Tripp Mickle has led the way for an in-depth look atthe league. I have only read the main story on Garber, but it looks outstanding and every fan who thinks they can run the league better and "knows" how AEG "runs the league" needs to read this stuff. Most of the stories are for members only so I hope to get my hands on theme eventually.
Good read on Garber. A shame that "Madrid" is listed and not "Milan." A simple type-o (mis-statement) that should be corrected, or caught by an editor, or something. enjoyed this:
Definitely. I recommend people sign up for the free trial. You will get a few SBJ issues at home (which are always a good read if you like the business side of sports) but you get immediate online access. Lalas is a puppet in this as usual. The other Garber stories are interesting, including the timeline of one morning in the office with him. The biggest story, to me, wasn't part of the package, but focused on VW re-upping for four years. Their league sponsorship last year was a "kick the tires" one-year deal. So much for the Beckham thing chasing sponsors away.
They've got a bunch of stuff on Garber that's great. But they got the real scoop on Barcelona's interest in Philly. Is it just me or does it seem like something ain't right in Chester? Link
This is interesting: "During a salary cap debate at one of the first expanded board meetings in 2007, a faction of owners favored a modest increase in the cap to $2.3 million while another faction favored pushing it beyond $2.5 million per team. Garber built consensus around the $2.3 million cap." Imagine that an argument broke out among billionaires over $200K in annual salary cap. Incredible.
Beaten to the link but fascinated by Barcelona pulling the plug on Miami after visiting Philly. Whether related or not, is unsaid. The unsettling part is the financing still seems like a challenge, now I am waiting for people to blame Nick for the economy
Yeah, poor Nick gets blamed for everything but this is just a bad break. Hopefully people don't try and hang this one around his neck.
Great stuff. The Garber article needs to be stuffed down the throats of all the people who think Garber rolls over to Uncle Phil and AEG. I would of loved to of seen Leiweke screaming at Garber with him standing his ground. The Philly/Barca angle is intriguing. Perhaps this is why Philly has put off announcing their team name and uniform scheme?
I'd like to actually have an MLS team representing CONCACAF in the CWC before I'm 90 years old, if I even make it that long. You'd think they'd understand the value of the positive publicity that beating Mexican league teams in meaningful competition brings in the Hispanic media in the U.S. (a lot more than $2.3M), but evidently not.
I got a free trial subscription last year to get a few free issues. If they still have that deal, I'd recommend getting it just for that issue. Last year's MLS feature was stellar.
Yep, I signed up for the trial today. I wish it was cheaper though because I'm interested in more than just the MLS stuff, I mean, I'd be willing to pay around 100 or so, but 250 is just too much for somebody who's not in the industry.
If you don't read that in the context of the upcoming CBA negotiations, you're not seeing the whole picture.
Yes, we'll be hearing a lot of stuff from the owners/league and the players/union throughout the year and it will all need a lot of salt.
Only on a soccer message board. $200k x 14 teams = $2.8 Million extra in expenses for the league each year. If all of the teams were making profits, then sure, increasing the cap that little may help out the quality of play a bit. But when, according to Forbes, only 3 of the teams had a positive income in 2007, it makes perfect sense for the figures to be calculated that meticulously. And $200k probably means more to these billionaires than it would to you or I. If it didn't, and the owners just arbitrarily jacked up the cap whenever they felt like it, we wouldn't have a league to watch.
I do--and your point is valid as opposed to the others that have argued that the league's very survival is dependent upon having such a ridiculously low cap--but with the current economic climate, I can only see very slight, very incremental changes at best. The CBA negotiations couldn't come at a worse time as a fan or a player, because management has such a trump card with the economy.