Protecting the Shield...

Jurgen Klinsmann critical comments about Major League Soccer and Don Garbers subsequent response has caused a firestorm of opinions from pundits and observers of american soccer throughout the country. I understand all parties involved for the positions they have taken. I get why Klinsmann believes Michael Bradley was likely better off playing Champions League soccer in Roma. I get why Garber needs to adamantly defend the league he oversees. Locally, I get why Orlando City President Phil Rawlins is quick to back the MLS commissioner.

Rawlins agrees with Garber

As pointed out however astutely by ESPN pundit and former New England Revolution striker Taylor Twellman however "Jurgen Klinsmann is not the first national team coach to criticize MLS. Bob Bradley did it, Bruce Arena did it when I was playing. Everyone criticizes the domestic league."

So how do you make Major League Soccer more competitive?  That is a critical question for us who are fans of both the U.S. National Team and MLS.  Here are some ideas that I have brainstormed these past few days:

Improve Quality of Players: This is obvious and it will come in time.  We are slowly but surely headed in the right direction.  MLS is built on a healthy financial model that was setup to avoid the pitfalls and economic mistakes made by the old NASL.  The league has succeeded and become a real international force sending 31 players to this last World Cup.  The league ranked 8th in the world ahead of the Netherlands, Portugal and Brazil's domestic league in the number of players sent to the World Cup.  This is remarkable for MLS as the league is only 20 years old.  This new collective bargaining agreement to be negotiated starting at the end of this MLS season will be critical for the long term success of league.  While the owners must continue to be cautious of reckless spending that is destroying the sport in some countries, the new television deal needs to be a catalyst of sorts to improve player salaries, improve domestic player development and improve the quality of play in Major League Soccer.  Finding that balance will be the challenge. 

Promotion/Relegation:  Few things are as exciting as the promotion battle at the top of the Football League Championship and the battle to avoid relegation we see in England thru the EPL.  The teams at the bottom of the English Premier League many times are playing with much more heart and passion than those teams at the top battling for the title.  The run Sunderland went on last season to avoid relegation to the FLC was nothing short of remarkable.  Unlike Sunderland who were literally fighting for their lives, teams like the Chicago Fire, Montreal Impact and San Jose Earthquakes have nothing to play for.  By the same token teams like the Seattle Sounders, L.A. Galaxy and DC United while at the top of the table are not playing their top football right now as they have an eye looking ahead for the playoffs.  Like NFL teams that rest players in week 17 who are qualified for the playoffs, DC United is on cruise control right now knowing they have the Eastern Conference all but locked up.  The liberal MLS system which currently allows 10 of the 19 teams into the postseason renders the regular season to have much less meaning than in Europe.  The teams at the top can just coast and jockey for playoff positions while the teams at the bottom could very well just ship it in knowing there is no consequence to their bad play once they are mathematically out of the playoffs.  

I am a realist however.  Screaming the benefits of a promotion/relegation system is about as useful as complaining about I-4 traffic during rush hour.  I understand that promotion/relegation is nothing short of a pipe dream here in the U.S. with Major League Soccer.  Flavio did not invest millions of dollars into MLS to possibly be relegated a few years down the road.  While Phil may deep down inside be in favor of a promotion/relegation model, why would he allow the club he literally spearheaded in creation and formation to be demoted out of MLS after all the time and money he too has invested?  The same goes for any and all other MLS owners.  They have zero incentive to ever allow a system to be created where they could possibly lose millions of dollars in a system where their team could fall from a top division MLS category.  MLS owners created this league.  As much as I bitch about the Robert Kraft's of Major League Soccer, it is because of their money that this league exist in the first place.  As a direct consequence, they create the rules.

Alternative Incentives:  Since promotion/relegation is nothing but a pipe dream here in the U.S, other alternatives built in to incentivise players and clubs must be put in place.  This might come in a financial bonus.  Every place a team finishes higher in the table come seasons end, the players get paid an additional direct bonus by MLS.  If you win the supporters shield, you get the top financial prize while finishing at the bottom will yield the players a bonus of zero dollars and zero cents.  

Montreal Impact with no incentive left in 2014

Another possible incentive could be forcing bottom tier teams to come in much earlier in the U.S. Open Cup process.  Teams that finish 15 and lower for example enter the USOC when USL and NASL clubs start play.

Clubs could also lose player allocation priority.  The lower you finish, the more you fall in DP priority rankings or 'discovery claim' order.    Another possibility could be that the team that comes in last place could also lose a set number of home games the following season.  Montreal for example if they came in last place in points as they are in now would play 15 home games next season as opposed to 17.  Those home games would go to the clubs who finish at the top of the regular season.  

Some of these suggestions i'm sure are more realistic than others.  Fact is getting club owners to agree on a system where they might lose home games might be a bit hard.  With that said, if we are firmly established to play in a system where relegation is not an option, the league need to create real incentives for teams who are at the bottom of the table.

Garber calls out Klinsmann...

Don Garber has responded to criticism by U.S. National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann for being overly critical of MLS and the quality of play.  Don Garber' job is to grow MLS.  Klinsmann's sole responsibility is to the national team.  This war of words is far from over.  Meanwhile Sunil Gulati must be banging his head into a wall right about now.

While Klinsmann and Garber fight, Sunil Gulati is stuck in the middle

What last night meant for Honduras and the United States

The U.S. played to a 1-1 draw last night in Boca Raton in front of an underwhelming crowd.   While little can be taken from a friendly which is many fortnights away from from a truly meaningful match, we did learn a few things from this game.

What this meant game meant for Honduras:  For Honduras the draw gives Coach Hernan Medford additional time to shape and mold the National Team as he sees fit.  Being head coach of the Honduran National Team is a difficult role.  You live in a third world nation with scarce resources, a limited but skilled pool of players, a fanbase that is quick to criticize and that has unrealistic expectations.  Honduran soccer fans are assholes.  Plain and simple.  They are impatient with the manager, quick to throw their own players under the bus and at many times exhibit behavior that cannot be described as anything other than self loathing.  Hondurans are stubborn and fail to have perspective on where we stand and who we are as a footballing nation.  In the aftermath of a disappointing World Cup campaign, Medford has led Honduras to a series of underwhelming results including a fifth place finish at the Central American Cup back in early September which for soccer mad Honduras is unacceptable.  This draw saved Medfords job if only for a few more months. While Honduras does have young talented players like Andy Najar and Luis Garrido, it is quite evident they will still rely heavily on the experience of Maynor Figueroa, Emilio Izaguirre, Boniek Garcia and even Victor Bernardez for the next World Cup qualifying cycle. All of these players will be well into their 30's come qualifying in 2017 but frankly they do not have better options. Last night was a chalk vintage performance for Honduras.  The 'Catrachos' are tough in the back, weak at center of the midfield but fast and quite capable at the wings.  Honduras kryptonite continues to be a lack of forwards and its susceptibility to bad mental lapses like Bernardez inexcusable positioning that led to the goal.  

What this game meant for the United States:  The U.S. has a lot of young talent. We are just beginning the 2018 World Cup cycle but at this point it is literally anyone's guess what this team will look like.  I firmly believe no American player is assured a roster spot for 2018.  Even players like Yedlin, Diskerud and Green still need to continuously prove their form to assure a roster spot.  Yesterday's game reiterated that opinion for me.   The U.S. was clearly a more talented team than Honduras, however they performed in lackluster manner.  Outside of an aging Jermaine Jones and a spirited performance by Mix Diskerud, no players stood out for the U.S.  Altidore's goal while clinical was more a consequence of Victor Bernardez bad positioning and timing.  Those that will succeed and make the team for the U.S. come the next round of World Cup Qualifying are those players that can  make the transition to Klinsmann's vision of a team that control the ball and maintain possession.  This World Cup confirmed what Jurgen already knew a long time ago and that is the U.S. must get better at maintaining possession and controlling the pace of the game over long periods of time on the pitch.  The U.S. frankly were lucky to get out of the group stage at the last World Cup.  Klinsmann knows there is plenty of room for improvement.  Last night was not a step in the right direction.  

The Curious Case of Miguel Ibarra

Miguel Ibarra is a talented 24 year old currently playing alongside OCSC legend Jamie Watson with  Minnesota United of the NASL.  The young winger has been playing professionally in minor leagues of American professional soccer since 2008 bouncing between the NPSL, USL Premier Development League and NASL.  His most recent stint with Minnesota United has been wildly successful as the young man from New York has not only caught the eye of MLS but also of National Team Coach Jurgan Klinsmann who recently called up Ibarra to the upcoming USMNT Camp. 

Because of Jason Kreis' bababooey moment at the Expansion Draft, Orlando City will have the top pick in USL/NASL Player Priority Ranking.  This means Orlando City will have first choice of any player currently in the American second or third division.  Naturally many have speculated Miguel Ibarra will be a top target for Orlando City.

Out of nowhere however the New York Red Bull (a team soon to be defunct), have placed a ‘discovery claim’ on Ibarra.  Discovery claims are an archaic system setup by MLS that is used to determine which teams get new players coming into the league.  It is a mysterious process full of vagueness that needs reform.  When the Red Bull tried to use the discovery claim to sign Ibarra this past offseason, negotiations fell thru as they did not want to pay Minnesota the transfer fee. If they were not able to workout a deal, how long does this mysterious discovery claim tie Ibarra to the NYRB?  Just to be clear, Ibarra is not a homegrown player despite the fact he is from New York City.  He has never had an affiliation with the Red Bulls in anyway shape or form.  Because of MLS chaotic system however, somehow this young man is tied down to a club that never drafted him, developed him or ever had any affiliation with him.  

MLS now has systems in place to designate where talent plays such as the MLS Super Draft, USL/NASL priority rankings, Designated Player rankings, and waiver/re-entry draft rankings. 

With such systems in place why would Don Garber permit the chaotic discovery process to remain in place?  In my opinion the answer is simple; The MLS is a cartel that likes to manipulate its talent the same way Vince McMahon manipulates the outcome of matches in professional wrestling.  Forgive my skepticism but if a market like Columbus had a Discovery Claim on Ibarra, something tells me Garber would be quick to shoot that claim down.  Ibarra has no connection to the Red Bull.  The young man has been playing professionally and even drafted by the Portland Timbers in the 2012 MLS Supplemental draft (negotiations with the Timbers fell thru).  This backroom nonsense used by MLS to coarse the process of Miguel Ibarra coming into the American top flight by avoiding the USL/NASL priority rankings and simply designating him to play for Red Bull (who will be in dire need of Ibarra being that Thierry Henry has no intention of coming back to New York) is a joke and just another example as to why many of us long time followers of MLS see the league as shady and run by the special interest of the large/profitable markets.

 

As Major League Soccer continues to grow in both popularity and credibility, I believe the league needs more transparency as to how players are designated to play in what market.  The single player ownership model has many positives.  As many of the top professional European clubs and leagues are in dire straits because of gross financial irresponsibility, corruption and a woefully one-sided business models that only favor the top teams, Major League Soccer has continued to grow in a steady and profitable way as can be seen by the steady improvement in player talent coming to MLS, new nine figure multi-million dollar television contracts and continued growth and popularity in the international market as can be seen by the worldwide buzz in the signing of our very own Kaka. These successes can be attributed to many factors one of which is the single-entity business model which MLS operates under.  I am a fan of single-entity.  What I do not like is the ambiguity as to how players are designated to play in different markets.  We as Americans do not like ambiguity.   We do not appreciate any perceived unfairness or corruption.  MLS needs to be more clear in its process, improve the status quo and be clear with its supporters exactly how the player designation process is done.