Ex-Man Utd winger Cooke backs Premiership quality to join MLS

[profit89]

Ex-Man Utd winger Cooke backs Premiership quality to join MLS
tribalfooball.com - July 27, 2008

Former Manchester United winger Terry Cooke hopes quality players can be attracted from the Premiership to join the MLS's foreign contingent. Colorado Rapids star Cooke told evertonTV: "I want players to come over here when they're still hungry, in their late-20s. You hear rumours of people coming here but they're in their mid-30s. It's great, but really we don't want that. We want the league to get stronger, we want people with ambition and hunger still. We don't want people coming over here and taking a ride.
"Beckham obviously came at an age when he's still good enough to play in the best teams in Europe and he came over with hunger and wanted to make the game more popular over here."
Cooke is convinced the USA will soon become a world power.
"I can honestly say that a few years down the line the States are going to be one of the strongest nations in the world. Obviously the current generation hasn't been brought up with football like we are in England - because it has so many other sports to compete with - but as coaching and tactical knowledge improves over here more players are coming through.
"It's shown by the number of Americans in the Premier League now and also in other countries. Now Americans are starting to take the game more seriously we're seeing more money in the game and we're seeing a massive difference."

[Billy the kid]

Money will dictate what kind of quality players we get. As it is, the EPL players in their mid thirties that we get now are taking a pay cut to be here. Once their is a new collective bargaining agreement, we may get some younger players from top leagues here.

[TFCREDNWHITE]

Raise the SALARY CAP!! It should at least be 5 million a year!!

[Roogsy]

Raise the SALARY CAP!! It should at least be 5 million a year!!

Easy to say when you are not the one managing the business.

Because of business considerations, they are only able to raise the cap a nominal amount each year...that being said, I was disappointed the cap wasn't raised more this year.

However, we will not be seeing a real increase in the cap until the current CBA expires and a new one is negotiated with the players union.

[NF-FC]

To me the cap is not the biggest issue. Youth development is the key to upgrading the quality of this league. Bring in top notch coaches to train our kids (and coaches). Most teams have some sort of U20/U17 set up, but why not have b-squads aswell? why not have a regional U14 selects league? why not have youth futsol leagues? Hell, get involved with elementary schools and get these kids playing futsol in gym class. There is too much potential out there being wasted. I rather expand the North American talent pool then dilute the foreign market (driving up player costs at the same time) once we start producing better players, we can use a higher cap to keep them here, and if they are still too good for the league, the transfer fees will be more like 20 million instead of 2

[Shaughno]

To me the cap is not the biggest issue. Youth development is the key to upgrading the quality of this league. Bring in top notch coaches to train our kids (and coaches). Most teams have some sort of U20/U17 set up, but why not have b-squads aswell? why not have a regional U14 selects league? why not have youth futsol leagues? Hell, get involved with elementary schools and get these kids playing futsol in gym class. There is too much potential out there being wasted. I rather expand the North American talent pool then dilute the foreign market (driving up player costs at the same time) once we start producing better players, we can use a higher cap to keep them here, and if they are still too good for the league, the transfer fees will be more like 20 million instead of 2

Ding ding! Expanding the cap will only help short term IMO. You need to work on the grass roots stuff. Give kids something to aspire to.

Using TFC as an example...

Toronto FC First team
Toronto FC Reserves
Toronto FC Developmental Squad
Toronto FC Academy
Toronto FC Youth Teams

It's well on it's way, but there aren't the leagues in place to bring the youth into that level of competition yet. That's what they need to work on IMO.

[NF-FC]

my biggest fear is that even if the cap is raised, Joe America is going to want more money for doing the same job. Cause that's the American way!

[NF-FC]

To expand on my first comment, I really can't believe how neglected academies have been over the first 12 years of this league. The NCAA isn't the best way to develop Footballers. Most of these schools, soccer is way down the priority list as far as funding goes, so the proper coaching and training isn't there. We need programs dedicated to making professional footballers. with a population of 330 million, and the wealth to back it up, North America should be a fucking factory. These academies are relatively little investment for high return. Each team should be able to bring in 5-10 million a year in transfer fees, which in turn would help raise the salary cap.

[NF-FC]

Are you reading this Paul? There is money to be made here, MILLIONS!! I know your bosses love money. I'd expect to see TFC Academy grow every year.

[Beach_Red]

To expand on my first comment, I really can't believe how neglected academies have been over the first 12 years of this league. The NCAA isn't the best way to develop Footballers. Most of these schools, soccer is way down the priority list as far as funding goes, so the proper coaching and training isn't there.

So it looks like there are two choices - one is the academy stuff you talk about and the other is raising the profile of soccerin schools - from elementary through high school all the way to NCAA.

The profile is being raised steadily and will keep going. It would be very difficult to bring an entirely new sport system - for just one sport - when the academic one is in place for everything else in the US.

Besides, the success of the pro league in the US is really tied to NCAA - there was a time when both basketball and hockey were regional sports in the US, both trailing baseball and football by a long, long way, both looking to get TV network contracts and expand across the country.

What's that look like now?

[NF-FC]

So it looks like there are two choices - one is the academy stuff you talk about and the other is raising the profile of soccerin schools - from elementary through high school all the way to NCAA.

The profile is being raised steadily and will keep going. It would be very difficult to bring an entirely new sport system - for just one sport - when the academic one is in place for everything else in the US.

Besides, the success of the pro league in the US is really tied to NCAA - there was a time when both basketball and hockey were regional sports in the US, both trailing baseball and football by a long, long way, both looking to get TV network contracts and expand across the country.

What's that look like now?

Within the academy system, i wouldn't mind if players could opt out for university, but their rights would be retained by the club upon graduation. As far as the high school level, the funding and coaching just wouldn't be there on the same level as the academies.

[Beach_Red]

You're right, the two systems could work together. If players could opt out for university and still get scholarships, that would work.

I still think we're going to see some big changes over the next 10 years. It's not impossible that high school soccer will become more and more popular to the point that it will get the same funding and coaching as other sports.

Okay, it's hard to imagine Texas funding a high school soccer team they way they fund high school football or Minnesota funding soccer the way they fund hockey, but the idea isn't impossible.

I think someday people in the rest of the world are really going to regret getting the Americans interested in soccer.