MLS' current CBA expires Jan. 31 and the new season starts March 6, but league President & Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott is confident that the new deal "will get done in time," according to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN FC. MLS and MLSPU officials "last met just prior to the Christmas holiday," with the next meeting "scheduled to take place on or around Jan. 20." Abbott said, "There will be enough meeting time to get a CBA done. It's just a question of agreeing on the principal issues." Carlisle noted the MLSPU "has staked out its two primary aims, those being increased compensation for players, and free agency." MLSPU Exec Dir Bob Foose indicated that the league "has formally responded" to about 75% of the issues contained in the union's initial proposal, but free agency "was not among them." MLSPU aims to "raise salaries for those at the lower and middle areas of the pay scale." The union's figures showed that the average MLS salary in '14 "was $207,831, but the median was $91,827." Galaxy D and MLSPU Exec Board Member Todd Dunivant contends that a broad-based increase "will also enable MLS clubs to compete with their Liga MX counterparts more consistently in international club competitions." Carlisle wrote the salary issue "is one where there can be considerable give and take," and it "seems likely some sort of middle ground will ultimately be reached." Thus, it is free agency that "will ultimately determine whether there is a work stoppage or not" (ESPNFC.com, 1/7).
DAYS & CONFUSED: In N.Y., Andrew Das notes in the past few days, the Galaxy confirmed the signing of Liverpool MF Steven Gerrard, U.S. men's national soccer team MF Mix Diskerud reportedly "entered discussions" about joining NYC FC, and talks by various MLS clubs were "reportedly taking place with representatives of two other national team players" in F Jozy Altidore and MF Sacha Kljestan. The "flurry of transactions and potential transactions capped an up-and-down week of news for MLS that began with the embarrassing announcement that one of the league’s biggest recent signings, Frank Lampard, had elected to delay his arrival for at least six months." Both Altidore and Kljestan were linked to the Red Bulls, "but neither is close to an agreement" (
N.Y. TIMES, 1/8).
FRANKLY SPEAKING: USA TODAY's Martin Rogers writes the Galaxy "could hardly have landed a bigger fish" than Gerrard "in terms of soccer celebrity." For MLS, the news "came at an ideal time, following Landon Donovan's recent retirement and the dispiriting announcement last week that Frank Lampard, headline signing of the incoming New York City FC franchise, would miss the start of his team's debut campaign." Gerrard's "off-field popularity and marketability" weighed into the deal, and his acquisition is a "clear signal of intent from the Galaxy that it won't be pushed around in the increasingly competitive market for star foreign players" (USA TODAY, 1/8). In L.A., Kevin Baxter wrote Gerrard choosing the Galaxy "furthers the team's reputation as the go-to franchise" for EPLers (L.A. TIMES, 1/7).
