Sporting KC's Robb Heineman gave another one of his Q&As on Twitter tonight, another #TweetnFly time as Heineman made his way down Tucson to observe some preseason there.
As expected, one of the topics that brought out the most questions was the current roster and fan concern over the loss of Krisztian Nemeth to Qatar. Heineman came out with his first question attempting to address the situation, at least a little bit saying that they were looking for a "#9" to back up Dom Dwyer, also saying that they were currently negotiating a contract. Heineman seemed confident that the team would have a player in time for the home opener on the 12th, but that the player wouldn't be a big name. Over the course of his answers he also said that they'd like to find themselves a young DP. A young DP offers the team more salary cap flexibility because they offer the team a lower cap hit, only $150,000 if the player is 20 or younger, only $200,000 if he's between 21 and 23 ,instead of the standard $436,250 that DPs are paid. Adding to that, Heineman said that the club was in negotiations with several DPs, and that the target position for those players is forward. On the topic of signing new foreign players, he said that it has gotten easier for the club to add those players, but that it's still not a slam dunk convincing players to play in KC.
Of players on the team currently, one of the recent rumors has been Marcel de Jong being on his way out of Kansas City, being told he has no place in the team. Heineman didn't confirm that he was gone, but when asked if de Jong was saying said "likely no." On the team's other players that appear to be on the outside looking in, Heineman again didn't give much away, but doesn't' expect Bernardo Anor or Amobi Okugo to be in KC's 18 for opening day.
Heineman was also asked about his team's coach, Peter Vermes and the reported interest in him by teams abroad. He believes that Vermes was never really interested in the rumored clubs that were supposedly trying to get him to coach their team. That led to a follow up question about Vermes and the national team, something that has been talked about quite often when Jurgen Klinsmann has struggled with the team. While Heineman thinks he'd be good in the position he doesn't see Klinsmann leaving for a while.
On the topic of Vermes, Heineman was asked about the rumors of his changing formations this season, Heineman said that Vermes had the team practicing in a 3-5-2 a lot. While it's a nice thought, it's something that's been discussed over the last few years since teams really started to catch onto KC's style of play. But each time KC may trot out the new formation in preseason or in a game but then revert back to the traditional 4-3-3 that the team has played since Vermes took over as the team's head coach. I'll belive that switch happens when I see it happening. He also was asked about the injuries and what the team has done to address the number of injuries over the past two years, saying that they're trying some new training techniques in 2016 to help with that.
On the topic of Sporting Club's latest team, the Swope Park Rangers, Heineman was asked about how the club was going to utilize the new team. Heineman says that the team will get several loaned players and he expects them to develop quality players for KC, standard line, but it's got to be the hope of pretty much everyone since the team was announced. On the topic of the Rangers, Heineman confirmed (like Sporting did earlier in the day) that the foreign center midfielder he'd mentioned on Twitter back in January was in fact Kevin Oliveira, the Cape Verde midfielder from Benfica. The team though seems very high on him as Heineman expects Oliveira to be on the first team by the end of this season.
As always with his Q&As he was asked a number of questions that he always gets asked giving more answers. The one that has probably come up every time is the expansion of Children's Mercy Park. In the past in these Q&As Heineman has said that there were plans and possibilities to expand the stadium, but as time has gone on those expectations have changed in Heineman's response. Tonight he came straight out and just answered "no" when asked if there were plans in the near future to expand the stadium. Since the news about potentially purchasing Everton surfaced, Heineman has had to face a number of questions about whether Sporting Club would go out and purchase another foreign team, but Heineman shot that idea down as well fairly quickly. He was also asked again about the training facility and when it would break ground, Heineman said that they are waiting on grading permits and that they'll be breaking ground in April.
Heineman also touched on a number of topics on MLS as a whole, from his feeling that the magic number of MLS teams is 28 to the league's biggest hurdle being getting better "average" players as he put it, although he also talked about fewer synthetic fields in the league as well. He also stated how he felt the league wasn't quite ready to get out of the teams ways yet, and instead still needed to go with metered growth for the league, and the the teams' academies need to catch up. He also took the political way out when discussing the LA Galaxy's ability to bring in players as well as when he was asked about the new Columbus Crew jersey.
Finally, there were all the random questions he answered that provided some insight on a number of topics, from his agreement with Peter Vermes' quotes about how an MLS team in St. Louis would be great for the team and the league to confirming that the team was still looking to put a PDL team in Garden City/Western KS. He also shot down the rumored Sporting KC/KC Royals television network that was rumored this offseason, saying that it'd be news to him. He also played coy about a pro futsal team in KC after the reports that Mark Cuban had joined up with the new professional futsal league. He also talked about jerseys, once again stating the league was doing away with "third jerseys," but saying that it would be two years before the club had an alternate jersey that featured a nod to the club's old rainbow jersey, maybe a throw back to the team's old original jersey, which is apparently his favorite.
It's always fun to get Heineman's insight, but it may be more fun to read the questions that don't actually get answered by him. And as always take it with a grain of salt, it took us years to get through a Q&A without a question about blue turf.
Showing posts with label MLS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLS. Show all posts
Monday, February 15, 2016
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
New CBA Agreement
One day after a roller coaster of events in the MLS collective bargaining agreement negotiations, we now have a new CBA in place. Earlier this evening, it was announced that the league and the players union had agreed to a new five year deal that will take the two through the 2019 MLS season.
While it's brought happiness to the fans with the knowledge that there will not be a work stoppage, not everyone is happy with the deal (including apparently Sporting KC's representatives who according to sources voted against the deal). Overall it seems like both sides gave things up to make sure that the season took place, as Nat Borchers put it, "it's not perfect, but it's progress..."
The deal will apparently see players get a measure of free agency, players that are at least 28 years old AND have at least eight years of experience in the league will be eligible for free agency. For Sporting Kansas City what that means that they'll have three players that meet the requirements after the 2015 season; Chance Myers who is entering his eighth season in the league this year, Paulo Nagamura, who is entering his 11th season in the league, and Jacob Peterson who is entering his 10th season in MLS. The deal isn't ideal for some players in the league, specifically homegrown players who sign with the league when they are younger and will have to play 10 or more seasons before they hit the required threshold. Most of those players though won't hit either threshold by the time this CBA expires. It does hurt a few players like Luis Gil and Diego Fagundez who will hit the service limit of eight years but won't be close to the age limit for free agency, but the level of free agency that would have been given was never going to reach a level to help them out in this cycle.
The other big news of the CBA that came out was an increase in the league's minimum salary. The salary will go up from about $37,000 to $61,000 a nice increase for those players near the bottom of the league's roster. For Kansas City, the likes of Kevin Ellis, Jimmy Medranda, and Erik Palmer-Brown will all see a decent bump in their pay check in the 2015 season. It's also good news for the club's four rookies Saad Abdul-Salaam, Amadou Dia, Connor Hallisey, and James Ansu Rogers, who were all likely to be close to or under the new minimum of $61,000.
With the new salary minimum, the salary cap is set to go up. Reports don't appear to be as high as some people expected as it sounds like it may only go up to $4 million a year. It won't give teams a ton of extra cap space to spend in the 2015 season.
With the deal done there will be a lot of dissecting of the new agreement over the next weeks and months as information comes out, but the thing for sure is that the season kicks off Friday, and Sporting start things on Sunday.
While it's brought happiness to the fans with the knowledge that there will not be a work stoppage, not everyone is happy with the deal (including apparently Sporting KC's representatives who according to sources voted against the deal). Overall it seems like both sides gave things up to make sure that the season took place, as Nat Borchers put it, "it's not perfect, but it's progress..."
The deal will apparently see players get a measure of free agency, players that are at least 28 years old AND have at least eight years of experience in the league will be eligible for free agency. For Sporting Kansas City what that means that they'll have three players that meet the requirements after the 2015 season; Chance Myers who is entering his eighth season in the league this year, Paulo Nagamura, who is entering his 11th season in the league, and Jacob Peterson who is entering his 10th season in MLS. The deal isn't ideal for some players in the league, specifically homegrown players who sign with the league when they are younger and will have to play 10 or more seasons before they hit the required threshold. Most of those players though won't hit either threshold by the time this CBA expires. It does hurt a few players like Luis Gil and Diego Fagundez who will hit the service limit of eight years but won't be close to the age limit for free agency, but the level of free agency that would have been given was never going to reach a level to help them out in this cycle.
The other big news of the CBA that came out was an increase in the league's minimum salary. The salary will go up from about $37,000 to $61,000 a nice increase for those players near the bottom of the league's roster. For Kansas City, the likes of Kevin Ellis, Jimmy Medranda, and Erik Palmer-Brown will all see a decent bump in their pay check in the 2015 season. It's also good news for the club's four rookies Saad Abdul-Salaam, Amadou Dia, Connor Hallisey, and James Ansu Rogers, who were all likely to be close to or under the new minimum of $61,000.
With the new salary minimum, the salary cap is set to go up. Reports don't appear to be as high as some people expected as it sounds like it may only go up to $4 million a year. It won't give teams a ton of extra cap space to spend in the 2015 season.
With the deal done there will be a lot of dissecting of the new agreement over the next weeks and months as information comes out, but the thing for sure is that the season kicks off Friday, and Sporting start things on Sunday.
Monday, February 17, 2014
A Look at Heineman's Q/A on Twitter Tonight
Tonight while on his way to Orlando, Robb Heineman did another one of his impromptu Twitter Q/A's. As always, there were a number of lighthearted questions and some trolling, but there were some good questions in there as well that he answered.
One of the early questions that Heineman was asked had to do with the team adding players to the current squad. A number of fans have questioned whether KC would add to their roster and if they could possibly fall behind other teams. Heineman's response to the question doesn't sound to optimistic at least at this moment.
In regards to the recent rumors about Juniors signing, Erik Palmer-Brown and Juventus, Heineman responded "Noooooo" when asked if the team had agreed to sell him abroad. And take it for what you will, but Heineman also had some high praise for the 16 year old later:
He also fielded questions about the state of the league as it is now. Specifically he was asked if he felt he was concerned that KC hadn't done enough to improve while other teams like Toronto and DC had. Heineman said he wasn't concerned about that. But when questioned further about whether he was concerned about smaller market teams being "out-priced," Heineman responded with an affirmative. And it's certainly a concern that I think many KC fans feel, especially having seen similar things happen with the Royals over the years as the team has been "out-priced" (plenty of that of their own doing). Another question in that same vein asked if a 4th designated player spot was inevitable, to which Heineman responded no. That topic had come up for discussion recently with the fact that the Seattle Sounders had been linked with Didier Drogba. With them already having three DP's on their roster, assumption immediately turned to the league adding another DP spot for teams to use for Seattle to bring in the Ivory Coast international.
A topic that Heineman has used to troll numerous times in the past is the playing surface, starting the infamous "blue turf" a few years ago. When asked about the surface tonight, he said that the field would be changed to Bermuda grass this summer. When jokingly asked about the blue turf though, Heineman gave a response that I'm sure will cause worry for a number of fans around the league:
The bane of many MLS fans' existence, turf. It'd be extremely disappointing if KC were forced to install turf at Sporting Park, especially since only a few years ago Sporting's grounds crew were given awards for the work that they'd done at Community America Ballpark. Hopefully the fungus, or disease, or whatever was causing the problem is resolved with the switch to Bermuda grass and we don't have to see a game played on turf at Sporting Park.
Heineman also reiterated a comment he made in an earlier Q/A in regards to a USL-Pro team for Kansas City. The team recently signed an agreement with the Oklahoma City Energy to be their affiliate, but Heineman said that OnGoal is still working on creating their own USL-Pro team, similar to the LA Galaxy II that was announced recently. Whether this team would be KC based or potentially in another market is certainly something that will likely be discussed.
Another thing in the Q/A tonight that I liked were his comments regarding a TV deal. Heineman was asked about an expanded TV deal that would see KC expand outside the KC area. In the past the team has made references to wanting to be a regional team that could have fans throughout the Midwest. Heineman in response to the question said that they are apparently looking to broadcast games in 5 states. Later in the Q/A when asked by the American Outlaws chapter of Sioux Falls, if they'd be able to watch games on local TV he said yes. So that would mean Kansas, Missouri, and South Dakota would seem to be three of the five states. I could also see the likes of Nebraska, Iowa, and Oklahoma being included in that list of five when things are all said and done. I love the idea of KC becoming a more regional team in regards to pulling in fans. They're solidifying themselves in the KC metro area, and with them doing that, they can now look to pull in people from around the region.
The topic that probably brought up the most questions tonight though was the possibility of a summer friendly for Sporting KC this year. Heineman shot down the idea of a friendly against a Bundesliga team and a rematch against Manchester United. But did say Sporting Park when asked about a venue, and that he'd "given plenty of hints" in regards to the team.
So the question becomes was this Tweet from the 14th a hint:
If so could it be a reference to the rumored Manchester City friendly that Oriol Rosell let slip in an interview? That would make some sense, but then again, City is playing in the Guinness International Champions Cup in the US from July 26th through August 4th. So who knows, it might not have been a hint at all, maybe he just likes Charles Dickens.
On one final question that is a personal crusade of mine, Heineman was asked about the soccer hall of fame and bringing it to KC. This is something I would truly love, specifically the archives (which I would love to work at). In the past it's something that's been brought up, specifically in conjunction with the training complex that OnGoal wants to build with US Soccer. This time Heineman again left the door open for it, but said that the format needs to be considered.
One of the early questions that Heineman was asked had to do with the team adding players to the current squad. A number of fans have questioned whether KC would add to their roster and if they could possibly fall behind other teams. Heineman's response to the question doesn't sound to optimistic at least at this moment.
Hard 2 say....summer window more likely RT @zachbettis: @RobbHeineman Any more signings before the start of the season?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) February 18, 2014
In regards to the recent rumors about Juniors signing, Erik Palmer-Brown and Juventus, Heineman responded "Noooooo" when asked if the team had agreed to sell him abroad. And take it for what you will, but Heineman also had some high praise for the 16 year old later:
Epb RT @JaredSevers: @RobbHeineman Which young players do you expect to contribute this year that didn't last year? #skctweetandfly
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) February 18, 2014
He also fielded questions about the state of the league as it is now. Specifically he was asked if he felt he was concerned that KC hadn't done enough to improve while other teams like Toronto and DC had. Heineman said he wasn't concerned about that. But when questioned further about whether he was concerned about smaller market teams being "out-priced," Heineman responded with an affirmative. And it's certainly a concern that I think many KC fans feel, especially having seen similar things happen with the Royals over the years as the team has been "out-priced" (plenty of that of their own doing). Another question in that same vein asked if a 4th designated player spot was inevitable, to which Heineman responded no. That topic had come up for discussion recently with the fact that the Seattle Sounders had been linked with Didier Drogba. With them already having three DP's on their roster, assumption immediately turned to the league adding another DP spot for teams to use for Seattle to bring in the Ivory Coast international.
A topic that Heineman has used to troll numerous times in the past is the playing surface, starting the infamous "blue turf" a few years ago. When asked about the surface tonight, he said that the field would be changed to Bermuda grass this summer. When jokingly asked about the blue turf though, Heineman gave a response that I'm sure will cause worry for a number of fans around the league:
If bermuda fails....turf inevitable RT @DoctorJayhawk: @RobbHeineman When does the blue turf go in?
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) February 18, 2014
The bane of many MLS fans' existence, turf. It'd be extremely disappointing if KC were forced to install turf at Sporting Park, especially since only a few years ago Sporting's grounds crew were given awards for the work that they'd done at Community America Ballpark. Hopefully the fungus, or disease, or whatever was causing the problem is resolved with the switch to Bermuda grass and we don't have to see a game played on turf at Sporting Park.
Heineman also reiterated a comment he made in an earlier Q/A in regards to a USL-Pro team for Kansas City. The team recently signed an agreement with the Oklahoma City Energy to be their affiliate, but Heineman said that OnGoal is still working on creating their own USL-Pro team, similar to the LA Galaxy II that was announced recently. Whether this team would be KC based or potentially in another market is certainly something that will likely be discussed.
Another thing in the Q/A tonight that I liked were his comments regarding a TV deal. Heineman was asked about an expanded TV deal that would see KC expand outside the KC area. In the past the team has made references to wanting to be a regional team that could have fans throughout the Midwest. Heineman in response to the question said that they are apparently looking to broadcast games in 5 states. Later in the Q/A when asked by the American Outlaws chapter of Sioux Falls, if they'd be able to watch games on local TV he said yes. So that would mean Kansas, Missouri, and South Dakota would seem to be three of the five states. I could also see the likes of Nebraska, Iowa, and Oklahoma being included in that list of five when things are all said and done. I love the idea of KC becoming a more regional team in regards to pulling in fans. They're solidifying themselves in the KC metro area, and with them doing that, they can now look to pull in people from around the region.
The topic that probably brought up the most questions tonight though was the possibility of a summer friendly for Sporting KC this year. Heineman shot down the idea of a friendly against a Bundesliga team and a rematch against Manchester United. But did say Sporting Park when asked about a venue, and that he'd "given plenty of hints" in regards to the team.
So the question becomes was this Tweet from the 14th a hint:
Tale of 2 cities
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) February 14, 2014
If so could it be a reference to the rumored Manchester City friendly that Oriol Rosell let slip in an interview? That would make some sense, but then again, City is playing in the Guinness International Champions Cup in the US from July 26th through August 4th. So who knows, it might not have been a hint at all, maybe he just likes Charles Dickens.
On one final question that is a personal crusade of mine, Heineman was asked about the soccer hall of fame and bringing it to KC. This is something I would truly love, specifically the archives (which I would love to work at). In the past it's something that's been brought up, specifically in conjunction with the training complex that OnGoal wants to build with US Soccer. This time Heineman again left the door open for it, but said that the format needs to be considered.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
A Look at Sporting KC's Draft Position
The MLS Superdraft is this week. It's not going to be an incredibly busy day for Sporting KC, especially in the early going. KC's first pick isn't until the last pick of the second round, the 38th pick overall. The team traded their first round pick, 19th overall, to New England in the trade that brought Benny Feilhaber to Kansas City. KC still has four picks though in the draft: the 38th pick, the 41st acquired from Toronto FC in the Bobby Convey trade, the 57th, and 76th. With those four picks, here's a historic look at the players that have been selected there.
38th pick
2000 - Adam Eyre - New England
2001 - Greg Simmonds - Miami
2002 - Cory Gibbs - Los Angeles
2003 - Matt Crawford - Colorado
2004 - Denny Clanton - Chicago
2005 - Esteban Arias - Chivas
2006 - Duke Hashimoto - Columbus
2007 - Bryan Byrne - New England
2008 - Dwight Barnett - Chicago
2009 - Chris Salvaggione - New England
2010 - Jason Yeisley - Dallas
2011 - Billy Cortes - New York
2012 - Kenny Walker - Los Angeles
2013 - Greg Cochrane - Los Angeles
From looking at this list, Cory Gibbs stands out, but this is actually the second time he was drafted. Both times he ended up not playing for the team that drafted him. Instead he remained in Europe and returned to MLS at a different time. Of the players that actually played for the team that drafted him, was Matt Crawford in 2003. He played 52 league games for Colorado over a four year period. For the most part there's not much in the pick. Just three of the last six players drafted in this spot have made their team's roster. And of those three, only Greg Cochrane drafted last year by LA has played more than 45 league minutes.
41st pick
2000 - Michael Burke - DC
2001 - Ryan Trout - Colorado
2002 - Derek Potteiger - New England
2003 - John Swann - DC
2004 - Adom Crew - Columbus
2005 - Antou Jallow - San Jose
2006 - Blake Camp - New York
2007 - Aaron Chandler - Columbus
2008 - Matt Britner - New England
2009 - Danny Cruz - Houston
2010 - Mauro Fuzetti - KC
2011 - Levi Houapeu - Philadelphia
2012 - Dawyne Smith - NEw England
2013 - David Meves - Portland
This pick is all about Danny Cruz. He's played 111 games in five seasons with three teams. Other than that, this is a fairly forgettable pick. Other than Cruz, the remaining 13 picks have spent a grand total of 6 seasons with MLS teams. Only one of the last four, Levi Houapeu, even made an MLS roster, and he never appeared in a game for Philly.
57th pick
2000 - Dominic Schell - Columbus
2001 - Alex Bengard - Los Angeles
2002 - Brian Lavin - KC
2003 - PASS - NEw England
2004 - Chris Aloisi - Los Angeles
2005 - Bill Gaudette - Columbus
2006 - Jordan Harvey - Colorado
2007 - Steve Purdy - Los Angeles
2008 - Adam Smarte - San Jose
2009 - Mfana Futhi Bhembe - Real Salt Lake
2010 - Adam Welch - New England
2011 - Dan Keat - Los Angeles
2012 - Bryan Gaul - Los Angeles
2013 - Paul Islas - Chivas
This pick actually had some decent talent selected in it, with a number of players have some respectable MLS careers. It's led by Jordan Harvey who has appeared over 150 times in league play for the likes of Colorado, Philadelphia, and Vancouver. You also have Steve Purdy, although his case is similar to Gibbs above where he was drafted by a team but went abroad and did not return until later with a different team. More recently, LA has gotten at least some value out of their two picks, with Keat and Gaul combining for 20 appearances, 9 starts and just over 1000 minutes. They're the only two players from the last five years to make a roster from this pick.
76th pick
2005 - Chris Schwarze - Dallas
2006 - Corey Farabi - KC
2007 - Raul Batista - Chivas
2008 - Cory Elenio - Columbus
2011 - Ernesto Carranza - Chivas
2012 - Rafael Garcia - Los Angeles
2013 - Jose Gomez - Toronto
Not much in this pick, Elenio and Garcia each spent two seasons in the league, Garcia having the better go of it, appearing 10 times for the Galaxy, starting 1 game. The rest of the picks did not make any roster.
So there is the chance with these picks to pick up some talent, but don't expect a world beater to be selected. Sporting may be able to find a steal, but more likely than not, most of the guys KC takes here won't see the field, or possibly won't even make the roster.
38th pick
2000 - Adam Eyre - New England
2001 - Greg Simmonds - Miami
2002 - Cory Gibbs - Los Angeles
2003 - Matt Crawford - Colorado
2004 - Denny Clanton - Chicago
2005 - Esteban Arias - Chivas
2006 - Duke Hashimoto - Columbus
2007 - Bryan Byrne - New England
2008 - Dwight Barnett - Chicago
2009 - Chris Salvaggione - New England
2010 - Jason Yeisley - Dallas
2011 - Billy Cortes - New York
2012 - Kenny Walker - Los Angeles
2013 - Greg Cochrane - Los Angeles
From looking at this list, Cory Gibbs stands out, but this is actually the second time he was drafted. Both times he ended up not playing for the team that drafted him. Instead he remained in Europe and returned to MLS at a different time. Of the players that actually played for the team that drafted him, was Matt Crawford in 2003. He played 52 league games for Colorado over a four year period. For the most part there's not much in the pick. Just three of the last six players drafted in this spot have made their team's roster. And of those three, only Greg Cochrane drafted last year by LA has played more than 45 league minutes.
41st pick
2000 - Michael Burke - DC
2001 - Ryan Trout - Colorado
2002 - Derek Potteiger - New England
2003 - John Swann - DC
2004 - Adom Crew - Columbus
2005 - Antou Jallow - San Jose
2006 - Blake Camp - New York
2007 - Aaron Chandler - Columbus
2008 - Matt Britner - New England
2009 - Danny Cruz - Houston
2010 - Mauro Fuzetti - KC
2011 - Levi Houapeu - Philadelphia
2012 - Dawyne Smith - NEw England
2013 - David Meves - Portland
This pick is all about Danny Cruz. He's played 111 games in five seasons with three teams. Other than that, this is a fairly forgettable pick. Other than Cruz, the remaining 13 picks have spent a grand total of 6 seasons with MLS teams. Only one of the last four, Levi Houapeu, even made an MLS roster, and he never appeared in a game for Philly.
57th pick
2000 - Dominic Schell - Columbus
2001 - Alex Bengard - Los Angeles
2002 - Brian Lavin - KC
2003 - PASS - NEw England
2004 - Chris Aloisi - Los Angeles
2005 - Bill Gaudette - Columbus
2006 - Jordan Harvey - Colorado
2007 - Steve Purdy - Los Angeles
2008 - Adam Smarte - San Jose
2009 - Mfana Futhi Bhembe - Real Salt Lake
2010 - Adam Welch - New England
2011 - Dan Keat - Los Angeles
2012 - Bryan Gaul - Los Angeles
2013 - Paul Islas - Chivas
This pick actually had some decent talent selected in it, with a number of players have some respectable MLS careers. It's led by Jordan Harvey who has appeared over 150 times in league play for the likes of Colorado, Philadelphia, and Vancouver. You also have Steve Purdy, although his case is similar to Gibbs above where he was drafted by a team but went abroad and did not return until later with a different team. More recently, LA has gotten at least some value out of their two picks, with Keat and Gaul combining for 20 appearances, 9 starts and just over 1000 minutes. They're the only two players from the last five years to make a roster from this pick.
76th pick
2005 - Chris Schwarze - Dallas
2006 - Corey Farabi - KC
2007 - Raul Batista - Chivas
2008 - Cory Elenio - Columbus
2011 - Ernesto Carranza - Chivas
2012 - Rafael Garcia - Los Angeles
2013 - Jose Gomez - Toronto
Not much in this pick, Elenio and Garcia each spent two seasons in the league, Garcia having the better go of it, appearing 10 times for the Galaxy, starting 1 game. The rest of the picks did not make any roster.
So there is the chance with these picks to pick up some talent, but don't expect a world beater to be selected. Sporting may be able to find a steal, but more likely than not, most of the guys KC takes here won't see the field, or possibly won't even make the roster.
Thursday, August 01, 2013
Success All Over with the All Star Game
There's little I can say about the All Star Game that hasn't been said, but I'll try. As a whole the entire All Star week was a great success. I saw nothing but good things and good articles from everyone in the national and international media that was in town. From the Macklemore and Silversun Pickups concert, to the 5K on Sunday, to the US watch party, to the game and pregame itself, it was a fantastic event. The game as a whole was the only real disappointing part as looking back on it, it didn't really live up to expectations. Roma played extremely well at times, combining fantastically to cut up the MLS defense. And the MLS team looked like a bunch of guys who had mostly never played together, topped off with an injury to a key player for the home side Sporting that could keep him out Saturday.
AS Roma grabbed an early lead with some really good combination play starting with their own goalkeeper. Starting with the goalkeeper, Roma made 8 passes and were all the way up and through the All Star team. The final pass, a little flick by Alessandro Florenzi into the path of Junior Tallo and Kevin Strootman. Strootman was the one that got to the ball. Aurelien Collin made a late challenge trying to get the ball away from him but ended up hitting it off his foot and pass Raul Fernandez and into the net making it 1-0. Roma controlled the play in the first half, and had two more goals ruled out due to offside calls. They also tested Fernandez in the net for the All Stars.
The second half started just like the first did, with Roma getting an early goal.Roma worked the ball down the left and then Frederico Balzaretti crossed a ball to Florenzi who was all alone at the back post. He beat Nick Rimando and made it 2-0. With the two goal lead, Roma sat back a bit and let the All Stars bring the game to them. Finally the All Stars started to create some chances of their own, Landon Donovan had a shot well saved and DeAndre Yedlin fired a shot wide of the goal after a great 1-2 with Chris Wondolowski. Roma made it 3-0 though in the 68th minute. Again some great passing by Roma Strootman and Michael Bradley combined with some nice passing before Strootman played it into the middle. Tallo beat Tony Beltran to the ball and put it past Rimando. Finally in stoppage time the All Stars got a goal. A free kick by Camilo was headed into the net by Omar Gonzalez to get MLS on the board.
The loss is the third since the league switched to it's current format of playing a foreign team. The league has a 6-3-1 record in these games.
AS Roma grabbed an early lead with some really good combination play starting with their own goalkeeper. Starting with the goalkeeper, Roma made 8 passes and were all the way up and through the All Star team. The final pass, a little flick by Alessandro Florenzi into the path of Junior Tallo and Kevin Strootman. Strootman was the one that got to the ball. Aurelien Collin made a late challenge trying to get the ball away from him but ended up hitting it off his foot and pass Raul Fernandez and into the net making it 1-0. Roma controlled the play in the first half, and had two more goals ruled out due to offside calls. They also tested Fernandez in the net for the All Stars.
The second half started just like the first did, with Roma getting an early goal.Roma worked the ball down the left and then Frederico Balzaretti crossed a ball to Florenzi who was all alone at the back post. He beat Nick Rimando and made it 2-0. With the two goal lead, Roma sat back a bit and let the All Stars bring the game to them. Finally the All Stars started to create some chances of their own, Landon Donovan had a shot well saved and DeAndre Yedlin fired a shot wide of the goal after a great 1-2 with Chris Wondolowski. Roma made it 3-0 though in the 68th minute. Again some great passing by Roma Strootman and Michael Bradley combined with some nice passing before Strootman played it into the middle. Tallo beat Tony Beltran to the ball and put it past Rimando. Finally in stoppage time the All Stars got a goal. A free kick by Camilo was headed into the net by Omar Gonzalez to get MLS on the board.
The loss is the third since the league switched to it's current format of playing a foreign team. The league has a 6-3-1 record in these games.
Sunday, July 07, 2013
Three Sporting KC Players on All Star Fan XI
The MLS Fan XI were announced today during half time of today's game against the Chicago Fire. Ten players were named, the last will be the player who has the most goals scored for them in FIFA 13. Claudio Bieler is KC's representative in that vote.
But in the other 10, Sporting KC had 3 players named to the roster. Defenders Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin, and midfielder, Graham Zusi were among the 10 players named.
That doesn't mean they'll be on the game day roster on the 31st against Roma (although with Peter Vermes coaching the team I doubt they sit). Vermes will name the roster for the game, but those three have all been voted in by the fans.
But in the other 10, Sporting KC had 3 players named to the roster. Defenders Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin, and midfielder, Graham Zusi were among the 10 players named.
That doesn't mean they'll be on the game day roster on the 31st against Roma (although with Peter Vermes coaching the team I doubt they sit). Vermes will name the roster for the game, but those three have all been voted in by the fans.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
New Supporters' Shield
Today the Independent Supporters' Council and the Supporters' Shield Foundation made an announcement concerning the Supporters' Shield. It was announced that through a combined effort of many of the leagues supporters groups, a new Supporters' Shield has been created.
While I loved the old shield and it's grassroots build up to it, I completely understand the reason and need for a change. The original shield had been made on a small budget and had basically run out of room for new teams to be added to it. And I absolutely love the new look of the shield. It has a clean, professional, look to it.
I've heard Sam Pierron tell me the story before, but it's an amazing story of how the original shield came to be, through the work entirely of the supporters of the teams and individuals around the league. Check out the story, as well as the rest of the new site set up for the Supporters' Shield.
While I loved the old shield and it's grassroots build up to it, I completely understand the reason and need for a change. The original shield had been made on a small budget and had basically run out of room for new teams to be added to it. And I absolutely love the new look of the shield. It has a clean, professional, look to it.
I've heard Sam Pierron tell me the story before, but it's an amazing story of how the original shield came to be, through the work entirely of the supporters of the teams and individuals around the league. Check out the story, as well as the rest of the new site set up for the Supporters' Shield.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Sporting and Orlando Form Partnership as MLS Partners with USL Pro
In a move that will hopefully pay dividends for Sporting Kansas City's young players, MLS announced today the rumored partnership between the league and the US third division, the USL-Pro. As part of the agreement, MLS teams can have partnerships with a USL side and have long term loans for at least four players with the USL side. Along with that, the 13 USL teams will play two interleague games against an MLS reserve side.
Sporting immediately came out right after the announcement between the leagues announcing that they would have a USL Pro affiliate team. KC set up their partnership with arguably the best USL-Pro team, Orlando City. The two year deal between the two sides will begin this year.
As part of the partnership, Sporting will send at least four players on loan for the 2013 to Orlando. Peter Vermes though hints at more players joining the Lions on loan though and also states that if they have to pull a player back from their loan, they will replace that player with another.
With KC setting up the partnership, Sporting will not be competing in the reserve league this year, instead using Orlando to assist them in getting games. With the USL-Pro schedule likely to be between 22 and 26 games this season, over double the 10 MLS reserve league games they got last year. And while it's a smaller number that will be competing, the games, I think, will be more competitive since it's an actual league with a goal of the playoffs and championship at the end, unlike the reserve games. The end, at least for the near term, of the Swope Park Rangers is a sad and depressing one for me, but getting more games for players is the key.
There are still questions regarding the deal and questions as to why teams would have affiliates. Like what the plans are long term for this deal. Is the hope that MLS teams will field a reserve team of their own in the 3rd division? As for the near term, there are a few questions. Vermes already answered one I had in the earlier linked article, and that's that players can be recalled from their loan. Other questions though remain. Like how those players will be reflected when it comes to the MLS roster. Will they still count against the clubs 30 man roster, or could they technically have like 34 or 36 man rosters and then just waive players when they bring guys back from their loans? Will there be any effect on the salary cap, will the USL-Pro team cover some of the salary?
There are also questions regarding why a team would choose a partnership. While some players would get more games, is that going to be better for the team's development than having 11+ players getting playing time in the reserve league? Cause that is what KC is giving up with this partnership. While 4-6 players may get 20-24 games, what about the other 5-7 players that would have played in reserve games? Players 19-24 on the roster, who don't make the game day 18 but aren't out on loan? Doesn't that hurt their development as well?
There's still a lot of questions that have to be answered regarding this. But on first glance, I like the start of this deal with the USL, I think it's a step in the right direction. But I would like to see a more detailed layout of what the plan is in 5 years, or 10 years. Even in 2 years when Sporting's deal with Orlando City expires. I do like that some of KC's younger talent, the likes of maybe Jon Kempin, Kevin Ellis, Mikey Lopez, and Soony Saad could all be getting more game time in a more competitive environment than the current reserve league.
Sporting immediately came out right after the announcement between the leagues announcing that they would have a USL Pro affiliate team. KC set up their partnership with arguably the best USL-Pro team, Orlando City. The two year deal between the two sides will begin this year.
As part of the partnership, Sporting will send at least four players on loan for the 2013 to Orlando. Peter Vermes though hints at more players joining the Lions on loan though and also states that if they have to pull a player back from their loan, they will replace that player with another.
With KC setting up the partnership, Sporting will not be competing in the reserve league this year, instead using Orlando to assist them in getting games. With the USL-Pro schedule likely to be between 22 and 26 games this season, over double the 10 MLS reserve league games they got last year. And while it's a smaller number that will be competing, the games, I think, will be more competitive since it's an actual league with a goal of the playoffs and championship at the end, unlike the reserve games. The end, at least for the near term, of the Swope Park Rangers is a sad and depressing one for me, but getting more games for players is the key.
There are still questions regarding the deal and questions as to why teams would have affiliates. Like what the plans are long term for this deal. Is the hope that MLS teams will field a reserve team of their own in the 3rd division? As for the near term, there are a few questions. Vermes already answered one I had in the earlier linked article, and that's that players can be recalled from their loan. Other questions though remain. Like how those players will be reflected when it comes to the MLS roster. Will they still count against the clubs 30 man roster, or could they technically have like 34 or 36 man rosters and then just waive players when they bring guys back from their loans? Will there be any effect on the salary cap, will the USL-Pro team cover some of the salary?
There are also questions regarding why a team would choose a partnership. While some players would get more games, is that going to be better for the team's development than having 11+ players getting playing time in the reserve league? Cause that is what KC is giving up with this partnership. While 4-6 players may get 20-24 games, what about the other 5-7 players that would have played in reserve games? Players 19-24 on the roster, who don't make the game day 18 but aren't out on loan? Doesn't that hurt their development as well?
There's still a lot of questions that have to be answered regarding this. But on first glance, I like the start of this deal with the USL, I think it's a step in the right direction. But I would like to see a more detailed layout of what the plan is in 5 years, or 10 years. Even in 2 years when Sporting's deal with Orlando City expires. I do like that some of KC's younger talent, the likes of maybe Jon Kempin, Kevin Ellis, Mikey Lopez, and Soony Saad could all be getting more game time in a more competitive environment than the current reserve league.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Kempin and All Star Game Update
Kempin Called into U20 Camp
The US U-20 team is preparing for qualifying for the 2013 U-20 World Cup. The CONCACAF qualifying tournament takes place February 18th through March 3rd in Mexico. The US will be holding it's last camp with domestic players starting on the 14th in Puebla, Mexico, where the CONCACAF tournament is being held. Sporting KC goalkeeper, Jon Kempin is one of two goalkeepers called up for the camp. During the camp the US will play two closed door games against Panama, on the 19th and the 21st.
Kempin will miss the beginning of preseason with the call up, not joining Sporting until January 23rd in Tucson, Arizona. Kempin will be hoping to impress enough to earn his way onto the US roster for the CONCACAF tournament.
All-Star Game Selling Well Early
Without an opponent known and only a presale for season ticket holders having taken place, KC has apparently sold 50% of the tickets for the game. That's the word today from Robb Heineman about 6 hours after tickets went on sale for the game.
It certainly hasn't been the most well run situation for season ticket holders though. This morning at 10am the tickets went on sale to season ticket holders. Unlike what occurs for most Sporting run events, where STH can only purchase the number of tickets they have on their account, STH were able to purchase up to 4 tickets to the game. Needless to say this has caused problems, especially in the "hot ticket" section of the Cauldron. The Cauldron has sold out of it's season ticket holder allotment for the game. Word is that the Cauldron will get some tickets to sell themselves, but a number of season ticket holders, especially long term ones are being left without Cauldron tickets.
It's a frustrating thing for those people, especially when given only a 1 day heads up of the presale (3 if you read this blog) to make sure they had the funds and set aside time to purchase the tickets. I've seen a lot of the frustration on the Cauldron Facebook page. Plenty of it though seems to be directed towards the team which is a little unfair. The All Star game is basically run by the league, which means they're controlling much of what will go on with the venue for that date, including the ticket process. Hopefully those people that couldn't get tickets through the presale can get them another way and enjoy the game.
The US U-20 team is preparing for qualifying for the 2013 U-20 World Cup. The CONCACAF qualifying tournament takes place February 18th through March 3rd in Mexico. The US will be holding it's last camp with domestic players starting on the 14th in Puebla, Mexico, where the CONCACAF tournament is being held. Sporting KC goalkeeper, Jon Kempin is one of two goalkeepers called up for the camp. During the camp the US will play two closed door games against Panama, on the 19th and the 21st.
Kempin will miss the beginning of preseason with the call up, not joining Sporting until January 23rd in Tucson, Arizona. Kempin will be hoping to impress enough to earn his way onto the US roster for the CONCACAF tournament.
All-Star Game Selling Well Early
Without an opponent known and only a presale for season ticket holders having taken place, KC has apparently sold 50% of the tickets for the game. That's the word today from Robb Heineman about 6 hours after tickets went on sale for the game.
It certainly hasn't been the most well run situation for season ticket holders though. This morning at 10am the tickets went on sale to season ticket holders. Unlike what occurs for most Sporting run events, where STH can only purchase the number of tickets they have on their account, STH were able to purchase up to 4 tickets to the game. Needless to say this has caused problems, especially in the "hot ticket" section of the Cauldron. The Cauldron has sold out of it's season ticket holder allotment for the game. Word is that the Cauldron will get some tickets to sell themselves, but a number of season ticket holders, especially long term ones are being left without Cauldron tickets.
It's a frustrating thing for those people, especially when given only a 1 day heads up of the presale (3 if you read this blog) to make sure they had the funds and set aside time to purchase the tickets. I've seen a lot of the frustration on the Cauldron Facebook page. Plenty of it though seems to be directed towards the team which is a little unfair. The All Star game is basically run by the league, which means they're controlling much of what will go on with the venue for that date, including the ticket process. Hopefully those people that couldn't get tickets through the presale can get them another way and enjoy the game.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
MLS Announce All Star Game in KC
Don Garber made the announcement official today at Livestrong Sporting Park. LSP will be hosting the 2013 MLS All Star Game. The game will take place on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 airing on ESPN and Univision.
The opponent for the game will be announced at a later time, but will follow the same format the All Star game for the past few years, featuring the all stars against an international club. Plenty of fun names are being thrown around, the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid would be fun, or the likes of Juventus, Roma, or Bayern Munich.
For KC purposes, the All Star game will come between a trip to Montreal on July 27th and hosting New York on August 3rd. (So Vermes playing Thierry Henry the full game in response to Hans Backe doing it to Omar Bravo in 2011 would actually be a good touch).
Tickets for the game will go on sale to season ticket holders on Friday at 10am. They'll go on sale to the general public on Friday February 8th.
The All Star game is one of those odd things. As a whole I watch it, but I haven't really enjoyed it or been excited about it. I've seen it as more of a distraction to KC's players than anything, and championed campaigns to NOT vote for KC players to avoid tired legs. I'm still going to probably champion those campaigns, because KC is going to be very busy this year. But I'm actually excited about this game, and it has to do with the fact that the game is in KC. That makes all the difference in the world. I'm looking forward to see who it is the all stars face.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
2012 Attendance Figures
Sporting KC once again set an attendance record this year for KC. As a whole, Sporting finished the season 7th in the attendance table, which in percentage terms is probably close to, if not the highest Kansas City has ever finished in the league, averaging 19,404 per game, almost 1,000 over the capacity of Livestrong Sporting Park. Here's a look at Sporting's finish compared with the other teams in the league.
KC finished behind those that you'd expect to finish behind, Seattle, LA, Montreal (multiple games hosted at the Olympic Stadium), Houston, and Portland. Vancouver's attendance was extremely close to KC. Sporting did finish ahead of one of the model team's attendance wise up to this season, Toronto, who stumbled greatly down the stretch after yet another poor season for the club. KC also finished ahead of the league's biggest market, New York.
| 1 | Seattle | 43104 |
| 2 | LA | 23136 |
| 3 | Montreal | 22772 |
| 4 | Houston | 20946 |
| 5 | Portland | 20438 |
| 6 | Vancouver | 19475 |
| 7 | KC | 19404 |
| 8 | RSL | 19087 |
| 9 | New York | 18303 |
| 10 | Toronto | 18155 |
| 11 | Philadelphia | 18053 |
| 12 | Chicago | 16407 |
| 13 | Colorado | 15175 |
| 14 | Columbus | 14397 |
| 15 | Dallas | 14199 |
| 16 | New England | 14002 |
| 17 | DC | 13846 |
| 18 | San Jose | 13293 |
| 19 | Chivas | 13056 |
KC finished behind those that you'd expect to finish behind, Seattle, LA, Montreal (multiple games hosted at the Olympic Stadium), Houston, and Portland. Vancouver's attendance was extremely close to KC. Sporting did finish ahead of one of the model team's attendance wise up to this season, Toronto, who stumbled greatly down the stretch after yet another poor season for the club. KC also finished ahead of the league's biggest market, New York.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
MLS Rules Confuse Me... Again
I spend more time than I should trying to understand MLS' rules when it comes to player acquisitions. I do this because the rules as a whole aren't exactly that straight forward, with the draft, "college protection", discovery claims, allocations, and the like, it can be hard for the casual fan to understand exactly what is going on. Today though I am almost at a loss because of what would appear to be a contradiction of MLS' rules.
Today the teams participating in the lottery for Marcus Tracy were released. The lottery is designed as a way to allocate a player out to a team so that they are not able to hold out for a specific club. Tracy was the 2008 Hermann Award winner as the best college player. He was drafted with the 56th pick of the 2009 MLS draft by Houston. He fell so far because Tracy was already planning to bypass MLS and sign with Aalborg of the Danish league. The Dynamo though made an offer to Tracy which allowed them to retain his MLS rights for 2 years. The reason for this is because of the "College Protection List" which if a player is drafted but doesn't sign with the league the team retains the player's rights for 2 years. That expired on December 31, 2010 for the Dynamo. So tomorrow Tracy is going through a lottery.
What makes it confusing is a situation involving Sporting Kansas City. Earlier this year, Sporting KC signed local KC player, Michael Thomas after making a trade with the San Jose Earthquakes. Thomas had been drafted by the Earthquakes in 2010, but after being offered a contract, instead signing with Halmstads in Sweden. Based on the "College Protection List" and the information on Tracy being offered a contract, Thomas' period should have expired on December 31, 2011. On January 17th, 2012 though, Sporting announced that they had traded a supplemental draft pick to the Quakes for Thomas. At the time I was told that because San Jose made an offer, Thomas stayed on their "College Protection List" forever. That doesn't make sense in light of the Tracy situation.
So if Thomas had been offered a contract by San Jose the same way that Houston had offered one to Tracy, why is the way that the two were/are allocated to the league different? Honestly it's not a matter of the draft pick, the Earthquakes drafted Tyler Krumpe from Loyola Marymount, who didn't even make the Quakes roster. The point of this is MLS seeming to have used two different ways of bringing a player into the league when both players' situations when they "left" the league were the same.
It just doesn't make sense. The only thing I can really think as a potential reason for it is because of the last reserve game of the year last year against Dallas. In that game, Thomas was the infamous Trialist 1. At that time, Thomas was still on San Jose's "College Protection List" so maybe as a sign of good faith with the Quakes, or because the Quakes realized it was Thomas and complained to the league, they made the trade. If so, why not just state that instead of stating something that is contradictory to your own rules that you publish on the web?
As I said earlier, in the end this isn't about the draft pick we've given up, I'd have rather given up a throw away draft pick than our lottery spot for Thomas, because in the lottery there's no guarantee that he'd end up in KC. My problem is the fact that with two seemingly similar situations the league is going two totally opposite ways with the way a player is allocated to a team. I love Sporting KC, and I love the league, I love that my son will get to grow up watching professional soccer in the US, but I wish the league would follow the own rules that they have set up.
Today the teams participating in the lottery for Marcus Tracy were released. The lottery is designed as a way to allocate a player out to a team so that they are not able to hold out for a specific club. Tracy was the 2008 Hermann Award winner as the best college player. He was drafted with the 56th pick of the 2009 MLS draft by Houston. He fell so far because Tracy was already planning to bypass MLS and sign with Aalborg of the Danish league. The Dynamo though made an offer to Tracy which allowed them to retain his MLS rights for 2 years. The reason for this is because of the "College Protection List" which if a player is drafted but doesn't sign with the league the team retains the player's rights for 2 years. That expired on December 31, 2010 for the Dynamo. So tomorrow Tracy is going through a lottery.
What makes it confusing is a situation involving Sporting Kansas City. Earlier this year, Sporting KC signed local KC player, Michael Thomas after making a trade with the San Jose Earthquakes. Thomas had been drafted by the Earthquakes in 2010, but after being offered a contract, instead signing with Halmstads in Sweden. Based on the "College Protection List" and the information on Tracy being offered a contract, Thomas' period should have expired on December 31, 2011. On January 17th, 2012 though, Sporting announced that they had traded a supplemental draft pick to the Quakes for Thomas. At the time I was told that because San Jose made an offer, Thomas stayed on their "College Protection List" forever. That doesn't make sense in light of the Tracy situation.
So if Thomas had been offered a contract by San Jose the same way that Houston had offered one to Tracy, why is the way that the two were/are allocated to the league different? Honestly it's not a matter of the draft pick, the Earthquakes drafted Tyler Krumpe from Loyola Marymount, who didn't even make the Quakes roster. The point of this is MLS seeming to have used two different ways of bringing a player into the league when both players' situations when they "left" the league were the same.
It just doesn't make sense. The only thing I can really think as a potential reason for it is because of the last reserve game of the year last year against Dallas. In that game, Thomas was the infamous Trialist 1. At that time, Thomas was still on San Jose's "College Protection List" so maybe as a sign of good faith with the Quakes, or because the Quakes realized it was Thomas and complained to the league, they made the trade. If so, why not just state that instead of stating something that is contradictory to your own rules that you publish on the web?
As I said earlier, in the end this isn't about the draft pick we've given up, I'd have rather given up a throw away draft pick than our lottery spot for Thomas, because in the lottery there's no guarantee that he'd end up in KC. My problem is the fact that with two seemingly similar situations the league is going two totally opposite ways with the way a player is allocated to a team. I love Sporting KC, and I love the league, I love that my son will get to grow up watching professional soccer in the US, but I wish the league would follow the own rules that they have set up.
Friday, November 25, 2011
MLS 2011 Average Attendance
photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson
It's amazing what a new stadium, with a capacity over 10,385 can do for a team's average attendance. Combine that with a team that is doing well on the field and an atmosphere that has vaulted the Cauldron up into the upper echelon of supporters' groups and you'll see a massive increase in attendance. That's what happened for Sporting KC this year. As I documented throughout the season, KC easily set a new all time high in attendance this past year, finishing the season with 17,810 for their average attendance. In the 5 previous seasons, KC had finished last 4 of those seasons, the only exception was last year when KC finished ahead of San Jose who also played in a small temporary venue.
This season though, KC finished in the top half of the league in average attendance, finishing 8th behind Portland and Philadelphia, but ahead of Houston and Salt Lake. Here's the average attendance rankings
1. Seattle - 38,495
2. LA - 23,335
3. Vancouver - 20,408
4. Toronto - 20,267
5. New York - 19,691
6. Portland - 18,827
7. Philadelphia - 18,280
8. KANSAS CITY - 17,810
9. Houston - 17,694
10. Salt Lake - 17,594
11. DC - 15,196
12. Colorado - 14,838
13. Chivas - 14,830
14. Chicago - 14,273
15. New England - 13,222
16. Dallas - 12,861
17. Columbus - 12,185
18. San Jose - 11,858
Hopefully next year KC can increase their attendance since they won't have a 2 and a half month home stand.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
DP Rule Change
Today MLS announced a change to the designated player rule for the next season. The new rule is designed to try to get MLS teams to go after younger designated players. To do this, the league has made the cap hit for younger designated players lower. Players that are 20 or younger will now only take a cap hit of $150,000. Players between 21 and 23 will count only $200,000 against the cap for their team. All other DPs will continue to have the $335,000 cap hit. Certainly gives the incentive for teams to go after younger DPs, that may not bring in the fans due to name recognition, but could raise the talent level for the league. Will be interesting to see if KC goes the route of finding a young designated player next year, in place of or to supplement the two current DPs, Omar Bravo and Jeferson.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Bravo, Besler, MLS All Stars Fall to United
For the second year in a row the MLS All Stars fell to Manchester United in the mid-season all star game. Again it wasn't much of a game as United won 4-0, bringing the aggregate score to 9-2 over the two years. But honestly in the end it was a team that had practiced with each other a grand total of two times before the game going up against a team that has been consistently playing together, many of them for years. The team with more cohesiveness will win that match up the majority of the time, especially when that team is as good as United is.
Sporting KC's two All Stars Matt Besler and Omar Bravo both made appearances. Bravo started the game and went 81 minutes for the all stars before making way for Juan Agudelo. He had a few chances, one in the second half that he likely should have put away after a rebound was given up, but he pushed the shot wide. The more annoying thing for me than the miss was the fact that Bravo played 81 minutes last night. With a game this weekend I was hoping that he'd play no more than 45 minutes in the all star game. Besler came on about 5 minutes before Bravo came out. He didn't have anything really of note, although the all stars didn't get scored on while he was on the field, so he has that going for him. Now time to get back to games that actually matter.
Sporting KC's two All Stars Matt Besler and Omar Bravo both made appearances. Bravo started the game and went 81 minutes for the all stars before making way for Juan Agudelo. He had a few chances, one in the second half that he likely should have put away after a rebound was given up, but he pushed the shot wide. The more annoying thing for me than the miss was the fact that Bravo played 81 minutes last night. With a game this weekend I was hoping that he'd play no more than 45 minutes in the all star game. Besler came on about 5 minutes before Bravo came out. He didn't have anything really of note, although the all stars didn't get scored on while he was on the field, so he has that going for him. Now time to get back to games that actually matter.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Schedule Comes Out Thursday
The MLS schedule is finally set to come out this coming Thursday, February 10th. That's seven days later than last year's announcement. The frustration in the delay in the schedule is coming from all sides, especially fans who are really anxious to get their year planned around the schedule.
The delay is kind of understandable with all the teams not controlling their own venue, but with more and more teams doing that, you'd think getting the schedule out more than 5 weeks before the first game would be possible. MLS teams not the primary occupant of their stadium have known for a little while what weekends the primary tenant had. Every year it's the same thing from MLS and their delay in getting the schedule out.
And the league can say “We recognize that the timing of [the schedule’s] release has caused some inconvenience and we appreciate our fans’ continued patience,”
But it gets old every year when the schedule comes out weeks before the season starts.
The delay is kind of understandable with all the teams not controlling their own venue, but with more and more teams doing that, you'd think getting the schedule out more than 5 weeks before the first game would be possible. MLS teams not the primary occupant of their stadium have known for a little while what weekends the primary tenant had. Every year it's the same thing from MLS and their delay in getting the schedule out.
And the league can say “We recognize that the timing of [the schedule’s] release has caused some inconvenience and we appreciate our fans’ continued patience,”
But it gets old every year when the schedule comes out weeks before the season starts.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
So Much for Those All Star Game Rumors
Today MLS announced that Red Bull Arena will be the host for the 2011 MLS all star against an opponent to be named. So end the rumors by Steve Davis of KC being the host of the game. We'd already been told by Robb Heineman to not worry about it too much quite yet. KC will host either the all star game or MLS Cup soon enough, but it won't be the 2011 all star game at least.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Half Time MLS Cup Announcement
Tonight at half time of the MLS Cup final between FC Dallas and Colorado, Don Garber announced some things the league is looking into, expanding the playoffs, and the 2011 schedule. Most of the news leaked onto the net after the league held a press conference before the game tonight.
First, leaked before hand was the comment that MLS will begin looking at potentially switching their schedule to the "international calender". Which means moving to a fall to spring schedule with a winter break. They seem no where close to a decision, and part of it just seems like lip service to FIFA with the World Cup bid decision coming up in the next month. We'll see in the future if this is something that MLS will really look to doing or not. Personally I'm not a fan at all, I understand taking breaks for FIFA international dates, but switching to that calender just seems destined for failure.
The bigger news of the announcement was the fact that MLS is set to expand their playoff format. MLS will add two more playoff spots, making it 10 teams that make the playoffs now instead of 8. The final playoff spot will be decided by a play-in game. They haven't fully finalized everything, but did say it will be 10 teams for sure making the playoffs. Garber also said that they will continue to work to address the situation of multiple teams from the opposite conference making the conference final in the other conference. Certainly this is going to polarize a lot of people on seeing it as a bad thing or a good thing. MLS had just recently gotten to a point where 50% of the teams made the playoffs, down from 80% at one time. Still it does seem to devalue the regular season a bit. So it'll be interesting to see what happens when a 10th seed makes MLS Cup.
The final point of the conversation had to do with the 2011 schedule. The schedule had been expanded to 34 games from 30 and most immediately assumed it was to accommodate a balanced schedule again, but Garber in the State of the League said that they weren't sure. Tonight Garber confirmed there will once again be a balanced schedule, probably the last time as 2012 with 19 and potentially 20 in 2013 the league seems unlikely to expand to 36 and then 38 games.
First, leaked before hand was the comment that MLS will begin looking at potentially switching their schedule to the "international calender". Which means moving to a fall to spring schedule with a winter break. They seem no where close to a decision, and part of it just seems like lip service to FIFA with the World Cup bid decision coming up in the next month. We'll see in the future if this is something that MLS will really look to doing or not. Personally I'm not a fan at all, I understand taking breaks for FIFA international dates, but switching to that calender just seems destined for failure.
The bigger news of the announcement was the fact that MLS is set to expand their playoff format. MLS will add two more playoff spots, making it 10 teams that make the playoffs now instead of 8. The final playoff spot will be decided by a play-in game. They haven't fully finalized everything, but did say it will be 10 teams for sure making the playoffs. Garber also said that they will continue to work to address the situation of multiple teams from the opposite conference making the conference final in the other conference. Certainly this is going to polarize a lot of people on seeing it as a bad thing or a good thing. MLS had just recently gotten to a point where 50% of the teams made the playoffs, down from 80% at one time. Still it does seem to devalue the regular season a bit. So it'll be interesting to see what happens when a 10th seed makes MLS Cup.
The final point of the conversation had to do with the 2011 schedule. The schedule had been expanded to 34 games from 30 and most immediately assumed it was to accommodate a balanced schedule again, but Garber in the State of the League said that they weren't sure. Tonight Garber confirmed there will once again be a balanced schedule, probably the last time as 2012 with 19 and potentially 20 in 2013 the league seems unlikely to expand to 36 and then 38 games.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Re-Entry Draft Rules
Today MLS released the rules for the new Re-Entry draft that was part of the latest CBA that was agreed to on the eve of the MLS season. This is to help avoid a situation like Kevin Hartman fell into last year where the Wizards weren't going to re-sign him, but since they held his MLS rights another team could not get him without trading the Wizards for his rights because they'd made an offer for him.
Now there is a system set up so that if a team is not making a "Bona Fide Offer" then the player will go into the first stage of the re-entry draft. What's a "bona fide offer?" It's an offer to the out of contract player that meets the following minimum conditions according to Soccer America: (1) for “25/4 players,” contains a first-year salary at least equal to the player’s 2010 annual base salary and for “30/8 players,” contains a first-year salary at least 5% greater than the player’s 2010 annual base salary; (2) a term of 1+1+1; (3) option year salaries that increase by at least 5% each year; (4) performance bonuses that are at least the same as the performance bonuses in the previous year of the player’s contract; (5) for purposes of Stage 1, this offer must remain open from November 30 until at least December 3 at noon EST; and (6) for purposes of Stage 2, this offer must remain open from December 8 until at least December 13 at noon EST.
If the team that owns the players rights does make one of those offers, then the player goes into the Stage 1 draft, where other teams can draft a player at their "bona fide offer" price or their option price if the team doesn't make an offer or pick up the option. If the player is not selected in stage 1, the original team has the option to sign the player to a new contract or perform a sign and trade. If players are not re-signed then, then they go back into the Stage 2 of the draft where they are exposed with no presupposed contract requirements. If a player is selected in Stage 2, clubs have 7 days to sign the player to a contract. Players not taken in either draft can then negotiate with any team. Confused yet?
Stage 1 of the Re-Entry draft is on December 8th, while Stage 2 is on December 15th.
So for an example, as SA said, Wizards defender, Jimmy Conrad is out of contract. As a guy that meets the 30/8 requirement, a bona fide offer from the Wizards would be 105% of his 2010 base salary of $232,750. Which means KC would need to offer him a contract of $244,387. If they don't offer him that he'll go into the Stage 1 draft where other teams can offer him that contract. If he's not selected then, then KC can work to sign Conrad to a new contract for a different price, or sign and trade the defender. If that doesn't work than Conrad goes into Stage 2 where he can be picked by another team without having to offer him a certain contract.
While I love Jimmy's contribution to the team in his years with the club, at this point in career, I don't think he's worth that amount, he's been a fantastic servant to the club and became one of the best defenders in the league, but at this point in his career, it's hard to justify giving him almost $250,000 a year in a contract. I have my doubts we'll see the Wizards make a "bona fide offer" for Conrad, but who knows. It will be interesting to see how this breaks down and how this draft works.
Now there is a system set up so that if a team is not making a "Bona Fide Offer" then the player will go into the first stage of the re-entry draft. What's a "bona fide offer?" It's an offer to the out of contract player that meets the following minimum conditions according to Soccer America: (1) for “25/4 players,” contains a first-year salary at least equal to the player’s 2010 annual base salary and for “30/8 players,” contains a first-year salary at least 5% greater than the player’s 2010 annual base salary; (2) a term of 1+1+1; (3) option year salaries that increase by at least 5% each year; (4) performance bonuses that are at least the same as the performance bonuses in the previous year of the player’s contract; (5) for purposes of Stage 1, this offer must remain open from November 30 until at least December 3 at noon EST; and (6) for purposes of Stage 2, this offer must remain open from December 8 until at least December 13 at noon EST.
If the team that owns the players rights does make one of those offers, then the player goes into the Stage 1 draft, where other teams can draft a player at their "bona fide offer" price or their option price if the team doesn't make an offer or pick up the option. If the player is not selected in stage 1, the original team has the option to sign the player to a new contract or perform a sign and trade. If players are not re-signed then, then they go back into the Stage 2 of the draft where they are exposed with no presupposed contract requirements. If a player is selected in Stage 2, clubs have 7 days to sign the player to a contract. Players not taken in either draft can then negotiate with any team. Confused yet?
Stage 1 of the Re-Entry draft is on December 8th, while Stage 2 is on December 15th.
So for an example, as SA said, Wizards defender, Jimmy Conrad is out of contract. As a guy that meets the 30/8 requirement, a bona fide offer from the Wizards would be 105% of his 2010 base salary of $232,750. Which means KC would need to offer him a contract of $244,387. If they don't offer him that he'll go into the Stage 1 draft where other teams can offer him that contract. If he's not selected then, then KC can work to sign Conrad to a new contract for a different price, or sign and trade the defender. If that doesn't work than Conrad goes into Stage 2 where he can be picked by another team without having to offer him a certain contract.
While I love Jimmy's contribution to the team in his years with the club, at this point in career, I don't think he's worth that amount, he's been a fantastic servant to the club and became one of the best defenders in the league, but at this point in his career, it's hard to justify giving him almost $250,000 a year in a contract. I have my doubts we'll see the Wizards make a "bona fide offer" for Conrad, but who knows. It will be interesting to see how this breaks down and how this draft works.
Monday, August 30, 2010
MLS-ADIDAS Deal Extended
Adidas has renewed their sponsorship deal with MLS 4 years before the current deal actually expired. Back in 2005 when the league as a whole was struggling, MLS stepped up with a 10 year, $150 million contract. Six years into that deal, MLS has a new 8 year deal with the sports apparel manufacturer that is said to be worth upwards of $200 million. The extension of the current deal is fantastic news for the league as it's apparent at least to Adidas that the league is viable enough to them for them to step up and extend their current partnership 4 years before the current deal expired. Adidas obviously sees enough interest and growth in the league that they wanted to tie up the deal before it got close to expiring.
I know there are a lot of people that are a bit disappointed in this because they wanted the deal to expire and let individual teams get their own jersey contracts the way it was done before the original Adidas deal. But in the end this is the best for not just a smaller team like KC that would struggle to get a good jersey deal on it's own. It also is a good deal for teams like Seattle and LA as well because they get probably what they would make on their own. And with the entire league doing it, it helps the viability of the entire league. I think this is a great deal all around for MLS.
I know there are a lot of people that are a bit disappointed in this because they wanted the deal to expire and let individual teams get their own jersey contracts the way it was done before the original Adidas deal. But in the end this is the best for not just a smaller team like KC that would struggle to get a good jersey deal on it's own. It also is a good deal for teams like Seattle and LA as well because they get probably what they would make on their own. And with the entire league doing it, it helps the viability of the entire league. I think this is a great deal all around for MLS.
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