It wasn’t Beckham’s fault, not necessarily at least, but this in turn (of course) led to a Galaxy squad that was poor even by MLS standards, Donovan, Chris Klein and Peter Vagenas not withstanding. In a team full of rookies, Beckham spent the second half of the 2008 season trying to do everything himself, and when things went wrong his explanation was that the overall quality of the team was just poor.

Tweaking the salary cap seems the only viable option to prevent squads from becoming top heavy like that, although in fairness clubs like Columbus who won the MLS Cup last year didn’t have that problem. Is it a problem faced solely by the Galaxy due to their own incompetence? If so then maybe things should be left as they are.

I think theres merit in making direct comparison with the premier league in its formative years. Consider that there were, I think, under 20 non-british players in the premier league when it first kicked off in 1992. For the first two or three years, the increased TV income didnt make a bit of difference to the dominant italian and spanish leagues.
The first few high-profile players who were enticed from those leagues were players at the tail end of their careers, happy for one last big pay cheque in a decent league. It was exciting that English football could get such players (Klinsmann, Gullit, Vialli) but there was an over-riding feelign that, despite this, they were here for the money.
Yet, it was their success that paved the way for the next round, who were closer to their peak and a bit more desirable (Bergkamp, Cantona) and the sea change began.

I appreciate that the presence of a salary cap might slow that rate of progress somewhat, particularly in the markets that might not feel they can support it, but even now its quite evident that there is a world of difference between attracting a Danielle Dichio and a player of Freddie Ljungbergs stature. Going back two years, it would seem implausible that a player like Ljungberg, by no means finished at the top level, would look to the MLS, but I have no doubt hes there because of the Beckham factor- having been convinced of the marketability of such a move, the rewards are evident.

So, in the short term, whilst Beckham is still there, the MLS is in a strong position to pick up other star attractions nearing the end of their career without feeling embarrassed about what the rest of the world thinks. The fact that the rest of the world is even looking, means that its working and more players will follow. To me, Ljungberg is the real attention grabber here, because hes clearly following a path- the fact a path has even been laid down is the key factor.

If the DP slots start being filled, then the pressure will begin to bear on the salary cap, to allow others in below it. There are hundreds of players being released in the UK right now who could do a good job, but would be frightened off by the wage structure. Use the DP rule to continue to draw the big names in, then the rest will follow.

It worked in England.

They should cut the all star game to East vs West rather then facing some European team, it just glorifies them and if the MLS loses it makes the league seem absolutely pitiful (even if it is, you want to keep the mirage it’s not!).

Another thing is trying to improve the level of play while increasing the amount of teams is going to be tough, but they have to expand, because if you don’t have a local team in places like Philly why shouldn’t soccer fans watch a higher level of play in Europe (which is exactly my situation, except i’m in the Southeast where we will not likely get an MLS team).

I also think the champions league is important for the MLS, to emphasize the global scale of soccer. There is no other sport that does that in the USA. To see two teams from different entirely leagues, different countries and cultures.. it’s a great thing, but I doubt the MLS would be on board because they are consistently owned out of the CL.

It is also a backdoor way of raising the cap, without actually raising the cap.