The summer transfer rumour mill is in full swing now and some big names looking for a final big payday are in the frame for a move to the USA to ply their trade within the MLS (Major League Soccer).
Robert Pires, Robbie Fowler, Markus Hahnemann and Mateja Kezman are all ex Premier League players who have been rumoured to make the move.
Is it good for the MLS to bring these players over on megabuck pay deals when they have clearly had their best days? What value can they add to the team other than increasing crowd attendances for a couple of weeks until the novelty wears off? Obviously Beckham and Henry are exceptions as they were both in their early thirties when they joined LA Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls and have so far proved their worth.
Robert Pires for example is 37 - is he honestly going to be that much of a draw commercially and more importantly is he going to cut it on the pitch bearing in mind he was mostly sitting on the bench at Aston Villa before they released him.
If the MLS wants to improve the overall playing standard of the league they need to try to get players in their late 20's or early 30's and look at some of the current players within the English Championship, many of whom, I'm sure would be a success over there.
Lets face it, the LA Galaxy who have the most Premier League experience amongst their players would still only probably be equivalent to a mid-Championship team in England.
I suppose we have to remember that the MLS is still relatively new (compared to the Premier League) so I guess only time will tell to see whether the MLS will be of a similar ilk to the Premier League.
Current Players in the MLS with English Premier League experience Premier League Appearances in brackets Juan Pablo Angel - LA Galaxy (175) David Beckham - LA Galaxy (265) Jay De Merit - Vancouver Whitecaps (32) Didier Domi - New England Revolution (67) Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy (10) Terry Dunfield - Vancouver (1) Richard Eckersley - Toronto (2) Caleb Folan - Colorado Rapids (38) Theirry Henry - New York Red Bulls (254) Kasey Keller - Seattle Sounders (201) Carl Robinson - NY Red Bulls (6) Teemo Tainio - NY Red Bulls (88) Ousmane Dabo - New England Revolution (25)
Robert Pires, Robbie Fowler, Markus Hahnemann and Mateja Kezman are all ex Premier League players who have been rumoured to make the move.
Is it good for the MLS to bring these players over on megabuck pay deals when they have clearly had their best days? What value can they add to the team other than increasing crowd attendances for a couple of weeks until the novelty wears off? Obviously Beckham and Henry are exceptions as they were both in their early thirties when they joined LA Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls and have so far proved their worth.
Robert Pires for example is 37 - is he honestly going to be that much of a draw commercially and more importantly is he going to cut it on the pitch bearing in mind he was mostly sitting on the bench at Aston Villa before they released him.
If the MLS wants to improve the overall playing standard of the league they need to try to get players in their late 20's or early 30's and look at some of the current players within the English Championship, many of whom, I'm sure would be a success over there.
Lets face it, the LA Galaxy who have the most Premier League experience amongst their players would still only probably be equivalent to a mid-Championship team in England.
I suppose we have to remember that the MLS is still relatively new (compared to the Premier League) so I guess only time will tell to see whether the MLS will be of a similar ilk to the Premier League.
Current Players in the MLS with English Premier League experience Premier League Appearances in brackets Juan Pablo Angel - LA Galaxy (175) David Beckham - LA Galaxy (265) Jay De Merit - Vancouver Whitecaps (32) Didier Domi - New England Revolution (67) Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy (10) Terry Dunfield - Vancouver (1) Richard Eckersley - Toronto (2) Caleb Folan - Colorado Rapids (38) Theirry Henry - New York Red Bulls (254) Kasey Keller - Seattle Sounders (201) Carl Robinson - NY Red Bulls (6) Teemo Tainio - NY Red Bulls (88) Ousmane Dabo - New England Revolution (25)
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