We all know MLS in nowhere near Relegation possibilities. Relegation just isnt an American thing. But couldnt MLS improvise and include the Top 2 A League teams every year? MLS teams would never drop, but each year A Leagues teams would fight for 2 invitation spots in "next years" MLS. I think that would ad interest to the league and soccer in general without hurting MLS at all. PS: Save the snide remarks. Only respond if you have something intelligent to say.
INteresting, although I would wonder how "staying up" would work. If the teams left the A league, they wouldn't be able to compete for promotion. Does that mean they'd automatically head back down the next year? or would only A league teams that finished in the bottom two get sent down? I think it's kind of an interesting notion, in that it'd get us Pro/Rel, but wouldn't risk the assets of the investors who bought into MLS with relegation, but potentially sweeten the pot for the A league owners if they get a slice of the MLS pie some years. I don't think he'll need an asbestos suit since it's a novel idea, and those are too rare to be killed outright. G.
IF the A-league owner has the money (about $10 mil) they can get into MLS easily. However, they probably need another 50 mil to keep the team afloat. MLS owners is not going to drop their 10% (for each team) when an additional team join in for free they will be down to 100%/11 teams = x %. It's like the stock market, I am sure, Microsoft is not going to give away 10% of its stock for free. but on the other if you have money to buy in, you can join.
So every year you'd take the top two A League teams and have them abandon their present rivalries, expand their payrolls to MLS cap levels, expand their stadiums to MLS size, and incur the expenses of fielding an MLS team--for one year? Is this retarded or what? How can you expect someone to post something intelligent in reply if your original post has the IQ of a speed bump?
Why it could not work: 1) MLS team owners would be pissed that they had to spend tens of millions to own a first division franchise when an A-League owner had to spend far less. 2) The A-League team might be in a poor TV market, so you have all the costs of travel to and from that city without it adding much to MLS has a whole. 3) The A-League owner would have to build or rent a decent stadium. Many teams play in small stadiums and ones with poor sight lines (such as baseball stadiums) and/or ones not designed for TV cameras. 4) The A-League team would be faced with new payroll requirements that it might not be able to fund. 5) The A-Leage player contracts would have to all be redone, as MLS players sign with the league, not with teams. 6) The A-League team's advertising would have to be restrucutred. Ads on uniforms are signed through the league, not the team. It is possible an A-league's team ads conflict with current MLS league ads (for example, Coke advertises with a number of teams, such as Pittsburgh, while Pepsi sponsors the MLS). There are probably lots more as well.
Let's say MLS expands to 14 teams by 2008 and goes single table. Give MLS a season championship, but make the MLS Cup a home and away tournament featuring the 14 MLS teams and the top 2 A league sides. Seed the teams based on regular season standings with the A league teams seeded 15th and 16th. Not saying I would do this, but it would be interesting.
Oh the irony. What is with it with all the "quick fixes". You want intelligent discussion? You can't handle intelligent discussion. Do you really want to talk about franchise fees, player contract conversions, USSF/FIFA regulations, stadium issues, the economic wherewithal of team owners? Do you really want to get into discussions about MSAs? How about CBAs? Broadside wishes and hopes are not intelligent discussion. A mile wide and an inch deep is not intelligent. If you really, really, really thought before posting, you'd have brought more to the table than "please don't flame me."
Ummm, how about we have a big tournament where all the clubs in the US--MLS, A League, professional and amateur--where they can all play each other? And why don't we call it something like the US Open Cup? Stop me if you've heard this one before...
Since we already have that and an MLS field of 14 would pair up well with either 2 teams having a pass through the first round or getting in teams from outside it would make sense. MLS putting on an invitational cup is a lot different from the USSF putting on an Open Cup though wouldn't you say? Er I guess you would just have to have a negative response about the original poster's comment rather than thinking of a way it could possibly work. Obviously it wouldn't work in joining of the league fashion...
No flaming (though Mr. Mead is spot-on, thank you for that Reality Break), just saying: Most A-League owners would be hard-pressed to handle the economics of MLS. Hell, most A-League owners are hard-pressed to handle the economics of the A-League.
No, no and no. Look at many world championships that have clubs from various leagues. Do the Mexican teams playing the Libertadores have to give their player raises? No. Do they have to abandon their rivaliries? Not really. Plus dont you think they rather move up then continue playing the Tidewater Turkeys? Also the A league teams wouldnt have to share in any MLS owner profits. They would simply be there to compete and not take a share. They would obviously make money with gates, exposure and advertising. To answer another question I would say that each year the Top 2 "A" move up with possibly the option that if 1 of the "A" teams makes the final 4 MLS they get to stay in MLS one more year. MLS would also gain, but expanding their play to new markets and doing something like this always creates interests.
A tournament between MLS and the A League teams probably wouldn't draw anything but flies. Most MLS organizations lose money on the US Open Cup but are willing to do it to build interest in soccer. But if you can think up a way for MLS to set up a tournament with a group of Mexican clubs, you'd be opening up a gold mine.
Perhaps adding 2 A-League clubs the first year and have the A League team with the least amount of points at the end of the season have a 2-legged match up with the A-League Champ to see who stays up in the MLS? By now, I'm sure we all know that the MLS rules are made up as we go...
Major difference in economics Ok no snide remarks, just a hard economic fact. Your first big assumption in your idea is that the leagues have comprable finances and ownership support. Most of the teams in the A-League don't have finances to move up to MLS. They just don't have the finances needed to support the budgets needed for a MLS team.
Thank you to those that replied inteligently, something rare on BS. MLS fans are sure a rare breed. They don't want stars to play here since they dont , cant , won't spend the money. They dont want lesser stars to play here (Like A League teams) as they would take away all of MLS's non existent profits!! Imagine that, mess around with such a historic structure that the MLS is in all it 8 long years of history. How dare I even contemplate it. God forbid someone tinker with the sacred MLS laws of salary , stadium sizes! God Forbid such talent that plays in NY, NE and LA have to travel to such small and unworthy towns like Rochester. Most MLS fans just want their measley 10 teams playing each other 10 times a year ad noseum. Its sad and disturbing how closed minded some MLS fans are. Take your head out of the sand, the MLS as it is today is one of the saddest Leagues in the world with a lousy collection of 10 teams. Imagine that we have already been through down sizing! I'm not as critical of MLS the entity as I am of some of their fans. Its so sad how little many of you are open to debate in trying to improve the league and how critical you are of those that even dare to make suggestions. Thank God none of you are running MLS.
No, what's sad is your completely Tinkerbell philosophy that economics aren't the major player in all of this. As if dreaming big will get it done. And they're not "MLS laws" we're talking about, they're the laws of economics, which have been around for hundreds of years, if not longer. There are a lot of them, but the main one is "Money talks, bullsh!t walks." Tell you what, why don't you start an online petition? Those are always good.
But you haven't done that at all. You've offered broad generalities - "it would sure be nice...". Okay, Mr. Smart "Intelligent Discussion Guy, how would you tinker with MLS's "laws" of salary and stadium size. Let's say Charleston and Seattle finish at the top of the A-League next year. How would -YOU- bring them into the MLS fold. Specifics, not wishes. What changes to MLS would be necessary? What would Seattle and Charleston need to do? You want respect, answer some very basic questions that your premise demands.
Isn't it strange that MLS fans are concerned about economics? We've seen whole soccer leagues go under, not to mention a couple of years ago, when the dust cleared, two teams in Florida weren't with us anymore. I guess we should all move to Europe where people don't have to worry about money, since no matter how stupid the clubs are run and how big the debts build up, someone always seems to ride up on a white horse and make things right. But having spent a number of years in a country without a professional soccer league, and realizing how close we've come to not having MLS at all, maybe that somehow makes you a different kind of fan. One that doesn't take the economics for granted.
How about if they'd have taken Hershey and Rochester (the top two A-League teams) in after the 2001 season? Hershey folded within a couple of weeks after losing the championship game. Or how about Milwaukee and Richmond after the 2002 season? Milwaukee folded before the next season. I know there are those who like the romantic notion of teams being promoted from one level to the next in this country, but the economics just aren't there. Happens here, too, with the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL teams that are supposedly losing scads and scads of money. They seem to have a lot less problem finding white knights to pick up the tabs for those teams than we do when soccer teams get into financial trouble.
As to your question, Ive already answered it. NO CHANGES or at least as little as possbible. ANYTHING can be done with desire. An A league team doesnt HAVE To restructure itself 100% or even 20% to get on a plane or Bus and play the Metrostars! Imagine if MLS teams get to play in the Libertadores, would MLS have to rethink everything? NO! They would simply have to get their asses on planes and get to Buenos Aires! Why would you assume that A League teams would HAVE to fall into every MLS league rule? MLS makes up the rules they can easily ajust them to incorporate 2 invited teams. This is NOT like capturing the power of the Atom my friends! PS: Mead its not about wanting respect. I could care less about what a bunch of Internet Usernames think about me. I dont need approval from Internet forums like some of you may.