Losing Donovan for the next month is bad enough

Those who have read my blog or my posts on BigSoccer for a while will know that I feel pretty strongly that MLS should not by playing matches on dates set aside by FIFA as International Dates. So far, no one has paid any attention to this bloggers opinion. However, the British media (ya gotta love them) have managed to create several stories related to this.

It started off positive enough. Becks has played well the last 5 months and done well enough to be considered for a recall to the England squad for a couple of matches next week. Of course, the fact that England have played like crap since McClaren took over I’m sure helped.

Now, that’s great news for LA Galaxy and MLS right? Heck, Alexi Lalas even said, "Ultimately, we look at it as a statement on the Galaxy. The fact we have a player who's been called into the English national team says a lot about who he is. We couldn't be happier for him."

Of course, all this does have its downside. Ya see, MLS and AEG (and, of course, the Galaxy) are making a mint off the signing of Beckham already. Wouldn’t it suck if he missed a few matches which sold out based on the fact that Becks would be in Green and Gold--or whatever the new colors are going to be when Becks dons the colors?

Lalas spoke with BBC Radio 5 a few days ago. In that interview, he basically said what managers like Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger say when their players are called up for meaningless friendlys in Africa or somewhere which isn’t around the corner. We’d rather he didn’t go, but it’s ultimately up to him. Or at least that’s the paraphrase I got out of it. That sounds reasonable enough. It seems t be that international coaches usually talk with club managers and try to work something out that works for everyone involved.

Now the British hacks (gotta love ‘em) started “finding” all kinds of interesting stories. The Daily Mail seems to think he could go to Newcastle (or Spurs, or Everton or Blackburn) on a three-month loan. No need for a vacation or rest or anything. Of course, the article is pure speculation. There are no real quotes from anyone involved. But sometimes fiction sells more papers.

So, back to the first point, Beckham being recalled for England. It seems someone in the British media decided to go to FIFA and get a quote from them about Lalas preventing Becks from joining England for games this fall.

"The same rules apply for everybody," a FIFA spokesman said. "For all national associations, for any club, for any player.

"Players must be released for friendly or competitive games if they are on the international calendar and the required notice is given.

"The only difference in competitive and friendly games is regarding the time frames. All players are equal."

Like I said above, it's no different than anyone else. I still don’t think Alexi ever said he wouldn’t let Becks join England. He simply shared his frustration at the business issue this creates for him.

So, what are the matches in question?

All the matches are at the HDC so that shouldn’t be a huge problem…well, except for the Cup Final.

So, back to my first point, why does MLS still schedule matches (especially the MLS Cup Final) on International weekends? They used to say it was because of stadium availability. Honestly, I’m having a difficult time believing that one now that over half the teams now have their own stadiums…and that percentage is growing. Of course, events like the X-Games get to bump matches, but that’s another topic.

MLS/AEG has no one but themselves to blame here. They over promoted and over promised with Becks just like everyone did when Freddy Adu joined the league. When will they learn?

Of course, they weren’t as outrageous as Harrisburg, but that’s a whole new level…guess it work, they sold the match out. Anyone know when the 3^rd draw is?

Just one last thought, at the start of the season in 1999, LA were performing poorly. My belief at that time (well, still) was that coach Octavio Zambrano was putting together a team which was built around Luis Hernandez who wasn’t arriving for a couple of months. Before Hernandez could show up (we know the story there) Zambrano was replaced by Sigi Schmid.

I hope Frank Yallop isn’t counting on Beckham's arrival improving LA that dramatically. Otherwise, McClaren won’t need to worry about Lalas wanting to keep Golden Balls when they face Croatia. But wouldn’t it be what MLS deserve, if LA makes the MLS Cup final and not being able to have the leagues most influential player cuz he has to play a match in London the same day. C’mon on Garber, you are still running MLS like it’s a second-tier league. Forget about NFL, NBA etc. You should focus more on other soccer leagues and schedule appropriately. Otherwise, you be creating more messes.

Labels: David Beckham, England, LA Galaxy, MLS, MLS Cup

  ¶ 12:17 PM 1 Comments

  What's most important? The other day I asked...

I've waited over 11 years so far, how much longer will I need to wait until winning the MLS Cup is more important than making money?

It's nice to see I'm not the only person asking that question...

Apparently, protecting the integrity of the MLS regular season is beneath the notice of decision makers at AEG and the league office. Unbalancing the league schedule of one of its clubs, the putative "Jewel of MLS", in fact, appears to be a small price to pay to secure a couple of ticket-window windfalls. One can only wonder whether the possibility of a split-season schedule was ever seriously considered in the league office, because the Galaxy's schedule would fit almost perfectly into such a format: league, Open Cup, and CONCACAF Cup matches in April-June, July off, then league matches from August until November. Thirteen teams, 12 matches per season, home and away, less fixture congestion, MLS Cup at the end of November between the two champions of each split-season, or playoffs, if you must, between the top four sides.

Urban goes on to ask...

Should the Galaxy fail to make the playoffs, will the blame be laid at coach Frank Yallop's feet? Will Alexi Lalas be the fall guy for galactic failure?

Or will blame be properly laid at the door of those who placed commercial interests ahead of more mundane considerations like a fair and balanced league schedule?

Great question. LA fans should be demanding more. I thought something was up when the schedule finally came out and every MLS side was going to have a chance to see Beckham. It mean that roughly 2/3rds of their road games would be played in the second half of the season.

I really want the sport in this country and MLS to succeed. However, how are we the fans supposed to take the league seriously when those bringing us the league don't? More time has been spent promoting individual players than promoting any individual team. Outside of Cobi Jones, no team has any player they had in '96. Attendance hasn't changed much since then. All these games against money-spinning teams and the signing of big names (except Beckham) hasn't exactly brought in more than single match ticket sales.

I've been saying it for going on 12 years now, until the league and the teams focus on putting the best possible team on the pitch that has a sole focus on winning championships both domestically (MLS Cup, Open Cup and maybe Supporters Shield) and internationally (I'm still waiting for an MLS side to knock a Mexican side out of the Champions Cup) they aren't providing the fans with the best possible product. Give the fans of each MLS town something to be proud of and to want to support rather than providing two hours of entertainment and hoping they'll come back.

On a related note, I've said for some time that I don't care when the season is played, as long as no matches conflict with International Dates--AKA MLS matches where the big name stars won't be present. Brucio over at the always great du Nord has what I think is an interesting idea. Move the season up a few weeks. There's a lot of positives to this idea. MLS teams playing in the Champions Cup will be better prepared. The season would end before the North American Championship of Baseball (not to be confused with the famous "World Series") Also, any team sharing their stadium with a football team won't have as many date conflicts. It's not like all the teams haven't been in LA or Texas or Florida or something the last few weeks. Open the season at southern locations for a few weeks before teams in the cooler climates have their openers. But I'm sure there's some explanation why this wouldn't work.

OK, enough rant. We all know the most important thing is financial survival (profit?) for the teams/league etc. But I'm still entitled to my opinion.

Good luck to Houston and DC tonight.

Labels: Champions Cup, LA Galaxy, Marketing, MLS Cup, Open Cup, World Series of Soccer

  ¶ 6:07 PM 2 Comments

  It took 11 years for someone to think of this We've all heard the stories about teams drinking beer out of the Stanley Cup while taking the trophy out on the town...or while hosting a party at their house...well, you can't do that (no where to hold the beer) with the MLS Cup, but you can have it at your house for a day.

It's too bad the trophy isn't designed more for celebrations but what are you going to do. One question though, is there only one actual trophy or does the league make a new one every season? If that's the case, LA, DC, KC, Chicago and whoever has the Smurfs trophies can still do this as well.

One thing though, $600 is a bit of a joke. C'mon Houston fans, you can do better than that. Get a group of you together, pool your money and have a big Christmas Day bash with the trophy.

Labels: Houston, MLS, MLS Cup

  ¶ 7:06 AM 0 Comments