Fighting for Promotion

Thanks to my good friend Kevin Saad for his wise words on this blog post. Enjoy his work! Tweet @KevinSaad93 for more in-depth MLS knowledge.

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                With the rumors swirling of Michael Bradley’s impending transfer to Toronto FC from Roma, nothing but excitement seems to be the expression from almost all American soccer supporters. Another native son will return home before this summer’s party in Brazil, continuing the trend started by Clint Dempsey of national team members returning to MLS. While this story may seem warm and fuzzy from the casual viewer’s perspective, I see many problems with this signing that don’t address all of TFC’s woes and may end up hurting Bradley in the run up to Brazil.

                First off, the price tag that TFC will be paying is a hefty one. According to reports, Michael Bradley and Jermain Defoe will be joining the club for a fee of around $100 million when the dust settles from compensation and transfer fees. These signings will definitely get people excited and put Bradley and Defoe jerseys among the league’s top sellers while boosting TFC’s declining ticket sales. But this price tag begs the question: couldn’t this money have been spent in a more effective matter? In an age where big name signings across many sports rarely seem to live up to expectations, don’t you think that teams would evaluate the club environment before pursuing these players? In case you were wondering, the final four teams standing in Major League Soccer in 2013 (Houston, Salt Lake, Portland, and Kansas City) were in the bottom half of league payroll. This shows that shrewd signings that may not be as sexy as Defoe or Bradley (Diego Valeri of Portland and MLS cup MVP Aurelien Collin) can be just as effective for a fraction of the cost. Yes, many big name DPs have lived up to expectations during their time in MLS (Robbie Keane, Guillermo Schelotto, and David Beckham). But they all have something in common: they stepped into a great situation. Beckham had a supporting cast of Keane, Donovan, and Omar Gonzalez while Schelotto had a roster with the likes of a young Robbie Rogers, Chad Marshall, Eddie Gaven, and Alejandro Moreno. These were all proven players with tons of world class experience or rising young stars with loads of talent. Toronto FC is far from an ideal situation. After spending $100 million dollars for two players and the earlier offseason acquisition of striker Gilberto and the return of a 35 year old Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto still needs to shore up their backline. Michael Bradley is going to have a harsh reality transitioning from sharing a field with Daniele De Rossi to taking the pitch with Bright Dike. The likes of Jairo Arrieta, Perry Kitchen, and Adam Moffat aren’t exactly the ideal preparation for Ronaldo, Ozil, and Boateng in Brazil. If Toronto is serious about this rebuild, it won’t happen overnight. Bradley will obviously be the star of the show, but it will take a considerable amount of time for the entire team to mesh and begin to play as a unit. TFC need to be smooth over the next few seasons to acquire pieces to complement Defoe and Bradley in order to prevent already frustrated Toronto fans from feeling burned again if things go south. Keep in mind that after years of growing pains, LA Galaxy finally emerged as MLS Cup Champions in 2011, 4 whole years after the dramatic signing of David Beckham that captivated the soccer world.            

                Now if you don’t believe that chemistry matters look no further than last year’s Seattle Sounders. The Sounders were among the Western Conference’s elite, with the emergence of DeAndre Yedlin being one of the feel good stories of the MLS season. When the rumors of Dempsey to Seattle began to surface, it seemed like everyone thought the Sounders were on the fast track to their first MLS Cup. However, the Dempsey acquisition shook up the locker room and displaced DP Mauro Rosales, which led to his eventual departure to Chivas USA. Dempsey only found the back of the net once in 2013 for Seattle and his arrival seemed to throw things out of whack in the Emerald City. The tension was even acknowledged by Seattle GM Adrian Hanauer, who admitted the acquisition may have created chemistry issues down the stretch of another failed MLS Cup run.

                Now, Toronto FC don’t have the same problems as Seattle. While Seattle is picking from a plethora of attacking options, Bradley and Defoe are part of a massive change of guard in Toronto. While the moves for both Dempsey and Bradley are admirable to American soccer fans, it is important not to get lost in the hype. While the honeymoon may seem nice now, don’t be surprised to see frustration from either of these clubs in the coming months when their big dollars are outperformed by the effective buyers of Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City.