Freddie speaks up, asks for the impossible

by CarlosT on Oct 21, 2009 10:15 PM PDT in Sounders: MLS Regular Season

Freddie asks for something we'd all like to see:

A good example is Paul Scholes who I personally saw as the best player in United for many years.

He never got as much media attention as he maybe deserved, but as a footballer he was and still is fantastic.

MLS maybe should go for players like Paul as it will help to have several experienced international players per team.

If you come alone it is much harder to make a change fast. If you instead are two or three players then you really can accomplish something together with the rest of the Team.

I might get back to this issue later on….

//Freddie

In terms of play on the field, Freddie is right. The quality would definitely improve greatly if there were two or three players on each team that could be relied upon to have great first touch; crisp, precise passing; and clinical finishing. However, the problem is that right now what he's talking about is impossible, under the current MLS salary cap system. Unless a player like Scholes is willing to play in MLS as a recreational activity, he would require a DP slot, considering that his salary was reported in 2008 to be £3 million or nearly $5 million. And as we all know, getting two such players would require trading for a second DP slot. Therefore, at most half the teams could have two DPs at any time, with the other teams having none. Of course, three is just impossible, because without a DP slot a player like Scholes would consume a team's entire salary cap a couple times over.

This is yet another example of a fundamental tension in MLS. They want to put a good quality product on the field so they can attract fans who really know the game. At the same time, they want to control costs and avoid the kind of spending that eventually did in the NASL. These twin goals are pulling in opposite directions. At the moment, MLS is willing to put out a lower quality product and let the cost controllers win because there are many more have-nots in the league than haves. But how long can that remain true? When will the point of no return arrive where MLS is forced to either invest in more top quality players or abandon all hope of converting soccer fans who are turned off by the quality of play in the league? I think after Philadelphia, Vancouver, and Portland join the league we may approach that point quickly. The addition of 72 roster spots (24 each) will mean that the available talent will be spread very thin. If the quality of play stagnates or even declines MLS could be forced to take drastic measures it hasn't been willing to consider previously.

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I don’t know that there more have nots than haves if you count the 2011 expansion

Have
Seattle
New York
Houston
Toronto
Vancouver
Chicago
Dallas (they turn a profit)
LA Galaxy
Houston
(Montreal when)

Nots
KC
SJ
Colorado

Who Knows?
Chivas
Columbus
Portland
Philly
New England
RSL
DC (their lease sucks)

Lastly, it was weird to find my own blog linked somewhere else for a story I hadn’t written. It may be a bit before I get used to it.

by Dave Clark on Oct 22, 2009 8:36 AM PDT reply actions

I thought it was interesting that Freddie says that two internationals would give a team a big advantage. I wonder if he counts Kellar in that company. I certainly would!

by Michael on Oct 22, 2009 9:10 AM PDT reply actions

Dave, if Freddie is talking about two or three players at Scholes’ level, then the kind of money we’re talking about is $10 – $20 million a year in salary. The “haves”, in my mind, would be the teams that could pay that without thinking about it too hard. Seattle, LA, and Toronto fit that bill without a doubt. The others in your “haves” list I’m not so sure about. New York and Houston could probably do it, but Dallas? I feel very confident that if they are turning a profit, it’s mainly through cost control. With the lowest attendances in the league, they’re certainly not doing it with gate revenues.

I guess other ways to ask the question are when will MLS be ready for eight-figure salary budgets across the board? Or will they be willing to sacrifice parity and allow the clubs who have the money to spend it?

by CarlosT on Oct 22, 2009 10:40 AM PDT reply actions

Dallas’ profit is actually through renting their stadium for concerts and high school football.

I also tend to include the SUM profits in the Haves configuration, as teams are making nearly 10M$ per year (remember the Summer of Soccer?).

by Dave Clark on Oct 22, 2009 10:59 AM PDT reply actions

Are there any published figures anywhere on which teams are making money and which aren’t? Dave, so are you saying the teams in the “Have” column are turning 10 million in profit or more?

I thought I’ve seen in various places talk of the Galaxy, Toronto, and now the Sounders were the only teams turning a profit. I found that really hard to believe personally.

by soundersfcfanboy on Oct 22, 2009 11:38 AM PDT reply actions

Forbes estimates for the 2007 season had LAG, TFC and FCD as the only teams turning profits. But they did not include SUM profit distribution.

Their 2008 report is not out, and the 2009 can’t be out until at least 6 months after the season concludes.

by Dave Clark on Oct 22, 2009 12:07 PM PDT reply actions

Here is an article from ESPN regarding the strength of MLS. The local angle is this:

It is amazing that SSFC accounts for 12.5 percent of the attendance for the entire league. The Sounders have been an overwhelming success off the field.

The MLS still needs to keep the salary cap, but there are ways to tweak it here and there. There are aspects of the big three sports caps or sharing of revenues that MLS might be able to adopt.
This is my first year following MLS and I get the feeling that teams were not very imaginative in marketing their teams and the sport. Hopefully, Seattle has turned MLS upside down. Toronto has has shown how to do it and Seattle took what they did and did it better.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=687260&sec=mls&root=mls&cc=5901

by Coug1990 on Oct 22, 2009 10:24 PM PDT reply actions

Somehow I screwed up the formatting and deleted the statement from ESPN. Here it is:

Expansion club Seattle has kept attendance at a respectable level with fans flocking in record numbers to Qwest Field. The Sounders are poised to set the league’s all-time attendance record, currently averaging 30,709 fans. That is double (and sometimes triple) the averages of nine teams in the 15-team league and accounts for 12.5 percent of the league’s total attendance this season.

by Coug1990 on Oct 22, 2009 10:26 PM PDT reply actions