They weren't going to get a DP before the season by all reports. But MN and Atlanta got a ton of allocation money. But then Minnesota set a record for GAM/TAM traded when they acquired Molino from Orlando, overpaying for him.
Well, they may have overpayed for Molino, but you'd be hard pressed to say that he isn't their best player...
if they're really this bad, then my first thought, while licking my lips, is when do we get to play them? unfortunately, it's not until may 7. they may have stabilized the ship by then.
So, pardon the plug, but a few interesting things popped up in my Elo Rater this week: Minnesota's loss was the 19th worst loss of all time (out of 5030 total MLS matches played in regular season + playoffs), which means with just two games under their belt, my ratings already have them as the worst team in MLS. In addition, LA are at the lowest rating they've had in nearly five years. http://wsasu.blogspot.com/2017/03/march-12-2017.html
I have been watching the ATL vs CHI game and am very impressed by the level of play from Atlanta. Last two game they have scored 10 goals (yes I know 6 of them were in the snow vs MUFC). They made the Fire look like the expansion team. I don't know if I have ever seen a new team look this organized and polished this early in the season. The offense is very aggressive and they have players that can score at will. The Eastern conference standings are going to look a lot different with Atlanta in the mix.
Absolutely. Martinez is a beast and Almiron is also just insane. Makes me wish we would actually spend money in Kansas City. Paying fees for players like this has huge upside for sell on later. You can spend whatever you want on 3 players and we spend the least we can to make minor improvements.
It's not just that they are spending money. They are spending it on young talent, not white elephants like Lampard. They also brought in some guys with experience in the league so they seem less like an expansion team. We'll see if they can sustain this, but the potential for the Atlanta team on and off the field seems to be very high.
To be fair, Lampard was actually quite good for NYC when he was healthy and available. But he wasn't healthy and available very often, which basically supports your point.
Prop 2 in St. Louis failed tonight 53-47, MLStoSTL seems on life support. 849467588224708608 is not a valid tweet id
Gee, I'm so surprised that St. Louis - a city that drives past Edward Jones Dome every time they go up and down I-44 - didn't want to publicly fund another stadium.
Yeah, I'm sitting here judging their ownership. Why don't you just pay for it yourselves? Buy then I remember we wouldn't have a stadium here without tons of public money...
He said that? That is the stupidest thing I have heard in a long time. Literally no similarities between the two cities whatsoever. Anyway, StL will be about as likely to fund a stadium project as Miami. Seriously, learn to read a room, MLS.
Atlanta's new training facility is a thing of beauty. You think players around the world aren't going to hear about things like this and want to go there? They are setting themselves up to be absolutely dominant in this league. I mean they're already in 7th place in the Shield standings as a brand new expansion club. Arthur Blank coming in and doing it right. .@ATLUTD's new Training Ground is UNREAL!Check out FOX Sports South's all-access tour with @BrittanyMArnold #UniteAndConquer pic.twitter.com/15hwSgqQCd— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) April 12, 2017
https://www.si.com/planet-futbol/20...allocation-money-increase-owners-meetings-tam MLS owners meetings take place on Monday in Colorado, and one topic under discussion will be even more investment in players through Targeted Allocation Money. A final decision on increased TAM can be expected at the end of the year. All TAM spending is beyond the amount agreed to by the owners in the 2015 collective bargaining agreement
That's encouraging to see. It seems like there are more good leagues now than ever before and the owners are recognizing that they need to be more competitive in successfully signing players just below DP caliber. This also probably raises the bar on what a DP caliber is.
Agree. Look at the longitudinal outcomes in CCL for example. I think MLS loses matches in that competition year in and year out due to positions 4-9 on the roster where MLS clubs can only spend 20% to 40% as much per player as the winning Liga MX clubs.
I laugh/weep now about the CBA negotiations and how the players union went in willing to die on the free agency hill, so much so they took a hit elsewhere and are now seeing all this TAM being added while lots of salaries stay the same.
I get it though. Players want a say in where they live / work / play, especially the ones with families. Free agency right now is a joke, but that foot in the door allows them to move that needle every CBA from now on. If I was a player in this league I'd have done the exact same thing.
Thing is though the free agency they did get is incredibly limited, they didn't really gain that much.
Yeah, but it's a foot in the door. It has gone from 'not a thing' to 'a thing'. Every single CBA from here on out is going to move those dials a little bit, make it less and less limited, and they'd never be able to make that progress had they not gone through the initial battle.