There are tons of leagues they have the talent to play in. There are a large number of reasons why that wouldn't matter in the vast majority of cases.
And explaining to the Norwegian club that you did not break your contract with your former club, or hold out on playing for your former club to get more money, that there's actually a union for players in that country, and you had to strike if the union voted to do so, etc.
But there aren't tons of players that would make those leagues. The demand abroad for MLS-level players isn't nearly as high as one would (or should) think.
There are but those leagues already have players. Foreign leagues and fans aren't unlike MLS fans. If a foreign player comes in, those fans expect him to be an improvement over domestic talent. Once there the players have to beat out the competition and adjust to life in a foreign culture with a new language. It's not a cakewalk. In the US there's the USL/NASL which is already struggling, and the team budgets are less than MLS. Maybe all the players can all find jobs, but you can't ignore the absorption rate. Other leagues aren't going to sign everyone over night, and the player would be without a paycheck until they get picked up. That's gonna lead many players away from the game.
I think all 3 of these could have a future in European soccer. Mastroeni - If his talk about having a transfer lined up after the '08 season was accurate (and I know he sold his house in preparation to move) that's still a decent chance he could find a team. Clark - Largely dependent on how recovered he is, but the Rapids expect to have him available on Opening Day. Assuming he recovers his speed somebody in Scandinavia would take a flyer on hm. Cummings - His recent time with the Nats probably gives him enough to won an English WP on appeal at least, he should be able to find a League One or championship side to pick him up. Still even with those 3 that's still less than half the Rapids that should have an expectation of a future in the game without MLS.
You won't see it, and we both know why. Abbott was trying to spin this to imply that the owners had committed to a nice bump in the cap when, in reality, they've just committed to honor their obligations in the same manner they have been doing. Apparently, the reality of that commitment wasn't impressive enough, so they puffed it -- just like they do with their attendance figures. And just like with announcing "tickets distributed", the $60 million figure isn't technically wrong, but Abbott said it in a way that he must have realized was likely to be misinterpreted. It was clumsy, but I think you'll find MLS unapologetic. Even if the owner's fully intended to spend more on payroll than this $60 million of "new money", they'd never tell us. They would assess one year at a time, just as they have done in the past. And we'd be the last to know what they might really intend, IMO.
So is America that attractive because it's America or because that's the only place some of them can have a soccer career in?
People paint themselves into corners. They get angry. They get bad advice. They overestimate their ability and/or value. They have little to lose. Lot's of reasons. Some might even think they can win. They're the most scary.
And this, to me, is exactly it. The league is never, ever going to lock out the players. Why should they? Or, more exactly, why would they need to? The league has all the cards here because they know, and I would say they know for a fact, that when the rubber meets the road, the players will be forced to acquiesce because, theoretical considerations aside, for most it really is a Hobson's Choice: MLS or nothing. And that also means, even if they strike, they're not going to be able to maintain it. And everybody knows that. So, yes, the only thing the players really have to offer is their signature, and if the league waits long enough, they'll get those signatures. More, the league knows they'll get those signatures before the season starts and, hence, before it actually costs them anything. So there's just no reason to lock the players out and any strike the players mount isn't likely to be very serious. The only question is really what can the league offer the players as a consolation prize so that they can do the inevitable with some semblance of dignity?
This Hartman situation is ********ing stupid. KC does not want to re-sign him. They've purchased a foreign goalkeeper and he's their new number one. Due to the "rights" and lack of free agency, Hartman basically can not play in MLS for TWO YEARS and is being held hostage by KC. Another team has to either send players/money to KC in order for Hartman to be able to play with another MLS team. Kevin Hartman is a slave to the Kansas City Wizards. It's absolutely absurd.
Yet, Hartman knew that was a possibility when he signed with the league. I agree that the rule is stupid, but it's a rule that every team plays by. If a player is desirable enough, some team will come calling and pay the asking price.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you say you picked your MLS (Frontrunning gloryhound) team based on a Transfer market website? PS: Lie to me if you have to Who? No seriously, who? You want to roll the likes of Lee Nguyen into this who thinks he's worth the top end salary in MLS after he's been run out of Holland and Denmark and he misses home because while you can make a lot of money in Vietnam, it's still a 3rd world country. And Saudi Arabia? Funny that Jerry White pretty much had to do the same thing Orange Traffic Cone did when he started having to pay taxes. The US has about 10-12 European players in better leagues than MLS - the rest are in even or below, sometimes for better money or the feel that playing in Europe gives them a better shop window to be in. No, let's not, Becky. If anything, I'm an MLSsnob. I don't really give a rat******** or have any emotional attachment to any of the clubs anywhere else in the US and none other than the Fire, which you have yet to still point out the "problems" you think the fans have with the FO. It's so very interesting you list 4 clubs that have yet to kick a ball and two others that benefited from the "other foot" teams creating a league for them to shine in. This would also be a good time to point out that Seattle's sugar daddy sat on the sidelines while others built the league into something sustainable and TFC was lucky enough to get 3 levels of government pay for 80% of their stadium w/o requiring that that investment be paid back. Something that won't be occurring with those 4 new teams. To date, we have exactly "two" new teams that fit your definition of successful. The conditions that are helping these teams be successful cannot be replicated by any of the newer clubs or the cold clubs. So how much more do we need to pay Justin Mapp to make him not lazy? Do you have any thoughts that don't involve being the spunk target of these two teams? Didn't stop me from picking a team a great distance from me and following it through every season Frontrunning gloryhound Hey everyone, it's jadi1mls' brother. Nor are there spaces for 100 Will Hesmer talent level players in the rest of the world.
I'm going to bet there are some people caught up in the sad affair of human trafficking that would trade places with Kevin Hartman.
Can I just completely agree with both of these statements. 1. The league has all the leverage -- and if the players don't know it they have some dumb representatives; and 2. The Kevin Hartman situation (and similar situations) are sheer lunacy. Hopefully Kevin can get one of the USSF D2 teams to pay him something to keep playing.
That's the key point, but it's probably a little less harsh. Any player who's gotten any playing time in MLS has at least a chance of displacing an NASL/USL player. Then there are dozens of foreign leagues in which the players at that level and even below that level would have a decent shot at getting paid to play soccer. Most will offer less money than MLS. Some will have foreign-player barriers. Travel costs and an agent fee could cost half the salary he could get. Regardless, if a current MLS player is willing to do whatever it takes to keep his soccer career alive, he's got a chance to join another team somewhere. For example, the first and second divisions of Ireland, the Australian league, and moving on to hose on non-English-speaking nations like the Swiss second division.
My great great great maternal grandfather was a slave. Kevin Hartman is a professional athlete in the top 3 percent of income earners in one of the wealthiest countries on the planet.