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MLS needs to do everything within its power to retain its quality coaches. Carver has done a nice job with a somewhat limited group of players.

true... despite TFC not improving their standings in the league, they have improved overall... the problems are no DP, majority of the starters seeing intl' duty, and striker issues...

Carver should remain, and TFC should do everything to keep him...

QUOTE(#2):

Originally posted 12:12 PM ET  11.29 by Otergod

true... despite TFC not improving their standings in the league, they have improved overall... the problems are no DP, majority of the starters seeing intl' duty, and striker issues...Carver should remain, and TFC should do everything to keep him...

They struggled through the summer but really picked it up at the end. I felt that Carver got as much as anyone could out of that team and they kept pushing for a playoff spot until the last few weeks despite the summer nosedive. I'm not a huge Mo fan though, something tells me with all of that allocation money, DP slot and draft picks that he'll manage to blow it. Seems to be the Toronto way with their GM's

I'm no big fan of Brit coaches but Carver's got TFC going in a good direction. Give him time and judge him then.

We keep losing our star players

Increase the player salary cap and don't count a DP any amount against the cap.
This would improve every team.

The other thing would be to threaten relegation to any team not averaging more than 12,000 per game.

There are USL1 teams averaging that.

QUOTE(#6):

Originally posted 07:30 PM ET  11.29 by DS22

Increase the player salary cap and don't count a DP any amount against the cap.This would improve every team.The other thing would be to threaten relegation to any team not averaging more than 12,000 per game.There are USL1 teams averaging that.

increase the cap?? dont count DP to cap?? where does all this imaginary money come from??? yes i know the league is pulling in alot of money, but the fact remains is VERY FEW TEAMS ARE PROFITABLE..... keeping a slush fund is the smartest route to go about, especially if the economy remains the same....

relegation?? seeing as the USL and the MLS are 2 different organizations, i dont see this happening.... USL will NOT see themselves as a 2nd division, and NO MLS SIDE will ever ok the idea of relegation especially if they've paid the $$ to get a team.... its great that some USL teams pull that amount, but USL teams tend to be free to attend or pretty much free (incredibly cheap)... they make little to no money and in fact are teetering on shutting down....

It's like the National League and American League in Baseball, it's like the AFL and NFC in Football, they had to merge for the good of both. And honestly, the USL seems to be in a better position than MLS. Let me explain why:
First, they don't have the $40 million ownership fee
Second, they don't have the same salary cap restrictions or starters making $12K/yr.
Third, certain cities will never see a MLS team despite being soccer cities - Rochester being a prime example.

And they are more diverse in that they have the USL1 USL 2 and PDL.
MLS is stupid if they don't raise the cap and start clamping down on Kansas City and others who perpetually underfill their stadiums.

Beckham makes $5.0 million and only $400K counts against the cap, why have anything count?
It allows the league to encourage teams to pay the other 10 players more or incentives for better other players. Ditto for Blanco and Schelloto and Angel. Why count $400K against the cap when they all make much more than that?

$6.4 million = $400k x 16 is the most it would cost. This is a 20% increase. The cap has been $2.0 million for a few years, inflation?

the cap is in fact ~2.9M....

the primary source of income for the league is the expansion fee..... our sponsorships are starting to pick up, but our tv rights are crap and few teams are in fact profitable....

i am not saying that the USL will never be a 2nd division to the MLS, i am simply saying that at the moment, they see the MLS as competitors and not as allies.... eventually we will see a merge, its truly only a matter of time.... but we cannot force such an increase overall... we need to conitnue the growth of youth prospects, keep the income coming in and hope we hit a few more big sales like Jozy within the next few years if we hope to have any form of major increase in cap size...

end of 09' we will see a cap size increase and i wouldnt mind the DP rule you've mentioned, but some teams struggle to solidify a DP... some cities are not as grand to sell to quality talent.... i do not want to see aged past their prime large ego type of players.... and if this increase occured, im sure it wouldnt hurt the MLS's pocketbook.... a small increase, yet efficient one could improve the league overall.... but most people who whine about a cap increase are talking about increasing it by nearly a couple Million..

Yikes...the USL / MLS discussion...I want to offer my opinion on this...again. But I just can't.
There is honestly a compromise - it just will never happen.

1. Focus should be the Supporters' Shield - whomever wins the regular season is champion.
2. Reformat the MLS Cup (so all the American sports fans can have the playoff system) - Top 4 teams from MLS and top 4 from USL...group play or knockout - whatever.
3. Keep the Lamar Hunt US Cup - or whatever it is named or will be named...

That means you have the potential for a domestic "treble".

But those are all mute points considering there is also SuperLiga & CONCACAF Champions League. It would end up being too many games (maybe) and not enough money.

zizou- i agree the emphasis should be the Cup.... i like your idea on reformating the MLS cup as far as interleague playing.... however, this would force the point that the USL is equals to the MLS.... which the MLS will never accept, and quite frankly the USL wont achieve (in the near future)..... heres an option:

division 1- MLS
division 2- USL

Supporters shield should be the winner of the MLS
CL should be the top 4 teams of the MLS
Superliga should be the next top 4 teams
MLS cup should be the next 4 teams as well as top 4 USL teams

bottom feeders of MLS should get the USOC and be happy with that :P or perhaps take part in the Pan-Pacific cup XD

ok, now i know that truly downgrades the MLS Cup, but it is simply just a OVER-HYPED CUP....

QUOTE(#10):

Originally posted 01:03 PM ET  12.01 by Zizou10

But those are all mute points considering there is also SuperLiga & CONCACAF Champions League. It would end up being too many games (maybe) and not enough money.

those crazy "mute" points.....

do you happen to watch My Name is Earl?? :D