When Mike Grella passed on the 2009 MLS draft, it was unclear where the Duke striker would test the professional soccer waters. It appears his quest for a professional contract has landed him in England.
Grella is on trial with Leeds United, and scored three goals in Leeds' reserve match against Barnsley on Tuesday. Leeds, once an English Premier League power, now plays in League 1, the English third division.
According to sources, Grella joined Leeds late last week and was in England last Thursday when the MLS Draft took place. Toronto FC, which was aware of Grella's Leeds trial, selected him with the 34th overall pick in the MLS Draft.
Grella holds an Italian passport, which allowed him to play in the Leeds reserve match. He is free to sign with the English club, and his Italian passport will allow him to sign anywhere in Europe he can secure a contract.
What do you think of Grella trying his hand at Leeds? Think he would have been better off in MLS? See him making it big in Europe? Think he will wash out and be playing for Toronto FC in a year?
Share your thoughts below.
It’s a bit different being full of yourself and arrogant on a college team compared to being in a pro side. Mike G then becomes the smallest fish in a big pond and it will take him at least a year or two of top level performances and good attitude to earn respect. The lad is only on trial, I’ve seen and heard of plenty of others who cause a splash in a trial game for the reserves or two, who were never heard from again. Given that we have Beckford, Luciano Becchio and Robert Snodgrass who have all been performing well, plus ex Premier League player Malcolm Christie (on a short term contract) and Tresor Kandol (on loan at Millwall right now), Mike G has a lot to prove to get in ahead of those guys. This season, the defence has been the issue, not the attack.
http://www.emfootball.co.uk/attend.html
As you can see, Leeds lowest attendance was 18,000 and the highest 33,500 giving an average at a shade under 25,000. As you can see, this is nearly 5,000 more than current League One table toppers Leicester City (also recently in the PL and like Leeds suffered as a result of financial consequences).
I have seen Mike G play 10 times over the past 4 years and above all I want to say this to him
“Good Riddance”
Seriously, you don’t want this guy on your team. He is the definition of a locker room cancer. He was good enough to act like that in college, but not in the pro.
I call it as I see it. I am being much kinder to MLS than Rodney Marsh was on Setanta Sports recently, who described the MLS as ‘semi-pro’. I think that was shortsighted and insulting, but MLS has a long way to go before it assumes a quality even comparable to the lower reaches of the Premier League sides. I hope it gets there – I really do.
Leeds might not have the wealth they once had, but most of the established senior players on the team are earning at least as much as the majority of MLS players – Most MLS players are on a meagre wage for their profession, not everyone earns like Beckham !!!
As for quality of players – many players have been signed from the Championship and League One who are performing in the Premier League, heck much of Hull City’s squad played in League 2 including their captain Ian Ashbee. Keith Andrews was signed by Blackburn from MK Dons from a newly promoted League 2 side and is performing OK in the prem.
And last – Fabian Delph, the talented 18 year old who is a product of the Leeds United Academy, has recently been wanted by both Fulham and Manchester United, the latter were willing to offer 10 million pounds for him, is proof that there is good young talent in League One. Also, top scorer Jermaine Beckford is wanted by a host of clubs in the Championship and some Premiership interest has been noted.
Players coming into the MLS from top European leagues are usually at the tail end of their career and they love the idea of the ‘American Dream’ more than the challenge of actually wanting to put their heart and soul into helping MLS develop. Trust me, if Beckham works out at Milan, he will be doing his utmost to get out of MLS.
MLS needs it good young talent to stay in the USA, I don’t have the answers on how they can do that as the lure of European soccer is huge. Even 2nd or 3rd tier European leagues have a level of support and tradition that is lacking from many MLS franchises.
I have nothing against Leeds and I think he made a good move but, all you Leeds supporters need to quit crying about where you could have been. Mismanagement and financial problems means the team wasn’t ran right. Congratulations you are now in a third tier league. Your comparisons of Leeds to MLS teams via 8 years ago??? doesn’t make any sense.
Oh yeah, well my NY Cosmos could have beat your Leeds team and we had larger crowds if it hadn’t been for mismanagement and financial problems.
I hope the kid excels.
Leeds are a 3 tier club because we had too sell all our best players after money mis-managment and after flirting with administration twice+ a 15 piont penalty last season, prior to that 2 european semi finals. this year a 4.5 million profit and a training ground second to none couple that with one of the better stadiums in the english leagues and an awsome fanbase + alot of english and european scouts come to leeds the lad could have picked alot worst places to play like the mls
@ A.S. my apologies as I for some reason thought Watford was in League 1 sometime during 2002-2006…bad example…
So…Jimmy Bullard (Posh), Matthew Upson (Luton), Micah Richards (Oldham)
etc..etc..etc..
To put it into perspective the current Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford was signed for £45,000 out of a conference (semi pro) team. If he can pull one third of this then he’s already making MLS money.
If I had the choice I would go to Leeds over 3/4ths of MLS clubs. The MLS has room to grow but if he can stand out in the lower divisions in England he can move up the ranks to better clubs and eventually find himself in the Prem either through promotion or earning a transfer.
By now it should be obvious to all that you cannot compare the level of play between MLS and Scandinavia English third tier Bundelliga 2 etc on the basis of who signs there. ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.
Until MLS is able to increase its pay level substantially anyone who can get a gig overthere will do so simply on the basis of the $$$$$ and not on the level of play. The only comparison is direct play and we only get friendlies that distort the results anyway.
Can any of our Leeds fans tell us how much he will sign for if it happens? I’m pretty sure it will be a ton more than the $33K MLS senior roster minimum.
“Where do you guys think that players like Ashley Young etc… came from? Lower divisions in England.”
Ashley Young never played in the third division.
If you look at the average MLS team, I’d say Grella has a much better chance of of starting in League 1 than in MLS. However, FC Toronto doensn’t exactly have an impressive stable of fowards so he definately would have had someplaying time there.
Leeds is a solid club to start your career at, no doubt about that. I think it is a good move on his part.
As far as all the tough guys vs. the whiners as it sounds, MLS is on par with the Championship. I’ve lived in Germany (5 years), Italy (4 years) and London (2 years) and I’ve followed footy for about 19 years. MLS is better than Seria B, Bundesliga 2, and League One.
Why do we argue this? every thread on every website argues this same thing.
Leeds attendance this year is averaging
14,500 many teams in the MLS have that number and more. Leeds would also have a higher salary than 12 of the MLS squads.
Hard to believe there are so many idiots posting here…Leeds United is giant club that only fell off the world map because of financial issues.
Grella is actually very wise to attempt to join Leeds because even if they do not get back to the EPL as quickly as they would like…it will get him seen by bigger clubs…Where do you guys think that players like Ashley Young etc… came from? Lower divisions in England.
Good for Grella….just don’t piss on the US when we want to cap you like Rossi did.
lol jonathan. jilted lovers pretty much sums it up. how dare grella try to make the most out of his potential.
some people need the WAAAAAAM-bulance on here
I’d have preferred Grella signed with MLS. IMO it would have been the better career move. But that doesn’t change that Leeds are no small club. They’re unlikely to stay in the 3rd tier much longer. And even if they do, 3rd tier players in England make about the same money as mid-level starters in MLS.
I don’t think any club is sending Grella to the likes of Munich or Villareal in the next few years.
I wish him all the success as long as he doesn’t end up playing for Italy.
Beware of scorned MLS fans! They’re worse than the most attrocious jilted lovers! 😉 You guys have to calm the f*ck down. People are not publicly criticizing your decision to work for company X,Y, or Z.
Thanks for the measured, intelligent post Martin.
To the MLS whiners – admit it, most of you didn’t even know who this kid was 3 weeks ago. Now he scores a hat trick in his first match in Europe and he’s making a poor decision for TRIALING at Leeds? God bless America.
how much would his wage be if he made it at leeds? i venture it would be more than what mls would lowball him.
Champions League Semifinal 8 years ago… so what? That’s ancient history. How does that help Grella NOW? They are in the third division, which I’d guess is worse than MLS (how many players go straight from the third division to Bayern Munich or Villareal?).
He definetly is good enough to play at a third devision side with no money like leeds, but that isn’t saying mutch. I mean if this kid really hates the mls so much and isn’t even planning things out than by all means try your luck on a shitty english team. I don’t no who he thinks he is fooling though because a team of that caliber is a step down from the mls as far as quality of play. But good luck to him.
I am a supporter of Leeds United. They are still a huge club and if they move back into the Championship, might well attract new investors who can take the club back where it belongs. Leeds are one of the better clubs in League One and could still make the playoffs as we did last season, only to lose in the final (if we had not been penalized an unbelievable 15 points penalty we would have had automatic promotion). Only 8 years ago we were in the Champions League semi-final, although things are obviously different now, given we’ve gone through 2 periods of administration and almost gone into extinction.
With no disrespect – MLS is getting better but League One is really about a similar standard. I have seen MLS games at Toronto and on TV many times and although the players are definately athletic, the skill level and pace at which the game is played is definately way below EPL or even Championship level. Most star players who come are at the tail end of their careers and wouldn’t make a regular starting place in an EPL team. Many players who have not made a big impact even at Championship level are enjoying careers in the MLS right now, such as Danny Dichio at TFC. Even though Leeds are in League 1, they are still atrracting crowds of over 25,000 most games and have had 35,000 for a couple of games, which is almost capacity and the only fans I’ve seen in the MLS which have the same passion are the Toronto fans.
Nice, I always liked watching him play.
just got back after seing my cousin play in leeds reserves tonight and just to ley folks know he had a good game and took all 3 goals well
Interesting, a club was in the Champions League semifinals 8 years ago, but so many here seem fit to crap on it. Probably the same ones who are in love with pro/rel.
http://www.leeds.vitalfootball.co.uk…e.asp?a=140039
There were a lot of scouts on hand at the Leeds match to check out various players.
No doubt Grella turned some heads with a hat trick MOTM performance.
What is it with all of the negativity and nationalistic diatribe? The kid scored a hat trick with a D3 team in England! Show him some love and wish him the best. Maybe he’ll develop into a very good player; and maybe not. Rest assured, if most of the naysayers that have commented here were offered the same opportunity and had access to an EU passport, they would take it and the probable bigger paycheck to play and develop in England. Doing so doesn’t mean you’re un-American or not talented enough for MLS.
College soccer can be crap but it does produce good prospects: Gooch, Subotic, Bocanegra, Ibisevic, Dempsey, Edu.. etc
It would be foolish to ignore it.
Leeds are looking to get good quickly. They have the fan base and resources to do it. They are no small team.
Yes it was a reserve game but that’s how everyone is going to start in their first game. With a hat trick, I think he’ll be with the first team soon.
Grella has a lot of talent. If he leaves his attitude back in the USA, he can go a long way.
he should go to MK Dons and join with “cap-him now” Jemal Johnson!
it’s sad to see players choose England’s third division over our own league.
played with him and c davies in some youth camps late in high school and always thought grella had more talent, but he is a doosh towards everybody on and around the field. if he channels that aggression he can be very productive.
leeds is a club with big history in England. They 3rd division because of financial mismangement rather than poor play. It wasnt that long ago that they were Champions League Qtrfinalists
Italian-Americans hate MLS!! (Rossi, Ferrari, and Grella)
This is what i am talking about, when people discuss college soccer, someone who is talented gets a trial @ a 3rd division team in england? This is crap and so is college soccer…its a waste, he’ll be in MLS within 2 years.
Um…Leeds is a great club, even if they are a bit down the ladder. It wasn’t THAT long ago that they were in the hunt for the Premier League title, and they will get back to the Premier League…I’d say in the next ten years.
Great talent, but I agree with Brian above–the kid easily has the worst attitude I’ve seen in a college player in 20 years (and I’ve watched a lot of ACC over that time). Constantly whines at his own teammates and coaches, gets in the refs faces. I hope the best for him, but I’ll take 5 days in the pool for when he gets a beating from one or more of his teammates. And maybe that will be a good thing.
hat trick in a the english third tier reserve match…hmmmm lets put that into perspective before jumping to conclusions ppl.
Mike Videira version 2.0.
Well done, kid. How could you not want to play at Leeds?
If his goal is to play in Europe, then it seems like he’s doing the right thing. Since MLS is relatively inflexible about letting players move, seems like signing an MLS contract is not the way to do it if Europe is your goal. If he can get playing time at Leeds seems like a good move to me.
THANKS IVES FOR THE UPDATE!
Even with the ‘head’ he might just be the typle of player Leeds needs .. ..
Noticed they gave him the #10 shirt for tonight .. ..
Might not be a very long trial at all .. .. Maybe two reserve matches before a contract is signed??
First of all.. the kid has an attitude problem in the highest order. Everyone knows anything about ACC soccer knows this. He can be a dick but he is very talented. I hope he does well but I also hope he gets his head on straight.
Leeds is a big club despite being in the third division. They went through hard times but seem to be on the right track. They pay well and will very surely be in the Championship within 3 years. Once there, it won’t be long before they contend for EPL promotion.
Leeds, Millwall, and Leicester City are clubs that are bigger then where they are currently playing.
Sort of like how Napoli was in Serie C.
It would be silly to pass on MLS for Leeds.
Some players just have their hearts set on playing European football. If he wants to make it work, he probably could. Either way, it seems like he’s impressing, so maybe TFC will miss out.
I can’t blame him for trying (I’d love to give it a try in Europe first), but I would have thought he’d have something a little more impressive than this when he made that choice…
Could we be seeing Lichaj (Aston Villa) redux? It would be intersing to see him take Leeds back up through to EPL.
Does he really have what it takes, or is this just another example of a dream at 20 y/o vice sound decision-making and guidance from those who mentor him?
If he wants to sit on the bench at a third division squad, by all means have at it.
He had a hat trick in the reserve match with Barnsley today.