So what? Paul Allen is a lot richer and not spending any of his money to pay for Dempsey. The income the Sounders make can pay for it.
If he was coming back to MLS, it's better it's Seattle than the Gals. Fox Soccer reported that LA put in a bid for Dempsey too.
What were the revenues for a team like New York Red Bulls before Henry and when they first got Angel? I doubt they were pretty but they invested. What was the revenue for the Gals before Becks? How about TFC with the amount of players they bring in regularly? Chicago before Blanco? Seattle more the exception and not the rule.
We should sign Kaka to play Attacking CM. Just get it done Fisher, don't buy a major league franchise unless you'r eprepeared to put you're hand in you're pocket.
Love to see it and I think we will see such a player like Ricky Kaka but I'm afraid we have to wait until after next years World Cup which ends on Sunday, July 13. Coincidentally, probably when the stadium is completed.
How about Totti? He is to much of a one man team though right? How about Pirlo? How about Cassano? He is top quality.
I could not agree more. Some seem to think that just because owners might have enough personal funds to facilitate bringing in higher priced players, they are obligated to do it, regardless of whether it makes any business sense. Plus, as I have been attempting to point out in other posts, there are billionaires, then there are $BILLIONAIRES$. At 2.2 $Billion net worth, John Fisher, while certainly rich by any standard, falls into the small letter category. In the context of several $Million dollar transfer fees or multi $Million player salaries, that kind of wealth does not allow a person to carelessly separate himself from his fortune for fun (or for the pleasure of others). On the other hand, if the franchise can find a way to support such expenditures, and they make tactical sense, the owners do have an obligation.
Totti is a great player but by the time he is ready to sign, he would be turning 38 years of age and IMHO, that is too old for any player. Also, I'm pretty sure he will not come as he currently negotiating a long term contract with Roma. As for Pirlo and Cassano, I'd welcome either one of them coming to San Jose but it will never happen.
That is exactly what you said. You said he was "not rich by any definition" and suggested He was merely well off or wealthy. You then called him very well off but not filthy rich. I don't know what your are smoking. The last data pint I could find was from 2011. At that time there wer just over 1200 billionaires in the world or around 2 millionths of 1% of the world population. I would say that is filthy rich by just about any definition. And is certainly rich to the point you could choose to spend large sums of money on player aquisitions, stadium amenities or lots of other things "for fun and/or the pleasure of others" The only thing it probably means is that you should not get into a bidding war on a player aquisition or other purchase with a person higher up on the billionaires list.
Flamini would be an amazing signing, as would Diego Forlan as would Gio Dos Santos. Come on Mr. Fisher, put up or shut up.
What are you on about? Please explain to me how you sell out an 18k Stadium consistently without a good team with a pretty big name? Houston, Chicago, and Colorado are all sides with their own stadium but with no name to to bring in the fans consistently. You need a name AND a good team. That's why Blanco was a good get for Chicago a few years ago. New York doesn't sell their digs out either yet they have Thierry ********ING Henry on their team. NYRB, a team that has a top player and name, but in the past was a crappy team so they also didn't sell out but it has to be said though their stadium is almost double the size of the Quakes stadium. You need both. To have both though you have to invest. One big name is not a miracle worker. He is an important piece to half the puzzle. The big names bring in the TV deals and Sponsors. A new stadium does not. On average TV and Sponsorship is 20-25% of total revenue for for Teams with DPs and similar size stadiums like the Quakes will have. Teams like TFC, Portland,Montreal, and Philly are examples. If you look at all the teams in the league who would lead in total revenue, each team has at least one DP and a stadium. The teams that lead in revenue in similar sized stadia are SKC, Portland, TFC, Montreal and Vancouver. Now the higher the # of DPs the higher the Sponsorship deals get and TV deals are a wash in a lot of markets right now. Of those teams, 3-4 are playoff teams. I expect that this year Dallas will also see a bump in revenue with their investments and good on field displays. In regions that have struggled to have high attendance numbers like Dallas, SKC and Chicago investment has been a key. In Chicago's case when they went away from the big name they have suffered. In cases like Dallas they have benefited with the investment as well as SKC. Let's also not be naive in thinking that a lack of investment in players leads to a good future in the league. The newer clubs have a leg up on this market because they are something NEW and the novelty factor can carry them a few years so that they can start off their campaigns with decent players and deliver respectable performances on the field. The older MLS markets however, need to do a lot more heavy lifting because if you are a SJ, CHI, COL, DAL, and CHV who have little novelty factor left, that requires the novelty factor to be brought in through their own investment in whatever the team is lacking. It might be the big name, the good team, or the stadium. Maybe all of them. The future of this league is not any different than others. TV and Sposorship are what drive the big clubs or franchises. The more your team appeals to large the audience the bigger the money you will get. If you want a team that can be self sufficient like you say and has the ability to bring in pretty big names this team will not be able to do it without investing. The longer ownership takes to invest in such a manner the more difficult it will be to have the Quakes among the top teams in the league because the money required will just continue to rise. It's okay to say the team is waiting for the stadium to open before the investment on the field kicks in. The problem is the the team needs to make the investment before the stadium opens or you leave the team in a situation where you have to hit the ground running or your investments don't pan out like we have seen here before with numerous crappy signings brought in to fix flaws in the team. Case in point is the decision to appoint Yallop Jr. There is no sense of plan yet and that can result in empty seats in your new digs.
This from Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney Dempsey deal ratchets up tensions in the West By Ridge Mahoney Eight points encompassing as many teams. Seven conference foes that have to face Clint Dempsey at least once. That’s where the Western race stands heading into final one-third of the season. Real Salt Lake tops the West with 38 points, and only eight points away in eighth are the Earthquakes, who by toppling Chivas USA, 2-0, Saturday night have moved to within three points of a playoff spot. The balance of power in the conference has been radically shaken by the blockbuster purchase of U.S. international Clint Dempsey by Seattle, yet the Sounders' 3-0 defeat of FC Dallas witnessed by an utterly delirious crowd – and in CenturyLink Field, that’s saying something – still leaves them short of a playoff spot. But barely short. While followers of the Rave Green can smugly relish the largesse of their ownership group, fans in several other Western Conference cities can only fret and hope for the best. The relatively modest signing of U.S. defender Clarence Goodson paid immediate dividends for the Quakes against Chivas USA, whose own recent U.S. signing, Carlos Bocanegra, got dismissed for barging into a rough tackle that uprooted San Jose winger Shea Salinas. Paired with Honduran man-beast Victor Bernardez, Goodson helped the Quakes pitch just their third shutout of the season and earn the win on goals by the Quakes’ only DP, Chris Wondolowski. Wondo’s contract pays him $600,000, which is more than anyone else on his team as well as many others, but nothing close to the biggest earners around MLS. Dempsey’s annual salary of reportedly $8 million could jibe with a $4 million figure also cited, since the former would be the gross salary and the latter the net amount paid to Dempsey after taxes, as is customary for most highly paid players. In any case, that’s a lot of dosh, easily more than the previous top mark paid to David Beckham ($6.5 million). It will certainly be incorporated into negotiations when Omar Gonzalez as well as DPs Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane start discussing their contract status with the Galaxy. (There aren’t enough retention funds in the entire league to keep them in MLS.) A stark case of contrasting market fortunes is in play. To cite one example, the Rapids, according to a source with knowledge of the deal, had scraped together about $700,000 to acquire Panamanian striker Gabriel Torres from Venezuelan club Zamora FC. Though the transfer fee reportedly dropped from $750,000 to $500,000, Torres had requested a DP-esque salary of $500,000, which would leave Colorado a few hundred grand short to complete a deal. French second division club Auxerre had also been bidding for Torres, and there’s also an unspecified Mexican team supposedly in the mix, so the price is unlikely to drop very much. Colorado is discussing a contract with Uruguayan forwardVicente Sanchez, who showed up for Rapids’ training Friday despite not having concluded negotiations. Thus, the Rapids smartly didn’t put all their eggs into the Torres’ basket. If somehow the Sounders miss the playoffs despite forking out more than $4 million earlier this year for Obafemi Martins(salary: $1.725 million) and a reported $9 million transfer fee for Dempsey, a winter of discontent in Seattle will be especially long and bitter. How the cost of doing business changes will require another season or two to properly evaluate. Spending a lot in pro sports isn’t a guarantee of anything except staggering expenses. Just ask the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Lakers, Marlins, Sabres, Red Bulls, etc., which all have outspent rivals only to finish behind most of them in recent seasons. Of course, big payrolls have out worked well for Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Juventus, not to mention the Galaxy and so far in 2013, at least, the Red Bulls. More modest payrolls can work, too, as in the case of Real Salt Lake, which has received great value for DPs Javier Morales and Alvaro Saborio, or Portland, with Diego Valeri. They all earn less than Wondolowski. So it’s not surprising that Vancouver DP Kenny Miller (salary of $1.13 million) takes much of the criticism, rightly or wrongly, if the ‘Caps don’t win a particular game. Dempsey’s remarkable accomplishments for the Revs and USA as well as in England will grant him a substantial grace period, but there ain’t a lot of season left. Yet as demonstrated by the pumped-up crowd that roared when Dempsey stood at midfield brandishing a Sounders' scarf, then celebrated as Seattle's clearly rattled opponent conceded two first-half goals, the bar in the West has been raised yet again. The Quakes are the only Western Conference foe that has finished its season series against the Sounders, who have more games to play, 14, than any other team. (Something to keep an eye on as the season winds down: the first tiebreaker for teams tied on points is wins, not goals scored as was the case last year. The second tiebreaker is goals scored.) This is what the Western Conference playoff race looks like Day One A.D. (After Dempsey): Western Conference: PTS TEAM (W-L-T) GR 38 Real Salt Lake (11-7-5) 11 35 Colorado (9-7-8) 10 35 Portland (8-3-11) 12 33 Los Angeles (10-9-3) 12 33 Vancouver (9-7-6) 12 --------------------------------------- 32 FC Dallas (8-6-8) 12 31 Seattle (9-7-4) 14 30 San Jose (8-9-6) 11 17 Chivas USA (4-13-5) 12 GR=Games remaining. Post your response to the public Soccer America Confidential blog. See what others are saying on the Soccer America Confidential blog.
It's on this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Major_League_Soccer_season under allocation ranking.
By huge signing, I mean 2 million + DP. Even if we dont sell out the new stadium, getting a DP in the 700k to 1.5m range after it opens is a realistic hope. But thats a world away from the 8m Seattle is spending on Dempsey. And even the more modest DP signing cant be expected until next year when we are in the stadium.