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Just a quick note to point you to a couple of good reads since early this morning we presented you with Ruud "MKULTRA" Gullit's claims that US Soccer was holding the sport down so as not to make other sports in the USA look bad.
Gullit Makes No Sense - LA Times
New motivation ... and a Ruud awakening - Toronto Star
Here is a video care of Sky News of Gullit making the statements.
We are getting a weird feeling that the more Ruud is asked about MLS the more outlandish his statements will become.
REPORT: Reaction Around The League to Gullit's Outlandish Conspiracy Claims
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I actually think he's on to something.
Owners like Kraft don't want soccer to grow to big.
That may be true but that's an individual case. He is saying the whole league and US Soccer are conspiring to keep it down. That makes no sense.
Umm no the media is making no sense because if you actually WATCH the video he never mentions anything in reference to "American Soccer Organizers". That's just what Reuters put in brackets because that's what they assumed he meant by it. He's talking about the American public and media as a whole and the resistance/hostility to soccer in America from the traditionalists who the see the sport as a threat want to keep it in its place.
It makes a lot of sense. He couldn't bring in the players he wanted, he didn't really have control of the club. He wanted to trade Vagenas, but Lalas wouldn't let him. He wanted to bring in Solano, but the cap is too small.
The league IS holding back the clubs.
If you look at when Mcbride wanted to come to Chicago, why couldn't he sign with Chicago? Instead the league said NO, we want you to go to Toronto, forcing Toronto to trade with the fire. Ridiculous.
Even if you were to bring all the giant clubs from europe to the U.S. and have them play a season here, I dont think you have to worry about soccer bringing down the NFL, MLB, or NBA. Most people go to watch Beckham because he is a celebrity, not because they want to watch him play.
The league is not whats keeping soccer from growing. I bet if the USMNT were to make it to the World Cup final your see an increase in attendence in every MLS market. But even then all the other league would dominate.
just goes to show that bringing gullit in was a big mistake. He was out of his ming when he took the LA job and now he is showing it.
If you ask him the landing on the moon was an out take from star wars.
What was much more unstable a bit of 'reasoning' was the Gals ever making Lalas GM. Gullit was not likely to be successful in this young league with its very restrictive salary cap, but without a free hand or a GM who had a real grasp he never stood a chance.
Lalas out, Arena in as coach and GM with the supposed bump in the cap of $1.5 to $2.3 mil? Beck's should be a much happier guy next season.
Until Thorrington torches the Gals again.
It's not like Ruud hasn't made these types of comments before. He wasn't exactly loved at Newcastle or Feyenoord and seemed to blame everyone else for his failures. He is just not a good fit as a manager.
If the "they" is the NFL and MLB and the NBA, then he likely has a point. The statements are too vague to say that this is about MLS or US soccer. NFL's interaction and influence with the early days regarding collective bargaining and the Players Union make it clear that some in that arena do fear soccer being the next big thing at the expense of those sports.
The cap is already 2.3 million. It has not been 1.5 million in almost a decade.