In other words, MLS and its member clubs value Josh Wolff - a 2-time World Cup participant - about as highly as Franco Niell.

Note to the League: American soccer fans want to see talented American soccer players, not overhyped foreigners.

marginally bad news from the u-18s: they lost 1-0 to sweden despite playing their best game of the tournament. having never played together before, they improved dramatically each game. they finished the tournament tied with norway on three points, but norway edged them for third place based on head to head results. ironically, usa's three points came from beating the champion and host country portugal.

goalkeeper larry jackson is a phenomenal talent; I look forward to seeing him in other venues as his career progresses. (at the tournament banquet last night, portuguese officials roundly but good-naturedly cursed his name for having denied so many of portugal's shots in their game).

ah well, just a few days until Wembley. can't wait to see beasley light it up there too (knock wood)!

Ten players and a goalie? which goalie?

I'm looking forward to seeing some more of Beasley.

So what's going on with Wolff's rights?

Is the team in line to receive his rights (whoever is first in the allocation order right now) lowballing him, and won't reasonably negotiate with other MLS teams for him?

Or is the gloss that single-entity apologists put on the current MLS set-up-- that a team can pretty much offer any player for whom that team "owns" the rights any amount of money, as long as they stick to salary cap and designated player/foreign player/other roster limits-- a bunch of nonsense, and centralized control of contracts is alive, well, and still screwing over players who want to join MLS and fans who want to see the quality of play improve?

Time for this crap to STOP. We're now at a point where a large and stable fan base and associated revenues are proven. Single-entity, at this point, is only a way to suppress wages in an established league, and benefit not the players, not the fans, but only the very wealthy owners. Supporters of MLS need to step up now and back the players who make this league what it is. We don't want sweatshop football.

Soy United!Hell, I'll take Wolff over Niell any day!

Looks like most people are away at least people who come to the game regularly. Parking lot for the tailgate is not as full as some weekends. Hopefully the turn out will be better!

hoyanick,

I could care less the citizenship of the players playing.

That said, I agree with Mastodan Juan to an extent. The cap (by my calculations) is holding back both the quality and depth of MLS sides far more than the cap far more than a cap protects against NASLism. I would recommend, without factoring in collective Owner/Operator revenues, a league-wide increase of developmental salaries, the expansion of senior-roster slots from 18 to 21, and a raise in the (senior-roster only) salary cap to ~ $3.3 million.

...I was at a wedding today. I was quite bored.

Hey Cirovski,

That style scheduling has worked real well for Gary the last few years.

woah woah hold up here folks...

I am 100% in favor of dumping single entity and significantly raising the cap at the next CBA to at LEAST $10 million and raising the minimun to at least $50K...

...BUT in what f'n world is $10K 'bad' money? Prorated over the season that is more than a $100K contract. Raise your hand if you would play a He was on a $190K contract with 1860. Sure that's almost halved what he was making, but the guy was allowed to walk from a garbage BL2 side. He is hardly in demand.

Playing a couple of months in MLS for the 'pittance' of $10K a MONTH and shopping himself after the season or even at the next Euro transfer window isn't exactly a horrible option.
My guess is that MLS wanted it to be a multi-year deal with all sorts of bizzarre poison pills that allows them to kill deals and the like as so many of their other deals have done or tried to do.

I am 100% in favor of dumping single entity and significantly raising the cap at the next CBA to at LEAST $10 million and raising the minimun to at least $50K...

Uhh ..... What? Where on earth is this money going to come from.

In other words, MLS and its member clubs value Josh Wolff - a 2-time World Cup participant - about as highly as Franco Niell.

Note to the League: American soccer fans want to see talented American soccer players, not overhyped foreigners.

Posted by: hoyanick | May 24, 2008 3:45 PM
----

Totally forgets how colossally overhyped Josh Wolff was the last time he was in the league.

2/10

Wolff almost single handedly beating Mexico in Columbus in a World Cup qualifier for 2006 (or was it 2002)...I can't get that image out of my mind!!!

I would like to see Wolfe in MLS. I think he is a quality MLS striker. Good work rate, scrappy...in other words the type of guys DCU could use up front subbing in and out for Jamie.