I'm going to be extremely busy today, so I don't have time to give the things on my mind the usual wordy treatment; instead, I hope to give you a few quick hit posts on various topics whenever I have a few moments to spit them out. Here's the first.
When it comes to securing investment in the future of American soccer, I suppose beggars can't be choosers. Although it may seem as though big money is lining up across the country to buy into Major League Soccer, you can never have too much interest, especially from people who know and love the game.
That's an easy answer to the question "Why is Don Garber asking English clubs to invest in MLS?", though it ignores the problems such investment would create. More than any other sports league on the planet, perhaps, MLS is constantly struggling with determining exactly what it wants to be. Stand alone top flight product (which would require taking the cuffs off but might mean instability)? Safe, locked down, investment with little risk but an excruciatingly slow path the relevancy?
But a minor league for our Anglophone cousins? Yes, I realize that one or two English clubs investing in MLS doesn't equal appropriation of the league; but it's a dangerous path to go down, especially in light of Chivas USA's struggles to tap into the massive existing fan base of their Mexican mothership. Can we take Manchester City's money without giving them a club?
There are few steps between what I fear could happen and what Garber is suggesting. There's no certainty English clubs will be scrambling to take him up on his suggestion. It's just a distasteful image, the commissioner walking around England with his hat out, soliciting for investment from abroad. The American game needs more Americans involved, not Brits looking to franchise their brands to the US.
I'm also curious how any of that would work with the restraints the league places on player movement and team spending. City would be okay with not being able to sell or buy a player unless the league says it can? Somehow I doubt it.
