Posted by

Aaron Nielsen ,

April 21, 2017 Email

Aaron Nielsen



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Earlier this month, Toronto FC President Bill Manning was on the Vocal Minority Podcast, whose hosts did an excellent job asking him questions regarding MLS, the Canadian Premier League ("CanPL") as well as discussing other soccer stories. To his credit, Manning was articulate and very knowledgeable about the game from an American perspective. So much so he seems like the next MLS Commissioner in waiting, and in similar vein to current commissioner Don Garber, sold the company line of how much he sees the game growing in Canada and United States. In the past I have written about MLS in what might be described as an American perspective. I’ve looked at the league as a whole, what it needs to do to be successful and monitored its growth as a business as well as a product. This was aligned with MLS, who have said by 2020 they wish to be one of the top leagues in the World. In the podcast Manning gave his own view saying he sees MLS as a top ten league, and adds MLS teams such as the LA Galaxy side with Beckham, Keane and Donovan would compete regularly in leagues such as Portugal, Holland, Russia and Mexico. As a business I like much of what MLS does. Although I do have issue with the league as a product, and I think what Manning and most American MLS fans think with regards to overall quality are kidding themselves. Highlighted by both Vancouver and FC Dallas’ elimination to Mexican teams in the CONCACAF Champions League, MLS clubs by the nature of how they are put together and developed would struggle in almost any league in the world. Weak players in MLS would be exploited by any foreign club, while what MLS calls their stars would never get the same performance opportunities (scoring, creating, etc…) in a game in another league like they get weekly in MLS. In my MLS preview I talked about a new direction that the league has taken this year regarding recruiting and scouting, a must if they wish to keep their increasingly knowledgeable fan base happy. Players like Almiron, Villalba, Martinez, Nikolic, Boateng, Colman and others, are interesting, against MLS tradition and are also younger players. The quality of these players doesn't compete with transfer signings in other top soccer leagues and this doesn't even take into account other countries own player development system. Using the English Premier League as an example, a single poor team in that league, such as a Hull or Sunderland, sign a greater talent of players as a club than the whole MLS. What MLS has been able to do is try to get the most from this product through marketing as well as, at least locally, create a monopoly on the product. This results in no direct comparison or competition regarding quality outside of tournaments such as the CONCACAF Champions League. This in many ways is an American way of life of needing to be number one, an example of recent politics of "Make American Great Again", assuming America was great to begin with. In comparison, the CanPL is completely different. The Canadian Premier League is not about trying to compete as a top league, especially in the beginning, but is about becoming and being viable. It is also about giving opportunities to people in Canada who love the game to be able to work in it professionally, and it is about providing a product in areas underserved, which in soccer is most of the country. Outside of Hockey, this has always been the Canadian struggle regarding sports, and even with hockey the NHL has very little directly to do with that sport’s success in our country. Why Hockey is successful in Canada is because it is a viable sport in almost every community. In Ontario alone, millions attend Junior Hockey games, more than they do Toronto Maple Leaf or Ottawa Senators games. Why Canada fails in the other sports has been the talent pool of players and being overshadowed by the American market for sports like baseball and basketball, which is not the case for soccer. We are all aware of how many people in Canada play the sport of soccer, and unlike the other premier sports, MLS is not the pinnacle sought after destination as is the case with other North American professional leagues. Added, unlike other sports, MLS soccer is not broadcast in Canada through accessible American television, so if TSN or Sportsnet elected not to show MLS games, most Canadians would have no clue the sport even exists. Circling back to the Vocal Minority episode, while I can respect Bill Manning for his views and opinions on the game in general, we have to take into account he is an American and pro MLS, so in reality despite being a spokesperson for Toronto FC, his opinion on the CanPL, or landscape of Canadian soccer, doesn't count for much. The main highlight from the podcast was the discussion of a CanPL team in Toronto. Manning’s main and overarching opinion about the CanPL and a team in Toronto were about how it should be a TFC II team, how they could field a competitive team, how it would be great for developing players for TFC, and how if another group put a team in the GTA it likely wouldn’t succeed and that TFC were most equipped for success. He also added the view that Toronto FC is good for Canadian Soccer and Canadian Soccer is good for Toronto FC. As is often the case with MLSE and Toronto FC, there is a disconnect with what they think or envision themselves to be, and reality. If TFC II’s record in USL is any indication, they will not be competitive. The team has been amongst the worst sides in the league, both in terms of performance on the field as well as attendance in the stands. Of all the teams in USL, it may not be a coincidence that the unaffiliated ones such as Cincinnati, Sacramento and Lousiville that recently have proven to be the most successful in the stands. It should also be noted that Toronto FC II played their home opener the same weekend of this interview, with only three Canadians in the starting line-up and an announced attendance of just over 500. Concerns about whether the team would be a priority should be raised, and if they are capable technically of building a competitive team, as in terms of looking at TFC, it wasn’t until they spent upwards of $100 million that they became a competitive team in MLS. With regards to developing players for TFC, Manning cites two American players, Alex Bono and Nick Hagglund, although in the same breath puts Canadian Quillan Roberts under the bus for not being good enough to play in MLS. Ironically, one would assume Roberts would be good enough to play in the CPL, but if not, then that even raises more questions regarding Toronto FC’s player development. In terms of the landscape of player development in the GTA, and TFC being best equipped, it appeared as though Manning is unaware of the several academies already developing top players, one of which became the top rookie scorer in MLS history. Sigma, Vaughan, Durham and ANB, for example, are all equipped technically to take players up to the professional level and any would be an ideal fit to integrate into a professional set-up. His view is that the CanPL is a minor /2nd League for MLS and went on showing his Americanism that he once wished the Canadian clubs could be a division in USL. His primary belief is that a CanPL team in Toronto would compete with TFC II, and that this is a bad thing. However, in a market the size of Toronto, if Manning had the best interests of Canadian soccer in mind, he would be for more clubs, academies, and opportunities for players to play professionally, not less. As I noted in a previous article, instances in world soccer where player development and opportunities became centralized, or limited to one source or destination, these initiatives failed to succeed. Throughout this portion of the interview, it becomes clear that Manning is outlining what is good for MLS, and Toronto FC in MLS, not what is good for Canada soccer or the development of the Canadian soccer player and I feel MLSE’s real concern with CanPL is the new league taking momentum away from Toronto FC and cutting into their perceived or desired monopoly of the market. Although an extreme view, my take is that eventually Whitecaps, Impact, and TFC could leave MLS and join the CanPL. I think there are many reasons why it would be a success, mostly financial, and truthfully I don't feel the Canadian teams, or specifically Canadian soccer, get much from MLS. Maybe Seattle and Portland provide added interest to Whitecaps fans, although outside of a few big names who might join the MLS, many don't play their away games in Canada anyway. Meanwhile, if the CFL salary cap at $5 million is any kind of precedent, that is more than enough to compete with MLS if the CanPL could ever reach that level. Now much of the league is still more talk than a reality, and until we get more solid information or an official announcement regarding the CanPL, its owners, financials and other news, it is difficult to give real opinions on what the CanPL will be or can become. Ironically, I feel if Manning is right that the CanPL becomes basically a minor league for the MLS, the league will fail, as we have seen with falling attendance with the Ottawa Fury over the last few years. For this reason I feel the farther CanPL steps away from MLS, the better. Although I do like the idea of Toronto FC II fielding a team in the CanPL and finishing last place to at least prove to Manning and Toronto FC management, at least in terms of development, they know neither about creating a winning team or being the best. Aaron Neilsen is a co-founder of Prospect XI (Prospect Eleven), a scouting network and online magazine dedicated to tracking/highlighting young players that refer to as "prospects" as well as their development pathways both within North America and worldwide. Follow PXI via www.prospectxi.com or on twitter @ProspectXI.