DREWcorp's Guide To Managing In The MLS

Coaching in the MLS

After David Beckham's high profile move to LA Galaxy there has been worldwide interest in the MLS. However on FM2008 you'll quickly find that managing in the MLS while very unique it can be at times confusing. This guide was created with the intention of explaining the complex transfer system and to give an overall opinion on managing in the league itself.

Competitions

MLS

The MLS league consists of 13 teams divided into 2 conferences (East and West). You play each team within your conference 4 times and play the teams in the rival conference twice. At the end of the season the top 4 teams from each conference qualify for the end of season play-off to decide the winner of the MLS. Two groups, A and B, will be drawn with 4 teams in each and a two legged semi-final will occur before a final which will determine the winners of groups A and B. These winners will play one last game against each other with the winner being crowned MLS Champions.

MLS Cup

The MLS Cup is the domestic American cup. It is a straight forward knock-out competition.

Superliga

The Superliga is a league/knock-out tournament similar in format to the champions league. The top 4 teams from the MLS and the top 4 teams from Mexico are drawn into 2 groups of 4. Within the group stage, teams play each other once with the top 2 teams of both groups qualifying for the semi-finals. You will be rewarded 525k for winning the Superliga.

Squad Selection

Your MLS squad may contain no more than 28 players, of this only 18 are allowed to be Senior Players, the rest have to be MLS Drafted youth players on Developmental Contracts. You are permitted a maximum of 4 Senior Internationals, a Senior International is a non-domestic player who is 25 years old or older. You are also permitted a combined total of 7 Senior and Youth Internationals. A Youth International is a non-domestic player who is under the age of 24. It is important to give a squad number to every player in your squad whenever you are requested. Any player who is not given a squad number will be waived and removed from your squad with other teams able to approach him, if he remains without a club he may subsequently enter the MLS Supplemental Draft. Player's who have a season long injury are exempt from being waived.

Salary Cap

Every MLS team in the interests of fairness has a salary cap. The salary cap is set at roughly 20k a week, this is excluding staff wages, designated player's wages and player's on developmental contracts.

MLS SuperDraft

Before discussing the transfer structure within the MLS it is important to explain the MLS SuperDraft. The MLS SuperDraft takes place every year. There are 4 rounds of selection, within each round every MLS team is allowed to make one pick. The order in which teams are allowed to pick depends on where the team finished in the league the previous season. For example, the reigning MLS Champions are Houston Dynamo and therefore out of the 13 MLS teams they will pick last from the pool of talent in each round. Subsequently the team that finished bottom of the MLS would have the first pick within each of the rounds.

MLS Superdraft allocations can be exchanged with other MLS teams in exchange for players. This will be expanded upon in transfer structure.

MLS SupplementalDraft

Every year there is also a supplemental draft. Occuring after the MLS SuperDraft, any talent that remains undrafted or any players who were waived by MLS team's are entered into the MLS SupplementalDraft. The structure of the draft is identical to the MLS SuperDraft with 4 rounds of selection occuring. The allocation of supplemental drafts is again dependant upon where the team finished in the league the previous season.

Transfer Structure

Designated Player (Beckham Rule)

Each squad is permitted to have one designated player, this player's wage's are paid by the MLS and can amount up to the sum of Â£60,000 per week.

Discovery Players

You are permitted to sign 6 Discovery Players a season. Discovery Players are players who are signed from clubs outside the MLS, or who are signed as free agents not through the drafting system.

Be sure to be on the lookout for American and Canadian players based abroad who will be more willing to play in the MLS than a majority of other foreign players. South America is an area where there is plenty of talent willing to move to the MLS be sure to check these nations regularly for Discovery Players.

Trading In The MLS

If you wish to sign a player who plays for another MLS team you will have to initiate a trade for him. In the MLS you do not pay a transfer fee but instead either trade player's or draft allocations. For example, upon starting a game as LA Galaxy I noticed I needed a centre back. After identifying Nik Besagno of Real Salt Lake as a possible target I opened up negotiations. I offered my 2008 MLS 2nd Round SuperDraft pick in exchange for him. Real Salt Lake accepted and he was transfered with no need to negotiate a contract. While I had acquired a centre back, I had lost one of my draft picks. In the 2008 MLS SuperDraft I would now only be able to draft 3 players, while Real Salt Lake would be able to draft 5.

In the same manner you can approach to sign a player by offering one of your own player's in part exchange. Transfer's of this nature are harder to conclude as opposing team's may not be interested in the player you are suggesting.

This transfer system is something different and can provide a new challenge in FM. It is possible to trade your better players for several first round draft picks, enabling you to select the top youth talent emerging in america. On the other hand, it is also possible for you to trade your draft allocations for the best players in the league.

Waived Players

When a player is released by an MLS club they are declared as "waived". A player who is waived during the course of the MLS season is placed on the MLS waiver list for 2 days during which any MLS club may approach him. After the 2 days clubs who have announced their interest are allowed to offer the player a contract. However, similar to the drafting system a club who finished bottom of the league would be able to offer a contract before a club who finished higher than them would be able to. The team next in line to offer a contract will only be permitted to if the player rejects the contract of the team with the highest priority. If you sign a waived player you are immediately placed to the bottom of the priority list when approaching another waived player, you will therefore be the last club to be able to offer a contract to the player.

Thanks for taking the time to read this MLS guide. Please feel free to ask any questions is you are confused.

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