.

Garber says the league is working with the government of Quebec to find a funding plan for the needed remodeling to Saputo Stadium.

Should everything go to plan the league will probably add Montreal as their 19th club in 2012. No word yet on who the 20th club will be in the league. We do know that David Beckham is seriously considering owning a club in 2012 when his contract with the league is out. It is an option in his contract and I’m fairly certain it will be one he goes for here.

Montreal inches closer to a MLS expansion bid.

By now we’ve all seen the lovely quote from MLS commissioner Don Garber yesterday about future league expansion.

“We’ve had productive conversations with Montreal to be our 19th team,” said Garber.

With all the issues going on with the USL/TOA crap you have to think that Montreal owner Joey Saputo is trying to figure out the best way to get his club into the top-tier league instead of a new breakaway league. Saputo probably would have gotten an expansion bid for the 2011 round had he not gone crazy over the expansion fee this time last year. Instead he is busting his ass to get a deal done as soon as possible from what folks up north are saying.

We mentioned last week that he was invited to MLS Cup this weekend by the league as well. That should definitely be a place that he is able to boost his club’s ratings up a bit to get into MLS.

But after Montreal we still have no idea who the 20th club will be. Garber didn’t bring up a name for who he thought was even in the running for the 20th club. Some folks sure jumped on the Detroit bandwagon real quick yesterday with the news about the Silverdome being bought to be used as a soccer facility. Honestly, like I said yesterday I just don’t buy that at all.

What about New York though? I know a group that seems keen on the idea still of a club in the city. And based on some recent news (or another mention) of David Beckham’s group looking at owning a club in either Miami, New York or Montreal when he is done with his time in MLS definitely sparks some interest for those guys in New York.

Go ahead and throw Montreal out of the mix for Beckham. We’ve known for ages it was always going to be either Miami or New York for him. A lot will come down to where the potential club would play and probably support from the local area. Are the Miami Ultras better than the Borough Boys? Only time will tell.

My money is still on New York even though we do need to see a club in the Southeast again sometime down the road.

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No GBS Next Year?

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This is not what I would call good news for the Columbus Crew or even for Major League Soccer. Apparently the Crew’s owners are going to low-ball their MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto for a new contract. Are they stupid or just stupid? Low-balling their best player is not a way to stay competitive and if he doesn’t go for the lower contract then they are going to be shit out of luck come next season. The Hunts really need to get their act together about their two clubs.

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Lee Nguyen Talks

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A nice little interview with Nguyen who has been playing in Vietnam of all places. Now he is currently training with FC Dallas and would even like to play with the team in Frisco if things can work out that way. Definitely an interesting interview that is worth a read.

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Clark Leaving Dynamo

No link just yet on this one, the Houston Dynamo quietly announced that midfielder Ricardo Clark would not be returning for next season with the Dynamo. Tough break but one that we shouldn’t be totally shocked by as we knew he was looking in Europe this past summer for offers. The bright side thought for the Dynamo is the salary cap break they will get as losing Clark off the books means about $220k is now available.

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Evening Links and Thoughts appear on WVHooligan typically each day (Monday – Friday). We try to cover topics that surround MLS, the US national team and other items that are of interest. If you have a link for the ELT send them in!

Montreal Expansion Too Quick?

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I have to agree with Duane Rollins on this matter, Montreal may be at a big disadvantage when it comes to their expansion bid into the league.

I wonder, however, if a 2011 entry is the best thing for Montreal fans. Although the kneejerk reaction among non-Toronto Canadian fans will always be to dismiss the possibility of Toronto success, you cannot ignore the fact that the Reds will have a five year head start on The Whitecaps and any other team that comes into MLS in 2011 With five years of collecting the best Canadian talent willing to play in MLS Toronto could, ironically, increase its advantage over Montreal and Vancouver during the first couple years of those city’s MLS play. Add to that the fact that Vancouver will be chasing domestic talent as well – and has the advantage of its academy system (Montreal is the only one of the three Canadian fully pro teams that doesn’t have an academy) and it’s hard not to see the Impact struggling.

The lack of academy is one thing to worry about but the lack of quality Canadian talent that Toronto should have a strong hold over both Vancouver and Montreal is a whole other thing. Until Canadians count as domestic players league-wide and other roster limitations are lifted it could be very tough on an expansion club like Montreal.

While we all know Montreal will be in the league before Rollins brings a good point up, should Montreal be better off waiting until 2012 or 2013? It may be…what do you think?

Cutting Out The Middle Man

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Match Fit USA has a piece tonight that is nearly spot on with how we are seeing players pass MLS for Europe. There was a time not long ago that saw MLS as a stepping stone to bigger and better things but now it looks like we are seeing players skip that step straight to Europe. Instead of seeing the Clint Dempseys and Tim Howards start in MLS we are getting close to see them move straight to Europe if the proper development systems don’t get in place soon enough.

We Sell Energy Drinks

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A lovely parity on the DC promotion We Win Trophies. Worth a look because its painfully funny for New York fans.

US-Mexico Hype: 24 Hours

Mexico Could Lose Major Broadcasting Money

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Had to mention this one more than the typical hype below. Should Mexico fail to reach the World Cup next year it could be majorly rough for their broadcasters who have TV rights to the Cup. They could see as much as 30% decrease in profits. Yikes.

Now for the usual hype articles:

Donovan Undisputed Leader (ESPNSoccernet)
Risks Abound for US Lineup at Azteca (NYT Goal Blog)
Azteca Profile (New York Times)
USA-Mexico Preview (Yanks Abroad)
An Open Letter to Mexican Soccer Fans (Steve Davis’ Daily Soccer Fix)
US Has the Upper Hand (Nick Green at DailyBreeze.com)
Road to 2010: The CONCACAF Hex (NYT Goal Blog)
Editors Discuss the Rivalry (Goal.com)
Tickets Being Sold For As Much As 5000 Pesos (Link)
Bradley is a World Cup Coach (Soccer Insider)

How and where to watch the game:

Television Broadcast
mun2 and Telemundo, 3 p.m. CT

Pregame Television Coverage
ESPN SportsCenter 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Special, 2:30 p.m. CT

ESPN Deportes Futbol Picante, 2 p.m. CT

Online Broadcast
terra.com and futbolestelar.tv

Online Coverage
ussoccer.com‘s MatchTracker

Radio Broadcast:
Futbol de Primera Radio Network(fdpradio.com)

At the Bar:
Official U.S. Soccer Bars

The big reason why I posted this one, it talks Montreal up a bit.

Reports out of Canada suggest Montreal expansion talk will be on the menu in some fashion for the league commissioner.

“My understanding is that expansion isn’t on the agenda per se, but the Montreal dossier is,” Impact president Joey Saputo told The Gazette. “We should hear from them again right after the all-star break to know what the next steps are.”

The Impact is looking to join North America’s premier professional soccer league by 2012, if not sooner.

An indication that Montreal will get serious consideration came last week when Garber told the New York Daily News that Montreal and St. Louis were high on the list as expansion possibilities.

Saputo sounds pretty confident to me as the article reads on too.

“Sometimes no news is good news. That’s the approach I’m taking,” he said. “Our talks with MLS on how to make things happen by 2011 or 2012 are still ongoing,

“From our standpoint, I don’t think we’re going to go through a bid process,” Saputo added.

“They understand where we are. We understand where they are and it’s just trying to make it happen.”

To me this still sounds like Montreal will get on the expansion plan for the league for no later than 2012. I’d still be kind of shocked to see the league add them for 2011 along with Portland and Vancouver. I do still believe that Montreal will be just like Seattle (and even Portland or Vancouver) when entering the league. The fan base is there and so will a few players from the current roster.

Right now it isn’t down to money like it is with other bids but more down to just time.