Salaries Galore!

Today, Steven Goff, in an article in the Washington Post (see also this article), listed the salaries of every team and player in MLS. Rather than write a detailed article about this, I'm going to list some of my general comments:

• There is a significant gap between the highest and lowest paid players on each team. It's fortunate that this hasn't caused significant amounts of resentment towards the league and towards some of the players with the higher echelon salaries. It's disappointing when 14 of D.C. United's 28 players are earning less than 36,500 USD a year, but the team is shelling out over 100,000 USD a year so Argentine forward Lucio Filomeno can sit on the bench. Even more disgusting is the Chicago Fire, where ace forward Chris Rolfe is making 50,000 USD a year while oft-injured, never-playing Tony Sanneh is the team's highest paid player at over 385,000 USD. Sweet gig for him, no?
• It should come as no surprise that Chivas USA is the highest paid team in the league, and that Paco Palencia is the league's highest paid player. In terms of cost for production, Palencia's salary of over 1 million USD is completely ridiculous. However, bear in mind that Palencia lends a sort of legitimacy to a club that sorely needs it among its Latin-American fans. Is it worth the cost? I don't know. Ask Antonio Cue.
  
• What is disgusting about Chivas' exorbitant payroll is that one of its eleven starters, defender Lawson Vaughn, is making the league minimum, a paltry 11,000 USD. Yes, he is listed as a developmental player, but the minute he starts more than one game, he should instantly get moved to the senior roster and given a starter's salary. If that means getting rid of Orlando Perez or Ezra Hendrickson and their 70,000 USD plus salaries, so be it.
  
• What qualifies some rookies for more money than others? Why is Patrick Ianni making more money than Ryan Cochrane or even Craig Waibel, when Ianni has never played any minutes in a senior match for the Houston Dynamo? Why is Marvell Wynne already the third highest player on the Red Bulls? I can understand that Wynne is a dynamic player, but 150,000 USD a year? Really?
  
• If I were Bobby Boswell I'd be pretty pissed that I was making less than David f-ing Stokes.
  
• Of Chicago's top three players, two don't even start (Tony Sanneh and Andy Herron). Are their salaries guaranteed to the point that the Fire can't even off-load them without a trade? (Oh, and John Thorrington's salary is also a joke. This team surely didn't do their cost-benefit analyses right, did they?)
• Dempsey is gone after this season unless he gets a massive pay raise. A player of his profile and caliber making only 80,000 USD a year makes the league look like a massive joke. Especially when he's making less than Jay Heaps and Joey Franchino.
  
• Look at the payrolls of the best teams in the league. Look at the efficiency of teams like the Houston Dynamo and New England (both clubs where no player makes over 200,000 USD a year). They also foster excellent values (players like Andy Dorman, James Riley, Brad Davis, and Kenny Cooper come to mind).
  
• Pete Vagenas makes 125,000 USD a year. No wonder Sampson starts him. He probably has orders from the front office. Because if he wasn't a starter, he'd be the most ridiculous waste of money ever (which he already is anyway).
• So much for New York being the subject of money conspiracies.
• The biggest thing that MLS needs to address before they get behind a "big player acqusition" agreement is the base salary. Players should not be making salaries almost below minimum wage in a league that pretends to be "major." Neither should rookies have to work two jobs just to get by. While I respect the league immensely for their financial sense, this just stinks. That's not an eloquent comment, but it's apt. The current salary structure is just unfair and the MLS Player's Union ought to do something about it.
  

United They Stand

Power Rankings:

1. D.C. United - United thoroughly dominated the New York Red Bulls even without stellar performances from Jaime Moreno and Christian Gomez. Brian Carroll and Ben Olsen completely controlled the center of midfield, while Alecko Eskandarian scored a brace. Big games from the supporting players has been the cornerstone of D.C.'s success in the Nowak era, and this was exemplified in Saturday's game. As our friends over at DCenters noted, it was their adjustments to the wet field that helped United play like the home team (a large contingent of travelling fans also helped).

2. FC Dallas - How familiar is this? Houston Dynamo (formerly the San Jose Earthquakes) struggles through the first few weeks, while Dallas leads the West. Dallas has looked class so far, coming back in stoppage time to beat Kansas City at home, while leading the Western Conference with ten points. However, it'll be interesting to see how long this will last. However, it should be encouraging that Kenny Cooper has been a revelation, Mina looks fit and is playing well, while Mulrooney should soon be returning from his ACL injury. If this team can stay healthy and play as strong as it has, it'll be a tight race between Dallas and Houston in the West.

3. Kansas City Wizards - Kansas City was everyone's top team after their home victory over New England a week ago. Gone was talk of "Bunker Bob [Gansler]." But the Kansas City team I watched yesterday was nothing like this supposed offensive juggernaut. Perhaps that's because they have zero midfield creativity? Whatever the problem, you know you've got one when your goal is scored by a defensive sub and your only other shot on goal is taken by MLS' all-time leader in minutes played without a goal (Nick Garcia). Welcome back to reality, Kansas City fans.

4. Houston Dynamo - With their creative midfield engine back (the early MVP front-runner Dwayne DeRosario) and with the return of their best defender, Eddie Robinson, the Earthquakes had their way with Real Salt Lake. Certainly, Real made it close, nearly scoring a go-ahead goal off of a Jason Kreis free kick, but that score would not be indicative of the run of play. Houston dominated, and the scoreline reflects that. But the result certainly proves what we've thought all along: DeRosario is that good, and this is his team. Without him, San Jose, excuse me, Houston, struggles.

5. New England Revolution - They didn't play last weekend, so they couldn't really lower their ranking too much. Even without having played, they're still a better club than the ones that'll be listed below. No, they're not playing well, but the Revolution's worst play is still better than Salt Lake's best.

6. Chivas USA - Yeah, Chivas still has one win. Yeah, they didn't play last weekend. Yeah, they're in fifth place in the West. Whatever. Chivas still plays prettier, more attractive, more dynamic soccer than any other team in the West minus Dallas and Houston. And they also happen to be the best team in LA right now.

7. Colorado Rapids - As much as I despise the way that Clavijo's boys play, they at least didn't play last weekend. That is, they couldn't possibly have made their case worse, like a certain team in Los Angeles.

8. Columbus Crew - The Crew didn't play that well last weekend, but they won, which is the most important thing. Sigi's Crew is a young team and one that desperately need a confidence boost in the form of three points. They went to LA (a tough place to play) and won against an anemic Galaxy squad. If they had some seasoned attacking players, this team might actually be challenging for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and they still might depending on how Sarachan navigates Chicago's perilously long road trip.

9. Chicago Fire - Like Colorado, they didn't play so they couldn't possibly have made their case worse. I'm still interested to see how this club survives a nine game long road trip. There are only a few teams in MLS with the leadership and comraderie to survive a road trip like that, and I'm not sure Chicago is one of them. If Sarachan can't get three wins out of this road trip, it'll be a complete failure. Quite frankly, nine games in nearly a third of the season. No matter how much of a home-field advantage they'll have at Bridgeview (and even that much isn't certain), they still need to win now.

10. LA Galaxy - What was that? Losing in extra time to one of MLS' worst teams at home? Two weeks ago, Landon was complaining about the way this club was playing, but it seems that no one took his advice. What their Kevin Stott-induced victory against Chivas covered up was the fact that this team has no creativity in the midfield, and no bite up top. Their defense is solid, so that much should be encouraging, but whether it's personnel, or Sampson's stupid insistence to start Pete Vagenas (and make him captain), this team is in need of a serious makeover. With Lalas now the general manager, expect some heads to roll.

11. New York Red Bulls - This team does not deserve Youri Djorkaeff. He plays with heart and leads by example on the field, which is something I can't say for Armado Guevara or anyone else on this club. Where's the fire? The desire to preserve their coach's job? They played like a road team on Saturday and did nothing when Alecko Eskandarian disrespected their club and their owner (pictured above). It was one hell of a disgusting display. Management won't put with that for long.

12. Real Salt Lake - How much longer will Checketts put up with Ellinger? There are some signs of life, and it's great to see Kreis playing again, but this team needs help, fast.

Red Bull: Good or Evil

Again, I apologize to my readers for the infrequency of posts this week, but there are other reasons why, besides apathy, I didn't post for over four months. That said, let's look at today's topic: The abrupt change in MLS' fans perspective of the Red Bull takeover of the team formerly known as the Metrostars.

It all started yesterday when a certain Jack Bell article from the New York Times began making its rounds around the internet. In that article, Bell says that, among other things, the team's name could be changing to "Red Bull Cosmos," the Harrison stadium project (the announcement of which was only the second post on this humble blog) could be scuttled in favor of staying at the Meadowlands, and none other than Giorgio Chinaglia could be given a top position within the club. Of course, when the story was posted, BigSoccer went nuts, some even taking back every good thing they ever said about the Red Bull sale. My title of the aforementioned second post was "Signs the Apocalypse is near," and you'd think that was the case now. But is all of this really serious?

Let's look closely at the claims Bell makes in the article, starting with the statement "the departure of Alexi Lalas as president and general manager of the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer will hasten change." This alone should set off a few alarm bells. For all we know, Lalas left of his own volition, and the Galaxy move was rumored as soon as Doug Hamilton passed away. Lalas seems to be a favorite son of the AEG corporation and has moved quickly up the corporate ladder. To say that his departure from the club was mutual is pure speculation, as is the idea that his departure will "hasten change." Perhaps Bell is more in the know than I (which I'd hope would be the case), but I have a hard time understanding how changes would hasten with Lalas' departure. Was he a force preventing change behind the scenes?

After this, the article delves into even more overt speculation. He makes a connection between Beckenbauer's involvement with the club (the extent to which Beckenbauer is involved is not known) and a practical Cosmos reunion. The "changes" that Bell expects, he ties to this quote of Red Bulls assistant general manager Chris Canetti, that the club was "working on plans for the restructuring of this organization, and that those plans will be available to us within the near future, possibly within the next seven days." But shouldn't we expect the restructuring of an organization that was run with practically no strategy for the last several years? Shouldn't we be happy that Red Bull is looking to restructure what was one of the most inefficient and incompetent organizations in MLS?

At this point, Bell goes off the deep end. He suggests that it's "likely" that Giorgio Chinaglia will be promoted to a position within the organization. Unless Bell is privy to some insider information, how is this likely? And why would any organization, especially one with as smart a business model as Red Bull, bring in a man with as poor of business credentials and experience as Chinaglia, a man who drove his own organization into the ground. Dare I suggest that Chinaglia helped Bell think this whole article up? At one point, Bell even quotes Chinaglia as saying: ""I don't think they need much time to think about this. It could be a week, it could be 10 days," regarding these supposed imminent changes which include splashing down money for new players. That, of course, would be in violation of the league's single-entity policy and would have to be approved by a majority of the league's owners. The fiscally conservative AEG and Hunt Sports Group would doubtless reject any idea to put down the kind of money that Red Bull wants to spend.

Finally, there is very little evidence to suggest that a name change is even "possible," nor is there much evidence suggesting that Red Bull is pulling out of the stadium deal. Bell writes: "It is possible the team name could again be changed — to Red Bull Cosmos — because G. Peppe Pinton, who holds the Cosmos trademark rights, said in a telephone interview that he was willing 'to give Franz whatever he wants.'" There is no evidence to suggest that the team is actually considering the name change, just that Pinton is willing to sell them to the club. Likewise, it's understandable that Red Bull would be willing to stay in the Meadowlands given its history with the New York Cosmos. However, according to an article in Big Apple Soccer, everyone's favorite former Metros GM, Nick Sakiewicz, said that this rumor of re-evaluation of the Harrison deal was "completely 100 percent untrue." For now, these wild rumors should be laid to rest, and we should all give Red Bull the benefit of the doubt. For now.

Update: According to USA Today, Mo Johnston expects to be fired tomorrow. I wonder if this has more to do with Red Bull's impatience with his results or confirmation of these supposed "imminent changes?"

Update 2: Apparently, Johnston will not be fired.

Power Rankings

This has been a pretty weird MLS season so far. While quality of play seems to have gone up a little bit from last year (although at this stage it's still difficult to judge), refereeing is as bad as ever as evidenced by an awful display from Kevin Stott, robbing Chivas of a deserved point (or three), as well as a terrible penalty call that gifted Columbus a point against the Fire. Well, without further adu, here are the rankings:

1. Kansas City Wizards - Three games, nine points. Kansas City has proved their quality, already having beaten two of the toughest teams in the league, Houston Dynamo (away) and the New England Revolution. If Conrad is fully healthy (he scored last weekend), this team will be absolutely fearsome. However, it's also difficult to say how long this'll last.

2. D.C. United - United have looked good this season, but they didn't quite look authoritative until last weekend in their victory against Houston (sans DeRosario, out due to suspension). Since the beginning of the Nowak era, United have been the most consistent team in MLS, and they look primed for another MLS Cup run again this year.

3. New England Revolution - They didn't look like the fearsome Eastern Conference champions of 2005, but New England is still one of the most talented, intelligent sides in MLS. This team should just be getting better with Parkhurst returning from injury. But they'll need Dempsey, Noonan, and Twellman to hit form soon though because the lack of goals is troubling.

4. FC Dallas - Dallas has won two games so far this season, better than New England sure, but they haven't quite looked truly in synch yet. The defense still seems to be solidifying, the midfield is almost non-existent, but they're set at forward, especially as Kenny Cooper's emerged as a true revelation. If Alvarez and Nunez can continue to develop well in their midfield roles, if Ronnie O'Brien plays like he did last season, and if Richard Mulrooney can return from his 2005 season-ending ACL injury, then Dallas will be a fearsome presence in the west.

5. New York Red Bull - Yeah, the ties are troubling, but New York are still playing better soccer than any team in the Western Conference so they'll stay here for now.

6. Houston Dynamo - Now I know what you're thinking: "Houston only has one win and two losses! How are they ahead of __________?" The answer is, Houston still plays better soccer on a bad day then any other team in the West. But we sure learned who the true MVP of MLS is Saturday didn't we? His name? Dwayne DeRosario.

7. LA Galaxy - The Galaxy have struggled mightily this season, and were definitely gifted a victory against Chivas on Saturday night (anyone still wondering why Kevin Stott wasn't selected to referee at the World Cup?). Donovan's move to midfield certainly helped, but Glenn, despite his two goals, just is not the answer up top. He should have bagged four or five with some of the service he was given.

8. Chivas USA - Chivas was the better team Saturday and more than held their own a week before in D.C. If John O'Brien can start getting consistent minutes, they'll be fearsome (The Kljestan - Marsch midfield pairing has only been a partial success). Oh, and was Tim Regan a monster out there or what?

9. Colorado Rapids - Yeah, they have more points than Chivas, but what does that even mean? Have you watched these guys? After getting plastered by Houston, they went home and beat a tired Columbus side (that high altitude does provide an advantage after all), and drew with Dallas thanks to a Clarence Goodson own goal. The only thing more depressing than the way Clavijo's side plays is the team's complete lack of local support thanks to the team's decision to not market until the new Commerce City stadium is finished. Brilliant.

10. Chicago Fire - The Fire have not looked bad this season, but the nine game road trip is going to take a tremendous toll on this team. They were robbed of three points in Columbus, stole a point in LA, and lost valiantly to a pumped-up Dallas squad opening weekend. This isn't a bad side, but Sarachan will need to work extra-hard to keep these guys focused on this long road trip.

11. Columbus Crew - They're not that bad, but any team that's starting a player who played most recently in the German third division is in for a long season. Rozenthal, the Chilean import, didn't impress much, and being gifted a point against the Fire must've felt like a win for this team desperate for points.

12. Real Salt Lake - When will this team live up to their grandiose name?

There's been a lot going on in MLS this week and I hope I'll get a chance to talk about it all this week. I should apologize for not posting yesterday but I've been pretty busy.

The Roster, What?

I promised earlier this week that I would examine the possibilites for Arena's thirty-five man roster. So here it is:

US National Team coach Bruce Arena was supposed to announce his tentative thirty-five man World Cup roster this Wednesday. However, it looks like this decision will now be postponed until May 2 when Arena will announce his complete twenty-three man roster. Since that's the case, let's just look at thirty-five players who are locks, likely, and on the bubble for this World Cup squad.

Locks:

Goalkeeper

Kasey Keller - Keller is the undisputed top choice keeper for the US. With a plethora of national team experience, no competition with the retirement of Blackburn keeper Brad Friedel, and in top form with club team Borussia Monchengladbach, Keller will, barring injury, be starting in net for the United States in Germany.

Marcus Hahnemann - Some may be surprised that I consider Hahnemann an absolute lock, but his form with Reading has been excellent, he hasn't completely squandered his national team chances, and he's been as much a part of Reading's promotion to the Premiership as anyone else in their starting eleven. He's the solid, but not spectacular, number two choice now.

Defender

Oguchi Onyewu - Onyewu, only a little more than a year ago, was just being run out with the national team. Now, with only twelve international caps to his name, is the US' biggest defensive asset, an absolute rock in central defense that brings size, skill, pace, and most importantly, youth to what is essentially a patchwork backline. While he struggled in Azteca against Mexico, he booked his trip to Germany in the second leg of that series, effectively shutting down the Mexican attack in Columbus.

Steve Cherundolo - Cherundolo is the US' most talented right sided player, and will be the US' most important right sided asset in the World Cup with the ability to play in both defense and in midfield. What he lacks in size, he makes up for with pace, technical skill, and defensive smarts. He always provides the US with a talented crosser of the ball from the right side, making him a last-minute for Arena in right midfield as well as a dangerous threat to make deep runs from the defense. Already a starter for Hannover 96 in the German Bundesliga, he should feel right at home in Germany in June.

Eddie Pope - Pope's position was looking rather tenuous a year ago when he struggled against England in Chicago. However, since this fall, he's demonstrated exactly why Arena trusts and appreciates him so much, demonstrating calm, excellent positioning, and leadership to the American backline. I don't expect Pope to be starting against the Czech Republic, but I wouldn't be surprised either. He'll bring veteran leadership to a defense with little or no World Cup experience.

Eddie Lewis - The US apparently has no solid left-sided defender. Sure, there are great talents like Dunivant, Burciaga, and Pearce, but so far, only two of these three have received chances this year (Dunivant and Pearce), and both remain bubble players. Lewis, a converted midfielder, lacks good pace and has little defensive experience, but he does have tremendous soccer smarts, a wicked left foot, and is one of the few US players dangerous on free kicks. He and Cherundolo provide fearsome offensive talent from the back that should prove useful in Germany.

Cory Gibbs - That Cory Gibbs is a "lock" is a slightly controversial statement, I know. After getting injured in 2005, he spent most of the first few months of 2006 sidelined with injury. When he was finally healthy, his club, Feyenoord, released him. He finally settled with John O'Brien's old club, ADO Den Haag, but even there, he only recently has had a chance with the first team. Now it looks like he's aggravated his hamstring again. However, when healthy, Gibbs is one of the best man-markers in the US pool. For evidence, look no further then the US friendly with the Netherlands two years ago, in which Gibbs single-handedly shut down Ruud van Nistelroy. Not only is he a strong central pairing with Onyewu, but Gibbs can also play on the left in a pinch. This type of versatility means that if he's healthy, Gibbs will be on Arena's 23 man roster.

Midfielder

Claudio Reyna - Reyna was a big reason for the US' unprecedented success in World Cup 2002, and the US needs him now more than ever. What Reyna brings to the US team is an incomparable soccer mind, intelligent passing, and possession. Without him, the US is too predictable, resorting to long balls or to the counter-attack. With him, they're capable of a much more varied, nuanced attack. Without him, there's no way the US makes it out of the first round.

Landon Donovan - It'll be interesting to see where Arena plays Landon since he seems to work better up top with Brian McBride (especially considering the weakness of the forward talent pool) than he does pulling the strings in midfield. I expect there'll be games with Landon controlling the offensive tempo in central midfield, but against the Czechs I suspect he'll be starting up top with McBride. Regardless, he's still the most talented player in the entire pool, and is a lock no matter what.

DaMarcus Beasley - While he's hit a poor run of form both with club (PSV Eindhoven) and country in recent months, Beasley is still one of the most unpredictable and talented players in the US pool. He brings pace and quickness to the attack, and can be an absolute terror around the goal (just ask Jaap Stam). Regardless of this run of poor form, Beasley is a lock no matter what, but he needs to bring that speed and quickness with ball to Germany if the US is going to beat either the Czech Republic or Italy.

Pablo Mastroeni - The only true defensive midfielder that's healthy and has played well for the national team is Pablo Mastroeni, and it looks like he'll be the only true defensive midfielder that Arena takes to Germany. This may or may not be the same Pablo Mastroeni that so totally dominated the Mexicans in 2002, but he's been huge for the US in big games and he has the experience. It was never really a question of whether Mastroeni would go to the World Cup, but whether another defensive midfielder would be going with him. Armas is injured and Zavagnin played himself out of a spot, leaving only Pablo.

Bobby Convey - Convey has been a big part of Reading's massively successful 2005-2006 season, and he's earned his spot to Germany. He was one of the few bright spots against Germany in Dortmund, and has looked confident and creative, one of the few players willing to challenge the German defense one v. one. His presence with the squad means that Lewis can concentrate solely on playing left back and it also means that Beasley can slide into a different position, or take a rest without any major drop-off in quality.

Forward

Brian McBride - Old reliable, Brian McBride, will be making his third World Cup appearance for the US. Without him up top, the US loses balls in the box, it loses a big target, and it loses a reliable finisher. With McBride, even at age 33, the US has a player who can hold the ball in traffic, win balls in the air, and finish confidently and reliably. No matter who starts alongside him, he'll make that other player that much better. He was a lock from the beginning.

Eddie Johnson - Johnson, for all his faults, is still a strong, lighning fast poacher, even after his injury. If he can return to form in the next two months, he may even earn himself a start in the opening match against the Czech Republic. Until then, he remains a solid player who offers enough intangibles (like his speed) to ensure his spot with the squad.

Likely:

Goalkeeper

Tim Howard - Howard has more national team experience than most of the other goalkeeping options, and he certainly has the talent, but his only game experience this year has been in meaningless cup games. He needs to find a starting job (with any team) if he wants to start in 2010.

Defender

Frankie Hedjuk - Surfer Dude played terribly against Jamaica and probably deserved a red card, there are no questions about that. But if there's one player who has been one of the US' most solid big-game performers its Frankie. Arena loves him and that's all that matters, regardless of how you might feel about him. He'll be there in Germany, if only because he's versatile and he's been there before, through the highs and the lows.

Gregg Berhalter - Berhalter played appallingly against Germany, and was responsible for at least two of Germany's four goals. But he's played well with Onyewu, he's played in the World Cup before, and he's solid when not matched against teams with incredibly fast forwards. He'll provide depth in central defense and he understands his role with the team. To Arena, that's all that matters.

Midfielder

John O'Brien - O'Brien's just getting first team action again after recently signing with Chivas USA. He looked fine against Jamaica but the rust was evident. If he can get some playing time in the next three weeks and not get hurt, he'll make Arena's squad for sure. We're a far weaker team in central midfield without him.

Clint Dempsey - The on again, off again star of the US National team, Clint Dempsey looked likely to make the squad a year ago, then hit a rough patch and looked like he'd played himself out of the picture. Now some fans are saying he's the type of intangible player that we'll need in Germany to stretch defenses and keep opponents honest. It's hard to tell yet whether Dempsey's the type of player who'll raise his game when it counts the most, but he's the US' best option on the right, and a great substitution option.

Forward

Josh Wolff - Wolff certainly has the talent, but it's been a rough year with the National Team. That said, he's an Arena player through and through, and that'll mean everything when it's time to select his twenty-three man roster.

On the Bubble (in order of most likely):

Goalkeeper

Matt Reis
Tony Meola
Kevin Hartman

Defender

Jimmy Conrad
Carlos Bocanegra
Chris Albright
Jonathan Spector
Todd Dunivant
Heath Pearce

Midfielder

Ben Olsen
Kerry Zavagnin
Pat Noonan
Steve Ralston
Chris Klein

Forward

Taylor Twellman
Brian Ching
Conor Casey

This is only speculation of course. There may still be some surprises yet, but with Arena, that's probably unlikely. The starting line-up is strong, but if there are any injuries this team lacks the depth to go far in the Cup. The group stage will test the true talents of Bruce Arena to mix and match his line-ups to go toe to toe with the Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana. We shall see.

Landon Mouths Off

In a recent article in Soccer Capital News, Ian Plenderleith chides Landon Donovan for mouthing off against his LA Galaxy teammates. The question is: was Landon justified in castigating his teammates? Plenderleith doesn't think so. What particularly irritates him is that Donovan singles out a particular teammate, Ugo Ihemelu. Here's what Landon said:

"You don't go sliding into a tackle on the edge of the box against Justin Mapp. It's just stupid. You get away with that in college. You get away with that in high school because guys aren't good enough.... We were able to hide things a lot last year because we put together four good games at the end of the year, but it doesn't hide the fact that we have some issues."

Landon, of course, is smart enough to not single out Ihemelu by name, and perhaps it was wrong of him to call the action "stupid," but that doesn't take away the fact that Landon is doing something we've rarely seen him do, which is expressing his feelings about his situation with the Galaxy in such an impassioned and serious way. Whether it was right of him to do this in such a public format is irregardless to the fact that he did it, which is the most important thing. Certainly, Landon could've been wiser in his choice of words, but simply in the act of publically chastising his teammates for their performance, Landon displays a leadership quality we have rarely seen from him in his time in MLS.

Plenderleith interprets Landon's comments as a frustration with the quality of play in MLS. Plenderleith writes: "The third issue that comes out of Donovan's comment is: what the hell else did he expect when he came back to Major League Soccer from Europe? Did no one tell him about the college draft, and about how players go straight from the college game to the professional game and still have a lot to learn? Did he think they were all Champions League standard, like the teammates he left behind so soon at Bayer Leverkusen?" This is hyperbole (or sarcasm), because of course Landon understood all this when he came back from Leverkusen. Landon wants to raise the play of his teammates, win, and have fun. He's frustrated, not with playing with these young players, but with how they've been playing, an important distinction. He cares more about raising the game here than he does about his own image as a soccer player, or status as a "superstar" (which Plenderleith apparently thinks is very important to Landon). Plenderleith is right to criticize Landon for not showing enough tact in his comments, but he's wrong to get all over him over the nature of what was said. He should be commending him for showing a little more bite and a little more passion than we've seen from him since his return from Germany.

No, Plenderleith is just another fan angry with Landon for not challenging himself enough by staying with Leverkusen in Germany. That's his opinion, and that's fine. Certainly, I hoped that Landon would stay there and fight for a starting spot. However, I realize that it's Landon's life to live and if he's happier playing at home in California near his girlfriend, while also trying to raise the image of the game here in the United States, that's fine with me. A happier Landon means a more productive Landon when it counts the most. To see him so impassioned about so apparently meaningless thing as the second game of the apparently meaningless MLS regular season is exciting. Rather than chastize Landon Plenderleith, perhaps you should be commending him.

Real Real

Well, let's not talk about last night's 1-1 tie between the US Men's National Team and Jamaica. Some have called it useless, but I don't think so at all. However, I'll post a much more in-depth look at the locks and possibilities for Arena's 23 and 35 man rosters sometime later this week. That said, let's take a look at some news stories:

Earlier, Deseret News announced that Real Salt Lake would play a high profile match with a major European club. That club, however, was not announced in that article. Later, KUTV news reported that the club in question is storied European giant Real Madrid (Salt Lake's illustrious namesake). Yes, there's a very good possibility that Madrid will completely dismantle MLS' worst team, but the result probably won't matter. Last year, the MLS "All Stars" bombed against Real in Madrid, and it registered hardly a blip on the media radar here (fortunately). Likewise, if Salt Lake gets killed by Real Madrid, it'll still have been a great experience for the club, and should do wonders for expanding the Madrid brand in the United States (which is the whole reason why these European clubs play these games in the first place).

If the Real Madrid news wasn't enough, FC Barcelona will be playing in Houston this summer. The key word though is "in," since they apparently won't be playing against the Dynamo. It's a shame MLS' most exciting attacking club (yeah, I said it) won't get the chance to match up with what is arguably Europe's best club (yeah, I said it). I had grand visions of watching Ricardo Clark mark Ronaldinho, Eddie Robinson defending against Eto'o, and DeRosario making runs at the Barcelona defense. Oh well. Barcelona will be playing an "unnamed Mexican club." It doesn't matter who as long as the fans show up and get a glimpse at the Dynamo product. I don't think they'll be disappointed.

The Boston Globe has a fascinating little article on New York's business plan, their relationship with Pele and Beckenbauer, and the aim for foreign club relationships. If the big numbers (to the tune of $100 million) weren't enough to convince you that Red Bull is serious about their investment then Beckenbauer and Pele's participation should seal the deal. This is what Beckenbauer had to say about the current state of the game in the United States: "The difference is night and day. In 1975, when Pelé came here, nobody played the game. We were like pioneers. Now they play the game and the standard is unbelievable." Red Bull is very serious about this investment and particularly about bringing in high profile stars a la the NASL. Whether this is an effective business model remains to be seen, especially since most of the other league owners don't seem to keen on the idea. However, Red Bull is very serious about spending money and if they can expand the team's brand to New York City itself, they will have accomplished something that the Metrostars never did in ten years.

As for partnerships with foreign clubs, this can only be beneficial for the teams and the league. It allows European, South American, and Mexican clubs a chance to easily expand their brand, while also giving MLS teams a little extra money (through friendlies) and a chance to extend their own brand recognition to South American, Mexican, and European club fans in the area. A deal with Benfica would go a long way towards embracing the Portugese community in the Boston area. This can only be a positive for the league.

Steve Cherundolo tries his hand at writing

Great Onyewu article from the Washington Post

O'Brien's returned

Guess Who's Back

Now that my biterness has completely worn off, I'm back and ready to start blogging again (if only a few times a week). I realized at some point that no matter how angry I was at AEG (and even MLS) for moving the Earthquakes to Houston, I love the sport, the league, and the players way too much to stop caring. As much as I didn't want to watch MLS on opening day, I was inexplicably drawn to every match I could lay my eyes on. I also contemplated changing the name of the blog (which originally was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Earthquakes' tenuous status as a franchise), but decided that the franchise actually is still in limbo.

Now onto the news:

According to Brad Rock of the Deseret News, LA is the most profitable team in the league followed perhaps surprisingly by Bob Kraft's New England Revolution. Of course, this naturally devolved into a debate over whether SSS really helped make teams profitable over at the typically volatile Bigsoccer. As some posters there alluded to (smartly), Garber never mentioned that other teams like Columbus and Dallas weren't being profitable, but in not mentioning them, we can only imply that they haven't quite neared profitability yet. No one should be taking this as a sign that Soccer Specific Stadia aren't essential for the profitability of MLS.

A day after some Bigsoccer fans freaked out after Don Garber failed to mention Cleveland in a list of expansion candidates, the Salt Lake Tribune reports that either Cleveland or St. Louis (!) will be granted an expansion franchise in 2008. This raises some important questions. First, does it imply that Toronto will be the only expansion franchise in 2007? Garber had this to say about St. Louis in his Q & A with fans from Monday:

"St. Louis: Another great soccer market ... we continue to have discussions with a few potential owners for an expansion team in St. Louis, and each prospective owner realizes that a soccer-specific stadium is needed to bring an MLS team to the area."

So the natural question is: Are these potential owners working on a soccer-specific stadium behind the scenes? Or is this a smoke-and-mirrors job from Garber?

What is clear though is that this statement from Garber is a very clear acknowledgment that Cleveland is indeed a very serious expansion candidate. So for all of you freaking out over the Q & A session, rest assured, Cleveland is still very much on Don Garber's mind.

In other "news," Beckham says that he'd like to end his career in the United States (Soccernet, BBC). If I had a take on this I'd let you know, but since I'm so tired of these "X player would like to come to MLS" stories after this Ronaldo affair that this story doesn't interest me in the slightest.

Coming soon:

MLS Power Rankings
Weekly Predictions