In that case, we’re squarely in the bottom third.
We’d lose all games but maybe one magical upset against competing teams, roughly 80% of games against mid-table, and probably be .500 against other teams up for relegation.
Sure, why not. Let’s say the Nancy system would help close the talent gap and give us a fair shake against prem teams with issues who are struggling. I think at least half our roster could play internationally on some level. We’re not completely inept.
Why not? Because they’d get absolutely thrashed. This is an absurd take devoid of understanding of the different levels of play. They’d finish on single digits points and likely have some double digit losses. Nancy system would actually make it worse when horribly overmatched.
They said Crew would lose 100% of games against top teams (top 10?) and lose 80% of games against most of the rest. So for the 20 games against the top 10 teams they go 0-20. Then against the rest they lose 4 of 5 so they now have now lost minimum of 32 games. Maybe they split the 4 they don't lose and are 3-3-32.
So no. At no point did they suggest that. Unless you count the 3 teams Crew beats and we go .500 against them.
Realistically, probably 20th. No way we have the depth to hang on for an entire PL season
I bet this years Crews could get into a Championship Playoff spot though with some luck
I often have wondered and even held this opinion after watching the competition across the championship
…BUT…
The top 4 of the championship table sit Leicester City, Leeds, Ipswich and Southampton - three of them were just relegated last year from the premier league.
I think the point is the championship is much more or a grind than the premier league. You are playing 46 games instead of 38 and it is an extremely physical league. Also if your goal was only 19th in the premier league you could just rest guys against the top teams where you’re extremely likely to lose anyway whereas if you need to make the championship playoffs you have to go for every game. Now I think if your talking staying up in the premier league it’s more difficult but not just getting 19th.
To provide additional perspective about MLS vs Premier League disparity.
Money isn’t everything in sports but… kind of an indicator of overall squad skill level in soccer (not the end all be all, obviously because look at Man U lulz). Idk if numbers have been released for this MLS season yet but total salaries of the roster:
2023 Columbus Crew - $14.2 M
Luton Town - $31.3 M (£24.3 M), also the lowest salary in the EPL
As a Luton supporter I was coming here to post this comment. Although I do think we could beat Luton better than 50% of the time with all of our new depth
Possible but I think part of the source of the discrepancy is the disparity in quality of youth development programs between the UK and the US.
American kids play on travel teams that may be lead by random over zealous egotistical parents instead of proper structured youth academies part of professional clubs.
Bottom of the table - would squeak out some wins at home against lower quality teams, but would struggle on the road and against the giants regardless of location.
Would be a competitive Championship team, though - could probably push for a playoff spot if they played their game consistently.
The difference between mid table prem and mid table championship is massive. I think the Crew would hold their own in any second division of the top 5, but France would really be the only place they might not finish bottom 2, but would still be toward the bottom. Once you consider Dutch and Belgian leagues, I think some strong MLS sides could contend, but not necessarily win (still massive clubs in those leagues, but the rest of the teams are whatever).
I think even Sheffield United would run away with the MLS. It’s a much more physical game with less time on the ball for flair players. When Cucho was in the PL with Watford he was a fringe player. Crew would be dominated in most games and concede a lot of goals. Maybe five wins in some wild high scoring games if we’re lucky.
The better question would be “how would the Crew finish in the Championship” because they would absolutely get battered in the Prem and end up there anyway.
Even in the Championship the Crew would have issues finishing in the top half without making roster changes.
I’m trying to picture the Crew dealing some of the top teams in the Championship and I don’t see it going very well.
No question MLS is on the rise, but it still has quite a bit to go.
100% agree. I don't think the Crew would be facing relegation out of the championship- but promotion to the Prem seems unlikely. Middle of the table in the championship is my best prediction.
If they were just thrown in there this instant, probably not well considering they're built for MLS and CONCACAF play. They'd be able to get results here and there I'm sure.
It's worth mentioning that many PL teams would struggle greatly with MLS travel schedule and climate variation. And CONCACAFing lol.
EPL teams (and their fans) are absolutely spoiled when it comes to travel. All euro leagues are like that. IIRC, there are no EPL games further apart than Cbus to Chicago would be.
It may be a fever dream, but I remember seeing a YouTube video from a player that has experience in both systems and said that most MLS teams are mid-table Championship caliber, which is about fair I think. Maybe someone like the Sounders team that won the Champions League could make a shot at promotion, but I truly think the Crew would be a solid mid-table, fighting-for-promotion level team, ain’t no way we would survive in the Premier League at all lmao
Dust on the road and big advantage at home with the 8 hour flight plus connections for the visitors. Big advantage leads them to beat some lower tier teams and keep it within 3 with the top flight clubs.
Not one MLS side would avoid relegation in the PL. The best American sides would be near the bottom of the Championship, most in League 1. USLC sides would struggle to avoid relegation in league one and range mostly from league 2 down into the national league.
OPTA does really comprehensive power rankings. The Crew are ranked higher than Burnley and Sheffield United. But we would still be relegated behind Luton Town.
Now, with the way the Crew play, I think they might underperform against teams that can punish The Crews mistakes, so we might finish even lower. We would be relegated, but we wouldn't be the worst EPL team ever.
For what it's worth, the same site says we would finish third in The Championship. And we have seen the Crew perform in a playoff environment. I'd bet we could get promoted.
Sheffield would murder them. I get it, it’s a for fun question but our best player was a part time player on a near relegation team. Crew would be in the 3rd league probably
Maybe it would be best to just never travel to England and forfeit all of those games. Could probably avoid relegation with the huge time zone difference and extra rest from playing only home games.
Guys seriously. love my crew but they would set the all time low points scored record. The prem is the prem . I do think the crew could be handy in the champo tho
Considering they're the greatest team in the world, obviously they'd be the Champions.
In all seriousness I'd put us somewhere a little above the middle. I don't think we quite have the chops to take on top Premiere League teams and win, but I don't think we're awful either. Especially with playing Nancyball, I think we'd stand a decent chance coming in the top 15.
10th place in the Championship. English and Italian second tier leagues are above MLS. Not sure about tier two in Germany, France, and Spain. It’s difficult to compare leagues, there are so many intangibles.
I watched Liverpool's game vs Sparta Prague. They play very similar to the crew and have a similar talent level. While they had many chances, they got thrashed thanks to just the superior talent level.
So probably bottom to mid table depending on the year.
Let’s remember. Our best player - who is currently the 2nd best player in MLS - couldn’t even crack the starting lineup of a EPL team that was relegated.
That’s how wide the gap between MLS and EPL is.
Don’t get me wrong. I fucking love the crew and rarely miss a home game. It’s by far my favorite team in any sport.
But I also am rational and realistic. Luton would beat the Crew 9 out of 10 times if they played.
This has to be a shit post right? They'd relegate with the least amount of points in epl history 😂 😂 😂
But Nancy would keep us in a few games we had no business being in and would get poached by Brighton almost immediately 😂
If you say anything other than bottom of the table while beating Derby County’s record of fewest points in a season, you are clueless. They would be in a relegation battle in the Championship.
I don’t have the strongest soccer background but didn’t Arsenal destroy the MLS All-Stars? I know all-star games are rarely taken seriously but if the supposedly best MLS players got manhandled by one team in the PL, I don’t know how well just the Crew would do lol
I don't disagree with your point, but keep in mind that arsenal is a team that practices and plays together. The MLS all stars got together for like three days and put together a squad.
Man. Maybe we could play teams like West Ham, Newcastle, Wigan, Crystal Palace, Valencia, Eintracht Frankfurt...
You know, maybe Aston Villa would like to visit.
(RIP CD Veracruz)
Arsenal are a top 3 team in the PL and top 10-15 in the world. They destroy most teams out there.
That team against a bunch of players with no time to develop cohesion or a system is not way to judge anything.
Columbus is the greatest team the world has ever seen obvious champions
Ask again in 5 years. MLS on the rise
Oh for sure. Just spurring discussion for discussion’s sake. Exciting times in MLS.
In that case, we’re squarely in the bottom third. We’d lose all games but maybe one magical upset against competing teams, roughly 80% of games against mid-table, and probably be .500 against other teams up for relegation.
You think the Columbus Crew would be .500 against a portion of the Premier League?
Sure, why not. Let’s say the Nancy system would help close the talent gap and give us a fair shake against prem teams with issues who are struggling. I think at least half our roster could play internationally on some level. We’re not completely inept.
Why not? Because they’d get absolutely thrashed. This is an absurd take devoid of understanding of the different levels of play. They’d finish on single digits points and likely have some double digit losses. Nancy system would actually make it worse when horribly overmatched.
They said Crew would lose 100% of games against top teams (top 10?) and lose 80% of games against most of the rest. So for the 20 games against the top 10 teams they go 0-20. Then against the rest they lose 4 of 5 so they now have now lost minimum of 32 games. Maybe they split the 4 they don't lose and are 3-3-32. So no. At no point did they suggest that. Unless you count the 3 teams Crew beats and we go .500 against them.
They said Crew goes .500 against the bottom third.
It will be no different in 5 years. If anything, the gap will be larger.
Dead last, and I love this club
Agree with this. PL is just a completely different animal
You are reasonable.
Realistically, probably 20th. No way we have the depth to hang on for an entire PL season I bet this years Crews could get into a Championship Playoff spot though with some luck
They’d be in a relegation battle in the Championship. MLS roster rules would get them killed.
Yeah thats a good point. I forgot about the extra 8 matches in the Championship
Plus cup competitions… they’d probably have to be told they can’t pull out of the FA Cup.
I feel like the championship would be more difficult than getting 20th in the prem
I often have wondered and even held this opinion after watching the competition across the championship …BUT… The top 4 of the championship table sit Leicester City, Leeds, Ipswich and Southampton - three of them were just relegated last year from the premier league.
I think the point is the championship is much more or a grind than the premier league. You are playing 46 games instead of 38 and it is an extremely physical league. Also if your goal was only 19th in the premier league you could just rest guys against the top teams where you’re extremely likely to lose anyway whereas if you need to make the championship playoffs you have to go for every game. Now I think if your talking staying up in the premier league it’s more difficult but not just getting 19th.
Fair point but I also believe those 4 teams would have more pts than Sheffield United and burnley this season
Well technically any rec league team in the world could finish 20th in the prem because you can’t finish 21st
This is the correct answer.
I’d have em around the 11-13 range but it’s a whole different economic environment.
To provide additional perspective about MLS vs Premier League disparity. Money isn’t everything in sports but… kind of an indicator of overall squad skill level in soccer (not the end all be all, obviously because look at Man U lulz). Idk if numbers have been released for this MLS season yet but total salaries of the roster: 2023 Columbus Crew - $14.2 M Luton Town - $31.3 M (£24.3 M), also the lowest salary in the EPL
As a Luton supporter I was coming here to post this comment. Although I do think we could beat Luton better than 50% of the time with all of our new depth
Possible but I think part of the source of the discrepancy is the disparity in quality of youth development programs between the UK and the US. American kids play on travel teams that may be lead by random over zealous egotistical parents instead of proper structured youth academies part of professional clubs.
Might be competitive in some games in the Championship…
Agreed. I think relegation would be more likely than not, but it’s not a foregone conclusion in my mind.
Bottom of the table - would squeak out some wins at home against lower quality teams, but would struggle on the road and against the giants regardless of location. Would be a competitive Championship team, though - could probably push for a playoff spot if they played their game consistently. The difference between mid table prem and mid table championship is massive. I think the Crew would hold their own in any second division of the top 5, but France would really be the only place they might not finish bottom 2, but would still be toward the bottom. Once you consider Dutch and Belgian leagues, I think some strong MLS sides could contend, but not necessarily win (still massive clubs in those leagues, but the rest of the teams are whatever).
I think even Sheffield United would run away with the MLS. It’s a much more physical game with less time on the ball for flair players. When Cucho was in the PL with Watford he was a fringe player. Crew would be dominated in most games and concede a lot of goals. Maybe five wins in some wild high scoring games if we’re lucky.
Sheffield United would win with a new record points total.
The better question would be “how would the Crew finish in the Championship” because they would absolutely get battered in the Prem and end up there anyway. Even in the Championship the Crew would have issues finishing in the top half without making roster changes. I’m trying to picture the Crew dealing some of the top teams in the Championship and I don’t see it going very well. No question MLS is on the rise, but it still has quite a bit to go.
100% agree. I don't think the Crew would be facing relegation out of the championship- but promotion to the Prem seems unlikely. Middle of the table in the championship is my best prediction.
If they were just thrown in there this instant, probably not well considering they're built for MLS and CONCACAF play. They'd be able to get results here and there I'm sure. It's worth mentioning that many PL teams would struggle greatly with MLS travel schedule and climate variation. And CONCACAFing lol.
EPL teams (and their fans) are absolutely spoiled when it comes to travel. All euro leagues are like that. IIRC, there are no EPL games further apart than Cbus to Chicago would be.
We have good tactics now. Bur the skill difference is Collage To NFL still. Like the Ole. Can the best college team beat the worst pro team?
The difference is no where near that wide. The best college team would get absolutely crushed by the worst nfl team 10 out of 10 times.
I don’t think you can compare collages to NFL. I mean one is sport and one is arts and craft.
Relegated. That's where we'd finish. The Premier League is many, many miles ahead of MLS.
Realistically, we'd be lucky to win a game. Pl is different gravy. We couldn't play the way we do in pl .
It may be a fever dream, but I remember seeing a YouTube video from a player that has experience in both systems and said that most MLS teams are mid-table Championship caliber, which is about fair I think. Maybe someone like the Sounders team that won the Champions League could make a shot at promotion, but I truly think the Crew would be a solid mid-table, fighting-for-promotion level team, ain’t no way we would survive in the Premier League at all lmao
Dust on the road and big advantage at home with the 8 hour flight plus connections for the visitors. Big advantage leads them to beat some lower tier teams and keep it within 3 with the top flight clubs.
Not one MLS side would avoid relegation in the PL. The best American sides would be near the bottom of the Championship, most in League 1. USLC sides would struggle to avoid relegation in league one and range mostly from league 2 down into the national league.
OPTA does really comprehensive power rankings. The Crew are ranked higher than Burnley and Sheffield United. But we would still be relegated behind Luton Town. Now, with the way the Crew play, I think they might underperform against teams that can punish The Crews mistakes, so we might finish even lower. We would be relegated, but we wouldn't be the worst EPL team ever. For what it's worth, the same site says we would finish third in The Championship. And we have seen the Crew perform in a playoff environment. I'd bet we could get promoted.
Simple answer: relegation. Cucho on a watford squad that was relegated was a fringe starter, he was the best player on the field for us.
In the last World Cup the MLS sent 37 players. The EPL sent 133. It wouldn’t be pretty
They'd probably get relegated from the championship. Prem, they'd set the record for fewest points.
Sheffield would murder them. I get it, it’s a for fun question but our best player was a part time player on a near relegation team. Crew would be in the 3rd league probably
The travel would be brutal. Very much a lose every road game, win/draw more often than not at home.
Maybe it would be best to just never travel to England and forfeit all of those games. Could probably avoid relegation with the huge time zone difference and extra rest from playing only home games.
Guys seriously. love my crew but they would set the all time low points scored record. The prem is the prem . I do think the crew could be handy in the champo tho
I don’t see anyone saying anything crazy. Who are you trying to keep in line?
Well, they’re the greatest team that ever was, so they would be the next Invincibles
Last
last prob. mls is like me d championship or mid Scottish prem
Considering they're the greatest team in the world, obviously they'd be the Champions. In all seriousness I'd put us somewhere a little above the middle. I don't think we quite have the chops to take on top Premiere League teams and win, but I don't think we're awful either. Especially with playing Nancyball, I think we'd stand a decent chance coming in the top 15.
Below 15th, maybe survive relegation?
easily beating derby county's record
Be serious
10th place in the Championship. English and Italian second tier leagues are above MLS. Not sure about tier two in Germany, France, and Spain. It’s difficult to compare leagues, there are so many intangibles.
I watched Liverpool's game vs Sparta Prague. They play very similar to the crew and have a similar talent level. While they had many chances, they got thrashed thanks to just the superior talent level. So probably bottom to mid table depending on the year.
lindsayhoranamericanfans.jpg
Let’s remember. Our best player - who is currently the 2nd best player in MLS - couldn’t even crack the starting lineup of a EPL team that was relegated. That’s how wide the gap between MLS and EPL is. Don’t get me wrong. I fucking love the crew and rarely miss a home game. It’s by far my favorite team in any sport. But I also am rational and realistic. Luton would beat the Crew 9 out of 10 times if they played.
They would finish in the stadium where Matchday 38 was scheduled. You’re welcome.
This has to be a shit post right? They'd relegate with the least amount of points in epl history 😂 😂 😂 But Nancy would keep us in a few games we had no business being in and would get poached by Brighton almost immediately 😂
If you say anything other than bottom of the table while beating Derby County’s record of fewest points in a season, you are clueless. They would be in a relegation battle in the Championship.
Our friendly against aston villa in july will inform this
It won’t. A mid-season side vs a club in training is not a measuring stick.
I don’t have the strongest soccer background but didn’t Arsenal destroy the MLS All-Stars? I know all-star games are rarely taken seriously but if the supposedly best MLS players got manhandled by one team in the PL, I don’t know how well just the Crew would do lol
I don't disagree with your point, but keep in mind that arsenal is a team that practices and plays together. The MLS all stars got together for like three days and put together a squad.
True. It could be fun to see some cross league friendlies with the European teams to so how level the leagues are
Which is happening
Man. Maybe we could play teams like West Ham, Newcastle, Wigan, Crystal Palace, Valencia, Eintracht Frankfurt... You know, maybe Aston Villa would like to visit. (RIP CD Veracruz)
Crew vs Aston Villa in July
Arsenal are a top 3 team in the PL and top 10-15 in the world. They destroy most teams out there. That team against a bunch of players with no time to develop cohesion or a system is not way to judge anything.
In a game that not a single player cares about, on top of that.
We would absolutely hold our own. This team would be mid-closer to top table. PL is wildly overrated imo.
Lindsay Horan shouldn't have apologized, in fact she should have tripled down.
Some people shouldn’t be allowed to have opinions. This is proof of that.
Oh yeah? Sorry for believing and knowing my club is the best in the world. I'll put the crew up against any team. #tillidie