After a month and a half of speculation concerning the future of USMNT manager Bob Bradley, yesterday he grabbed the torch and jumped into the legendary gauntlet which no American manager has ever before successfully negotiated: the English Premier League. Fellow American Randy Lerner has assigned Bradley the daunting task of succeeding Martin O'Neill at Villa Park!
Just kidding.
After a month-and-a-half-long job search, after prodding the managerial job market in Europe (but with "no opportunities at this point"), and after heavy rumors linking Jurgen Klinsmann to the USMNT post, Bob Bradley has signed on with the USMNT for another four years. This one is true, as you know.
I love this news.
Enough from me.
-John
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
New deal with Adidas
An Associated Press article came out yesterday on ESPN.com, reporting that Adidas and MLS signed a new eight-year contract that will run through 2018. The article suggests the deal is worth more than $200 million (according to "a person with knowledge of the deal"). A favorite site of ours, Footiebusiness, also has a nice article on the deal, which includes more information than the AP one.
Specifically, merchandise, equipment, uniforms, and increased advertising comprise the deal. However, the fact that MLS has a renewed strong partnership with Adidas is good for other programs too, as well as the league generally. For example, neither article mentions the Generation Adidas program, but Don Garber's statement that Adidas has "a clear vision for the sport in North America," and that it "[sees] MLS as a cornerstone of that vision," suggest that Generation Adidas has a reasonably healthy near future.
Footiebusiness also references this surprising (to me) statistic in this article in the Sports Business Journal: annual MLS merchandise sales have increased 600% over the past five years, topping out at $300 million most recently. The article then answers the first question that came to my mind: for how much of that jump can we directly thank David Beckham? Only $300,000 Beckham revenue dollars were made, but it's unclear by the text whether that was just in 2007 or to-date. Let me do some math...600% over five years made $300m, which means five years ago there were $50 million in merchandise sales...so that's a $550 million increase over five years, only $300 thou of which was directly from Beckham. That tells a pretty damn good story for the rest of the league. Or maybe Beckham's influence has been greater than Grant Wahl would have us think, in terms of raising interest in the rest of the league.
Anyway, merchandise is one of three major sources of revenue for most of the soccer world (the other two being gate and TV). While TV has been dispairingly flat over the past few years, and attendance has been up and down (down last season, up this season), it's good to know the league's merchandise sphere is doing this well.
-John
Specifically, merchandise, equipment, uniforms, and increased advertising comprise the deal. However, the fact that MLS has a renewed strong partnership with Adidas is good for other programs too, as well as the league generally. For example, neither article mentions the Generation Adidas program, but Don Garber's statement that Adidas has "a clear vision for the sport in North America," and that it "[sees] MLS as a cornerstone of that vision," suggest that Generation Adidas has a reasonably healthy near future.
Footiebusiness also references this surprising (to me) statistic in this article in the Sports Business Journal: annual MLS merchandise sales have increased 600% over the past five years, topping out at $300 million most recently. The article then answers the first question that came to my mind: for how much of that jump can we directly thank David Beckham? Only $300,000 Beckham revenue dollars were made, but it's unclear by the text whether that was just in 2007 or to-date. Let me do some math...600% over five years made $300m, which means five years ago there were $50 million in merchandise sales...so that's a $550 million increase over five years, only $300 thou of which was directly from Beckham. That tells a pretty damn good story for the rest of the league. Or maybe Beckham's influence has been greater than Grant Wahl would have us think, in terms of raising interest in the rest of the league.
Anyway, merchandise is one of three major sources of revenue for most of the soccer world (the other two being gate and TV). While TV has been dispairingly flat over the past few years, and attendance has been up and down (down last season, up this season), it's good to know the league's merchandise sphere is doing this well.
-John
Monday, August 30, 2010
Revs fall to Union, Jankauskas out?
Revs lost to the Union on Saturday. The Revs were pretty bad and so were the Union. Neither team did anything to win the game. Not many chances on either side. A pretty bad soccer game to watch. From what I've heard there were a few those this past weekend.
According to zerozero.pt Jankauskas has left the Revolution to return to the Lithuanian league. Sometimes zerozero gets these wrong but they're pretty reliable for the most part. Keep a look out on the Revs official site over the next few days to see if this is legit.
Spanish league started this league. My pick is Real Madrid. You can't bet against Jose Mourinho. Lets see how Malaga does, Jesualdo is now the coach there. Lets just say he and Mourinho do not get along very well.
Wigan with the big win this past weekend. Good stuff.
Look for this site to improve over the next couple of months. Me and John plan on making it a full site before the end of the year.
-Andrew
According to zerozero.pt Jankauskas has left the Revolution to return to the Lithuanian league. Sometimes zerozero gets these wrong but they're pretty reliable for the most part. Keep a look out on the Revs official site over the next few days to see if this is legit.
Spanish league started this league. My pick is Real Madrid. You can't bet against Jose Mourinho. Lets see how Malaga does, Jesualdo is now the coach there. Lets just say he and Mourinho do not get along very well.
Wigan with the big win this past weekend. Good stuff.
Look for this site to improve over the next couple of months. Me and John plan on making it a full site before the end of the year.
-Andrew
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Braga!!!
On Tuesday Braga advanced to the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in the club's history. They did this by defeating a Sevilla team that has been a regular in the competition. This is a huge win for Braga. It's a small club in a city with less than 200,000 residents. The club's administration has done a great job the last 5 years or so managing the club's finances. Unlike most other clubs in Portugal, Braga is not heavily in debt and tend to live within their means. From a financial perspective this win is huge. I'm not sure how much they're getting for qualifying for the group stage. I've heard as low as 5 million EUR and as high as 15 million EUR. Lets say it's 10 million EUR. For Braga that's a lot of money. The team's salary is well below that level. The club stands to make even more money via the gate and could advance to the next stage of the competition. They got a good draw, Arsenal, Partizan, and Shakhtar Donetsk. It won't be an easy group but it's certainly within their reach to qualify for the next round. I hope they do and that they can use these new funds to cement themselves as a regular competitor for the Portuguese championship. ABOLA is also reporting that Hugo Viana is close to leaving Valencia and joining Braga on a free transfer. He was on loan at Braga last year and was a big part in their drive for the title last year. His addition would be a big boast for the team.
Sporting was able to travel to Denmark today and overturn a 2-0 loss at home with a 3-0 victory to move on to the next round of the UEFA Cup. I didn't see that coming.
Porto was also able to advance. They have played very well thus far.
Should be a fun year over in Europe.
-Andrew
Sporting was able to travel to Denmark today and overturn a 2-0 loss at home with a 3-0 victory to move on to the next round of the UEFA Cup. I didn't see that coming.
Porto was also able to advance. They have played very well thus far.
Should be a fun year over in Europe.
-Andrew
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Bradley to Villa?
One more thing. Bob Bradley told Sky Sports recently that his people contacted Aston Villa about the managerial vacancy there. It's all very cloudy, because neither the caretaker manager at Villa nor Bradley himself has taken a hard stance. Personally, I want Bradley to stay at the USMNT post for four more. It would be cool to see him at Villa, and it would be cool to see a fresh face coaching the US, but I think once the novelty wears off I'd like most of all to have Bradley be the guy at the helm of my most selfishly held home team.
Stu Holden didn't really get into the game this weekend until an hour into it, and overall was a peripheral figure (by get into the game I mean find his place in the game; he did start). Good game though, Bolton 3-1 West Ham. Altidore played about 15 minutes for Villarreal in a Europa League game. I didn't see it, but he better get some playing time this season. It'll be hard at that club. Very very important season ahead for these two.
-John
Stu Holden didn't really get into the game this weekend until an hour into it, and overall was a peripheral figure (by get into the game I mean find his place in the game; he did start). Good game though, Bolton 3-1 West Ham. Altidore played about 15 minutes for Villarreal in a Europa League game. I didn't see it, but he better get some playing time this season. It'll be hard at that club. Very very important season ahead for these two.
-John
Playoffs?
"What's that? Uh-- d-- playoffs?? Don't talk about.....playoffs?? You kidding me? Playoffs??" Ahh, the soothing sounds of Jim Mora. It's the only Mora track I have on my iPod.
As Mora's Indianapolis Colts fell short of the playoffs in 2001, so it looks like the Revolution will in 2010. What is it-- 8 straight seasons they've made the playoffs under Nicol? Something like that.
The Revs have lost their last two, after going 8 straight games without a loss (which included 3 wins and a draw in the league). It was bound to end sometime. They sit 6th in the East and 13th overall, with ten league games to go.
I expect Nicol to prepare his team for the defining game of its season on September 1, the SuperLiga final. It's at Gillette (I can't make it, but it's nice that it's a home game). It's also the game that will most likely decide whether they win anything this season. Not that anybody cares that much about SuperLiga, but the Revs have been able to at least partially salvage otherwise lost seasons in this fashion a few times recently, by winning SuperLiga in 2007 and the US Open Cup in 2008. It's something, and I hope they win it, but I think it would look much better as an accessory than as the main attraction in the trophy cabinet, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, I've missed the last two Revs home games for other personal commitments. Andrew and I will both be at the game this weekend, and with a pretty big crowd. Can't wait. I'm really excited to see Philadelphia, even though their record isn't good.
-John
As Mora's Indianapolis Colts fell short of the playoffs in 2001, so it looks like the Revolution will in 2010. What is it-- 8 straight seasons they've made the playoffs under Nicol? Something like that.
The Revs have lost their last two, after going 8 straight games without a loss (which included 3 wins and a draw in the league). It was bound to end sometime. They sit 6th in the East and 13th overall, with ten league games to go.
I expect Nicol to prepare his team for the defining game of its season on September 1, the SuperLiga final. It's at Gillette (I can't make it, but it's nice that it's a home game). It's also the game that will most likely decide whether they win anything this season. Not that anybody cares that much about SuperLiga, but the Revs have been able to at least partially salvage otherwise lost seasons in this fashion a few times recently, by winning SuperLiga in 2007 and the US Open Cup in 2008. It's something, and I hope they win it, but I think it would look much better as an accessory than as the main attraction in the trophy cabinet, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, I've missed the last two Revs home games for other personal commitments. Andrew and I will both be at the game this weekend, and with a pretty big crowd. Can't wait. I'm really excited to see Philadelphia, even though their record isn't good.
-John
Saturday, August 21, 2010
MLS Salaries, KC, New DP
The MLS players union recently released an updated listing of salaries which includes two of New England's most recent signings. You can check them out here MLS Salaries. Lets take a look at the Revs.
Two names that jump out are Jankauskas ($240,000) and Colaluca ($133,000). If Jankauskas were healthy he might actually be worth the salary. But as we all know he hasn't been. The Revs have paid him a pretty big salary to sit on the bench hurt and watch games from the sidelines. I'm pretty sure his contract runs out at the end of the year. I will always remember Jankauskas for what he did in the Champions League, but as a Revs fan I'd have to say that they shouldn't resign him. Colaluca is in the same boat as he hasn't been healthy for most of the season. Again, cap space tied up with a player who isn't healthy.I'm a bit surprised by Alston's salary ($124,000) since it's only his second year as a pro. Did he sign a 1 year deal as a rookie then get a good second contract? No surprise that the rookies are making the minimum. I haven't taken a look at the complete list but I assume that most rookies make the league minimum. I don't think we really discovered anything new about the Revs through this list. They have some significant cap space being occupied by players who aren't healthy. One thing I'd like to see when these lists are released would be to have the years remaining on the contract next to the salary as we'd get a better idea of cap flexibility for future years.
Revs were in KC tonight and lost 4-1. Always tough to play away mid week and then play away again a few days later. I'm not a big fan of Gibbs on the left side. Not his fault as he's always been a center back. But, he may be the best option at this point as it seems Nicol has lost confidence in Sinovic. The Revs are going to have to go on a pretty impressive run to finish the season if they want to make the playoffs. It's going to be tough. It starts on Saturday with a must win at home against Philly.
San Jose announced the signing of a DP, Giovanni. The Brazilian has played for teams including Barcelona, Benfica, and Hull City. He's a good player on the wing. He's very fast and skillful. He's solid in the air. I haven't seen his salary but I'm going to assume it was on the lower end of what a DP gets. Something around 500,000 - 700,000 a year. I'd say it's worth it for that money as he's a good player who's going to improve the team and help the team win. He's not going to sell tickets like a Marquez or a Beckham (a specific population or casual fans), but he's going to improve the team's play which can help draw in fans who follow the European leagues but not MLS. Signing players like Giovanni will help raise the quality of games which will help convert these soccer fans into MLS fans. That's why I really like this signing.
I'd have to say that so far my Wigan prediction looks like pure genius haha.
-Andrew
Two names that jump out are Jankauskas ($240,000) and Colaluca ($133,000). If Jankauskas were healthy he might actually be worth the salary. But as we all know he hasn't been. The Revs have paid him a pretty big salary to sit on the bench hurt and watch games from the sidelines. I'm pretty sure his contract runs out at the end of the year. I will always remember Jankauskas for what he did in the Champions League, but as a Revs fan I'd have to say that they shouldn't resign him. Colaluca is in the same boat as he hasn't been healthy for most of the season. Again, cap space tied up with a player who isn't healthy.I'm a bit surprised by Alston's salary ($124,000) since it's only his second year as a pro. Did he sign a 1 year deal as a rookie then get a good second contract? No surprise that the rookies are making the minimum. I haven't taken a look at the complete list but I assume that most rookies make the league minimum. I don't think we really discovered anything new about the Revs through this list. They have some significant cap space being occupied by players who aren't healthy. One thing I'd like to see when these lists are released would be to have the years remaining on the contract next to the salary as we'd get a better idea of cap flexibility for future years.
Revs were in KC tonight and lost 4-1. Always tough to play away mid week and then play away again a few days later. I'm not a big fan of Gibbs on the left side. Not his fault as he's always been a center back. But, he may be the best option at this point as it seems Nicol has lost confidence in Sinovic. The Revs are going to have to go on a pretty impressive run to finish the season if they want to make the playoffs. It's going to be tough. It starts on Saturday with a must win at home against Philly.
San Jose announced the signing of a DP, Giovanni. The Brazilian has played for teams including Barcelona, Benfica, and Hull City. He's a good player on the wing. He's very fast and skillful. He's solid in the air. I haven't seen his salary but I'm going to assume it was on the lower end of what a DP gets. Something around 500,000 - 700,000 a year. I'd say it's worth it for that money as he's a good player who's going to improve the team and help the team win. He's not going to sell tickets like a Marquez or a Beckham (a specific population or casual fans), but he's going to improve the team's play which can help draw in fans who follow the European leagues but not MLS. Signing players like Giovanni will help raise the quality of games which will help convert these soccer fans into MLS fans. That's why I really like this signing.
I'd have to say that so far my Wigan prediction looks like pure genius haha.
-Andrew
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