[mark madden]

i host a sports radio talk show in pittsburgh, and we attempted to get brian mcbride of columbus/US nat'l team as a guest. the crew PR guy told us that brian is upset because MLS will not let him leave to go overseas (presumably to everton) and so will not do any more interviews which he perceives as promoting MLS. i think mcbride is being a baby when he refuses to do interviews, but i totally see his point. it also makes me think that ussf is more committed to MLS than to building a strong nat'l team, and it makes me think that the US showing at WC'02 might turn out to be a peak, not a stepping stone. you can only get so good in MLS. to turn the corner as a player, you need to go to europe. if guys like landon donovan want to stay in MLS, fine. but i don't like the idea of MLS preventing a player who wants to go overseas to improve (and cash in) from doing so. thoughts?

[BuffloSoldier]

Mark,

First, thanks for being one of the few sports radio guys out there that's willing to do soccer on air, much less follow it on a personal basis.

As for McBride--it's not the Fed's decision whether to sell McBride, or let him play in Europe. That's up to MLS, and its HQ in New York City. It's not right to paint, in this specific situation, the USSF with the same brush.

[Stogey23]

That's for dropping back in Mark! Your latest "Sign Rivaldo" article was very funny.

[scudley]

Originally posted by mark madden
i think mcbride is being a baby when he refuses to do interviews

Perhaps this is a better alternative than conducting interviews in which he bashes the league.

[blech]

we've had similar threads recently and maybe someone with more computer savvy than me can put up a link or two.

i agree with you completely, but understand that it is made more complicated by the fact that mls has thus far been getting pretty low offers. it seems pretty clear to me that our best players should be going overseas (if they want to) if they're going to improve as much as possible. this, of course, assumes that they will get to play once there, but that won't be known until they get there so it's a risk that is part of the process.

while mls deserves some credit for its role in the development of some of our players in the recent world cup, i don't think anyone can seriously argue that the competition is not stronger in europe. that competition day in and day out - both from opponents in games and from teammates for a spot on the pitch - is important to player development.

as for the money issue, it is clear that mls has (at least internally) set prices for players and is refusing to sell them if these prices are not met. this is a fair (and common) strategy, to a point. teams regularly do this during negotiations in an effort to drive prices up. however, what if the mls price demand (which often is not even stated) is unreasonably high? what if mls is overvaluing its players, especially in light of the current soft market? seems to me that mls is doing a disservice to these players and to our national team, and as i've said elsewhere, possibly to itself, as it would seem pretty clear to me that young talent in the US is not going to continue to sign with the mls if the consequence of that is being stuck in a minor league.

[Newman]

I don't like the idea of MLS keeping guys "against their will" (although they did choose to sign those contracts) but I also don't like the idea of MLS giving away assets at europe's rock-bottom transfer prices right now. McBride is very valuable to MLS right now, a World Cup star. I assume MLS has set it's price higher than Everton was willing to pay. Maybe MLS has set it's prices unreasonably high-I don't know specifics. I do know that if I were making decisions for MLS-I'd want what I felt the players were worth, and McBride is very marketable. The flip-side is that you might end up with a few surly players.

By the way, McBride is unlikely to be a contriibutor in 06 so the "go to Europe to develop" arguement doesn't really apply here.

[dark knight]

Originally posted by mark madden
the crew PR guy told us that brian is upset because MLS will not let him leave to go overseas (presumably to everton) and so will not do any more interviews which he perceives as promoting MLS.

Does MLS owe Brian more than he owes MLS? Debatable. To be honest, I am having a hard time believing this is true.

[falcon6]

Originally posted by Newman
I don't like the idea of MLS keeping guys "against their will" (although they did choose to sign those contracts) but I also don't like the idea of MLS giving away assets at europe's rock-bottom transfer prices right now. McBride is very valuable to MLS right now, a World Cup star. I assume MLS has set it's price higher than Everton was willing to pay. Maybe MLS has set it's prices unreasonably high-I don't know specifics. I do know that if I were making decisions for MLS-I'd want what I felt the players were worth, and McBride is very marketable. The flip-side is that you might end up with a few surly players.

By the way, McBride is unlikely to be a contriibutor in 06 so the "go to Europe to develop" arguement doesn't really apply here.

I agree with your assertion that Mcbride won't be a major contributor in 06, he'll be more of a role player who will probably be used in the same sort of role that Ireland used Niall Quinn at this years world cup. A guy that goes in the second half when your trailing, a guy who can get up in the air and make plays. In terms of Mcbride being upset with MLS, whatever happened to honoring a contract that you sign.

[jmeissen0]

Originally posted by dark knight
To be honest, I am having a hard time believing this is true.

aye



anyone know how much time left mchead has on his contract?

[The Wanderer]

Originally posted by falcon6


I agree with your assertion that Mcbride won't be a major contributor in 06, he'll be more of a role player who will probably be used in the same sort of role that Ireland used Niall Quinn at this years world cup

Nope, the previous poster said that it's unlikely that he's a contributor, as in at all. It's unlikely he'll even be on the team, especially considering the youth we've got coming up. If Conor Casey does well in the Bundesliga 1st this year and Buddle keeps improving, then you can kiss McBride's national team career goodbye.

BTW, mods, this should be moved to the MLS forum IMHO.