The Seattle Sounders vs Houston Dynamo playoffs got the MLS playoffs to a raucous start with their edge of the seat performances even it ended in a goalless draw. Seattle also boasts the highest home attendances in the MLS. It all looks promising.
Except as this article points out, there is enough deadwood in the MLS. But speaking your mind can cost you as Kevin Payne discovered. He is D.C. United’s president and chief executive officer.
“There are a lot of games in our league that I can’t watch,” he said. “The problem in our league isn’t who is or isn’t in the playoffs; it’s that not enough people want to watch our league yet, and we have to convince them that our league is worth watching.”
He was also frank enough to name those teams that play a soporific brand of soccer. Yes, the Red Bulls is one of them. For that he was guilty of overstepping his bounds and was fined $5000.
Give the man a medal. Better still, lets get him on The Daily Show. Payne and Jon Stewart, an avid soccer fan can come up with ways to fix the MLS.
One comment on “Speaking your mind about the MLS can cost you”
It’s hard to take him too seriously, and as a New England fan, i am tempted to write those comments off as typical DC United arrogance, flavored with some sour grapes. Not every match is beautiful; heck, against all expectations, Arsenal-Spurs today was hideous at times. Have the Revs been awful to watch at times this year? Oh, my, yes. They’re an undermanned side missing their prolific striker and their best playmaker, and their strength is heavily weighted on defense. Big surprise they don’t score much. If DCU played pretty soccer, good for them.
Fact of the matter is, MLS sides have limited resources, the Revs even more so–it’s up to each team to figure out what to do with that tiny salary budget. If DC wants to play pretty, they can do that in the offseason; Stevie Nicol has figured out a way to keep playing meaningful games. We all want a better quality of soccer, but admonishing other teams to play a different style just ’cause you couldn’t beat theirs is crap. Let’s just hope the new salary cap comes with a salary floor, too.