#360USA: Stability and frugality of MLS is remarkable

Steve Brenner 16:30 28/09/2015
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Delivering drama: Los Angeles Galaxy won the Philip F Anschutz Trophy last year.

    There is a wearisome feeling swirling around Europe, yet Major League Soccer (MLS) powers into the home stretch with its head held high.

    The Premier League, La Liga and the Bundesliga will always be contested by the usual suspects, no matter how many surprise results wow the crowds.

    – RATE, SHARE, WIN: ValoraFutbol Sport360 ratings

    – Serie A: Teams finally close the gap in Europe
    – FOLLOW: Live football scores around the world

    Naturally, there is much to be proud of in England, Spain, Germany and beyond. That lack of title winning unpredictability though was blown away with the introduction of exorbitant spending by the biggest of guns.

    Here in the US, however, almost every MLS side came into this past weekend’s fixtures with all to play for as the regular season draws to an end. It’s not uncommon.

    Over its two decade existence, there have been nine different winners. Two-time titleists Sporting Kansas City have proved there’s hope for the lesser lights.

    That’s not to say the whole season has been riveting. The restriction on the amount of superstar talents which litter the League means the quality levels are sporadic and not covered with enough glitter to keep viewers in one of the most saturated sporting markets glued to their seats every week.

    MLS will forever cower in the shadow of the NFL, MLB and NBA behemoths.

    Yet while there is much to work on, there are notable pluses to a rigid organisation which is unique in its structure and methodology.

    The single entity system is designed to guard against a situation similar to England, where the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City are allowed to spend billions while other lesser lights face a weekly battle to stay afloat.

    The American way isn’t perfect. Indeed, I have used this column more than once to advocate the use of promotion and relegation. The super-slick US marketing men would have a field day pumping up crunch battles to avoid the dreaded drop. It would be a novel way to bring new fans, something MLS is desperate for. The demographic is encouragingly young, yet the more hardened sports watcher has proved tougher to entice.

    Ultimate Destruction Sunday or Certain Death Monday night football would suit Americans down to the ground.

    It will, sadly, never happen.

    Yet the parity which commissioner Don Garber and the rest of his associates are so desperate for, at least ensures no team is cut adrift. They should be applauded for steadfastly sticking to their guns and watching the League grow into a slick multi-million dollar machine.

    The way MLS top brass stood firm at the start of the season and refused to wilt when large swathes of players threatened to strike because of the lack of a free transfer market, said a great deal about their business ethics.

    Garber doesn’t want MLS to be the Premier League or La Liga. It doesn’t attempt to copy their bigger European cousins.  With the spending power equally shared, the playing field is level ensuring different coaching and playing tools need to be employed.

    Young homegrown coaches are preferred to big money mercenaries searching for that final gargantuan paycheck. Jason Kreis at NYCFC and Jesse Marsch at the Red Bulls are two good examples of rather unheralded, up-and-coming managers given the opportunity to prove their worth.

    Orlando City star Kaka.

    Bruce Arena in LA is perhaps the most experienced boss in the American game. Yet, despite his reigning champions adding Steven Gerrard, their recent slump has proved that the chasing pack are not to be discounted.

    The Galaxy should qualify for the post-season bar an absolute catastrophe. Yet, where they finish in the Western Conference will serve as a marker for what lies ahead. Vancouver and Dallas are both enjoying stand out campaigns while the perennial big hitters in Portland and Seattle aren’t having everything their own way.

    Over in the East, the Red Bulls were the first MLS team to cement their play-off spot, and yet, apart from rock-bottom Chicago – who along with Didier Drogba’s Montreal were the only teams to make managerial changes thus far – most teams have admirably kept their seasons alive.

    Take Orlando City. With Kaka and Co’s play-off hopes hanging by a thread, they travelled to Red Bull Arena on Friday night and promptly won 5-2. With the Lions moving into a new, soccer specific stadium next year, manager Adrian Heath has been given the opportunity to build on his work of the previous five years and go again next term – irrespective of how this season unfolds.

    Stability walks hand in hand with frugality in the land of opportunity and that, in this crazy modern world of manic spending to keep the permanently revolving door from slamming shut, is quite refreshing.

    Recommended