Domestic Soccer 2011

[Snazel]

I've seen a lot of MLS rumors in the past, I think I'll stay cynical about Anelka coming to Montreal until it actually happens. It would be great for the league though.

However, why do you find it strange that every country's soccer league seems to take on the personality and playing style of its native country? Right now, what you described is the very skill level of North American soccer. You have a few flashes of brilliance and a couple world-class players, but you also have those "hustle" players that you can't seem to replace just yet...

This is true, excellent point.

I guess my only rebuttal is that MLS seems to really award/tolerate rugged play. There are tackles in MLS that routinely draw yellows in other leagues (even EPL which is more rugged than most other Euro leagues). I feel this isn't necessarily a bad thing, except for the fact that:

1. The MLS season is long and also has extensive travel, so the rugged play creates for a lot of fatigue and injury. MLS has more "war of attrition" than just about any other soccer league I know, (it is sort of like the NFL that way).

2. #1 wouldn't be such a problem, if MLS had depth, but the salary cap structure of MLS pretty much ensures your bench players are often a significant drop in quality from your starting 11.

3. #2 wouldn't be so bad, if it didn't mean your secondary in-season cup tournament was therefore AWFUL to watch. And is largely, a really, really gimpy product (not directly an MLS product but still a problem).

4. #3 wouldn't be so bad, if it didn't also extend to your Champions League games.

5. None of these problems would be bad, if the regular season had vital meaning, but it doesn't. So if you played really, really well all-season (and perhaps sacrificed the US Open and CCL to do it), and then you get one or two key injuries from the league's rugged play, you get nothing because of the wonky play off system. If you are lucky, you get the Supporter's Shield, but that trophy wouldn't even exist if it weren't for the fans and the league itself does very little to elevate its prestige.

6. You add to all these problems that the officiating is poor and sometimes your players get injured on plays that the referee doesn't even dub a foul...or worse you best player gets a red on what was largely a really clean tackle.

7. Problems 1-6 make it even harder to attract the free agents that MLS can afford. There's a reason why players like Ljungberg bolt, or players like Ronaldinho won't consider MLS. Although this is changing a lot, I feel problems 1-6 hamper the league's ability to attract skill players.

8. Attracting more skill players to the league is the BEST way for US soccer to improve. The book Soccernomics states this argument much more clearly than I can.

9. The US team has a hard time competing internationally, because their rugged style of play gets penalized even more once more European and CONMEBOL refs are in the tournament.

Now I should admit that I like the playoffs and want them to stay. I also like the US plays off of hard tackles and hustle (I think Americans like this and it helps sell the game). But I still think MLS could help its quality more, by investing more in its refs, carding more consistently and providing greater rewards for finishing the regular season strong.

Also, I feel the DP rules are a great mechanism, but they count too much against the cap. There's problems with that formula and those problems are argued much better in the "Beckham Experiment" than I could post here.