Re: Re: brian mcbride upset with MLS You mean other clubs throughout the world don't sell, or buy, players throughout their seasons? Last I checked this happens all the time. Why should MLS be any different?
Hey Madden, One more thing to add. First, Benz is a shmuck, and a bad imitation of you. When you were on vacation, the drive home became miserable. second, with all the dough you and benz make at espn radio, couldn't you two chip in and buy jim colliny a raincoat since all you two do is piss on him every chance you get. keep up the great work and tell benz he wasn't funny in columbus, and he sure as **** isn't funny in the burgh.
Re: Re: Re: brian mcbride upset with MLS Let me state upfront I do not follow any overseas leagues, not out of any principal, I just don't. But I assume these teams make player transactions because they improve their teams either through other players acquired or an improved financial position. I assume they do not transfer players in mid season to the detriment of the team's season in order to place said players in a better, more prestigious league. I don't think this is a viable approach for our first division soccer league.
Re: Re: Re: Re: brian mcbride upset with MLS Well if his contract really does run out at the end of the year and if MLS really does want some money for him, they really have to sell him this summer as the closer it gets to the end of his contract the less willing anyone will be to shell out money for him.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: brian mcbride upset with MLS Right, which just underscores the folly of the whole thing.
with $250 Million invested in MLS, why would they even consider selling one of their most visible players for $1 million. If they did this, they should join forces with Enron and Worldcom. Get some perspective people.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: brian mcbride upset with MLS Frankly, none of us know the exact terms of his contract. But if the Crew has concluded that having their best player through the rest of season and playoffs is better for the team (and fans) than whatever transfer fee is available, that does not sound like an unreasonable approach to me. Would a Major League Baseball team trade away its best pitcher in the middle of a pennant race? Now between seasons I would hope MLS teams will take a broader view and try to work out win-win solutions with individual players.
To me McBride is a bit of an exception. I'd try and give him his way because he's "old school" and deserves a little bit of respect. That said, I wouldn't do anything seriously detrimental to the league or his team to get it done. What's the middle ground? Good question. I guess I feel like the Crew losing McBride shouldn't hurt their team TOO much because if they get Lassiter from DC so DC can sign Gazza, the Crew is in pretty much the same place they are now....
that is f***ing funny. lassiter is not coming to the crew, no way in hell do we need this joke. we have buddle, cunningham and washington that will do just fine if mcbride leaves. personally i say let him go. he has given a lot to mls over the past 6 years and it is about time that we let him have what he wants for once...he is on a very ordinary team in an amazing soccer city that really loves mcbride, but if he were to leave i wouldnt be sad...i would be happy to see him move on to greener pastures in england.
The MLS investors promised land of financial freedom are TV contracts, not player transfers. Given the recent downturn in transfer fees this has become that much more true. The exception is horse-trading Central American and Carribean talent, a la Stern John. McBride could conceivably be worth more to MLS for the remainder of the season and going on a free transfer than any amount they could get now. Of course, ideally (for MLS) they sell him in September for top dollar.
Mark, First, if that is really you - a hearty welcome to BigSoccer.com. I've read several of your columns and you do a nice job. Second, McBride is 30 years old. He is a marquee player for MLS and he is not going to be staying with the national team. So I think your point about '02 being a peak based on the refusal to let a player like Brian go overseas is probably incorrect. He isn't the future of the national team anyways. Third, I would agree with you that MLS and the USSF are walking a fine line. On the one hand they need to keep and develop talent to promote their own league. On the other hand, there is a strong sentiment that players need to play against the best competition they can find to keep improving. Whether a player should be permitted to go to Europe should have little to do with the national team IMO. I know this isn't going to the heart of your point, but my own personal feeling is that if a player wishes to go to Europe (or anywhere else), they should be accomodated. They only live once afterall. Fourth, to partially offset your point, keep in mind that this WC team had an entire roster full of MLS attackers. The team scored seven times. Five of those goals came from MLS players. And three of those seven total goals were assisted by an MLS player. Also one of the goals scored against Portugal was an own goal that bounced off a defender from a Donovan cross. Point being that we finished 8th in very large part because of MLS - not in spite of it. Fifth, whether we can continue to improve our results is up for debate for any number of reasons. Our rise will not continue unabated is my opinion. There will be some valleys as well as the peaks. The 1998 team was light years past the 1994 team in terms of talent, yet the results were not there. We could have a better team in 2006 and not advance as far as this last tournament. What we have to really be striving for is a consistent level of play and improvement over time (and that is not just measured by one tournament's results). No doubt the media will focus on the big event, but if I'm running US Soccer I'm looking at this for the long haul. Continue to become more and more competitive. That get's you consistent results and eventually advances you to the top. MLS is absolutely crucial to any such development because it provides an outlet for talent development. That in turn provides more depth and with more depth will come more consistency and more success. Sixth, ultimately what gets you over the top are star players. And there I do tend to agree with you. I think our best players will become tougher and more conditioned if they play overseas, especially in leagues on the European continent as opposed to the EPL. O'Brien was extremely central to our success this WC and he was wonderful at holding the ball and controlling quite a bit of tempo. Ditto for Reyna at times. Both have played in Europe. Also, although the EPL has changed and is still changing, I still think the continental style of play which stresses possession of the ball and shorter passing is the better model. It is just one guy's opinion, but watching England desperately seek for an equalizer against Brazil was downright painful. They'd get the ball and play it long. Brazil would fetch it and hold it for minutes at a time. Game over. Hopefully you'll continue to post here. Also, you should watch somemore MLS games. The level of play has really improved in the last couple of seasons. Mind you it isn't quite as controlled as the big Euro leagues, but it is often very enjoyable to watch and our showing in the WC is just evidence that it is making progress. Not one attacking player on our roster except Joe Max-Moore played in Europe. Donovan, McBride, Wolff and Mathis are all MLS guys. And in the midfield Beasley is quite an attacking option as well.
No way Brian"I'm perfect in every way in the eyes of crew fans" McBRide could actually be doing something like this. It's just impossible. The man wants to play in Europe. MLS should let him. $1mil is reasonable for him. He's 30 years old and has had trouble staying healthy for an entire season for the past 3. Plus it's not like the Crew are going to lose all their season ticket holders over this. It seems like Crew supporters are behind Brian and his desire to go to Europe after everything he's done for the club as well as the league. Last I checked, those strike force posters ain't flying off the shelves. The only ones going anywhere are going as prizes in the fantasy league. Mine sure ain't going on my wall neither.
Because journalist don't have typos. It's an automatic relfex to check your mistakes. Unless the rules are quite different in Europe. Journalists type blindfolded and he obviously can't. Adding in the other grammatical errors. No way. Somebody is having a bit of fun. They capitalize when they should. Period. They type for a living for Christsakes. Maybe he relaxes on boards and gets lazy. That would be odd. McBride...yes, his attitude has changed dramaticaly. His first match back home...he whined like a baby for 90. he never used to be that way. I think he got spoiled and wants out of the low league. Let's see if anyone bites...he's older, he's injury prone, and he is known for one thing. Aerial.
Are you a journalist? Do your journalist friends tell you they never make mistakes, especially when typing something for such an esteemed site as bigsoccer.com? Do you talk to the dolphins? Do they speak to you? Do they say akkkkaaa, akkkkaa?
I graduated from journalism school. I make a lot more money doing something else. When you type, you type the same all the time. That is all I'm saying. If you miss a capital, so what. But he missed every single one. That isn't somebody who types often. I thought he was a journalist and had to write...but realized he is a sports talk show host. My bad. Big difference. Whoops....sorry. doubt he types much at all.
FYI, in your first post in this thread you misspelled the word "would" and in your second post in this thread you misspelled the word "reflex". Oh, and congratulations on making a lot more money doing something else.
Mark, Think of it this way (transfer fees and minor/major leagues complicate matters, but bear with me): The Wheeling Nailers have a really good 30 year old center... the star of the team... he's played in Wheeling for 7 years and all the fans love him. He wants to try his hand at the big leagues... he wants to go to the Penguins. Patrick brother number 1 calls Patrick brother number 2 and says, sure, I'll take him, while he's good, he's not as good as Mario or Kovey or Straka, he's not going to get much better since he's 30, so I'll play him occasionally as a 4th line center, but, more often than not, he'll be a healthy scratch. It's not too much of a risk; I'll take him, won't play him much and he might turn into a Dave Michayluk and play seven super games on the way to a Cup. Patrick brother number 1 thinks about this... he won't be playing much up I-79, and down here, he sells lots of tickets and the fans love him, and he'll get to be a star, maybe not on a world stage, but on the stage we have. And Patrick #1 doesn't have that many already-made stars to replace him with. So, Patrick #1 decides to keep him in Wheeling. The player gets really pissed. Who wouldn't want to play in the NHL (or EPL?)? And why is the stupid system keeping me from going if they want me up there. I think this is similar to what's happening to McBride. He's a star here, he's not going to get much better (he is 30 after all), and the transfer fee isn't that high. If some EPL team was willing to pay $5 million, I'd sure he'd be on the next flight out. The MLS just doesn't see how it's worth their while in losing him. And, when, oh when, is Patrick number two going to sign Kovalev? For pete's sake.
Spellcheck...we use it...not when it's unimportant. The pt. was...typing. You automatically capitalize. It's second nature. Again, he's not a typist...he's broadcast. My mistake. And thank you, journalist don't make squat.
Getting back on topic... In my view McBride is one of the few "stars" of MLS that the league could afford to lose. That being said, losing him does lessen the options that Columbus has during the season. I can imagine that MLS is hesitant to send away any player from a team that percieves him as a necessary part of the team for the remainder of the season. However, by the end of the season I don't see much excuse either way for the Crew or MLS to hold him against his will, even if the offers are peanuts. There are a number of young prospects both in Columbus and elsewhere who are not getting full game minutes who arguably could develope better and faster with those minutes. As for his betterment for National team purposes, at this point I wouldn't put to much focus on him for 06 since by that time I would hope a number of better options would have developed. In the short term it might help, but only minimally. Ideally you want your prospects to head overseas at ages 22-26 and play real minutes for at least 2-6 years.