A strike would be bad...obviously. It is about time that the player's start getting something from the owners and league. I think that includes an increase in minimum pay and a corresponding increase in the salary cap.

Put away some money for next year, just in case? Most of them barely make a living wage to begin with.

QUOTE(#2):

Originally posted 08:43 AM ET  10.28 by kopper

Put away some money for next year, just in case? Most of them barely make a living wage to begin with.

true enough....

there wont be a strike... most players have no options outside of soccer... MLS and PU will produce a deal, no doubt in my mind

If Garber let's a strike happen he'd be an idiot, which is why he won't let it happen--I hope. And I would really like to see an agreement on the cap (raise) finalized soon as well. Teams need to start planning now for how they might use the extra cash--if they decide to spend more at all.

agreed, especially with some players contracts that end this season or loan's expire...

Fire could lose Segares and Pappa, but if we knew we had more cap space we could give them a solid raise

QUOTE(#5):

Originally posted 09:42 AM ET  10.28 by Oter

agreed, especially with some players contracts that end this season or loan's expire...Fire could lose Segares and Pappa, but if we knew we had more cap space we could give them a solid raise

Did you catch the Garber interview on FFF? Wynalda and Nick Webster? Those two have to be the two biggest ass-kissing Alices this side of the Atlantic.

I was happy to hear from Garber that MLS will be moving to a balanced schedule next season.

But the two dodos asking questions did not press for an answer on the cap raising issue. When? How much?

QUOTE(#6):

Originally posted 10:11 AM ET  10.28 by D-Wreck

Did you catch the Garber interview on FFF? Wynalda and Nick Webster? Those two have to be the two biggest ass-kissing Alices this side of the Atlantic. I was happy to hear from Garber that MLS will be moving to a balanced schedule next season. But the two dodos asking questions did not press for an answer on the cap raising issue. When? How much?

It is on my DVR and on the to-do list to watch.

But agreed with everyone...there is NO way Garber / MLS / Players' Union can let a strike happen. The consequences will be devasting. A strike will destroy all MLS support and hinder the continued growth of soccer popularity in the US.

All it will do is make the Euro-snobs come out of their holes saying "see, we told you" - and while soccer will still be extremely popular due to all the European games we can see...the grassroots of the game in America will be hurt. MLS has a place and Garber / the owners need to do what is right and continue to help the game in America.

Union issues threaten all American sports... and in this league, the players got a point

QUOTE(#8):

Originally posted 10:20 AM ET  10.28 by BuffaloTF

Union issues threaten all American sports... and in this league, the players got a point

Agreed - however...unlike NFL, MLB, NBA, and even NHL - the scrubs of those leagues are making at least $500K. I think utility players in baseball make a $1 million...

And this is what frustrates me about some of the ownership...coughRobertKraftcough, cough.
Tom Brady gets what, a $100 million extension but mentality in MLS is to save money? When the guy 18th on the depth chart at NE makes $17K...I bet there are janitors at Gillette Stadium that make more.

I get it that MLS cannot compete with other leagues in many, many aspects of pay. But increasing the cap and improving the minimum salary is only, only going to improve the quality of the entire squad. Ugh...I can't believe I am talking about this...I have a feeling this is going to be ongoing until the CBA is signed, sealed, and delivered.

QUOTE(#9):

Originally posted 10:30 AM ET  10.28 by Zizou10

When the guy 18th on the depth chart at NE makes $17K...I bet there are janitors at Gillette Stadium that make more.

first- let me correct myself, the min. salary is 20,100, not 22k

second- the min. salary is 20,100

finally- the min. salary is 20,100

QUOTE(#10):

Originally posted 10:36 AM ET  10.28 by Oter

first- let me correct myself, the min. salary is 20,100, not 22ksecond-
the min. salary is 20,100
finally- the min. salary is 20,100

I used last year's minimum salary, my bad.

My point is still the same - janitors at Gillette Stadium still make more than the dude 18th on the Rev's depth chart.

And the main point of my post was Kraft tries to save money with his MLS team but $100 million contract extension for Tom Brady? Kroenke is percentage points away from taking over Arsenal but is likely part of the ownership group in MLS trying to not spend more money? Come on. That is what is frustrating - we have billionaire owners nickel & diming MLS while the other hand is spending boatloads of money in other business ventures.

Honestly - let's play devil's adovcate - if there is a strike, a big blame will go to the owners for trying to save $1 - $3 million a year in team expenses (in the form of salaries). I don't think the players' union is asking for the moon.

QUOTE(#6):

Originally posted 10:11 AM ET  10.28 by D-Wreck

Did you catch the Garber interview on FFF? Wynalda and Nick Webster? Those two have to be the two biggest ass-kissing Alices this side of the Atlantic. I was happy to hear from Garber that MLS will be moving to a balanced schedule next season. But the two dodos asking questions did not press for an answer on the cap raising issue. When? How much?

I caught the interview off my TiVo ... the only reason why I recorded it was to hear what exactly Don Garber would say and how long it would take Wynalda and Webster to get on their collective knees - what was it, like 30 seconds?

"If we had a league table we wouldn't have had a weekend like we just did with all these teams trying to get in the playoffs," was Garber's answer to the league table question.

Here's the natural follow up question: "Wouldn't you want EVERY weekend to matter to American sports fans, like it does in most every football league on the planet?"

Here's the thought that came to Wynalda's and Webster's collective hollow being: "We better get in line and nod or else Fox will get rid of us next and we're already at the bottom of the footie food chain in North America."

they routinely fail to ask intelligent follow ups in interviews and answer caller and email questions sufficiently, FFF has become a joke

QUOTE(#11):

Originally posted 10:41 AM ET  10.28 by Zizou10

I used last year's minimum salary, my bad.My point is still the same - janitors at Gillette Stadium still make more than the dude 18th on the Rev's depth chart. And the main point of my post was Kraft tries to save money with his MLS team but $100 million contract extension for Tom Brady? Kroenke is percentage points away from taking over Arsenal but is likely part of the ownership group in MLS trying to not spend more money? Come on. That is what is frustrating - we have billionaire owners nickel & diming MLS while the other hand is spending boatloads of money in other business ventures.Honestly - let's play devil's adovcate - if there is a strike, a big blame will go to the owners for trying to save $1 - $3 million a year in team expenses (in the form of salaries). I don't think the players' union is asking for the moon.

oh i agreed with everything you posted, simply pointing out that everyone seems to use old numbers...

i agree that even 20,100 is still low and high school drop outs are capable of earning more then this....

i wish some more millionaire/billionaires would look at this league and see its potential :( there is so much more room to grow and still keep it rather profitable... there are ALOT of soccer fans out there in the US....ALOT

QUOTE(#12):

Originally posted 10:59 AM ET  10.28 by dynamo

"Wouldn't you want EVERY weekend to matter to American sports fans, like it does in most every football league on the planet?"

ah but if you'd note that this season proves every weekend does matter....

The Fire gave up 2 2-0 leads early this season... given that and BigBird's kick to Conde's head that resulted in a gift PK to CLB and the Ref giving Rolfe a yellow instead of a PK, this season could have very well been different....

every team has similar examples....

a loss in the 2nd week makes a HUGE difference if you are wanting your team to win the SS (which is the league title in my books)

QUOTE(#13):

Originally posted 11:03 AM ET  10.28 by Pawn

they routinely fail to ask intelligent follow ups in interviews and answer caller and email questions sufficiently, FFF has become a joke

such is the problem with reporters and MLS/USSF....

you never want to bombard them with hard-hitting questions... if you do you get "black-sheeped" by everyone higher up... this is why our Soccer coverage in the states is weak... USSF/MLS blackball the media despite the fact they claim to want more :-/

QUOTE(#11):

Originally posted 10:41 AM ET  10.28 by Zizou10

I used last year's minimum salary, my bad.My point is still the same - janitors at Gillette Stadium still make more than the dude 18th on the Rev's depth chart. And the main point of my post was Kraft tries to save money with his MLS team but $100 million contract extension for Tom Brady? Kroenke is percentage points away from taking over Arsenal but is likely part of the ownership group in MLS trying to not spend more money? Come on. That is what is frustrating - we have billionaire owners nickel & diming MLS while the other hand is spending boatloads of money in other business ventures.Honestly - let's play devil's adovcate - if there is a strike, a big blame will go to the owners for trying to save $1 - $3 million a year in team expenses (in the form of salaries). I don't think the players' union is asking for the moon.

yeah, I think they'd be more than able to raise the minimum pay to 100 grand. I say 100 grand because in some of the areas teams are located (NY, LA, most guilty of this), 100 grand isn't rolling in the dough, but is a respectable & comfortable wage for chasing a dream.

QUOTE(#17):

Originally posted 11:28 AM ET  10.28 by BuffaloTF

yeah, I think they'd be more than able to raise the minimum pay to 100 grand. I say 100 grand because in some of the areas teams are located (NY, LA, most guilty of this), 100 grand isn't rolling in the dough, but is a respectable & comfortable wage for chasing a dream.

That would be grat, but think about what that does to the overall salary budget. I can't see the league bumping up the cap that much.

You know how I wrote that bit yesterday about an imaginary conversation between Garber, Stern and Selig? I'm beginning to wonder if sometime like that actually happened.

QUOTE(#13):

Originally posted 11:03 AM ET  10.28 by Pawn

they routinely fail to ask intelligent follow ups in interviews and answer caller and email questions sufficiently, FFF has become a joke

Like not knowing the Eddie Johnson DOESN'T play for Cardiff anymore and is back at Fulham.

Like saying EJ hadn't played a game for forever when he had just played that weekend.

Like not exploring the specific benefits of raising the cap with GArber--and finding out what the new cap is likely to be (or not even asking).

I think the show has its moments of fun, but it has some problems too.

And what about the call screener? They have some real morons call in too. Like the guy who thought LD should play defensive middie for Liverpool, or "wouldn't we be the best team in the world (USMNT) if we had 11 Donovans." I'd say our CBs would look like Keebler elves.

And what's with the chick with Flabby arms? Is her "hottness" suppose to make me want to watch the show? And I'm starting to seriously think that Nick Webster knows next to nothing about American soccer or American soccer history.