Comments on: Let’s discuss Juan Agudelo, MLS doctrine and the slippery slope of skewing contracts

By: mvktr2

mvktr2 — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 01:31:04 +0000

Player dev. is in it’s infancy in MLS with the academies being a key to the future as well as development leagues U18/U20. With things being in their infancy there are going to be vast and varied changes in this regard for years to come. I’d like to see the league put more incentive into homegrown products (of which Agudelo is one) by making them not count against the salary cap for as much as 5 or 6 years not the initial time the rules currently dictate.

By: valiantdraws

valiantdraws — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 02:49:05 +0000

Well, no…I just mean that they would be quite happy for him, albeit disappointed. No one *wants* their stars to go away, but I think MLS fans appreciate when an alum goes off and shows the world he can play. Like Deuce, Howard, etc.

By: 127taringa

127taringa — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:35:26 +0000

While the parameters of MLS are intricate, I would like to see a ammendment to the Homegrown rule that would require each MLS club have a minimum of 2 (or even 1) US players under the age of 23 in the starting 11.
MLS shouldn’t fool itself by thinking that is the parallel of the EPL. I don’t think there is anything wrong with having a development aspect to the league.

By: charliej11

charliej11 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:19:51 +0000

The problem is it is about the money. And the money is in Europe. IF it were here, the players would be better off here and of course the fans would be better of then too.

Big Time Europe is a joke, and not good for American talent, for a number of reasons.
One, the money is in the hands of too few and thus, the competitions are a joke.

If a Dempsey can make it ( and get playing time, which he doesn’t seem to be getting right now ) to Tottenham great. What if he doesn’t play ? We want one of our stars not playing ?

And what about the guys playing on teams 50 points back, then getting blamed and not playing on teams 50 points back ?
Waste of a career.

By: charliej11

charliej11 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:11:20 +0000

I think most of the people that *want* LD to play in Europe follow Europe more than MLS.

He is doing VERY fine where he is.

By: Steve Davis

Steve Davis — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:05:16 +0000

No offense taken. The collective media monster is a beast! Individually, I may write only a few sentences, but when it gets stacked “a few sentences” here and another “few sentences” there, the momentum starts building. (Plus, there are plenty of lesser responsible / more easily impressed sites or writers who really lay it on thick.) So, your point is well made.

By: arjanroghanchi

arjanroghanchi — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:33:27 +0000

Juan Agudelo – great raw talent. there is potential, but is he anywhere near a european quality player? no. is the SPL a better place to be playing than MLS? no.

US soccer media (sorry man) does an excellent job of hyping these guys up. Juan Agudelo scored in two friendlies for the USMNT and became the greatest attacking prospect in US history….but if you watch him play he literally has a hard time staying on his feet.

Chivas, although they suck, offers consistent playing time.

Tim Ream anyone?

By: theasoccerist

theasoccerist — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:43:42 +0000

I think part of the problem for MLS is we trade young affordable talent for older more expensive talent. There are two opposing forces at play here – Thierry Henry is very expensive but he puts butts in seats. Do casual observers even know Chris Wondolowski’s name-I am not so confident.

My point is definitely not to bash the league – I am a fan! But to point out that teams should take the middle ground (which is what many try to do). Have a few marquee players alongside some young talent keeps the bottomline in check by keeping payroll down and boosting attendance at games.

With that said, want to see the difference in how much more Thierry Henry makes for making the rounds in New Jersey – here’s a table of how much the league’s leading goals scorers earned per goal last season: http://tinyurl.com/a26qoql

By: joeyt360

joeyt360 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 04:27:08 +0000

It’s neither good nor bad, particularly. It’s business. If you get a better fee than what you can get from the player, that difference is good. If the opposite, bad.

By: jpan007

jpan007 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 03:27:58 +0000

They can sell young talent but at least buy some quality player with the money they are getting for the sale

By: valiantdraws

valiantdraws — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 03:26:09 +0000

I don’t think there are that many MLS fans anymore who fancy the league something more than it is. I think most of us are pretty aware of what the reality is, and actually appreciate it for what it is. Most of us *want* Donovan to go play in Europe. Yeah, we’d like to see good players stay, but we recognize that our grass isn’t that green yet, and I think many of us enjoy seeing our MLS alums making a splash abroad.

By: whordy

whordy — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 00:34:49 +0000

You are certainly right about there being a lot of moving parts.
What I want to know is, when (if ever) does the MLS (and it’s most ardent fans) step back and look at reality? Which is that they are a mid level league, and for now releasing their best young players to bigger and (usually) better leagues is a GOOD thing? Or at least, they should admit it’s the best they can hope for now and maybe 10 years from now the culture of soccer in America will be able to change that.
Look at all the comparable NTs to us and their leagues. Korea, Japan, Belgium, Poland. Their best young players move on to bigger leagues and look at the Lewandowskis and Kawagas and Hazards of the world. What’s our prized transfer of the past few years? A 26 year old CB to Stoke? Color me thrilled!
This is yet another symptom of the tug of war MLS finds themselves in; they need to reconcile their near future dreams of wild success with the reality of the sport they represent as it stands now.