Arena Fine, New Brand, Chivas USA Shutting down. MLS News Dump

Busy news week for MLS so I thought I'd run down some of the items and give some thoughts.

1. BRUCE ARENA FINED
It wasn't a normal MLS amount where players and coach fines are in the hundreds of dollars or low thousands. He was fined a legit amount of $20k. In a Washington Post report Arena said he got an email about it and then read a story up on Sports Illustrated about it.

The offending words:

“They are children, and there have to be adults in the process, and we didn’t have enough of them. I think we are back into the old days in the league where the rules are somewhat arbitrary.”

The comment doesn't warrant what is likely a near record MLS fine. Don Garber took this personally and is acting immaturely here - were this a more important league he would be fielding quite a bit of negative press. The WaPo report states that Arena has sought out legal counsel.

2. MLS LAUNCHES NEW BRAND IDENTITY

Somewhat surprisingly, MLS launched a new league "brand identity" at around 6 AM Eastern today. Odd time for anything. Odder still was the short press conference a few hours later unveiling it, which felt very internal-quarterly-meeting-ish.

The philosophy behind it was mostly lost to those who saw it today. MLS Chief Marketing Officer Howard Handley described it as being designed to be able to "adapt to its environment" and not be static. Neat idea and progressive idea but ultimately means it will change colors (as well as working as a single color).

Another point of interest today was the empty white space in the bottom half of the logo. If you head over to one of the three agency's sites today you'll find out sort of how they will use that space (Athletics). Handley also talks about that area as framing up the action. No doubt it will also be used for featuring sponsors / partners.

All of the ideas (even the kick stand) are fine and the philosophy is an interesting thing to apply to a league identity. Ultimately, though, these elements are normally what go into a single ad campaign and not the parent brand.

RIP 2012-2013

There is actually very recent precedent for what MLS has done. If you remember back to 2012 and when JC Penny brought in high level Apple executive Ron Johnson to help freshen up the brand. Johnson implemented some pretty radical policies and changes, among them was a new logo that replaced a longtime standby. In may ways the MLS logo is exactly the same. The same ideas and philosophies of adapting to change, environment, etc.

It failed, Johnson was removed by the board and the logo returned to the old standby.

Another interesting note about this brand unveiling today as the overall theme of #MLSnext as a meaning of moving ahead or each day being better. This idea, as with the JC Penny brand (or even Nationwide), was either ignorantly taken or completely ripped from PepsiCo and their Pepsi Next campaign.

Pepsi has long been trying (1963) to be the more youthful alternative to Coca-Cola products so over the years they've tried different campaigns to drive this home. Back in the late 1990s they introduced a "Generation Next" tagline that featured songs by the Spice Girls and Ricky Martin (ironically using David Beckham as a spokesman).

One of the most interesting things about this branding project MLS has going on is that the logo reminded me so something I would have done on my way to getting my design degree (?!) back in the late '90s. Tying this all together is Athletics use of  The Chemical Brothers' supremely 90s "Let Forever Be" in their introductory video (bottom of page).

I guess since we've pillaged the 80s, the 90s is fair game. What's funny is the 90s were a modern take on the 70s. We are collapsing in on ourselves. SAVE YOURSELF.

Yes, I have B.A. with a major in Graphic Design (and a minor in Fine Art!) - and you'll also note that had to learn another trade, ie. manufacturing - but it's for the largest retailer of posters and custom framing on the planet. So there is some carryover there. Loving it for the past decade.

3. LEAGUE CONTRACTION / CHIVAS USA
MLS seems to be having a hard time finding the right fit for Los Angeles' other team in league owned "Chivas USA." With attendances at all time lows for any MLS team in history, it's not surprising.

Earlier this week Don Garber mentioned that shutting the franchise down for a year or two is on the table and then today made it sound like there may be a buyer out there somewhere. There likely is, just not one the league likes for whatever reason.

The team is broken and MLS has no one to blame but themselves. The business models of C.D. Guadalajara and MLS don't mesh and never will. This also makes the deal with NYCFC and Manchester City a head scratcher. Why would the league enter into a partnership like this again is risky, at best.

LA and other markets like NY or Chicago or the Bay Area or any major city in the US are plenty large enough to host dozens of pro teams. Just not MLS teams.

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Perhaps one day MLS will get it but judging from these three items above that day is very (very) far off.

The SuperDraft is Dead, Once More for Ryan Finley

Do you know how many top 10 MLS "superdraft" picks have played over 1000 minutes a season since 2011? How about the number that have performed above replacement at their position since then? Have any been signed for a bigger payday with a different club - here, or overseas?

Ryan Finley, 9th pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft by the Columbus Crew, returns to Crew Stadium this weekend. He isn't the answer to any of the questions above, but none of the draft picks meet the qualifications in my first paragraph. The MLS draft is silly.

I like Ryan Finlay. He's a breed of player that MLS relies on while at the same time takes for granted. A "do your part, stay in line, don't ask questions" type of college kid. The league would prefer them to be like one of those generic enemies in that latest video game military shooter. Fodder. Dempsey filler, perhaps. But Finley sort of dares to step out a bit.



Twenty some games in, playing on his second team, trying to get the dozens of fans fired up along with teammates on a league owned franchise. Dash of fire. Hint of passion. He wants to be somebody and in a league filled with nobodies, that's more than good enough for me.

Finley Sent to LA's MLS Owned Team

The more you think about it the more you realize Ryan Finley has to be pleased about being traded to a team in L.A. that is in the process of getting an overhaul and, well... in L.A.

The official deal between the Crew and Chivas USA was for the player (Finley) and a conditional 2016 2nd round pick. The deal was just one of many yesterday with the MLS owned side was very busy yesterday being involved in just about every deal that went down between them, the Colorado Rapids, Toronto FC and Columbus Crew in a league trading with the league event dripping with cronyism that I'm not going to bother (nor is it worth) sorting out.

CREW ROSTER, WIET

The Crew roster is now made more whole, as they freed up a spot to take Matt Wiet off the inactive (injury) list. With the roster still at 30 they will have to make another move if they want to sign a new player with the decent chunk of cap space they have (somewhere around the half million mark).

FINLEY GOALS AND APPS

I like Finley as a player. He fits a role that I feel more MLS teams need yet don't bother trying. He might not be fast (which is something MLS overvalues), he might not be good in space (not many in MLS are) but he does know his way around the goal when in the box. It's an instinct he has.

With that, I have a message for those mentioning apps and goals (as things are listed on wiki). Stop doing that. STOP. He had 14 appearances but only 435 minutes. That's 30 minutes an app. On top of that there is a lot more to the game for 98% of the players that play it. This isn't basketball (even there these days...) and it isn't a box score. Advance a bit.

Up there on the left is his record. In red is where get got a goal and assist. Even if you have no idea who the player is, production there shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. He got a chance and made good, so how about we meet in the middle; a goal and an assist in three 2013 starts.

DAYTON, ATTITUDE

Reports from both Dayton and Columbus say that Finley was not happy about being "sent down" to Dayton to play with the Dutch Lions. Not sure who would like that, especially if a guy like Adam Bedell is getting time on the first team. Should Finley have swallowed his pride and been a good little trooper? Nope.

Of course there are ways of handling that without it getting nasty (not sure if it did but assuming so because of the trade) but keeping players attitudes straight is just as much, if not more, the responsibility of the coaches.

If Berhalter and Co. can't handle the attitude of a 20-something college graduate, that's on them. Shipping away should only be a last resort (team building 101, here). Especially for a team that can't find the back of the net and needs all the options they can get up top.

Anyhow. Paycheck is the same. Grab your stuff, get on a flight, change kits, get to work.

RD1: Win, Couple Late Goals

Crew take care of Chivas in LA.

1ST HALF -
Outside of a couple clear changes Chivas should have buried it was an uninspiring first half for both teams. Columbus did seem to have the upper hand most of it but the game seemed to settle into a indeterminate mush by halftime. As a matter of fact it felt like halftime had arrived at 35 minutes the way the players were strolling around.

Which raises the question; Why was an eastern time zone team playing a night game out west on opening day? Was the league trying to make sure Chivas USA filled the stadium? Attendance was listed at 7100 fans. Hard to believe it would have been much less had it been played in the afternoon in LA.

2ND HALF --
Things burst into life in the 55th minute when Federico Higuain curled in a beautiful shot from 25 yards. From there both teams seem to find some added enthusiasm for the match.

Juan Agudelo and Miller Bolaños entrances into the game allowed Chivas to press forward and look more dangerous but finishing quality was severely lacking. Eventually they couldn't find the equalizer and let a couple late goals get by that pushed the scoreline to a misleading 3:0.

CREW NOTES ---



• Crew backline made a number of mistakes throughout the evening. Chivas missed a couple they should have put away midway through the first half. Crew dodged disaster there.

• Higuain seemed to be in mini battles with a couple different players all evening. There was much ankle kicking and retaliation.

• The Josh Williams volley off a late corner pretty incredible. Swinging his leg across his body like that and redirecting perfectly to the opposite corner through traffic. Not a fluke. He had one similar in the preseason. He's clearly put in tons of work.

• Dominic Oduro's goal in the 3rd min of extra time was his thing and well done. Other than that though... he's not a midfielder.

• The Crew are staying out west this week (instead of flying back) and taking on Vancouver March 9th, 730 PM eastern.. Curiously; Justin Meram and Eric Gehrig did not make the trip.

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MASSIVE REPORT
Say tuned to Massive Report for more news and analysis on the Crew.

Crew Round 29, 89th Minute Win

Columbus takes all three points at home after some late game dramatics, 1:0.

1ST HALF
I was in the south stands so can't comment much more then to say the first 30 minutes of the half looked pretty even. From there, Chivas seemed to settle back a little and tried to control the match from the midfield.

(The game is locked on MLS Live till tomorrow night.)

2ND HALF
(Moved to my perch in the upper east stands and had a better view.) Chivas looked organized and didn't look like a bottom of the table team but they did struggle to get the ball into attacking positions. A quick check of the stats says they only were able to get 2 shots off in the 2nd half.

Chivas seemed pretty content to play for the draw, which is weird. The good thing for Crew fans was that Coach Robert Warzycha was not content with a draw. He must have sensed that Chivas was dropping back and made a fairly uncharacteristic sub before the 60' mark (Emilio Renteria for Dilly Duka). Ten minutes later he brought on another that changed the pace of the match, Tony Tchani for Milovan Mirosevic.

Tchani played much more aggressive going forward then Mirosevic and was sharper with his distribution. The Crew started to look dangerous and the team with more to lose. Finally, in the 80th minute Justin Meram was inserted for what looked to be an injured Eddie Gaven.

Subbing three attacking players in against a team who didn't appear interested in going forward proved to be the best course of action. The match was headed for a draw had Warzycha not. Instead the Crew were able to get a goal in the 89th minute. Just about everyone on the team contributed to Justin Meram's goal. Jairo Arrieta, it should be mentioned, took a foot to the face - while he was heading a ball - while flat on his back - for a credited assist.

GAME NOTES AFTER GAME OVER
• Tony Tchani really changed the match. He can be frustrating sometimes with his poor distribution but last night he grew into the game quickly, he was a technical and physical presence.

• Crew finally get a shutout after 10 game dry spell. This same thing happened at the end of last year, incidentally (Aug. 5th, 2011 to Oct. 2nd 2011, 10 games).

• The Crew have some nasty habits and/or patterns (be it Warzycha or his staff) late in seasons.

• Emilio Renteria has taken his new roll and new position in stride. This is important to the team in so many ways.

• Danny O'Rourke was solid. His health is key.

• Nice night for Federico Higuain but you have to wonder about that "injection" Dr. R. Warzycha is talking about. Those things don't heal you, they aleviate the pain while it heals. Keep an eye on that.

• Columbus had some players out there at the end that just wanted it more then Chivas. Namely; Jairo Arrieta, Justin Meram, Tony Tchani and Josh Williams.

• Almost 14k fans on a Wednesday in Columbus. Two teams higher up the table in NY and KC only drew 10k (in New Jersey).

Puzzling Crew v. Chivas Game

It was clear that the Crew set out to put away some goals on Saturday night. Perhaps coach Warzycha watched some of the Philadelphia Union / Toronto FC game earlier that day and gained even more confidence in his game plan. Only problem is that Warzycha couldn't help but make changes to something that wasn't broken in the back.

The Crew's defense had been solid, mid-field? Average. With that, the expected changes were done to the front with Mendoza, Heinemann and Ekpo in CAM role. They were. And it kinda worked save for the fact that for some reason Warzycha couldn't keep his hands off the things that had been working.

THE MIDFIELD
The change to add Gardner over both Rusmir and Burns was bizarre. To start the game Warzycha switched Rogers to the right and Gaven to the left was again, bizarre.

The results of the changes in the middle were thus: Gardner went rogue, seemingly everywhere and out of position often. Which could have contributed to why Gaven looked out of position and made it seem like Robbie started his international break early.

The Crew MF of Gaven, Rogers and Gardner, in that formation = Garbage. If possession stats say anything, it says that.

UP FRONT
Ekpo played confidently though. His assist to Mendoza was all hustle and skill. His turn in the box and shot in goal was skillful as well.

Heinemann again proved that he is a threat when streaking towards goal and in the air even though his touches in the mid-field weren't great. Maybe he wouldn't have had to do that had the Crew's MF not been blown up.

Mendoza. His two goals were FIFA 11 like. High quality. I've been watching the Crew since I moved here in 2006 and I can only think of a handful of goals scored that confidently. Inexplicably, Warzycha pulled him with plenty of time on the clock preventing him from a deserved hat trick. I heard he walked off right after the sub. Some say he was physically hurt. I say he felt he was robbed of reaching 3. Regardless, it doesn't excuse walking off the pitch into the locker room.

THE BACK
Hesmer may have been able to play better. A messy headed ball across the post caught him once. Another time a strong shot bounced off his hands at 5 yards out and fell in the goal. I can't say that he should have gotten them, but I know to expect a lot from him. I've seen him make those saves.

Chivas came out on the attack and caught the D off guard. Once order was restored in the second half in the MF I noticed Marshall playing better. His form was restored.

FINALLY, THE ALBATROSS
Cunningham. He did look good and he was all fight. But it was with fresh legs against tired ones. I know the game plan for the franchise this year was to get some players experience, hopefully sneak in the playoffs and get Cunningham two goals for the MLS record. But I think the weight of this record is causing some bad decisions.

When Renteria comes back we probably shouldn't see him coming on in critical situations.

CONSISTENCY IN PERFORMANCE
In any performance based industry you look for consistency. Even if you are not hitting the target you can build off consistency. The analogy here is archery. If you are hitting the same target over and over (even the barn behind the target) at least you can expect, learn from and understand the mechanics involved in doing so. What Warzycha did was disrupt the consistency in the MF and CDM. Two things that were, if anything, consistent outside of the one game (data point) in San Jose. Now the Crew thinks they solved the problem of scoring goals. But under the surface they've created a new one in preventing them.

Now we have arrows going everywhere. Not good with NY coming up.

Crew Game Program

Tryin' her out.