MLS Strike March 23?

[Panthers14]

If the players union goes on strike come March 23rd, two days prior to the start of the season, what will this mean for Major League Soccer. With a new expansion team (Philadelphia Union) for this season and two more in 2011 (Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps), New York Red Bulls opening a new stadium, and ratings and revenue up for the league, what affect will a strike have on the american game? Will the league survive? How will the strike affect the organization of this single-entity venture? My hope is that the union come to their senses and realize that before there was this league most of the current players had little chance of a professional career. Not everybody is Landon Donovan!!! The MLS has relaunched the sport here in the U.S., brought in worldwide investment, and created stability...just remember the old NASL. (at least we can count on our local teams coming back year after year) Regardless of who the players union think they are and that they should be treated the same as the NFLPA / NHLPA / etc...the sport of american soccer just does not draw revenue like those others. Yes, I want players to make as much as possible and have the ability to have free agency, but not at the expense of the sport. So, I hope the players union come to their senses and that the owners compromise a little on Free Agency for the sport and the MLS to continue; if they do not and a strike does come, I fear the worst.:eek:

[SignGuyDino]

If they can afford $millions for Eurodivas like Beckham, they can pay CONCACAF-based players decent wages. Oh, by the way, since Becks is hurt, any chance his gigantic salary can go to other Galaxy players? No, of course not.

OK, I have a pretty athletic son. Should I direct him to basketball, football, baseball, or soccer? Well, rule out soccer when half of the players in MLS make less than $88K. Any current young soccer prospect is playing in Europe. Point is if the players don't win free agency the league will die of atrophy anyway.

As to the owners' investments, New England won't build a soccer specific stadium (and conviently, the USSF President Sunil "reelect me five months BEFORE the World Cup, not after" Gulati has a conflict of interest serving on New England's board). Kraft is too cheap, and uses the losses of the team as a tax write-off.

Some of the owners want to waste $millions buying English teams in financial trouble. THEY wasted $millions trying to "Americanize" the game with countdown clocks and shootouts, not the players. Players could make more in second-tier English soccer but there are only so many spots.

They want a "closed" league and no promotion/relegation, but they do not have a credible second-tier minor league. The supposed second-tier is a disaster and I blame MLS as much as anyone for it. They can't have it both ways. The owners want a league on the cheap to be able to sell off teams. Just because they can't manage things right doesn't mean don't pay players. How dare they call themselves "Major" League Soccer. They are not major in any sense of the word. It's a developmental league for other leagues in the world. Americans will not support a developmental league for long. And despite the big numbers in Seattle and Toronto, the facts are the average attendance is down league-wide.

MLS acts as though we never heard of Curt Flood. The MLS players should have free agency. And I never supported a players' union, but I 100% support the players on this one.

And I don't want to hear how young the MLS is. UFC was almost dead 10 years ago and makes as much revenue as MLS now. The MLS cried poverty 5 years ago and will 5 years from now, 10 years from now, etc.

In Klingon culture, a boy is a man when he can hold a knife. Enough is enough.

[Pounder]

Semi-random observations...

Spice Boy paid for himself... perhaps just with kit sales. Overseas. MLS has different economics than other American leagues. How many domestic players bump attendance 5,000 a game? Obviously, the wage (a fair point) doesn't promise to improve that anytime soon... but you think free agency will? MLS acts deliberately for a reason, and while their claims that free agency kills the league are bogus (as if coaches don't compete), so is the notion that instituting it full-on does anything substantive.

Your "credible second-tier minor league" seems to be your real beef. Mark this down... Kenn Tomasch is right. So few cities can make money at it that MLS is better off with the reserve system... and they aren't ready to do that right either.

I can't blame you in thinking the PU should strike. The only problem is that the owners hold 98% of the leverage here. If they trot out replacement players, how many people will really notice the difference?

When the FAN BASE matures, and when there's more of one, you'll see MLS loosen up. (It won't happen from owners throwing a billion at something with no guarantee of return) Meanwhile, they didn't make salary mistakes, and the NBA and NHL are paying for theirs right now. Just saying.

[SignGuyDino]

Here's the thing: The LA ownership said recently they will "never, ever" change the system. They want no free agency for players ever. They are the ones who claim the whole league will go undone if they allow it. So since they don't want what every major pro sports league in America, and every major soccer league in the world has, our top talent (what little there will be left) will play in Europe exclusively. They'd be idiots to play in America for repressed pay.

Landon Donovan is right in saying it's been too one-sided for too long.

And if a league uses replacement players and "nobody will notice" they you don't need to call yourself a "major" soccer league to begin with. And by the way, those replacements will destroy the makeshift second-tier league the USSF is forming just for this year. See the ticket prices for Red Bull Arena? No way people pay those kind of prices for replacement players.

No, the players have a lot more leverage than some want to admit. Do they have the nerve to strike? I have my doubts but we'll see.

[nksports]

A strike right now would not be smart for the players or the owners.
No, player salaries are not up to NFL, NBA or MLB levels, but MLS revenues have never been up to those levels. Players thinking they are going to hit a big pay day in Europe may be in for a big surprise. The EPL is in dire straights. Portsmouth FC went into administration (that's bankruptcy for those who don't speak the Queen's English) and they are just the tip of the iceberg. Even big wigs like Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal are losing big £££s.
They may look at U.S. players as a cheap signing, much like they currently do with Africans and some South Americans (and much like MLB teams do with Dominicans), but I don't see them rushing to this side of the Atlantic for anyone but a handful of top-flight players.

[Pounder]

BTW, for those who missed it, they settled on a contract on Friday.

Most contracts guaranteed after a certain age or time served.

$40,000 minimum (including development contracts), or so we hear.

Re-draft for players released from contract.

Details are only slowly coming to the fore.

Slow growth... not a bad thing.

[preeths]

Slow growth... not a bad thing.

Not bad at all. Looks like cooler heads prevailed, although it's often in both management's and the union's best interests to at least appear to be hardliners up until close to the deadline. Whether the system is "fair" compares favorably to other leagues or not, it's important to remember that MLS is still young and does not have the revenue streams of older, more established and, yes, more popular leagues. It could indeed have been killed a lot more easily than any of the big four leagues by a work stoppage.

[Panthers14]

Can not wait for season opener, Philadelphia Union and Seattle Sounders. More important, can not wait for next season when the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps come aboard. What are the rumors of future MLS Teams? I have read that Montreal & St. Louis would be next in line. Maybe even a return to the Big Apple for a second NY/NJ Franchise...any truth that the MLS is negotiating to acquire the name New York Cosmos? As much as I would like to see the Cosmos reborn, I am not sure how this would affect the New York Red Bulls and that should be the most concern, not adding another NY Team. I see that Miami FC Blues in the new NASL has acquired the rights to the name Fort Lauderdale Strikers and will relaunch in 2011 in that city with said name. Can you see that soccer is going back to it's traditions since those of us fools now are middle aged and remember the old NASL of the 1970's / 80's. If Chicago were to ever get another MLS Franchise, and that city too has been rumored from time to time for consideration of a second team, then my hope is that they would bring back the Chicago Sting. Last, if it is true that Montreal is up next for expansion, would it not make more sense to bring in the Edmonton Drillers? If not Edmonton and yes St. Louis, then what would they be called?