Over at deseretnews.com, their Real Salt Lake correspondent had this to say about United after this week: "After stinking it up for most of the season, MLS defending champion D.C. United stepped it big time last week." This, from a guy who covers a team who’s only achievement this season looks to be setting the MLS record for longest goal-scoring drought. At the beginning of the season, RSL’s roster looked like it should be able to compete immediately with Eddie Pope anchoring defense, Clint Mathis looking to regain his playmaking and scoring form, and Jason Kreis knocking on the 100-career-goal door. But for some reason, the team hasn’t clicked at all during the first half of the season. I hope the team can click in the second half and reward the Salt Lake City fans, which have given it the 2nd highest average attendance in the league.
Also, over in MLS Owners Face Thinking Cap Time, we learn that the league’s owners might be ready to loosen the purse strings and spend a little more cash on teams and players. I don’t think we’ll see $10 million payrolls or Europe’s best players over here anytime soon – European Leagues and the Champions League will continute to be the proving ground for the game’s elite players. B bumping the salary cap near the $3 million range should allow MLS teams to attract the best American (North, Central, and South!) talent and then judiciously transfer some stars to European clubs.
The consensus among the owners was that more money needs to be invested in MLS, particularly in player acquisition, so that the standard of play continues to rise.