This is a great post and absolutely correct. Combine this with that one that hammers home the fact that Crew et. al. would only have to pay what's on top of the $400K and anybody would be crazy to trade it. All it does is encourage each team to have at least one Christian Gomez (or twice as good, salary-wise). South America, here we come, with open arms and open checkbooks. Well, checkbooks slightly ajar.
i found this post intriguing. i'll tell you this though: nothing increases your franchise value more than winning and Cups and the crowds that go along with it (it didn't in SJ, i know, but it would in C-bus). C-bus will test the market, surely and look for a medium-level star to lure over here. But if they can't find someone that they're enamoured with, or someone they're convinced will be a huge difference maker ... I'm thinking you gotta trade it. B/c, if C-bus or KC can hit the jackpot and pull some sort of Herschel Walker deal, where they get like 3-4-5 quality players, that may be bigger than bringing some South American no-name in at an inflated rate. Bill, you're right, having a Beckham or Figo on your team is gonna increase the franchise worth. But having a Christian Gomez is not (speaking purely of name recognition). there are only a few guys that will really spike up your franchise worth, in the eyes of the American investor. If I were C-bus, I'd test the waters ... but if I couldn't get a big-time goal scorer or proven attacking mid, I would start doing my research and try to take advantage of some overzealous NY/LA team over the bartering table. again, the Dallas Cowboys set themselves up for 3 Super Bowl titles by trading Herschel Walker for 5 veteran players and 8 draft choices. if you've got a Red Bull that's chomping at the bit to get their 2nd international star in uniform, you could really shake 'em down if you're C-bus or KC ... and you're smart and do your research. BTW i'm going on the assumption that it would revert back. if you're trading that DP for ever and ever ... then that would be stupid. and under that scenario, you should never trade it away.
They can have 1 other player next year, in ADDITION to the players you mentioned. These players are grandfathered for one year, and are not counted till 2008.
I thought 1987 wouldn't have been too early for that joke. It's not often that you can pin point the exact breath in which a once proud franchise died. I wonder what he and Red are talking about in Hell right now...
That would make the teams better on the field, but would it really sell tickets (the real reason for the Beckahm rule)? While they might not sell as many tockets on the road as a Beckham or Ronaldo, using the exemption for an El Tri starter would help home ticket sales quite nicely in places like Kansas City or Columbus, and I think a Mexie star is more likely to want to go to Central Ohio (no offense Bill) than Luis Figo. On another point, am I the only one who thinks using this new rule on, say, DeMarcus Beasley would be the height of silliness? Guys like Reyna and Keller are bound to end up in MLS anyway, and playing for $200K/year is better than not getting paid at all once you can't get looked at by Barnsley or Racing Ferrol...
Yes... I agree... follow suit from the Mexi-league... and sign European league rejects... like Eusebio (who was even a ASL reject), Bora Milutinovic, Bernd Schuster, Emil Konstadinov, Ivan Zamarano, Bruno Marioni, Piojo, etc.
I wholeheartedly agree. Anyway you cut it the opportunity cost of giving up your "Beckham designation" are way higher than anything any one in MLS can offer you. However, we know that LA, Chivas, and Red Bull all definitely want a second a Beckham spot.
I don't know. I thought the same thing at first, but someone informed me that you can trade for cap space. If that's true, then a small market team like Columbus might have more success trading their DP spot for cap space and then signing two or three very good players from South America rather than some big European name. They wouldn't have to pay anything extra for those players since it would be coming out of the league's normal salary budget. Alternatively, they could trade for a combination of current MLS players and the cap space for them. What if they could get Amado Guevara and Josmer Altidore, plus the cap space so they wouldn't cost the Crew anything? Still a risky strategy, but isn't it more risky to sign one big-name player? If he gets injured, the spot is useless. At least with several players you spread the risk around. Not necessarily recommending this strategy, but I don't think it's that bad an option depending on what you could get.
So MLS has manged to pull in Etch, Donadoni, El Pibe, Nowak, Djorkaeff, etc without the "beckham rule", but an extra $400,000 of cap space won't enable MLS to pull in similar players???? Why not? Maybe all MLS teams won't have those "big names" but, at there should be at least two or three in the league. Smart clubs will use the Beckham rule to pull in some highly talented up and coming players, or even mid-career vets from the South American leagues. For example, Gomez was doing okay in Argentina, but he simply blew the roof off MLS. Using the additional cap space under the Beckham rule, I am sure almost any team could pull in a quality player, if not a better player than Gomez.
I think the best thing to do is just complain whenever MLS tries to move forward. Constantly compare it to NASL and whine about how the new rule <insert any new idea> is going to lead MLS to ruin. This new rule is an attempt by MLS to move from relatively nowhere on the US sports landscape to at least near the same page as the NHL. Here on bigsoccer, we follow the league and support it. Outside of our insulated home, soccer barely even registers. Don't believe me, go to a random person at the gym/grocery/local mall and ask the name of the closest MLS franchise. More often than not, you'll get a blank stare. This new rule is an attempt to bring some much needed 'juice' to MLS. And, oh yeah, go f*** yourself with the Len Bias reference.
Results 1 - 10 of about 53,400 for Len Bias cocaine. (0.24 seconds) Results 1 - 10 of about 2,040,000 for cocaine bad for you. (0.28 seconds) JUST saying.
I think bringing in talents like Cuevas, Cabanas, etc. will tap into the untapped resource of soccer fans that are turned off by the MLS. It is without a doubt that there are alot (and I mean alot) of soccer fans in this country that don't care for MLS, if we could just lure them in with these kinds of talents than ticket problems will fix themselves (over time of course). Besides as years pass, fan bases grow and fans pass tradition on to their kids so on and so on.
What I am saying is that players like Nowak, Moreno or Miklos Molnar are huge impact players that are able to be signed without this rule while playing like Donadoni (1 year), Mattheus (terrible), Luis Hernandez (mediocre) and Valderamma (good career) are the type players this rule is targetting. Most of the best imports have been the ROB, Nowak, or Moreno signings which were neither the massive name NOR the massive wages, but really defined their clubs for long periods of time. In essence, this rule is not going to improve the quality of play much if at all, but it will improve the marketing.
Re: MLS passes the 'FORMER MAN U PLAYER' Rule See how could I have been so blind... Yes David Beckham is David Beckham... and there are a handful of players who capture the same attention... like Zidanne, Ronaldo, Figo, etc. However, one team still remains most popular in American soccer fan's minds... Man U... and their EPL fellows... Right now there are several Man U treble players who are struggling to stay around in the EPL... and a few others who will be there soon... Affordable and Available to become MLS poster children (er... old farts) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Teddy Sherringham Ole Gunner Ashley Cole Affordable Soon to be available to be MLS poster children (er... geriatrics) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ryan Giggs Paul Scholes... those are players MLS could get without breaking the bank, and would still draw out the fans... probably more so than lothar and stoichkov were intended to... Keep in mind there are players like Shearer, Bergkamp, and Keane who just recently retired that might also be on the table... and Claudio Lopez might be the steal of the DBR... still a great striker... could easily be stolen from the mexi-league...
I have also long thought Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to be the perfect MLS marketable player.... For that matter Ruud Van Nistelrooij is getting up there in years as well... Man U and he have already had their falling out... and Ruud expressed the desire to go to Real (for $$$ and attention)... MLS could give that to him... the more you look the more the DBR actually seems like it would be a legitamate way to grab some talent to pick up attendance without bankrupting the league
What... you don't think that MLS could pry RVN from Real in a year or two? He will be 32 at the end of the DBR... Real have plenty of stars... why wouldn't they take the money and get a better younger striker? Why wuld Ruud want to waste away while the Galacticos fail to win any silverware... He could come to MLS and be a poaster child... he has already enjoyed doing so in the summer friendlies
Re: MLS passes the 'FORMER MAN U PLAYER' Rule the Giggs thing has been brought up before. I think we've come to the consensus that he has no real desire to live in the US. so it kind of starts and ends there. it's like selling a slurpee to a diabetic -- you may as well not even waste your time. but hypothetically he would be perfect for a New England or maybe DC Utd. speaks English, terrific pedigree, won several Championships, fairly personable. Giggs would be a great get for MLS. problem is, I don't think the guy has any sort of affinity for America or the American way of life. and he has more money than Donald Trump ... so no amount would convince him. you can forget about him coming to MLS.
Re: MLS passes the 'FORMER MAN U PLAYER' Rule In what sense? You don't think they could play, or you don't think they could get em? I could care less who could play, the DBR rule is about getting butts in the seats... to raise the perpetually declining attendance... Sheringham is with championship side West Ham... and his contract is up at the end of the season, I think he could be got The baby faced assasin is under contract till 2008, and can be got then Sure I messed up and called him Ashley Cole by mistake... but Andy Cole is with Portsmouth... and on a low contract for 500K pounds as far as the other few, Scholes production has been way down over recent seasons, and I think he could be picked up before 2009, Giggs' contract runs out in 2008 when he will be in his mid 30s and could be got... Hasselbaink is with charlton but with several transfers as of late, will that be the case in 2 years? He can still play, adn scores some spectacular goals which MLS would love to have... plus he is a personality... he is worth breaking the bank over... I would guarantee 35K people at Revs matches if they put down $3M to get him to replace dempsey/noonan...
as far as bergkamp goes he retired but would be worth putting on an MLS bench... and asked to show up whenever he wants... another one would be Pierre van Hooijdonk who just retired in october... he scores spectacular free kick goals, something any MLS team would love to have....
Re: MLS passes the 'FORMER MAN U PLAYER' Rule Well the giggs thing would be perfect for NE we are dying for a left flank, and have been for years... Khano Smith keeps trying to win the role but hasn't... Giggs doesn't have all the money in the world... sure he has plenty, but he is actively pursuing a few charities, one in particular to get a hospital built... I am sure a large chunk of change to help build the hospital would go a long way. Plus he is a Reebok guy... and they're headquarterd right up the street from foxboro... and perhaps they could put in a chunk of change for the guy too... (one thing to sell him on might be performing better than Beckham in MLS to show Beckham up...)