Tuesday 19 Feb 2019

This saga has become ridiculous. No point in a buyout clause if it is meaningless. If an MLS team had done something like this, the MLS haters would be out in full force, ripping the league with fervor.

 

So Cordeiro is saying we can go from 2 Gold Cups a cycle to having NONE? Or is that only if we have an agreement to play a combined tournament with Conmebol? I hate the 2 Gold Cups per cycle, but it really does seem like we should be having something for the confederation. If it is going to be a permanent tournament with Conmebol, it would seem that there should be something else for the teams that don't qualify in Concacaf. What that would look like, I don't know. But suffice it to say, I don't want the US in 2 championships per cycle, even with Conmebol. There are simply too many of these tournaments as it is.

 

The Confederations Cup story is hardly news of course. They literally can't do it in 2021 without ripping up World football for two years instead of one so that Qatar gets their money's worth for all those bribes they gave to guys who are now out of FIFA forever. Or dead. Or, obviously, both. And of course there's Jack "You'll never extradite me, bitches" Warner, who claims he's thinking about getting back into soccer, but that's another story.

But it never served the purpose it was advertised as - a World Cup dry run; ridiculous - and mostly this is an excuse to pull the plug forever. Good riddance.

The Gold Cup is a whole nother thing, to use a really annoying idiom. I read that article closely and, between Cordeiro's inability to form a cogent sentence and Victor Montagliani's weak, waffling, moronic lack of direction, leadership or common sense, it seems to say - well, nothing.

Fact is, I can't see the Caribbean faction - which, although they've had their horns trimmed a bit by the US and Mexico, who threatened to stop the money flow, but that said they still have 35 votes to everybody else's ten - being willing to give it up. They get darn few tournament game opportunities as it is, and of course there's the money.

Sure the US and Mexico are ambivalent but it's not their call. I doubt if the GC is going anywhere.

 

Seeing as this is their 11th year in the league and all.............better late then never? I mean, Philly is celebrating 10 years in MLS THIS season, their 10th in the league............

Not surprising. I could see CONCACAF go down to having the Gold Cup every 4 years instead of every two. Now with that CONCACAF Nation$ League thingy..................no need to have the Gold Cup every two years.

Good riddance to the Confed Cup. FIFA has been talking about scrapping it since the 2014 WC.

 

Nani is a strange signing. If you are going to sign a 32 year-old it really needs to be a big name like Rooney, Kaka or Villa. I can't see Nani selling many season tickets.

 

U.S. Soccer, Net assets
2018: $162,738,719
2017: $148,995,745
2016: $98,004,402
2015: $83,082,764
2014: $73,619,126
2013: $64,094,906

Revenues, Sponsorship & Royalties (SUM Payments)
2018: $51,985,903 ($27,249,999)
2017: $48,887,978 ($26,500,000)
2016: $49,698,623 ($25,249,998)
2015: $39,788,018 ($18,305,172)
2014: $31,883,705 ($15,433,754)
2013: $25,439,368 ($11,101,067)

Revenues, Nat'l Team/Int' Games/Open Cup
2018: $31,483,992
2017: $33,122,459
2016: $61,133,320
2015: $43,133,566
2014: $31,111,513
2013: $27,850,210

Link.

 

I really don't get everyone completely writing off this move. It's Nani, he's frigging good. Yes, he's 32, but he certainly seems to have something left in the tank and he should fit in extremely well with Dwyer and Kljestan in OC. Dwyer in particular should really benefit from the type of service he can provide. This is a team that only scored 43 goals last year after all.

I hope this move wasn't about selling tickets because I think the league has moved beyond coming out just to see the name on the back of someone's jersey. I think most fans are now concerned with the quality of the product on the field and winning. Orlando City certainly should be. They were still sixth in the league in attendance last year (without a big international star). However, you started to see some cracks in their support as they crashed and burned down the stretch. They need to win or risk losing the excitement down there. I think Nani can help them win. For sure.

I still really question that defense, their goalkeeping and whether or not O'Connor and that coaching staff are up to the task, but for $2 mln a year this a pretty good move IMO.

 

A couple relevant reads today with news of the Aaron Long signing:

Long's path from to USMNT shows potential of USL-MLS partnerships: https://t.co/T2RCqbZjJY

MLS second (and third) contracts need to start adequately rewarding strong domestic talent: https://t.co/0J1bY0tpwJ pic.twitter.com/v0Ftt5puk7

— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) February 18, 2019

If any of you have The Athletic subs, these are both really good reads. The second article in particular really hits on a lot of key points that are sure to be big points of contention in the next CBA. It speaks to the league's resistance to rewarding young players who are outperforming their rookie contracts with new ones that approach global value. Also talks about the fact that contracts don't include buyout clauses or transfer fee shares and that it often takes two, even three contracts for a player to hit free agency (which isn't even really free).

Here is the final thrust of the article:

"As young players continue to weigh European and Liga MX options, MLS must begin to understand the realities of its position in the global soccer market. There is now more competition to sign the best young players in the U.S.

“The level of these guys is good enough now that there are places for them to go,” Megaloudis said. “That’s kind of what the doubt was: Are they good enough? But that doubt has to go away.”

With more top young players opting to enter that global market, the pressure mounts on MLS and its teams to better reward players who significantly outperform their first contracts—especially rookie and homegrown players. MLS has to show it’s willing to reward players at a rate that more closely approaches the global soccer market.

Otherwise, it may lose out on a chance to maximize the growth it has fostered for two decades."

 

I can't disagree with that. Frankly, I'm not as gloomy as Tenorio, but I definitely see the issues. I also see some positives like Zimmerman, Opara, Long and Parker all being signed to TAM contracts recently. That said, I do think some adjustments should come with the next CBA that won't necessarily explode the budget, but will help both teams and players as the values go up.

That said, we don't have to keep every good player we develop or sign to keep improving as a league. He talks about Gressel's next contract, but if Atlanta can get $5 mln plus for him, is that a better deal for them? I don't know. I do know that this is going to be a very important CBA for both sides.

 

In my opinion, Nagbe is the single most overrated player in MLS. He's great at dribbling the ball 60 yards away from goal. The final product has always left a hell of a lot to be desired. He's somehow managed to capture the attention of US Soccer fans based off of one wonder goal he hit several years ago. He's had 9 goals and 18 assists in the last 4 seasons combined. That's terrible production from an attacking midfielder.

 

Nagbe is a very valuable player if you don't have anyone who is good at moving the ball from the back third to the front third, and you ask him to do that for you. He's really freakin' good at it. And if he's tasked with that, you can patch around him guys who aren't good at that and still get the job done.

Maybe the purpose of the signing is to win more games.

 

With all due respect to Tenorio, MLS does not need to "begin to understand" what's going on here. They most certainly do understand it, maybe even as well as Paul Tenorio.

The doubt came (comes) mostly from Europe. They're the clubswho have been underestimating US talent for decades, seeing them as cheap practice dummies and rating solely as athletes rather than soccer players.

Somehow, Tenorio doesn't get around to lecturing the European clubs on how they "need to begin to understand" anything though.Why, I wonder.

When they feel they can, and it's worth it, they already do. They aren't letting kids go overseas because they're too stupid to pay them what they're worth. Rather, they're letting players go overseas because they can't justify the money.

MLS has shown substantial year-on-year growth and is likely to continue to do so, but is still a league that does not, by and large, turn a profit from on-field operations.

There's a limit to how much sense it makes for any business to throw money away.

 

My sense is that a partnership with CONMEBOL to expand the Copa America on a permanent basis is inevitable. (Or maybe just wishful thinking on my part). But the success of the Centenario was staggering and simply can't be ignored. That tournament truly rivaled the European Championship. And UEFA has established the prototype for replacing the Gold Cup with the Nation's League thingy....

 

CONCACAF Gold Cup discontinued-- bad idea; Getting rid of FIFA Confederations Cup and replacing it instead with intercontinental playoffs to determine spots in an expanded World Cup--excellent idea.

 

So if Atlanta/LAG/Seattle want to increase the spending cap, should they continue to swallow up all the National TV exposure? Those clubs and a few others have seen increased valuation because they are on the national stage. The league has chosen it’s darlings and I believe it effects the spending capability. More valuation across the board and maybe the owners will invest a bit more in the roster.
The NFL does not sabbotage it’s own franchises. How’s that working out for them?

 

There is also the not-so-small matter of work permits. I don't care how good an American player might be. If he can't get a work permit somewhere, or clubs are not willing to use a "Foreign Player" spot his market value is diminished. Whether Tenorio believes it or not, MLS is mostly paying guys their true market value...

 

It's their 11th season, but it's also their 10th year. Kind of like how someone that is born on January 1, 2009 is 10 all of 2019, but 2019 is actually their 11th cycle around the sun.

 

Cracks? However you mean to use that word, it's an understatement.

Tickets might have been sold, but the stadium looked very empty by 2nd half of the season right? And some of their support are full on a-holes - judging the Meram's experience.

I'd say it seems like they have the sort of passionate fan base that's a blessing and a curse - except how much have they suffered really? How many seasons have they been around? Winning USL, getting an MLS team, getting Kaka, a really cool new downtown stadium... Even last season: if my club went after quality players like Orlando did for 2018, I'd be pretty stoked.

I remember some Philly Union players talking about Philadelphia sports fans, and those players said they'd rather play away. Holistically speaking, that can't be good. I'm all for fans being skeptical and vocal about what they like and don't like about their clubs. But MLS is gonna be a tough sell if your fan base is spoiled and inclined to vicious negativity.

 

I had the same issue with other Dynamo fans in 2015. It was our 10th season but most people were stuck on 2016 being the 10th anniversary of the start of the team. The team eventually did some 10th Season stuff later in 2015 and I think most people got it. Maybe.

 

That’s only Britain...and he appeals process in Scotland is really easy.

The rest of europe does not use work permits in the way you’re describing, as a limit. Some use a minimum salary, some use an MLS like squad limit, and some limit how many foreigners can come in per year.

Only Britain uses WPs.