News: Tuesday , Feb 16 , 2016

Hmm... and they all have televisionphobia (or is it tileorasiphobia).

 

I really don't see too much of a reason for anyone to be all that concerned. There is far more than just money that goes into a player's decision on who to sign for. Quality of play, quality of life, etc also play a major role.

As it stands right now, the only people going to China are player's strictly interested in chasing the money. Which, if everything I've read on BigSoccer the past 10 years or so is true, those are exactly the types of players that we DON'T want in MLS.

Sure, we'll lose an Martins to China or a Nemeth to Qatar. But is anyone at all losing sleep over these losses? Seattle just got $3 million for a player that they've already replaced when they signed Morris.

While the players that China is signing would undoubtedly improve the quality of play, I really haven't read any names that would move the needle in terms of TV rating, ticket sales or jersey sales.

So should MLS be worried that China is paying well above market value to attract a very small handful of international players that wouldn't really move the needle here in MLS? I don't think so. But I'd be willing to listen to a compelling argument that says otherwise.

 

Furthermore, based on what I've been reading a major reason why the CSL has been able to invest so heavily is due to government tax breaks and loopholes granted at the corporate level to the organizations that run the teams. Why? Apparently the President is a die hard soccer fan. My guess is the $1.3 Billion TV deal is also propped up by the government in other areas.

So what happens when the next President is more of a basketball fan? Or is more interested in Olympic sports? Do the government subsidies go away? Does the CSL become insolvent? Most likely. This is a temporary blip. A 4.0 earthquake. Large enough to feel it, maybe knock a picture or two off the mantle, but not big enough to do any actual damage.

 

I guess this helps Obafemi's move. But don't Shanghai need to get rid of a non AFC foreign player.

If he goes for less than 9 mil, MLS lost. China has grossly overpaid for talent. MLS can't let the get a player on the cheap.

EDIT: Greek player Avraam Papadopoulos was born in Australia and counts as an AFC player.

The TV money deal was apparently for like 50 mil before the new deal. US sports networks throw money around dumbly and then act surprised when they lose viewers due to increased costs. This is a whole new level of shocking.

 

In MLS alum news, Matt Miazga on the bench for Chelsea in a Champions League round of 16 match. You've come a long way, baby.

 

Jovan got into a game and scored a goal.

He's not Jovan yet.

 

Jovan Kirovski says hi from 1997.

 

Chad Deering, maybe?

 

I was refering more to MLS in general. We now have a young American who started in an MLS academy, worked his way to the parent club, and is now in a UCL side. How many of those have we had in the past? IMO, its a big deal.

 

I got ya.....it's simply more about playing than being on a team for me now.

Twenty years ago I would have been thrilled, bench and all.

Now it's about playing.

This was obviously a great experience for him, but I look forward to seeing where Matt is next fall.

 

apparently so- anytime becks sneezes in miami, it becomes a headline

 

Me too. But this guy says "Call me when you score a goal, with your foot."

 

I must add that Nemeth was one of the players that most excited me about MLS last year - and might have made the difference between my tuning in or ignoring an SKC game. Whatever that's worth. A player like Oba or Nemeth can obviously, greatly change the quality or entertainment value of a team or game.

 

I personally think both of those guys are very replaceable. Very good players. Definitely lifted the play of their respective teams. But hardly transcendent.

 

Like Miklos Molnar and Igor Simutenkov before him, Nemeth will be largely forgotten except by the hardcore KC fans that remember that one glorious trophy winning season.

It would be nice to have his productivity stay with the team, but in the long run he'll be a "where are they now" footnote instead of a team hall of famer. But that was his choice. I certainly don't begrudge a professional athlete with a relatively few years of earning power left, but decades of life, looking to pad their bank account. It's one reason why I never really got mad at Jovan Kirovsky for not forgoing his large bench-sitting checks for playing time in MLS when it might've helped the USMNT.

 

Best rebuttal I've read on this point.

 

? Well, "transcendent" is a rather vague descriptor for a soccer player. But as fun as it was to watch Giovinco last year, I was more moved by Nemeth's influence. Silky skills, deftness, cleverness, a different view of space. He was transcendent in my book - his game intelligence and creative movement certainly transcended the typical MLS or SKC standard, and made their attack a lot more interesting. By comparison I find Giovinco (let alone Miklos Molnar or the old power forward line of Bunbury, Kamara and Sapong, ugh...) utterly predictable.

Oba, I gotta say he had bag of tricks and an unpredictable mind. Would be tough to defend. Is an entertainer and a game breaker. But Nemeth's brain and playing style made the game more compelling to watch, for me. Helps to have a Feilhaber out there too, of course.