Eleven Issues Facing MLS

WASHINGTON, DC (Sept 24, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- With Major League Soccer's season turning into more about what's not working than what is, we outline eleven issues facing the League.  How important are any of them in isolation?  Your call, but turning around all of them would stress bigger leagues with more money and personnel.  It also runs counter to the story MLS would prefer to be telling, one centered around willing investor/operators and a model of sustainable growth. 

1. Player Relations: The gap in salaries in Major League Soccer exists somewhere between working poor and solid middle class for the bulk of players.  Unlike most recent college grads, in general MLS players aren't facing paying back student loans.  However, they more than make up for that by no guaranteed contracts and normally trying to keep two households.  All of this while existing in a professional setting where spending to excess is part of the job.

Major League Soccer has done nothing to right this, trying to squeeze players across their pay scale.  Even the well off by MLS standards have a pretty good idea of what they'd be making from even obscure European clubs.  Those stories of guys heading to the lesser lights of Europe and ending up well paid aren't just for gossip boards. 

One of the early fights for the MLS Players Union was automatic deposit on paychecks and a 401k.  MLS simply didn't bother doing even the little things that a front office worker would expect.

2. Expansion Time-line: Setting aside the quality of play issues, the push for continued expansion can be as much of a negative as a positive.  The League would use it as an indicator of strength, that interested parties are willing to spend considerable money to join.  That doesn't say much in terms of appropriateness or business models, and that's the part the League isn't answering. 

Why is this good for all involved?  How is the League prepared to deal with the basic issues around expansion that everybody remotely interested in the League is already discussing?  Anything resembling a substantive answer is likely going to cost you $40 million, or wherever the expansion fee ends up.

3. Calendar: To put it as simply as possible, there are too many dates for MLS clubs carrying a relatively small roster.  DC United and Houston are facing two or three games a week during the month of October, and the League failed to act before this became such an obvious issue.  Add in the choice to ignore the international calendar, and the problem is compounded. 

Yes, there are teams openly complaining about roster size who haven't used all their available spaces.  Though MLS should take a moment to laugh while considering the source on those specific complaints, the general problem remains.

4. Officiating: It's not that the officials are at such a low standard that week in and week out they have more of an impact on results than the actual players.  In fact, it's nowhere near that.  However, the perception is that there is an officiating issue with Major League Soccer that needs to be addressed. 

5. Player Development: Former LA Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit gave a very reasoned interview recently where he talked about a few MLS issues.  One was the skewed player development system that, as he put it, meant he could use Galaxy resources to mold a talent only to lose him before he ever played a game for the senior side.

The response was typical, reciting MLS guidelines that are always subject to change.  Though MLS has moved steadily with player development, it's still not 100% with the clubs.  That's the model most countries are used too, and it would increase the pressure on the clubs to spend money and resources. 

6. Soccer United Marketing: A marketing company created by Major League Soccer is also the single biggest promoter of soccer events in the United States not involving Major League Soccer.  Though potentially a fiscal win for the investor/operators involved, it also creates an entity responsible for promoting MLS also promoting what should be the League's biggest rivals in a limited marketplace. 

7. Kansas City: The Wizards are playing in an independent league baseball stadium while trying to make a project bigger than just a soccer-specific stadium a reality.   Only San Jose is in the same situation where their regular attendance is physically capped at what would be a disappointment in most markets.  They aren't likely to move out of the greater Kansas City region, taking away a bargaining position and they can look to Frisco, TX, Commerce City, CO, and Bridgeview, IL for lessons on building at the edges of metroplexes or in under serviced neighborhoods.   

8. Canada: Jingoism aside, Major League Soccer was developed to help improve the US National Team program.  Though it's obvious that motivation has changed to reflect a sports league for its own sake, the push north has to be considered an issue. 

Let's start with an easily dismissed point: it violates the FIFA ideal of one league per country.  The exceptions are countries that can't support their own domestic league.  Though Canada has a history of joining US clubs in every major team sport, it's an issue that so many potential Canadian cities are now expansion targets.  Simply put, if that many are willing to buy in, why isn't there a Canadian first division?

9. The US Soccer Federation: The USSF has a neat trick they play, deftly switching from pro sports front office to national governing body whenever it suits them.  Unfortunately, with Major League Soccer they have a basic conflict of interest that has yet to be addressed.  Namely, their president is also president of an MLS organization.  Since the Federation remains the sanctioning body for MLS, there needs to be at the very least a conflict of interest statement concerning crossover personnel.

10. Europe: Though it can be taken as a backwards compliment that multiple teams across Europe have shown a willingness to pay for MLS squad players, the result is a feeling that even marginal American talent should be over there.  The inherent criticism of the MLS system is that some of these players can make more money seeing out their MLS deal and then signing with just about anyone overseas.  It doesn't take more than a handful to twist the appearance/reality distinction, and it's not flattering to Major League Soccer.

11. FIFA: MLS is on a dual course to finally get world soccer's governing body's unrequited attention.  Lane one is expansion past 18 teams.  There are much bigger leagues generating a lot more revenue that have been warned off that course.  Lane two would be ignoring international matchdays.  The initial impact is extreme both on the quality of the MLS schedule and the increased pressure on club vs. country.  There's also the general disrespect, pleading self-serving hardship that only really exists when it's convenient. 

What did we miss?  What did we get right?  How would you rank your eleven?

Comments

[Dustin]

What about the designated player? I think that's going to end up being a bad call. The owners were right to turn it down a couple of years ago. It doesn't fit with single entity.

I would also add letting the WUSA fail.

[Dustin]

Sorry, pressed post.

By the WUSA failing, I mean not coming up with some way to keep it around even in a smaller version. Instead, they've got WPS potentially causing problems with sponsors and attendance. Soccer money and attention isn't unlimited.

[EJ]

Good call on SUM. What's in their best interest? Even at best, it's not just the success of MLS.

[Jason]

This could have been a lot more negative. I would add coaching. Ruud Gullit becomes the latest reason not to hire European. Dallas goes back to the coach from college model. LA recycles Arena.

[Eric D.]

I would include SuperLiga. The can't continue on as if there's a demand for that thing. Take it off the schedule, and the hottest part of the summer no longer suffers from fixture congestion. That, and a plan for the Confederations Cup.

[Brian]

Definitely SuperLiga, and I'm surprised that didn't get a mention when talking about SUM. I would also reorder:
1. SUM
2. Expansion
3. Calendar
4. Referees
5. Coaching
6. Quality of play
7. Salaries
8. Designated Players
9. Weak Clubs
10. Europe
11. College

That last one is still relying on college and the Superdraft when the real talent won't be going to college or signing up with adidas.

[Brian Forbes]

Though I don't agree with it, the WUSA point is interesting. I don't get why SUM and MLS would be involved with the women's second attempt.

[ARod]

None of these are dealbreakers. All could be worked out fairly quickly. Nothing to see here.

[AndrewM]

Expansion has to be #1 since it affects most of the other categories discussed. The League needs a team in Philly - it does not need a team in Ottawa.

Not to be an apple polisher, but I think a similar list of the things that are good about MLS should be discussed as well. Unf., I think way too high on the list would be - well, just be happy you have a league.

[DOK]

MLS is the only league that doesn't have relegation. I believe that is one of ways in which MLS can become a competitive league, when competition means something!

[Doug]

Good point about SUM. In fact, I'd take it a step further. The idea of SUM was to bootstrap other soccer events to help keep MLS afloat - and it is failing miserably at that on a event by event basis. Sure, SUM helps with the television rights situation, but what is being done by SUM to help build the fanbases in the individual cities?

Both SUM and the USSF to a horrible job of working with local MLS teams to try to build the fanbase - when both entities should have a very significant motivation to do so.

[Acton]

I don't know why everyone expects FIFA to just rollover for whatever the Federation and MLS want. It doesn't really work that way, and the US doesn't have the juice.

[Tony Banacek]

Expansion is the key and the question isn't whether there will be expansion (there will be) or how many (should be 20, then done), but where and the quality of those markets. Presuming there are four markets available, MLS is going to go to Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa for three of them? MLS needs to stop looking at who is behind the efforts and where the league would most benefit being, and then work to put the right ownership in those markets. And if MLS wants to be MAJOR, as they say in their name, then the markets need to be St. Louis and Miami, one other Canadian team (probably Vancouver) and one other U.S. team (make it work in Atlanta).

[Eric B]

"MLS is the only league that doesn't have relegation." Uh, there's an "A-League" on line two for you. Like in Australia, relegation is not part of the professional sports model in the US and soccer is not the most popular code of football in the country, so trying to foist it onto MLS is silly. Plus, everywhere it is used, there 10-30 more clubs that can play at the top level than there are spaces in that level. The US and Canada have maybe half a dozen that can do that now, so p/r is not an option.

Also, the FIFA International dates calendar was established so players would have to be released from their clubs at a certain time, not that leagues had to shut down, that was their own choice. I doubt FIFA cares whether a club continues to play through the dates. If they did they'd say so...

[George]

I disagree with half of the points and with a lot of the comments. SUM is a big advantage. Having control over Mexican NT and league games in the US makes money and can be used to link Mexican fans to MLS games. Expansion is good up to at least 20. The biggest issues facing MLS are player relations (salaries) and roster size. Rosters need to be at least 50% larger and salary caps need to double, while keeping one or two DP's per team. All of that takes money which is what SUM, expansion, and the crowded calendar are meant to increase. MLS will be fine, just be patient.

[David]

I don't think SUM doing Mexico helps MLS at all.

[Brandon]

The biggest issue facing MLS is the union and stubbornness from both sides blowing the whole thing up. MLS could probably survive a season lost to a strike, but it would be like starting over.

[Steven Fritz]

Guys:

One of the unmentioned problems with MLS is t.v. coverage!

I currently subscribe to 3 soccer specific channels (FSC, GOL TV, and the always under-rated Fox Sports en Espanol), because I love the sport, and would rather watch it than just about anything else.

That, however, is not the case with everyone else in the nation, and as a result, their only exposure to the game may be with the irregular Thursday night coverage of ESPN 2, or the once a year coverage of a major event like the all-star game or MLS Cup by ABC!

In any case, ESPN practically apologizes for their covering of the game, and FSC has their noses so far up the backsides of the EPL, that it makes me sick! They should be called the Barclays Premier League channel! On any given weekend, they'll cover no less than five EPL matches, and only one MLS! Balogna!

Get MLS onto GOL TV! I'd rather see more live MLS matches on there, and have them mixed-in with Bundesliga, Copa Mustang (Columbia), and Spanish Pro Futbol than where it's currently at. My only issue with GOL TV is that they currently have too many re-runs, but FSC and ESPN suck!

Better yet than GOL TV, get a soccer network one of the new billion-plus HD channels that'll be on broadcast TV starting in February.

If you keep the viewing of the MLS a "subscription channel" only venture,then how will the average kid with soccer-hating parents ever see the game? Their parents certainly aren't going to pay more (like I do) they already hate it!

The youth generation is the hope for the future of this game, but who's paying attention to them? Games on select/special channels, matches with their hero "Beckham" on at 11:00 PM on Thursday? C'mon guys! Why not just try to sell rotten meat? It'll probably work better! "Soccer United Marketing - bah!"

[John Hofmann]

Good discussion, great to see a lot of different opinions, ideas, etc. One thing I'd like to give kudos to, in my opinion, is MLS efforts by their structure to maintain relative parity. As a long-time rooter of baseball underdogs (ie, I'm not a Yankee or Red Sox fan), an observer of the direction in which the EPL is going (4-5 kings and many dwarfs), I really appeciate that MLS fans nearly everyone aren't, at least until now, faced with prospects prevalant in many other professional leagues...rooting for a team that may have some success every 50-60 years or so. I just hope that North American soccer can continue to keep competition on a relatively equal playing field.

[NYC10]

I would have put Dallas in over Kansas City. I get that it's about Kansas City and potential, but I can see Dallas an after thought even in the Frisco market. If Dallas craps out in their third stadium? Schellas Hyndman was hired because Clark Hunt went to SMU. Steve Morrow should be laughing at all of this from his new job at Arsenal. What's great is that Morrow is working on the commercial side. He's good enough to do that at Arsenal, but not good enough to coach FC Frisco?

[Donjuego]

For me, artificial turf playing surfaces is a top three issue.

Fixture congestion is not as big an issue for me if rosters were expanded by 6 more senior spots and the salary cap was significantly increased.

[JoeSoccerFan]

Canada is a problem? Do you really think Canada can form a league with 4 teams? There are precedents for having leagues with external presence, and it is ridiculous to suggest that this is a problem with the league, since it has no effect on the on-field product...it just means that MLS can't meet one of FIFA's silly rules.

[Andy]

Salary/Roster Size. While I firmly support doing away with the single entity model (which at this point, I see as a top 5 challenge to MLSs success moving forward), at the very least the roster size needs to be increased (6-10 senior spots, minimum), along with an increase of at least $1M in the salary cap.

Expansion. I see expansion as good for the sport; if nothing else, it gets more fans following the league on a regular basis. However, FIFA will limit the MLS to 18 teams in the top league (larger leagues were grandfathered in) and there are far more than 18 US/Canadian markets capable of supporting a team, not to mention the markets capable of supporting two (NY, LA, CHI). Promotion/Relegation is the only way to expand to meet the demand. Now, at first, I would envision it being a single team that moves from each league, gradually increasing to three, but it will quickly be seen as a good thing for the sport.

Canada. I don't see Canada as a problem; they can't support a full league of top teams but can be like Wales and support a handful of clubs capable of competing against the English. They'll still have their own league (they have one already), but the compromise is good for the sport.

MLS Cup. I see the playoffs as one of the major issues. The MLS Cup should be a league cup, ala the Carling Cup with only the final played after the season ends. No more silly playoffs - teams are seeded based on previous year's rankings and play on assigned fixture dates leading toward the MLS Cup Final. Note: this allows for the season to extend a couple weeks, at least.

US Open Cup. This competition needs to be given far, far more prestige and priority. the game should be held on a Saturday at a major stadium, at least 3 weeks after the semi-finals, and preferably after the season ends so no other games compete with its viewing. Yes, I could see the US Open Cup and MLS Cup on adjacent weekends.

[kco]

Another issue facing MLS rosters are the Development Player roster spots.

Are Development Player roster spots still relevant in MLS?

I say NO.

With the growth of youth academies, quality in USL, and the like what purpose do Development Players have for MLS sides? With all the complaints about salary and lack of depth on rosters, I think it's necessary that this is the first thing to go. A quality young player will start for a USL side or play in the 2nd Division of a Scandinavian league before they sign up to play MLS Reserve League matches for a Happy Meal from McDonalds. What a joke.

[MLS Fan]

Expansion to more than18 teams is not a problem so long as we keep our conference style format. If we go to a single table format (everyone plays everybody else home and away) then yes the schedule becomes overly long and it becomes a problem.

US Sports leagues typically have around 30 teams--look at the NBS,NHL,MLB, and NFL. The answer is simple: 2 conferences of 15 teams each, or 3 conferences (east,west,central) of 10 teams each--which i would prefer. With the set up of 3 conferences we even have enough teams per conference to split them up into 2 divisions per conference. The league would operate on a rotating yearly schedule like the NFL and if we go to 3 conferences, then the top 2 teams in each conference plus the next best overall 2 make the playoffs.