Where is MLS heading?
By: Bob | April 11th, 2007
I like the league but I can never quite get a grip on what MLS is up to. Perhaps you can help. The league is full of young American players who are obscenely underpaid but happy to get a shot at developing their skills. And then comes the signing of David Beckham, a player who while aging can still compete at the top level. This leads to speculation that other big international names will follow but none of the rumors come to fruition until the Mexican international Cuahtemoc Blanco signs with the Chicago Fire.
This week there is word that the Columbus Crew are set to sign Guillermo Barros Schelotto, a player who has won 15 titles with Boca Juniors but who hardly features with the club these days. Like Blanco and Beckham, his best days as a player are clearly behind him but he can still probably be an impact player in MLS. Like those two, he is hugely popular in certain communities. It remains to be seen whether his popularity amongst Boca fans will translate into interest in Columbus. Certainly his name won’t get the blood pumping in the veins of casual soccer fans.
So now that the “Beckham Rule” is in effect and MLS teams are free to use designated slots to exceed the league mandated salary cap, we have seen the addition of a 34-year-old Mexican and a 33-year-old Argentine, as well as the return of the 33-year-old Claudio Reyna. Beckham undoubtedly will put butts in the seats. It remains to be seen whether the others will. All could have an impact on their respective teams, but they all could also be less than dominant.
Is this what the league is going to become? A resting spot for players at the end of their careers, a place where big name players attract attention for the league, both, neither? Is this good or bad for the league?
Help me out with this one because I can’t wrap my head around what the league is trying to do.
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Other than Beckham the league is probably eager to sign big name players without having to pay big name salaries. Aging players fit that bill. I will be more interested in seeing what happens next year after we see the full impact of Beckham and Blanco.
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United States
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Thanks Bob, I thought I was the only one that questions the moves by the MLS. In my last post I detailed my thoughts about the trend towards older players, and I have no clue why this is happening.
“The league is full of young American players who are obscenely underpaid but happy to get a shot at developing their skills. And then comes the signing of David Beckham, a player who while aging can still compete at the top level.”
Great quote. So far we have only seen an increase in the salary of older international stars, whereas “homegrown” talent is seemingly forgotten.
I too am wondering why the league is trending this and like I said, I am glad to know that I am not the only one.
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I don’t see the Beckham effect keeping the stadiums packed for more than a season.
If it’s around for a hundred years and builds a history, it might garner some respect internationally, but it’s highly doubtful it’ll be around that long.
It’s unbearable to watch at this point. I tried this past weekend and was just appalled at the lack of creativity, slowness, and the inability to pass or tackle.
The MLS is deplorable in the way it treats it’s players and kudos to players like Clint Dempsey who get out of their slavery system. Taking advantage of young players coming out of college and have little else to turn is pathetic. It shows a lack of respect for the game, which lays a very shaky foundation for an organization that wishes to build the sport in the US.
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Teams not selling out their home openers can’t be a good sign for the league.
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To be honest, I think it’s a small miracle the Fire’s stadium was 2/3 full given it was below freezing at kick-off.
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My hope when I first heard of the Beckham Rule was simple: Butts In Seats. (BIS) Following BIS would be: ad revenue, TV time, sponsorships, etc. etc. etc. And that seems to be what teams are seeking in the short term. At this point we have or will have stars from Mexico, Argentina, and England — all areas that have fairly large followings in the US. And if you add in the “me too” factor — people who’ve never heard of these guys but think that if they’re famous elsewhere they must be good — we can theoretically start to fill the stadiums.
This is happening this year to some degree. I think everyone who cares is now holding his/her breath and hoping we will reach critical mass — the point where MLS will be self-sustaining and we won’t be dependent on those aging superstars for the BIS factor.
Will this actually happen? I think it might, because it’s coinciding with increased interest in soccer across the country. I’d guess close to half of suburban kids play, creating interest among both players and families that could easily transfer to the pros if we can offer a good product.
A lot of ifs here. But I’m crossing my fingers.
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Add Edmundo, 36, to that list. He will reportedly play for RBNY.
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Hasn’t the MLS been signing aging superstars ever since Day 1? Valderrama, Stoichkov, Zenga, Preki, Novak, Matthaus, etc. I don’t see that anything has changed except that they can pay them more money now.
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10-15 years ago the Premiership could only attract aging foreign talent looking for a swan-song. They were excellent players such as Ravanneli, Lombardo and Ginola and they brought a lot of skill and a massive buzz wherever they played. Now the EPL is the place players come to in their prime. Hopefully this will be the same effect that Beckham and Blanco have in the MLS.
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The premiership also started bringing in top notch foreign coaches who attracted younger stars from their countries. Does MLS have even one decent coach (outside of Bruce) who could get a job in a top-flight league?
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And who doesn’t immediately think of Columbus Ohio when the words ‘Argentina’ and ‘football’ are mentioned. How can Schelotto not become an instant household name across the country by playing for the Crew? What? Oh.
Is MSL becoming NASL without Crazy George and the old imports having any impact on the game (come on, how is a striker on a team with no midfielders going to improve the team OR increase their audience/fan base. or a winger with no target man to get the ball to)?
Instead of folks who were stars in their country (but rarely/never outside of it) like Blano and Schelotto, or once-greats who will only be able to dominate a portion of the field (have you ever seen Beckham productive any place other than the right side?), and even then for only a couple of years before they move to Del Boca Vista, why not split that mad money up and pick up TWO complementary stars who can make a team better instantly AND increase the team’s visibility outside of MLS junkie circles?
What would be the point in blowing your wad on a Materazzi or a Van Nistelrooy and gaining 2 or 3 wins and 1000 extra fans for about three years? How about spending on two players (one who can be good for marketing and one who is going to significantly improve the team – not that the first one wont since most MLS teams can be improved by Maradona stepping on to the field today) for about ten mill each, plus 5 mill/year contracts for three seasons. Show the fans the team is serious and that the players wont be one-and-done, the team gets significantly better on the field, the younger players get a chance to learn from superior talents, and the marketing departments get a couple faces/names to use.
Yeah the Torres and Ronaldo types wouldn’t be available under this scenario – but they wouldn’t be available for 10 more years anyway given the state of MLS and their age. But how about going after guys like (not these guys perhaps, but players of their ability/age/familiarity) Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Michael Owen, Andres D’Alessandro, Luis Garcia, Lucio (definitely not for marketing, plus signing defenders may not be a great idea since Americans hate defense in their sports), Raul, etc.
Go ahead, tell me I’m crazy/stupid. I can handle it – I work in I.T.
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United States -
Good talking points, Bob.
Personally, I never expected a lot from the Beckham rule and I’m really dubious on the long-term value of Beckham himself; put another way, he reeks of a second-wind novelty factor (the first wind is the establishment of the league). Assuming the rumors about Juan Pablo Angel to Red Bull New York come true, that’s closer to a better long-term approach to the mechanism; just focus on improving the on-field side (I’m actually dubious on Angel’s ability to do this; of all the times I saw him play for Villa he didn’t blow me away).
Even given smarter choices of players, though, the whole DP thing doesn’t do enough on the field anyway. Instead of gunning for a one-shot celebrity boost, scrap single-entity in favor of a raised yet firm salary cap – say, $3-4 million per team – with as little sponsorship hanky-panky as possible, which would give bigger market clubs a leg up over the Kansas Citys and Columbuseseses. Basically, let the teams make the deals the can and get the league the hell out of that side of things. Reward the teams who manage their personnel and finances better; just rig the game to prevent bidding wars (not to mention the sight of the same teams winning year after year as in Europe).
Building the league will just take time – which assumes we’ve got it; and Nick may be right in saying we don’t*. But there is no quick fix. As to where MLS is headed, count this rule as a weird, half-court-lob hiccup. For one, MLS can’t compete with European clubs financially for any players but these geezers. More bizarre was the apparent theory that one or two players can add enough to transform a team populated by players running the gamut from average-to-pretty-good to make a meaningful difference on the field.
* The thing that has given me the most hope about the future of the league is hearing the stories of people running soccer blogs. Based on a highly-unscientific sample, these people aren’t lifers, but a good number of them came to soccer as a spectator sport after the 2002 World Cup. They got hooked and now they’re fans of MLS. That’s growth, man. Good stuff.
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United States
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