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Official FM09 MLS Thread


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NB: Please refer to the manual for a detailed guide on how transfers, the DP rule and the draft works in MLS. All amounts are in USD.

200px-MajorLeagueSoccer.png

MLS is the top flight football (soccer) division in the US and Canada. It was founded in 1993 as part of America's bid for the 1994 World Cup with the first season taking place in 1996. 10 teams first contested in its first season, and of those ten teams, nine remain in some form or another (a few have changed names, or relocated and refounded). The current format sees 14 teams playing within MLS.

The MLS is split into Eastern and Western conferences. with 7 teams in each. The top eight teams at the regular season's end contest the playoffs which culminate in the MLS Cup Final, to determine the winner of MLS.

MLS teams are given an allocation fund in order to purchase players from outside the MLS. The amount received depends on both players sold by your club by the league to clubs overseas and also on your league position the season previously.

Clubs within the MLS can aquire players from other MLS clubs by trading them, just as in other American sports. Clubs can offer not only their own players, but also international slots, Designated Player (DP) slots and draft picks in exchange for another club's player(s).

Clubs are allowed a maximum of 18 Senior players (that is, players on fulltime, senior contracts). The remainder of their roster (a maximum of 28) must be comprised of youth players on developmental/senior developmental contracts. These players are either aquired via the draft or approaching young overseas players willing to sign developmental contracts.

There are rules limiting the amount of international players within a club's roster. This differs from club to club, as international slots can now be traded. (NB: international slots available at the game's start listed under each club)

Each club has a wage cap of around $2.29m per annum. The total amount of wages for the squad must not exceed this amount, with the exception of the club's Designated Player(s). For these, $400,000 of the DP's salary counts towards the cap, with the remainder written off by the club's owners. Each team has one DP slot which can be traded with other MLS clubs. Clubs are only allowed a maximum of two DPs, and in the case of a club owning two, $325,000 of their salary will count towards the cap.

Every year MLS holds the SuperDraft (usually on the 10th of January). Players selected for this draft are usually aged between 18-22 and are considered the best of the best talent available in the US. This being said, not all of the players are American or Canadian; there are many foreign nationals in the draft also. Every club has four picks in the draft and the order of picking is determined by the club's league position the previous year; with the club that finished last picking first and so on. Picks can be traded throughout the season. Following the SuperDraft is the Supplemental Draft which allows those not selected in the original draft to be picked up (each club has four picks in this draft also).

Players in the MLS not required by their teams are not released on free transfers, but are waived. This means that clubs do not have to pay compensation for releasing these players, but it also means that other MLS clubs have two days following the waive to pick up these players for free. Players not picked in those two days are released from the club, but their playing rights are still held by the releasing club, and should any MLS club wish to sign these players they must offer something in trade; except for those entered into the waiver draft (see below).

Finally, once MLS clubs decide on their rosters for the season's start (in early March), a number of players may have been waived to cut down on salaries or the number in their squad. These players are entered into the Waiver Draft and those clubs with slots/salary still available have a chance to pick up some unwanted talent. Each club has two picks in this draft.

Teams

Western Conference

Chivas USA

Formed in order to attract the large Mexican population in Los Angeles, Chivas USA are named after top Mexican side Guadalajara, often known by their nickname (Chivas). They joined MLS as an expansion team in 2005 and share the Home Depot Center stadium with Los Angeles Galaxy.

Training/youth facilities: Top training/excellent youth

Estimated Value: $58m

Bank Balance: $885,791

Allocation Funds: $24,998

DP Slots: 0

International Slots: 9

Key Players: Sascha Kljestan, Jonathan Bornstein, Francisco Mendoza

Colorado Rapids

One of the original ten sides in MLS. They play at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado and share a fierce rivalry with Real Salt Lake.

Training/youth facilities: Top training/average youth

Estimated Value: $64m

Bank Balance: $960,172

Allocation Funds: $179,998

DP Slots: 0

International Slots: 7

Key Players: Colin Clark, Christian Gómez, Jose Burciaga Jr.

FC Dallas

Formerly known as Dallas Burn, FC Dallas were one of the founding members of MLS and play their home games at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco Texas. Rivalries include Chicago Fire and Houston Dynamo.

Training/youth facilities: Top training/average youth

Estimated Value: $65m

Bank Balance: $913,130

Allocation Funds: $49,998

DP Slots: 1

International Slots: 10

Key Players: Kenny Cooper, Victor Sikora, Duilio Davino

Houston Dynamo

Formed when San Jose Earthquakes relocated in 2005 and joined MLS in 2006. Houston are the reigning champions of MLS, having won it the past two years running. They play at Robertson Stadium and their biggest rivals are FC Dallas and the newly reformed San Jose Earthquakes.

Training/youth facilities: Good training/average youth

Estimated Value: $51m

Bank Balance: $1,223,563

Allocation Funds: $179,998

DP Slots: 1

International Slots: 8

Key Players: Brian Ching, Bobby Boswell, Ricardo Clark

Los Angeles Galaxy

The Galaxy, formed in 1996 and one of the original members of MLS, are probably the best known side outside of the US, thanks to David Beckham's arrival in 2007. Despite this, their record of late has been very poor and haven't won the MLS since 2005. They share the Home Depot Center with Chivas USA.

Training/youth facilities: Top training/excellent youth

Estimated Value: $124m

Bank Balance: $2,529,471

Allocation Funds: $9,999

DP Slots: 1

International Slots: 8

Key Players: David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Eduardo Domínguez

Real Salt Lake

'Named after' Real Madrid, Salt Lake were formed in 2004 and joined MLS as an expansion team in 2005. Despite the rather tenuous link with Real Madrid, the two clubs have actually worked closely together and recently the Spanish side financed the building of a $25m youth academy in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake play their home games at the Rice-Eccles Stadium in FM09 but have recently moved to the Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.

Training/youth facilities: good training/average youth

Estimated Value: $64m

Bank Balance: $1,342,724

Allocation Funds: $149,999

DP Slots: 1

International Slots: 7

Key Players: Dema Kovalenko, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales

San Jose Earthquakes

Formed as San Jose Clash, the Earthquakes were one of the original members of MLS. In 2004 they were forced to be placed on hiatus and the team's players moved to Houston to become the Dynamo. However, they were recently reformed and are back as an expansion side for 2008. They play at the Buck Shaw stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Training/youth facilities: Good training/average youth

Estimated Value: $46m

Bank Balance: $1,036,771

Allocation Funds: $44,999

DP Slots: 1

International Slots: 9

Key Players: Joe Cannon, Darren Huckerby, Ronnie O'Brien

Eastern Conference

Chicago Fire

The Fire joined MLS in 1998 as one of two original expansion teams and immediately made an impact; winning the league in their debut year. Things have been bleak since but they have won the US Open Cup four times, the last time being in 2006. They play at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois.

Training/youth facilities: Good training/good youth

Estimated Value: $70m

Bank Balance: $1,303,033

Allocation Funds: $299,998

DP Slots: 1

International Slots: 8

Key Players: Cuauhatémoc Blanco, Brian McBride, C.J. Brown

Columbus Crew

The Crew are one of the founding members of MLS, yet they have never won the league. Somewhat perennial underacheivers, they play at the Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium built for the MLS.

Training/youth facilities: Top training/average youth

Estimated Value: $57m

Bank Balance: $857,300

Allocation Funds: $179,998

DP Slots: 1

International Slots: 7

Key Players: Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Chad Marshall, Brian Carroll

D.C. United

Dominant forces in the early years of MLS, United were one of the founding members and won the MLS in '96, '97 and '99. Yet they have not won anything of significance since 2004. They play at the RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Training/youth facilities: Good training/good youth

Estimated Value: $63m

Bank Balance: $1,808,239

Allocation Funds: $74,998

DP Slots: 2

International Slots: 9

Key Players: Marcelo Gallardo, Gonzalo Martínez, Jaime Moreno

Kansas City Wizards

Another founding member of MLS, the Wiz are named after the film The Wizard of Oz, story of Dorothy and Toto's journey from Kansas to the land of Oz. They play at the Community America Ballpark, soon to be replaced by a soccer specific stadium, in Kansas City.

Training/youth facilities: Top training/excellent youth

Estimated Value: $46.5m

Bank Balance: $477,623

Allocation Funds: $224,999

DP Slots: 1

International Slots: 6

Key Players: Carlos Marinelli, Claudio López, Jimmy Conrad

New England Revolution

New England Revolution, founded in 1996, have established themselves as perhaps the most unlucky team in MLS, having reached the MLS Final in both 2006 and 2007, only to lose to Houston Dynamo both times. They play at the Gilette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Training/youth facilities: Top training/good youth

Estimated Value: $51m

Bank Balance: $1,172,858

Allocation Funds: $299,998

DP Slots: 1

International Slots: 7

Key Players: Taylor Twellman, Gabriel Badilla, Chris Albright

New York Red Bulls

The NY/NJ MetroStars were one of the original members of MLS, however, when Red Bull GmbH bought the team in 2006 they were rebranded the Red Bulls and the MetroStars' history was not transferred with it. Their name causes much confusion, given that they play their games at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, but a new stadium is on the cards.

Training/youth facilities: Top training/excellent youth

Estimated Value: $105m

Bank Balance: $1,999,615

Allocation Funds: $499,998

DP Slots: 2

International Slots: 8

Key Players: Juan Pablo Angel, Jorge Rojas, Dave van den Bergh

Toronto FC

Something of an enigma during their first season in MLS in 2007. Despite finishing dead last, they boasted one of the best average attendances in the league, prompting numerous other Canadian clubs to express interest in joining MLS. They play at the BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.

Training/youth facilities: Good training/good youth

Estimated Value: $84m

Bank Balance: $4,551,100

Allocation Funds: $399,999

DP Slots: 1

International Slots: 18 (NB: Americans count as internationals at Toronto)

Key Players: Amado Guevara, Carlos Ruiz, Danny Dichio

Whew! That took a long time to write. Hope you all like it. And good luck!

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Informative first post :thup:

MLS is great fun to manage in from my experience, feels totally different than managing in Europe. My next game I'll probably go New York, in FM 2007 I won the league three times, consecutively. :cool:

Also have the bugs been ironed out since 08?

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It would appear so. The waiver draft actually happens this time. And in my half-season at San Jose I didn't see any all-too apparent bugs. Only time will tell though I guess.

Oh and the regens that come through the draft would seem to have higher PAs than in 08, some are ready for the first team now.

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Did a season with LA Galaxy. Managed to win the league out. Mainly used the squad I inherited as I had feck all money to spend-7K!!!

I did sign Seyfo Soley on a free though. Fans were uneasy but after a while he was an inspired buy. In mid season I needed a striker and trawled the Brazilian league.Came up with Jorginho who scored 9-10 goals.

Cronin is a good keeper. Franklin is good defender.

Only issue I had was that players kept being free transferred on me even though I didn't release them or waiver them. One player was released four days after I signed him. Then resigned and 6 days later off again.

To find players i went through the free transfers and also claimed a few from waivers and the draft. Freddie Ljungberg would be a definite if I had money.

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I am having the same problem sarstedt , players keep getting waived without me doing it.

The issues you are guys are having might be that you have to register the players by assigning a number to them. When you sign them you will have the assign a number option. also on the squad list you will have the "change" button below all of the salary cap and roster information at he bottom. If you don't assign a number to a new player, they get released. If you already have 28 people on the roster you can only assign a number once you unassign a number from a member of the squad. hopefully that helps!

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The issues you are guys are having might be that you have to register the players by assigning a number to them. When you sign them you will have the assign a number option. also on the squad list you will have the "change" button below all of the salary cap and roster information at he bottom. If you don't assign a number to a new player, they get released. If you already have 28 people on the roster you can only assign a number once you unassign a number from a member of the squad. hopefully that helps!

I'm glad I haven't ran into that problem yet. Just one note though: if a player is out on loan or out with a season long injury you cannot give them a number but they will also not be released. For an example of this, see the Revolution. Argenis Fernandez is away on loan and Adam Cristman is out for the year and they can't be given numbers. Fernandez is an international player but isn't counted against the limit because he's gone too.

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My first pick in the 2009 draft was almost ready for first team football, after one season he's the best leftback in my team with some unbelievable stats. The rest of my picks, well, three or four of them, are good squad players.

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The countries it's best to load when starting the MLS are Canada, the US, New Zealand, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico...and load the rest of the North American nations. This works out best for when your assistant recommends players to you to sign to improve your team. You'll not only get recommended lower league Americans but the cream of the crop from the leagues around you.

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The countries it's best to load when starting the MLS are Canada, the US, New Zealand, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico...and load the rest of the North American nations. This works out best for when your assistant recommends players to you to sign to improve your team. You'll not only get recommended lower league Americans but the cream of the crop from the leagues around you.

Thanks. Do you know how much this might affect gameplay for someone with an older, slower computer?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I actually had trouble with this when I tried to sign a DP to San Jose. I couldn't work out how to offer them the position of DP so I traded the slot away instead.

Only thing I can suggest...do you have a DP slot available? Otherwise maybe bring this up in a bugs section.

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A question about the draft. Irl presumably clubs already have a rough idea of who they will sign. Are these 'prospects' on the game db and are available in the first draft, or have these players that will be drafted come Jan already included in the squads of the MLS teams? I loved playing in US on FM08, I just wish that there was some real quality to pick up during the first draft, rather than regens. (although I understand that SI doesn't have a crystal ball and predicting which players from the development leagues will make the grade is a pretty tricky task)

Also, I read about another US wonderkid in the papers but I can't remember which player they were talking about. I think the papers were dubbing him the new Altidore. Any ideas?

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  • 2 weeks later...
A question about the draft. Irl presumably clubs already have a rough idea of who they will sign. Are these 'prospects' on the game db and are available in the first draft, or have these players that will be drafted come Jan already included in the squads of the MLS teams? I loved playing in US on FM08, I just wish that there was some real quality to pick up during the first draft, rather than regens. (although I understand that SI doesn't have a crystal ball and predicting which players from the development leagues will make the grade is a pretty tricky task)

None of these prospects are in the game, they are all regens. I don't know what the "official" reason is but I know college athletes aren't in other video games either, at least not their real names.

Also, I read about another US wonderkid in the papers but I can't remember which player they were talking about. I think the papers were dubbing him the new Altidore. Any ideas?

Probably Charles Renken. Here's an article about him. Unfortunately he's not in the game:

For the person askign about Renken - he can't be in until he signs a pro deal with the league or abroad. He's an amateur athlete and there's all sorts of issues relating to that.
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  • 2 weeks later...
I hope Toronto FC gets Renken, we need a striker and De Rosario is climbing up in age

Well, TFC got the 2nd and 4th picks of the draft so we certainly have some flexibility in terms of getting some great players for 2009 MLS season. I would love Renken too, but I think he might go to Europe...

Johnston traded away Julius James for De Ro, so a young, talented, defender is a must too...

I don't think Dichio and Barrett are good enough striker-tandom to make the playoffs...and I think that Mo Johnston will use his DP slot, but I don't think it would be de Guzman...

In Johnston we trust. :D:cool:

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MLS is a real challenge... not easy to find players, well, at least for me since I love freebies. But over the years (playing 2013 season now) I've picked up a few fantastic freebies that have made immediate impact. But the overall impact was mostly felt when offloaded all of the backroom staff and signed new ones and reorganized my entire training. Now all of my training areas are either 6 or 7 stars... too bad I have no money to get a better training facility. It's all the stadium's fault... too small a place. can't upgrade cause I dont have the money. In fact I've been losing money every season with the exception of this last one when i actually turned a tiny tiny profit. But this new season I have the highest season ticket holder numbers so things are looking up... not to mention I bought a dude at 1.4M 2 years ago and now he's worth 12! Dont want to unload him but I sure could use the cash... But then again... noone's really come forward to buy :(

San Jose Earthquakes by the way...

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  • 1 month later...

ok lads im in about 2017 with TFC and i have striker in very high wages but he isnt crap no he is great its just i wanna get rid because i have some good youngsters coming through

how do you think i should get rid of him

and get the best value

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ok lads im in about 2017 with TFC and i have striker in very high wages but he isnt crap no he is great its just i wanna get rid because i have some good youngsters coming through

how do you think i should get rid of him

and get the best value

How much is he valued at snd what is the date?

Step 1: Transfer list, set Squad Status to Not Needed, asking price $0.

Step 2: If he is already Wanted you could try waiting until you get an offer. It will be for $0 though so you have to negotiate.

or you can be more proactive and look around the MLS yourself. Find players you think you could trade this striker for and offer up a trade.

Step 3: If you think he is really great you could try offering him for a Designated Player slot but you might just be wasting your time.

If you really need to get moving with your youngsters you could change your squad numbers and remove this strikers. I'm pretty sure it no longer drops the player (as long as you are after the Squad Registration date before the season starts) and you can still play him in Reserve matches. He will be ineligable for league games though.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
What is the best team to be in this league and also the best players to sign

The best players to sign would depend on the team you manage and the formation you use because the MLS roster restrictions make it tough to add players without negative consequences on the rest of the roster.

4 players I'd recommend are:

Zizi Roberts - Liberian striker available on a free at the start. Second nationality is U.S.A. so he isn't considered an international player. Doesn't require high wages either.

Jose Carvallo - Peruvian GK who can be bought without breaking the bank. Like Roberts, second nationality is U.S.A. so he isn't considered an international player either.

Carlos Alberto Menjivar - Central/left attacking midfielder from El Salvador. Also has U.S.A. as second nationality.

Delvin Countess - American GK with some potential, unnattached at the start. I used to start the game by dumping my backup GK and signing Matt Pickens on a free but as he has now found a team Countess will take that role.

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