Well, I missed most of the weekend's games for the holiday weekend. Instead, I went to the Indy 500. But still, a few soccer-related thoughts came to me: while a number of soccer fans feel like they have to denigrate motorsports (and especially NASCAR) in part because NASCAR's made the kind of gains that soccer would love to make in the US, racing afficionados face many of the same challenges. The Indy 500 wasn't even televised live (well, at least not in Indianapolis according to one of my many servers this past weekend). Can you imagine that? Your signature event doesn't even make it on live tv?
I did see a couple of MLS highlights.
(1) Just when everyone's ready to annoint the Revolution as the best team in MLS, they trip up and lose 4-3 at home to the enigmatic KC Wizards. Eddie Johnson scores a hat trick and now leads the league in goals with six in eight games. Remember, his career best is only 12... He's on the Gold Cup roster, but we already know he can put three past Panama. We need to see Eddie at the Copa America to see whether he's an international player or not. I was unsure whether to declare the Wiz the real deal a couple of weeks ago, but I'm starting to form an opinion: I just want to see Marinelli fit enough to play 90 before passing judgment.
(2) Free kicks. Man, there were a couple of doozies. Too bad the replay of Christian Gomez's kick doesn't include him, you know, kicking the ball. But I can hardly blame the cameraman: the shot's from about 40 or so yards out. And then Jim Brennan in Toronto scores from about the same distance. Angel has already shown that he's a deep threat. My bottom line (and I've said it before): the foreign imports are going to teach MLS defenders not to foul needlessly anywhere in the vicinity of the goal. That's just one example of how even individual players can improve the standard of play all across the field.
(3) What moves does Chicago make? If they are going to be this bad until Blanco arrives, it may be too late. I don't share coach Dave Sarachan's assessment that they haven't been outplayed this season. In fact, I'd say they've been uniformly outplayed in almost every game but have put together such good moments sporadically that you might be inclined to forget. The team needs Rolfe and Mapp (who's now nursing a hamstring injury) in order to compete. Yes, I think the early season optimism that Jacqua and Herron wouldn't be missed was completely unfounded. The Fire need a goalscorer. And boy do they need some size on the field.
(4) What moves does LA make? When Becks arrives, LA will have two of the best players in the league. Will anyone around them be up to the task though? I don't think the roster looks too bad, so I'm a little surprised they're stuggling this much... Obviously, since their schedule is back-loaded, if there's any team that will have time to recover from a slow start, it's the LA Galaxy.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
A Cure for What Ails You
So how bad were the Fire in last night's 3-0 pasting by New York?
Not really all that bad. They again showed themselves to be a good possession team that just doesn't have much of an idea about what to do with that possession. The tv pundits kept noting that Chicago "lacked the final pass". I agree, but it's not just that: sometimes Mapp would give Calen Carr or Barrett a good ball only for the young strikers to muck it up.
Not really all that bad. They again showed themselves to be a good possession team that just doesn't have much of an idea about what to do with that possession. The tv pundits kept noting that Chicago "lacked the final pass". I agree, but it's not just that: sometimes Mapp would give Calen Carr or Barrett a good ball only for the young strikers to muck it up.
Monday, May 21, 2007
The Road to MLS Cup XII, Week 6
1. Teams that need a steering wheel: the Red Bulls and Chivas USA. The Red Rulls, with their loaded lineup, still need a linchpin. When healthy, that's going to be Claudio Reyna, who's been better than advertised. Without Reyna, the Bulls can look quite pedestrian, as they did last week in a 0-1 home loss to the Rapids(!) But it doesn't need to be Reyna: Bruce Arena moved forward Juan Pablo Angel back a few meters into the midfield and the result was that journeyman striker (and personal favorite) John Wolyniec looked great. Angel bossed the field and the Red Bulls destroyed the Crew 4-0. The Bulls can get all the great wing play they want from their wide players (and does anyone have a better mix than the Arby's, with Schopp, Van Den Bergh, Richards, and Freeman?), but they need someone in the center of the park to put order to it.
And that's what Chivas USA is finding out. I love the look of Chivas USA when they're on-- a bunch of guys who like possessing the ball. But Amado Guevara was going to be the linchpin of that offense and they look a little lost without him. Right now, Chivas USA seems to rely on two things: Panchito Mendoza's ability to clear up space elsewhere on the field with his slashing runs (with or without the ball at his feet) and passing combinations to confuse the defense. And they really do that well (the Telefutura announcer wasn't too far off when he said that Chivas was "asphyxiating the Galaxy"). So why did Chivas tie the Galaxy this weekend? Because they don't have a single person who can make that final pass. Ante Razov might be the best passer up front from the Goats, but the fact is that you want him to be taking (many) shots at goal. Kljesten, Bornstein and Mendoza are fantastic players who will key components on any offense, but you need someone to put it all together. Right now, no one's getting balls to Cuban speedster Maykel Galindo and the Goats are suffering because of it.
The Gals, for their part, looked pretty pedestrian, but... the "veteranisimo" Cobi Jones showed a couple of times why having a soccer brain is so important. On at least two occasions, he played insightful balls forward that Donovan was able to take advantage of. That just further underscores why Chivas USA needs a playmaker (and, incidentally, why the Galaxy need a supporting cast for Lando): during the first half, Cobi freaking Jones looked the most like a pure Number 10 on the field.
2. All This and Nothing: the Chicago Fire. Tongues were wagging when coach Dave Sarachan left volatile Wayne Rooney-think-alike Chad Barrett on the bench on Thursday against Dallas. But Barrett's replacement, Calen Carr, had done enough in spot duty to warrant a start (although he clearly needs more seasoning in front of goal). The real problem is that Chicago doesn't have any ideas. The Fire are still, for my money, the team that loves the ball the most, but damn if they don't have any ideas about what to do with it. Justin Mapp might be a metaphor for the entire team: he may be at turns the best player in the league, but sometimes you wonder if anything will come of it.
I think Dave Sarachan's plan follows the underwear gnome school of coaching: Step 1 Get the ball to Mapp or Rolfe, Step 2 ???, Step 3 GOAL!!! With Rolfe out against FC Burn, the Fire looked like they had even fewer ideas. Sure, they possessed the ball and had some gorgeous sequences. But what did it come to? A 1-2 home defeat to their Brimstone Cup rivals. The best thing you can say about first-time Fire starter Pascal Bedrossian? I hear he played in Europe. Maybe the guy needs more time to settle in, but right now it's not clear why he's starting in MLS (or getting paid decent bank to do so).
Incidentally, Big D's D deserves a lot of credit for their away win: they really worked as a unit to contain an impressive Justin Mapp.
3. All Quiet on the Wasatch Front. Ok-- so they dropped one to FC Dallas, but Jason Kreis's Real Salt Lake is a much better team than John Ellinger's Real Salt Lake. They still need help on defense-- and the loss of Carey Talley in the 10th minute against Dallas didn't help-- but this team is defending better. And as a result, their luxury attacking team is doing better as well, led by none other than Freddy Adu. When your team is not in total crisis, Adu is a nice guy to have around. He seems to do just enough things very well to make people keep saying "Just wait til he develops." I hope Adu keeps pushing himself, but I wonder if we won't all be better off when he realizes that he's a great role player. I mean, the guy draws defenders away, he wins corners-- he's a nice guy to have on the field. But he might never be a star. And that would be ok-- he could probably still be a national teamer if he learned to do a little more dirty work.
4. Karma has paid the Revs back. The Revs deserved better than their season-opening loss to Chicago after only letting in one goal in a first half that the Fire absolutely dominated. The Revs have looked much better since then and you could say that they hadn't been outplayed since. Until their match against Houston. The Revs looked pretty rough (with Andy "We Don't Need Dempsey" Dorman taken off at the half), but they still were able to grind out a win against a frustrated Dynamo team. Call it a mulligan-- the Revs are the best team in MLS. I'm circling July 14th against the Red Bulls-- I think both teams will still be in the elite.
5. The Elite. A couple weeks back, we didn't know who the elite was. Now, I think it's pretty clear that at least two teams are there: the Arby's and the Revs. I'm not ready to anoint FC Dallas just yet, but Juan Toja is a monster pickup who may have launched them into the elite. I think the Wiz still have a ways to go.
6. Guile Monster. Schelotto has yet to turn Cbus around. The result this weekend (a demoralizing 4-0 demolition at the hands of the Red Bulls) would get many coaches fired. Still, Guile showed why everyone was so excited about him: he lined up for one free kick about 40 yards out and... hit the crossbar. He'll make a couple of those eventually. That's just not a threat most MLS teams have. But Guile and (obviously) Beckham will teach MLS defenders to take more care even far from goal. I couldn't help but recall Tim Howard's first game for Man U against Arsenal in the Charity Shield. Thierry Henry was lining up for long-distance free kick. Howard casually set up a three man wall despite Roy Keane's angry insistence that the wall be comprised of at least four. And... Henry hits a perfect shot, the likes of which Howard had never seen in MLS. Here's hoping our next European goalkeeper exports get a little more exposure to dead ball experts.
And that's what Chivas USA is finding out. I love the look of Chivas USA when they're on-- a bunch of guys who like possessing the ball. But Amado Guevara was going to be the linchpin of that offense and they look a little lost without him. Right now, Chivas USA seems to rely on two things: Panchito Mendoza's ability to clear up space elsewhere on the field with his slashing runs (with or without the ball at his feet) and passing combinations to confuse the defense. And they really do that well (the Telefutura announcer wasn't too far off when he said that Chivas was "asphyxiating the Galaxy"). So why did Chivas tie the Galaxy this weekend? Because they don't have a single person who can make that final pass. Ante Razov might be the best passer up front from the Goats, but the fact is that you want him to be taking (many) shots at goal. Kljesten, Bornstein and Mendoza are fantastic players who will key components on any offense, but you need someone to put it all together. Right now, no one's getting balls to Cuban speedster Maykel Galindo and the Goats are suffering because of it.
The Gals, for their part, looked pretty pedestrian, but... the "veteranisimo" Cobi Jones showed a couple of times why having a soccer brain is so important. On at least two occasions, he played insightful balls forward that Donovan was able to take advantage of. That just further underscores why Chivas USA needs a playmaker (and, incidentally, why the Galaxy need a supporting cast for Lando): during the first half, Cobi freaking Jones looked the most like a pure Number 10 on the field.
2. All This and Nothing: the Chicago Fire. Tongues were wagging when coach Dave Sarachan left volatile Wayne Rooney-think-alike Chad Barrett on the bench on Thursday against Dallas. But Barrett's replacement, Calen Carr, had done enough in spot duty to warrant a start (although he clearly needs more seasoning in front of goal). The real problem is that Chicago doesn't have any ideas. The Fire are still, for my money, the team that loves the ball the most, but damn if they don't have any ideas about what to do with it. Justin Mapp might be a metaphor for the entire team: he may be at turns the best player in the league, but sometimes you wonder if anything will come of it.
I think Dave Sarachan's plan follows the underwear gnome school of coaching: Step 1 Get the ball to Mapp or Rolfe, Step 2 ???, Step 3 GOAL!!! With Rolfe out against FC Burn, the Fire looked like they had even fewer ideas. Sure, they possessed the ball and had some gorgeous sequences. But what did it come to? A 1-2 home defeat to their Brimstone Cup rivals. The best thing you can say about first-time Fire starter Pascal Bedrossian? I hear he played in Europe. Maybe the guy needs more time to settle in, but right now it's not clear why he's starting in MLS (or getting paid decent bank to do so).
Incidentally, Big D's D deserves a lot of credit for their away win: they really worked as a unit to contain an impressive Justin Mapp.
3. All Quiet on the Wasatch Front. Ok-- so they dropped one to FC Dallas, but Jason Kreis's Real Salt Lake is a much better team than John Ellinger's Real Salt Lake. They still need help on defense-- and the loss of Carey Talley in the 10th minute against Dallas didn't help-- but this team is defending better. And as a result, their luxury attacking team is doing better as well, led by none other than Freddy Adu. When your team is not in total crisis, Adu is a nice guy to have around. He seems to do just enough things very well to make people keep saying "Just wait til he develops." I hope Adu keeps pushing himself, but I wonder if we won't all be better off when he realizes that he's a great role player. I mean, the guy draws defenders away, he wins corners-- he's a nice guy to have on the field. But he might never be a star. And that would be ok-- he could probably still be a national teamer if he learned to do a little more dirty work.
4. Karma has paid the Revs back. The Revs deserved better than their season-opening loss to Chicago after only letting in one goal in a first half that the Fire absolutely dominated. The Revs have looked much better since then and you could say that they hadn't been outplayed since. Until their match against Houston. The Revs looked pretty rough (with Andy "We Don't Need Dempsey" Dorman taken off at the half), but they still were able to grind out a win against a frustrated Dynamo team. Call it a mulligan-- the Revs are the best team in MLS. I'm circling July 14th against the Red Bulls-- I think both teams will still be in the elite.
5. The Elite. A couple weeks back, we didn't know who the elite was. Now, I think it's pretty clear that at least two teams are there: the Arby's and the Revs. I'm not ready to anoint FC Dallas just yet, but Juan Toja is a monster pickup who may have launched them into the elite. I think the Wiz still have a ways to go.
6. Guile Monster. Schelotto has yet to turn Cbus around. The result this weekend (a demoralizing 4-0 demolition at the hands of the Red Bulls) would get many coaches fired. Still, Guile showed why everyone was so excited about him: he lined up for one free kick about 40 yards out and... hit the crossbar. He'll make a couple of those eventually. That's just not a threat most MLS teams have. But Guile and (obviously) Beckham will teach MLS defenders to take more care even far from goal. I couldn't help but recall Tim Howard's first game for Man U against Arsenal in the Charity Shield. Thierry Henry was lining up for long-distance free kick. Howard casually set up a three man wall despite Roy Keane's angry insistence that the wall be comprised of at least four. And... Henry hits a perfect shot, the likes of which Howard had never seen in MLS. Here's hoping our next European goalkeeper exports get a little more exposure to dead ball experts.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The Outlaw Jozy Altidore
By now, everyone's seen teen phenom Jozy Altidore's "IMpossible is nothing" Adidas spot. In it, he starts out by saying that, when he was 5, he kicked the ball so hard that parents were worried he'd hurt the other kids. So, he had to play with older kids.
But you wonder how the parents of the 8 year olds felt when Jozy shoots his ball through their children's sternum-- definitely a mortal blow: in the commercial, a cartoon Altidore kicks the ball through three cartoon defenders to score a goal.
At least there was no Doom-style splatter.
But you wonder how the parents of the 8 year olds felt when Jozy shoots his ball through their children's sternum-- definitely a mortal blow: in the commercial, a cartoon Altidore kicks the ball through three cartoon defenders to score a goal.
At least there was no Doom-style splatter.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Toronto FC-- Every Dog has its Day
The top story this week is easy: Toronto FC 3: Chicago Fire 1.
The expansion team gets its first goal, first red card and first win. Naturally, everyone had picked the Fire to dominate this game. But I think this ending was as foreshadowed as Macbeth killing the king:
First, I had asked earlier if the Fire were a paper tiger. Despite compiling an impressive record against the league's best teams, the Fire have been outplayed in large stretches of every match except against Kansas City. They are capable of playing the best soccer in the league on the backs of Justin Mapp and Chris Rolfe, but they are a supremely fragile team that has had a few breaks go their way.
Second, Toronto really weren't as bad as they seemed. Initially, a number of good soccer writers thought that FC would be a decent expansion side. Probably no one expected struggles to rival Real Salt Lake: Toronto had a pretty impressive array of talent-- Eskandarian and Buddle are both [i]capable[/i] of 10 goal seasons. Ronnie O'Brien and Richard Mulrooney are perhaps the best in MLS at their positions. And Mo Johnston had put together a roster full of guys on defense who had played in EUROPE! This team was going to be pretty good. AND they had Conor Casey, who had also played in EUROPE!
So how did this team go 0-4 without any goals to start the season-- and how did they put together this win at home?
(1) Mo Johnston went out and got some MLS defenders. Marvell Wynne and Kevin "Bobcat" Goldthwaite aren't exactly MLS Best XI defenders, but they've both played in this league. In contrast, Marco Reda came from Songdal in Norway. I think the Norwegian league is probably equivalent to MLS. BUT success there is absolutely no guarantee of success in MLS. Trotting out English first division players and Scandinavian top flight veterans is not a recipe for an MLS Championship.
Goldthwaite instantly repaid Mo Jo's decision to bring him in by having a career game against Chicago and even scoring a goal. There should a rule-- let's call MLS Expansion Rule No. 1-- If you want to be successful in MLS, build from the back. MLS defenders don't cost much money, but you need a few solid veterans if you want to make a run. Salt Lake is the perfect example of how to screw this up: John Ellinger never learned Rule No.1, but I bet Kreis is smarter and will spend some of the money RSL is getting from the league (ironically, to compensate for Kreis's retirement as a player...) on defensive-minded veterans.
(2) Settling things in the back really helped out Toronto's midfield. Andy Welsh, in particular, looked like he figured out to play in MLS, but a lot of that had to do with just getting the ball in better positions.
(3) The acquisition of Dichio looms large. Danny Dichio has the potential to be a major MLS scorer. Forget his and Mo Jo's hype about how MLS defenders have never seen anything like him (part of the whole massive Canadian and European tendency to want to "educate" us about soccer). It's hardly the first time that MLS defenders have faced an imposing target forward (geez-- remember Mamadou Diallo?). But Dichio will cause trouble-- and he certainly did for Chicago. It's fitting that he'd score FC's first ever goal.
(4) Ronnie O'Brien is a bad ass. Simply put, some of Toronto's problems just come down to the fact that O'Brien, the best player on their roster, was injured. O'Brien, with his leg so wrapped in tape that he looked like the Michelin Man, was massively influential. He didn't get on the board, but his vicious long range blasts made defenders step up-- which created space in the box.
(5) No. 1 draft pick Maurice Edu is solid. He too was injured for the first couple of games. He played well enough in the first two, but against Chicago, he had his coming out party.
(6) The fans. No, Toronto's not the first MLS town to have passionate fans. But the fans created an imposing atmosphere, throwing approximately all 20,000 seat cushions that had been given away at the gates. When the TV announcers mentioned at the half that Chicago had requested a covered bench, you kind of wondered if it was all over for the Fire. Sure enough, they came out of the break tentatively and were rightly punished by FC.
Put it all together: Mo Jo's biggest mistake was not putting together an MLS-ready defense. FC suffered a few key injuries. And that was a recipe for a terrible starts. But with the addition of two MLS defenders, one bull of a center forward, and the return from injury of O'Brien and Edu, Toronto should be much better from here out.
The expansion team gets its first goal, first red card and first win. Naturally, everyone had picked the Fire to dominate this game. But I think this ending was as foreshadowed as Macbeth killing the king:
First, I had asked earlier if the Fire were a paper tiger. Despite compiling an impressive record against the league's best teams, the Fire have been outplayed in large stretches of every match except against Kansas City. They are capable of playing the best soccer in the league on the backs of Justin Mapp and Chris Rolfe, but they are a supremely fragile team that has had a few breaks go their way.
Second, Toronto really weren't as bad as they seemed. Initially, a number of good soccer writers thought that FC would be a decent expansion side. Probably no one expected struggles to rival Real Salt Lake: Toronto had a pretty impressive array of talent-- Eskandarian and Buddle are both [i]capable[/i] of 10 goal seasons. Ronnie O'Brien and Richard Mulrooney are perhaps the best in MLS at their positions. And Mo Johnston had put together a roster full of guys on defense who had played in EUROPE! This team was going to be pretty good. AND they had Conor Casey, who had also played in EUROPE!
So how did this team go 0-4 without any goals to start the season-- and how did they put together this win at home?
(1) Mo Johnston went out and got some MLS defenders. Marvell Wynne and Kevin "Bobcat" Goldthwaite aren't exactly MLS Best XI defenders, but they've both played in this league. In contrast, Marco Reda came from Songdal in Norway. I think the Norwegian league is probably equivalent to MLS. BUT success there is absolutely no guarantee of success in MLS. Trotting out English first division players and Scandinavian top flight veterans is not a recipe for an MLS Championship.
Goldthwaite instantly repaid Mo Jo's decision to bring him in by having a career game against Chicago and even scoring a goal. There should a rule-- let's call MLS Expansion Rule No. 1-- If you want to be successful in MLS, build from the back. MLS defenders don't cost much money, but you need a few solid veterans if you want to make a run. Salt Lake is the perfect example of how to screw this up: John Ellinger never learned Rule No.1, but I bet Kreis is smarter and will spend some of the money RSL is getting from the league (ironically, to compensate for Kreis's retirement as a player...) on defensive-minded veterans.
(2) Settling things in the back really helped out Toronto's midfield. Andy Welsh, in particular, looked like he figured out to play in MLS, but a lot of that had to do with just getting the ball in better positions.
(3) The acquisition of Dichio looms large. Danny Dichio has the potential to be a major MLS scorer. Forget his and Mo Jo's hype about how MLS defenders have never seen anything like him (part of the whole massive Canadian and European tendency to want to "educate" us about soccer). It's hardly the first time that MLS defenders have faced an imposing target forward (geez-- remember Mamadou Diallo?). But Dichio will cause trouble-- and he certainly did for Chicago. It's fitting that he'd score FC's first ever goal.
(4) Ronnie O'Brien is a bad ass. Simply put, some of Toronto's problems just come down to the fact that O'Brien, the best player on their roster, was injured. O'Brien, with his leg so wrapped in tape that he looked like the Michelin Man, was massively influential. He didn't get on the board, but his vicious long range blasts made defenders step up-- which created space in the box.
(5) No. 1 draft pick Maurice Edu is solid. He too was injured for the first couple of games. He played well enough in the first two, but against Chicago, he had his coming out party.
(6) The fans. No, Toronto's not the first MLS town to have passionate fans. But the fans created an imposing atmosphere, throwing approximately all 20,000 seat cushions that had been given away at the gates. When the TV announcers mentioned at the half that Chicago had requested a covered bench, you kind of wondered if it was all over for the Fire. Sure enough, they came out of the break tentatively and were rightly punished by FC.
Put it all together: Mo Jo's biggest mistake was not putting together an MLS-ready defense. FC suffered a few key injuries. And that was a recipe for a terrible starts. But with the addition of two MLS defenders, one bull of a center forward, and the return from injury of O'Brien and Edu, Toronto should be much better from here out.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
MLS Salaries: Some Folks Just Don't Get It
http://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/galaxy/la-sp-soccer8may08,1,1603115.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-soccer-gal
More than a few commentators have blasted MLS as a "low cost league" by pointing out that developmental players on MLS squads can make as little $12,900 a year.
Ah, such short memories.
MLS didn't always pay so little but that's because the developmental player positions did not exist. Teams were limited to 18 players-- their depth was severely challenged on a regular basis. And if MLS teams did have any reserve players, they would have had few chances to play-- the reserve league wasn't even a glimmer in the league's eye. The league brass made the decision, with the full agreement of the players' union, that they were going to expand the rosters-- they made the decision to employ more soccer players-- these players were expected to be marginal players-- they wouldn't have made the old 18 man roster for any MLS teams. As such, they were going to be classified as "developmental" players and be paid quasi-internship wages. Critics of the program didn't balk at the low wages-- instead, they just assumed that any players uncovered by the program would be low-quality and wouldn't have any impact.
But a funny thing happened: some of these developmental players started banging in goals, like Herculez Gomez. Others started on their teams, and soon became league stars, like Bobby Boswell. Then the argument about the developmental players shifted: how could MLS actually be paying starters peanuts? Sure, Boswell and Gomez both renegotiated their deals, but it did take some time-- and not everyone is so lucky. But does this mean that we should pay all developmental players more?
NO.
I don't ever want to see the day when MLS doesn't have a few players on the payroll making $12,000. Let me explain: I'm not opposed to the players negotiating for whatever they can get. If we gave all current developmental players a 100% increase, that would be great, but only if we then expanded rosters to include a few more young players who only make $12k. Why? Because some players are so risky that they are only worth 12k. But, as we've seen with the developmental player program, some of those guys WILL develop into stars. If you eliminate 12k developmental slots on teams, those guys simply won't get picked up at all.
Some folks will say that paying players so little is automatically a black-eye for the league. Hardly: as Ivan Gazidis of MLS points out, developmental player salaries are equivalent to minor league baseball player salaries. Of course, Gazidis neglects to mention that if a minor leaguer gets called to the bigs, he automatically gets paid a Major League salary. Maybe some mechanism like that is the way forward for MLS: if a developmental player plays in a league game, he should be paid a pro-rated share of the senior roster minimum of $30,000. But for godsakes, don't eliminate the "minor league" ballplayers from the MLS pool-- just expand the opportunities in front of them.
More than a few commentators have blasted MLS as a "low cost league" by pointing out that developmental players on MLS squads can make as little $12,900 a year.
Ah, such short memories.
MLS didn't always pay so little but that's because the developmental player positions did not exist. Teams were limited to 18 players-- their depth was severely challenged on a regular basis. And if MLS teams did have any reserve players, they would have had few chances to play-- the reserve league wasn't even a glimmer in the league's eye. The league brass made the decision, with the full agreement of the players' union, that they were going to expand the rosters-- they made the decision to employ more soccer players-- these players were expected to be marginal players-- they wouldn't have made the old 18 man roster for any MLS teams. As such, they were going to be classified as "developmental" players and be paid quasi-internship wages. Critics of the program didn't balk at the low wages-- instead, they just assumed that any players uncovered by the program would be low-quality and wouldn't have any impact.
But a funny thing happened: some of these developmental players started banging in goals, like Herculez Gomez. Others started on their teams, and soon became league stars, like Bobby Boswell. Then the argument about the developmental players shifted: how could MLS actually be paying starters peanuts? Sure, Boswell and Gomez both renegotiated their deals, but it did take some time-- and not everyone is so lucky. But does this mean that we should pay all developmental players more?
NO.
I don't ever want to see the day when MLS doesn't have a few players on the payroll making $12,000. Let me explain: I'm not opposed to the players negotiating for whatever they can get. If we gave all current developmental players a 100% increase, that would be great, but only if we then expanded rosters to include a few more young players who only make $12k. Why? Because some players are so risky that they are only worth 12k. But, as we've seen with the developmental player program, some of those guys WILL develop into stars. If you eliminate 12k developmental slots on teams, those guys simply won't get picked up at all.
Some folks will say that paying players so little is automatically a black-eye for the league. Hardly: as Ivan Gazidis of MLS points out, developmental player salaries are equivalent to minor league baseball player salaries. Of course, Gazidis neglects to mention that if a minor leaguer gets called to the bigs, he automatically gets paid a Major League salary. Maybe some mechanism like that is the way forward for MLS: if a developmental player plays in a league game, he should be paid a pro-rated share of the senior roster minimum of $30,000. But for godsakes, don't eliminate the "minor league" ballplayers from the MLS pool-- just expand the opportunities in front of them.
Monday, May 7, 2007
The Road to MLS Cup, Week 4
Some early season questions have been answered-- there were some players who could really go either way this year, but the following guys now must be considered to be impact players:
1. Clint Mathis. I almost don't want to write about this guy because so much ink's already been spilled. I, like almost everyone, had written the guy off. But then we caught a glimpse of the old Cleetus in last year's playoffs, and despite your better judgment, you start to think maybe Mathis still has it. The start to the season, with 3 goals and 2 assists (and only one ejection so far!), couldn't be better. Can he keep going? In a way, that's the wrong question. With the shining exception of the 2000 season, when he was the most explosive US player of the modern era, Mathis has always been inconsistent, so I won't be shocked if there are more outbursts and more trouble ahead. So true consistency is really too much to ask: instead, be happy that the mercurial talent is producing at all.
2. Khano Smith. The Revs' Bermudan winger is a great example of something MLS does well: the league is the best platform for Carribean players. I think Smith is poised for a breakout year-- defenses are constantly shifting to try to contain him (witness Chicago moving Dasan Robinson to try to get someone who could at least slow Smith-- it worked-- sort of-- Chicago ended up losing track of players and losing 3-1). And when you consider that the Revs have Steve Ralston, MLS's all-time best crosser, banging in balls from the other side of the field, it's a true compliment to Smith's abilities.
3. Chris Rolfe. There's something off about Chicago's Chris Rolfe. After Rolfe had some rookie success after joining the league as a supremely unheralded rookie, I read an interview with him. He basically said that he lacked confidence and wasn't at all sure of his abilities. Stunning admissions from a professional athlete-- never mind a budding star and national team member who can dazzle with his trickery. But sometimes, you can see the uncertainty eat at Rolfe-- he seems to take failure hard. But so far this year (and to be fair, every year), Rolfe has been The Man for the Fire.
4. Maykel Galindo. His goal-scoring for Chivas USA has definitely taken some of the load off of Ante Razov.
5. Roberto Brown. Another Latin American goal-scorer-- these guys are great acquisitions for any team that puts in the time to scout them. It really makes you wonder why more MLS teams haven't benefited.
1. Clint Mathis. I almost don't want to write about this guy because so much ink's already been spilled. I, like almost everyone, had written the guy off. But then we caught a glimpse of the old Cleetus in last year's playoffs, and despite your better judgment, you start to think maybe Mathis still has it. The start to the season, with 3 goals and 2 assists (and only one ejection so far!), couldn't be better. Can he keep going? In a way, that's the wrong question. With the shining exception of the 2000 season, when he was the most explosive US player of the modern era, Mathis has always been inconsistent, so I won't be shocked if there are more outbursts and more trouble ahead. So true consistency is really too much to ask: instead, be happy that the mercurial talent is producing at all.
2. Khano Smith. The Revs' Bermudan winger is a great example of something MLS does well: the league is the best platform for Carribean players. I think Smith is poised for a breakout year-- defenses are constantly shifting to try to contain him (witness Chicago moving Dasan Robinson to try to get someone who could at least slow Smith-- it worked-- sort of-- Chicago ended up losing track of players and losing 3-1). And when you consider that the Revs have Steve Ralston, MLS's all-time best crosser, banging in balls from the other side of the field, it's a true compliment to Smith's abilities.
3. Chris Rolfe. There's something off about Chicago's Chris Rolfe. After Rolfe had some rookie success after joining the league as a supremely unheralded rookie, I read an interview with him. He basically said that he lacked confidence and wasn't at all sure of his abilities. Stunning admissions from a professional athlete-- never mind a budding star and national team member who can dazzle with his trickery. But sometimes, you can see the uncertainty eat at Rolfe-- he seems to take failure hard. But so far this year (and to be fair, every year), Rolfe has been The Man for the Fire.
4. Maykel Galindo. His goal-scoring for Chivas USA has definitely taken some of the load off of Ante Razov.
5. Roberto Brown. Another Latin American goal-scorer-- these guys are great acquisitions for any team that puts in the time to scout them. It really makes you wonder why more MLS teams haven't benefited.
Friday, May 4, 2007
I want his agent!
The list of MLS player salaries is out today here:
http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/5_2_07_salary_info_club.pdf
As always, you can scan the list and find great players still stuck on their first or second contracts (e.g. 2006 MLS Defender of the Year Bobby Boswell makes $30,000... At least he has his good looks to fall back on, and can probably get some sort of sugar momma action. Chad Barrett doesn't make much more money and looks like a slightly less attractive Wayne Rooney.) However, this year's most underpaid player is possibly New England's Andy Dorman at less than $31,000. He's had to step into Clint Dempsey's Texas-sized shoes and has done a pretty good job so far-- Revs head coach Little Steven sures know how to find some bargains.
But I've got to say it works both ways-- there are a few players that have done well for themselves. Example 1: Not 2006 MLS Defender of the Year Patrick Ianni. His MLS career, which began last year consists of TWO minutes. His salary: guaranteed $103,000, or more that 3 times Mr. Boswell's. According to his MLS bio (here: http://houston.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t200&player=ianni_p&playerId=ian432955&statType=current), his hobbies include "reading, studying God’s Word", so maybe there's something to this religion thing.
http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/5_2_07_salary_info_club.pdf
As always, you can scan the list and find great players still stuck on their first or second contracts (e.g. 2006 MLS Defender of the Year Bobby Boswell makes $30,000... At least he has his good looks to fall back on, and can probably get some sort of sugar momma action. Chad Barrett doesn't make much more money and looks like a slightly less attractive Wayne Rooney.) However, this year's most underpaid player is possibly New England's Andy Dorman at less than $31,000. He's had to step into Clint Dempsey's Texas-sized shoes and has done a pretty good job so far-- Revs head coach Little Steven sures know how to find some bargains.
But I've got to say it works both ways-- there are a few players that have done well for themselves. Example 1: Not 2006 MLS Defender of the Year Patrick Ianni. His MLS career, which began last year consists of TWO minutes. His salary: guaranteed $103,000, or more that 3 times Mr. Boswell's. According to his MLS bio (here: http://houston.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t200&player=ianni_p&playerId=ian432955&statType=current), his hobbies include "reading, studying God’s Word", so maybe there's something to this religion thing.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
The Second Coming of Kreis
I was confused on Tuesday morning, which is nothing out of the ordinary. But I was scratching my head with particular vigor because I couldn't quite understand how head coach John Ellinger still had a job after an ugly defeat on Monday night for his Real Salt Lake team against the rival Colorado Rapids. And the Rapids weren't just rivals: one of their players, Pablo Mastroeni, had even gotten into a screaming match with Dave Checketts, Real's owner following a match last season.
In other words, it was a must-win game.
But Tuesday morning came and went. No word from Salt Lake. Chelsea and Man U came and went. Still no word from Salt Lake.
But today, we got a bombshell: Jason Kreis, the Real capitan and all-time MLS leading goalscorer, was retiring as a player to take over as head coach.
It's a decision I have a tough time understanding. Yes, it was time for Ellinger to go-- he made too many mistakes in his MLS career (from taking talented, but not ready for Primetime Nik Basagno with his first pick in 2005, to trading away all-important allocations, to... not protecting key player Jason Kreis in the expansion draft this year and needing to use a partial allocation to get him back) and his team this year seemed to perform well below the collective level of its luxurious pieces.
But I have a feeling that success for RSL needs to consist of more than a resolution to "make fewer mistakes": I think they need an experienced, tactically adept coach who can actually make something of the disparate pieces. Is Kreis that guy? He seems like a smart guy-- and always was a smart player, but you wonder if he's going to have the tools to do this job.
And I'm also disappointed to see one of the league's all-time greats go out this way. Critics will point out that Kreis never really made it with the US national team as proof that he really wasn't that great in the first place (although his supporters might also point out that he didn't really have too many chances...) I'd sidestep that debate: Kreis's skillset was ideal for hot days in Dallas: not fast, but quick-thinking, with a good eye for players making precious runs and a cannon shot when tired defenders hesitated on closing him down. He could be absolutely deadly-- and I'm a little sad that he won't add to his 108 goals. An exciting, if unusual, race was developing: two slowing down MLS stars, Jaime Moreno and Kreis battling for the all-time goal lead. They were racing not just each other, but the end of their playing careers. With guys like Razov and Cunningham not far behind (not too mention younger guys like Twellman and Ruiz), it's possible the any victory in this battle would have been purely Pyrrhic. But definitely, a part of me wanted to see Moreno and Kreis duke it out for at least one more year.
Kreis deserves credit for a great MLS career-- and for being an American goalscorer during a period when all of the leaders were imported. It's a shame RSL couldn't send him off with a victory, but perhaps inevitable, considering the circumstances of his retirement. All you can do is wish this true class act all the best, as he starts work on the Sisyphean task of making RSL less sucky.
In other words, it was a must-win game.
But Tuesday morning came and went. No word from Salt Lake. Chelsea and Man U came and went. Still no word from Salt Lake.
But today, we got a bombshell: Jason Kreis, the Real capitan and all-time MLS leading goalscorer, was retiring as a player to take over as head coach.
It's a decision I have a tough time understanding. Yes, it was time for Ellinger to go-- he made too many mistakes in his MLS career (from taking talented, but not ready for Primetime Nik Basagno with his first pick in 2005, to trading away all-important allocations, to... not protecting key player Jason Kreis in the expansion draft this year and needing to use a partial allocation to get him back) and his team this year seemed to perform well below the collective level of its luxurious pieces.
But I have a feeling that success for RSL needs to consist of more than a resolution to "make fewer mistakes": I think they need an experienced, tactically adept coach who can actually make something of the disparate pieces. Is Kreis that guy? He seems like a smart guy-- and always was a smart player, but you wonder if he's going to have the tools to do this job.
And I'm also disappointed to see one of the league's all-time greats go out this way. Critics will point out that Kreis never really made it with the US national team as proof that he really wasn't that great in the first place (although his supporters might also point out that he didn't really have too many chances...) I'd sidestep that debate: Kreis's skillset was ideal for hot days in Dallas: not fast, but quick-thinking, with a good eye for players making precious runs and a cannon shot when tired defenders hesitated on closing him down. He could be absolutely deadly-- and I'm a little sad that he won't add to his 108 goals. An exciting, if unusual, race was developing: two slowing down MLS stars, Jaime Moreno and Kreis battling for the all-time goal lead. They were racing not just each other, but the end of their playing careers. With guys like Razov and Cunningham not far behind (not too mention younger guys like Twellman and Ruiz), it's possible the any victory in this battle would have been purely Pyrrhic. But definitely, a part of me wanted to see Moreno and Kreis duke it out for at least one more year.
Kreis deserves credit for a great MLS career-- and for being an American goalscorer during a period when all of the leaders were imported. It's a shame RSL couldn't send him off with a victory, but perhaps inevitable, considering the circumstances of his retirement. All you can do is wish this true class act all the best, as he starts work on the Sisyphean task of making RSL less sucky.
Soccer Etiquette, by A Canadian
On a fundamental level, I am wary of cross-cultural attempts to "educate" people. From British attempts to teach me dental hygiene to the well-intentioned efforts of Peace Corps volunteers to teach New Guinea tribes how to farm which ended in the near total destruction of the tribes' eco-system, the education is often worse than ignorance.
So now that Toronto FC is in the league, we've got Canadians lecturing us on soccer etiquette, which is vaguely like William Shatner giving singing lessons.
http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/209992
First, I've got to give respect to the Toronto Star for great soccer coverage. Second, I've got to give a ridiculous amount of respect to the footie fans in Toronto: their support of their truly godawful team IS inspiring. The 14,000 season tickets sold is a league record, by a large margin.
But here's what Toronto is not: the first city to get real "European-style" support for its MLS team. Cathal Kelly, the Toronto Star columnist, is new to the league and can be forgiven for not knowing this. Kelly can also be forgiven for being excited about the team: these are heady moments in Toronto soccer history.
Kelly was writing about the first MLS goal scored in Beemo Field during Toronto's home opener: despite an organized effort by Toronto, Kansas City's Eddie Johnson broke free and scored the game winner. He proceded to make "a beeline for the fans in the rowdy south end. Once there, he spread his legs, threw up his arms and presented himself like Liza Minnelli finishing up the closing number in Cabaret."
But here's where Kelly goes wrong: "In most other cities in Major League Soccer, the fans would have stared mutely. In most other countries, they would have poured out of the stands to kill him. Toronto struck the happy medium. One fan launched what appeared to be the contents of his beer mug at Johnson, striking a direct hit. More beer followed. Someone tossed an empty plastic water bottle."
Kelly reminds us then of the "international rule" of goal celebrations: you don't include the fans, unless they're your own. Finally, Kelly remarks "Now that MLS has arrived in Toronto, visiting teams must realize that north of the border there are new rules. Taunting will have repercussions."
Nice writing. But it's just not true. The article would be more convincing if Jozy Altidore hadn't just gotten a beer shower from Houston fans after scoring a goal. It would be more convincing if Clint Mathis hadn't actually gotten a beer shower from his own fans in 2003 after another poor performance (Clint, in a truly classy move, went after the fans in the stands). I don't even want to imagine what Chivas USA fans would do if Landon decided to shimmy shimmy shake in front of their hard-core support.
But while we're on the subject, it's not like MLS is the only place that such celebrations... Yes, even in Europe, once in a while, some player will cup his hand to his ear after scoring an away goal. As such, there's no need to lecture Johnson on the "international" rules...
So now that Toronto FC is in the league, we've got Canadians lecturing us on soccer etiquette, which is vaguely like William Shatner giving singing lessons.
http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/209992
First, I've got to give respect to the Toronto Star for great soccer coverage. Second, I've got to give a ridiculous amount of respect to the footie fans in Toronto: their support of their truly godawful team IS inspiring. The 14,000 season tickets sold is a league record, by a large margin.
But here's what Toronto is not: the first city to get real "European-style" support for its MLS team. Cathal Kelly, the Toronto Star columnist, is new to the league and can be forgiven for not knowing this. Kelly can also be forgiven for being excited about the team: these are heady moments in Toronto soccer history.
Kelly was writing about the first MLS goal scored in Beemo Field during Toronto's home opener: despite an organized effort by Toronto, Kansas City's Eddie Johnson broke free and scored the game winner. He proceded to make "a beeline for the fans in the rowdy south end. Once there, he spread his legs, threw up his arms and presented himself like Liza Minnelli finishing up the closing number in Cabaret."
But here's where Kelly goes wrong: "In most other cities in Major League Soccer, the fans would have stared mutely. In most other countries, they would have poured out of the stands to kill him. Toronto struck the happy medium. One fan launched what appeared to be the contents of his beer mug at Johnson, striking a direct hit. More beer followed. Someone tossed an empty plastic water bottle."
Kelly reminds us then of the "international rule" of goal celebrations: you don't include the fans, unless they're your own. Finally, Kelly remarks "Now that MLS has arrived in Toronto, visiting teams must realize that north of the border there are new rules. Taunting will have repercussions."
Nice writing. But it's just not true. The article would be more convincing if Jozy Altidore hadn't just gotten a beer shower from Houston fans after scoring a goal. It would be more convincing if Clint Mathis hadn't actually gotten a beer shower from his own fans in 2003 after another poor performance (Clint, in a truly classy move, went after the fans in the stands). I don't even want to imagine what Chivas USA fans would do if Landon decided to shimmy shimmy shake in front of their hard-core support.
But while we're on the subject, it's not like MLS is the only place that such celebrations... Yes, even in Europe, once in a while, some player will cup his hand to his ear after scoring an away goal. As such, there's no need to lecture Johnson on the "international" rules...
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Quote of the Day: Kyle Beckerman
So the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake have a little bit of a rivalry-- they even have a nice-looking trophy to commemorate the winner of each season's series: the Rocky Mountain Cup, which Colorado has taken for the past two years. But as is so often the case, it's really the off-field antics that make the rivalry fun. Last year, after another Rapids victory, Colorado midfielder Pablo Mastroeni took off his shirt, stuffed it down his shorts and pointed to his crotch, which is universal sign language for "suck a fat one".
But Pablo proved equally adept at verbal communication and managed to get into an argument with Real's owner, Dave Checketts about his behavior in front of the fans.
So, with yesterday's game, when the Rapids score a couple of soft goals against a determined, but hardly inspired Real in Salt Lake, what do they do? They celebrate like they liberated Europe. Which leads to more boos and anger from both the crowd and players in Salt Lake.
Kyle Beckerman's response? "They run their mouth the whole game. If their team is mad when we celebrate (a win), tell them to win the game."
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_5789426
Exactly right. You don't want Colorado Rapids players to act like 16 year old passing a driving test? Win the game.
It's got to be tough for the Real fans: they were committed and deserve special mention for being riled up for a Monday night game. But the bottom line is that they've got to start winning. Frankly, I'm shocked that head coach John Ellinger still has his job.
But Pablo proved equally adept at verbal communication and managed to get into an argument with Real's owner, Dave Checketts about his behavior in front of the fans.
So, with yesterday's game, when the Rapids score a couple of soft goals against a determined, but hardly inspired Real in Salt Lake, what do they do? They celebrate like they liberated Europe. Which leads to more boos and anger from both the crowd and players in Salt Lake.
Kyle Beckerman's response? "They run their mouth the whole game. If their team is mad when we celebrate (a win), tell them to win the game."
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_5789426
Exactly right. You don't want Colorado Rapids players to act like 16 year old passing a driving test? Win the game.
It's got to be tough for the Real fans: they were committed and deserve special mention for being riled up for a Monday night game. But the bottom line is that they've got to start winning. Frankly, I'm shocked that head coach John Ellinger still has his job.
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