Philly Fox

Yank. Born in Virginia, live in Philly now. Have followed English football for ages. My sister just moved to a little town about 30 miles east of Leicester, so that's my 'connection' to supporting.

As it applies to LCFC, it's in the clubs best interest to grow the brand globally and attact new support (and corresponding financial benefit) beyond the current regional die-hards. It's a necessary component of any business model in today's football. Perhaps that qualifies as plastic, but if the club is to survive (and ever hope to compete) at the highest level, then they will need revenue streams beyond the current ones.

I can only hope you have nothing to do with the team's marketing department....

News for fans of Breaking Bad about the spinoff series "Better Call Saul". Looks like it might cover the same timeline as the events of BB (in addition to before and after), so we may see Walt and Jesse again. http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/07/01/better-call-saul-will-take-place-before-during-and-after-breaking-bad/

Not proper fans? So do we need ultras stabbing each other in the ass, road flares, and riots to meet your high standards? For someone who appears to love football, you should embrace its global growth, not shit on it....

The infrastructure, with respect to facilities, availability, etc is fine. What needs great improvement is unifying the overall tactical and coaching approach from youth to senior team, which Klinsmann has been tasked with developing. That said, the timeline for that to bear fruit is definitely uncertain.

The extent to which many here see the lack of promotion/relegation as a problem, is that it makes losing inconsequential (other than the manager likely getting sacked). And yes, all MLS clubs are franchises, and the league 'owns' all player contracts (again, a cost-control measure). We do have 'lower division' developmental leagues, but there is no pyramid structure like most of the rest of the world. The other 'Americanization' that many don't like is the playoff system at the end of the season. A trophy is given for winning the league (i.e. most points), but then the top 10 sides are seeded into a knockout tournament for 'MLS Cup' and that winner is considered the season champion.

The rate of improvement of quality in MLS is directly proportional to the $$. Right now they're keeping the purse strings tight (salary cap, "Beckham Rule", etc) to ensure league survival. I can live with that, knowing it will be a feeder league for the time being. But what's not seen by many abroad is that the MLS clubs are now investing heavily in youth academies to capture potential talent at a much younger age (the US College system is crap). There will be a brief bump in MLS attendance after the cup and then probably back to the status quo. The casual fan will go back to NFL in a few weeks (once camps open). However, thanks to NBC, we get every BPL match on TV now. Every MLS match is televised (though most are regional), and we're seeing more and more 'soccer bars' pop up that will open early on weekends to show the matches. Lots to be hopeful for, but still a long ways to go. I'm 50 years old and had to wait till I was 26 to even see the USA in a world cup. This is now 7 consecutive cups we've been in and 4th trip to the knockouts. I really can't complain given what it was like before...

I know we have New York and California threads going, but there's surely supporters from elsewhere in the states. I'm in the north burbs of Philly. If you're ever in the area on match day, let me know, as we have some really nice footy bars in the area for viewing.

Hi all, I live in Philadelphia, USA and am new to the foxes. I've been looking for an EPL team to follow for a while, and my sister just moved to England from the states, and now lives about 30 minutes east of Leicester, so now I have a team to support!! Hope to attend a match this autumn. Here at home, I am a season ticket holder for the Philadelphia Union of MLS (currently having a crap season). I look forward to following this forum to keep up with all the team news. Thanks! Jack