It’s clear what the situation is now. MLS has twelve days to save it’s 2010 season.
I’ve written about this situation before, and my thoughts haven’t changed other than to say that I have a feeling that I’ve finally wrapped my head around why the owners are holding on to their business model. It’s clear that THEY think they are a “major” league, on a par with Spain, Italy, England and Germany’s top flights. Their current “collective” model allows them to hold sway over the players contracts and rights, effectively making them the ones holding other leagues for ransome when they come calling for either up-and-coming prospects or their best and brightest. The perception they have is that since other major leagues come calling for the likes of Landon Donovan and a young Jozy Altidore (he was with New York Red Bull before leaving) that they must be at that same level.
Certainly Don Garber acts like he’s the commissioner of a “major” league. The reality of the situation has clearly escaped them all. MLS is a secondary sporting concern in America. The owners and the league need to make sure that they understand the situation and work to improve the cache of the league in the American sporting community. Clearly, this season is one where interest in the league will peak. There is always a bump in interest in the game during a World Cup year, and some of the best American internationals are MLS players. There will be excitement to see the likes of Donovan and Brian Ching following the World Cup’s finale, especially if the American side does well.
We’re not involved in knowing what each side in this dispute is proposing exactly. We know the players want free agency and a larger share of the revenue pie. Clearly, freedom of movement is important to them. I don’t blame them one bit for this, either. I would want the same thing if I were them. Apparently, the owners feel like this league cannot sustain what the players are asking for, so they are hedging. The goodwill that this league has built up over time could be destroyed in a quick fashion if a strike occurs. Philadelphia is clearly excited for the season and being a part of the league. It would be a true shame if that good will is destroyed due to a work stoppage before anything can really get rolling in Philadelphia. There are plenty of storylines around the league, though, that could be very interesting to watch. The bottom line is that these two sides need to figure this out and it needs to happen in the next 12 days. Get it done, lads.
Here’s the television and internet schedule for Saturday:
7:30am- ESPN2- Tottenham Hotspur vs. Blackburn [England]
9:30am- GolTV- Borussia Moenchengladbach vs. Wolfsburg [Germany]
9:45am- Fox Soccer Plus- Chelsea vs. West Ham United [England]
10:00am- FSC/FSE- Birmingham vs. Everton [England]
10:00am- ESPN360.com- Middlesbrough vs. Newcastle United [England]
Noon- Fox Soccer Plus- Catania vs. Inter Milan [Italy]
Noon- DirecTV- Getafe vs. Mallorca [Spain]
12:30pm- FSC/FSE- Hull City vs. Arsenal [England]
12:30pm- GolTV- Bayern Munich vs. FC Freiburg [Germany]
2:00pm- Fox Soccer Plus- Stoke City vs. Aston Villa (Delayed) [England]
2:00pm- ESPN Deportes/ESPN360.com- Sporting Gijon vs. Athletic Bilbao [Spain]
2:45pm- FSC/FSE/ESPN360.com- Napoli vs. Fiorentina [Italy]
4:00pm- Fox Soccer Plus- Burnley vs. Wolverhampton (Delayed) [England]
4:00pm- GolTV- Sevilla vs. Deportivo La Coruna [Spain]
4:00pm- ESPN Deportes- Schalke 04 vs. VfB Stuttgart [Germany]
5:00pm- FSC- Bolton vs. Wigan (Delayed) [England]
6:00pm- Telefutura- Queretaro vs. Morelia [Mexico]
6:00pm- Azteca America/ESPN Deportes- Jaguares vs. San Luis [Mexico]
8:00pm- Telefutura- Pachuca vs. Santos Laguna [Mexico]
8:00pm- Mun2- Tigres vs. Atlas [Mexico]
8:00pm- Telemundo- Chivas Guadalajara vs. UNAM Pumas [Mexico]
10:00pm- Telemundo- Atlante vs. Club America (Delayed) [Mexico]
I’m interested to hear your thoughts and comments on the MLS labour situation, so make sure to holler at us here and find us on Twitter. Thanks for stopping by!
A strike will kill this league- a pox on both sides if they can’t come to an agreement.
In other news, it’s Hibs 2 Ross County 1 at halftime of their Scottish Cup quarterfinal at Easter Road. All indications are that County are “in the game”- C’MON YOU STAGGIES!!
2-2!! The replay is in Dingwall on March 23…WOOOOOOOO!
The owners are missing a key point here. If the league continues the single entity format and shares revenue then what exactly does free agency change. If none of the clubs has the money to pay exorbitant salaries, and nearly all of our players aren’t good enough to go to Europe, then guess what will happen w/ free agents? They’ll still play for MLS clubs at relatively cheap rates. They might get modest raises over their prior contracts, but if the finances aren’t there to pay runaway salaries then I don’t see how giving players freedom of movement changes that or forces the owners to overpay. Could they have to pay a little more to keep their players? Sure, but that just means they actually have to manage their contracts and sign good players to reasonable deals before they can walk away for free. You know, like EVERY OTHER SPORTS LEAGUE IN THE FREAKING WORLD!!! Come on owners, and come on players. I can’t bear the thought of a strike forcing me to spend my summer watching the “baseball” foisted upon my city by the perennially awful Royals.
A strike is just the dumbest, dumbest thing possible for the league at this point, and it’s beginning to feel like it’s inevitable.
From what i’ve gleaned about the player’s demands, the requests for guaranteed money (there’s a theme you see popping up in sports a lot these days) are entirely understandable, but for god’s sake gentlemen, you’re not the NFL. You’re not even the NHL. You don’t have the clout to go on strike and expect everyone to be waiting with baited breath for you to come back, players and owners.
Both sides really should be desperate to solve this, because they just Cannot. Afford. A Strike. In a World Cup year no less. This would be roughly equivalent to cutting your nose AND your foot off, then shooting both, just to spite your face.
I cannot wait for the documentary about this in ten years: Once in a Blight Time. (This assumes the strike/lock-out would kill the league.)
Oh but here’s a thought. What of “merging” the MLS at least the stronger sides (both financially & athletically) with the Mexican League. NAFTA the shit out of this. Or is soccer/football/futbol so beholden to nationally unitary divisions of league (witness the denial of admittance to the English league the stronger Scottish sides) that such a thing as an Amero league is unfathomable?
& yeah that means Canada can join too.
It is amazing to think that a league that has made it this far, in a World Cup year, with almost every team playing or soon to be playing in soccer-specific venues, would shoot itself – hell blast the whole foot off.