MLS - MEXICO advice

ok guys i've never managed in the MLS or mexico - i've heard the transfer system is completely different like in the NFL?

any help would be good as i'm about to start a new save in america with just mls and mexico loaded

is the new system easy or confusing ?

Confusing.

Stupid.

Idiotic.

The three best words to describe it imo. I would not even think about playing in mickey mouse league soccer.

its not easy but not confusing, use the internet to do some research on it would probably be your best bet

Im sure the Mexican system is normal, though, i would avoid the MLS unless you have a clear grasp of the transfer system.

MLS is god awful.

it is different but its a great challenge on fm. a lot different to the other leagues. in mls the players are owned centrally by the league rather than by the clubs. in fm you trade players with other mls team or you can buy them with the allocation funds that you have (this is usually a relatively small amount compared to european clubs). players can be bought from abroad by mls teams however. you can also buy players in exhange for draft picks.

a draft is held every january where each team gets to pick youth players mainly from the usa, canada, mexico etc. the team that came bottom of the league gets the first draft in the next season.

Give it a go, its pretty interesting. the people who call it mickey mouse are just the people who cant grasp it

choose mexico, you can play on south ameican continental cups, and concacaf champions league

i forgot to mention that there is also a salary cap which is tough to budget around. you can have a designated player outside the salary cap though. the good thing about the salary cap is that over a long term game the clubs do stay pretty even talent wise.

there is also restriction on the amount of senior players you can have (18 i think it is). this is to encourage youner players through. you can offer players youth contracts up til they are about 23. the best way to build up your squad without taking too much of your salary cap or senior squad places is to draft/trade as many 'generation adidas' players as you can...generation adidas is given to the top youth players

Most of the people who say MLS is crap don't even understand the concepts in MLS. If you understand the transfer system and the way the league operates, it's a fun league to play in.

ok thanks guys i don't mind brazil and the south american teams but i've never done the northern section so i think i will give it ago and see for myself

I have to agree with rancer890 and SucksAtFM with regards to the MLS. It's really not as bad as you think. The majority of the people who trash it won't even bother to figure it out.

There are even some unique things about it which appeal to people. For example, you don't have to offer new contracts to players acquired from other MLS clubs, you just assume their current contract. The draft has it's critics but those who have figured it out like it. And personally I like having to manage not much more than 28 players, rather than 100+ players on teams in other countries.

If you use MLS you'll definitely want to load at least the dop division in Mexico, as you'll come across Mexican teams in SuperLiga and Champion's League play...otherwise, you'll run into the problem I had of when you meet up with a Mexican opponent it'll say something like "unbeaten in their last 25 games" and you'll be run into the ground. With Mexico playable/viewable you'll find it's a much more even playing field.

There are some quirks that can be exploited, too, if you use Toronto FC in the game. Normally you can't sign "youth" players from American-based teams as they're reserved for the draft...BUT you can sign Canadian players from Canadian teams that are listed under the US (Toronto, Ottawa, Abbotsford and Thunder Bay) I managed to sign a 15 year-old midfielder regen with huge potential for no compensation and gave him some first-team action here and there.

In fact, I just made the latest updates to my database regarding MLS and am getting ready to start a new game as I type...

Oh, and one quick question- have any MLSers had a player come out of the youth academies in their games?

If you use MLS you'll definitely want to load at least the dop division in Mexico, as you'll come across Mexican teams in SuperLiga and Champion's League play...otherwise, you'll run into the problem I had of when you meet up with a Mexican opponent it'll say something like "unbeaten in their last 25 games" and you'll be run into the ground. With Mexico playable/viewable you'll find it's a much more even playing field.

There are some quirks that can be exploited, too, if you use Toronto FC in the game. Normally you can't sign "youth" players from American-based teams as they're reserved for the draft...BUT you can sign Canadian players from Canadian teams that are listed under the US (Toronto, Ottawa, Abbotsford and Thunder Bay) I managed to sign a 15 year-old midfielder regen with huge potential for no compensation and gave him some first-team action here and there.

In fact, I just made the latest updates to my database regarding MLS and am getting ready to start a new game as I type...

Oh, and one quick question- have any MLSers had a player come out of the youth academies in their games?

No youth players came through during my 5-year stint at RSL.

it is fun but the whole playoff system is rubbish, i came fourth in the western conference with SJ Earthquakes and ended up winning the mls in the final against the all conquering Kansas City Wizards and i felt kind of sorry for them as they rarely dropped points in the season and stuffed me twice.

well guys i started the save in july 08 - which meant i already had 2nd place to start on as LA galaxy as 16 games had been automatically played and we had 27 points

it was very confusing at first but i soon got to grips with the trading system - signing players for draft slots which might hamper me in the draft which i haven't got to yet but it's something i'm really looking forward to

i also got offered a young mexican LB from pecos for my entire allocation fund which i acepted because he was the best at that position

all in all i would say it takes about 2-3 hours to grasp the system but so far i think i have it all in my head

just 1 question i have beckham on a DP (designated player) what does this mean and is it better to change it?

A designated player is a player that you can sign for over the league max of US$325k (or somewhere near that amount), and only a minor portion of his salary counts against the cap (not sure the exact amount).

I don't think you can change the amount on Beckham's contract, unless he's willing to take a big paycut, which won't happen.

And playoffs are no big deal, there are playoffs in England too...and many other leagues in Europe.

DP's allow you to offer a player more than the $375,000 salary limit, while counting only $375,000 against your cap. In theory this should allow MLS teams to compete with the European leagues is signing quality players, but in real life it typically means bringing in ageing stars that can't quite cut it in the top leagues anymore (Beckham the obvious exception, and Fulham were apparently interested in bringing McBride back.) Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a clear system FM uses to determine who you can offer DP money to- I've come across several younger players with huge potential but my board won't let me offer over the max salary to acquire them. On the other hand, I've come across older Brazilian players (with numerous caps) that my board is willing to open up the checkbook for...In fact, the only time I've ever signed a DP with Toronto FC was to re-sign Marvell Wynne. Too bad the $800,000 a year they gave me wasn't enough to keep him happy with all the "interest" he was attracting. He was worth $4 million or so, so I set my asking price to $12 million...and someone met it. Crap.

Beckham isn't even in the top three of DP who have done well in the MLS. Blanco, Angel and Schletto have all done better, though obviously Beckham is the biggest name.

Confusing.

Stupid.

Idiotic.

The three best words to describe it imo. I would not even think about playing in mickey mouse league soccer.

It has, at least, proved to be stable and making business sense.

Season 14 kicks off tonight with our newest franchise in Seattle, and there's at least three more teams coming in over the next three years, so we're obviously doing something right!

Season 14 kicks off tonight with our newest franchise in Seattle, and there's at least three more teams coming in over the next three years, so we're obviously doing something right!

Yeah man, I am excited about the Seattle expansion team. MLS seems to be progressing quite nicely at the moment. Hopefully none of the current teams or future expansions will go the way of the old Florida teams.

Vancouver got awarded an MLS franchise!!! C'mon MLS, add another team in the Northwest!! PORTLAND!!!

I think it's down to Portland and St. Louis...and although I personally like Portland more, Garber will probably award a franchise in St. Louis...

Vancouver got awarded an MLS franchise!!! C'mon MLS, add another team in the Northwest!! PORTLAND!!!

I think it's down to Portland and St. Louis...and although I personally like Portland more, Garber will probably award a franchise in St. Louis...

Rumour is that there is an MLS press conference in Portland on Friday. Hopefully good news. Will it be the Timbers that join or a new Portland team? With Seattle and Vancouver that would make it 3 former USL teams in MLS! Shame the USL isn't in FM anymore.

Rumour is that there is an MLS press conference in Portland on Friday. Hopefully good news. Will it be the Timbers that join or a new Portland team? With Seattle and Vancouver that would make it 3 former USL teams in MLS! Shame the USL isn't in FM anymore.

I think they would probably want to stick with the same name. During the 'Name the Club' contest for the Seattle franchise, the Sounders weren't an option, and many fans wanted the Sounders name, so many fans wrote 'Sounders' as a write in...

I would love a Seattle-Vancouver-Portland Northwest rivalry!!

I think they would probably want to stick with the same name. During the 'Name the Club' contest for the Seattle franchise, the Sounders weren't an option, and many fans wanted the Sounders name, so many fans wrote 'Sounders' as a write in...

I would love a Seattle-Vancouver-Portland Northwest rivalry!!

lol a bit of decent rivalry would do the league some good. I like the fact that the USL clubs do have a little bit of history behind them too. Maybe the MLS Timbers could coax Timber Jim out of retirement!

Getting back (somewhat) on topic...how many of you actually sign DP's? To be honest I've never needed one to win the league (or Cup, or Champion's League, or World Club, etc.)...

Getting back (somewhat) on topic...how many of you actually sign DP's? To be honest I've never needed one to win the league (or Cup, or Champion's League, or World Club, etc.)...

I had Ljungberg a season but then he was willing to take a pay cut so I just gave him a senior one instead. Then I didnt need one for a quite a while. But I got the chance to have Beckham at RSL and I couldn't resist so he took up my DP allocation. He ended up costing me a fortune though.

I would say its quite possible to win competitions without one though but I wouldn't recommend trading your DP spot just incase you get the chance to sign that superstar player that can take your team to a higher level

Confusing.

Stupid.

Idiotic.

The three best words to describe it imo. I would not even think about playing in mickey mouse league soccer.

Stupid and Idiotic is how I'd describe your post but each to their own.

My best advice to the OP would be to look at rancers posts. He has a good knowledge of the MLS transfer system which is essential if you're going to enjoy it over there. Once you get to grips with the drafts etc, it is a very enjoyable league to play

Stupid and Idiotic is how I'd describe your post but each to their own.

My best advice to the OP would be to look at rancers posts. He has a good knowledge of the MLS transfer system which is essential if you're going to enjoy it over there. Once you get to grips with the drafts etc, it is a very enjoyable league to play

Thanks for the compliment mate. :o

Honesty, I don't mind these MLS bashers. I don't mind if people say my domestic league is League One quality. Most bashers don't even understand the basic concepts of the league and what MLS Commish Don Garber wants for the league. The downfall of the NASL was improper use of financial resources, and the league went bankrupt.

MLS needs a solid financial ground in order to progress. Garber's number one goal is to make sure the league can thrive and make money. Some teams are starting to make a profit. Teams are building soccer specific stadiums as they groundshare with American football stadiums until their stadiums are built. The league has a TV deal with ESPN. There are soccer fans in Canada and America. There is support for these teams and the league is growing. Like I said before, Vancouver was awarded an MLS franchise. Another franchise will be announced in the coming days, and MLS is looking at more expansion. The MLS season starts tonight, with the newest expansion Seattle Sounders FC against Red Bull New York at Qwest Field. 32,500 screaming fans in the American Northwest will see that game. Some EPL teams can't even match with that. My Toronto FC team has sold out every game since their first game. I want season tickets. I can't because there's a waiting list!!

The drafts and the trades are all used for parity. Our system in America is different than Europe, along with our support for our local professional sport teams. Just because you don't understand something, it doesn't mean you're right and others are wrong. Maybe consider trying to understand something further before you make an ill-advised conclusion.

I enjoy the MLS and the 'Quakes are pretty much the only team I can really call myself a fan of in all of soccer/football, but the overall quality of MLS isn't all that great. There are certainly good players there, but the biggest problem is the depth. There isn't any. I know why they did it, and it make sense, really, but getting rid of the reserve league and cutting four roster spots probably won't help.

Getting back (somewhat) on topic...how many of you actually sign DP's? To be honest I've never needed one to win the league (or Cup, or Champion's League, or World Club, etc.)...

Not me, and considering the way things have been going I don't think I will.

I never sign a DP. I don't need one...

In other news, Portland will be the home of the 18th franchise in MLS.

I enjoy the MLS and the 'Quakes are pretty much the only team I can really call myself a fan of in all of soccer/football, but the overall quality of MLS isn't all that great. There are certainly good players there, but the biggest problem is the depth. There isn't any. I know why they did it, and it make sense, really, but getting rid of the reserve league and cutting four roster spots probably won't help.

Too true. I'm really dreading how this plays out in FM10- how am I going to keep my backups in match-fit condition now? Not to mention the fact that my reserve team freindlies bring in an extra $200,000 or so each year...

MLS is a fun league to play, here is some of the rules.

1. Max of 18 players on senior contracts (just changed to 20 in real life)

2. Max of 10 players on Development contracts (Including Generation Adidas player (will explain later) ) (just changed to 4 in real life)

3. Max of 8 International players (18 for Toronto FC)

4. Salary Cap for the team

5. Designated player, which is some kind of star players (like David Beckham) that normally have a large wage but only counts as 375.000 dollars (league max) against the salary cap. Every team can only have 1, unless the team trades for one of the other teams Designated player slots.

6. Super Draft, is a draft where the clubs can draft young talents in 4 rounds, the team that ended in last place the previous season starts and the winner is last to draft. however the teams can trade for better pick positions with each other.

7. Suplemental Draft, almost the same as Super Draft, but the players in the draft are the players that went undrafted in the Super Draft. (removed in real life)

8. the top 8 teams after 30 matches, will play each other in the playoffs.

9. No relegation.

10. The transfers is very special, when you want a player from another MLS team, you have several options when it comes to offers.

1. You can offer (or aquire) one or more draft picks for coming drafts (2009, 2010 ....)

2. Allocation Money, which is a kind of transfer money, but you can only use 500.000 dollars of the Allocation money, you get from transfers, for example if you sell a player for 750.000 dollars, you get 500.000 dollars to spend and the other 250.000 dollars will be added to your balance. If you sell a player to a club outside MLS, MLS will recieve 25 % of the transfer money.

3. Offer or aquire a players.

4. Offer or aquire an International slot

5. Offer or aquire a Designated player slot

6. A combination of the options above

When you want a player from clubs outside MLS, its like every other league.

11. Reserve league for those of your players, you do not use very often. (removed in real life)

12. Player rights, when a player gets drafted or waived, the rights to sign the players still remains with his former club (or the club that has drafted him), so in order to sign him you have to trade for his rights with one of the options above. But if the players has been waived before the waiver draft, he will enter that draft and could be picked up be another team. the rights to a player lasts a year.

13. Generation Adidas players is another kind of development players that has a higher wage and longer contracts, due to their young age and potential. (removed in real life, the existing GA players will remain as GA player until they sign a senior contract or a normal development contract)

Other usefull info about MLS.

Supposely Seattle Sounders FC will be added to MLS in Football Manager 2010. (is in the official 9.0.3 database, in a unplayable league, but can be swapped with any MLS team).

In the future, teams like: Philidelphia (2010), Vancouver Whitecaps (2011) and Portland Timbers (2011) will enter the MLS.

Here is the teams you can play as in Football Manager 2009.

Eastern Conference teams:

Chicago Fire

Columbus Crew

D.C. United

Kansas City Wizards

New England Revolution

Toronto FC

New York Red Bulls

Western Conference teams:

Chivas USA

Colorado Rapids

FC Dallas

Houston Dynamo

Los Angeles Galaxy

Real Salt Lake

San Jose Earthquakes

I hope this can help you .

One more thing, if you start a game with MLS, be sure to load some central/south american leagues as you will have a better chance getting quality players there, than in europe.

Some info I forgot:

14. There are 2 different development contracts in Football Manager 2009

Development contract: Wage 12.750 dollars (Min wage)

Senior Development contract: Wage 17.750 dollars (Max wage)

15. Min and max wages for senior contracts

Min Senior wage: 34.000 dollars

Max Senior wage: 375.000 dollars

All wages are per year, also the posts above.

MLS is a fun league to play, here is some of the rules.

1. Max of 18 players on senior contracts (just changed to 20 in real life)

2. Max of 10 players on Development contracts (Including Generation Adidas player (will explain later) ) (just changed to 4 in real life)

3. Max of 8 International players (18 for Toronto FC)

4. Salary Cap for the team

5. Designated player, which is some kind of star players (like David Beckham) that normally have a large wage but only counts as 375.000 dollars (league max) against the salary cap. Every team can only have 1, unless the team trades for one of the other teams Designated player slots.

6. Super Draft, is a draft where the clubs can draft young talents in 4 rounds, the team that ended in last place the previous season starts and the winner is last to draft. however the teams can trade for better pick positions with each other.

7. Suplemental Draft, almost the same as Super Draft, but the players in the draft are the players that went undrafted in the Super Draft. (removed in real life)

8. the top 8 teams after 30 matches, will play each other in the playoffs.

9. No relegation.

10. The transfers is very special, when you want a player from another MLS team, you have several options when it comes to offers.

1. You can offer (or aquire) one or more draft picks for coming drafts (2009, 2010 ....)

2. Allocation Money, which is a kind of transfer money, but you can only use 500.000 dollars of the Allocation money, you get from transfers, for example if you sell a player for 750.000 dollars, you get 500.000 dollars to spend and the other 250.000 dollars will be added to your balance. If you sell a player to a club outside MLS, MLS will recieve 25 % of the transfer money.

3. Offer or aquire a players.

4. Offer or aquire an International slot

5. Offer or aquire a Designated player slot

6. A combination of the options above

When you want a player from clubs outside MLS, its like every other league.

11. Reserve league for those of your players, you do not use very often. (removed in real life)

12. Player rights, when a player gets drafted or waived, the rights to sign the players still remains with his former club (or the club that has drafted him), so in order to sign him you have to trade for his rights with one of the options above. But if the players has been waived before the waiver draft, he will enter that draft and could be picked up be another team. the rights to a player lasts a year.

13. Generation Adidas players is another kind of development players that has a higher wage and longer contracts, due to their young age and potential. (removed in real life, the existing GA players will remain as GA player until they sign a senior contract or a normal development contract)

Other usefull info about MLS.

Supposely Seattle Sounders FC will be added to MLS in Football Manager 2010. (is in the official 9.0.3 database, in a unplayable league, but can be swapped with any MLS team).

In the future, teams like: Philidelphia (2010), Vancouver Whitecaps (2011) and Portland Timbers (2011) will enter the MLS.

Here is the teams you can play as in Football Manager 2009.

Eastern Conference teams:

Chicago Fire

Columbus Crew

D.C. United

Kansas City Wizards

New England Revolution

Toronto FC

New York Red Bulls

Western Conference teams:

Chivas USA

Colorado Rapids

FC Dallas

Houston Dynamo

Los Angeles Galaxy

Real Salt Lake

San Jose Earthquakes

I hope this can help you .

thanks mate this pretty much sums all the help i needed i just got La galaxy to the play-offs beckham is my DP by default but middlebrough want him for 4 million

if i want an other DP after beckham leaves how do i go about offering them the DP contract or is it just automatic?

also i've been handing out draft picks to teams like kansas and new england for some of their players is this a good idea as the draft is coming up do you get alot of good potential in every superdraft?

all in all though i'm really enjoying it it's certainly different from the english leagues

even though i have beckham which seems to help i like eddie lewis a former leeds player who i support and landon donovan is amazing for goals scored

Your board will decide if you are able to offer a DP contract to someone or not. Reputation of the player will play a role in whether or not they'll allow it.

I support Los Angeles Galaxy both in game and in real life (even though they have a crap defence), but not as much as Brøndby IF

You likely won't need a DP- there's usually plenty of cheap talent to be found in Brazil to put together a winning squad. If that fails, try looting the Czech or Romanian u-21 squads, as they're usually pretty cheap.

done my 1st draft and loved it

i'm not sure if it's just because it's a completely different format to what i'm used to or whether i just prefer it but yeah i'm really enjoying the MLS atm

won the pan pacific cup too

after winning 2 cups i'm 8th on the all-time hall of fame lol only name i recognise on there is bruce arena

I support Los Angeles Galaxy both in game and in real life (even though they have a crap defence), but not as much as Brøndby IF

This is off topic but i went to see bröndby play againts AGF a week ago sunday. My first game in brondby stadium, FANTASTIC athmosphere, comparable with st.james park:thup:

Sorry for drifting from the topic:o

This is off topic but i went to see bröndby play againts AGF a week ago sunday. My first game in brondby stadium, FANTASTIC athmosphere, comparable with st.james park:thup:

Sorry for drifting from the topic:o

i bet there's a harsh mist around st james park atm

can't believe how bad you're doing reminds me of leeds in there last premiership season

done my 1st draft and loved it

i'm not sure if it's just because it's a completely different format to what i'm used to or whether i just prefer it but yeah i'm really enjoying the MLS atm

won the pan pacific cup too

after winning 2 cups i'm 8th on the all-time hall of fame lol only name i recognise on there is bruce arena

Glad to hear you're enjoying it. Kudos to SI for reworking the MLS draft for 09- previous versions filled the draft with horrible players (i.e. 22 year-old with 74CA and 178PA). This time around you get the handful of players that can start immediately for some teams, dozens more that can at least occupy a squad slot without complaint. A HUGE help for making MLS viable over the long-term.

i want to give the mls a go on my game.

but im torn between chicago fire and san jose earthquakes.

which do you think would be a better game?

I would suggest Chicago Fire as they got a stronger team than San Jose Earthquakes.

i want to give the mls a go on my game.

but im torn between chicago fire and san jose earthquakes.

which do you think would be a better game?

doesn't really matter because in my experience there is very little between all of the teams and anybody with the right tactics can win it

i want to give the mls a go on my game.

but im torn between chicago fire and san jose earthquakes.

which do you think would be a better game?

Chicago Fire are easier at the start, with a better group of players like McBride and Blanco. Long term it doesn't matter, you will eventually win some league titles...

Sounds about right

The advantage San Jose offers is the initial roster doesn't have many foreign players, making it easier to load up on young talent (hello, Brazil!) plus you have the chance to sign a Designated Player, if you can find one that you believe will help. Chicago definitely has the better talent, though it'll be a struggle to hang onto many of their best players for very long. Plus, San Jose is stuck in their small stadium for a couple of years until their new one is built, so it may take a bit of work to keep the bank balance in the black.