Well, we are (HOPEFULLY) three days away from the season opener on Friday night, so perhaps it's time to phase out the offseason thread. Here's something of a preview & primer to kick things off.
Why did you say "hopefully"?
The owners and the MLSPU haven't agreed on a new CBA as of yet. Functionally they have a couple days to sort it out; players won't board planes for weekend games on Thursday if there's no agreement.
What are the CBA issues?
MLS attendance is at an all-time high and the league just signed a much-improved TV deal. With DC United's recent stadium deal, all teams are in / will be in stadiums in which ownership controls revenue streams. As such, the players feel that it's time for them to get some concessions. They want somewhat more money and, more importantly, greater freedom of movement. Right now, there's a complicated jumble of rules and transaction mechanisms that dictate the flow of a player's rights within MLS.
Ownership doesn't want to cede control or add costs when the league has finally turned the financial corner. But the true objection to free agency from the owners' perspective, which they usually don't directly address in public, is that free agency would make the league vulnerable to a lawsuit challenging its single-entity status. If clubs act in a independent manner in clear competition with each other, MLS' single-entity status could be struck down. Why does this matter? Well, the SE model is essentially a loophole around antitrust law - you can't conspire/collude with others if you are one big singular legal entity.
Will a CBA be signed in time to avoid a strike?
There aren't many tea leaves to read. In the last few weeks both sides have done a very good job of suppressing any communications. There was posturing earlier this winter, mainly from the players' side, but it's pretty silent now.
So it's hard to say. What little has come out of the MLSPU lately indicates that they're already coming down from unrestricted free agency. This is a good sign for a quick resolution, but no guarantee.
The MLSPU does not have much of a strike fund and it's hard to see how they could outlast the ownership. It is difficult to envision a long-term strike. The MLSPU also consists of a large number of foreigners who might have less patience for a strike and who would have plenty of options among the hundreds of other professional leagues in existence.
What's new in 2015?
There are two new clubs in MLS this year. One is New York City FC, a team primarily owned by City Football Group, the Emirati owners of Manchester City and Melbourne City. The minority owner is none other than the MFY. After paying a hefty $100m expansion fee, the plan was to build a stadium in Flushing, Queens. This plan has fallen through and the team will be playing in Yankee Stadium for the foreseeable future.
The second team is Orlando City SC. OCSC has been an extremely successful club in the USL (a.k.a. third division) for the last four years, on and off the field. Orlando will bring a sizable pre-existing fanbase to MLS. In 2015, they will be playing in the Citrus Bowl, but they have secured a deal to build their own stadium.
Few tears will be shed for Chivas USA, which was dissolved at the end of 2014. Chivas USA was a poorly-conceived and poorly-run club that failed to establish itself as LA's second club. After modest success in the early days, the bottom fell out over the last few years in terms of attendance and sponsorship. Things only got worse when the club began a systematic purge of all non-Hispanic employees and players, a process that included a demographic questionnaire. MLS bought out Jorge Vergara at the beginning of 2014 and let the team play the season as a league-owned franchise.
These changes bring the league from 19 to 20 clubs.
On the stadium front, San Jose is opening their new Avaya Stadium. Toronto is beginning the season on a two-month road trip while their stadium is expanded to ~30,000.
What else can we expect with expansion?
MLS has already sold the rights to LA's second franchise to a new group, but they won't start until 2017, giving them time to prepare and allowing time for the stink of Chivas USA to wash away. While nothing is official, they are widely rumored to be targeting a new stadium on the site of the LA Sports Arena downtown.
Atlanta will be joining the aforementioned LA2 franchise in 2017. Falcons owner Arthur Blank bought the team and both his teams will be playing at the new Atlanta stadium.
David Beckham exercised his option to buy a franchise in Miami at a discount, but he has not been awarded the franchise yet. Miami will not get a franchise until Beckham can secure a stadium solution and he has been mired in South Florida politics. Miami is not dead, but its prospects are dimmer than they were last year. Orlando and Atlanta look like they will have real buzz (even Atlanta has huge season ticket deposit numbers 2+ years out), so the league will finally have a good presence in the Southeast, lessening the need to rush into a suboptimal situation in Miami.
There is also competition for the 24th spot. Chief contenders are Minneapolis, where the existing D2 Minnesota United and the Vikings ownership group have competing bids, and Sacramento, whose new D3 team has been even more successful than Orlando City was. I would expect both cities to end up the league eventually, even if Miami doesn't fall through.
Any big names joining the league this year?
Big foreign names coming in this year include Kakà (Orlando), David Villa (NYCFC), Frank Lampard (NYCFC - in the summer), Steven Gerrard (LA - in the summer), and Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto). KC is reportedly pursing Rafael van der Vaart right now.
Lampard's transfer to NYCFC has been acrimonious. It was announced as a signing for Jan 1 last August. He was then "loaned" to Man City for the fall. When Man City wanted to extend the "loan", it came out that he wasn't on loan from NYCFC at all, hadn't actually signed with the club, and that he wouldn't be signing until the summer.
The trend of USMNT players returning to the league also continued. Jozy Altidore (Toronto), Sacha Kljestan (NYRB), Mix Diskerud (NYCFC), Juan Agudelo (New England), and Brek Shea (Orlando) being the most prominent players.
But where do most new acquisitions in MLS come from?
The vast majority of new players are not aging Europeans. MLS imports quite a few players from Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as lesser-known players from all sorts of places in Europe. There is also a new round of draft picks and academy signings, as well as a handful of players who filter up from the NASL and USL minor leagues.
So who is supposed to be good this year?
MLS is notoriously difficult to predict. Because of the salary cap, teams have roughly the same amount of resources to use on players. The Designated Player rule makes total salary spending looking disparate, but the difference between the LA Galaxy and, say, the Colorado Rapids is almost entirely tied up in 2-3 players.
As a result, chemistry and cohesion is particularly important, and teams can go from bad to good or good to bad more easily. In 2014, DC United won the East after finishing last in 2013.
LA won MLS Cup last season, but will need to adjust to the retirement of Landon Donovan. New England reached, and lost, MLS Cup for the fifth time in 2015 and have added Juan Agudelo to the attack force and will have Jermaine Jones for a full season, but will need to hope MVP candidate Lee Nguyen doesn't regress.
Toronto finally looks like a good bet to make the playoffs for the first time in their sad, pathetic history behind the strength of Bradley, Altidore, and Giovinco - who have a solid supporting cast as well. In Columbus, Gregg Berhalter turned what was supposed to be a rebuilding year into a contention year in 2014 and they've only gotten stronger.
Here are season previews from MLSsoccer.com, NBC Sports, and Fox Soccer that provide more color on players.
What else is going on?
MLS and USL (third division) entered into a developmental agreement in 2013. Initially, a handful of MLS clubs affiliated with USL clubs, sending players on loan to get more playing time. In 2014, a larger group of MLS clubs affiliated and the LA Galaxy bought its own USL franchise. In 2015, seven other MLS teams have followed the Galaxy's lead and the remaining 12 have affiliated.
I'm a big fan of this as a solution to the dreaded age 18-21 developmental gap. Playing in the USL is a good step for top U18 players to adjust to the pro game and work up to MLS. We're already seeing more HS and college underclassmen jump to the pros for this opportunity and I'd expect that number to increase once the model is validated by real-world results.
MLS also signed a new TV deal, switching from ESPN/NBC Sports to ESPN/Fox. The TV rights money has increased significantly (though it still pales in comparison to other leagues, obviously). It also establishes a regular timeslot on Sundays, an evening double-header with a game apiece on the two channels.
Why did you say "hopefully"?
The owners and the MLSPU haven't agreed on a new CBA as of yet. Functionally they have a couple days to sort it out; players won't board planes for weekend games on Thursday if there's no agreement.
What are the CBA issues?
MLS attendance is at an all-time high and the league just signed a much-improved TV deal. With DC United's recent stadium deal, all teams are in / will be in stadiums in which ownership controls revenue streams. As such, the players feel that it's time for them to get some concessions. They want somewhat more money and, more importantly, greater freedom of movement. Right now, there's a complicated jumble of rules and transaction mechanisms that dictate the flow of a player's rights within MLS.
Ownership doesn't want to cede control or add costs when the league has finally turned the financial corner. But the true objection to free agency from the owners' perspective, which they usually don't directly address in public, is that free agency would make the league vulnerable to a lawsuit challenging its single-entity status. If clubs act in a independent manner in clear competition with each other, MLS' single-entity status could be struck down. Why does this matter? Well, the SE model is essentially a loophole around antitrust law - you can't conspire/collude with others if you are one big singular legal entity.
Will a CBA be signed in time to avoid a strike?
There aren't many tea leaves to read. In the last few weeks both sides have done a very good job of suppressing any communications. There was posturing earlier this winter, mainly from the players' side, but it's pretty silent now.
So it's hard to say. What little has come out of the MLSPU lately indicates that they're already coming down from unrestricted free agency. This is a good sign for a quick resolution, but no guarantee.
The MLSPU does not have much of a strike fund and it's hard to see how they could outlast the ownership. It is difficult to envision a long-term strike. The MLSPU also consists of a large number of foreigners who might have less patience for a strike and who would have plenty of options among the hundreds of other professional leagues in existence.
What's new in 2015?
There are two new clubs in MLS this year. One is New York City FC, a team primarily owned by City Football Group, the Emirati owners of Manchester City and Melbourne City. The minority owner is none other than the MFY. After paying a hefty $100m expansion fee, the plan was to build a stadium in Flushing, Queens. This plan has fallen through and the team will be playing in Yankee Stadium for the foreseeable future.
The second team is Orlando City SC. OCSC has been an extremely successful club in the USL (a.k.a. third division) for the last four years, on and off the field. Orlando will bring a sizable pre-existing fanbase to MLS. In 2015, they will be playing in the Citrus Bowl, but they have secured a deal to build their own stadium.
Few tears will be shed for Chivas USA, which was dissolved at the end of 2014. Chivas USA was a poorly-conceived and poorly-run club that failed to establish itself as LA's second club. After modest success in the early days, the bottom fell out over the last few years in terms of attendance and sponsorship. Things only got worse when the club began a systematic purge of all non-Hispanic employees and players, a process that included a demographic questionnaire. MLS bought out Jorge Vergara at the beginning of 2014 and let the team play the season as a league-owned franchise.
These changes bring the league from 19 to 20 clubs.
On the stadium front, San Jose is opening their new Avaya Stadium. Toronto is beginning the season on a two-month road trip while their stadium is expanded to ~30,000.
What else can we expect with expansion?
MLS has already sold the rights to LA's second franchise to a new group, but they won't start until 2017, giving them time to prepare and allowing time for the stink of Chivas USA to wash away. While nothing is official, they are widely rumored to be targeting a new stadium on the site of the LA Sports Arena downtown.
Atlanta will be joining the aforementioned LA2 franchise in 2017. Falcons owner Arthur Blank bought the team and both his teams will be playing at the new Atlanta stadium.
David Beckham exercised his option to buy a franchise in Miami at a discount, but he has not been awarded the franchise yet. Miami will not get a franchise until Beckham can secure a stadium solution and he has been mired in South Florida politics. Miami is not dead, but its prospects are dimmer than they were last year. Orlando and Atlanta look like they will have real buzz (even Atlanta has huge season ticket deposit numbers 2+ years out), so the league will finally have a good presence in the Southeast, lessening the need to rush into a suboptimal situation in Miami.
There is also competition for the 24th spot. Chief contenders are Minneapolis, where the existing D2 Minnesota United and the Vikings ownership group have competing bids, and Sacramento, whose new D3 team has been even more successful than Orlando City was. I would expect both cities to end up the league eventually, even if Miami doesn't fall through.
Any big names joining the league this year?
Big foreign names coming in this year include Kakà (Orlando), David Villa (NYCFC), Frank Lampard (NYCFC - in the summer), Steven Gerrard (LA - in the summer), and Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto). KC is reportedly pursing Rafael van der Vaart right now.
Lampard's transfer to NYCFC has been acrimonious. It was announced as a signing for Jan 1 last August. He was then "loaned" to Man City for the fall. When Man City wanted to extend the "loan", it came out that he wasn't on loan from NYCFC at all, hadn't actually signed with the club, and that he wouldn't be signing until the summer.
The trend of USMNT players returning to the league also continued. Jozy Altidore (Toronto), Sacha Kljestan (NYRB), Mix Diskerud (NYCFC), Juan Agudelo (New England), and Brek Shea (Orlando) being the most prominent players.
But where do most new acquisitions in MLS come from?
The vast majority of new players are not aging Europeans. MLS imports quite a few players from Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as lesser-known players from all sorts of places in Europe. There is also a new round of draft picks and academy signings, as well as a handful of players who filter up from the NASL and USL minor leagues.
So who is supposed to be good this year?
MLS is notoriously difficult to predict. Because of the salary cap, teams have roughly the same amount of resources to use on players. The Designated Player rule makes total salary spending looking disparate, but the difference between the LA Galaxy and, say, the Colorado Rapids is almost entirely tied up in 2-3 players.
As a result, chemistry and cohesion is particularly important, and teams can go from bad to good or good to bad more easily. In 2014, DC United won the East after finishing last in 2013.
LA won MLS Cup last season, but will need to adjust to the retirement of Landon Donovan. New England reached, and lost, MLS Cup for the fifth time in 2015 and have added Juan Agudelo to the attack force and will have Jermaine Jones for a full season, but will need to hope MVP candidate Lee Nguyen doesn't regress.
Toronto finally looks like a good bet to make the playoffs for the first time in their sad, pathetic history behind the strength of Bradley, Altidore, and Giovinco - who have a solid supporting cast as well. In Columbus, Gregg Berhalter turned what was supposed to be a rebuilding year into a contention year in 2014 and they've only gotten stronger.
Here are season previews from MLSsoccer.com, NBC Sports, and Fox Soccer that provide more color on players.
What else is going on?
MLS and USL (third division) entered into a developmental agreement in 2013. Initially, a handful of MLS clubs affiliated with USL clubs, sending players on loan to get more playing time. In 2014, a larger group of MLS clubs affiliated and the LA Galaxy bought its own USL franchise. In 2015, seven other MLS teams have followed the Galaxy's lead and the remaining 12 have affiliated.
I'm a big fan of this as a solution to the dreaded age 18-21 developmental gap. Playing in the USL is a good step for top U18 players to adjust to the pro game and work up to MLS. We're already seeing more HS and college underclassmen jump to the pros for this opportunity and I'd expect that number to increase once the model is validated by real-world results.
MLS also signed a new TV deal, switching from ESPN/NBC Sports to ESPN/Fox. The TV rights money has increased significantly (though it still pales in comparison to other leagues, obviously). It also establishes a regular timeslot on Sundays, an evening double-header with a game apiece on the two channels.
