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.

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.

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.

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.