By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 26, 2012) US Soccer Players – As we watch Major League Soccer work out which clubs belong in the 2012 postseason, let's talk about what the League should learn. Not the obvious things that would make most lists. We're going to stay away from officiating, player allocation, the designated player rule, and the schedule. Some abstract, some concrete, but all things that would do one thing: make the games better.
Rules That Count
My colleague Tony Edwards has spent significant time this season pointing to MLS regulations and guidelines that seem to exist in a state of flux. In a 'break glass in an emergency' moment, those rules can be enforced, tweaked, or maybe even announced to the public for the first time.
It's an interesting world in Major League Soccer. It's simple enough in theory and in practice to change things. The League publicly sets their rules by a predetermined date that falls before the start of the season. If something so cataclysmic arrives during the course of the season, they can figure that out. But... but, do it publicly. No more of this star chamber nonsense where rules and regulations come and go as needed.
Lineup Expectations
We all know that MLS occupies a distinct position in world soccer. They're a salary cap league playing through the summer under a single-entity system. There are some other things that fit that description, but let's agree that covers most of it.
What that does is create a disparity in expectation that makes it difficult to learn from what happens in other leagues. MLS can always be argued as the exception, even when that does the League few favors in terms of quality.
Following what happened in England when a club was punished for not fielding a first-choice squad in a game they thought they were unlikely to win, MLS should establish a lineup expectation rule. Since MLS is first and foremost a league designed around what players get paid, it's simple enough to determine what 'regular' means. It's the players the team values enough to pay more than others.
That means the expectation is for healthy designated players playing, alongside those players that are near the top of the pay scale (say, over $300k). That leaves plenty of room for getting creative with player selection, but stops coaches deciding to game the schedule with their squad choices. Submit that before the start of the season and allow for regular updates based on form during the season.
I would add another twist. The same rule applies to any game an MLS team plays where admission is charged. That means treating the US Open Cup, Champions League, and even friendlies with the same importance as a big league game by rule not coaching caveat. It also means meaningful injury reports audited by the League to make sure the clubs are playing by the rules.
Titles
In theory, as a single-entity league, Major League Soccer has greater control than any of the North American major leagues. In practice, clubs enjoy substantial self-determination for everything short of competing to sign the same players, making their own deals with players outside of the allocation system, and paying whatever they want to those players.
In its second decade, single-entity in practice is about cost control. What it doesn't do is impose a template on clubs for how an MLS team is expected to do business. Given the competing models, perhaps it should. Pick two MLS clubs, and it's unlikely the titles of their personnel will match.
Some have presidents that function in day-to-day operations. Some have general managers that do the same thing. Others have technical directors that control soccer while someone else manages the business side. One even has a GM that has to stand for reelection determined by a fan vote. Left to their own judgment, MLS clubs can't even figure out what to call the head coach. Is the person in charge on the sidelines a coach or a manager, and what other titles might that individual hold?
It's silly, creating a system where the branch offices have a substantial disconnect between corporate as well as each other. Creating a rule that sets up the job roles for every MLS club sets meaningful expectations and comparisons. That impacts what happens on the field of play, making it much less likely that fans suddenly discover who was really making the decisions when times get tough. It's the answer to questions of authority and accountability.
J Hutcherson has been writing about soccer since 1999 and has worked as the general manager of the US National Soccer Team Players Association since 2002. Contact him at jhutcherson@usnstpa.com.
More from J Hutcherson:
I would like a full disclosure from the teams. All the consultants, part-timers, and anyone else who has a say on what ends up on the field. I would also like teams to have to announce that they’re using employees from other teams in different leagues owned by the same owner.
I expect more from MLS than I do the other sports. They don’t have the long history. Most of the owners aren’t just MLS owners. They have the motivation to be proactive to move away from losing money. That’s what disappoints me.
I have to disagree with the notion that a coach should have his hands tied on line up selection based on salaries. Sometimes players go out of form. Or are just tired for one reason or another that wouldn’t require them to be put on an injury list. Or for competitive reasons you decide to play with 3 at the back instead of 4. Or one up front instead of 2. Or countless other possible scenarios.
But, yeah it seems like a no-brainer that league rules and regulations and playoff formats need to be made public before the season starts. And shouldn’t change from year to year unless there’s a very good reason.
The “Discipline Committee” system needs some transparency too.
What a ridiculous article.
“Submit [game by game rosters for higher salaried players] before the start of the season and allow for regular updates based on form during the season. ”
Are you freakin kidding me??!! Coaches have to decide how to allocate their most expensive resources (dp’s and others making 300k+) from game to game depending on the dp’s current form, health, age, # of games in a short period, current form of opponents, importance of each game based on whether the team is in or out of conference, above or below team in standings, midseason signings, getting playing time for players performing well in training and so on. There is a reason why rosters for the best teams in the world are often not decided until a day or two before game day. It’s absurd to ask coaches to turn in predictions of which game each top player is going to play in at the beginning of the season, even if you allow for updates.
“Creating a rule that sets up the job roles for every MLS club would set meaningful expectations and comparisons.”
Another horrible idea. Teams need the flexibility to set up their front offices and managers, coaches, etc. in the way that they think will optimize the effectiveness of their personnel and their team’s performance on the field and growth as a club. Having central administration dictate to each team a “one size fits all” organizational chart is a great way to stifle any potential innovation at the club level and also kill the healthy process of competition among ideas and approaches to see which ones rise to the top.
I seldom write such critical comments. But having to wade through Hutcherson’s poor writing style to get to his clearly not thought out ideas in this article put me over the edge. The first thing you learn in writing class is that to make your prose clear, concise, and powerful you should avoid overuse of passive verbs and sentence structures. Hutchinson does the exact opposite. I’ve never seen so many convoluted paragraphs where the real action (if any is to be found) falls at the very end of each sentence as I have in his writings. For this reason alone I usually don’t bother reading them. I made a mistake this time.
Thank you Skydog… this was the most ridiculous soccer article I can recall over the past few years. I figured he wrote the article as a joke. I hope he has better ideas when he’s working as general manager of the US National Team Players Association.
Teams need the flexibility to set up their front offices and managers, coaches, etc. in the way that they think will optimize the effectiveness of their personnel and their team’s performance on the field and growth as a club.
In 15 years, I’ve seen no good examples of this. Seriously, I have none. Every perceived optimization effort ended up with executives both field and front office fired or choosing to leave over frustration with their teams. The concept of best practices has always been a trouble spot for MLS. It’s why they occasionally call those summits to try to figure out what’s really working rather than adopting to trends or attempts at quick fixes. Perhaps using clear and concise sentences you might give us a few examples of innovation from club level.
this was the most ridiculous soccer article I can recall over the past few years.
You must not read much. It’s not the most ridiculous MLS article of the last 24 hours. I see it as a way to express frustration with MLS failing on the basics without turning it into another diatribe against the league. I do wonder what some of you are watching attempting to defend coaching prerogative as beyond any limits. 1. This is MLS – it’s a league of limits. 2. MLS coaches aren’t very good. It does nothing good for the league to have coaches deciding that they can get away with off nights. People feel like they’ve wasted their time and money, especially important where the schedule put so many days between home games. Coaches and referees can ruin leagues if they’re allowed.
I agree that too much is made of the coach and MLS tends to treat some of them like college football coaches. I don’t agree that they should have to play certain players if available. That’s too much. At the same time, I think they should have to show they’re using young players. I’m tired of clubs filling their squads with older foreign pros at the expense of development. That doesn’t help develop MLS into something unique. For me, that’s the most important thing. I want a unique league or for them to start spending. One or the other, not this middle approach we’ve seen since the start of dp’s.
I think MLS should tell teams they hire coaches not managers and define what a technical or sporting director really does. Baseball doesn’t allow a team to rename roles and reassign what positions mean. The gm is the gm, the field manager is the field manager.
I think you and Skydog might be overlooking something. There’s no easy sportsbook for MLS games. Other North American leagues have rules that keep coaches from doing whatever they want with the lineup. It’s the problem the NFL is facing now with the officials. Basic integrity means best effort. We see NFL teams starting their scrubs at the end of the season when they’ve already made the playoffs, but not in week four when they figure they’ll lose anyway. In England, where you can easily and legally bet on anything involving soccer, there’s no space for a team deciding they can start their reserves. It would do harm to the league as a whole. With that in mind, MLS needs to make sure it always looks like their clubs care. From what we’ve seen from some clubs, a rule might be needed to reign in some of these coaches.
From what we’ve seen from some clubs, a rule might be needed to reign in some of these coaches.
It’s about accountability, nothing more. We can argue specifics of how my nonexistent rule might be implemented, but my point is simple. Lineup moves that obviously impact quality would have to be explained to the League. Like multiple explanation points said, “Coaches and referees can ruin leagues if they’re allowed.” I would add that coaches can do that while arguing they’re operating in the best interest of their team.
Also, this: link to deadspin.com I think too many people have decided MLS is getting enough right. They still can’t get enough people to watch this stuff on tv.
My biggest problem with MLS is it feels loo corporate already. I do t think increasing that by the league having more influence on the clubs helps things. I would much prefer separate clubs that have the room to succeed or fail.
I meant don’t think.
“Lineup Expectations” is downright stupid. Let the team’s management decide how and when to use its players. When you have CCL, MLS, US Cup, and WFC games to juggle mid-season, you have to game-plan for what you, as an organization, find more important at any given time in any given season. Arbitrary locked-in-stone roster requirements based on salary would be moronic. For example, FC Toronto, with it’s MLS season pointless at this point, but still in the CCL picture, would be forced to play it’s best players in meaningless MLS games, therefore diminishing it’s chances in meaningful CCL games. As a fan, I’d be really, really upset at the league if it did that to my team.
You answer to your fans for your roster moves. Tying the individual team’s hands from centrally-planned league offices would be foolish.
“Other North American leagues have rules that keep coaches from doing whatever they want with the lineup. It’s the problem the NFL is facing now with the officials.”
No, they don’t… NBA, MLB, and NFL coaches can and do play who they want, when they want, and the only person who can do anything about it is the team’s owner, not the league.
AND, more importantly, other North American sports leagues are not playing in multiple competitions at once, like MLS teams are, so there isn’t any decision making as to what you’re going to focus one.
I’m a fire fan. If they were out of the MLS season picture, but in CCL, and have an MLS and CCL fixture in the same week, I’d be very upset if they didn’t focus on the CCL game, even if it was at the expense of the MLS game.
It’s part of the intrigue of soccer.. how your team manages multiple competitions of once.
You’re putting organization over league, and that’s a valid argument. I’m on the other side due to a few things. Ticket sells, troubled markets, and bad television ratings. Playing up the other competitions won’t fix any of that. In a better situation, I would agree with you, but MLS isn’t there. Add to that what appears from the outside to be a sizable disconnect between the league and its clubs, and I think it’s worth asking what could be done to change that in pursuit of attendance and ratings.
As for the ‘intrigue of soccer’ the attendance for CCL games and the tv ratings would suggest that’s lost on most fans. Again, in theory I’m with you but we’re just not there. Where we are is a league with a new TV deal that isn’t drawing as well as can be expected and teams that seem to go out of their way to play against quality. For some MLS coaches, they play like they’re running a team in a league that’s been around for decades and can assume the fans will be there. Meanwhile, they’re announcing crowds of under 15k in soccer-specific stadiums while grinding out games. Eventually, that impacts everybody. For a centrally organized league, there should be ways to address that. All I’m saying.
No, they don’t… NBA, MLB, and NFL coaches can and do play who they want, when they want, and the only person who can do anything about it is the team’s owner, not the league.
Yes they do and no they can’t. All of those leagues have the ability to step in and say no for the good of the game. It’s how lopsided trades get stopped. They also control their rule books and can use that as well. None of those leagues is going to let a team play scrubs just because the coach decides it’s a good idea. It won’t happen or at least it won’t happen for very long before something is done.
Some of you are just apologists who will never see the problems with this league. People don’t watch it. Coaches do stupid things with their rosters and their players. The Commish even said that some teams should play players or trade them. This isn’t Sir Alex and Jose Mourinho.
I don’t agree with your specifics, but I do agree with the idea. MLS is getting ahead of itself and needs to stop and figure out why they’re not gaining viewers. It wouldn’t bother me in the least if they pulled out of the Champions League. I don’t care that Toronto can compete in the Champions League when they can’t win an MLS game. It’s meaningless in getting people to watch the games. Some of the MLS games this season have been unbearable. Teams playing negative soccer and then congratulating themselves like they’ve won the World Cup because they didn’t lose. Then the playoffs reset everything. Nobody watches those either until we get to the final.