Of course I am not privy to what is actually taking place with MLS and it’s negotiation with the players association but one thing I am clearly sure of is that come January 31 when the collective bargaining agreement comes to end this league can not afford any form of a work stoppage or strike.
The hope here is that both sides are looking long term to the growth of the sport and are reminded that it wasn’t a short time ago that the league was in trouble of failing .
Greed and ego can come into these types of negotiations and that is what clearly happened a few years ago with the NHL who ultimately took a hard hit and ended up on a third tier network with the reputation of the league and sport damaged.
MLS players in nearly every case are not spoiled and are playing the sport for competition and the challenge and are fortunate to be involved in an amazing time period.
A labor war at this juncture would be the kiss of death and a hinderance to the growth of the game in this country. Just think of how something like this could be divisive to the World Cup bid in 2018 and 2022 not to mention the preparation for the United States in South Africa.
No labor war please and you can remind yourself of the NHL if you would like.
Mexican league playoffs continue this weekend with 2nd leg matches in the semi-finals.
Tonight we go to the Estadio Azul with Cruz Azul the real favorites to get past Morelia after a 0-0 first leg match that had chances and hit posts from both sides.
For me Cruz Azul advances here to the Mexican League final…….Meanwhile Toluca will have to reverse a 2 goal deficit against Monterrey tomorrow afternoon at Toluca.
It won’t happen unless the ghost of Jose Cardozo shows up…..Jonathan Orozco has been solid in goal for Monterrey who are poised to get to the final with Duilo Davino at the back and South American World Cup qualifying leading goalscorer Humberto Suazo of Chile…….don’t miss these matches.
NCAA Womens College Cup should get a weather break tomorrow as the final will be contested at the Aggie Soccer Complex. Undefeated Stanford got past UCLA on a ‘golden goal’ from yesterday while UNC got by Notre Dame 1-0 …..tickets are available at aggiesoccer.com and 12thmanfoundation.com If you go let me in on your NCAA experience. One hopes that alot of youth players will be at this event. Keep an eye on UNC Casey Nogueira of UNC who seek out a 20th NCAA Championship. Stanford will try to win this national title and become only the second team after UNC to do it undefeated.
Can Stanford truly play a possession game in their 2nd game in three days. Watch Kelly O’Hara of Stanford who is a good player off the dribble going at defenders.
FIESTA presents the KICK CANCER Soccer Camp December 11,12,13th with all proceeds going to cancer. I hope to see you there!!1 go to Soccer 4 All and Soccer Time to get brochures …online at nicksteam.org
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Glenn, that is what is so scary about this thing. We need to look at the long term of the game but the players average in the league is 2 – 3 years so they are looking out for themselves which I don’t blame them. The players want to get as much as they can during this window of opportunity. As for the owners, they didn’t become billionaires by being stupid with their money. Why would billionaires own these teams in the MLS? They know the single entity league works to control costs in the league and there is a huge upside once the soccer specific stadiums are built. The owners are not stupid and will not give up the farm during this negotiation. I hope the players think about what kind of time we are in. This economy has not turned around yet and it might not be back for the 3-5 years. For the players, this is a tough time to negotiate. I do think the roster needs to be expanded and the salary cap needs to increase along with he minimum salary but it doesn’t need to get out of hand.
MLS will continue to grow as more cities come on but if there is a work stoppage the loser in this would be US Soccer and the fans. I hope both parties are thinking reasonably during this time. The MLS is not top of mind in the US sports landscape and if the owners and players thinks anyone really will care if they go away, needs to think twice. Yes, there will be fans who will be unhappy and jobs will be lost but right now this league will just be a footnote in history if they strike.
The players and owners need to get this thing hashed out and done quickly. How disastrous would it be if our US National team players in the MLS weren’t playing in February getting games in preparation for the World Cup? How disastrous would it be when the WC committee is looking at the US in 2018 and 2022 with a league that is on strike and might not come back?
GET A DEAL DONE GUYS FOR THE GOOD OF THE GAME IN THIS COUNTRY!!!!
Good article in Soccer America on what is going on:
S-word looms over union discussions
http://www.socceramerica.com/blogs/mls_confidential/?p=246
With the additional expansion franchises and team endorsements, MLS HAS the money to raise both the roster sizes and salary caps. It hurts the league and fan base to constantly lose our best players to foreign leagues for the money.
Cruz Azul punched its ticket to the Finals as expected. Hopefully, they can finish the job this time. Any word on Marcus Tracy’s availability or are the Dynamo basically sitting it out until this whole labor/contract dispute is resolved?
We, as fans, must stand for something or we just contribute to the stalemate.
I stand with the players.
If the players decide to put their careers at risk and strike then I will support the players and blame the owners.
I trust the players much more than I trust the owners and Don Garber. This is because of how the owners, and Garber, does business.
The players deserve the support of all who care about advancing the game in America.
New article on ESPN –Dec 6th
MLS and players far apart on labor negotiations
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=709191&sec=mls&root=mls&cc=5901