I’ll set the scene - Saturday afternoon in Toronto and the
New York Red Bulls led by Thierry Henry are in town for a match in the MLS
Eastern Conference. Lining up for Toronto FC is a young Englishman
by the name of Richard Eckersley. The
Manchester United academy graduate and former Plymouth, Bradford and Bury
player is one of those tasked with keeping the 123 cap world cup winner quiet. Sharing a pitch with the former Arsenal,
Barcelona and Juventus striker was probably the last thing on Worsley-born
Eckersley’s mind a few years ago when he was being farmed out on loan by
Championship club Burnley. The sight of
these two players at very different stages in their career on the same pitch got
me thinking, what sort of player is being attracted by the USA’s premier
football division and what is it that is slowly making the MLS a viable option
for a variety of players plying their trade in Europe? This blog will try and provide some answers
to these questions.
Who is the MLS attracting?
From what I can see there are 3 different types of player
currently being attracted to the MLS:
1. Young players who haven’t quite got what it
takes to play in Europe’s top divisions.
These could be players like Richard Eckersley who came through the
academy of a big club but couldn’t quite make the grade and have had to drop
down the divisions, promising young guys like Giles Barnes who after a series
of injuries are struggling to find their route back to a top club or those like
Andrew Driver who showed early promise but never managed to show the sustained
form in order to make that final step into the big time. Many of these young players are looking for
some stability after several years of moving clubs trying to lay down some
roots. When the offer comes from an MLS
club offering a good length of contract it can often be hard to say no. If it means finally settling and being able
to think for the first time about their long-term future, why shouldn’t they
take that chance? Admittedly it doesn’t always
work out. John Rooney, younger brother
of Wayne, spent one unsuccessful year at the NY Red Bulls in 2011 before returning
to the North West to continue his football career in England’s lower divisions. The young Europeans currently plying their
trade in the MLS will be hoping that they can make more of their chance.
2. The typical
Journey man player who having been successful
at the top level for club and country has now gone past the 30 year mark and
finds himself faced with a series of European clubs only willing to offer him a
1 year contract. Like the young players
above, the MLS represents stability, especially important for this group given
that many of them are already settled with a family. They are reluctant to relocate their wife and
children knowing that in a year’s time they may need to repeat the whole
process and move their children to yet another school. Players such as Robert Earnshaw (also at
Toronto FC) with 5 clubs in as many years, Kenny Miller of the Vancouver White
Caps who has found himself plying his trade in 3 different countries over
recent years or Carlo Cudicini who decided to cross the Atlantic in search of
first team football at LA Galaxy after years warming the bench at Chelsea and
Spurs. Players under 30 can also fall
into this category, think Nigel-Reo Coker or Obafemi Martins who have rejected
the idea of dropping down the divisions in Europe in favour of being the star
attraction at the Vancouver White Caps or Seattle Sounders respectively. The MLS can for these players can mean one
final big payday which secures a financial future for both them and their
families.
3. The final
group of players who are being attracted to the ever-growing MLS is the marquee player who is looking to be the
leading light at club level one last time.
David Beckham led this trend when he relocated to Los Angeles in 2007
but more recently players such as Tim Cahill, Thierry Henry (both at the NY Red
Bulls), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy) and Alessandro Nesta (Montreal Impact) have
left Europe in search of the bright lights and adulation on the other side of
the pond. The MLS’ designated player
rule means that these players can be paid enormous salaries without hindering
their team’s overall wage budget and this allows each club to have one or two
big-name former (or current) internationals who will give them an edge over
their competition. The opportunity to be
the face of a team and take all the rewards and plaudits that come with it has
proved too much to resist for some players, despite offers to continue their
playing career at a higher level in Europe.
Beckham led the way and his success whilst there, both on and off the pitch,
has encouraged several other players to take the calculated risk and drop down
a level in order to increase their profile in the USA. The question now is can the MLS continue to
compete for these players given the huge amounts of money clubs in countries
such as China seem to be willing to offer in order to attract the biggest names
in world football as they reach the twilight of their career?
What can the MLS offer?
·
Sometimes a change
of scene is the best option for young player struggling in Europe’s lower
divisions. Perhaps their motivation has
gone after years of rejection or the clubs offering contracts don’t appeal to
them. For these players the MLS can be
the catalyst to inject energy and
positivity back into their careers which are stagnating and putting their
footballing potential at risk. Many wouldn’t
complain about the opportunity to experience the lifestyle in Houston or New York either.
·
The opportunity
to travel and experience new
environments and cultures is something that everybody needs at some point
in their life. So whether it be a young
guy who has never left his home town or an older player who has spent his whole
career at the same club or in the same country, the MLS can offer them the
chance to try new things. For the
younger players in particular, the independence
they would gain by moving far from the safety net of their friends and family
could help them develop both on and off the pitch. Maybe this added maturity is what’s needed in
order for them to really push on in their career and the experience will only
be beneficial should they decide to return to Europe.
·
Salary is
obviously key when any footballer receives a contract offer regardless of
whether they are just starting out in their career or they have 100+ caps for
their country. Whilst the marquee
players such as Beckham and Henry can command fantastic wages due to their
reputation in football, the money on offer for lesser known players is also
very attractive. Although the average
salary in the Premier League last year was believed to be around £1.2 million,
it is a very different story when you drop down the divisions. Estimated annual yearly salaries in the
Championship (£250,000) and League 1 (£80,000) are considerably lower. Compare that to the pay packets that,
according to the MLS themselves, are being taken home by Richard Eckersley
(£137,000), Carlo Cudicini (£98,000) and Robbie Keane (£2.6 million) and you
can see why moving to America was so attractive to them.
·
Debate rages over what level of English football the
MLS equates to but if we estimated that it would slip in somewhere between the
Championship and League 1 the wages offered are on a par if not better. So players are being offered the chance to play football of a similar level in the
USA whilst picking up a greater salary than if they were playing at the equivalent
level in Europe. In this respect it is a
no brainer, financial security is obviously a priority for most players but
they also want to play football at a decent level and the MLS allows them to
satisfy both of these conditions.
·
Salary is not everything to a footballer however (despite
what you may read in the newspapers.)
Also important is the chance to play in front of a good crowd on a
weekly basis. Clearly it’s easier to motivate
yourself and perform at your best when you know there’s going to be more than
one man and his dog cheering you on from the stands. Attendances
in the MLS have reached a steady level over recent years. Last year the Seattle Sounders averaged
40,000 for home games whilst the average across the division was almost 18,000
which is considerably more than League 1 (just over 6,000) and even eclipses
last year’s average attendance figures in the Championship (around 17,500.) The increasing popularity of the MLS means
that you can almost guarantee a good crowd at your home games to hopefully roar
you on to victory.
·
As brand Beckham has shown, the MLS can be the perfect
stage for promoting yourself to a
population of over 300 million people.
Whilst players of the acclaim of Henry, Keane or Nesta can expect to be
a famous name and satisfy their ego wherever they play, lesser known players
making the switch to the MLS have the chance to truly make a name for themselves
and be the hero at their new club. A
young player struggling to make their mark in League 1 could catapult
themselves to stardom with a series
of strong performances in the MLS.
Combine this with the opportunity to help the MLS develop and grow as a
division and a professional football career in America becomes even more
rewarding.
What’s in it for the USA?
The other question that really needs addressing is whether or
not this influx of players from Europe is benefitting the MLS and indeed the
USA national team. Whilst David Beckham’s
time on the other side of the pond has been credited with increasing both the
standard and popularity of football there have been false dawns before. I am of course referring the revolution of
the 70s and 80s when world class stars such as Pele, George Best and Johan
Cruyff signed for American clubs in what was then the North American Soccer
League (NASL). That first wave of
international players failed to spark the growth of “soccer” as a sport in the
States but perhaps this time it will be more successful.
The current run of 10 consecutive wins for the national team
suggests that something must be going right and 25 goals in 6 Gold Cup games
has led them into their 5th consecutive final in the
tournament. Having won 2 of the last 4
Gold Cups, they will be hoping to add another when they play Panama in Chicago
on Sunday. Leading from the front (as
has been the case now for several years) is Landon Donovan who has had
successful spells in Germany and England in recent years but seems reluctant to
make the permanent switch to Europe. Whether this is a sign that the quality of
the MLS is increasing (at least in his eyes) remains to be seen. In recent years several of the USA’s finest
have performed well in Europe; Tim Howard at Everton, Clint Dempsey at Fulham and
Michael Bradley at Roma to name just a few.
In the 2010 World Cup the USA topped a group containing England before
being eliminated in the last 16 by Ghana but they did reach the quarter final
in 2002 before a minor blip four years later.
The 2009 Confederations Cup was also a high point for the national team
as they beat Spain on their way to the final before surrendering a 2 goal lead against
Brazil to finish runners-up. Their
current FIFA ranking of 22nd doesn’t do them justice (what a
surprise that FIFA’s rankings are inaccurate!) They are top of their qualifying
group for the next World Cup suggesting that the future is bright for a team
which seems to have found a good blend of youth and experience.
The true effect of the European invasion of the MLS will
surely become clear in years to come but perhaps they will soon be lamenting
how the high number of foreign players is stalling the development of their
young players just as the English press has been doing on a regular basis over
recent times.
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