A few thoughts to finish out the MLS Cup coverage from Seattle:
Talking Beckerman, Donovan, DPs and the potential new MLS playoff structure
■ I’ve long been a Kyle Beckerman advocate. Will he ever be a top-flight international for the United States? Probably not. The one thing his game lacks at that level is pace. That, combined with the fact that he plays a spot where the Americans are fairly deep right now means he’s probably only going to be a fringe fellow in the U.S. shirt. (By my reckoning, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber, Ricardo Clark and Maurice Edu are already ahead of Beckerman in the U.S. pecking order at holding midfielder, with passport citizen Jermaine Jones potentially cramming his way into that phone booth, too.)
But none of that shouldn’t diminish what Beckerman represents, that quintessential MLS bread winner – the kind of guy MLS championships are built around, as we see. Beckerman may be a league standard bearer in only one area, inexhaustible work rate. Otherwise, we would classify him as an above average MLS box-to-box midfielder, and I think that means more to the collective effort than people think. The guy tackles hard, he’s a quality passer, he’s fairly good in possession, he’s a good shooter from long distance and he’s a spirited leader.
Beckerman went from player to player Sunday evening just before extra time, slapping hands and offering and encouraging word. He was about to play perhaps the most important 30 minutes of his career, and he looked up for the job, with energy to spare and enough concern for everyone around him to ensure they had the tummy for the fight, too. That’s outstanding leadership -- and that’s a guy I’d want as a cornerstone if I were about to build an MLS side.
As more teams gain traction in the forming a real bond with supporters, winning MLS titles will be more important to more people. Only then will guys like Beckerman get their due. At the moment, guys who can deliver MLS titles -- but who may not quite be able to consistently elbow their way into the national team picture -- simply aren't appreciated the way they should be.
■ Landon Donovan, like David Beckham, had a muted nights in Seattle. Unheralded RSL right back Robbie Russell did a great job of matching Donovan’s pace while still managing to occasionally get forward himself. Plus, RSL’s hard-working midfield did a great job shutting off the supply of passes into Donovan on the left and Beckham on the right.
Should Donovan, one of the league’s highest salaried stars, have been able to stretch the game by himself? Maybe. The guy didn’t have his best match, for sure. But I’d say that had more to do with a pair of central midfielders who are average at very best, and their inability to deal with a RSL’s superior midfield. They just couldn’t command possession well enough to get balls to Donovan or Beckham in useful spots. Ten minutes into Sunday’s match, I turned to fellow writer Ives Galercep sitting next to me and said, “Can you believe a team that has Jovan Kirovski and Chris Birchall playing central midfield is playing in an MLS Cup final?”
Donovan blew the PK, there’s no getting around it. But I continue to be perplexed with the volume of general, ongoing Donovan bashing – and believe me there are plenty taking delight today in his momentary failure. Donovan takes big PKs all the time. He was 21 for 23 in MLS before Sunday. He’s 2 for 2 in the playoffs and he takes them in important World Cup qualifiers. So to suggest that he can’t perform under pressure is just silly, an argument presented without paying attention to those darned facts that sometimes run counter to a good old fashioned, embittered opinion. Players who take spot shots are going to miss occasionally.
Granted, though, it was a terrible time to have a bad moment from the 12-yard spot.
■ One of the dominant topics, apparently, in league owner meetings was this new proposal on determining championship sites. You can read a bit more about it in previous posts, but it’s basically that the highest ranked team among the pair of finalists will host MLS Cup.
I love this idea, and I think it’s going to happen. There’s just seems to be a lot of momentum in that direction. (Personally, I think they should seriously consider a two-week break before the final, which would help untangle the logistical challenges of arranging hotels and such on the fly before a final, would assist supporters’ travel efforts and would provide more time to “sell” the game locally.)
The game Sunday in at Qwest field really was fantastic theater. The place was bumpin’ and thumpin’ the way it should be for a final. Now, imagine what it would have been like if Seattle had been playing? Those fans are seriously in love with their team, and they were wonderfully engaged in the final. The event truly resonated in the Emerald City, which is stark contrast to past finals, to be frank. The owners noticed, and so did MLS commissioner Don Garber. I think images of the teeming scene and the big game feel in the days leading up to Sunday’s final will put them past the finish line on this new “higher seed host” proposal.
■ Speaking of the board of governors meetings, the big boys in the meeting rooms over the weekend were also expected to continue knocking around the idea of re-shuffling the deck on Designated Player rules. During their previous get-together at the All-Star break they talked about potentially adding one more DP slot per team, among other suggested DP modifications.
This may now be factored into the fluid calculus on the hot-button issue: DPs aren't delivering titles. Not much, anyway, although the sample remains small. Major League Soccer has now decided three titles in the day of the Designated Player. Houston won in 2007, Columbus last year and now Real Salt Lake. Only one of those had a DP; Guillermo Barros Schelotto fell under the designation last year.
RSL was the better side against Los Angeles on Sunday and last week against Chicago. Those two teams also happen to have the league’s most illustrious pair of DP Dandies, David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Around RSL, the team is the star. It’s a no DP zone, at least for now.
Despite the conventional wisdom, most of these guys really don’t move the attendance needle, Beckham and Donovan being the clear exceptions. Yes, someone like Thierry Henry would add fans in the seats, as would a few others. But most DPs that will land on MLS shores will increase the gate take only marginally, and only then by enhancing the overall quality and therefore continuing to add value to the greater product. Does anybody really think Jose Angel Landin will add more than few hundred folks per game at Houston? Or does anyone really think Luciano Emilio was singularly responsible for selling a bulk of seats this at D.C. United in 2009? Not if they know what they are talking about, they don’t.
So … if these guys don’t necessarily win championships and they don’t significantly amp up attendance, owners may be more reluctant to dole out big bucks to yet another DP. (Plenty of owners are already against this notion. It’s an agenda that has long been driven by the Galaxy’s big-spending ownership outfit AEG. Garber says assuredly that nothing will be decided until the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is hammered out. And who knows when that might be?)
■ Finally, here is what Garber said at halftime of Sunday's match about Montreal apparently taking the lead as the 19th franchise. (Garber hopes to have No. 19 on board by 2012.): "We are making progress. … Montreal is still the leading candidate. But we have got some work to do, most importantly, that stadium needs to be renovated and expanded. It's probably not suitable for an MLS team today. We are going to work with the Saputo family and the provincial government and try to make some progress in funding a renovation."
That would be three Canadian teams, by the way. Toronto is already on board – and spectacularly so – and Vancouver will join in 2011.
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