Assuming they aren't like the other LA and abusing rules and it raises the bar of the league, I'm good with this. Smart business/management should be rewarded.
I agree. Lukakau said MLS should do 2 things and it will attract the best guys in the world. No Salary Cap, and Allow trams to find their own endorsments for jerseys instead of all using adidas. He said no European will ever say no to the United States.
The Lukaku video clip is from 2019 In case anyone was curious... this Romelo Lukaku quote was from 2019 (with New York Knicks legend!!! Josh Hart) https://t.co/2BwSDa5DZT pic.twitter.com/GipaDngRTZ— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) March 17, 2023
I never anticipate an MLS where there are no salary restrictions. Currently MLS has no strict cap limit in exact dollars, but it controls spending via per player maximums, etc. But MLS is never not going to have certain limitations. I expect the rules as they are now, will remain, just the specific amounts will be adjusted upwards as MLS continues to compete for players from around the world and they continue to sell players to leagues that spend more for players. MLS is in a really strong spot right now where they can attract high level talent. The quality of play overall, is arguably better than it's ever been. Hard to judge this, but I'd wager even trash teams like the current Quakes are overall better than their counterparts from a decade or even two decades ago. Players are more athletic, training has become more sophisticated, facilities are significantly improved (except for the abomination that is Yankee stadium). That isn't to say the players from a decade or two decades ago couldn't have been as good as current players had they the same access. There's also no way the league lets teams get their own shirt deals again. There's little incentive from a business perspective for them to do so since they can share any money from a league wide deal. They all get more or less the same equipment (which one could argue is better for competitiveness on the field) and it prevents teams from really struggling to supply themselves. I'm not arguing that either of these things are good, mind you. But I don't think Lukaku has any clue what he's talking about here. Why would a team negotiating their own jersey deal attract a specific player? I think he's making the illogical leap that negotiating for your own jersey deal = more money for that team, which is not necessarily the case. Also, that money then doesn't necessarily go into a players' salary, either. He's assuming that it would. Removing salary restrictions could potentially be better for MLS players broadly speaking, but he's talking as if MLS hasn't been consistently growing since the early 2000s. It has better talent now than it's ever had despite salary restrictions existing in some form or other the entire time. And the reality is that the top players are going to play where they can make the most money and achieve the perceived highest honors. You're not going to attract the top players in the world with money alone. If a player could compete for MLS Cup or a Champions League trophy and make roughly the same amount of money, where do you think they're gonna go 9 times out of 10? I think MLS is a very good league these days and there's a reason it's a destination for very good talent. But these simplifications about how to attract higher and higher level talent is something that MLS owners are always considering. And they weigh how much they want to attract higher level talent against the risk of opening up spending to a point where they lose control of costs. And they will choose to control costs as much as they can for as long as they can. There's a reason there's a players' union, after all. Players have to negotiate for compensation on a broad level. And if the Premier League could go back in time and set themselves up the way MLS did, you better believe they would. They don't want to spend more money for talent.
I agree with everything you said. Nothing is to say they won't change the structure of the Premiership either in the future especially if Major League Soccer continues to stabilize structurally. Which would change the landscape. I have read things online with some leagues exploring the thought of abolishing relegation completely. I love MLS, and I wouldn't pick any league in the world over it. I think we're about 1 generation of kids away from having a grapple hold on a good majority of young America kids being top shelf quality talent. We're already starting to see it. I hate the stigma these clowns on Twitter say about the MLS players sucking, but the majority of the USMNT talent developed in MLS academies. The Quakes team today top to bottom is better then any generation of Quakes, but I argue 2005 Quakes through 2012 Dynamo is the greatest Dynasty, MLS ever had. Could they compete today? I think so. I don't think any other team could compete though in MLS history with the clubs today, with the exception of New York Red Bull's team under Marsch and the Galaxy from 2010-2014.
Let me just say…..You have some elegant thoughts young lady. That Oliver Twist street Urchin look is fine with the swearing and all but you dress up very nicely. Thanks for the well thought out posts….
Dantouma Toure, 18 year old prospect recovering from a torn ACL... the Quakes could use a young forward behind Ebobisse... they should pick him up and let him develop with Quakes 2 OFFICIAL: The Colorado Rapids have waived forward Dantouma Toure.📰» https://t.co/atYvoxDZZC pic.twitter.com/7gtQ3URtKX— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) April 20, 2023 He was looking really promising in MLS Next Pro last year before the brutal injury. https://t.co/R8PfrGfyco— Marcus Chairez (@chai_asc) April 20, 2023
hmm... https://www.denverpost.com/2023/04/20/colorado-rapids-waive-dantouma-yaya-toure/ A team spokesman told The Post “it is related to a personal matter,” but declined to comment further.
I wish we would take some interest in him he has got some wheels on him. Gives me a lot of Cade vibes without the strength. Definitely some raw talent.
On the MLS Wrap show tonight Shep Messing mentioned that Emanuel Reynoso returned to Minnesota but he might be traded (talked about 4 teams that could be interested). I would consider him for Montiero. Jamiro has been inconsistent (starting to play like Remedi falling down all game and looking for the ref to bail him out) and I think Reynoso could bring more goals from that position. Espinoza and Reynoso together would be a sweet Argentine connection. Niko could be ready soon too. If the Quakes could punch up their offensive production they could win some road games and be a serious threat to some of the favorites.
Reynoso is one of the best DPs in the league, any sane person "would consider him" for almost any current non-MVP level player, but we have no evidence he's actually on the market.... I don't think this was Shep Messing having actual info so much as him interpreting "returned to Minnesota" literally as Reynoso not being with the team just "in the state"... that's the first thing he said before speculating about "might be traded" and "four teams". I don't believe MNU would put out a public statement if he was just in town to gather his belongings or something like that, and if Messing had bothered to read the full sentence he would have noticed that it says "as he works towards reintegration with the club"... An update on the status of Emanuel Reynoso. pic.twitter.com/bHLWMtcRZb— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) May 6, 2023 I have never thought very highly of Shep Messing's intellectual capacity