Real Salt Lake offseason notes and thoughts-December
December 10, 2008 by f4denz.
So I am sorry that I have been so bad at posting since the season ended, but I needed a bit of a break and work has been keeping me very busy. With the current state of the stock market, I have to pay a lot more attention to work since the amount of IRA’s and 401K’s have been greatly reduced in recent months.
No more reserves
So just prior to the MLS Cup match the commish announced the end of the MLS reserve division and a reduction in the number of roster spots for each team. So while we saw typical powers like New England, DC United, and Houston struggle as the season went on with all the obligations of LHUSOC, CONCACAF Champions Cup, SuperLiga, and others, you would think that the league would look at ways of expanding the rosters. Now each team will have 24 roster spots instead of 28, each team can now have 20 senior players vs. 18, but without a reserve division what do the other 4 players do? It isn’t like MLS is going to allow more players on the bench to be used as subs, so in a move that Garber claims was in response to fans, I ask who among fans asked for smaller teams?
No the salaries being saved are those guys who crippled team payrolls with those huge $17,000 and $30,000 annual salaries, yup getting rid of 4 of those players will allow each team between $68-120,000 more a year to spend, and have even less depth than they currently have and no organized structure for those younger players to develop. The number of players who will be forced to give up the game, or try to get a job in the USL is huge when you consider that 60 players now are left on the outside looking in. With the number of players considering moves overseas, the rosters next year will be very light on US talent as we become a developmental league for Central and South American teams, I am not sure that it is a bad thing but when picking US national sides I expect a huge number of future players to come from Europe and not from MLS. Teams will struggle to keep full sides if US Soccer taps the MLS for more than a couple players, a shame that now players who desire to play for their nation will likely have to abandon MLS.
It is this type of short sighted moves that have plagued MLS for the last 5-6 years, and with more teams having their own stadiums and being more financially stable. With cities bidding on future franchises, this is the time for MLS to turn control of teams and league operations over to the clubs and their owners. Don has done a great job and the league probably would not have survived without his close attention to details and control in the early days, but we are entering year 14 and when the collective bargaining agreement runs out with the players union I believe it is time for Garber to step down.
The correct move should have been to increase the salary cap to 3.5 million dollars, which would have allowed teams to upgrade their talent level while still keeping a low payroll for a professional sports team. I also would have changed the DP rule to charge teams $500,000 against their cap, this would have allowed 3 million dollars for the remaining 27 team spots, an average of just over $111,000 per player. No mention was made so I am going to assume that Landycakes and LA still get a pass on his bloated DP salary despite the team not having two DP slots, this type of ruling is part of the problem with having control not be more in the hands of team owners, exceptions get made for teams based on some mythical need, while others get left out in the cold.
Sturgis and others gone
So with the changes to roster size RSL made a couple moves before the Expansion draft. They released Besagno, who never developed into the player that John Ellinger and others imagined. I hope that Nik gets a chance with another team, he got great reviews and praise for his play in the USL this year. Also let go was Kenny “ginger ninja” Cutler, one of the RSL originals Kenny was willing to fill in wherever and whenever asked, but with new roster restrictions and just 32 starts in his MLS career he was expendable with the new smaller roster. Dustin Kirby was also let go, and with just 2 appearances in MLS action he was another victim of the death of the reserve division.
The list of RSL players left exposed to the Seattle expansion draft included:
Besagno, Nik
Cutler, Kenny
Deuchar, Kenneth
Horst, David
Joy, Ian
Kirby, Dustin
Kovalenko, Dema
Mathis, Clint
Nunez, Tino
Reiman, Kevin
Reynish, Kyle
Sturgis, Nathan
Tennelle, Brennan
Williams, Andy
The players that were left unprotected were done so for a number of reasons and Seattle chose to take a chance on Nathan Sturgis, and while his time at RSL has seen him injured more than healthy, many people estimate that Sturgis was one of our top talents when able to play. The few matches he played early in the 2008 season sure gave those opinions a leg to stand on as he looked to be a great player able to play on the back line or in the midfield. I hope that his lingering injury problems are behind him and that he can begin to move forward with his new team and be able to get back on the radar of the USMNT.
Time for good deeds
Every RSL fan, and most MLS fans are aware of the illness that is facing the Williams family this year and while many from Salt Lake and other MLS cities have done great things in raising funds to help the family cover medical expenses, now we get a chance to do more. This Saturday (Dec. 13th) at Rio Tinto Stadium there will be a chance to get tested to see if you are bone marrow match for Marcia Williams, here are the official details as provided by RSL:
Soccer Unites Utah and Real Salt Lake to host Williams’ Bone Marrow Match Drive this Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium
In a continuing effort to lend support to Marcia Williams, the wife of RSL midfielder Andy Williams, Soccer Unites Utah, Real Salt Lake, and Rio Tinto Stadium will team up with DKMS – the world’s largest marrow donor center – to host a bone marrow match drive this Saturday, December 13, from 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. in the Center Circle Club (ground level) at Rio Tinto Stadium. Fans and the public are invited to undergo free testing to see if you’re a match for Marcia or another person desperately seeking a bone marrow transplant… all it takes is a little paperwork and a swab of your cheek. Those attending the marrow match drive are asked to park in the West/VIP lot and enter the stadium through the main/VIP entrance on the West side. If you are still curious for more information, head over to DKMSamericas.org for more on what it means to be a bone marrow donor or visit www.SoccerUnitesUtah.com for more ways in which you can help assist the Williams family.
I hope to see you there.
OFF MY SOAPBOX