People pay in Toronto. There is ALOT of money in this city. Don't sell yourself short. There are many big name football stars out there with name recognition. It's not just about Becks, henry, and Ronaldihno. What about the others. MLSE can't get even one, while these teams are get 2 or three each. Csz they (MLSE) are not persuing it. If they did they would land one. Toronto has tonnes to do here, nightlife, parties, events, endorsements etc.Originally Posted by mmmikey
----Santos-----Mista------Barret---------
----------------Dero -------------------
----Peterson----JDG-------Labrocca---
--Attakora-----Cann-------Gargan--
Interesting comparison. I've heard that while Toronto is a great city to live and party NBA'ers are unimpressed with the relative obscurity they feel here vs Yank cities.
I think boban is barking up the right tree with more footballers believing the hype on TO and it's support.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
I really, really like that group of players. With Chad coming in off the bench for pace.if mista pans out , (aka being able to tap a ball into the back of the net). All we will need is a setup striker (not chad). Chad has has a million plus chances , and he missed 900,000 of them. We need someone who can beat 2-3 players and deliver a quality ball for an easy tap in (pablo vitti esque) We have labrocca for long precise balls. If Chad can hang up the striker boots and play out wide, focusing on his delivery, pace and awareness rather then trying to score we may just have a patchwork of a team here. As for peterson I've seen a glimpse of his service and it has some serious pace (so do his legs). If only he can hold off pulling on that invisibility cloak....
I had a dream last night.......
--------Santos--Mista---Dero---------
----Peterson-----JDG-----Labrocca---
--Usanov---Cann---Attakora---Gargan--
who plays a 3-4-3 anymore?
I spent many years trying to recruit top talent (not football unfortunately) to Toronto from foreign shores. For every place people seem to think TFC can recruit players from, I can give you reasons why the US is a better choice. Financially, varying tax rates, indexing, investment and other statutory issues come into play making it much more lucrative to ply your trade in the US over Canada. Then there are visa rules (and the ability to have them bent), marketing opportunities, etc.
It's not about who can offer the biggest contract (I've offered some doozies only to be turned down flat) but the most opportunity balanced with a good quality of life.
The truth of the matter is that regardless of how us Torontonians feel the rest of the world doesn't see us as a world class city with world class opportunities.
America has cache. Toronto doesn't.
Other than that, the hate-on for mlse sounds childish and ungrateful to me.
It's clear MLS and the other owners want the league to be as successful as other north American leagues like the NFL, NBA and even NHL.
With an expansion franchise in the NFL going for a billion dollars, that's clearly out of the reach of any owner in Toronto, but there's no reason why TFC couldn't be as successful as the Raptors or the Leafs.
Oh wait....
outside of playstation?
I agree re: the MLSE hate. I'll be the first one to start screaming that I want the next huge overseas signing to come to Toronto, but I know it's tougher than just throwing money at the problem.
My question is what else aside from money (which obviously isn't everything) do we have at our disposal as a remedy to this situation?
Half of these DP signings have blew up anyway. Juninho has been more of a factor than David Beckham.
For some of us our dislike of MLSE doesn't have to do with money. Not every company is run the same. Some companies are better than others, that's all. It's sometimes shocking that in a market as big as Toronto there's only one company willing to get into pro sports, so we have to take what we can get, but we don't have to blindly support them, we can look at them as critically as we do anything else. They run a profitable monopoly.
Absolutely -- they deserve to be criticized. All I'm saying is that it would behoove us all to entertain the crazy and outlandish notion that there might be more to us not signing Ronaldinho than just MLSE's greed.
yes there are many, but the only actual stars we have to refer to are the ones who are sigining in LA and NYC. you can't hold up a hypothetical player that would sign for toronto if MLSE just gave a damn. im no MLSE lover by any means (freakin hate them for the most part).
there is only evidence that top stars who sign for mls prefer NYC or LA. ill be happy if another star emerges, but i frankly am skeptical we can attract one on sheer fan support/multiculturalism alone. i certainly disagree that we have the financial benefits to rival those markets.
mobs don't like opposing viewpoints, they tend to string them up along with the real targets! :P
Fuhgeddaboudit. Toronto doesn't just have a marketing problem. It also has a reality problem.
It will always come in second to its most comparable peers in North America, Chicago and Boston. None of these three are in the same league as NY, LA, or Miami, which are global capitals of beautiful people.
Vancouver, Portland and Seattle have an ability to compete, for a certain type of person.
It's best not to dwell on this. It is what it is.
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
Agreed. People are really underestimating Toronto here. Yes, Toronto wouldn't able to get certain players like Beckham, but Toronto is capable of getting superstar players who are generally aren't hyped up like Beckham. History has proven that!
BTW I am still waiting on TFC to use Toronto/GTA’s multiculturalism in their advantage to get (better) players. Right now, this team doesn’t reflect of city (and its culture) at all and reminds an 2 tier team in GTA.
There is no doubt what so ever that Toronto does not have the same sort of appeal as NYC and LA but conversely, there is no doubt what so ever that money talks and that 90% of athletes will go play in the middle of a desert (as they have been doing in the middle east) if they were being offered enough of it.
Antoine Davis was pissed that his kids were hearing the Canadian national anthem at school instead of the star-spangled banner... so he left.
Agreed, BUT international (non-american) b-ball players love Toronto!
Do the Galaxy still share Home Depot with Chivas? If so, how would Ronaldinho feel about this ... is it standard practice for teams to share the same venue in other soccer playing nations?
Yes they do.
I am not sure why he'd care as long as he is getting his butthole filled with cash.
LOL ... yeah I guess that's all it would take for a guy left off the national team
honestly, i think its a better investment to build a top notch academy and develop the superstars ourselves. thats were the long term success of TFC (and Canada) lies in my opinion.
yes Heart of Stone...AC Milan and Inter being the most famous.
Agreed 100%.
But it will take time.
I don't know why you are making this issue when Ronaldinho currently plays for a team that shares its stadium with another.
Some of you are forgetting a fact or two about the MLS.
This isn't a league in which franchises compete for players completely independent of each other. This is a single entity league. The league has a vested interest in ensuring that, as a league, the business is profitable.
Do the math. The New York Red Bulls may have a profitable owner but the team itself generated just $10M in revenue according to Forbes (2008). They show a -$4.5M loss when it comes to operating income. They have no major TV contract and drew under 13,000 fans per game. Where's the money coming from?
They aren't getting Henry without help from the league in the form of allocation money. Allocation money is used to pay salaries and/or pay down the cap hits of those salaries to allow teams to conveniently go over the cap when it suits the league.
With expansion in Philly and a rumoured desire for a second team in NY, the league needs the DC - Philly - NY corridor to be a success at the gate and on TV. Just as Beckham's arrival sent the LA market afire and led to big expansion fees in Seattle, Portland and Vancouver.
Toronto is kind of in limbo land. Not a first priority for propping up by the league. There is no major benefit to get Toronto to "star" level at this stage. We sell out. Our games are broadcast on the biggest networks in the region and we are somewhat geographically isolated (in terms of close rivals).
Arguing about MLSE this or that is probably moot IMO. Big contracts don't get signed without allocation money support (to either pay them or pay down the cap hit to enable teams to go over it).
If this rumour is true, this is the Beckham replacement to prop up the west coast TV market.
Last edited by Pookie; 07-17-2010 at 06:57 AM.
Not a bad thought, but the rules state that allocation money can only pay up to half the cap hit of a DP. SO there are not millions flowing to NY to pay for Henry.
RBNY is a special case -- unlike almost any other team in the league, they don't need to make money. Like the Red Bull teams in racing and other sports, the entire budget is an advertising write-off. If they manage to ever break even , it will be a bonus. What's most important to Red Bull is that they have a glamerous, winning team, "proving" that "Red Bull gives you wings."
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
You are right... almost. The cap hit can be bought down to $150k.
Allocation money can also be used to pay for the salary as well.
MLS makes allocation money available for things like player transfers and poor performance but they also have a clause that allows for the provision of allocation money for "exceptional circumstances"
What's more is that the amounts awarded (outside of player transfers) are not made public. There is no limit on the amount of cash provided.
I'd agree with you there except that the Red Bulls have had this team since 2006. Winning, glamour and brand awareness haven't been part of their plans up until recent... a time which coincides with east coast expansion.RBNY is a special case -- unlike almost any other team in the league, they don't need to make money. Like the Red Bull teams in racing and other sports, the entire budget is an advertising write-off. If they manage to ever break even , it will be a bonus. What's most important to Red Bull is that they have a glamerous, winning team, "proving" that "Red Bull gives you wings."
---
As an aside, a juicy story line has the Henry transfer coming at no cost to the MLS in exchange for Barcelona being granted rights to either an expansion team (based on east cost, NY or Miami have been mentioned) or shares in an existing franchise (Philly has been mentioned). If that comes to fruition, it highlights that the Red Bulls themselves had little to do with the signing of Henry and that this was a league driven initiative.
well we have waited a while already, so may as well stay on the boat lol
According to a spanish paper he extended his contract at Milan until june 2011 so LA has to wait at least another year
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