MLS is in denial?
By: BoriQa | February 19th, 2009
Either the mighty capitalistic MLS is in denial, or the they behave like a government controlled media dictatorship like Cuba, Russia or North Korea among others.
Things have never been worse for the MLS. The “Major” label next to “League Soccer” just doesn’t do justice to the quality of the league. Last year in the CONCACAF Champions League the MLS fared misserably. The New England Revolution and Chivas USA both fell on the road to lesser teams (from an MLS perspective) from Trinidad & Tobago and Panama. Both MLS teams were eventually put out of their missery and knocked out of the tournament.
Meanwhile, perhaps quietly within the MLS news world, both USL-1 teams in the same tournament, the Puerto Rico Islanders and the Montreal Impact, fared better and moved on to the next round. It didn’t go unoticed in some MLS circles though that the Islanders accomplished in their first try a feat no MLS side has in eight tries: get a result on Costa Rican soil and defeat a Costa Rican team to advance in a CONCACAF competition.
In the group stage, more of the same was the motive: USL Triumphs, MLS Fails. DC United got eliminated with only 1 (one) point in the standings in the group stage, while Houston Dynamo saved face for the league, and became the only MLS team (out of 4) to survive the group stage. Both USL-1 sides advanced to the quarterfinal phase.
But all that was last year, and perhaps MLS fans found out about those news through means other than the MLS itself.
2009 comes in, the MLS and the USL are both in preseason, and as a matter of fact both leagues are playing scrimmage games between them. Except that MLS fans may not really know what was really happening down in Bradenton (Florida), at least from the MLS media perspective.
The Puerto Rico Islanders played three games last week against three MLS sides. The Chicago Fire, the MLS Sub-Champion New York Red Bulls and the MLS Champion Columbus Crew.
News about the Chicago 1-0 win over the Islanders were on the MLS site (Chicago won on a penalty goal). But where are the news of how well the Champ and Sub-Champ fared against the Islanders?
The MLS controlled media (without freedom of press) withheld those results, like a dictator prevents his people to find out the truth about his government. Not only that, those games disappeared from the MLS schedules. On a particular MLS webpage it shows the preseason calendar of the week in progress, as well as the results for the MLS so far.
Whoever is looking at those MLS preseason results so far, would think that the MLS is almost undefeated in the preseason (except for the D.C. United 1 Vejle Boldklub 4 result). This table doesn’t show the MLS Sub-Champs Red Bulls failure to defeat the Islanders (0-0 draw), nor the humiliating 2-0 loss of the MLS Champs Columbus Crew in hands of the Islanders.
Now, do not think that the MLS just doesn’t publish their negative results against their rival USL-1 league. The table doesn’t show either the 1-0 loss of the Red Bulls to the Under-17 USA team in this year’s pre-season. Actually we don’t even know what other news is the MLS controlled media keeping from the MLS people.
The dictatorship in Russia fell, in Cuba is falling and in North Korea it will fall. So will in the MLS one day.
The table does show that the MLS DC United will play a friendly with the Puerto Rico Islanders this weekend on the 21st. We will keep you apraised as to the result, as the MLS media might not.
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Comments
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We will bring you the results of the DC united Puerto Rico Islander’s match via our Twitter feed. We do not whitewash results and we treat the league the way it ought to be treeated by adults.
That said, MLS is miles ahead of the USL in terms of money, attendance, exposure and sponsorship.
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Thanks MLS Rumors. BTW: I’m not critizing any loyal MLS fan twiters, blogs, etc. Only the MLS main site itself, which like Luky pointed out, should just publish all results whether good or bad for PR, and move on.
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Money is POWER. But MLS does not use this power to strengthen North American soccer, nor develop top-class players. MLS’s focus is on short term profit generating. Meanwhile USL’s philosophy is more long-term oriented, and takes care of developing young American players and improving the level of American soccer.
MLS with its rules will not allow for one or two teams to become too powerful, thus having a whole league of B-Class teams (average stregth).
USL may have B and C strength teams but those C-class teams have the sronger teams as a benchmark, and if they put enough effort and money they can become B or even A-teams, just as Hoffenheim, Man City, Chelsea, PR ISLANDERS, MONTREAL IMPACT, SEATTLE SOUNDERS.
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We know… it’s just such a petty point.
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Houston Dynamo defeated Puntarenas FC (costa rica) 2-1 on aggregate in the 2007 Concacaf Champions Cup. So a MLS team did defeat a costa rican side in a concacaf tournament.
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Leave aside the comparison as to performance, though I agree that the difference between MLS and USL-1 is not very great. The important point is that the analogy with the Soviet State is apt, though a more apt analogy may be with a Fascist State. The owners do not have to compete with each other (single entity), the league “owns” the players under contract, players may not move jobs without league permission, wages are derisiveley low, all the so-called journalists note that the league does not give out terms of contracts (without condemning the practice), and the league can terminate almost all contracts (i.e. they are not guaranteed)on the owner’s whim. The MLS will never be a serious competitive league until the single entity (single employer) model is dead and buried. Would you sign a contract upon graduation from college (or high school)with a corporation that was part of a cartel that operated like MLS?
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Not posted from Australia (see Don above). Posted from New Zealand, by a good old boy from the US of A, who believes in freedom and competition.
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Don, I do not understand your point. You’re upset because MLS is a shrewd negotiater?
The league may not give out the terms of contracts, but they are well known and the union publishes salary lists every few months (since 2004). I don’t understand your point. Players are free to go to New Zealand if better deals can be found there. Good players usually end up doing ok (Bocanegra, Nelsen, Dempsey, Edu, Altidore).
MLS will never be a serious competitive league until they give players more negotitating tools to drive up salaries and run the business into the ground? Gotcha.
Humiliated by preseason results? Does BoriQa have any concept of what pro sports are like? And I’d bet MLS would be tempted to hand over those 3 CONCACAF spots if FIFA would let them.
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Thanks bori , u realy hit the balls with this…lol…, it’s just say what realy happend , not take what u want the people know . the comparision with CUBA was just a goal …lol
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mrthreed, you missed the “and” clause in the statement. It was “get a result on Costa Rican soil AND defeat a Costa Rican team to advance in a CONCACAF competition”. In the 2007 tournament you refer to, Houston lost 1-0 in the first leg in Costa Rica against Puntarenas. Anyway, I didn’t make up this truthful statement, I just quoted it. It actually came from a free press MLS site: MLS Talk.
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C Dykstra. MLS a shrewd negotiator? One’s ability to negotiate can be judged fairly, only when one operates in a reasonably free and open market. Apparently, you fear that the MLS teams would actually fail the shrewdness test, if teams had to compete with each other for employees. How is that leagues all over the world are able to operate with competitive teams, rather than single entities? Why is it that the best players in the world are in leagues with reasonably open markets? Why is it that the best players from the US all want to play abroad, rather than stay home? What kind of economic system says to a talented employee that if you don’t like our offer, you can take it or leave your country?
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LOL you MLS fans are so cute when you get riled up! Its like watching two puppies play fight.
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The league would fail if they let their teams compete with each other, but I guess you want that. Other markets like soccer more. It’s a tough system but at least we have a league.
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USL isn’t cute when teams constantly fold and bills get left unpaid. Not so nice fpr the next guys trying to start a team.
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Thank you for acknowledging that it is a “tough system”, but who is it tough on? The real game – the players are to be sacrificed to prevent the owners from dooming their own enterprises?
Why do you assume that I wish soccer to fail? I have been a fan since 1966 and supported the team in my various hometowns over the years. I believe the MLS is running a system that dooms us to mediocrity. Competition breeds excellence in players. Why not owners?
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If someone thinks they can do better and is willing to risk the money, they can buy a USL1 team and start putting out >$2million/yr payrolls. I haven’t heard of a long line of billinoaires seeking to do so. I don’t think pro soccer in the US is profitable without a strict financial system. There probably are a couple of well-funded morons who would destroy the league if allowed. Guys like Brian Namoff making 6 figures are probably a bit lucky as the soccer marketplace to fund such salaries isn’t quite here yet. A handful of future-oriented billionares are losing a little bit of money now while building a pretty strong league for the future. There are some small areas in which I think they’re too tough right now but hopefully the players can fix that with the next CBA.
There is already competition. A huge world market. Players are welcome to sign a better offer elsewhere if they find MLS too low-paying.
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Thank you for acknowledging that the CBA needs to be fixed “in some small ways” and that it will be the players, not the owners who will have to fix it. Regret that you still believe the owners must be protected from themselves by preventing competition through player exploitation. Sorry that you still think it appropriate to tell players that, if you don’t like it, hit the road. That is what players are doing, to the detriment of high quality football in our own League One.
I’ve enjoyed our frank exchange of views. I rest my case.
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Nothing says success like dozens of teams that have failed so miserably that they no longer exist.
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>QUOTE: There is already competition. A huge world market. Players are welcome to sign a better offer elsewhere if they find MLS too low-paying.
That’s his whole point; that MLS is doomed to be a mediocre (or worse) league forever as long as it has this type of setup. The good players do sign a better offer elsewhere, leaving only the lesser “talent” behind to play here.
That’s exactly why Beckham and Donovan are leaving Los Angeles to go back to Europe. And look who they left as the new “star” in LA… Edson Buddle. Wow, what a great system MLS has.
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We’re nowhere near ready to compete with Europe for the services of top players. They get bigger crowds, higher tv ratings, etc over there. We’re doomed to mediocrity because pro soccer isn’t that popular here. Growing the market slowly seems more reasonable than trying to grow it overnight. And definitely more reasonable than entering bidding wars that’ll bankrupt teams.
When Beckham and Donovan leave, LA will have around $700,000 in cap room free, plus the ability to spend over the cap for another designated player. But not before they leave. So saying they’re just left with Buddle is a bit disingenuous.
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Gosh, that was really humiliating to the Crew, the way a bunch of guys who aren’t going to make the team (or ever play if they happen to make the team) lost 2-0 to a USL side.
I mean, Ty Shipalane, Alex Grendi, Paul Gerstenberger, Anthony Peters, and Stanley Nyazamba are probably really embarrassed right now. Whew.
By the way, you know where I got that match report? On an official Columbus Crew website. Yep, they’re clearly trying to hide the result.
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djl, Do you update the MLS Oficial homepage? If not, this article was not about you.
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Interesting post.
Maybe you can help — I was looking for more details on the Islanders’ loss to D.C. United, but I couldn’t find it on the USL site. Can you help?
Kidding aside — it’s preseason. Results are haphazardly reported. Don’t read too much into it.
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the USL is better than people think, but b/c two teams made it in one year of Champions League and a few extra wins during the preseason mean absolutely nothing.
Preseason means NOTHING. Coaches try out new players, rest veterans, scout new players, play people in new positions. It’s about learning, getting fit and getting ready for the upcoming season. MLS teams tie and lose and win against college teams. The actual results don’t matter at all.
As far as the Champions League, I really commend the USL teams for doing so well. However, just because the other MLS teams didn’t fare so well doesn’t mean they suck. DC played a million games last season and went into the tournaent tired and severely injured. NE Revs, were in the same boat and Chivas was concentrating on league. If the MLS does as bad this next time, then maybe you can start to bring up this question. But after one year and no thought process of where the teams were with injuries and other games this article is ridiculous in most of its reasoning
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All that boloney some of you talked about the preseason games meaning nothing…
Check this out from the MLS itself:
http://web.mlsnet.com/news/esp_news.jsp?ymd=20090313&content_id=225123&vkey=news_esp_mls&fext=.jsp&lang=esSpanish text:
Quien crea que los partidos de pretemporada son irrelevantes está equivocado, y más cuando se trata del último duelo de preparación previo al arranque de una nueva temporada de competencia.English translation:
Whoever thought that preseason games are irrelevant is wrong, specially when it is the last encounter before the start of the new season.Ignorants (if the shoe fits you)
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