MLS SuperDraft takes off with the speed of molasses, Porter and Pareja off the market, and more: Wednesday Freedom Kicks
Good morning and happy Wednesday! Does anyone else have that holiday fuzz that makes focusing difficult as the week’s end approaches? I get the feeling the folks in charge of the MLS SuperDraft understand me. As I write this after work on Tuesday, the 1st round is still ongoing. Let’s get kicking!
D.C. United Select Jacob Murrell with the 7th overall selection in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft (D.C. United): United selects a local from Georgetown in the 1st round of the 2024 SuperDraft. Murrell still may remain at Georgetown instead of joining United for play in 2024. If that happens, United will keep his MLS rights for the duration of the next two seasons. Perhaps D.C. can lure him with the prospect of professional local soccer?
In a peculiar move, during the SuperDraft, D.C. United acquires Atlanta homegrown center back Garrison Tubbs before the homegrown ink dried. This feels like a steal and I’m here for it.
D.C. United did have some picks after the first round of the SuperDraft. Brandon Parrish (M, Clemson), Aldair Sanchez (D, Sacramento Republic FC), and Nathan Crockford (GK, Wisconsin) have also been selected by United in the draft.
New England Revolution hire Caleb Porter as head coach (NE Revolution): The list of coaching candidates continues to drop in a league with only a few openings left.
Orlando City SC and Head Coach Oscar Pareja Agree to New Contract (Orlando City): Pareja is also not going to be the next D.C. United head coach.
Lastly, an interesting graph to look at to see the disparity different leagues face in revenue. A reminder that the team on the right of the graph (100%) is simply the highest revenue-earning team in the league and all other teams’ revenues are compared to them.
Things that stick out to me:
- Arsenal’s revenue is ~40% lower than the Manchesters and Liverpool, and lower than rival Tottenham
- The NFL is very compact… with the exception of the Cowboys
- D.C. United faired better on this list than I thought it would, placing higher than many teams
- Angel City FC is in a league of their own
- MLB certainly likes its old teams
Get kicking in the comments and have a merry Christmas next week!
Murrell and Tubbs seem like really good young talents, but yesterday both seemed a little hesitant or apprehensive about joining DC. Hopefully whoever we decide to hire as our coach works well with young players, and they’d be excited to play for them.
In Goff’s write up of the draft, he noted that no coaching hire was imminent. Mackay has said previously that he was hoping to have a coach in place by Christmas. As someone who has yet to do much shopping, I can tell you that that date is rapidly approaching!
Apprehension, or shyness..? It’s a big step to sign with a pro team, and/or change your geographic location (let alone social circles) at a young age. Sometimes, it’s the overjoyed that stick a knife in your back down the road.
In Tubbs’s case, I think he was not expecting to be dealt from Atlanta, and had a rollercoaster of emotions going from being a college player to signing a homegrown deal to then being dealt by his hometown team to someplace totally different (and an organization that is generously rebuilding at that).
Fair assessment.
I mean, that’s got to really suck for Tubbs. He chose a homegrown deal to avoid the vagaries of the draft, thinking Atlanta Utd really valued him. It’s really dirty pool for Atlanta to deal him to DC.
I would say this is something the MLSPA should take up. A player commits to his local team. They should owe him some reciprocal loyalty to respect that choice, unless he agrees to the move.
Yeah, I hate bad karma stuff. Kind of like when Julian got “ambushed moved” by DCU. Granted different in nature, but both icky in taste.
Julian Gressel is apparently on the verge of joining Inter Miami. For a team that was sanctioned for bending the rules, they uh, they haven’t let that stop them from signing players.
I’m really curious to see how they make their DPs and U22s work. With the reports of Suarez joining as a DP (and them paying down Gregore, I presume), that would give them 3 full DPs and 3 U22s…which isn’t legal under the current rules. Unless they somehow get Suarez to come on a TAM deal, but having both Jordi Alba and Suarez on TAM deals is also a bit suspicious at best, given the pedigree of those players
Gressel made nearly $1 million in guaranteed compensation last year, and he’ll be getting a raise with a free agent signing.
It sounds more and more like the league is bending the rules for the current league darling of Miami….le sigh…
Darth Garber is pleased. His pink stormtroopers will crush all rebel opposition. His referees will apply the laws of the game “fairly.”
(Darth Garber just took a big bite out his favorite fruit….Apple….)
In a news release from the USSF, they have noted that the federation is “not prepared to grant MLS a waiver” to have the MLS NEXT Pro teams compete in the US Open Cup, and that the request be outright rejected. Sounds like there’s still some details to iron out, but there may still be hope for the full MLS teams playing in the tournament thanks to USSF
Yeah, I was impressed and pleased to see that USSF didn’t just roll over.
Bravo, USSF!
(Darth Garber just picked up his pink phone…..)
Beat me to it. That’s what I get for being stuck in a meeting.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/39154089/us-soccer-rules-mls-teams-participate-24-open-cup
I figure there will be some sort of negotiation that ends with like 6 first-team players being required to play for each team, and fill out the rest with youth kids. Idk where that would leave teams that don’t have their own youth team set up yet.
I read it a bit differently. The federation isn’t explicitly forbidding an MLS withdrawal, but denying them the right to lessen the competition by allowing their academies to compete. Those are not at all the same thing.
I think the opposite. They’re definitely prohibiting MLS withdrawal. What’s left open is whether MLS NextPro teams could ALSO compete on their own. I kinda thought they had to compete anyway. At least, they would’ve had to as a lower-level of USL, which I thought was the original plan anyway. If it’s entirely separate from the USSF pyramid — functioning as a hybrid Academy and Reserve team, maybe they don’t have to compete.
Anyway they’re definitely saying that MLS can use MLS NextPro and Academy players — or, at least, they’ve allowed that in the past (maybe there was a certain number of 1st team players that had to be included?– but that the team has to be officially represented. Not by a stand-in.
My guess is MLS will say fine, but prohibit teams from using first team players.
Reading it again, you may have a point. That said, the language isn’t direct enough to make it particularly clear, which may be intentional, but I’m gonna wait for further developments to see what’s up.
I think USSF dropped the gloves and smacked MLS on the kisser. MLS clubs are prohibited from withdrawing. Who they field is their business. Effort waged, same thing.
DCU should go for the danged hardware.
I’m glad to see this too. I wonder how much of this was because USSF felt like MLS was telling, rather than asking, at least in their public announcements about the MLSNext participation. Can’t prove hypotheticals, of course, but I wonder if USSF was on the fence and taking awhile to determine their answer to the waiver, MLS went public because they don’t believe they should ever have to wait/ask for permission, and then USSF made up their mind to say no because MLS forced their hand.
Either way, good outcome. Teams already have pretty wide flexibility with who they send to this tournament. Just…keep doing that.
100%
Eric Wynalda had this to say about MLS’s decision surrounding the US Open Cup, and I think it would resonate here:
“Arrogant is the number one word that comes to mind. I think what I realized in my time as a player, commentator, or as a coach is that since Don Garber arrived, he has changed the business model dramatically.
It’s not about soccer, it never was, it was about building stadiums, it was about these land/ real estate deals which make sense to an owner and not to the soccer community, players, or fans.
Garber is not somebody who understands competition, but rather has a direct line or business plan that does not really include anybody else.
It’s either you work for us, or we isolate you and we destroy you, and that’s what it is in this particular case. The teams that play in MLS are the only teams that exist is incredibly short sided and sad.”
Wynalda noticed the sudden shade over his dwelling. He looked to the sky only see the sun blotted out by a giant, pink, apple-like, space-base in orbit…..Darth Garber’s dream of galactic supremacy is almost in hand with the ultimate weapon…..the MessiStar (TM)…..
Darth Garber reached for the joystick, laughing maniacally….
“Be seeing you Eric….” and the Flamingo Pink Death Ray (TM) was unleased…..
Anyone else wonder what MLS would do if USSF removed their sanctioning as a 1st division league? Not that I think USSF would do that, but its an interesting thought process.
My brain isn’t going there, that’s some real “angels on the head of a pin” conjecture
We are going to be playing against Ben on June 22. That’s going to feel so off for me. I hope folks give him a warm welcome. Oh, and Messi & Co will be visiting us on March 16.
What a content rich, diverse post Kerry–wow! The income disparity–great find. As for Tubbs–I’ll tell you what that reminds me of–our deal of Erik Williamson to Portland. I think Mackay coveted him and the only we could deal for him was for Atlanta to upgrade him to the senior roster. They wanted money for foreign acquisitions and…the deal was made. I haven’t seen Tubbs play a second but this smacks of a shrewd deal–grabbing a young talented player for a team that is looking for money (in part so they can re-sign their own current CB and buy his cap hit down–and re-signing Miles Robinson makes Tubbs less important to them).
Finally, I know people are phrasing this so it makes it sound like DCU is running out of viable coaching options because other teams have signed people. I don’t see it that way. Porter is a good coach but would he have been our top choice? Not so sure. Pareja–I think he’d have been a great choice but I don’t think that was in the cards (which is also why we couldn’t sign their Asst. GM–he was intent in staying with the braintrust at Orlando).