December 10, 2007 9:59 PM
No rest for Las Naranjas
By Jack Bell
The New York Times
2008 promises to be a busy year for the Houston Dynamo, the two-time defending MLS champion. The Dynamo, which played 43 games in 2007, will play in the new Pan-Pacific Championship in February, the United States Open Cup starting in April, the SuperLiga next summer, the Concacaf Champions League in August and 30 MLS regular-season games from the end of March to October. And Dynamo players are also likely to be involved in Olympic and World Cup qualifying in the Concacaf region.
December 11, 2007
6:31 AM
Bonji writes:
Yet MLS will not raise the number of senior players on the roster from 18. Houston will struggle in all competitions as a result.
December 11, 2007
7:58 AM
Malaga writes:
Agree with Bonji. This is the most pressing issue for MLS to address, it's being felt all over the league. You can't expand the playing calendar this much and expect the same quality from the top MLS teams. They just aren't that deep. I had this same conversation recently here in DC and the same argument came up, MLS needs to expand the rosters and proportionally raise the salary cap. We all understand the need for the league to grow slowly, but all of these added competitions have a cost that must be paid. That cost can either be monetary, or, if the money isn't paid, the cost will be in declining quality of play for fans of the MLS.
December 11, 2007
8:00 AM
Anonymous writes:
Agree with Bonji. This is the most pressing issue for MLS to address, it's being felt all over the league. You can't expand the playing calendar this much and expect the same quality from the top MLS teams. They just aren't that deep. I had this same conversation recently here in DC and the same argument came up, MLS needs to expand the rosters and proportionally raise the salary cap. We all understand the need for the league to grow slowly, but all of these added competitions have a cost that must be paid. That cost can either be monetary, or, if the money isn't paid, the cost will be in declining quality of play for fans of the MLS.