STARTERS
Paul kennedy of Soccer America with a report, video included, on the end of David Beckman's World Cup dream. Playing for Milan this weekend he tore his left achilles tendon. He could miss the LA Galaxy season as well.
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What is going on in Puebla? Click to continue reading...

Just when you think he's out, they pull him back in.

On the same day Everton manager David Moyes admitted hope that a deal could get done to extend Landon Donovan's loan, Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena stated emphatically that the Galaxy has no interest in doing that.

"We're not interested," Arena told MLSNet on Friday.

Click to continue reading...

Photo by ISIphotos.com
 Just when you think he's out, they pull him back in.

On the same day Everton manager David Moyes admitted hope that a deal could get done to extend Landon Donovan's loan, Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena stated emphatically that the Galaxy has no interest in doing that.

Click to continue reading...

TEAM USA
Friendly Match & Score:
-Wed Mar 3
Netherlands v USA - 1:30 Central on ESPN2
Venue: Ajax Arena - Amsterdam
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Official Team Blog
-Q & A with Jose Torres.
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US Soccer reported today that "More than 20,000 tickets sold for USA-Turkey Send-Off game in Philly". Click to continue reading...

I am happy to be back!
STARTERS
Giant thanks go out to Graham, Tim, Joe and Adam for minding the shop while I was out gallivanting. I hope to have some good stuff for you from my trip to London.
dN
Mo Edu was the man of the hour for Rangers, as he banged home a goal in the dying seconds to beat rivals Celtic 1-0 on Sunday. Click to continue reading...

The MLS Players Union offered up a big announcement today, and that announcement is: Nothing is going to happen. Yet. This is actually good news for MLS fans, most whom were anticipating a strike. Collective bargaining negotiations have reached an stalemate, with neither side willing to budge on key issues like free agency and [. Click to continue reading...

There has been a lot of public pronouncements on the collective bargaining negotiations between MLS and the Players Union since last weekend, and the mood is very tense as the final deadline approaches tomorrow night. Ives Galarcep published a good roundup with commentary on the current status, and Steven Goff penned a long open letter to Philip Anschutz yesterday. Click to continue reading...

REMINDER: BRUCE IN ENGLAND
Any chance that anyone out there reading this will be at the Southampton v Walsall game on Sat Feb 27? I will be, and would love to meet any readers also in attendance! Just drop me an email.
I will also be spending the majority of next week in London on business. Click to continue reading...

So now we turn, inevitably, to Major League Soccer. Remember when I paraphrased Chuang Tzu and wrote that the number of financial articles you can find on a league is directly proportional to its financial stability? Well basically anyone who follows MLS regularly will know something about allocation money, or the Designated Player rule, or the up-to-the-minute minutiae of collective bargaining talks. Click to continue reading...

You wouldn't think there'd be much to say other than it's probably a good sign both sides have been talking and the deadline to negotiate the new collective bargaining agreement has been extended. On the other hand, I'd really like to see this get done before February 12th. It shouldn't drag out much longer than next week, if that long. Click to continue reading...

ME ME ME
Looks like I am making a run to Milwaukee this weekend. I have a new niece to welcome into the family. Hi Delaney! You never know where I might turn up, so if you see me please say hi. That big game on Sunday could be calling me to the Highbury!
STARTERS
It's official, Kenny Cooper is leaving 1860 Munich on loan to Plymouth Argyle and manager Paul Mariner. Click to continue reading...

The big news in American soccer circles is the announced extension of collective bargaining talks between MLS & the Players Union. Talks have been extended until February 12, 2010. Training camps will go forward as planned. MLS released this statement from Commissioner Don Garber. "While we still have areas of disagreement, the talks have been constructive and both parties believe it makes sense to continue to work hard to reach agreement.

Click to continue reading...

STARTERS
Kenny Cooper is possibly being loaned out by 1860 to English team Plymouth Argyle. PA, who play in the Championship League, are coached by none other than former New England Revolution assistant Paul Mariner. I really don't understand this at all.
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Adrian Mutu got busted again. Click to continue reading...

In the second of three podcasts Major League Soccer Talk will be devoting to collective bargaining and labor negotiations, I was joined by Joel Maxcy.

Joel is an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia where he also serves as the Sports Management Program's coordinator.

Click to continue reading...

In the first of three podcasts Major League Soccer Talk will be devoting to collective bargaining and labor negotiations, I was joined by Jeffrey Standen.

Jeffrey is an instructor at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon where he teaches (amongst other things) Sports Law. He joined me on Tuesday to walk us through the important concepts in labor disputes: the importance of single-entity, how it distinguishes the MLS labor dispute from other sports labor disputes, as well as traditional breaking points for labor during these negotiations.

Click to continue reading...

In a series podcasts to be released throughout the week, the Major League Soccer Talk podcast (subscribe) will be talking to three legal/business experts, getting perspectives on collective bargaining in Major League Soccer and the United States' sports landscape.

In the first podcast (to be released Tuesday or Wednesday), we will talk about the mechanics of collective bargaining, introducing everybody to the intricacies of the process (i.

Click to continue reading...

I know next to nothing about collective bargaining or unions or whatever, all I know is that unions have worked well for my parents (who are both educators), but they cause a lot of strife in other areas. I don't like shut downs or strikes or walk outs (who does?). After all, the 1994 (I think) baseball season (where my parents bought us tickets to the Indians' brand new stadium) was ruined Click to continue reading...

The last time out I sang the praises of the MLS single entity structure. But let's talk now about the limitations of that structure.
To start I'd like to clarify what exactly investor-operators own and how they come to own it. I originally said:

. . . MLS contracts with owners to operate the teams it owns.

Click to continue reading...

Arguably the side with the most riding on a potential MLS work stoppage this spring are the Columbus Crew, who have a CONCACAF Champions League match scheduled on March 9 against Toluca. Let me first repeat that I expect any work stoppage, if it comes, to be relatively short. But let's say it's not. Click to continue reading...

Second division soccer lives on in the U.S. Just seven days after the USL/NASL bust-up threatened the game of soccer, the U.S. Soccer Federation kept brought the two sides together and have saved the lower levels.

For the conspiracy theorists out there, surmising that there was something sinister behind the rejection of both applications to USSF last week were proven wrong.

Click to continue reading...

So Jason Davis over at Matchfit USA is running through the basics of the collective bargaining situation, and doing a pretty good job (in addition to generously linking to yours truly). Check out his latest when you get a chance.
Also on the cut over there is our old friend Duane. So I sauntered over to 24th Minute to see what was up and saw this:

As someone that believes in the strength of the sport right now and in the importance of being aggressive in expanding the MLS brand, I fall on the side of the players.

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Over at Pitch Invasion:

Seattle Sounders FC player rep James Riley said the union wants the teams, not the League, to negotiate player contracts. The union also wants more guaranteed contracts and free agency after contracts expire. I'll bolden my prediction by guessing that a CBA is not achieved until at least April, meaning that for the first time, MLS games will be missed due to a work stoppage.

Click to continue reading...

This morning Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America published a more comprehensive rundown of the player complaints with longer rebuttals, counter arguments or support for the various issues raised. You should definitely check it out.
Of interest to me is that the most favorable thing Mahoney could say about the player grievances is that it's true they can't just switch teams when their contract runs out - the original team still holds their rights. Click to continue reading...

The players haven't got a prayer. Click to continue reading...

FIFPro, the international players union, issued a statement Tuesday on the MLS collective bargaining negotiations, claiming that the league violated FIFA regulataions in several respects:
- Guaranteed contracts: "Player contracts are routinely terminated by the league during their term, as almost 80% of players in MLS do not have guaranteed contracts. Click to continue reading...

I've been wanting to comment on this for a few days, but it seems especially apt in light of the new FIFPro statement that got released today:

"The league shutting down MLS in February would do real damage to the development of the game in the United States and to our efforts to prepare for South Africa," US leading scorer Landon Donovan said.

Click to continue reading...

An MLS decision to add more DPs, like Toronto's Julian de Guzman here, is potentially a serious shape-shifter

View full size photo »

Is a big-market, small-market divide ahead?

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And it just gets weirder:

Let me start by clarifying something about the MLS CBA talks. Owners ARE part of the negotiation process. But some want the league to amend its stance and give the players more rights, while others prefer the status quo. So they are not all on the same page here, which further muddles things.

Click to continue reading...

Creepy Jose Romero with a followup to yesterday's post (which I discussed here):

Some things to ponder:
-MLS, according to an unnamed source, wants a five-year deal for the next CBA.

That is intriguing.

-For all intents and purposes, it appears the Sounders FC ownership has tried to be fair with the players but is keeping its distance from the negotiations.

Click to continue reading...

From the files of just wow, what are you smoking. A couple days ago my favorite vampire/guy who won't shut his mouth, aka Kasey Keller, opined on the MLS labor dispute. The party line is that the players have to sign away their FIFA rights to play in MLS, and now it's time to "join the rest of the world". Click to continue reading...

As always, good stuff, most of which I agree with:

That's the whole argument in a nutshell: Foose and the union think the league needs fundamental change. Which isn't going to happen.
I'm sorry to disagree with Foose but the league is not "at a crossroads". Rather, it sees itself as on a very nice, straight, long road.

Click to continue reading...

So now seems like as good a time as any to take stock of where this site is and solicit some reader feedback. The goal this year was to have fun and explore topics relevant to MLS and WPS in depth. I also wanted to post regularly, build up an audience, and see where that took us. I also made the decision that this site would be more about commentary than scoops or news, although there were a couple of the latter as the year went on. Click to continue reading...

How is this guy one of the best regarded soccer writers in America? He's sure as hell not a good interviewer:

SI.com: Without being too self-conscious about it, I wanted to ask you what you thought of my book, The Beckham Experiment?

I mean, honestly. And check out the picture Wahl posted on twitter:
Does Wahl not look creepy as fuck, and does Don Garber not look as though he's contemplating calling the police? Click to continue reading...

A lot like last year. Teams can protect 11 players, must protect up to 3 international players if they have them (although if a team has 3 or less they can leave at least one unprotected); designated players, generation adidas and home grown players do not have to be protected (unless a DP has a no-trade clause); teams can not lose more than one player, and the draft will go ten rounds. Click to continue reading...

Let's talk about Don Garber's remarks from yesterday. First, expansion:

"We've had productive conversations with Montreal to be our 19th team," Garber said. "We have not put a timetable as to when that team would join the league if we're able to reach agreement with them. We do not have any active discussions going on of note for the 20th team and certainly don't have any timetable for the 20th team.

Click to continue reading...

Some quotes, but not much new information.

A collective-bargaining proposal made by the league last week was "very disappointing," said Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer.
"Based off of what was last proposed, this doesn't end well," Hesmer said.
. . .
The union also is pushing for greater economic benefits, including higher minimum salaries, but Crew midfielder Brian Carroll said monetary considerations are secondary.

Click to continue reading...

Yesterday the first news from the MLS collective bargaining negotiations leaked out, courtesy of Tripp Mickle. Sport Business Journal put the news behind the paywall, but thankfully Jason Davis scaled it so I don't have to:

Though the league has proposed a salary cap increase, the players have labelled it a "joke".

Click to continue reading...

Disheartening news on the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations between Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Union today; the league's proposal last week has the players threatening to strike...

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For those that don't find personal finance interesting on its own, VISA has released Financial Soccer. It's a web game that uses shiny colors, flashy graphics, and the lure of electronic soccer to trick you into learning how to balance your budget:

Part game and part educational tool, Financial Soccer teaches the fundamentals of money management, such as saving, budgeting, responsible spending, and the wise use of credit and debit cards.

Click to continue reading...

Reading through the submissions these past two weeks, stories of waiting for years for a club to arrive in your hometown a decade too late, seeing your club switch stadiums only for the supporter culture to die off, wondering what Don Garber has up his sleeve regarding the league's growth in the next five to ten to twenty years; you get the impression that, ultimately, the future of MLS is out of our control. Click to continue reading...