Do you work for the MLS, ESPN or FSC?
Because you've swallowed the party line whole.
He'll be playing with mediocre players in a league that has more chance of going bankrupt than it does of becoming respected and prestigious.
The good news is that it'll be easy money for him, and he'll be able to trade on his image to milk money out of American fans who fall for MLS's shenanigans.
My question is how the LA Galaxy can afford Beckham, Keane and Landon Donovan. Surely there is a cheaper way to build a team capable of dominating the MLS. This is all about image and publicity and nothing about building the game in the U.S.
They tried the overpriced aging European import thing with the NASL, and it bankrupted the league leaving a soccer wasteland in its wake. MLS wasn't supposed to repeat that mistaken approach. They were supposed to be patient and to build long term with young players and money invested into grass roots efforts. They were supposed to build an American game for Americans, not reinforce the stereotype of soccer as a foreign game for those interested in foreign stuff. Then MLS brought Beckham in, and now it seems that big bucks are there for aging superstars who most Americans barely know anything about except that they are supposed to be excited by this Thierry Henry guy because he's supposedly awesome at soccer. Without any memory of Beckham or Henry in their prime, these American fans only experience these "greats" in their twilight years and surrounded by players one or two steps behind their passes and technical ability. From this the average American concludes that the "greats" aren't that great and that soccer is a big waste of time. Please MLS build with American youth and stop looking for a magic bullet from abroad.
I'll go on a take the bullet as I'm tired of seeing these nonsense posts about MLS. And this mind you, is from a guy who moved to the US.
1. MLS isn't even close to going bankrupt. Teams are making money, just signed a new multi-year television contract, growing attendance, increased revenue from new sources including Latin America. Teams are managed by the league which increases competition and ensures no team is going bankrupt any time soon. A salary cap is also in place and new sponsorship deals from the likes of Corona were added at the start of the season. Coupled with new additions to the league who are selling 30k stadiums every home game and there's absolutely no truth in your statement.
2. It's mediocre compared to the PL, sure, but for being less than 20 years old and seeing where it was even 10 years ago, the league has come leaps and bounds. They have a good foundation of young talent coming through the University ranks, new league initiatives that force clubs to have youth academies, growing Designated Player rules (the rule that allows Henry, Beckham, etc to play in the league), newer talent from Central and South American countries, bringing in top young talent from those countries now, etc. Comparable leagues in terms of age would be the Australian one and I would say each MLS team could compete with Australia's best team.
3. His image rights won't go too far and not every fan actually like this. He's going to LA - hate to break it to folks, but Keane is not a bankable name in LA. If he went to New England (the Boston team), sure, the Irish fans there would of gone after him. But in LA the likes of Beckham still rules. He'll sell some jerseys, but he won't make much off sponsorship deals at all.
4. Again, they can afford Beckham, Donovan, and Keane the same way other teams can afford superstars - they are profitable, sell out their stadium, and sell jerseys all around the world. They have their own multi-million dollar shirt sponsor, host international friendlies, host club friendlies, etc. They are also owned by whatever that huge entertainment company is that bankrolls the club. Money is absolutely not a problem for LA nor is it a problem for NY.
5. The NASL did not have "over-aged Europeans" which bankrupted the league. The likes of Best, Beckenbaur, Banks, Cryuff, etc were all in their prime years. Of course Best's prime years were closer to his lower 20s but that's another story... The NASL was an all-star league filled with brilliant players. The problem came when smaller teams thought that merely spending a shit load on one super star player meant their stadium would sell out. The league didn't control spending. The NY Cosmos (Pele's team) sold out an 80,000 seater stadium almost every home game. MLS learned from that mistake and now govern money expenditures hence the three-per-team DP rule.
6. They are focusing on youth. See my answers above, namely note 1. Academies, 2. bringing on players who are 16/17/18, and 3. increasingly bringing top talent from Central and South America.
7. Their contracts are not as incredible as they sound. Keane is not on a huge salary that is unbelievable to someone who could still hack it in the PL. Same for Henry and Beckham who people have noted could still make a dent in the PL and have been courted at times. The problem with the amount you hear like when Beckham first came, was that the media includes all the sponsorship deals. Beckham's salary was NOT 250 million dollars for five years like was originally said. That number included his ADIDAS sponsorship deals and a bunch others. His first year's salary was paid for in a single day of shirt sales. Untold free media attention paid for the rest easily.
8. The average MLS goer also pays attention to Europe and the WC. No one has ever taken a look at a DP player and said "they're shite" if they're pulling their weight. Some have come like Lothar Mathies (forget how to spell his name) and were obviously wanted a paycheck. But the likes of Beckham and Henry are still pulling their weight and dazzling fans who appreciate what they offer. Their goals have been shown on ESPN in their "Top 10", etc.
9. The reason MLS has a poorer showing than they could have is because they branded the league as "family friendly" which ousted you more die-hard European and Central/South America fans. That image is now changing and fans have increased. MLS was never going to take over the family friendly image as baseball already has that.
10. Soccer is the number one sport in America for youths and for adults. People don't see soccer "as a waste of time". The problem is translating the intricacies to those who didn't grow up with it. The previous Women's WC final broke all kinds of records for viewership and digital mentions.
11. Learn to read articles/studies and pay attention to the wider world before wasting your time writing long posts that amount to a waste of your time. If you got off your high horse, you'd see MLS as the last frontier for football and as a chance to see a league grow from absolutely nothing to something that still has a lot of room to grow. With the population and money available in the US, MLS could very well be a top tier league one day. This is one of the last times the world will see a country the size of the US adopt football. Your other options are corrupt China and poor India. Otherwise, football has conquered all the other big countries. Learn to embrace change and see excitement in something beyond Euro snobbery.
