ESPN Announces English Premier League TV Lineup
According to EPL Talk.com, ESPN has acquired the TV rights to two of the weekly Premier League slots on US television for the 2009-2010 season. With FSC now having Champions League soccer and ESPN Prem games, it seems that soccer on TV in the US has been turned on its head. Beginning on August 15, 2009, each week ESPN will feature the 6:45am CT Saturday game and the 2pm CT Monday game.
EPL Talk says that those spots were previously held by Setanta Sports who sub licensed them to Fox Soccer Channel. Setanta US will continue to show the two 9:00 am CT games – one on Setanta and the other on Setanta Extra. Setanta will continue to carry the Sunday morning ET kickoffs and the Tuesday and Wednesday midweek Premier League matches. Those games will also be carried on its sister broadband package.
EPL Talk is speculating that the games will be shown on both ESPN 2 and ESPN 360 which has just recently become available to Comcast ISP subscribers. The website announces “for certain” that these games will be carried by ESPN:
Saturday, August 15:
Chelsea v Hull City, 7:45am, ESPN2
Monday, August 24:
Liverpool v Aston Villa, 3pm, ESPN2
Saturday, August 29:
Chelsea v Burnley, 7:45am, ESPN2
Saturday, September 19:
Burnley v Sunderland, 7:45am, ESPN2
Saturday, September 26:
Portsmouth v Everton, 7:45am, ESPN2
Monday, September 28:
Manchester City v West Ham United, ESPN2
Monday, October 5:
Aston Villa v Manchester City, 3pm, ESPN2
Saturday, October 17:
Aston Villa v Chelsea, 7:45am, ESPN2
Monday, October 19:
Fulham v Hull City, 3pm, ESPN2
Saturday, October 24:
Wolves v Aston Villa, 7:45am, ESPN2
Saturday, October 31:
Arsenal v Tottenham, 6:45am, ESPN2
Monday, November 9:
Liverpool v Birmingham City, 3pm, ESPN2
Saturday, November 21:
Liverpool v Manchester City, 7:45am, ESPN2
For more information on this change please go to EPL Talk.com
Comments are closed.
It’s about time…
(A compliment in words they will recognize)
ESPN stepping up to the plate…
Charging into the paint…
Going for the end-zone…
Throwing the bomb…
It’s a start anyway at 6:45 a.m.
This is fantastic news. I missed the early Saturday morning games, i.e., the noon EPL games (local time), on FSC after they were licensed out to Setanta a few years ago. Some EPL games were scheduled at noon in order to sell the EPL to the Asian market. Consequently, the early morning games have traditionally featured the better teams or the more interesting matchups in the EPL, and it appears that they still do.
The FSC schedule also appears to include the mid-afternoon and late-afternoon live EPL games as well. Thus, EPL can be seen on cable TV at 6:45 am, 9:00 am, and 11:00 am Minnesota time on Saturdays alone. Several years ago, a soccer fan in America could watch more Serie A games here than in Italy. Now we can also watch more live EPL per week than live NFL. Not bad.
Now, do I really want to spend an extra $15 per month to subscribe to iSetanta for a few more games and “the best of” Chelsea TV?
Excellent, excellent, excellent news. So happy right now.
The country is buzzing about this piece of news! I’ve had several people calling and asking whether it is true! Hope this is the beginning of an expanded ESPN coverage of football, culminating in a football-only channel offered on regular cable by ESPN.
That’s a really interesting thought Ivan. The station did a first class job of televising Champions League.
This is excellent news. Youth soccer coaches need to get this information to their players and require them to watch a match every week.
What’s wrong with coaches asking their teams to watching USL-1 team the Thunder or MLS or WPS. It will probably mean more to them.
Brian, I did not mean to knock USL-1 soccer. I think the biggest downfall of youth soccer coaches (me included) is getting our players at all levels/ages (the younger the better) to go watch professional soccer. Prior to this year, I had been to about two MN Thunder matches. This season I have been more active in promoting MN Thunder, and have been to 8-9 matches.
No worries at all. It’s just that so many people think of the prem immediately and forget that we have our own domestic leagues that need to be promoted first and foremost even if they admittedly are not as good. But no issues with the Prem as that is really good football.
It’s been interesting watching the top Euro teams that have been over here playing MLS teams. The biggest difference I see is first touch and then because of good first touch under pressure which then = speed of play. We just can’t keep any possession because of poor first touch. So there’s much to be learned there.
However, I think US coaches have a responsibility to promote the domestic leagues.
No, Brian i don’t agree that US youth coaches have any RESPONSIBILITY to promote US soccer leagues until they can prove their play is not filled with mistakes and bad coaching tactics when compared to the top teams/leagues in the world.
Youth coaches should encourage their players to watch the highest level they can just like all the pro teams/players do. That is currently the Euro leagues. We want our players to see the top teams/players as their ideal model in how the game is played.
Also I don’t think in Minnesota the MYSA clubs need to promote the very organization they’re competing against in MYSA, and who are now trying to take all the players from those clubs to create their own “MN Youth Champions League” (their latest idea submitted to MYSA).
Now you know I’m an avid Thunder fan and I support the team at every chance I can get, but that’s as an individual not as a club coach. The clubs in MYSA have no responsibility to the MN Thunder. We should encourage our players to go watch them, but we have no responsibility to do so anymore after the Thunder Academy/north/south/east/west/urban teams were created.
The MN Thunder has created a very competitive situation with most MYSA clubs by their choices. It has now become a real monster, a threat to the local villages just like Frankenstein was… And, the MN Thunder has not created a winning team on the USL1 field for a very long time now. So, why should a coach tell their players to go watch a team that struggles to win games year after year in the second league?
Yes, young players should be encouraged to go watch the highest level they can see live in person, understanding what level they are watching, and understanding what mistakes are being made. But the clubs have no RESPONSIBILITY to promote the MN Thunder who they compete against in the youth leagues.
The success or failure on the MN Thunder USL1 pro team dose not sit on the shoulders of hard working youth coaches, or their young players. It sits in the team’s front office with the paid professionals who are their to market and provide the public with a good entertainment choice.
Pro teams are their to succeed in their league, not just to provide a so so top level pro team at low cost risk used only to market their “pro image youth academy/summer camp” business model. It seems that the MN Thunder USL1 team is just that lately, a marketing tool/expense.
OK Jeff, you and I are dominating this conversation with 3 each. I agree but also disagree with you.
You are contradicting yourself and some of the pro Thunder comments you have left on the Thunder discussion board. But beyond that, I do think it’s a coaches responsibility to get his youth team excited about the game and excited to watch soccer in general.
You have a valid point about bringing the kids to a game where the team isn’t doing everything within its power to win, and be the best it can be, primarily because they don’t have the resources to do so. But how many of these kids will play for Man U. I mean come on. However, if they work hard and have enough God given talent, they could play MIAC or perhaps a D1 or 2 school. Then MLS perhaps? But if we don’t support our own leagues we have a whole new generation of players going through the ranks that become Euro snobs and will only watch European Leagues instead of domestic leagues.
I know you support the grassroots level of soccer and follow USL and MLS. So you comment seems a bit like you’re trying to argue for the sake of arguing. Not that you’ve ever done that before. ;-0
“I support the team at every chance I can get, but that’s as an individual not as a club coach.”
I don’t think I’m arguing just to argue, they’re real points in those statements that are at the root cause of many of the pro teams current problems of not growing their fan base in the same way other USL1 teams have during the same time period.
Most of my comments in support of the Thunder team this year in the Discussion Zone revolved around the TIMING of the criticism and its support for change.
We were not even half way through the season and people were calling for a change of coaches and management, which were unrealistic expectations of change based on what happened in the similar situation of change last year that the team went through.
There are things to talk about as the season wraps up in the next months. Don’t be surprised when I point out where I believe they made big mistakes and how they should address them to be successful in the next years ahead.
As I have always said, I’m not saying I’m right on these issues, I’m not a professional in pro sports team management issues.
But, as a fan I will give my opinion in an attempt to move our team forward, together with others and their opinions, in a discussion forum environment.
Interesting discussion guys. I am a relatively young soccer supporter at the age of 26 in this country and I must admit that if there is one thing I have learned its that if you want something to change and improve, its not going to happen unless you pitch in and contribute towards making it what you want to be.
Having been able to work for a living in pro soccer for the past couple of years, I have truly realized the importance of our domestic leagues and how they are more vital to the growth of this sport in our country than whether or not Champions League or the Premiership is on ESPN or not. Leagues like MLS, USL, WPS reach out at a grassroot level that those super clubs thousands of miles away can never do. 5 years ago this is something I really didn’t understand or appreciate it. Heck I really feel guilty for not supporting the Thunder more during my youth growing up in the Twin Cities.
While I don’t think anyone should feel its their duty or responsibility to support their domestic team or league, but I think if they ever want it to become something that the other leagues are, then we all need to pitch in and actively support and promote it as much as possible. And of course that starts with the youth level.
You can’t honestly tell me that seeing a game on TV will teach you less than seeing it in person. On TV you cannot truly grasp the speed of play, view angles on the field that you as a player would be seeing, rather than watching it from mid-field on television. You can’t hear the vital communication that exists between players and coaches that you experience at a live game and you can’t see the whole picture of the field while watching a game on TV, focusing is on certain aspects of the game that are off the ball (on TV, they follow the ball obviously.)
So while this discussion is interesting and while we all agree our domestic league is not as good as the Super Leagues abroad, I don’t see how anyone can argue that watching a game on TV is more beneficial from an educational standpoint than going to a game, even if the level of play isn’t as high.
Youth soccer to me is more vital than any other demographic for the sport in our country and I think we all can agree on that. So if want them to one day have a SuperLeague of their own, we need to start pushing them towards supporting and experiencing it so that it can grow into a league of their own that they can help shape and grow.
Great discussion here guys, this is all good stuff.
Sorry but one last comment. Watching Champions League or the best teams in the world in reality shows you how the game can be played at its best. Yes you can learn from that but I feel you can learn more in seeing teams make mistakes and errors and mishaps. I feel that in defeat you learn a lot more than in winning. I guess in my opinion you can grow a lot more as a player by learning what not to do as opposed to learning what to do. If it was as easy as becoming a good player by just watching Kaka and Ronaldo, then surely we all would be superstars by now!
I totally agree about the benefits of watching the game live vs watching on TV, especially for coaches. That’s why I have been to every home game over the last couple of years, except when work commitments keep me away. I have not missed a game this year.
I agree also with the need to support our local teams and leagues. If we don’t who will?
But, that’s exactly my the point I’m trying to make. When the local pro team’s development branch ends up wanting to completely take over, then they have too big of a presences in the small youth market and they end up alienating clubs and forcing others out. The very people the pro team needs for their fan base.
“I feel that in defeat you learn a lot more than in winning. I guess in my opinion you can grow a lot more as a player by learning what not to do as opposed to learning what to do.”
You learn yes, but you give up a lot of the established confidence that makes you willing to take more risk, which is where a player really expends out to the next level. The ability and desire to try new uncharted things is where the beauty of the game begins. That risk taking is rooted in success not failure. We risk much more until we grow older and learn through failure not to experiment.
Don’t forget many young kids learn from watching an imitating/repeating what they see. You want those kids to see the best and then expand on it even more through their youthful creativeness, before that is lost to the adult fear of failure syndrome.
I would agree with Jeff that MN Thunder has in a sense made a poor marketing decision. Dollars spent at MN Thunder do support “the competition.” It will be interesting to see if MN Thunder tries to re-brand their academy program to help bring back some supporters who no longer go to Thunder matches due to their new program.
I also agree with prior comments regarding “first-touch.”
BTW, Go Liverpool!!!!
Well, the two are completely different entities (separate finances) than the team even though they work hand in hand. But I know what you mean. This is not a new problem as other pro academies have had the same issues all over the US. Perhaps US Soccer needs to be a bit more aggressive with their message to clubs across the US, that pro driven club/academies are recommended by US Soccer. US Soccer seems to want their cake and want to eat it as well. In other words, they don’t want to offend the community clubs but also want the pro teams to have clubs. Have some you know what US Soccer. If you want pro teams to have academies that stand behind it. You are the governing body of soccer in this country.
Seattle just came up with a new system that they hope to alleviate this problem of pro team offending community club. I don’t know if it’s the correct answer or not (I don’t think so) but they have a sort of ODP system where they bring in the best players from different clubs to train at the Sounders facilities with Sounders coaches. But they don’t belong to a team affiliated with Seattle. They just train with the Sounders and play with their regular club teams. The Sounders pull them in once a week for training sometimes more. The idea is Seattle keeps an eye on the best players in the area, keeps them working in a positive direction that the organization wants, but doesn’t ruin the relationship they have with the club soccer community.
Down side? Is this really going to be effective – bringing a player in once a week to train? ODP has already shown that it is not necessarily the best option for finding and fostering growth in the best players. The Developmental Academies program on the other hand are making huge strides which is system that models itself after youth club around the world.
There really are two sides to this sword. Because they are doing a good job with their teams. Check out some video of MTA teams training.
http://www.vimeo.com/channels/mta
But the effect at the MYSA club level is also still real.
I think the key is for MYSA is to control the number of MN Thunder teams and stop/control them in trying to recruit everyone who might compete against them. They have to become just another member of MYSA, not the overbearing, disliked, rich, know it all brother in-law everyone has to put up with at christmas dinner because they married into the family.
The next step in a competitive MYSA is for the other clubs to also rise to the new standard in training which they have now set. But, that needs time to happen. Then the whole level of play will be better in all of MYSA, and more clubs will become stronger and better at developing players which is a win-win for everybody.
That’s what everybody should want, a stronger youth league across the table not just one strong superclub.
http://www.vimeo.com/channels/mta
They have to become just another member of MYSA, not the overbearing, disliked, rich, know it all brother in-law everyone has to put up with at christmas dinner because they married into the family.
Do you know that feeling well?
I see you’re “contributing” to the discussion in your own unique way, again.
Touche… you may have a point
, but I’m not married and have no in-laws… You’re my family that has to put up with me, so get used to it (ha ha ha) I’ll be at your house every year until one of us dies. 
SR=the one with the half lost, weak, raspy voice heckling the opposing goalkeeper all game long from the Thunders beer garden…
Let me ask you a question, How many teams would you guess the MN Thunder have in MYSA?
1. MTA (EDP)
2. Juniors (JRS)
3. Regional (West)
4. Regional (East)
5. Regional (North)
6. Regional (South)
7. Regional (Urban)
Any idea how they really compare to other clubs in MYSA?
Or, are just taking advantage of this good sliding tackle from behind/cheap shot opportunity on me?
What is MYSA?
I had to take advantage. You left the door wide open.
Button down the hatches!
Surely the MTA’s goal isn’t to dominate MYSA, its to one day join the USSF’s developmental academy and provide better opportunities for Minnesota’s finest to grow as a player and get more exposure to professional clubs, college scouts, etc.
I know right now MTA is in direct competition with other MYSA clubs but that is because they can’t get into the Development Academy. So what are they supposed to do, not play?
How come no one over here seems to have a problem with European clubs setting up their own youth academies which is essentially what MTA is doing.
We here at D.C. United fight the same battles that MTA is but what people have to understand is that the MTA is providing more opportunities for growth and exposure (training with professionals from the Thunder’s first team, playing in elite leagues, attracting scouts from pro and college teams to the showcases) that other city clubs cannot simply do.
I know its hard to think long term with these things when hard working coaches are losing their best players to these clubs, but you have to think about the player’s best interest and not the coaches.
Look at the USSF’s Development Academy already and how everyone involved is raving about it and how much people feel this new system of training and competition is revolutionizing player development. The fact that there were well over 200 applicants for this latest application process (only 5 accepted I believe) shows that many believe this is the way to go and obviously many professional clubs have the resources and means to develop players more-so than some other local youth clubs.
Either way this is good discussion but I hope that something like the creation of MTA isn’t the sole reason why MYSA isn’t supporting the Thunder anymore because if that is the case, important people need to all sit down together like adults and discuss the pros/cons of this and clear the air.
Having an Academy is one thing, having an academy, and then another two to three teams in each age group in each region, West, East, North, South, and Urban in MYSA is another thing.
I’ll ask you the same question: do you know how many teams the MN Thunder have in MYSA?
How many teams do the other current Development Academies have?
I don’t know the numbers Jeff, and I thought you were asking SR that question originally. I think you can find that info on the MTA web site by looking at the teams. I would guess there is two teams in most cases. With the current structure that they have it’s really confusing. The North only fielded a couple of teams this year. It’s a good question and one that deserves an answer. Now if I could find the time to do that.
I don’t know the answer concerning other academies but my guess is one team at each age level in most cases. This has been a sticking point for me as well. MTA folks will tell you that the need was there. That the kids wanted to come on board with the Thunder. But that doesn’t mean that they necessarily should have done that and as you say, having so many kids for so many teams didn’t do their PR any good.
Thunder Rec program= ?
Juniors= 25 teams
West= 39 teams
East= ?
North= ?
South= ?
Urban= ?
MTA= 24 teams
This could end up being 200-250+MN Thunder MYSA youth teams over the next years…
“Within these Academies we will offer all levels of MYSA competitive play, from Classic 3 to Premier.”
Mission Statement:
“The goal of the Minnesota Thunder Academy is to promote the growth and raise the standard of youth soccer in the state of Minnesota.”
This was supposed to promote competition with in the state, not kill it altogether.
it’s growing out of control like a virus…
I received a count from a source at MTA and it looks to be about 95 teams this past year when combining all the districts and juniors. Not all played in MYSA leagues. Some were tournament only teams.
So by my counts that’s 1,520 kids. I guess the thing that one would need to look into if they had the time, is this a model used anywhere else? I don’t think so. The interest certainly seems to be there and yet 1,520 kids from the metro area seems like a lot. You can see that it definitely would have had an effect on other clubs.
They just added new full time directors to some of regions that are currently small, They are planning to be much bigger than they are right now.
I think it is important to use the correct term’s when discussing, espscially Jeff Wolter… MN Thunder isn’t MTA. As BQ said, MTA is truly a seperate entity. Minnesota Thunder doesn’t provide any dollars to MTA, and I don’t believe MTA provides any dollars back to the MN Thunder. I worked in the Thunder FO during the time when MTA got rolling… I believe my statement above is true.
That being said, it is crucial for club coaches to encourage their players to attend games, or watch on USL Live. I feel that EPL is the highest level of soccer one could watch, and youth players would benefit greatly from watching the amazing talent. On that same token, watching the USL will benefit the same youth player, perhaps in a different way. I coach goalkeepers in the area, and one of them had been at the match versus the Timbers. She commented that Cronin perhaps had made mistakes on both of our goals in the first half. She felt that he was out of position on both Ricardo’s free kick, and that he made a poor decision to come out and challenge Brian’s goal. My point is, watching professional players at any level (even college players) helps youth players get a good gut feeling on how they should play the game. Maybe watching Cronin make some questionable decisions will help my keeper make good/better decisions in her games.
Maybe I should hire SR to scream at her from behind her goal with a beer in his hand, to get her ready for the big-time… kinda like Tiger’s dad’s approach?
Financial they may be separate, operationally they’re the same group.
*Offices
*Website
*Executive Board includes Donny Gramenz, and Danny Storlien
*Some MTA Director/coaches are MNT players/coaches, Brian Pederson, (Ex Tec Dir. Mark Abboud)
*Etc.
From this website;
“Hackworth also stated that he was very supportive of the MN Thunder sponsoring an academy. He pointed out, In our initial study of how to create a true player development system, we concluded that professional clubs must play an integral role in this system.”
“Manny Lagos, team president for the Minnesota Thunder programs, proudly said, John Hackworth gave us his stamp of approval.”
I agree, but I am not sure how I feel about clubs boycotting MN Thunder games because they think it is in someway supporting MTA? If not supporting financially…?
w18bfS qlwzycgomusf, [url=http://kpdrhssajtco.com/]kpdrhssajtco[/url], [link=http://lnrrskzkstxf.com/]lnrrskzkstxf[/link], http://iifbsexxrwon.com/