Steve Davis' weekly column, drilling down on five hot topics in American soccer
1. Didier Drogba hates artificial turf. So what?
Some sour feelings surfaced last week as we learned that Didier Drogba would miss a few early Montreal Impact games, citing concern and distress over playing and practicing on artificial turf.
So Drogba will miss four of his team’s first five games as a preemptive strike against injury deterrence, not to mention a survivable mechanism for the long season ahead. Still, it didn’t sit well with everyone, and I get the argument: that there’s no “I” in team and all that! That he should earn his considerable pay like everyone else and help the team win everything it can, not taking nights off just because he can.
But mark me down as “100 percent OK” with Drogba’s choice and his personal antipathy on artificial turf.
First, we’re not talking about young Jordan Morris here; Drogba is no kid right out of college. The man turns 38 in a few days. A few MLS starters were literally in diapers when Drogba played his first professional minutes for Le Mans back in 1998.
Maybe on that youth team that you coach, maybe you can treat every player the same. But that’s not the way pro sports work; you absolutely cannot treat everyone the same. Drogba has earned the right to make a bold call like this one. Especially since he scored 11 goals in 11 MLS matches for the Impact last year – a jaw-dropping rate of production even the biggest Drogba devotees wouldn’t have bet on as he arrived into Montreal late in the season.
Second, if he skips ALL of the Impact’s visits to MLS grounds this year with artificial turf, we’re talking about just six contests. They just happen to be front-loaded on the schedule. So if the man can dodge further injury, he’d be available for 28 of 34 contests, which is fine.
Finally, given what Drogba means to the club, everyone around Stade Saputo should beg the Ivorian and Chelsea legend to do everything he possibly can to stay as frothy and productive as possible over the long haul.
Besides all that, he’s right. There was a time when playing on turf was Problem No. 28 or so around MLS. That is, there were more weighty issues to tackle, and choices on venues were sadly limited. Today, with most teams in complete control of their stadiums, the turf issue has crept forward in priorities. Today, five teams play on the stuff, which is five too many.
2. Did Oniel Fisher deserve a red card? Well, that’s not the question …
We can certainly talk about Oniel Fisher’s red card, one of the slightly controversial moments of MLS Week 1. Let’s just be sure to ask the right question about it.
See, referee Alan Kelly’s choice to eject Fisher for his two-footed lunge was the right one. Even Sounders manager Sigi Schmid conceded the point. So that’s not the question. Rather, this one is:
Will that exact tackle still be a red card in Week 4? Or is this one of those occasions where referees forcefully lay down the hammer in early matches, faithfully backing the league’s initiatives for the season, only to let things slide gradually and then end up in the same old place?
Let’s hope the former – but we should probably fear that it’s the latter.
Peter Walton overseas the league’s referees, and getting those “key match incidents” right (mostly the red cards and penalty kicks) is one of his critical initiatives for 2016. In this case, Walton and MLS were quite fortunate to have the league’s best referee (Kelly … it’s not even close, and that’s not just my opinion alone) in charge for this one.
See, it takes a strong, confident referee to make such a strong, bold call. Seattle in front of the home fans. Season opener. First half. Yes it was the correct call, but don’t fool yourself; most MLS referees wouldn’t have the guts to go there.
So here’s the problem going forward. Kelly was right – but unless the men in the middle stay faithful to the 2016 referees’ initiative, and stay strong, his choice will look like the outlier by Week 4 or 5. Then, when other referees don’t follow suit, even Kelly might have a harder time making the same choice next time. And then we’re right back where we were, with about 28 percent of red card fouls missed entirely, or spotted but incorrectly adjudicated. Those numbers are according to Walton, based on last year’s review.
So, let’s hope the referees stay strong; MLS will be a better, more watchable place for it.
3. Teams had better get the defensive transition right … or else
At one time in MLS, only a precious few could consistently, successfully hit the killer early ball out of midfield or a useful ball into advanced positions in the midfield. But every year MLS improves and (not coincidentally) the number of players with well-rounded skill sets improve.
So now, more holding midfielders aren’t just destroy-and-distribute types. Rather, they can destroy and distribute expeditiously – but they can also regularly hit some of those killer balls. The upshot is this: teams that can’t transition to defense quickly, or teams that don’t pay enough attention to shape – well-coached clubs don’t just worry about spacing on the attack, but simultaneously and constantly also ask, “What happens if we lose the ball right now?” – will be punished.
Watch a couple of examples. Watch here from Dallas and see how Kellyn Acosta immediately finds Mauro Diaz with a long ball into midfield. And watch as Philadelphia, caught way too high along the back line and without immediate pressure on Diaz, is immediately in big, big trouble.
How about this beauty of a springing pass from Toronto’s Michael Bradley, which puts Sebastian Giovinco in a great spot to run at the suddenly scrambling Red Bulls defense. Giovinco turned it into the offensive thrust that won the game for his team.
Here’s the point: teams that can’t get themselves sorted defensively after losing the ball, and in a big hurry, will be increasingly in trouble as quality keeps ramping up in MLS.
4. Magic Mike parties like its … 2013?
So Mike Magee isn’t all washed up after all. His second-half introduction and subsequent BMOC performance last week in L.A. was critical as the Galaxy pulled away from D.C. United to cap Sunday’s opening day across MLS.
Is it a surprise? Somewhat, perhaps, considering Magee had just 7 goals and 6 assists over the last two (injury interrupted) years for Chicago. At 31 years old, the safer bet was that he would never have anything close to that Magic Mike season of 2013; Magee collected a league MVP that year with 22 goals. With the injuries and drop in production, he did look a bit used up.
But, well, Bruce Arena.
The guy is waving his magic wand again. Clearly, he knows the vagaries and peculiarities of MLS roster assembly like no other. He’s like a Jenga master this way, with a five-star understanding of balance and equilibrium. In MLS, you need young and old. You need veteran and newbie, and you certainly have to be economical about it all.
And … teams need role players. This is where Magee and Arena are likely to combine beautifully this year.
When Arena summons a veteran at the right price, he’s usually looking for a role to be filled. It might be as a solid (but not spectacular) outside back on the cheap, a la Dan Gargan over the last two years or Todd Dunivant in previous years. It might be for a provider of locker room accord and veteran stability, a well-liked and respected type like James Riley or Frankie Hejduk in their final MLS go-rounds.
It might be as a late-match game-changer, someone to bang on tired defenses and win two or three games with dramatic, stoppage time goals. Perhaps you saw some of Alan Gordon’s work last year?
So, when Arena summoned Magee back to the Galaxy, making use of the league’s new free agency rules, he clearly knew what he was doing.
Arena has problems to work through. He’s got a goalkeeper in Dan Kennedy who hasn’t quite looked up to par just yet (and is injured now). He’s got a star man in winter (Steven Gerrard) who can’t seem to keep pace in MLS. And he’s got a Mexican starlet (Gio dos Santos) who just doesn’t seem to fit with the pieces around him.
Yep, The Bruce has issues to sort through – but having Magee around will provide some time and cushioning while he tries to sort out things.
5. The Little Five
5a. Maybe it’s just me, but if a huge club like Manchester United, playing in the long-established league, draws 600,000 U.S. viewers on a Sunday (on NBCSN), then the national MLS matches averaging 314,000 (on ESPN and FS1) later that day sounds about right. Not a bad start, I’d say.
5b. Maybe one day, just maybe, more of us will finally believe all these managers who say coaching in MLS really is a toughie. Not long after Houston’s Owen Coyle explained in detail why coaching in MLS ain’t exactly a picnic, along comes another highly respected figure out of Europe to parrot the sentiment. Patrick Vieira may not have as much managerial experience as Coyle, but he’s been around the block. He reckons coaching in MLS is tougher than coaching in Europe. They are hardly the first to say so, but the chorus grows ever louder.
5c. This is why MLS needs a little more flexibility in its TV scheduling: The Colorado Rapids, with justtwo national TV appearances scheduled for 2016, are suddenly a pretty interesting team to watch. Tim Howard’s reported signing and Jermaine Jones’ signed-and-sealed addition makes the Rapids way, way more attractive.
5d. These chats have become some of my favorite media staples. It’s the Washington Post’s Steven Goff chatting up Bruce Arena. (Which can also be said this way: the longtime dean of American soccer reporters talking to the longtime dean of American soccer coaches.) My favorite from this one is Arena’s quick take on perceptions that his club plays fast and loose with the MLS salary rules: “It’s stupidity and jealousy.” That is pretty much the most Bruce Arena thing ever.
5e. Two relatively young managers have a problem in 2016 they didn’t have before: managing expectations. It will be interesting to watch as Jesse Marsch in New York and Carl Robinson in Vancouver, both with good rosters and elevated expectations, handle things. Both lost at home to open the season.
Steve Davis has covered Major League Soccer since is first kick in 1996. He writes on-line for FourFourTwo and co-hosts the weekly radio show/podcast ESPN Soccer Today on 103.3 FM in Dallas. Davis is also the radio play-by-play voice for FC Dallas on 100.7 FM.
