Steve Davis' weekly column, drilling down on five hot topics in American soccer
1. “MLS stadium era 2.0.” Yes, that’s a thing now
Whoever first coined the term “MLS 2.0” deserves a raise. A big fat one; probably a nice company car, too. Because it was the perfect, contemporary characterization of a modern league in motion, one emerging from adolescence, growing into its feet and developing into a genuine market force.
So let me be the first (maybe…?) to coin a new term for a sub-era within the larger era: “MLS stadiums 2.0.”
This will not portend such a sizable, universal shift – but this new day of brawnier, fancier MLS facilities will certainly help nudge the league forward in the bigger picture. The day of “MLS stadiums 2.0” will expedite a push into MLS 3.0 or 4.0 or wherever we are on that fuzzy scale.
Crew Stadium in Columbus (now Mapfre Stadium) started it all, and none of us can ever thank Lamar Hunt enough for his faith, building in Ohio without a spoonful of hard evidence that MLS would survive into the aughts. But it was bare bones, and necessarily so. Then came the Home Depot Center, followed by grounds in Dallas, Chicago, etc.
The league couldn’t grow without critical revenue streams that dedicated stadiums provided. Still, no one had a giant money tree. So generally, construction back in the day was what MLS needed and nothing more: no-nonsense structures that would do the job, providing a rock solid place to watch games while dislodging the league from renter status. The basic blueprint called for nice, functional facilities in the 20,000-seat range.
Now we’re in the period of the big shift, stadium-planning wise.
Orlando recently scrapped plans for its version of the “good, solid 20,000-seater.” Rather, the club’s emerging downtown ground will seat 25,000. Credit the organization for recognizing the opportunity and not playing it safe.
Toronto just completed its $150 million renovationat BMO Field. And if anything signifies “larger shift,” it’s this place: If BMO Field previously was a functional fishing boat, this new thing is a luxurious, gleaming yacht.
In North Texas, a $39 million makeover will include new locker rooms, a canopy over the stadium’s south end, new luxury suites – all in addition to the new National Soccer Hall of Fame Museum that will add heft to the stadium’s value and regard.
D.C. United is a different animal, landlocked into a smaller footprint and unable to squeeze more than 18,000 or so seats into its new stadium, still in the development stages. But United needs this so badly, so taking “80 cents on the stadium dollar,” so to speak, is the best alternative.
This dreamy thing set for Los Angeles reeks of LA style and opulence. And would anyone be surprised if they upped the proposed capacity (22,000) by a couple of thousand once final plans are complete?
The day of “MLS Stadiums 2.0” is about more seats, more bells and whistles, more zip, zing and “to-do.” And it is wonderful.
2. Khiry Shelton as Brek Shea starter kit – a good or bad thing?
When I look at NYCFC’s Khiry Shelton I think “Brek Shea.” And then I think, “There for the grace of God – or for better decisions – could go Khiry Shelton.”
There really are a lot of similarities. In a way, that’s good. And in another way, not so much.
New York City FC’s Shelton is 22, about three and a half years younger than Shea. Both are big fellows, attackers who prefer the wing, who can glide past defenders with apparent ease thanks to those lengthy limbs. Both are aggressive sorts who can muscle their way to goal when needed. Witness Shelton’s goal from Sunday, where he bullies his way between two DC United defenders to seal the deal at RFK.
Shelton even grew up in Central Texas, just like Shea.
Here’s the deal: right now, he is at about the same age where Shea made a bad choice. Following a breakout MLS year, Shea hopped the ocean to join Premier League club Stoke City for a fee of about $3.5 million. Long story short, he wasn’t ready. Plenty of people here said so at the time, if only quietly so.
You know the rest of the story. Shea was practically in witness protection at Stoke; what precious few minutes he did play abroad came during loan assignments. He mostly fell off the national team radar; now he’s not even in the top 40, apparently.
Back to Shelton. He’s doing great right now under Patrick Vieira’s tutelage at Yankee Stadium, already with 2 goals and 4 assists in 8 appearances. Given his attachment to Vieira, and given that he isn’t just excelling in MLS, but doing so in the league’s most visible market, everyone will notice.
If Shelton breaks out the way Shea did in 2011 (11 goals, 4 assists) and if Europe does come calling, perhaps he’ll be better prepared. The bigger hope: he’ll make a more prudent, more studied choice.
That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t go; it just means every situation is different. It means he needs to make careful calculations based on time, place, managers, opportunity, etc. Someone may dangle stacks of cash for a move out of MLS; “grab it” isn’t always the best move.
3. Word to coaches: designate a PK taker!
I know this goes against conventional wisdom in soccer, against the “unwritten rules,” but here goes: I have never understood why more coaches don’t designate penalty kick takers.
This is, of course, about that ridiculous scene from Columbus’ Mapfre Stadium,the child-like exchange between Federico Higuain and Kei Kamara as they quarreled over a spot shot. Captain Michael Parkhurst had to intervene. All of that is another discussion.
The point here is that Gregg Berhalter should have “pre-sorted” this one. He has said so a day later in a goodColumbus Dispatch Q&A.
He’s hardly the only coach who allows players to “work it out” on the field. National team manager Jurgen Klinsmann, for instance, handles it that way. The theory goes like this: “They are professionals … they can determine the best choice.”
But here’s the deal: They are also human. Which means they are fallen and imperfect.
And they are professional athletes. Which means they always believe they get the job done – whatever the job is. That confidence, that drive and brave determination, is precisely how they rose above the daunting percentages and joined the lucky few who play for pay.
But not everyone is a good PK taker! Higuain was just 14 of 20 on PKs for the Crew as he stood there, wrestling Kamara for the doggone ball. Most studies put the PK conversion rate between 80-85 percent. So, Higuain’s 70 percent rate (before Saturday), taken from a substantial sample (20 kicks) should have nipped this one in the PK bud.
But again, athletes are athletes, and ego sometimes trumps wisdom. Which is why managers should take charge and work this stuff out on the training ground. The “Order of PK takers” should be on the white board before every match, along with marking assignments on corner kicks and such.
Yes, confidence means everything in stepping up to the spot. You want a guy who is confident … someone who knows he is about to convert. So the designated taker can always defer. But it’s his call. And there will be no silly arguments.
More importantly, a team won’t lose a game because a mediocre PK taker insists on one more chance to get it right.
4. Time for some coaches to earn their bucks
A few coaches around MLS are about to earn their pay. And then some. Because there are few red-light flashing signs around the league that say, “Big ol’ honkin’ challenge for the manager – dead ahead!”
What Berhalter has at Columbus Crew is obvious: he’s trying to hold that locker room together against a tight tripwire of complete destruction.
Peter Vermes’ challenge is different at Sporting Kansas City, but no less daunting for a team that has lost six in a row. Thing is, sometimes you see a team and it’s pretty obvious: “This is a bad team!” But when I look at Sporting KC, I never see a bad team. So what’s wrong? I’m not sure … which is why I’m glad it’s not my job to figure it out.
Vermes seems to have some notion. Dig, if you will, this quote from the latest loss: “I think there were certain players who absolutely hindered us throughout the game … Unfortunately there were just certain people who really hurt us in the game tonight. They were terrible on the ball, and they just lacked the competitiveness that you need in this league to keep yourself in the game…”
Yikes.
Oscar Pareja has tough choices to make in FC Dallas’ midfield and in goal (well, he does once Jesse Gonzalez is cleared to play.) In midfield, Carlos Gruezo, Kellyn Acosta and Victor Ulloa all offer positive elements. But identifying the best pair to play behind Mauro Diaz has been surprisingly elusive for a team that’s giving up too many goals – and one that hasn’t score now for three games and change.
Bruce Arena has stumbled on a new formation, an unconventional version of the 4-3-3 that worked well enough in last weekend’s debut (a 4-2 win over New England.) But I’ve got a feeling teams will figure out how to exploit L.A.’s lack of defensive cover, so the dean of MLS managers will need to keep tweaking, keep finding new ways to get Gio dos Santos, Robbie Keane, Gyasi Zardes, etc. on the field in a functional arrangement.
And in New England, my heavens, Jay Heaps’ team is going nowhere fast if it cannot deal better with crosses. It was their Achilles heel coming into Sunday’s contest at L.A., and sure enough, it was their undoing in allowed a four-spot.
Heaps was a defender, don’t forget. This has to be driving him zonkers.
5. The Little Five
5a. Can Jermaine Jones make a serious league MVP run? He’s already missed six matches, and he’ll miss more (presumably) for Copa America. Then again, Robbie Keane was a finalist in 2013, and he started just 22 of 34 games. Given Jones’ impact, and as Tim Howard is en route and Colorado has a chance to go worst-to-first in the West (checks the box on “strong narrative,” especially in the year of all things Leicester), don’t rule it out.
5b. Every time I see A.J. DeLaGarza perform for the L.A. Galaxy, I want to name a new league award for him. You know how NBA has a “Sixth Man” award? Well, something along those lines … except more like “Most Useful, Versatile utility starter.” DeLaGarza can be trusted at left back, right back, center back or in either wide midfield position. He really is such a great figure to have around.
5c. We wrote extensively last week about Portland’s Jake Gleeson and backup goalkeepers. Was there any better example of “Doing it as a backup” vs. “The Expectations of a starter” than Gleeson’s work last week? Yes, the Portland Timbers’ backup, so good in Week 9, made some important Week 10 saves at Vancouver, but he also allowed two bad goals. This one especially.
5d. Things are moving in better directions at NYCFC. But there are still times when, in possession, City men decline to play a simple ball to Andrea Pirlo … reminding me that there are things in this big world or ours that I will never understand. (Seriously, he’s so smooth in keeping possession, so smart and sensible about it, they should always trust him. A ball at his feet, when possible, is almost always the best option.)
5e. If anyone knows why NYCFC has not already worked out a termination agreement with Frank Lampard, please tap me on the shoulder. Seriously, what’s the payoff for Lampard? The club hardly needs his “name,” especially as his “name” is fast becoming more bane than boon. The midfield is a disaster when Lampard and Pirlo get shoe-horned in there together. Lampard’s salary would easily buy the high-quality center back Vieira so desperately needs, with money left over, no less!
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.
