It's been rumored for a while now, but our blog friend Ives is confirming it today. The Seattle Sounders will be joining MLS in 2009. Yes, they will be the Seattle Sounders.For Silverbacks fans, the important part of the news is this. This will be the final game in the USL for the Sounders as they take 2008 off to build the market for an MLS franchise. How will this impact the championship game on Saturday night?
For me, I think Seattle will be a fine addition to MLS. However, taking a year off is a stupid idea. I agree with Ives, the Sounders would be better served to play their USL-D1 season in 2008 and use it as an opportunity to build the roster for entering MLS in 2009. This is a unique opportunity to have a chance to build a team for a year in the 2nd division before going MLS, it should be done.
Thoughts from the Cupcake Nation?
9 comments:
Taking a year off is the most stupid, asinine idea I have ever heard of outside of benching Hope Solo. I really hope Seattle reconsiders. It will be great to have them in MLS though.
Seeing the Sounders in the MLS will be wonderful, and not seeing the Sounders in 2007 is awful. I really hope that they decide to play out 2007 and build for 2008, I'd love to see what promotion could look like.
Stupid decisions seem to abound lately...
Next, you're going to tell me that a coach would bring on defenders when they're down 3-0. Oh wait...
I don't understand why they would want to dismantle a good team and start over with inferior talent. Maybe the MLS requires them to start from scratch.
Kind of, sort of...
MLS would have to sign the players under Sounders' contracts to MLS contracts, which isn't that big of a deal.
I think that it would be a great precedent to set, expansion teams play for one year in USL-D1 to build the brand and the core of the team, before moving up to MLS.
However, MLS and USL don't exactly get along. Maybe it's the USL that has the problem with an MLS-bound Sounders playing in their league for one more year...
Whatever the problem is, The Leagues need to get it sorted out soon because other USL cities such as Montreal, Vancouver, ATL or Portland may decide to join MLS at some point.
True, I completely agree.
I'd rather see a Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps, Rochester Rhinos, or Montreal Impact join MLS with some sort of an operations and fan base instead of watching Real Salt Lake or the Philadelphia Liberty Bells or the St. Louis Arches try to figure it out for a few years.
Maybe someone can answer this question: what is the difference in base salary between MLS and USL? I thought I heard somewhere the USL's is better. It may be right, but sounds wrong.
USL doesn't have a salary structure exactly, it's up to the individual teams as to how much they want to spend.
Back in my time in the league, we had players making nearly $4,000/month and we had guys making $300/game.
From what I've heard, Rochester and Montreal spend around $1 million on their payroll. Atlanta isn't in that ballpark, but it's moving higher (I'm guessing they're somehwere between $400K-$600K this season).
The guys who make more in USL are the ones who either also play indoor (MLS doesn't allow that) or the ones who start in USL but would be reserves/developmental guys in MLS (Jay Needham in Puerto Rico is a perfect example).
Needham went from a $20K offer as a developmental player with DC to nearly $45K as a starter in Puerto Rico, allegedly.
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