Holy cow I don't think there is any way to explain this more simply. Group A is hardcore soccer fans who believe they are the most soccer knowledgeable people on planet earth and only really care about signing young talent that can make an impact on the field and can be sold for a profit. There are a number of people in that group, but hardly enough to sustain an entire league. You are in Group A. Group B consists of casual fans who enjoy soccer and want to see big name players. The don't give a shit about showing up when Diego Valeri comes to town. But when Kaka makes a visit to their home town team, they buy tickets for the whole family. There are probably 10 of these fans for every Falvo. That's simply reality. So in order for the league to continue to grow, it needs to appeal to both groups. It doesn't want to lost the hardcore soccer people in Group A, so the overwhelming majority of signings are guys that are in their 20's that are affordable, but can make a positive impact on the field. However it is absolutely NECESSARY to sign big name star players. And the risk of a Pirlo is worth the reward of a Villa, because the overwhelming majority of fans care more about David Villa than they do about Miguel Almiron. And if you actually want to get to the point where MLS can compete with European clubs to sign the Alexis Sanchez's of the world before they are past their prime, you need to get comfortable with the concept of a necessary evil. Because there are far more fans in Group B than there are Falvo's in this country.
The player who was picked for Northern Ireland in the 1982 World Cup over Best was David McCreery. He was a midfielder for the Tulsa Roughnecks and he couldn't even score one goal or register an assist on that team and he was picked over Best. I don't think he scored more than 5/6 goals his entire career. the manager Billy Bingham really screwed up on that pick. I'm not sure if the grudge went back to their earlier player-coach relationship days or what but George was definitely at the top of his game at that point and could have contributed in that WC. It was a shame that Best never got to play in the tournament.
You left out group C: Adidas Heineken Coca -Cola Etihad Airways At&T Continental Audi Tag Heuer EA Sports Etc. They, yes they, foot the bill for the Kaka's and lampards. Forget ticket sales in this equation.
Not to sidetrack this on the NASL, but it was a totally different era, and the mentality of owners and fans was completely different. For one thing, there was no such thing as a "Euro-snob." If you were interested in a club overseas you could get week-old newspapers to learn their results or run up a huge phone bill talking to family and friends over there to find out the latest. There was no cable TV, and the only soccer on TV on a regular basis was "Soccer Made in Germany," the PBS program that anyone of a certain age will remember. It was basically a Bundesliga highlights show with one fearured game (usually involving Bayern or M'gladbach, IIRC). Many of the NASL players were a literal list of "Who's Who" of world stars from the 60s and 70s. If you look at a list of the top players of that era, probably half of them played in the NASL. Some were long in the tooth, past their prime and in it only for the adventure and the paycheck. But there were definitely others who were nothing close to that and were every bit the stars that their pedigree woudl suggest. Whatever the mistakes of the NASL were, it paved the way for MLS. MLS brass were consciously not going to make the same mistakes as the NASL, but they also realized they needed some star power. Even in the early MLS years they had some pretty good stars, like a guy who was still good enough to play for one of the better teams in the world in Euro 96, and the captain of one of the better South American teams. MLS has taken the right approach of developing younger players (future stars) while still bringing in a handful of big-name stars. And the thing is, that level of balance is working!
There is no bigger fan of the old NASL than me. Yes, that league was a very strong league and it was terrible that the league folded when it did. The game has changed and so have the rules but there was no denying that league for that time, had the greatest players in the world. Most of them, other than Pele were all under 35 and in their mid to late 20's and early 30's when they signed. Other than maybe New England Tea Men GK Kevin Keelan and Minnesota Kicks Swedish defender Björn Nordqvist, I can't name any players who came into the league before their 34th BD. MLS is doing the right things and their business plan is much better.
There's also another scene where they are carrying on about George Best and watching internet clips to which Renton laments, "Thinness! People weren't fat back then."
I'm of a certain age, and I say, "Amen." If you look at the list of the original 40 "allocated players", there were very few stars. Even some of the players that people have ret-conned into being "stars" (Marco Etcheverry, Mauricio Cienguegos, Preki) weren't at the time. Carlos Valderrama Jorge Campos Hugo Sanchez Roberto Donadoni That was basically the "star power". There were secondary players like, possibly, a Leonel Alvarrez, or in the mid-season a player like Mo Johnston, but only the hardcore really knew who any of the other non-WC94 USMNT players were. The internet hadn't really gotten going, dial-up BBS message boards and USENET groups didn't have wide appeal. Soccer America and the other soccer magazines were never SI or Newsweek big. And pre-Beckham, the league did find creative ways to sign players looking to move the needle. Carlos Hermosillo, Luis Hernandez, even Walter Zenga. But if you look at the original allocations and other signings the league has made, there has always been a bigger focus on young players like Jaime Moreno.
A young Peter Beardsley played for Vancouver long before he became a star at Liverpool. I don't know how old Trevor Francis was when he signed with the Detroit Express. The other thing is, a lot of those guys stayed after their playing days ended, and many of them became coaches, and that helped develop the next generation of players.
LOL......just checkd to see what was driving this thread. LIke I said earlier....all in all it's just another falvo in the wall.