Anti-US and -MLS prejudices work for me. edit: this article is the answer to Bruce Arena's question as to whether MLS has regressed. MLS is now too good for these Caribbean guys who would have been stars 10 years ago.
My 4 year old niece says some things cost nineteen ten 62 thousand. Maybe that's what his agents talking about...
Strange as it may seem to you, maybe MLS doesn't want to sell players as part of its basic business plan.
The clubs they play for can't resell any of the players mentioned in the article. One of them doesn't even play in Allsvenskan.
OK, make it "move up the chain" - start in Sweden for $50K for 2 years, move onto Denmark or Norway for $150K after that; maybe then to Belgium or the Netherlands for $400-700K for a few years. Im MLS, you just move from the Metrostars to the Crew to the Galaxy then back to the MetroBulls while you keep making $62,500.
He said playing in a better league is no good if you are sitting on the bench. He was refering to the fact that the Jamaicans either get playing time in the clubs they go to or they move "to a more suitable club in the region". He was not talking about MLS and if you weren't as insecure about the leaguea s you are you would see that. I think this post was worth the inevitable negative rep.
Players who "move up the chain" go for far more than that and they don't go to Denmark (with the exception of FCK and Bröndby) or Norway. The players mentioned in the article will - if they're good enough - be transfered to one of the bigger clubs in Sweden, Norway or Denmark. When they've played there for a couple of years they might be able to transfer to a bigger european club. A recent example would be Afonso Alves. He transfered from a brazilian club to the lesser swedish club of Örgryte. He did well in Örgryte so Malmö FF picked him up for $1.5M. He played at Malmö for a couple of season, then Herenveen bought him for $6M.
I can't read the author's mind. But, starting with the second-to-last paragraph, what he writes is a comparison of MLS compensation to that in Scandanavia (which is the central theme of the whole freaking article which is why the author is allowed to post it in the US section of soccernet in the first place). He then goes on to quote the agent for the basic proposition that while there is no data to show Jamacian players will move up the latter, the fact that they get playing time is more important than playing in a better environment. The "suitable club" quote was not that of the agent. Is this open to ambiguity? I guess. But since the main topic is MLS versus Scandanavia, the major examples are players who were found by MLS to not be good enough but yet succeed in Scandnavia and the lead-in to the quotes reinforces that this is the issue, my assumption was that the author is being logical here and staying on point and not boring readers in the US section with an article that is relevant to Jamacians but not the US. But knowing this author, on reflection, I could be wrong. Well the fact that you transferred from disagreeing with my post to attacking my person would justify negative rep, I instead choose to respond similarly. I am not at all insecure about MLS -- this article is amusing to me because it appears to try to argue that this is some kind of problem for MLS, but most, if not all, of the examples are guys MLS didn't want. Only an American with self-loathing issues could think that this article's thesis is supported by its facts or logic. Finally, I have yet to see any examples of Caribean players making the jump to beter leagues from this Scandanavian springboard -- at least compared to the fact that MLS already sold Stern John to the Cocacola league, Damani Ralph to the Russian league and Peguero to FC Copenhage. Until Caribean players jump from Scandavia to better situations than these, it is just a hypothesis.
If you can't read the authors mind why assume he is trying to say MLS is no good when he said no such thing? Why try to assume what the article "appears to try to argue" if you can't read the guys mind? Seeems you just chose to reflexively take offense at something inocuous (like so many others here seem to make a career out of) since it so fashionable around here.
Peguero moved to Brøndby (Not FC København) and so far he is the only Haitian player ever to have played in the Danish league... and ther have been no Jamaican players or (as far as I know) no other Caribean players in the Danish league either. .
I've heard the "league too advanced for random Central American/Carribbean guys" sentiment expressed before--from Steve Nicol, in fact, at a Meet the Coach QA session. Of course, most Rev fans read that as an excuse for why recent imports to Gillette have been kinda lame, but... Meanwhile, this was in the NYTimes this morning.
I am not taking offense, I said the article was amusing -- because of what I see as its logical contradictions -- please note the difference. I can't read the author's mind, so I have to be satisfied with what the author actually wrote. I explained to you why I assumed that an ambiguous passage refered to MLS and I don't have anything more to add. Why do you disagree other than you saw it as an opportunity to rag on me?