By IVES GALARCEP
Some seven years ago, Clint Dempsey left Major League Soccer as a rising star on the verge of being special. He now returns to MLS as an established star ready to make the biggest splash by an MLS signing since David Beckham joined the league.
Dempsey is set to complete a move to the Seattle Sounders, with the MLS club agreeing to a transfer with English Premier League side Tottenham, sources confirmed to SBI on Friday night. He will be formally presented by the club on Monday. ESPN FC first reported the deal as being close to completed earlier on Friday.
NBC is reporting that the deal to bring Dempsey to Seattle is valued at a $9 million transfer, and a contract worth $8 million a year over four years. Both the transfer fee and contract would be the largest in MLS history.
Dempsey leaves Spurs after just one season with the club following an almost $10 million transfer from Fulham last summer. He managed 12 goals and six assists in all competitions with Tottenham during the 2012/2013 season.
The move is a surprising one for a player who only a year earlier had pointed to UEFA Champions League play as his leading motivation, but at the age of 30, and with a chance to make a big long-term move back to MLS, Dempsey ultimately have decided Seattle’s offer was too good to pass up.
Dempsey joins a Seattle squad struggling at the moment in a season that has seen injuries and inconsistency keep the talent-filled club from fulfilling expectations. The arrival of Dempsey immediately makes Seattle a legitimate title contender with arguably the most dangerous attack in MLS.
What do you think of this development? Shocked by the money being spent on Dempsey, or are you excited to see MLS spend that kind of money on an American star? Disappointed to see Dempsey leave Europe?
Share your thoughts below.
Barkley- That’s just tiurrible.. No Copa libertadors or any fun tourns for him to compete at a high level on this side of the planet. Just some good ol hard running & playing teams like the Union or fire on a boring Saturday.
I believe he’s in his prime & came back too soon. I personally want all of our USMNT players to strive to play in the best leagues & teams in the world. I understand people wanting us & our best USMNT players to support the MLS league a bit more,.. But let all the euro suckers do it before us for now. 🙂 .. France, England, Ireland etc are futbol nations, we are not. They have tons of players playing at a high level that they can afford players taking chances in the Americas. Yao ming??..I want to see our best players competing every weekend against the best in the world. And right now, MLS is not even close. Mexico, Argentina, & Brasil are a step down from Europe,.. MLS is 29847464 steps down. Want thing is for sure, I will watch a bit more MLS matches with DEPS on it, but still disagree with the move 100%
This is so sad. We’ve been waiting all summer for the start of the EPL to watch the best American soccer player vie for a champions league spot on a great team with some of the top talent in the world only to wake up and be bitch-smacked by a move a the Sounders. F#*@ you Sounders!
You have a loose definition of “we.”
I didn’t watch one Spurs match last year and was going to watch exactly the same number this year.
Maybe just speak for yourself.
We, the Dempsey fans. If you didn’t watch one Spurs match then you aren’t a Dempsey fan.
LD was pretty darn good in the 2010 World Cup (while playing in MLS)…I am pretty sure Clint will be just fine!
At first I was shocked (mostly at the power of twitter) and a bit dismayed…but the more I think about it, the more I love it. The face of US soccer playing in the US (and making huge $ doing it)—isn’t that great?!?!?! Just look at the people following this on twitter, look at the comments on this site and others…people in the US care about soccer and I think this will only help grow the game.
Clint will still score us some big goals in Brazil—so let’s enjoy having him home and try to catch a little MLS Fever—you just might enjoy yourself!
Anyone else think Deuce saw that abomination of a rap video and decided then to make the move, to help MLS with its sorely lacking emcee skills?
Please tell me it was all a bad dream…it was all a bad dream…………
I’m shocked. It’s a good move for PT and he will get to develop chemistry with EJ ahead of the next round of qualifiers and beyond, but I think he might be selling short his development.
As always, I’m cheering for him no matter who he is playing for.
Jozy is now our star in the EPL. Maybe Brek and others can shine as well, but no one else from the USMNT has the attitude and panache of Deuce. I will miss watching him on Saturday mornings. I understand the reasons, but I hate this move.
Let’s go Sunderland!
300 comments!!! Is this a record on Ives?!?!?
Isn’t this a GREAT move also because of the rest and fresh legs for the Cup in June!? How many top teams (Italy, Spain, Germany, Argentina, etc.) will have players with fresh legs because of the time off in Dec. Jan. Feb. and the first of Mar. ?
This is a HUGE win for Seatle, the USMNT and Deuce.
That determination will be results-based.
If he plays well, he the rest gave him “fresh legs”.
If he plays poorly, the rest caused him to be “out of form”.
It can go either way.
Two reactions.
One, on balance not at all clear whether this is, in fact, bad for the current WC cycle or not. He’s not a young pup who has to be in Europe to learn the trade, he’s already got the skills and experience. I’m skeptical that playing in a WC at the end of a long season in Europe will leave him “sharper” than having spent more time with the MNT and Klinsmann (e.g., January camp), entering WC rested, nearing mid-season form, playing 90 minutes of every game, and much less likely to be playing through injuries.
Two, who cares, if it helps develop US as a soccer country in the long run? Dempsey will be an icon. He is small town America, aw shucks, work hard and you’ll achieve… the American dream personified. With his combination of demeanor, backstory and resume, there isn’t another player in MLS as easy for youth players and casual fans in this country to relate to once they are introduced to him. If Beckham was pop star glamor, Dempsey is my son or yours 20 years from now. If MLS can’t leverage that into more fans, higher ratings, more revenues, more investment in youth development, and more young players dreaming of turning pro rather than dropping the sport when they get to college, then the lot of them should be replaced. He’ll be appearing in stadia across the country, going out into the community, plastered all over US media – THAT’s the way you expand a fan base, not by hard-core fans keeping track of him from a continent away. Can’t put a price on that in the long term, but I can in the short – worth more than a small, hypothetical increment of performance next year in a single WC by one player out of 23.
Welcome back, Clint. Good on you, Sounders.
Great post! 100% agree.
Who has the biggest smile on his face today……LD. Clint just made his whole I need time off to find the passion for the game vacation look a whole lot better…..the time off was not a step backward now….because if you think it was, then you have to say Clint is taking a step backward coming back to MLS…..Who is not smiling today JK…not because Clint came back to MLS (in a WC year) how much more is his game going to improve between now and June 2014?? No, JK is disappointed because it will be another 5-10 years before an American player from a top four league will have shot at starting in the CL group stage game…Here is hoping MB90 and ROMA get it done!!!!
Well I guess JJ at Schakle (SP?) is already a CL quality player but he to0 is on the back side of 30…MB90 just turned 26? What can he do in 4-5 years….
Go Deuce! Can you get good ribs in Seattle?
Try not to pee in your pants when Deuce scores golasos for the Sounders, Eurosnobs.
Those this mean Dempsey will now be attending camp cupcake? 🙂
Two thoughts. This is a good money move for Clint, and i suspect his family was a huge factor as well. Who are we to criticize that? Second, i don’t get this move for the Sounders. For less than half that money they could have bought a playmaker in the mold of Javier Morales or Diego Valeri or David Ferreira, which is the kind of player that they really need to get over the hump. The rest of the dough could be used for a top flight centerback
April fools
I’m sorta torn, on the one hand there is little question that the EPL would present better competition and thus required Dempsey to be sharper. OTOH, with all the new signings at Spurs, Dempsey may have seen less of that competition. On the plus side, it will help raise the level in MLS and will provide Dempsey almost a guarantee of playing time. From Clint’s point of view $8M/ year WOW!
Beating up on Southampton and Newcastle is not competition.
Getting smoked by Man U or Chelsea is not competition.
They beat Man U in Old Trafford and tied them at home.
No, the only thing that is not competition is stepping on the field against chivas usa and dc united.
My initial reaction(one second) was negative but the more I think about it, the more I like it from Dempsey’s standpoint. But the biggest reason i like it is that I don’t have to root for Spurs any more. Without Dempsey’s goals the team is going to struggle to score clutch goals this year. Forget the fancy big names the team acquired. Watch them struggle to score goals. Go Arsenal!
If Dempsey moves to Sounders, I wonder how many plastic sp*rs supporters give up the cock? #WhoAreYa
I love Clint Dempsey, but under no circumstances will I ever support Spurs – Dempsey or no.
Theat is a weird thing that happens when Yanks Abroad supporters see Americans on other teams. All of the sudden we are supposed to support Spurs or Sunderland or Anderlacht or whomever.
It’s dumb. I don’t care a whit about these teams, never have. Having an American on the roster doesn’t change that at all. Sure I want the Americans to perform well wherever they are, but I’m not picking what teams to support based on the fact an American happens to be on the roster or not.
Congratulations.
But not everyone has a vested interest in a specific European club.
So, some of the rest of us do pick teams that way. And no one is asking you to support a team based on whether they have Americans on the roster.
I grew up in a city without a NFL team, so I watch the games with more interest when there’s a player from Texas on the team because I’m a fan of guys who played for Texas. It’s not sacrilege to not have a specific team you support.
Lets face it, we get to a quarterfinal in Brazil, no one is going to care where Dempsey played this season.
I think this is going to be a great development for the US at the world cup. Let’s face it, if we’re going to do anything more than advance out of our group, we’re going to need a strong performance from Dempsey.
Now, he’s going to be playing on a team where he is clearly the star of the show, and he will be expected to take on a lot of the responsibility of getting results for his team. We’re going to expect him to be a leader at the world cup, and now he’s going to get lots of practice being the leader of a team.
Why is this a bad thing?
Didn’t like Dempsey before, more of a reason to dislike him now. Don Garber and David Stern should fight to see who’s a worse commissioner.
1:49 and making a comment like that? I’ll assume you’re drunk.
+1
It’s not about Europe vs America. It’s simple. Playing against top competition in England was good for him. Kept him sharp. The overall competition level here is just not at the same level, no matter how much you pretend it is.
Can’t blame him for a money grab….if those numbers are correct, then I can’t blame him. He failed at Spurs with his goal of reaching the champions league. He would’ve been planted deep in the bench this year. Instead, he found a sucker who would pay him this sick amount of money to get drilled by some Mexican team in the Concacaf Champions league….good for him. He’s going to be like Scrooge McDuck diving into his pool of money…am jealous…wish I was him.
He wasn’t in Spurs plans, and he probably wouldn’t be able to get on a team that was a real CL contender and have a guaranteed spot. At least being in Seattle he knows he’s going to get a lot of playing time heading into the World Cup.
With regards to MLS. MLS needs to get away from the NCAA drafting of players and develop there own youth leagues and teams. A youth league where the MLS teams can locate and work with coaches and get scouting information. Pick the pick of the litter or two or three.
It will be a long time before droves of 17 and 18 year-olds in the US will forgo college on the off-chance they can make a living at soccer. I know teenagers often think they are the exception, but most know enough to hedge their bets and get an education just in case they are not the next Bradley, Gavin or Magee. Major League Baseball has learned how to deal with NCAA and use it to watch a large number of players mature without needing to pay them. The NFL is even more dependent upon the NCAA. I think the smarter strategy is to convince the NCAA to extend the soccer season (that means extending it into the spring with meaningful winter training permitted).
Please no. College soccer is a wasteland and stunts the development of our young players. I think the trend you see is homegrown players signing after a year or two of college at most. College is fine for the future non-professional but that’s about it.
Haven’t you noticed the academies and homegrown players. MLS knows this and is on its way to making it reality but it doesn’t happen overnight.
I certainly, maybe the only one, hoping he would go to Schalke for CL play. Maybe a loan to a CL team? Definitely a step back in terms of competition. A head scratching situation. I wonder if this is even true or just a media circus?
Probably about 4 million and 2 million. He made some money in England.
Good for him and the MLS. His peak, as far as the EPL goes, was last year. His CL dreams were dead. His future was likely bouncing around from progressively weaker clubs on short contracts while his value drops, his coaches constantly change, not knowing if he’ll even start for teams that have little chance of winning anything. Not a great life for him or his family.
So it’s a step down, in the overall scheme of things it’s not that big of a deal. The man fought his way up the EPL and did a damn fine job.
The Klinsmann comments are ridiculous. It’s an honor and a privilege to play for your country, but it’s your club that pays your bills and takes care of your family. That’s always going to trump playing four World Cup games every four years.
How much was Dempsey making annually with Spurs? Fulham?
On another note, it is amazing how much misinformation there is about Holden’s current injury and previous injuries. Some sites say he hurt his left knee when it was clearly his right. Others say that this the third knee injury to the same knee. Video from the tackle with Jonny Evans clearly shows that it was his left knee. I don’t remember DeJong breaking his knee, but it was his right fibula. It is amazing that even Bolton newspapers say it was his right knee that was injured by Evans, but in this picture he is clearly holding the left leg. I realize that since the British drive on the wrong side of the road they might have trouble from telling their right from the left, but for crap sakes good the reporting get anymore shoddy?
If we really want to help soccer in America don’t spend $10M to get an American player back to MLS, but rather spread it around so that up and coming Americans who are making less than $50K a year won’t leave the first chance they get. The real problem with “Major” League Soccer is not that there aren’t enough stars, but rather that solid young players would rather play in the second division in Europe or above the Arctic Circle rather than stay at home. $10M could go a long way toward keeping them here. That said, Welcome Home Clint!
+1111111111111
Now this is the only real criticism of the situation, at least in my opinion. You have to start bringing up the minimum salaries.
Economics dictate how salary structures work; there is a reason why Dempsey is the highest paid player in the league and why only a handful of teams are close to paying anybody his wages. The marketing revenue alone from Dempsey will almost certainly make his move a financial net-positive, that cannot be said for boosting a couple of player’s salaries.
A salary cap is a good thing-American fans have the gall to think their team deserves a reasonable chance at success regardless of market size or location, that smart decision making, not money, should be the primary driver of success. You think KC would be filling up the way it is if there was a 30 point gap between 1st and 4th place? Unlike in Europe where some fans are more than happy to accept avoiding relegation, American fans expect more. I can name three teams that can win the EPL this year, probably 8-11 (even without playoffs) who could win in MLS. That’s awesome and only helps develop the game in the US.
If we accept that a salary cap is a good thing, then I see no problem with the salary differential. The alternative isn’t dividing that 10 million among all those players; it’s just EVERYBODY getting paid “peanuts”. The DP rule was designed to allow teams to increase the talent in MLS while intentionally limiting it to a couple of players to prevent big teams from overwhelming the competition.
Well said AlexH. I agree with this. US players taking off to Sweden, etc. need to stay in MLS and be paid better, as well as all the players for that matter.
But on the flip side, this league needs stars and that’s exactly what they got with Dempsey. He’ll probably be filming an NBC MLS promo tomorrow or the next day.
Dempsey will get more people to attend games and to tune it. As great as a player as Matt Besler is, most folks–even sports fans for that matter–have no clue who he is. People at least recognize the name Dempsey.
I agree with this, the salaries for a lot of MLS players is surprisingly low. League 1 wages is correct – and MLS is a far bigger league, in terms of attendance at least, than League 1. I think last year the average attendance was about triple. But a move like this enhances MLS and hopefully that will help raise salaries. I’d love to see a $100k minimum salary or something like that in the next couple of years.
Not suprised he came back to MLS, I always thought he would as long as he didnt have to come back to the Revs; not surprised he left Tottenham, he was a disappointment for them and not popular among the supporters there, most of whom seem to be relieved he’s gone.
I’m really surprised this happened NOW, I felt he would have spent anmother couple of seasons in England or somewhere else in Europe.
Neagle – Martins
EJ ——–Dempsey——–Rosales
————-Alonso——————-
Gonzo—Ianni—-Traore—-Yedlin
Your best 11 for the Sounders doesn’t include Brad Evans?
Nonsense.
The money is pretty crazy. This is a big step forward for MLS.
The only thing I’m bummed about is the panicked reaction of US fans here. I’m not sure I’ve ever been more embarrassed of our supporters. You people need to all step back from the ledge. Dempsey will be just fine. He can take all the things he’s learned in the Premiership and apply them week in week out now, which he would not have been able to do at Tottenham. And if he suddenly forgets how to play soccer, he will go to Europe on loan in the winter in any case. He will be just fine. The Nats will be just fine. Everything is fine. Nothing is ruined.
half of MLS is on League 1 wages. He’s going to be making 8 mil and be playing with guys making 100k.
Is this the MLS we want? Teams with huge money players playing with scrubs?
It’s probably not what Dempsey envisioned what his career would be like, but, prior to a World Cup Year and no guarantee of a WC roster spot had he have to ride the pine at White Hart Lane, he made a gamble to get more playing time, and more importantly stay relevant to the USMNT during a crucial time. With over a 133 million dollars coming to the Spurs from the Bale transfer, the writing was on the wall. There would be an infusion of younger, better, untested but cheaper players competing for the Deuces spot.
When Fulham got close to what they were asking for from the Spurs, for Dempsey’s services, the Spurs knew that, with Dempset pushing 30, they would not get a good return on their investment unless the Deuce had a stellar year akin to what he had at Fulham. He didn’t and the British press castigated him for it.
With AVB always wanting to shape his team to be not only in the style of play he wanted, but with the young players he wanted. Dempsey did not fit into those two categories and became expendable.
There would be several EPL teams in the hunt for Dempsey had his price been lower, but the Spurs, seeing a chance to come close to recoup their investment, gave the green light to the transfer.
While it is a boom for the MLS, you must wonder what the European press will make of arguably the Best US player returning to a League several rungs below the EPL.
Your analysis is complete crap. Your assuming the Spurs no what their doing. Villas Boas had a great run at Porto, was a disaster at Chelsea. You think actually know what he wanted. Dempsey was not always castigated in the English press last year. This is some recycled non-sense by misinformed boobs on this site. For crying out loud, he scored the game winner at Man U. That’s the first time Spurs have won at Old Trafford in 23 years. If you know anything about Spurs’ history you would know that the team has suffered some humiliating defeats there in the last two plus decades, including blow decent leads. Also Tottenham was one point behind Arsenal for the Champions League qualification. The roster was not as deep last year to handle Boas run in the Europa League and in England. The loss of Sandro really hurt their defense. As Dempsey sitting on the bench the whole year that is not something that anyone can predict. Clearly the money, the fan base in Seattle, and a chance to play with good players and for a good coach helped influence him. Plus if Dempsey is healthy he will go to back to Europe on loan come the winter. This is a big year for him to lead the USMNT in Brazil and he wants to be ready. Others like Bocanegra, Onyewu, and even Gatt should do the same. It would be better to have more of them than punks like the idiot in Philly who made a stupid and dangerous tackle in a friendly to satisfy his own ego.
Most, and I mean MOST of the UK press, labeled Dempsey’s turn at Tottenham as unsuccessful, but maybe not a failure. There were long stretches where Dempsey was not the first choice for the starting 11. Yes, Dempsey did score some big goals against some big teams, but in the crunch time at the end of the season when they needed the 3 points they never got, the onus fell upon Bale, Dempsey, Dafoe equally as these were the scorers that didn’t produce when needed.. Bale, who scored over 30 goals over the course of the season was let off, but I don’t think, at least in the eyes of AVB, that Dempsey was who they needed, and was allowed to leave.
AVB made a ruckus at Chelsea and was let go because of the fan faithful were really upset when he let it be known that players like Drogba were no favorites of AVB and could go elsewhere. He was dismantling a really successful team and made a lot of people including Abramovich very nervous. Add to the fact that he was not getting the results pf his predecessor and he was shown the door.
Unfortunately, for Tottenham and Dempsey, AVB’s penchant for disruptive acquisitions and departures have hit again. The Spurs failure to hold on to Bale, the keystone for a revival of the Spurs at the top European level has taken a serious blow. The Spurs are very vulnerable, will still not have the depth they need and have very little time to purchase new players this season with the money from Bale.
If there was a perception that Dempsey was unsuccessful or failed to live up to expectations at Tottenham, then the reverse is true also, Gone for next year are aspirations of Champions League football, and with the departure of Bale, the following season, the last for Dempsey under his contract, were dicey too.
Remember, the move to Tottenham was the raison d’être for Dempsey, all else was secondary
It may be a signal that the first “rat” to jump the AVB ship, has made the best move. Should Bale go, despite the strong objections and fight by Levy, AVB may very well go also, either by choice or demand, leaving Tottenham to rebuild….again, with another manager and different players but also with departing aspirations of Champions League play.
Dempsey’s move, you can say, was not because Dempsey failed Tottenham, but the that the Spurs failed him. No CL and rebuilding..again.
As one of the US’s premier players, moving back make sense financially where his cache of being one of the Premier League top players may translate into endorsements and jersey sales that may rival, at least in the US, those of Beckham. After all, Dempseys four year/41 million is on par with Beckhams 5 year/50 million deal (less endorsements)
At the very least he will not need to worry about playing time, not being forgotten by JK as he puts together his team for Brazil.
I do think Dempsey, watching the US team progress in leaps and bounds feels that there may be something in next year WC in Brazil, the sense that the US is building something special, and what a better place to be at, then at ground zero, the US.
I like it. He has hit his peak. How much better could he get? He’ll be playing leading into the world cup. I guess the question is whether he will be on the team in 2018. He’ll be 35 years old then.
I have been reading the press on SI and Fox. It is amazing how some of the so-called U.S. soccer press no absolutely nothing about European club soccer. Tottenham has a history of poor decisions at times when it involves a big star and his desire to leave. Daniel Levy gets completely unsettled. The Spurs are foolish for selling Dempsey. His play against Manu plus 12 goals and 4 assists was more than respectable. He had some off moments, but this is a club that will likely keep both Defoe and Adebayor. Come on Adebayor. The guy has huge talent, but compared to Dempsey he is a huge head case. Earlier the summer, Spurs tried to ship Sigurdsson who had just seven goals, but he still there. The Tottenham site lists Dempsey as a forward. He played there when Defoe was hurt. Most of time Sigurdsson replaced him late in games. Sometimes it was the other way around. Villas Boas rarely played two strikes. Rest assured by December they will regret this decision. I could easy see Villas Boas wanting to do a loan for Demspey in the second half when they want to make a push for that fourth spot. Everton will come calling too. The Spurs are mismanaged and Levy’s ego constantly gets in the way.
I completely agree. They are going to lose Bale. Letting Dempsey go makes no sense at all.
8 million seems very excessive. Not even bale is smacking that much in spurs.
Take a second and think….is the MLS a top league 5 league in the world? I think it’s time to say this is arguable and a strong possibility.
lmao
are you joking?
MLS is maybe a top 10. Nowhere near top 5
La Liga
Bundesliga
EPL
Serie A
Ligue 1
There’s five right there that MLS is nowhere near.
MLS could compete with Ligue 1 if the salary cap was removed. Ligue 1 isn’t that great and the soccer is fairly boring. They have three to four teams at the top and a lot of mediocrity. Serie A has six or seven good teams. Squads like Bologna are nothing to write home about. La Liga has screwed itself with a bad TV deal for mid-markets and horrible Spanish corruption at the top. Yes La Liga has more talent, but it is not very competitive.
But the salary cap is not removed. An MLS without a salary cap is a totally different and much better league.
But MLS has a salary cap so all comparisons of MLS with other leagues must include this reality.
But compare the teams in those leagues that have to compete with an “unofficial” salary cap. Evian vs. Nice or Getafe-Almeria are not such brilliant propositions.
a) the salary cap isnt going to be removed; b) French Ligue 1 is still a much better league than MLS, cap or no cap.
Posting it 6 times doesn’t make it any less of a ridiculous question. La Liga, EPL, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Eredivisie, Portugal… none of these are even arguably worse than MLS.
Maybe the top teams, but the lower teams in Erdevisie, Portugal, and Ligue 1 are easily on MLS levels.
speculation based on what… football manager? there’s no way to prove this and I personally dont think its really even close to being true.
You watching those Heracles -Roda games?
Take a second and think….is the MLS a top league 5 league in the world? I think it’s time to say this is arguable and a strong possibility.
not even close
uhhhhh….no
Take a second and think….is the MLS a top league 5 league in the world? I think it’s time to say this is arguable and a strong possibility.
Take a second and think….is the MLS a top league 5 league in the world? I think it’s time to say this is arguable and a strong possibility.
Take a second and think….is the MLS a top league 5 league in the world? I think it’s time to say this is arguable and a strong possibility.
Anyone think (besides the $$$) part of this could be how epic the crowd was in that World Cup qualifier? As a neutral MLS supporter I absolutely love the Sounders fanbase
I’ve definitely been swayed by the comments in this thread as to why it’s not a bad move for Dempsey, but I question whether it was a good move for Seattle.
Of course it’s great for their profile, and ticket sales, merch, etc.
But Dempsey doesn’t fill a need for them… he simply gives them another (probably their best but not by as much as we’d like to think) attacking option. Lack of offense isn’t the #1 reason Seattle’s on the outside looking in for the playoffs right now (Can’t say the same about my Dynamo though…)
Now this is a fair thought. By all means, question more and what it means for Seattle.
Sounders will decide if this was a successful move based on several criteria:
Tickets and merchandise sold.
Publicity.
MLS cup.
Supporter’s Shield.
Champion’s League.
Plenty of ways they’ll end up feeling like it was worth it.
Makes sense for MLS. What is the biggest thing that MLS needs to improve on that will catapult the league up a few notches? TV ratings. The TV contract is up for bid about this time next year. A big TV contract means more money to MLS and hopefully more invested in the league from higher salary cap, and continued growth in MLS academies. Plus just about every fan knows about Dempsey’s story and those that don’t will be told soon enough. If the transfer fee and salary are true there is every young player in America who now feels that when they grow up they can be just as good as Dempsey and can get a contract like this if not bigger. The 2nd most popular sport in America today for the 12 – 24 year olds is Soccer.
I think the people critical of Dempsey stint at Spurs overlook some obvious facts. He was tied for second in assists. He played well twice against Manu. He adjusted well and played a ton of minutes. Seriously their guy Levy is tripping ove his dick here. They like a lot of teams in Europe have no plan for building a team. They sign and sell players and have little continuity from year to year.
He played against Manu Ginobli? That’s awesome!
I don’t think people, on this board at least, are critical of Dempsey during his time at Spurs. That was a few idiotic British Spurs fans.
I don’t think people, on this board at least, are critical of Dempsey during his time at Spurs. That was a few *awaiting moderation* British Spurs fans.
People are freaking out too much. For me, this more show s the improvement of the league than any littleness on the part of Dempsey. I would love American players, like Bradley and Jozy, to come back to MLS at 30 or 31 are even longer more successful careers aborad than Dempsey, but as a US fan, even more than anything, I would love for US player to be able to spend their entire careers in MLS playing at a level that rivals anywhere, and this, I think, is a step toward that. Remember, the entire purpose of the MLS, at least for the fans, is to develop American talent. Thinking about it, what did Dempsey have left to prove? He more or less reached his level in Europe. If he was a starter for Real Madrid and made this move, sure I’d be scratching my head, but then I wonder how many people would be applauding that move?
*more than any littleness of Dempsey
**after even longer, more successful European careers
Love the move by Dempsey, always doing things his own way with no fear. Side benefit could be that at the next world cup he is in mid-season form instead of being tired after a long season.
The Eurosnobs are really out in force today. Look. If MLS is going to be a big league, then at some point the best American players need to come back and play in the league. A few years ago I was of the thought that national team players need to get to Europe as soon as possible, but I have changed my opinion on that. For a national team fan with a true long-term perspective, the growth of MLS is paramount.
And congrats to the Sounders fans who deserve this. I hate on the Sounders sometimes because they do have so many fans, but they are a big time club and do a lot for the league.
If MLS wants to be a superior league maybe they should make their regular season matter a bit more. Now it’s a meaningless regular season with playoffs! 8th seed vs 9th seed for the title! Total farce
Then go enjoy the European game. All US sports do this, why should MLS be different? There is also a salary cap, you want to whine about that too?
I’m not totally against the cap or playoffs. However, both of thoses have to be better executed than the current status quo. It degrades the credibility of our league the way the playoffs reward a mediocre season…
Point taken, but I have to ask the credibility in regard to what? If you are talking about MLS fan, fine, I agree. If you are talking European judges, I say who cares?, they are going to like it anyway.
*aren’t
BECAUSE SOCCER IS NOT THE NFL THATS WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nothing holds US Soccer back more than the Euroidiots.
I don’t know if I totally agree with that. Do the best Portuguese players play in Portugal? French players in France? Dutch players in Holland? Argentinian players in Argentina?
Obviously “American Exceptionalism” makes us think we are different than those countries, but at the end of the day every league in the world is a selling league to some extent minus 4, and even within those leagues most teams are selling teams.
If you were to tell me right now MLS in 10 years would have the equivalent quality of Ligue 1 pre-PSG and Monaco, I’d be ecstatic. I would also have no issue with our Olivier Giroud’s and Edin Hazard’s going to the EPL, etc.
“If you were to tell me right now MLS in 10 years would have the equivalent quality of Ligue 1 pre-PSG and Monaco, I’d be ecstatic. I would also have no issue with our Olivier Giroud’s and Edin Hazard’s going to the EPL, etc.”
When MLS started I thought we’d pass MEX within 15 years, and develop into a POR/NED/FRA style league where about 1/3 to 1/2 of the national team plays domestically [including a super-majority of U-23s], and we’d also be a clearing house for non-US CONCACAF talent. Which is basically what Liga MX has become.
This could be the watershed moment for the MLS. Other teams should follow suit and begin pursuing other top level players to join their squads. No more old guys, but players in their primes. Open up the checkbooks MLS owners and bring in the big names. The DP rule is there so use it for the betterment of the league
WTF COSMOS?!?!?!?!