http://www.ussocceruk.com/news/?CatTypeId=2&ContentId=1542 As far as I know Reyes was cut from DC becasue they gave Convey a raise to max salary. Why give a raise to a player who is already under contract if you don't extend their deal? What does MLs get from this raise? The league loses a quality player just so they can give someone who might not be here in 18 months a rasie. We need to put the control over salaries and contracts in the hands of football people not men in pressed suits. *I amd not advocating spending more money on foreighn players* Lets see who will be the first idiot who bring up the NASL and says how we can't afford it.
1. You don't know. Convey doesn't make the max. Steve Goff has reported on that on the DC board. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2182851#post2182851 b. What is your definition of "football people?" Art Modell? Suits set the cap. Soccer people decide who fits in there. iii. Two teams have not rated Reyes at his salary of last year, but it's the league's fault? I loved watching Milton. I wish him all the luck in the world. But the league survived 2003 without him. I honestly don't get the worry that the league will suffer for his absence.
None of that money belongs to the people in the league office. Set the cap and let the Bradleys and Sarachan's make the decisions.
I just read that thread and the issue is still up in the air. I guess we won't know until the salaries are released at the end of the year. We need smart football people in chrage of the personel purse strings. They know how to create value for this league.
You know, with all the legitamate players who have been cut this season due to salary cap issues or the like, I think its high-time the league expand. If guys like Ezra Hendrickson, Milton Reyes, Chris Carrieri, Rodrigo Faria, Chad Deering, Richie Williams, Wolde Harris or whoever - veterans and established players within the league - can't get on a team. That's not a half-bad team right there.
Actually it is a pretty bad team. It's not like Chad Deering is making more money at the Austin Posse or where ever he is. He's out of MLS because he is simply not good enough anymore. Likewise for Ezra.
Actually, I think it's a sign that the quality of play is improving. From a quality standpoint, I don't think the league should expand because "established" players are getting cut. That would just thin out the talent of the league as a whole. If you're saying that the league should expand for that reason, you're saying that MLS is overcrowded with talent. I think it's safe to say that's not the case. Just look at ANY midfield in the league.
I think it's safe to say you're wrong. Look at the Metros - either Mark Lisi or Ricardo Clark has to sit for Bradley to play a 4-4-2. Or D.C. United - odds are good Dema Kovalenko, DC's MVP last year, won't be playing next week because he's not necessary. Or Los Angeles, where Ned Grabavoy, Memo Gonzalez, and Josh Gardner may see very little time this year because the midfield is ridiculously stacked. MLS doesn't need to expand because talent is overcrowded, it certainly helps the A-league to collect MLS's castoffs every spring, but there definitely wouldn't be a significant dropoff caused by adding a couple of teams.
SoftTackle is right, that's a bad team. The reason that most of these guys were cut - Ezra, Faria, Deering, Williams, Harris - is that they're simply not good enough to hold off younger guys. Yeah, part of the reason that Richie Williams is leaving is that he's expensive - but it's more because Ricardo Clark made him superfluous. Faria is leaving because three teams had several forwards who were significantly better than him. It's certainly not a tragedy that Wolde Harris or Chad Deering, or Ted Chronopoulos or Dante Washington or Roy Lassiter aren't still in the league - a few cuts may have been ill-advised, but these losses are more a product of the improving quality of the league (and particularly americans), rather than its stagnation or decline caused by the salary cap.
We need teams that have a higher number of quality players so that more and more players will be fighting for playing time week to weeek. This is the only way to replicate the high pressure environment other league use to help their talent get better. They should expand only if it makes sense for the league and the market the team will be in. While we are at it gwet rid of the dispersal draft. Fans need to know that players belong to them and not the league. Expansion teams should not be announced one year then start playing the next that is an excellent recipe for a bad launch. When the necessary grounwork is done and it is decided that a team will be in said market it should be a minimumof 2 years before the teams starts playing in MLS. Let them form a team to play in the A-League (if they already don't and build the talent from their). MLS teams who work hard developing players should not be hurt by expansion. We don't need teams watered down anymore than they already are.
This is always a subject that's up for debate, but I think players are better served by getting opportunities to play rather than by being used to push other players. If you have a certain number of roster spots open, you're going to see a certain number of players step up and take those spots - some may be worse than average (most likely), but it's also possible that players will emerge who otherwise would not have had the oppoortunity (e.g. Ante Razov, Jesse Marsch, CJ Brown, Zach Thornton with the Fire). I just don't have a whole lot of faith that the vaunted 'high pressure environment' is going to do a whole lot more for athletes who had to be hugely motivated just to get to this level, and who, unlike European soccer players, don't have the temptations that come with fortune and fame to lure them away from their careers.
Im doubting your going to get much watered down talent. Even in the scenario where they play in the "A" league for a year or two before actually playing in MLS.. Many of your players for an expansion team are going to come from 2 places. 1) From the "A" league so they already have that experience... and 2) Im not sure if they are going to do this, but every other sport that expands has done it, is they take players from already established teams so your current benched players actually get a chance to play. In case we were not aware, but MLS isnt exactly the premier league in the world and actually its not even in the top 50 leagues in the world at the moment according to the monthly rankings at http://www.iffhs.de/ And on a Convey note... Convey should be getting max salary. From the 10 or so games I have watched this year (including all 3 of DC United's games) I personally think Bobby has been the person to stand out in my mind the most. He doesnt even have a single point, but his play has been outstanding. Extremely aggressive, very smart, and tireless. basically... as a complete player this year, he has been the best all around player. Reminds me a bit of El Diablo except a bit faster and more aggressive. That is just my opinion on the subject though.
Why throw money at a player who might not be here in a year? Convey is a well marketted player but is not worth max salary.
Don't throw money at a player who we all know will most likely not even be here in 8 months, much less 18 months. That "National League Ranking" is about as useless as the FIFA team rankings. Many of the MLS clubs could compete with, and beat, many of the clubs listed in the leagues "ahead" of them. Anyway, that's arguing apples and oranges because they will never meet in a tournament that means anything. MLS has to expand. Not for the quality of play's sake either. They need from a business standpoint to spread their product throughout the country. The stadiums will lure other investors, and then we'll see teams sprouting up in the other markets. Progress is being made. The quality of play will suffer if we increase to twenty teams over the next 8 to 12 years like the league wants, but such are growing pains that we must endure to become one of the "top 50". More like top twenty. Who knows... maybe even ten, I'll be dead by then though. ha ha ha
Good post. But if we have 20 teams in 2012 I don't think the quality of play will suffer. We will have about 14 team in the next 5 years and they will all have stadiums. After that NO TEAM will be allowed to join the league without a stadium FIRST. I feel we will be stuck on 14 teams for quite a while (which is a good thing). Afetr we reach this threshold of 14 we will see a long period of time before more teams area added and this time frame will allow us build more talent.
There are many players who "might" not be here in 12 months or 8 months, 10 months what have you, but does that mean the player is not worth the money because they might or probolly will be gone by next season? He has been here since he was 16, he wont be 21 until next month. The quality of play he brings and the time he has spent here should be worth something more than he probolly will be leaving so screw him. I do also agree the IFF rankings are off. It really depends on what time of year your looking at them. Euro teams are already at the end of there season, and MLS just started 3 weeks ago. They have many more points at this time, but after the Euro season ends and MLS is near the end of there season the league / Teams will climb on those rankings. Another issue that hurts those rankings is the fact that our teams are a bit more balanced so they tend to lose more to one another, unlike many euro teams, IE Arsenal who has not lost a single league game yet. 24-9-0 is a pretty impressive number in any league, nevermind the EPL #179 for the Fire, has any MLS team been lower than this? I know last year Columbus and the Galaxy were around the #230's. Expanding the league to 20 teams by 2012 would not hurt the quality of play. Even if it diminished a bit, it would be better overall for the league with marketability and just making a point that the league is growing and becoming a profitable league, bringing in investors, bringing in more money that could be used to possibly buy some talent in small market overseas leagues.
Why spend more money on players who are under contract. If he wanted to stay here and was signing an extension then fine. But nowhere else in the world do players get raises when the teams gets no added benefit. It amazing. When people say it a tragedy what Carlos Ruiz is payed tons of people chime in saying "No one forced him to sign that contract." but when people talk about giving Convey max salary "Oh he deserves it." Nonesense. People can't have it both way. I would much rather that money go to paying higher salaries to American players so that we can attract a more of our countries elite athletes to the sport.
People, People! Hold everything. I think this whole discussion about Convey's raise is all based on a false supposition. I don't have time to go back to do the research, but this has all been gone over a couple months ago on the United boards. I believe it was finally established that Convey's "raise" was not a new contract, but a built-in raise from his existing contract.