For a round-up of this story from the LA metroplex you can read the Grahame Jones story I linked to above, or check in with Nick Green at his 100 Percent Soccer blog (complete with snarky commentary). For some reason (sanity?) Luis Bueno is concentrating on some other team that plays futbol at the HDC. Some team named after a nationalistic herb or something – Chives USA? But I digress.

Everyone is reporting what we already knew: Becks stays with Milan until June, comes back the G’s in July, and then splits for good to the Rossoneri in November (though AEG continues to say “if” not “when” on this point). But there are two interesting pieces for the fans here.

(1) July 17th 19th friendly between the Galaxy and AC Milan at the HDC.
(2) 10% across-the-board reduction in ticket prices with refunds to be given to people who have already purchased tickets.

In this entire saga, these two things are the most fan-respectful things that the Galaxy have done. Besides canning Alexi Lalas, that is. It’s almost as if AEG is trying to get beyond the recent years of fan abuse and try to reconcile with us.

To which I say, “It’s a good start, but its just a start.” I fully expect that the AC Milan game will be a bonus game for season ticket holders. I except that the Galaxy will use the cap and roster space this deal creates to shore up the weak points in the team (take your pick here, but I’m hoping for a solid holding midfielder or a Michael Parkhurst-type centerback).

And I expect that they will stop this ridiculous “Superclub” self-promotion and remember that we play in a young league with a salary cap that is the equivalent of the minimum salary of the lowliest benchwarmer on real Superclubs. Let’s just win some games in MLS, maybe make the CCL and beat some Mexican teams, and maybe win the domestic treble before we get all knicker-twised about the possibility of playing a dinar-dripping friendly in Dubai or whereever. I’m just sayin’.

So. That’s all done. Good.

Let’s play some futbol.

David Beckham $6.5 million
Landon Donovan $900,000
Edson Buddle $179,950
Chris Klein $175,000
Eddie Lewis $165,722.29
Donovan Ricketts $150,000
Omar Gonzalez $142,000
Dema Kovalenko $137,618.75
Todd Dunivant $109,974.38
Israel Sesay $102,083.33
Tristan Bowen $96,363.63
Jovan Kirovski $80,000
Alan Gordon $79,754.40
Stefani Miglioranzi $79,499.96
Sean Franklin $76,850
Mike Magee $72,500
Josh Saunders $44,473.75
Josh Wicks $42,000
Leonard Griffin $39,500
A.J. DeLaGarza $36,000
Julian Valentin $34,000
Bryan Jordan $34,000
Josh Tudela $34,000

EDIT: Reader Frank has posted a link describing the salary breakdown in the comments. You can also look at 2007’s and 2008’s league salaries. Thanks Frank!

What stands out the most to me is Sesay’s salary. Does anyone know why it is so high? It seems he has yet to fulfill his potential, which is what his salary seems to be based on.

Kirovski’s salary seems a bit low to me as well. I’d want to take about $20,000 off of Buddle’s salary and give it to Jovan.

My caretaking maternal area notes that Josh Tudela’s salary has finally been raised. For the past two years he has made $17,500 — this year he is up to $34,000.

Klein’s salary may be high, but he’s worth it not only on, but off the field.

Donovan’s salary is the same as last year.

Beckham? Whatever.

When things go well on the field, the tendency for other things to rankle is lessened. When things go badly on the field, the rest of the Galaxy game experience gets put under the microscope. We are nearing the end of the season and the team has to put together a run just like they did last year in order to have a hope of qualifying for the playoffs. If not, they will be out for a record-setting third year in a row. Regardless of how that shakes out, the team is currently in the middle of a record-setting winless streak.

These issues have been exacerbated by the League scheduling inanity. This past weekend was a debacle. Not only are teams missing key starters in the final thrid of the season due to call-ups (37 MLS players in total), but teams like the Galaxy were missing players who completely change the complexion of their teams. Pity poor Toronto missing 9 of their starters in a home game against a Chivas team with a raft of injuries. Wouldn’t they have liked to face that game at full-strength? And the G’s were facing RSL which to that point only had taken 4 points from away games. We needed the full three, especially at home.

So: Poor performance on the field (and I could write more about that, but, then, I already have in numerous blog postings which can be found at Soccer By Ives). Crap scheduling by MLS. Add to that, the fact that last year, the team used up all its “bonus games” and this year it has used just one (unless I missed one while I was out of town, which is totally possible). So I’m essentially paying more this year for each one of my MLS games than I did last year and getting just as crap a performance.

What does all that add up to? Questions about renewing season tickets for next year. If the team isn’t commited to dealing with two issues, then I’m probably not going to invest in season tickets again.

First, fill out the full contingent of bonus games. I realize these games aren’t guaranteed. That’s the nature of “bonus”. But last year I saw Chelsea (a preseason, undermanned, not in form Chelsea, but Chelsea nonetheless). I saw Pachuca. Twice. Hell I even saw Steve Cronin make like 12 saves in a US Open Cup match. This year I saw… a crap US Open loss.

Second, don’t raise the prices of season tickets for next year. It would be the height of fan abuse to make us sit through two garbage seasons and then raise the ticket price, especially when it is pretty clear the team in making a mint off of jersey sales, touring Asia, and the wretched, wretched Pan-Pacific Championship (can we please just kill that now – it is nothing but excrement masquerading as futbol). Related to that is, don’t raise the cost of parking again. It was $10 when I first watched games at the HDC as a visitor to LA, then when I bought my first season tickets it was $15 and I’ve paid as much as $20 for certain games. I can spend just as much someplace else where I don’t have to drive 23 miles to get to and where the beer doesn’t cost $12 and I can watch the game on TV.

In the past two years, of all the home games on offer, I’ve only missed three and that was because I had to be gone for work. I arrange my schedule around Galaxy games. I love the fact that we have Becks. I love watching him and Landon and Edson kick ass. I love the Eddie Lewis acquisition (glad that the Cory Gibbs deal never happened).

But I don’t think I can do a third year of this if the front office doesn’t take the fans into consideration. I’ll probably just buy the occasional single game ticket and mostly just watch the games over the internet or at a friend’s house with cable.

Let me end on a somewhat positive note. I’ve always had great interactions with the sales team. They are responsive, give as much information as they have available to them, and are always willing to listen to the concerns of fans like me. I appreciate that and I appreciate that the Galaxy takes this seriously. Further I’m excited to see what Bruce Arena can do both in terms of coaching, but also in terms of personnel trades since we are woefully inadequate in the midfield. Given the parity in MLS, I think we could be two midfielders and a defender away from winning an MLS Cup and I’d like to be in the stands to watch it all unfold.

But not if the suits in the suites decide I’m better as an ATM than a fan.

What do you guys think? Do I have a leg to stand on here? Should I shut up and just not buy tickets, or suck it up and make the investment? Does the Galaxy have an obligation to fans to make the playoffs before raising prices again? Is the overall experience of being at the stadium worth the investment in season tickets or multi-game packages even if prices rise? What do you think of watching at the HDC versus TV or the internet? Share your thoughts below.

And I was not disappointed.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like you to introduce you to the new David Beckham Wastebasket!

I have no idea why this made me giggle, but it did.

I think they should have me do their copywriting. I believe the text here really should read:

“Decorated with the smiling face of David Beckham, this wastebasket is the perfect place to put the Galaxy’s 2008 playoff hopes, unless we can upgrade the backline.”

Damn. I guess that game left me feeling a little snarky.

Scott Bolkan? Apparently he’s a midfielder? And Vito Higgins, who’s apparently a goalkeeper? Where did they come from? Must research this.

Interesting (and a bit sad) that Tudela is making the same as he did last year.

And how is Alvaro Pires worth more than $100,000 a year? Is he that much better than our homegrown players?

And is Steve Cronin really worth double what Josh Wicks is worth?

UPDATE: When you’re desperate for information, go back and read what you’ve written in your own blog. Vito Higgins is the guy from Gonzaga who made it through the open tryouts. Link to his photo is here. I still have no clue about Scott Bolkan, except that he went to Stanford. I’ll research this and get back to you.

LA Alamo Charles GK $ 12,900.00 $ 12,900.00
LA Allen Ely F $ 36,000.00 $ 44,750.00
LA Beckham David M $ 5,500,000.08 $ 6,500,000.04
LA Bolkan Scott M $ 12,900.00 $ 12,900.00
LA Buddle Edson F $ 147,000.00 $ 157,000.00
LA Cronin Steve GK $ 75,000.00 $ 75,000.00
LA Donovan Landon F $ 900,000.00 $ 900,000.00
LA Franklin Sean M-D $ 36,000.00 $ 48,500.00
LA Gavin Michael D $ 33,000.00 $ 33,000.00
LA Gordon Alan F $ 72,504.00 $ 72,504.00
LA Higgins Vito GK $ 12,900.00 $ 12,900.00
LA Jazic Ante D-M $ 120,000.00 $ 125,625.00
LA Jordan Bryan F $ 17,700.00 $ 17,700.00
LA Klein Chris M $ 150,000.00 $ 150,000.00
LA McDonald Brandon D $ 12,900.00 $ 12,900.00
LA Pires Alvaro M $ 100,000.00 $ 110,775.31
LA Randolph Michael D $ 33,000.00 $ 33,000.00
LA Roberts Troy D $ 33,000.00 $ 33,000.00
LA Ruiz Carlos F $ 350,000.00 $ 460,000.00
LA Sesay Israel F $ 45,000.00 $ 77,083.33
LA Tudela Josh M $ 17,700.00 $ 17,700.00
LA Vagenas Peter M $ 144,000.00 $ 144,000.00
LA Valentin Julian D $ 12,900.00 $ 12,900.00
LA Vanney Greg D $ 91,800.00 $ 91,800.00
LA Wicks Josh GK $ 38,000.00 $ 38,000.00
LA Xavier Abel D $ 156,000.00 $ 156,000.00

It means I get to pick up my favorite pastime of last year, griping about how many freakin’ games I am not going to be able to watch.

I’ve done my part. I’ve forked over not only my $79 for Direct Kick (which my cable rep had never heard of and had to spend five minutes researching), but also my $19.99 for MLSLive.tv. (They show the same games, but with the MLSLive broadband package you have access to the archives.) So what more are they expecting me to do to see my team?

Here’s the thing. I know I put myself at a disadvantage by not actually living in the area my team plays in. If I lived in SoCal, I’d at least have access to Telefutura, which isn’t carried in my area except as part of a special, extra-cost Spanhish-language package. So I know I am partly to blame for this.

But not having any access whatsoever to NINE games?!? NINE freakin’ games?!?!?

When I look at the schedule, I’m counting thirty games, total, in the Galaxy’s season. I don’t have access to any that are on Telefutura, FSN-W or HDNet. And if they’re shown on these channels, they’re not shown elsewhere, and specifically not shown on Direct Kick. This means that I don’t have access to 30% of the games.

THIRTY PERCENT.

I understand that TV rights are an important revenue source. And I understand that exclusive rights are part of what MLS dangles in front of TV channels in order to get them to pay for these broadcast rights.

But when you sell off these rights to channels that serve only a portion of your audience, it’s the consumer (read: Fan; read: ME) who gets screwed.

Are you listening, MLS?

(P.S. Even though tomorrow is a Telefutura game, I have high hopes because it’s against Toronto. Since I live in a Canadian border state, I’m hoping I’ll be able to find a Canadian channel showing it. Cross your fingers for me.)

(I would really like to know the story of that 4 cents. Anybody?)

But the real story is: How are the other Galaxy guys faring? Who’s relying on mom and dad and top ramen, and who’s doing okay?

Here are the dollars and cents for our boys.

A few thoughts:

– Michael Gavin and Mike Randolph make the same bucks. What’s up with that?
– I am still hugely offended by the developmental players’ salaries.
– Greg Vanney took a big pay cut to come to LA.
– On the other hand, Steve Cronin got a big pay increase this year.
– Alvaro Pires’s deal wasn’t finalized in time for him to make the list. My guess would be that Bryan Jordan and Josh Wicks are in the same boat.
– Ummm… Where is Josh Tudela? Did I miss something? He’s still on the roster. Is he out of contract? Did they just not finalize his deal yet?
– Who wants to bet that Ante Jazic is outta here as soon as he’s better? I’m guessing a trade to Toronto.
– How stupid of me was it to not copy all of last year’s end-of-year salaries onto my own computer so I could compare the lists? I have it as of May of last year, but that’s only helpful for the nine players who are still around.

And here are the numbers. First dollar figure is salary, second is total compensation including things like bonuses. The numbers don’t add up to the (rumored) $2.3 million salary cap due to squishy figures like “allocation money.” Also, developmental salaries and Generation Adidas salaries (which now includes only Israel Sesay) don’t count against the cap.

LA Alamo Charles GK $ 12,900.00 $ 12,900.00
LA Allen Ely F $ 36,000.00 $ 44,750.00
LA Beckham David M $ 5,500,000.08 $ 6,500,000.04
LA Buddle Edson F $ 147,000.00 $ 157,000.00
LA Cronin Steve GK $ 75,000.00 $ 75,000.00
LA Donovan Landon F $ 900,000.00 $ 900,000.00
LA Franklin Sean M-D $ 36,000.00 $ 48,500.00
LA Gavin Michael D $ 33,000.00 $ 33,000.00
LA Gordon Alan F $ 72,504.00 $ 72,504.00
LA Jazic Ante D-M $ 114,000.00 $ 120,250.00
LA Klein Chris M $ 190,000.00 $ 197,250.00
LA McDonald Brandon D $ 12,900.00 $ 12,900.00
LA Randolph Michael D $ 33,000.00 $ 33,000.00
LA Roberts Troy D $ 33,000.00 $ 33,000.00
LA Ruiz Carlos F $ 350,000.00 $ 460,000.00
LA Sesay Israel F $ 45,000.00 $ 57,083.33
LA Vagenas Peter M $ 137,812.50 $ 138,437.50
LA Vanney Greg D $ 91,800.00 $ 91,800.00
LA Xavier Abel D $ 156,000.00 $ 156,000.00

After five years as a key player with the Galaxy, Albright signed a new contract with LA in January, even taking a lower salary. Such a move seemed to make sense, as the team was working to squeeze under the salary cap, but the Galaxy then turned around and traded him to New England.

While he would not comment on the details of the move, Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas said that, “Whether for us, or for another club, Albright is being compensated at the level which a top player at his position gets in this league.”

What is becoming clear, though, is that players are increasingly aware that loyalty to a club, or even the league in general, is perhaps a sentimental luxury they cannot afford as professional sportsmen with a limited playing career.

“It was tough, because he’s been a player here for so long,” said Galaxy midfielder Pete Vagenas of Albright’s trade. “He’s contributed immensely. He’s part of what has got this franchise to this point.”

And my understanding is that because the players technically contract with the league and not with the individual teams, the contract terms are still binding even though he’s not playing with the team he signed on for. If he’d known he wasn’t going to stay at the Galaxy, he might have negotiated a better deal.

Way to treat your players right, Galaxy management.

The MLS Board of Governors met yesterday and decided that the second over-the-cap players who didn’t count as DPs last year STILL wouldn’t count as DPs in 2008. Landon Donovan, we’re looking at you.

Or, in other words, last year we had the “Beckham Rule,” this year, the “Donovan Rule.”

Oh, the power.

From Sports Illustrated:

After Friday’s vote, however, Donovan, Johnson and Ruiz will continue not to count as Designated Players, and the Galaxy will not have to give up a significant asset in order to obtain a second DP slot.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” Donovan told SI.com Friday night. “Neither Dallas, Kansas City nor the Galaxy should be punished for getting players early [before the DP rule was passed] and then suddenly having the rule put them at a disadvantage. Other teams might have different opinions, though.”

Perhaps San Jose had better not start polishing that Donovan locker nameplate just yet.

Remember here that Landon’s DP-level salary, currently $900,000, was grandfathered in for this year only, meaning that he can have an above-cap salary without it counting against the Galaxy’s DP allotment. But that goes away after this year. In order to keep Landon on the roster with Beckham, barring rule changes or a massive salary cut, LA would somehow have to scare up anothe DP slot.

In his article, Pat Walsh points out that after the slash-and-burn trades of the mid-season the Galaxy don’t have a whole lot to trade to get this slot. You have to give quality to get quality, and the Galaxy doesn’t have a bunch to spare right now. He’s thinking perhaps Chris Albright (which wouldn’t surprise me — remember that he was all but out the door before the injury.) I’m also thinking maybe Mike Randolph, who’s substantially increased his value in these past few weeks. (I’d say trade Ante Jazic instead, but Mike’s 22 and Ante’s 31. Who’s going to be worth more?)

On top of that we have a whole slew of draft picks this year — if I’m remembering correctly, LA has a jaw-dropping number. Something like eight picks in the first two or three rounds? That has to be worth something, right? But how many players and picks would it take to be worth a DP?

Enter the possible creation of a second DP slot.

The fact is this rule panders to the hapless Los Angeles Galaxy. …

The league needs Los Angeles to be successful. Having the Galaxy out of the playoffs for two consecutive years, especially this year with Beckham in town, is bad for business. An L.A. side with Beckham and Donovan playing together for a full season should easily make the playoffs.

Very true. Everything I read about the possible addition of a second DP slot always mentions LA and Beckham and Donovan. The Galaxy is the poster-child team for “But we NEED another DP!!”

So why not offer up the possibility? Like the first DP slot, some teams will use it, some won’t. What’s the problem? Well, for starters, there’s that little thing called the salary cap. I’m watching for cap increase rumors, but I don’t think it’s going to go up enough to cover the full cost of a second DP.

Financially, allowing teams to add a second Designated Player also doesn’t make sense.

A DP counts as $400,000 on the salary cap, meaning two players would account for nearly one-third of what a team is spending on its entire roster.

The obvious comparison then becomes the NASL. But that parallel is not quite accurate, as the salary cap should prevent exuberant spending. However, the money those two players would made would continue to grow the gap between the grossly underpaid developmental players and the stars, perhaps stunting the growth of the league in the long run. Without those youngsters, many of whom make less than $20,000 per year, this league would be unable to continue.

If another DP slot means that the majority of our back line will continue to make less than $30,000 apiece, a second DP slot would probably not be worth it. Except…oh, wait. We already have two players counting toward $725,000 of the salary cap. How would things be different?

One last point, though. Given Alexi’s talk about “new and exciting international talent,” would that DP slot necessasrily go to Landon? If we’re talking about, say, Zizou… Well, it’s spam and ramen time, boys! We need a second DP!