Plinie19’s Definitive MLS Guide
Introduction
Founded in 1993 as part of the United State’s World Cup bid in 1994, Major League Soccer is the top tier of American soccer [football]. Comprised of 18 teams, 16 based in the USA and two based in Canada, the MLS is a growing league that is starting to attract some top players in the world. The MLS season is 34 games long and typically runs from March to November, and the league is split into the Western and Eastern Conferences. In typical American fashion, the team with the most points does not win the title of MLS Champion. Instead, the top 10 teams qualify for the MLS playoffs, with the top two teams from each conference automatically qualifying and the next 6 teams qualifying based on final league position. What this means is that one season you could see a playoff scenario with 8 teams from a single conference make the playoff, though that would mean that the other conference had an extremely poor season.
Squad Rules
Unlike European leagues the MLS operates with distinctly different squad rules which includes a hard salary cap enforced by the league. Team must register a minimum of 14 players; a maximum of 25 may be registered. Any player not registered may not participate in league games, but may participate in cup games. The default number of international players allowed to be registered is 7, however, teams may trade away the rights to an international player for 2-5 years or a permanent spot. The starting salary cap is $49,038 p/wk [£30,541 or €35,930]. This can also fluctuate based on how you set up your budget and the exchange of allocation money [transfer budget]. Also, MLS has a Roster Guarantee Day. On this day, July 1st, 2010, anyone who has not been waived has a guaranteed contract, thus if you release anyone after July 1st you are obliged to pay the duration of their contract unless they sign for another team. The MLS uses a waiver wire. This means that when you release a player prior to the July 1st deadline he will be offered to other teams, if someone wants him they can sign him otherwise he clears waivers and is released. Note that if a player clears waivers, his right could still be held by another club, meaning you would have to negotiate terms of exchange with his club in order to sign him, Ray Burse an American GK is a good example of this.
Contract Types
There are 3 types of major contracts in FM for the MLS.
1) Senior: These are your bog standard full-time professional contracts. They are hard capped by the league at how much you may offer a player p/wk at $5,750 [£3,580 or €4,214]. Any player can sign this kind of contract, but obviously it will be hard to offer this kind of contract to a large reputation player.
2) Designated Player: DP in the FM world, this is the cream of the crop type player, David Beckham and Thierry Henry type players. As of this year each team is allowed 3 DP on their roster. This contract is again capped by club and is set around $13,000 [£8,088 or €9,521] *this is for a team with a tight budget, Seattle. Richer clubs can offer more money for DP contracts.
3) Generation Adidas: These are the future superstars. In real life they are college underclassmen, not yet in their final year of college but good enough to warrant a high draft pick. These players are highly sought after because their contracts do not count towards your salary cap. Thus you can register a lot of them and remain in the positive for your weekly wages. You cannot offer GA contracts to Free Agents. The players who get this GA label can be found in the MLS SuperDraft at the end of the season and usually go in the top 5-8 picks. However, there are many players in the game on MLS teams that are on GA contracts so you can exchange players, draft picks, allocation funds, or International roster spots for them. The down side is that at age 23 these contracts run up and they must be offered a Senior contract at that time.
Drafts
There are two drafts throughout the MLS season, the SuperDraft and the Waiver Draft.
1) Waiver Draft: this is where any player who is not registered as of July 1st, or so, is put into a pool and each team gets to pick from then. This is a two round draft with the order based on the standings from the previous season. You can participate in this or elect not to, however if you pass on your first round pick you cannot select a player in the second round. This also comes without the luxury of being able to scout the players before the draft so it may help if you have a decent background on players in the MLS. Players picked in this draft must be given a contract with their new club, so if you pick someone make sure you have room for them otherwise they just sit on your bench and can cause disharmony.
2) MLS SuperDraft: This is the end of the year draft where teams can pick players from the regen pool, and from the unattached current USA players, i.e. Vincenzo Bernardo, Matthew Luzuranis, or Omar Salgado (the 1st overall pick in this past January’s SuperDraft). Prior to the Draft you can scout the players in the pool by attending the pre-draft Combine [think trial squads in Europe]. Here you can scout players on each team and get a feel of who could be a star, and who is overvalued. This is a 4 round draft where the team with the fewest points from the recently ended season gets to pick first and the reigning MLS Champion picks last. (Remember you could theoretically finish 8th overall and pick 16th in the SuperDraft) Teams have the right to exchange draft picks for players throughout the season and in the weeks before the SuperDraft, so if you can get draft picks it may be helpful. A decent strategy is to scout the players who are GA, remember they don’t count towards your salary, and try to get them in the first 2 rounds, they usually don’t last past then.
Staff
Staff in the MLS is pretty standard except for one thing. You are not allowed any scouts. I have no idea why it is like this but in my experience even as the game progresses you aren’t allowed any on your staff, therefore it would be wise to hire coaches who also have high JPA/JPP ratings so they can act as scouts especially before the SuperDraft.
This should help you fully understand the awkwardness of the American league, if you have any questions feel free to post them here or PM me.
Introduction
Founded in 1993 as part of the United State’s World Cup bid in 1994, Major League Soccer is the top tier of American soccer [football]. Comprised of 18 teams, 16 based in the USA and two based in Canada, the MLS is a growing league that is starting to attract some top players in the world. The MLS season is 34 games long and typically runs from March to November, and the league is split into the Western and Eastern Conferences. In typical American fashion, the team with the most points does not win the title of MLS Champion. Instead, the top 10 teams qualify for the MLS playoffs, with the top two teams from each conference automatically qualifying and the next 6 teams qualifying based on final league position. What this means is that one season you could see a playoff scenario with 8 teams from a single conference make the playoff, though that would mean that the other conference had an extremely poor season.
Squad Rules
Unlike European leagues the MLS operates with distinctly different squad rules which includes a hard salary cap enforced by the league. Team must register a minimum of 14 players; a maximum of 25 may be registered. Any player not registered may not participate in league games, but may participate in cup games. The default number of international players allowed to be registered is 7, however, teams may trade away the rights to an international player for 2-5 years or a permanent spot. The starting salary cap is $49,038 p/wk [£30,541 or €35,930]. This can also fluctuate based on how you set up your budget and the exchange of allocation money [transfer budget]. Also, MLS has a Roster Guarantee Day. On this day, July 1st, 2010, anyone who has not been waived has a guaranteed contract, thus if you release anyone after July 1st you are obliged to pay the duration of their contract unless they sign for another team. The MLS uses a waiver wire. This means that when you release a player prior to the July 1st deadline he will be offered to other teams, if someone wants him they can sign him otherwise he clears waivers and is released. Note that if a player clears waivers, his right could still be held by another club, meaning you would have to negotiate terms of exchange with his club in order to sign him, Ray Burse an American GK is a good example of this.
Contract Types
There are 3 types of major contracts in FM for the MLS.
1) Senior: These are your bog standard full-time professional contracts. They are hard capped by the league at how much you may offer a player p/wk at $5,750 [£3,580 or €4,214]. Any player can sign this kind of contract, but obviously it will be hard to offer this kind of contract to a large reputation player.
2) Designated Player: DP in the FM world, this is the cream of the crop type player, David Beckham and Thierry Henry type players. As of this year each team is allowed 3 DP on their roster. This contract is again capped by club and is set around $13,000 [£8,088 or €9,521] *this is for a team with a tight budget, Seattle. Richer clubs can offer more money for DP contracts.
3) Generation Adidas: These are the future superstars. In real life they are college underclassmen, not yet in their final year of college but good enough to warrant a high draft pick. These players are highly sought after because their contracts do not count towards your salary cap. Thus you can register a lot of them and remain in the positive for your weekly wages. You cannot offer GA contracts to Free Agents. The players who get this GA label can be found in the MLS SuperDraft at the end of the season and usually go in the top 5-8 picks. However, there are many players in the game on MLS teams that are on GA contracts so you can exchange players, draft picks, allocation funds, or International roster spots for them. The down side is that at age 23 these contracts run up and they must be offered a Senior contract at that time.
Drafts
There are two drafts throughout the MLS season, the SuperDraft and the Waiver Draft.
1) Waiver Draft: this is where any player who is not registered as of July 1st, or so, is put into a pool and each team gets to pick from then. This is a two round draft with the order based on the standings from the previous season. You can participate in this or elect not to, however if you pass on your first round pick you cannot select a player in the second round. This also comes without the luxury of being able to scout the players before the draft so it may help if you have a decent background on players in the MLS. Players picked in this draft must be given a contract with their new club, so if you pick someone make sure you have room for them otherwise they just sit on your bench and can cause disharmony.
2) MLS SuperDraft: This is the end of the year draft where teams can pick players from the regen pool, and from the unattached current USA players, i.e. Vincenzo Bernardo, Matthew Luzuranis, or Omar Salgado (the 1st overall pick in this past January’s SuperDraft). Prior to the Draft you can scout the players in the pool by attending the pre-draft Combine [think trial squads in Europe]. Here you can scout players on each team and get a feel of who could be a star, and who is overvalued. This is a 4 round draft where the team with the fewest points from the recently ended season gets to pick first and the reigning MLS Champion picks last. (Remember you could theoretically finish 8th overall and pick 16th in the SuperDraft) Teams have the right to exchange draft picks for players throughout the season and in the weeks before the SuperDraft, so if you can get draft picks it may be helpful. A decent strategy is to scout the players who are GA, remember they don’t count towards your salary, and try to get them in the first 2 rounds, they usually don’t last past then.
Staff
Staff in the MLS is pretty standard except for one thing. You are not allowed any scouts. I have no idea why it is like this but in my experience even as the game progresses you aren’t allowed any on your staff, therefore it would be wise to hire coaches who also have high JPA/JPP ratings so they can act as scouts especially before the SuperDraft.
This should help you fully understand the awkwardness of the American league, if you have any questions feel free to post them here or PM me.
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