They get a job...thats what they do or they move back with their parents and be a regular kid not making $70k. Wow, i know that is crazy. "peanuts"...oh geez
But they're kids. And they're probably making more than senior professionals were in 2006. Average salary, householder under 25 years Zip code 95125: $47,857 San Jose: $44,915
Apparently now it is the teams job to worry about what the guys make if they can't cut it and are released???? According to Falvo Cause you know all real world jobs worry about how you will make it if you don't do your job well and are fired. haha
Who said anything about KC? I haven't lived there in nearly 40 years. The median family of four makes just over $50k. In San Jose, Kansas City, Boston, whereever you want to look. Complaining about a 23 year-old who is pulling down a base of $70k with benefits that family of four can only dream of while working a job that takes up 20-30 hours a week is pretty crazy. Stop in any office in San Jose or Santa Clara and ask the service staff what they make and how far away the live and how long their daily commute is. Go ahead, ask. I spent over five years writing router code at Cisco Systems. I've asked. The answer is sobering. You go ahead and worry about that 23 year-old soccer player. I'll worry about your kid's third grade teacher.
I missed the part where apparently we don't live in a capitalistic society and these kids are being forced to become professional athletes against their will. If they don't like the "peanuts" they are free to work at McDonalds or Walmart like 99% of other 16 year olds.
First of all why the arguments? Seriously, who really cares and why get so worked up? Its really not that big of a deal to get mad over it.
Maybe cause you said they were getting starvation salaries and "peanuts" When people post stuff that is patently false, they normally get called out on it.
Well it is of my opinion that they really are but that is coming from me. You are free to believe whatever you want. I live here so I'll go by what I know and experience but to each his own.
Actually Ari Lassiter got kicked out of school for cheating on his paper so he can't go back to school. At least not at Cal Poly. That was when Paul Holocher got fired and Steve Sampson replaced him.
To be honest it's because your original post belongs in the unpopular opinions thread. Most of it is wrong or has been superseded by recent developments. Of course using the terms "Europe" and "South America" to mean a handful of countries is enough to set some people off.
What is wrong? Because I initially thought they were paying too much for the academy? Or because I don’t think they really work in the end and that I think they should work more closely with the colleges? What’s wrong about that? Many top clubs and top leagues around the world rarely use academy players nor do they rely on them to form the nucleus for their teams. That’s not an argument , that is a fact. Heck the Serie A doesn’t believe in them at all even though they have them in place. I wish they would use their own homegrown player so that way they could get their national team back but they won’t and it doesn’t look like they will either. Inter won the CL 8 years ago without one Italian player on the field. That in my opinion is s disgrace. It’s no wonder their national team failed to make the WC. This isn’t saying that I don’t believe in younger players because that’s all I really want. I’d rather develop and spend on younger 17 year olds than spend it on Over 35’s . I’ve been saying that in most threads forever. Also, as a fan of MLS, I still think it sucks to see Davies play for Bayern. I care about MLS not the Bundesliga. I’m a fan of the Serie A but seeing Michael Bradley wasting away on the bench at Roma, for me anyway , as a fan of North American soccer , was a joke. I am proud Josh Sargent scored on his first touch in Germany but that doesn't mean I think he shouldn't be playing on an MLS club. Of course I wish he would apply his trade here.
The fact of the matter is that soccer is not the most popular sport in this country. Nor is it the 2nd or third most popular. So MLS simply can not be a passive observer of the talent development process in this country if it expects that talent to progress. I would think as a longtime fan you would have long ago seen that relying on pay for play clubs, the ODP program and college soccer (where training time and games are severely limited by the NCAA) is not a tenable situation. Not if you want the talent to improve. If MLS is serious about improving and widening the domestic talent pool (especially in an era of MLS expansion) it MUST engage in talent development at as early and age as possible. The idea of relying on a college draft at a time when there are 24 teams (soon to be 28) is laughable. As for players moving to Europe. Lets just be honest, that is where the best competition is. Nothing wrong with a player choosing to go to a club like Bayern Munich or a club choosing to sell a player for $20 mln. Others like Landon Donovan might choose to stay in MLS and that is fine too. There is no one formula. However, I can say this with certainty, if we want MLS's quality to grow it is going to have to continue to both develop better talent and bring in better foreign talent and it will only do that by a) spending on talent development; and b) spending more to buy better foreign talent. In order to fund both of these endeavors it is going to continue selling young talent. Lets also be honest, outside of about 20 clubs IN THE WORLD, that is true for everyone.
Yes, I'm free to share my "facts" to counter your "opinions". I'm not angry, and I'm not sorry that you seem upset about it. I prefer not to let demonstrably wrong opinions go unchecked. Especially when they're opinions that have been shown to be wrong over and over again throughout the 20 year history of the league.
There is nothing wrong about knowing and expressing how very expensive it is for anyone to live and work in Silicon Valley. I wish I were wrong about the cost of living out here. I own a $1.3 million, 1300 square foot home. Comparing it to the rest of the country, it would be laughable but here its upper middle class. As for college ball, I understand the hindrances of college soccer but I haven’t as of yet seen this huge difference between academy players and college players. Granted I mostly follow the west coast teams and players but when I see Steve Birnbaum playing 5 years & Nick Lima playing 4 years at Cal respectively , I don’t see this huge gap between them or the academy players. Same with Jordan Morris who won NCAA and MLS Cup in successive years. Bottom line is college ball is a great tool to utilize. I just wish their seasons were longer and they would be allowed to play with and train with the pros. Don’t see why it can’t happen in the future. I’m assuming it will some day.
College soccer can be a piece of the talent development puzzle. It certainly can not be the backbone. Nor can MLS possibly hope to truly improve if it takes a hands off approach to developing players between the ages of 14 and 21. I'm not sure why you think a model where MLS teams have no control over coaching, training methods or style of play is preferable to them investing in the game in their communities through academies, indoctrinating kids in the style they'd like to play and ensuring that they are being well coached and are training the right way. Let's just go back to 1996, huh?
That would be a great thing if it were to really happen and of course I would love it. Things can always change but speaking solely from a Bay Area or west coast perspective and after 9 years of following the academies and the local colleges closely , the Quakes for being a D1 professional team, have the worst setup. I’m not sure if it was the reason or not but André Luiz Moreira was fired and went back home as soon as he was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully , by the grace of God he went back to Brazil where they love him and he was cured. The Quakes has no idea how to use his tactics other than kick and run. They hired Paul Holocher who had just been fired from cal Poly because they thought he would instill his Barca tactics and he didn’t last long either. The DeAnza Force, Balistics, Santa Clara Sporting , Juventus , Santa Cruz Breakers , Mustangs and even Almaden Valley are all better. My nephews under 12’s beat their team like 4-0. I left after the 4th goal. The players Jeremy Gunn at Stanford, Kevin Grimes at Cal, Tim Vom Steeg at UCSB have coahed, are far superior to anything the Quakes have put forward. Just watching their games and following their players will tell you this. Is it the best or can it be better? No it’s not the best and yes of course anyone can grow. Right now in comparison , college ball is our go to because our academy team is not ready. Maybe and hopefully , Mister Almeyda will change things but that remains to be seen. Again , I’m not saying I wouldn’t want to see it but seeing is believing. MLS since 2006 has made incredible strides. If the next 8-10 will bring what the last decade brought, there is no telling where the league will go. After 44 years of following American and Canadian soccer , I hope I’m still alive to see it but sadly my kingdom is not of this world much longer! I hope it’s soon because time is growing short!
Guess how much they get paid to play college soccer? 0 times 0. And if they don't have a scholarship they pay tens of thousands to play. $70k plus perks looks pretty good for college age kids.
Here's a tip... There are literally thousands upon thousands of other places in this country alone you could live. You freely chose to live there. If you think it is too expensive, move.
Oh, so you’re one of those guys that uses very limited anecdotal evidence as the sole support for an opinion about a large and complex issue that encompasses far more than your personal experience. Gotcha. Also, no one is arguing that the San Jose Earthquakes should be the model for youth development in this league, country or anywhere for that matter.
Not really. After my dad died, I had to care of mY immediate family who all lives here. I have no choice. Italians are a close knit bunch.
First of all why get so riled up? Secondly, what anecdote? I’m using the Quakes model because that’s all I know and care mostly about. I care about the rest of the league too but the Quakes have been my team since 1974. What do you want me to do lie that they aren’t a crappy organization? I’m telling the truth in each one of my posts and no need or reason to lie. The team is crap from the owner on down and that’s a fact. I wish Fisher would sell already.