Fantasy Premier League 2012?

[Shecky]

It looks like the EPL site now has the Fantasy selections available. 
So, is Pendraken hosting another league this year?

[Leon]

Hell yeah!      Sorry, I've been missing the football so much recently... 

Yep, we'll get that sorted and let people know when it's ready.

[Shecky]

Here in the states the Major League Soccer (MLS) season goes from March to October/November so I've been getting my fill lately.  Mind you, the level of quality is no where near that of the European leagues. The past few weeks Man U, Man City, Barca, Real Madrid and maybe a few others have been over here for some friendlies against the MLS teams.  The best of the MLS players are outclassed by the 2nd or 3rd rate players on the European teams. Most of the star European players are either not playing in the matches or are playing sparingly.

[Leon]

Here in the states the Major League Soccer (MLS) season goes from March to October/November so I've been getting my fill lately.  Mind you, the level of quality is no where near that of the European leagues. The past few weeks Man U, Man City, Barca, Real Madrid and maybe a few others have been over here for some friendlies against the MLS teams.  The best of the MLS players are outclassed by the 2nd or 3rd rate players on the European teams. Most of the star European players are either not playing in the matches or are playing sparingly.

I remember an 'April Fool' joke a couple of years ago, which was an article about the MLS considering putting a second ball on the pitch for a kind of sudden death overtime!  Sounded like fun to me... 

There seems to be a lot of money in the MLS, which I assume comes from advertising, but just not the public interest yet?  There's been a whole host of big-name stars from Europe who've come over for one last payday to raise the profile of football, but it doesn't seem to have had any effect from this side of the pond.  Have you seen much change?

The World Cup last year must have been a big boost to ratings and interest though?

[Sandinista]

Perhaps the yanks and football aren't getting on so well as it involves a world series that consists of more than 1 country?

[Luddite]

I dunno,

At least their women can hold their own on the world stage rather than hiding in all-US leagues/tournaments.

It was a cracking final against Japan.

[Shecky]

There seems to be a lot of money in the MLS, which I assume comes from advertising, but just not the public interest yet?  There's been a whole host of big-name stars from Europe who've come over for one last payday to raise the profile of football, but it doesn't seem to have had any effect from this side of the pond.  Have you seen much change?

The World Cup last year must have been a big boost to ratings and interest though?

Attendance at MLS games has been increasing a bit in the last few years in part due to the interest in the World Cup. I do think the interest is growing regardless of the WC as evidenced by attendance, new stadia and TV coverage. More teams are now building soccer specific stadia that seat 20-30,000 people, where before they shared space in American football stadia.  For example, when my hometown team, FC Dallas, was formed, they played in the 60,000 seat Cotton Bowl. One year they even played in a high school football stadium (that was the low point of the franchise). Now they have a 20,000 seat soccer specific stadium that was the blueprint for other teams.
Also, there are now a couple of cable channels devoted to soccer so it's not difficult to catch an EPL, Serie A, or La Liga game on TV.  I think that helps. Plus the friendlies with the European teams helps build the market.
I'm not saying that football/soccer will ever break into the top 4 (American football, baseball, basketball, hockey) but I do think interest will grow to the point where player salaries will increase and teams will use more homegrown players.

[Leon]

Attendance at MLS games has been increasing a bit in the last few years in part due to the interest in the World Cup. I do think the interest is growing regardless of the WC as evidenced by attendance, new stadia and TV coverage. More teams are now building soccer specific stadia that seat 20-30,000 people, where before they shared space in American football stadia.  For example, when my hometown team, FC Dallas, was formed, they played in the 60,000 seat Cotton Bowl. One year they even played in a high school football stadium (that was the low point of the franchise). Now they have a 20,000 seat soccer specific stadium that was the blueprint for other teams.
Also, there are now a couple of cable channels devoted to soccer so it's not difficult to catch an EPL, Serie A, or La Liga game on TV.  I think that helps. Plus the friendlies with the European teams helps build the market.
I'm not saying that football/soccer will ever break into the top 4 (American football, baseball, basketball, hockey) but I do think interest will grow to the point where player salaries will increase and teams will use more homegrown players.

Thanks for the info, it's really interesting to see it from that different perspective.  I can't see it breaking into the mainstream US sports of choice either, but hopefully it'll get close.  I've read and heard a lot about the younger kids playing it a lot more as well.  The great thing is, it's a lot easier to grab a ball and throw a couple of shirts down for goalposts, than set up and play any of those Big 4 in your local park.  And once those kids grow up playing and turn professional, an improved national side will produce more interest, and the cycle continues.

[Shecky]

Anyone else having problems with the FPL site today?  First it wouldn't let me log on then it messed up a couple of transfers and then it reset my team to one I had yesterday (not showing any transfers I made since).
I'm still trying to figure out how to stay logged on - it's making me log in each time I go to the site and sometimes doesn't like my password.

I also find it's harder to pick a team now. Last year I was dumb and lucky. Now that I know what I'm doing and know more players and teams I have a hard time staying within the cap.

[Leon]

Anyone else having problems with the FPL site today?  First it wouldn't let me log on then it messed up a couple of transfers and then it reset my team to one I had yesterday (not showing any transfers I made since).
I'm still trying to figure out how to stay logged on - it's making me log in each time I go to the site and sometimes doesn't like my password.

I also find it's harder to pick a team now. Last year I was dumb and lucky. Now that I know what I'm doing and know more players and teams I have a hard time staying within the cap.

I haven't logged in for a couple of days so I'll have to check.  I'm not too sure on the website design, but I'm sure it'll grow on me.  I always log in from scratch though, so can't comment on that bit.

The prices this year seem to be very high, I've found it tricky putting together just an average team.

[Leon]

New League details are now up: http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3379.0