Xavi expected to join Villa & Lampard on New York FC

[Rubio2Gasol]

Could be a huge success or a huge failure.

If the guys around him are scrubs that can't pass or control the ball, he'll become a liability.

[knickballer]

That's the thing. MLS should be about developing North American talents domestically. Many academies are up, running and producing and there should be more places in the top pro domestic league for them to grow.

That has been the debate but another alternative is the USL Pro(and some other lower leagues) where a few MLS teams have agreements to loan out players to these squads. LA Galaxy have created their own USL Pro team that's used for developmental purposes only and I suspect alot of MLS teams(the wealthier ones) will follow pursuit and just stick their raw young talent there to get experience. Sounds like a great idea but one has to wonder how the quality of play is in these leagues and is it better for the young player to go the college route, play with the USL Pro team or just to train with the actual parent club struggling to get PT.

[plowking]

Are they all going to be playing in Australia prior to the American season starting, due to the Melbourne team being owned by the same people?

[knickballer]

Are they all going to be playing in Australia prior to the American season starting, due to the Melbourne team being owned by the same people?

I only heard of David Villa playing in for Melbourne for like 10 games I don't believe Xavi or Lampard will.

NYCFC are owned by the Man City Sheiks(which may own Melbourne FC?)?

[kentatm]

But I wonder how effective Xavi and Lampard will be in the MLS where the play is very physical, tough and requires alot of effort. Surely they'll need to have a "destroyer" and a relentlessness worker behind them giving them coverage.

they better watch out for thugs like Steven Lenhart and Diego Chara

[FKAri]

What use is a player like Xavi when his team probably won't be trying to or capable of controlling possession? The MLS style of play (from what little I've seen) is very different. For those who are more basketball inclined, this is like putting prime Jason Kidd on a team of iso ball dominant ball stoppers: It's a waste of talent.

gl to Xavi tho. I guess its really an end of an era for Barca.