As reported this morning on Soccer365.com MLS in a break with tradition has allowed your club to make the final decision on a personel choice. This may be the begining of the end of SEM.
As stated in the Post, this is an evolution of the league's policy to give teams more freedom in choosing who they sign within the framework of SEM. And it's really nothing new - this is just the most publicized. I would say the Rapids' acquisition of the no-kneed Nigerian (Amokochi?) is another example. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23780-2002Jul30.html Under its single-entity business structure, MLS owns and primarily negotiates all player contracts, and in the past the league has been criticized for playing a heavy-handed role in deciding whether a player identified by a specific MLS team would be acquired. But MLS is beginning to give more autonomy to teams, and it apparently will not interfere in the Gascoigne situation, despite concerns from league officials about the player's history of misconduct on and off the field. Hudson's statement that it is United's decision "sounds consistent with the teams' collective wishes for holding responsibility and accountability for their competition-related and player personnel decisions," MLS spokesman Trey Fitz-Gerald said. "It's part of our evolution as a league."
The only difference I see here is if this involves letting DC obtain Gascoigne without needing a Discovery pick. Otherwise, as Monster points out, MLS has let coaches sign the players they want for a while now.
I would say that this could be the beginningo f the end of DC United, but we seemd to have reached the end after the 1999 season already.