Dempsey to Seattle back story.....same old shaft for Toronto
Same ol' kick in the junk for MLS/Toronto fans.
http://deadspin.com/how-mls-made-sure-clint-dempsey-landed-in-seattle-1030615076
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soc...-sounders-mls/
Cringe-worthy quote:
Wahl's sources say "Toronto...accepted that it was better for the league if Dempsey were playing in a U.S. city."
Extrapolating that logic, it's better for the league if Toronto never wins an MLS cup and carries on happily buying tickets in our small market forever.....
So what you are saying is Dempsey would win us the league?
BTW, accepted in MLS terms usually means "we will let this one slide but we've got a deal coming we could use some help on".
The nice thing about that article is that it says we were one of the three teams Dempsy would play for. Does a lot to dispel the notion that no big name players want to come here.
Seriously, I just threw up a little in my mouth. How can the MLS cover part of the transfer fee to help one of the teams get a potential game changer? Isn't that tampering or some other legal term???
Unless the league is going to help us pay for effing Rooney or a player of that caliber then I am completely disgusted. But then, come to think of it, if they do then how would all the other teams (except for LA and NY of course for obvious reasons) feel and it doesn't help to keep tampering. MLSE has WAY more money to get Dempsey...holy FF!!!!
I'm completely gobsmacked after reading this.
![[NBF]'s Avatar](image.php?s=e16ff254d0f2e6a53146854fddfecd4c&u=1574&dateline=1515553264 "[NBF]'s Avatar")
HAHAHA.......
The haves and have nots. Just wait until the NYCFC starts to game the system in their favor.
Moderator
I like how the article throws that line in like it's no big deal.Originally Posted by Leafs 92/93
The league essentially insisted that Toronto drop their bid (because I highly doubt they "accepted" the league's argument about where he should play), and then helped pay Dempsey's transfer fee to go to Seattle? I understand that young leagues sometimes need to do strange things to ensure ongoing health, but good god MLS feels like they make up the rules as they go along sometimes.
- Scott
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
Not a big deal. Dempsey only brings off the pitch value for an American team. And considering the kind of money he wanted, you need him to help off the pitch too. He would not have been worth that salary here.
You omitted a key part with those ellipses: TFC is working on their own DPs. Maybe whoever they bring in will be a better fit, we'll see soon enough (I hope).
I do think it's cool to see that Toronto was up there with LA and Seattle as the top destinations. Shows we're still attractive to international stars.
Moderator
I don't think the fucked up part about this, has anything to do with how great of a fit Dempsey would have been here (or not). It's the idea that a team could essentially be told by the league, to drop their interest in the player, so that player can go somewhere else that the league determines is a better fit for their own designs. And that a news article about it, could throw this in so nonchalantly.
- Scott
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
The league pays the transfer fee, for now.
But I'm sure Seattle have set up a tradition transfer payment plan over the course of the contract to MLS.
Maybe the news article was so nonchalant because it's not a big deal? You're projecting a lot based on your interpretation of one word in the article ("accepted").
We don't know what priority TFC placed on signing Dempsey. Leiweke wants a big name, but Dempsey wanted Beckham-level money and he's not a Beckham-level name in Toronto. Again, the article mentions TFC is pursuing their own DPs. Maybe now or later there will be another player who is worth $24 million, we'll have to wait and see.
I'd like to hear what TFC brass has to say about this whole situation.
TBH - I'm not surprised Dempsy would be on a US team - Isn't he the national teams biggest star? Makes sense for him to be in the US - especially Seattle. He'll get more exposure there. Let's not forget, the way things stand right now, TFC viewership, both in the stands on on TV, is in on the decline; Seattle's isn't!
Geezus..... who do they think he is?
Does the "who are ya?" chant apply to this?
If you troll him, I fear what he will produce.
^ preach from the pulpit there bud. Lol. Guy hasn't even played a game yet and there treating him like the second coming of Pele or something. Lol
Moderator
They are excited. I wish I was able to get excited more often.
- Scott
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
I for one will be looking forward to seeing Clint on the pitch Saturday night at BMO Field. It is real treat to watch the best and he is one of them, having seen him play a number of times in person with the USMNT. I do want to the Reds to win no doubt but watching one of the best always makes the game that more interesting.
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
It's getting to the point now where the way this league is run is really starting to piss me off.
This league won't have any real legitimacy until the clubs within it are run by those clubs themselves. This episode is just a reminder of how rediculous the way this leagues works is. Its really hard to stay a supporter of tfc when you've got garber and co behind running things in their own secret and random way....
Well, I don't know, the United States is in a different place when it comes to their national team, and this is their captain. They ponder stuff regarding how far they can go in a World Cup when we dream of a hex. I think they're showing an appropriate amount of excitement.
He's got personality, if we troll I'm sure it'll be far more hilarious to Seattle than it will be to us. Just a feeling.
Either way, quality to the league is a good thing.
Its anything but random. Everything he does revolves around marketing and the growth of the league. He and MLS picks and chooses which teams can have high profile players. Can you imagine a hypothetical situation where Crosby was a free agent, the leafs have him close to being locked up, then Gary comes in and says you need to play in LA because we need the money for TV deals etc... What the league is doing is illegal, I'm sure they are violating some law, just no one gives a flying fuck because its MLS.
^^ you're right and we're just here to make sure the business might make sone profits from the business perspective. But you have to separate the business from the club support somehow or it will become more pointless inevitably..
Oh for sure it's a great thing for the leauge. And I'm really liking that a guy in his prime has come back. Makes it more of a legitimate place to come for other players.
I just love how they roll out the red carpet for these guys. Becks, Henry, Dempsey. You never know how this works out. Dempsey might regress and suffer from lack of talent around him.
Pretty sure he was surrounded with more talent in Tottenham and Fulham then he will be in Seattle.
Last edited by BuSaPuNk; 08-05-2013 at 06:26 PM.
this is an interesting read, although toronto didn't get fucked, portland did..
http://www.onceametro.com/2013/8/3/4...the-smell-test
http://www.onceametro.com/2013/8/4/4...e-still-stinks
they literally rewrote the rules to get him into seattle.
edit for addition of inappropriate signage:
Last edited by __wowza; 08-05-2013 at 07:22 PM.
It was embarrassing the other night in seattle, you'd have thought rinaldo was signed or something. Dempsey is no doubt a very good player but not an elite player. He only scored 7 goals last year. He's 30 years old as well a little past his prime I think. He'll still be one of mls top scorers next year but hardly worth 8 million bucks a year. He doesn't have the beckham effect either. I can't see people in mls coming out to see seattle now because dempseys plays for them now. MLS is a joke with their rules , we've known this here for a while now but people down in the states are now seeing it clearly as well.
Apparently the league has a war chest to spend on transfer fees for star players, and Dempsey falls in this category. So if TFC does attract attention of a star player, theoretically TFC can have access to this war chest too.
It is part of MLS's plan to drive up TV ratings when the new TV deal gets negotiated. MLS FO understands that TV stations need ratings to sell their product, and MLS has to drive up the ratings somehow. And Deuce is the star player... *shrug*
I don't like how this all end up playing out, but for MLS FO, it's more than just competition at stake... TV ratings is more important I guess, in order to make a profit.
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
really? 40k ppl were in stands to witness Dempsey's (rather comical) unveiling. I think you're underestimating the amount of buzz this has generated in Seattle and US soccer community
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
There would have been 40,000 there anyaways. He doesn't have the celebrity status beckham had most people in the US probably have never heard of him.
True on the SSFC turnout. True on not being a household name, he won't be appearing on any afternoon talk shows. But among US soccer people this has been huge and unleashed a massive discussion of MLS policies and practices. This is a good discussion to have.
MLS is chafing against it's own rules. But wasn't that bound to happen eventually in a growing, maturing league? A lot of these rules were put in place to prevent team failure and control expenditures. Now there are owners with deep pockets and eager to compete with each other.
I am looking forward to the next CBA negotiations. I get the feeling there are going to be some changes in how things are done. The question is how far-reaching those changes will be.
True but there are only 4 or 5 teams with deep pockets that can compete in that way. I think one of the reasons Dempsey mentioned Toronto is because he knows they have the money he wanted in salary.
The Don will make it up to us when the time is right.
I know the optics are cringeworthy at the moment, but at the end of the day, I think we deserve a better DP than Dempsey in Toronto.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
