No doubt. USL is also starting to see itself as a selling league. if this guy has European potential he won't be cheap, especially after the Louisville fc debacle.
Right now you can have a maximum of 10 homegrown players at any time. Quakes are carrying 7 currently so they can add three more. Where limits can come in is the typical homegrown contract is 3+2 meaning you are investing in players for 5 years. You have to be cognizant of positions you are filling and how much time those players may need before they could be ready to sell/trade. For instance the Quakes have 2 homegrown keepers right now (20% of slots). That likely means they won’t tie up another slot unless they think JT or Ochoa will be sold soon. The gap in JT and Ochoa’s ages was intentional. When JT is in his prime, Ochoa will be pro ready. In the case of Fuentes and Luna you had two players that were skilled at the 10 position at the same age. Both looked good but neither was spectacular. In Luna’s case his weight was fluctuating up and down so Fuentes got more minutes and Luna wanted to go somewhere to be the starter. He ended up at Barca Arizona. Some teams have already filled their maximum limits. I think other teams like the Quakes want to have a few open in case an academy alumni in college blossoms and they can sign him before he goes into the Superdraft. Quakes picked up TT, Lima and JT this way. If the limit goes higher (which could happen with the reserve league MLS2 next year), then you will see more guys like Luna signed.
Thanks for the explanation. What's the logic of the rule? MLS wants to be a selling league, right? Seems pennywise and pound foolish. To clarify though, a guy counts as a homegrown even if on loan? Also, with TT on his second contract why does he still count against that limit? Would he still count at age 35?
I'm sure they are difficult to follow when they keep making up and changing the rules as the go along to help out LA and NY initially and then Seattle, Atlanta and Miami after...
Falvo, in the case of Miami, MLS did not change the rules -- Miami ownership flat out cheated and blatantly skirted the rules.
Yeah, but I wasn’t really referring to any single incident in particular. What I meant was the league initially gave Beckham the franchise, and pretty much let him or them do whatever and he/they took advantage of that. I'm sure they will not stop there either.
Yeah but you know, Beckham’s coming to MLS changed the world’s view of the league. So he probably deserved that ~$275M discount on his franchise.
Yeah, before people thought it was "an inferior league to which intl players would occasionally retire to". After Beckham it was seen as "an inferior league to which intl players would occasionally retire to, and sometimes sell underwear".
Hey, he set up a trend that made us look more respectable. Look where we are now. The Beckham Effect was a major influence,
Not really buying it. Folks just looked at it as Beckham's retirement league. It got eyeballs for the novelty of it, but that was just a temporary thing. The DP rule opened things up, but it wasn't so much about Beckham himself. The league could have done that anyway. It's just that LA wanted to push for the whole star thing, with the underwear and the shirts and everything.
Beckham won titles with Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy and PSG. He packed houses from one end of MLS to the other when he arrived. Our game had to be moved to Oakland coliseum to accommodate the 40k who bought tix, 25k the next time. The DP rules started with him and no doubt he single handedly elevated the profile of MLS. His arrival initially didn’t translate to club success but eventually he was a part of two cup winning seasons in LA. I don’t know much about the alleged shenanigans in Miami but hopefully that’s being addressed.
plus he took two corner kicks for Manchester United, in second half injury time, in the 1999 Champions League final vs Bayern Munich, both of which led to goals and a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory and treble glory! (Premier League champs, FA cup winners and Champions League winners!). 1999 was quite a year for Beckham and Manchester United.
The packed houses weren't about soccer though. They were about celebrity - underwear and stuff. I don't think we needed Beckham to have the DP rule. Beckham's impact was kind of like a sugar high. It's great for a little bit, and then you're back to normal, and in fact you feel a little run down. Or if you're Fank Yallop, you're "knackered". We need to build the league organically rather than relying on guys to come here to retire. That's where we are now, and I don't think we needed Beckham to get there.
There were those that were drawn to his celebrity and those that wanted to see him play but his star power made him an ideal first ever DP. Were there other players who could’ve ushered in the DP era? Sure. None would’ve had a bigger initial bang.
We didn't need a "big bang". It was a sugar high, and it only reinforced the idea that MLS is a retirement league for aging stars. Seriously, ask a europhile what they think of MLS, and that's their go-to response. Retirement league for aging stars. I hear it over and over again. It was Tim Lieweke of AEG wanting to sell shirts. Meant nothing. Build organically to create lasting value. That's the way to do it. Quick fixes don't work.
it’s not a a quick fix though. Beckham was just the beginning, by 2012 LA had three DPs. There’s a lot of variation in how teams use these rules. DPs come from all corners of the world, all ages, some younger, some older, more or less expensive. You should tell all those “europhiles” they don’t know what they’re talking about. Signing DPs is just one part of building a successful roster in today’s MLS, and DPs aren’t just a bunch of aging stars doing a victory lap.
The DP rule is fine. I just don't think we needed Beckham to make it happen or for it to be successful. The narrative is almost like "David Beckham saves MLS!" I've never been much of a subscriber to the "Great Man Theory".
Not save, raises the profile. He wasn’t a flash in the pan, he was was here for 5 seasons, he’s just the guy who got it all going, underwear and all. Full disclosure: we took a friend and her young son to that first Beckham game in Oakland. She knew nothing about soccer but knew Beckham and Ronaldo and was there exclusively to see David the pop star.