Taking the Entire Season Serious?

Discussion in 'MLS: General' started by JoeW, Jan 28, 2008.

  1. JoeW

    JoeW New Member

    Apr 19, 2001
    Northern Virginia, USA
    As I was looking at Galarcep's article on what teams have done in terms of signings, looking at DCU's list of foreign talent (basically, over half of the starting lineup will be new), look at who is left, it got me thinking about whether or not any of this tells us something about how serious all MLS teams take the entire season.

    Okay, we've still got about 2 months before the season officially opens. But it looks like most MLS teams are major "works in progress." You can make a modest case for Houston doing nothing as they're defending champs and should be able to fill critical gaps in the next 2-3 months because those gaps involve reserve depth. And obviously there is nothing that says you can't add a player early in the season. Or half-way through preseason and try to integrate that player into the team.

    But the January transfer window is nearly closed and it doesn't look like there is a flood of DP's ready to join the league (though maybe 2-3 last minute announcements involving Gomez, someone in Columbus, and someone in San Jose) could change that.

    Does this lack of action to improve teams or fill holes say anything about some coaches or GMs believing that they can afford to be a "work in progress" through the beginning of the season? Or are GMs and coaches really that confident that they can assemble their team in the next 2 months (ie: manage camp, evaluate new players and draftees, but also scout enough to add some critical players--like in KC's case, strikers and defenders)? If it's the "work in progress" theme, than doesn't that seem to indicate that some people think that the early part of the season isn't so critical, or maybe that all they need to do is get hot at critical times?
     
  2. tab5g

    tab5g Member+

    May 17, 2002
    there is not a "January transer" window in MLS for incoming players.

    MLS teams have until Tuesday, April 15, 2008, when the Primary Registration Window closes.
    (in fact that Primary Registration Window hasn't even been open for 2 weeks, as of today.)

    "Roster and Salary Budget Compliance" Day isn't until Monday, March 3, 2008.

    http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20071218&content_id=133401&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp

    -------
    The following is the 2008 MLS Competition Calendar
    Schedule subject to change.

    Monday, December 10, 2007 -- Discovery (International and Domestic)/Allocation Period Begins
    Tuesday, January 1, 2008 -- Senior Developmental players can be signed
    Fri, Jan. 11 - Tue, Jan. 15, 2008 -- adidas MLS Combine, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
    Tuesday, January 15, 2008 -- Primary Registration Window Opens
    Friday, January 18, 2008 -- 2008 MLS SuperDraft, Baltimore, Md.
    Thursday, January 24, 2008 -- 2008 Supplemental Draft
    Saturday, January 26, 2008 -- Pre-Season Training Camps may begin
    Monday, March 3, 2008 -- Roster and Salary Budget Compliance
    Monday, March 3, 2008 -- Developmental players can be signed
    Tuesday, March 4, 2008 -- Waiver Draft via Conference Call
    Saturday, March 29, 2008 -- Regular Season Commences
    Tuesday, April 15, 2008 -- Primary Registration Window Closes
    Tuesday, July 15, 2008 -- Secondary Registration Window Opens
    Friday, August 15, 2008 -- Secondary Registration Window Closes
    Monday, September 15, 2008 -- Roster Freeze Date & Trade and Discovery Deadline
    ------------
     
  3. Autogolazo

    Autogolazo BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 19, 2000
    Bombay Beach, CA
    Teams (from ownership on down) that I honestly believe are doing everything they can to win, whether it works or not, whether they are competent at it or not:

    DC
    L.A.
    Chicago
    Houston (just need a forward, succeeding despite ownership questions)
    RSL (yes, I really think they are now)
    NYRB

    Teams that have decent ownership support but where someone in the player-selection pipeline (maybe a too-hands-on owner/GM/Director of Soccer Operations/coach) is inexplicably fiddling around while Rome burns at this late date:

    Toronto
    FCD
    Columbus
    KC
    SJ

    Teams who are rotting away from the head, like a fish, because of bad, uncommitted ownership. I think they'll be found out this year on the field in a major way:

    Revs (cheap in all facets)
    Colorado (Clavijo)
    Chivas USA (acquiring very questionable players in Esky and Atiba, not getting serious about foreign talent)
     
  4. Matrim55

    Matrim55 Member+

    Aug 14, 2000
    Berkeley
    Club:
    Connecticut
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ban all adverbs.
     
  5. tab5g

    tab5g Member+

    May 17, 2002
    i am serious in my agreement.
     
  6. Baysider

    Baysider Member+

    Jul 16, 2004
    Santa Monica
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    I don't think it's a matter of taking the season seriously as it is the ability of teams to add players.

    DC has embraced a strategy of managed roster turnover and recruiting from South America and so it's not surprising that they have generated the most action.

    Other teams are far behind in building up their scouting networks. It was just this season (post-Yallop) that LA began developing South American scouting networks.

    And then you have teams like NE who's strategy is to build internally and then hang on to your players until the death.
     
  7. crewfighter

    crewfighter New Member

    Feb 15, 2006
    Claddagh's Roof
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I agree with your assessment on Columbus. Signings like Iro and Pierre St. Louis are promising. Actually giving the draft a shot is promising. Zurawski info was promising (although it's looking less promising daily)

    But letting guys like Grabavoy and Gonzalez go for pennies is deeply disturbing to me.
     
  8. Rahbiefowlah

    Rahbiefowlah Member+

    Oct 22, 2001
    Las Vegas
    I think the San Jose Earthquakes are looking pretty good at this point.
     
  9. jade1mls

    jade1mls Member

    Jul 9, 2006
    Seattle
    I'd move Kansas City to the group trying to improve. They added Ivan Trujillo to replace Eddie Johnson before Johnson even got his work permit.
     
  10. guamster

    guamster Member+

    Mar 30, 2001
    Winnetka, CA
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Guam
    "Lolly, lolly, lolly, get your adverbs here...

    If it's an adverb, we have it at Lolly's! Bring along your old adjectives, too - like slow, soft, and sure. We'll fit 'em out with our L-Y attachment and make perfectly good adverbs out of them!"

    School House Rock still rocks. :)
     
  11. Revolt

    Revolt Member+

    Jun 16, 1999
    Davis, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I tend to agree with this assessment, though I would vote to move Toronto and Chivas up a notch.
     
  12. ritsoccer86

    ritsoccer86 Member

    Jul 18, 2005
    What has Toronto done to garner your vote for them to move up a notch? Just curious.
     
  13. Shopping Cart Man

    Sep 21, 2006
    Jacksonville, FL
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I never really liked that one. The bill on Capitol Hill is better.

    Autogolazo, I don't see why you're leaving Chivas LA in such a low position when they did so well last season. Did they lose anyone important over the break? As for the Revs, I think they won't get another chance at a trophy for a while if something doesn't change. I hope Albright stays healthy this year.
     
  14. Autogolazo

    Autogolazo BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 19, 2000
    Bombay Beach, CA
    Of the middle 5:

    --KC are the closest ones to making the leap. But Trujillo is just a 2nd division Colombian striker. And Marinelli is a shadow of Guille.

    I do think the Vermes-Onalfo combo is a good one.

    It may be the stadium situation, but Eddie Johnson should've been replaced by someone with a lot more pedigree, if indeed Trujillo is the only striker they pick up. And let's not forget that, for all his faults, Nick Garcia was an experienced centerback yet to be replaced.

    With KC, I think the (slight) hesitancy to spend comes from the owners.

    --I think the Hunts have been *pretty* good in FCD and Columbus recently. But somebody rammed Denilson down Morrow's throat (Morrow bailed them out by insisting on the option clause), and that person is still in a job, while the silence on who replaces Ruiz has been deafening. Goodson (my FCD MVP of last year) is gone and it's unknown if Davino can win headers (he couldn't in Copa Sudamericana). Maybe that's why they're gonna play him as a sweeper in a 3-5-2 and not a marking back. We'll see...

    As for Columbus, something big is going to have to make up for the loss of Gonzalez. And I don't mean big by 6-5 Andy Iro, I mean the Zurawski signing to address years of offensive ineptitude AND a (non-Vanney) veteran in the back is needed as well. Sigi is really hit and miss. Columbus could go either way and it's really up to the coach here.

    --Toronto is a combination of the no-DP thing (no excuse for this on ownership's part with those crowds) and Mo's relying on unaffordable UK connections, where you get half the player at twice the price.

    --SJ has done well to try to firm up the D, but a woeful list of attacking options won't get it done. The rumored Mendoza is hardly the answer.
     
  15. jason1551

    jason1551 Member+

    Apr 9, 2003
    Columbus, GA
    Club:
    DC United
    My Hero Zero rules them all.
     
  16. NebraskaAddick

    Aug 26, 2005
    Omaha, NE
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think Toronto is trying to please their fan base, but is this what the fans really demand? I would just want the best players they can get, wherever they came from.

    And I think clubs should build up a solid nucleus first, and then go out and get a DP to add the final touch. They shouldn't just get one for the sake of it. Last year's winners did okay without them.
     
  17. Autogolazo

    Autogolazo BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 19, 2000
    Bombay Beach, CA
    Believe, I'd love for them to do well, and Preki is a great coach, but they've made two lousy off-season acquisitions in Esky and Atiba and are rumored to be on the market for more "depth" at striker rather than quality.

    The backline is held together by scotch tape.

    Beyond this, they've hit a philosophical brick wall--Mexican players are too expensive and/or big Chivas wants the most talented ones. And Vergara seems to be allergic to mining South America for top talent, the way every non-Chivas Mexican league team does. So they have no identity anymore.

    To cap it off, if Guzan leaves, they have NOBODY in goal, and he saved their bacon more times than I could count last year.

    Preki did more with smoke and mirrors than anybody in the league and deserves full credit, but somebody above him is refusing to open the checkbook.
     
  18. Stan Collins

    Stan Collins Member+

    Feb 26, 1999
    Silver Spring, MD
    What's the word on the fee? I hadn't heard.
     
  19. Stan Collins

    Stan Collins Member+

    Feb 26, 1999
    Silver Spring, MD
    I honestly believe it's Johnston, as he was doing that in NY, too, with Canero, and that guy there was a flap about with the Crew.

    That said, he was supposedly in the hunt for Christian Gomez for a while (in a way that makes sense, he's a pretty un-Arentinian Argentine style wise).

    I also don't really believe TFC is ruling out a DP, they're just waiting for the time to be right in a "corporate strategy" sense (either to forestall fans losing patience with the team, or to raise the suites, club seats, and field levels to premium prices). Because let's face it, for almost all teams, the DP is going to have that corporate dimension. It's not all about winning more games.

    Take a look at the two United has gone after. Both Argentinian players with River/Boca connections and extensive Albiceleste experience. I think that's no accident--it looks to me like DCU is trying to build a profile in the South American market.

    That's true too.
     
  20. ItsCalledSoccer

    ItsCalledSoccer New Member

    Jan 23, 2007
    No, MLS clubs do not take the whole season seriously. The league provides them with no incentive to. MLS clubs can finish far below .500 and still become league champions, due to the large number of playoff spots awarded. That doesn't make competition unfair, it just reduces the importance of a given fixture to a team, unless playoff spots are hard to come by, there is no reason for teams to give the extra effort until the games become do or die. The Champions Leaue and SuperLiga help, though, providing a little extra incentive for a good season.
     
  21. TFCSteve

    TFCSteve Member

    Apr 16, 2007
    Toronto
    This I am not too sure about. Truthfully, the TFC fans have not been one voice on the DP issue. Some really want one, some (dare I say more?) beleive we need depth before we seek out a DP (I'm in this camp). I don't believe a DP necessarily is a make or break player for a team (look at the best teams last year), and at this stage, I think it would hurt us more than help us.

    The reason I disagree with you that it's about winning games is because right now, in order to keep the fans they have and grow the brand, winning games is exactly what they need to do. We have atmosphere, we have excitement, we have members of every racial group imaginable out there, now it's time to bring home some Ws.

    But I do agree that Toronto has not been active enough in this off season. I will withhold my final judgement until the season starts, but I'm getting rather nervous over here (aside from the Huckerby rumour, we've got nothin)
     
  22. DoctorD

    DoctorD Member+

    Sep 29, 2002
    MidAtlantic
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Damn. Too bad those 17 teams in the Premiership didn't take their first 5 games seriously! Then they would still be in the hunt for the Cup!


    But seriously, isn't there a lot of logic in seeing which players are still available come February 1st?
     
  23. Stan Collins

    Stan Collins Member+

    Feb 26, 1999
    Silver Spring, MD
    [​IMG]

    Tell that to these guys. Their 2006 season was over by the time they'd gone 0-5-1 after 6 games. They went 10-8-8 the rest of the way, a pretty solid record in parity-driven MLS, and it didn't matter. In 2007, they got off to a marginally better start, and the coach didn't last the season. I suspect their current coach might not, either, unless the team can do a little better this season.
     
  24. Stan Collins

    Stan Collins Member+

    Feb 26, 1999
    Silver Spring, MD
    To clarify, I kind of think that's true, but where the corporate strategy comes in with TFC is that I don't think they'll sign any DP unless they perceive fans starting to bail, (which won't happen at all if they can build a winning team) or unless they think they can get a guy who will bring thousands of people to his press conference a la Beckham and Blanco, and drive up the revenue from all sources (mainly not tickets, since they're mainly all sold already :)). Even in the former case, they're gonna go for a little sizzle to go with the stake. What I'm saying is they wouldn't make their signing an amplified version of Shalrie Joseph, even though that type of player could win serious games for them. It would have to be one of the glamor positions, and the player would have to bring some.

    The reason for that is the economic set-up for the rule. You pay a "tax" (30% of the gate) on proceeds from ticket sales, and in exchange get your roster for free. But for the DP, you still play 30% tax on whatever he brings in and you pay heavily out of pocket for the player. For most teams that math doesn't work unless he brings some kind of combination of winning and "direct appeal" (that is, makes people interested even before they know whether the team will win more).

    Not necessarily time to panic. Actually, it's not unusual at all for a team to make it's best moves after the season starts. I believe the incoming transfer window for MLS ends on April 15.
     

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