How could we improve MLS?

[SoCalian]

We all know that MLS isn't the greatest leauge in the world. We all know that it isn't as good as most South American or European Leauges. But, It has come a long way in the past 10 years. The play is improving, and will continue to grow with bright new youngsters coming up thropugh the ranks. Looking ot the future, whare are some things that could be done to make MLS more popular at home and abroud, and what could be done to help improve the quality of MLS? Specifici ideas please. I have a few floating around my head that i will post later. Also, what has the MLS done right, and what were some of the missteps?

 

[ummmm........]

A better TV deal.

 

[downtown]

pay them more money, so we can steal guys from europe/stop them from going there

 

[sysyphus]

Expand to Canada. Toronto and Vancouver are the best markets north of Mexico.

 

[DBear]

Nothing's wrong with MLS that isn't wrong with soccer in general. Biggest problem: "injury time" after a half. Is it too damn hard to stop the clock during an injury or after a goal instead of tacking it on at the end where it seems the official is making it up as he goes along?

 

[SoCalian]

I like injury time.

We could pay them more, but you would need to be generating more revenue first to do that. That's why it needs to become more popular.

A better TV deal is definately needed. The one they have now is horrible. A couple of games a week on ESPN2 at horrible saturday time slots, with only one game a year on ABC, that too at a horrible saturday time slot in the middle of the afternoon rather that the primetime championship game it should be, is not very good. There is fox soccer channel and local chanels, but those aren't very big outlets.

It's looking like toronto will be getting an expansion team for the 2007 season, and it's looking like the oakland A's are wanting to buy an expasion club back into the bay area now that the earthquakes are moving to Huston. Canada is a very big market for soccer right now, just look at the success of Montreal in USL. They are the big team in town outside of hockey.

 

[jeriko one]

Is there a salary cap in the MLS? I used to play Championship Manager and select San Jose Earthquakes and salary cap and nuber of foreign players was a great handicap.

 

[SoCalian]

I don't know if there is a salary cap, but I know that they really want to keep it focused on American players. I think the limit on foriegners, is around 5 or something.

 

[sysyphus]

That kind of protectionism will only hurt the league. The fact that there are Americans playing in Europe should be a message that rules like that aren't required.

 

[SoCalian]

I think the reason that they may have a salry cap(not sure if they do), is that when starting a new leuge, New York and Los Angelas will ussualy end up with more money than everyone else because of the population gap. Those cities are able to generate more income, so they can buy better players, so they advance, and they other teams in flyoverland lag behind, and get stuck with the not so great players, and then it becomes an uninterestin duopoly between LA and NYC.

 

[sysyphus]

Well, if Europe and South America are anything to go by, seems to me that such a duopoly is a requirement for a footy league.

 

[BCLG100]

think it might be because, you have many more popular sports which is why its hard to get a larger tv deal, you also need to encourage big names to the states and not just for the ends of there careers, that kind of thing would get more people interested.

 

[ummmm........]

I really think the MLS will gradually become more and more popular as the Hispanic population in the US continues to grow - half the international games I watched back when I had cable were only available on the Spanish language networks . . .

 

[jeriko one]

Well, if Europe and South America are anything to go by, seems to me that such a duopoly is a requirement for a footy league.

IMHO it depends. For example if there is a duopoly(Metrostars and Galaxy perhaps) they will buy(or trade) every talented player from smaller clubs then they can not play them after some time because they have a really good squad. This is just a theory of course.

 

[SoCalian]

ok, one thing I think we could use, besides a better tv deal, is more meaningful international competition. The inclusion of DC in the copa sudamerica this year was a good start, and I hope it continues. That is a good route to competition against south american clubs, but what about against European clubs? I think that the US is in a very nice and unique position to become a place of fusion between the European and south American styles, and for compeating against both. That's why I propose that MLS or the USF hold a cup every summer between American and European teams. Call it the Transatlantic cup or something like that. It deosn't have to be big to start (16 teams?), and doesn't necisarily need to have the bigest clubs from Europe either. It just needs enough competition to spice up the MLS season a bit. I like the summer time slot, because it would be durring the middle of the MLS season when teams are in thier best form, and it is durring the European off season, when they are not in thier best form, thus giveing MLS teams a bit of a leg up, something that they need for thsi kind of competition. I could see a few teams wanting to participate for several reasons. 1) alure of hardware, another trophy to ad to the shelf is always nice. 2) Increase fan base abroad, especialy in the United States and Canada, and thus more money. 3) Pre season tours. a lot of the big clubs do this anyway, so giving them the option to come to america for a preseason competition could be more apealing than just a series of friendlies.

 

[sysyphus]

IMHO it depends. For example if there is a duopoly(Metrostars and Galaxy perhaps) they will buy(or trade) every talented player from smaller clubs then they can not play them after some time because they have a really good squad. This is just a theory of course.

Seems to me that Manchester United proved your theory ages ago.

My post earlier was more of tongue-in-cheek comment. Of course duopolies (and their cousins mono, tri et al) are bad. I was basically conceding to SoCal's point about league rules.

 

[SoCalian]

yes, but what do you think of my cup idea?

 

[ummmm........]

I think it'd be tough to get any European or South American teams to take a cup seriously if it was hosted by the MLS . . .

 

[SoCalian]

yeah, starting a new cup would be hard, but it can be done. BTW, I was thinking of this cup for US v Europe, kinda like the Ryder Cup. for south america, we have the Coppa Sudamerica now.

 

[ummmm........]

I'm not that familiar with MLS. I try to watch, but it's not on enough and we don't have any teams down here.

But I still don't think any European team is going to look on a Ryder Cup-like event with the same prestige that the actual Ryder Cup has. There's a lot of history there that soccer just doesn't have.