If you want to feel down just remember the fact that this story has generated more mainstream coverage than the entire MLS postseason combined. Have a great day.
Don't be a douchebag. No one is saying for the owners to decide next year to raise the salary cap by 200%. What we are saying is that Pele's opinion on raising player costs is not unreasonable or out-of-line whatsoever. Check out the subs bench of higher salaried Mexican clubs when we play them in the CONCACAF champions cup versus ours. The difference is blatantly noticeable. Now of course we can't raise the salary to the level of baseball players, but I think we got Pele's overall point. I won't....and I'll make sure to bring up examples such as Adin Brown and Charlie Davies. You know...players who hightailed it to scandanavian leagues with an equal quality of play but much higher salaries? You're such an idiot.
yeah that's right! I live it in daily. In fact, I don't watch MLS games because of the poor quality, I watch other La Liga, EPL, Ere and French (sorry no rigged Serie A) - it could just be a coincidence that the players are paid more - but who am I to say it's cause and effect. In fact I'm trying to get Arsenal to build a youth system in the US to poach any decent talent directly. Have fun with your league!
Shut up, Pele By Martin Rogers Friday, Nov 9, 2007 2:19 am EST Sorry to sound off on perhaps the greatest player ever to cross the white line, but I am sick and tired of Pele's ridiculous rants on his travels around the globe. If he is not predicting multiple winners of every World Cup -- dependent entirely, of course, on the nationality of the journalist he is speaking to -- he is spewing out various pointless sound bites on any soccer-related topic. The latest gem is his assertion that Major League Soccer misled fans in the United States by claiming David Beckham was a goal-scorer extraordinaire. Unfortunately, Pele seems to be the only one who remembers either MLS or the Los Angeles Galaxy making that outlandish assertion. http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/blog/so...lt=AhjTV4osXK7XO_AgHLUvWUYmw7YF?urn=sow,53062 SHEFFIELD, England (AP) -- Pele believes American fans were misled about what David Beckham could bring to Major League Soccer. Amid great fanfare, the former England captain signed a five-year, $32.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy and was unveiled in July. But his greatest impact this season has been on ticket sales and merchandise, not on the field. "They announced him as a scorer of goals," Pele told The Associated Press. "He isn't a goal scorer. That was a mistake." http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_y...smw7YF?slug=ap-pele-beckham&prov=ap&type=lgns
Re: Shut up, Pele I just read this article, and I was thinking the EXACT same thing!! When I signed on to the message boards, I spit out my coffee when I saw your thread title ^_^
Re: Shut up, Pele How about............ please Pele would you mind keeping it down. That would be a more civil way to go MLSFan. Lets start to develop some manners around here.
Re: Shut up, Pele "waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa someone doesn't think MLS is perfect waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" I have never met a more insecure group of fans in the world, than MLS fans (and I live in Red Sox Nation). Seriously, do people need to ********ing cry anytime someone criticizes MLS?
Well, no one except for Pele, who pretty clearly expressed the opinion that their should be no salary cap and salaries should be more in line with other US sports leagues. So, yeah, he deserves to be mocked because doing so would kill off MLS, just as it had the NASL before it. Lest we all forget -- the Cosmos actually lost money when they were playing (and paying) their team of expensive world players. It was a bad business model.
Re: Shut up, Pele "Beckham wants to be the star and that's his big problem," Pele said, referring to Beckham's injuries. "It is not easy to play in American soccer, because it is very tough." "Pele believes MLS players' salaries need to be raised to the level of American football or baseball players. He also wants restrictions lifted on player movements, which are designed to stop wealthy teams from amassing the best players." HERE'S A THOUGHT: Since Pele clearly has his finger on the pulse of American soccer, maybe he and some other enlightened businessmen (Giorgio Chinaglia, anyone?) can start a league that pays players the same as "American football or baseball players." Let's call it the North American Cosmos League... /sarcasm.
"Beckham wants to be the star and that's his big problem," Pele said, referring to Beckham's injuries. "It is not easy to play in American soccer, because it is very tough." "Pele believes MLS players' salaries need to be raised to the level of American football or baseball players. He also wants restrictions lifted on player movements, which are designed to stop wealthy teams from amassing the best players." HERE'S A THOUGHT: Since Pele clearly has his finger on the pulse of American soccer, maybe he and some other enlightened businessmen (Giorgio Chinaglia, anyone?) can start a league that pays players the same as "American football or baseball players." Let's call it the North American Cosmos League... /sarcasm.
Granted they were both great players,but i think Pele and Chinaglia could easily be considered two of the dumbest people on the planet.
Re: Shut up, Pele I think he is a big part of the reason on why have soccer in the nation however, I guess even a King once in a while talks too much.
MLS has purportedly lost $350 million since it began operations in 1996 and RBNY alone lost $14 million in 2007 -- that with a vastly inferior team to any the Cosmos put on the field. The LA Times ran a story on November 7th -- sorry, no link since I am reading the hard copy on page D9 -- that Chivas USA might loose several players next year, including Pancho Mendoza and potentailly even Claudio Suarez. Mendoza looks to return to parent Chivas while Suarez has offers from a couple other MFL clubs if Chivas USA won't pay him at least what he was making this year. Chivas USA would like to bring in Ramon Morales from Chivas to add a big name, but Preki noted with a hint of frustration that given the salary required it would be difficult, adding the difference in salaries "between Mexico and [MLS] is not a narrow gap, it's a huge gap." Pele might have a point.
You know I always read about how much the league lost since 1996 but no one ever really mentions how much they've made. I can't believe they would still continue to play if their losses were greater than their gains. They have got to be earning or making something of a profit whether it be in tax write offs, advertising, sponsors for AEG or whatever. There is no way a league can sustain continuous loses and still remain operating. What about Soccer United Marketing which was drummed up supposedly by the Don and the MLS to offset the losses? What about the money coming in from the SSS that were built? Why doesn't anyone ever talk about this? The players aren't making all that much and this is the first year many DP's international players have been signed so somebody is making something.
More specifically, no one talks about what the profit/loss has been since 2002. A lot of that $350 million lost has occurred in the first few seasons. MLS is in a lot better shape now than it was when it contracted, five years ago. So, to keep mentioning $350 million as if to imply the league will lose $350 million more in the next twelve seasons is a red herring. Plus I doubt that's what Pele had in mind when he talks about MLS, so triplet1 is taking us all down the wrong path.
Since the money grubbing corpse played in this country 30 years ago, obviously what he says should carry weight...not. Would everyone please stop writing Pele checks. We'll dust his carcass off every 4 years or so for a World Cup draw and then back to being irrelevant he goes until the next draw.
Probably true. Pele seems to advocate spending huge amounts of money, which isn't possible, but it will be very difficult to grow MLS TV ratings significantly with a $2.2 million cap and a handful of designated players IMO.
NFL owners always say they lose money but then there aren't ever any teams for sale and when teams expand there is a long line coming out of the woodwork. I think many owners would love to make everyone think they are losing money and what have you but in actuality someone somewhere is reaping the rewards.Tim Lewieke has said they've already made a fast easy return on the Beckham signing before he even kicked the ball. Therefore, I doubt they are losing that much. I just don't find all that "MLS loses money" talk to be as true as they like to boast. I read a little fine print four years ago that in fact when Home Depot opened , the Galaxy was actually making a profit. That was in 2003 and now we are in 2007. What's happened ever since?