Dear Mls

[mtedora]

Dear MLS. 8000 people showed up for the RED BULLS' playoff game over this past weekend. GIANTS STADIUM, where the game was played, holds 77 THOUSAND! uh, ya might want to start the season EARLIER so it can end BEFORE the NFL reg' season starts - and the MLB goes into it's playoffs, etc. - from now on, cause the demographics in the USA aren't QUITE tipping in the direction of Soccer as the national sport yet. it's beautiful, and exciting yes, but it AIN'T gonna compete with the NFL until demographics change some more. actually a lot more...

[preeths]

I've always thought this was a problem with MLS. You may still be able to draw well in places like L.A. and Houston in September and October, but media attention will be scant.

[Pounder]

Red Bull problems have more to do with the continuing cleanup of old MetroStar messes.

The new stadium can't come soon enough. Unfortunately, it won't be ready next year. Actually, I'm still not sure they've broken ground.

[Shootmaster_44]

I do think that North American fans would take better to the MLS if they were a spring league. Not only is there less to compete with nationally in May and June, but the weather is conducive for soccer. I think the European season is not fit for the casual North American fan. Basically I think the casual fan might consider going to a game when its a nice, warm spring day. But to follow the European season, no casual fan will go sit in a cold, late fall October day to watch a sport they have maybe a casual interest in.

[Pounder]

Spring league?

If it's not at least a 30-game regular season, there's no way MLS could develop Americans to compete in World Cup.

Sounds like there will be interesting developments leading into next year, however. Not sure about rumors of Beckham and Luis Figo signing on, but that's part of the rumor. Possible single table. Virtually certain of MLS v Mexican Interliga competition, along with ESPN and Univision actually paying to carry broadcasts for the first time.

[sportsguy12]

Nope, the league will still use its 2 division format. Toronto FC will be aligned in the East.

No other radical changes except KC will have to find a place to play.

[Pounder]

No radical changes? Well, maybe not.

Basically, every team is authorized a full salary cap exception. That could mean David Beckham signs with the league, but FIFA's next transfer window doesn't start until January, so there won't be any earth-shattering signings until at least then. Of course, Beckham can be had on a free transfer next summer if he doesn't sign with anyone during the winter. In addition, Ronaldo and Luis Figo are targeted for signing.

(If you don't know what I mean by transfer fees, see the Red Sox transaction with Seibu Lions for Daisuke Matsuzaka- very much a transfer fee.)

I should note that, to this point, MLS has collected transfer fees for players sold to clubs in Europe or elsewhere. MLS is allowing the owner of the team selling to collect more of that fee.

The MLS v FMF competition has been announced (on Univision).

MLS is now mandating that each team set up a youth system. There will be six age classifications, the teams are generally designed for "home-grown talent," and the kids who are designated as home-grown within the youth system can generally be moved along to the first team without having to go through the draft. This system is standard in the rest of the world... and I tend to think certain American sports are contemplating concessions to this model.

[sportsguy12]

The salary cap thing came out after my post.

[nksports]

MLS is now mandating that each team set up a youth system. There will be six age classifications, the teams are generally designed for "home-grown talent," and the kids who are designated as home-grown within the youth system can generally be moved along to the first team without having to go through the draft. This system is standard in the rest of the world... and I tend to think certain American sports are contemplating concessions to this model.

Would they do this in a way to preserve high school and NCAA eligibility. Otherwise in the mid-markets, this could backfire. Example: If the Wizards U18 team has the start forward from say, Blue Valley West High School, and due expenses paid by the Wizards or say season overlap, star forward can't play for high school team during state tournament, local fans could blame Wizards for their school not winning state title and stay away from Wizards games (especially if Wizards build stadium in Johnson County).
If team picks off each top player from area, then all of the high school fans (who you are trying to groom as pro fans) get p-offed.
In other words, you'd have to have a spring-summer youth season that ended before August. If you played within rules (something the MLS might not want to do), you could actually increase fan base.

[Pounder]

http://www.nysun.com/article/43866

It's always dangerous quoting a Paul Gardner article; this, for instance, really adds a couple current details to a 30-year-old rant. Thing is, in this case, the old fart is right.

US Soccer cannot simply develop players to run through the school system and expect them to compete worldwide. It just doesn't work. The model used worldwide is also starting to overwhelm American basketball, for that matter. (Starting is the key word)

Besides, high school sports does not seem to be a growth industry, with the exception of Texas football. There might be more schools, but I saw bigger crowds back in the day, so to speak. High schools face an increasing financial burden. Club sports have become a primary training mode. As far as I'm concerned, I think the situation is evolving to the point where your concern won't be much of a problem 10-15 years down the road.

[BCRantzilla]

MLS's problem is that they are so afraid of ending up like the NASL that they are trying to be as low rent and low key as possible. This works in Europe now because the Euro leagues seem very afraid of anything flamboyant or exciting in the game currently, (see Beckham's treatment at Man U and with the press in general.) This simply does NOT work in America. You need to stand out in the saturated sports market in the US and being a boring, unassuming little soccer league just isn't getting the job done.

I welcome the big signings if they come just so long as they are done in moderation but hyped to the 100th power when they come. If Beckham does indeed come to America it would be the biggest thing American soccer has seen since the Cosmos of the late 70's. Can they afford him and/or Ronaldo? Questionable. Can they afford NOT to TRY? Absolutely not.

[nksports]

I guess my next question in all of this is: Is the USL cut out?
When the then USISL gave up on trying to be America's top pro league and settled into being the MLS's minor league system, it brought the league some stability. The USL even started producing a player or two each year who could move up to the MLS ranks. It could be argued that the USL's PDF was to be the bridge between college and pro and a way to solve some of the problems the NY Sun guy seems to think exists (despite his hostility of college soccer, you aren't going to end it, just as the NBA's drafting of HS players hasn't ended college basketball).
One of soccer's problem in America has kind of been, it's unsure of its development model. Does it go the way of baseball with it's own minor-league feeder system (which is viewed as being expensive even though one superstar player gets paid more per year than the entire minor-league payroll of a team). Does it use the high school to college to pro model of the NBA and NFL, which owners think is cheaper, but encourages rampant corruption at the college level.
Does it try for a European system that is so completely different than the US system (and again requires teams to pay for player development).
Do we try a hockey-type model, trying to turn 16 and 17 year olds into defacto pro players ala the Canadian Junior Major leagues.
Another factor you have to consider with NCAA college soccer is most programs at the Division I level aren't fully funded. A D-I team may have as few as four or five scholarships to split among 15 to 20 athletes (D-I soccer teams are allowed a total of 9.9 scholarships, women's teams are allowed 14.)
Actually, regardless of which model you use, one of the biggest problems to developing soccer players in the US is competition from baseball, basketball and football.
In Europe, it's assumed the best athletes will play soccer. Here, soccer players come from mainly up-scale, suburban communities (although here in Kansas, (and I'm sure elsewhere) a bit of a culture war has started. All those uptight, white, suburban soccer teams have suddenly found competition from western Kansas, where a lot of Hispanic kids, often the sons of immigrants from Mexico and Central America, are taking up the sport and succeeding). A top athlete from around here is more likely to play basketball or football and doesn't always come from the suburbs.

[Pounder]

Is USL cut out, you ask? Fair question.

The rules MLS has set up seem to presume no more than 2 kids "going up" per year; which is rather practical when you think about it. Given the number of kids going up through these programs, there's a lot of kids that will end up being turned out after a certain age.

If anything, MLS will do the grooming for USL as well as MLS.

******************************

College soccer CAN continue to exist as a secondary development model. After all, the current youth system seems to favor folks born in January-March (the early points of the age group), and arguably the European system rewards early development and skips the late bloomers. However, as with all soccer issues, it only works if the fans pay the bucks to watch. I do hope that MLS stepping up forces college ball to join the "real world" in terms of playing rules... kids who take the college track and skip PDL will end up playing without ever having played anything but free substitution / semi-limited college substitution until they reach MLS, and that's just not good.

[eightleggedfreak]

I know it's along way off (if it ever happens), but I for one would love to see a promotion/relegation system in American soccer.

MLS has a big problem in trying to market itself to the casual American sports fan in that there are many fans of MLB/NFL/NBA that don't even consider soccer a real sport. I know a few of them. You're never, ever going to convert them into soccer fans, so why bother trying?

[nksports]

I know it's along way off (if it ever happens), but I for one would love to see a promotion/relegation system in American soccer.

MLS has a big problem in trying to market itself to the casual American sports fan in that there are many fans of MLB/NFL/NBA that don't even consider soccer a real sport. I know a few of them. You're never, ever going to convert them into soccer fans, so why bother trying?

The only problem there is most USL teams don't have the facilities or capitol to be able to compete in the MLS once they got there. You'd wind up with MLS regular-season games on high school and rec league fields (although the Wizards may wind up on a high school field for the next year or two).

Now what would be fun is a promotion-relegation system in MLB, but the problem is the KC Royals would be in rookie league by now.