Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? Sweet Jeezus, I wish I had your spare time. I see your point about the favoritism towards the Galaxy, but I'll just betcha that if we did get Zidane, and the rules were changed to add one more DP, the other teams wouldn't mind so much because that many more of their fans would come to the Galaxy Travelling Road Show to see the stars. Given the Galaxy's road record, the hometown fans would more than likely see their hometown club beat the Galaxy anyway. Besides, 3 stars does not = Super Club. But, like I said, I see your point, so no need to repeat/expand upon/underline, etc.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? Apart from in DC of course! I think we're due to score 6 at RFK this season.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? if your definition of a "legitimate deal" is mls calling dallas telling them they're not getting adu and they can take an allocation -- then you and i are in complete agreement.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? Hey Party People, Check out my new blog on Zidane and the Galaxy...Let me know what you guys think. Thanks. http://www.metro.co.uk/blogs/catBlog.html?in_page_id=16&inCid=2631
Retirement League Re: Retirement league I honestly see a major, dramatic shift in the types of "retirees". Over the years, we've seen some doozies: "Mail it in/fun in the sun" Lothar Matador One last SOLID go around, despite my age Djoerkaeff (???) Novak El Pibe Nowadays we're seeing a very different 'retiree': guys just beyond the Champions League + Domestic Cup (FA) + Domestic League + National Team duties = 55+ games/year under a microscope. But they can sure as hell handle 40 games a year, no problem. We're starting to see guys who want to get playing time so that they can make an impression w/ the national team coach, who thinks he's too old to play. We're starting to see guys who are intent on looking for competitive soccer and less of the "charity to the poor lil' Americans" slop that we've gotten in years past. So while Blanco may be a wee past his prime for my taste, he still has some kick left, and he's continuing to show it week in and week out. And Zizou? The guy operates in The Matrix, dude. WC was less than a year ago. We've signed England's captain and we've made on offer to the greatest player of this generation, a guy that led his team to the finale of the WC. That was 9 months ago.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? I agree. I am not proposing that the league should bend the rules, from bothe the MLS and the Galaxy perspective. I'm just saying the rules are as likely to be bent as not. For the Galaxy, this could be an awful season on the field with the circus already, so I would not be too excited to see that happen, though Zidane is my favorite player. For the league, the transparency and fixed rules would nice. Also, I think some serious soccer fans vastly overestimate Zidane's appeal, even to some of the other serious soccer fans. Zidane (and most European palyers who play in Europe) is not as big with fans of Latin American soccer. Regarding being a fan of MLS first, I should note that DC fans on here really stand out as being the opposite. See the threads in which MLS fans let DC fans know they are cheering for them in international competitions. This league is still a question mark, no team's location is a given without a stadium, and people who support American professional soccer are still a niche within a niche.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? Good point. The cash from the Beckham deal, however, comes from the people who want the shirts.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? I see your point wrt the teams playing in big stadia. But if Beckham doesn't sell out, or come very, very close to selling out, Crew Stadium and Bridgeview and the Dick, etc. all by himself, then why the hell did MLS sign him? IMO this is somewhat off point, because my main concern is the potential that MLS would undermine its own integrity, to the long term detriment of the league. But even this "short term" positive you name is pretty limited, once you really think it through. LA would have all 3 of the best players in the league. If that ain't a Super Club, what is? You see it. Some of your brethren need help.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? Given what Adu contributed to DC during his tenure, I figure an equivalent deal for a 2nd DP slot, allowing the Galaxy to get Zidane this year and keep Landon the next two years would mean the Galaxy trading Marshall, Albright, Cannon, 2 minor allocations, and 1 LA starlet for every player on the other team's roster. In all honesty, are there really Galaxy fans who think Zidane is going to contribute as much to the team as everyone in, say, February 2004 guessed Adu would add to DC? I know for sure I made the point that if Freddy wasn't great, well, he wasn't great. And if he was great, the best he could realistically be, given his age, was a key sub in 2004 (he fell short of that), a solid starter in 2005 (he fell short of that) and a star in 2006, in which case he'd miss time for the World Cup (he fell short of that, too.) And then Freddy would be gone to Europe. DC fans ALWAYS thought the best thing about Freddy was that we were essentially loaning out, not losing, the allocation, because DC was sure to get it back when he went to Europe.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? In the end, if this happens, I'll wager large amounts of money (that I dont even have) that most inside and outside of MLS would see Zidane running around MLS fields as being a remarkably good thing, and yes I do understand the shenanigans angle, though I also beieve more is made of that stuff by BigSoccer nerd/consipracists than neccesary. Most regular people dont know/care about that, and to say the league almost died because of it is a stretch armstrong proportioned exaggeration.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? Whoa, there, pardner. I'm NOT saying that the league almost died because of it. Keep in mind, the pro-shenanigan people are saying that would be good for the league. I'm just pointing out that during the high shenanigans era, the league almost died. If saying "f*** integrity, let's accentuate the spectacle" was a winning strategy, that wouldn't be true. IMO, it was more or less neutral, probably a small minus, but no big thing. But if you want to make the pro-shenanigan argument you have to deal with the fact that history disagrees with you.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? So the question then is, is Zidane worth sacrificing the league's integrity for? I think I am more in SuperDave's camp on this one. If you want an historical perspective, consider two sports which were, at one time, the very center of US sporting interest: boxing and horse racing. No sporting figure was bigger than Joe Lewis. The Kentucky Derby was a national holiday comperable to Super Bowl Sunday. It was essentially doubts about the integrity (and in some cases not even doubts) that eventually led those sports to become second-rate debased events. And I don't think its either "geeky" or "nerdy" to want MLS to be a sporting enterprise, and not the soccer equivalent of WWE. Even Las Vegas, when it was run by the Family, understood that the games of chance themselves had to be on the up-and-up. There is a reason that Italian soccer is at a low ebb - see the latest referree suspensions over match fixing. Playing roster games is just an indirect method of match fixing. Quite frankly, there would be little or no joy in winning (at least for me) if I though Don Garber et al. had their thumbs on the scales behind the scenes. I have ranted too long. Sorry.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? The real question is what would the MLS gain from Zidane playing for the Galaxy. The driving force behind the AP rule was to attract more fans. Once Beckham every match the Galaxy is involved in will already sell out. How would Zidane add to this.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? We need to get away from thid whole what does MLS gain and start focusing on the teams themselves. With the DP rule, the teams dont have to ask the elague for permission to sign certain players. Thus the only question is what do the Galaxy gain?
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? International fame, bigger sponsors, more TV ratings, sell Galaxy crap etc.... I rather see Adidas sign Riquelme for us. Riquelme is younger and has been active, while Zidane hasn't played any game, latelly. Riquelme will come 10 million or less. If Adidas is paying the bill... why should anyone get upset about this?
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? You're sort of right and sort of wrong. The "sort of wrong" part is that there's a subtext here. LA doesn't have alot to offer in trade for a 2nd DP slot. So part of the question is, will MLS either change the rules, or allow a silly self-deal involving another AEG team (Houston) in order for LA to get the slot they need to sign ZZ for 2007 and keep Landon for 2008 and 2009. And ZZ for 2008, well, that REALLY brings up the Calvinball question.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? In all this "wull, MLS shenanigans" talk, nobody has mentioned thee biggest bullshyte so far this year: That the Galaxy is going to be playing roughly 2 games/week from mid-July through early October. Talk about the league gifting points to our freakin' rivals... (That said, I do think that any Zizou signing should be on the up-and-up...)
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? The other MLS owners want ZiZou signed by somebody, rule-bending or not. They would be happy for Uncle Phil to pony up, then they get a bump in sales with little out of their own pocket when he comes to town, or when MLS ratings go up.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? No, the question is what does AEG gain, since they'd be paying for it? Doesn't seem to be smart to have Zidane play for LA instead of one of their other two teams.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? I was just figuring that I would like more revenue and capital asset appreciation with someone else putting up the money if I were in their shoes. Not exactly a wild speculation by Bigsoccer standards. But your desire for some hard information on this is understandable. Any Leiweke sightings? How are you going to keep them down on the beach when they've seen smelly Paris?
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? That's your assertion. For the Other Teams, they have to balance increased crowds from Zidane + Beckham, vs. just Beckham, against alienating core fans who (remember, we're working here under the assumption that MLS fixed the rules to get ZZ to the Gals) feel the league is rigged. Right off the bat, the SSS teams are going to sell out their home matches anyway. So those teams all LOSE if Zidane comes into the league under dubious circumstances. I just think people aren't really thinking this through.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? i think it's you who aren't thinking it through. let's look again at scenarios 1) zidane comes to MLS to play for a team other than LA (best solution all around, doesn't break the "rules", spreads around marquee talent ensure double sell outs, etc...) 2) zidane comes to MLS, but insists on playing for LA (not the best solution, but far better than no zidane) 3) MLS sticks to its guns and tells zidane, yeah you can play here, but you can choose between houston, dallas, washington d.c., boston, etc... to which zidane would laugh and say au revoir. this shouldn't even be discussed as to whether MLS would allow it. it's been proven time and time again that "core fans" dropping the league are an exceptionally rare occurence. just look at new york... the fans there were up in arms over the rebranding by red bull, and were swearing off NYRB, MLS, etc, etc... they may have lost a couple of fans, but comparing attendance figures from 2005, 2006 to their home opener this year (in a torrential down pour mind you) the attendance is identical. people bitch and moan, but when it comes down to it MLS is the only tier one, pro soccer league in the united states. the fans have put up with the shootout, golden goal mini games, bizarre and suspicious trades, byzantine player allocation rules and the fact is attendance is growing. SSS are being built and this all happened prior to MLS' "conversion to honest and fair rules". it's a simple equation. is the league better off having zidane play here for a year, or isn't it? if the answer is yes -- and how could it not be -- then everything else ("rules", fan disgruntlement, etc...) is meaningless. the league might lose a handful of die hards, but it will gain much, much more.
Re: Zidane to L.A Galaxy by Adidas? dude,the mls for being a league that wants big names, sure goes out of there way to prevent it, rule wise.