There are two main concerns that have come to the forefront for me through the signing of Clint Dempsey. The first is regarding the allocation process. Previously, if a USMNT player came back to MLS, he was subject to a very strict allocation process. There is a set allocation order, the team at the top of the list has the right of first refusal. If they claim the player then he is obligated to play for them. If they refuse, the next team in line can claim him. Claiming a player moves you to the bottom of the list. If the incoming player has a specific team in mind that he wants to play for, that team had better be near the top of the list or needs to make a trade with a team above them to move up in the allocation order. This happened as recently as July 1, when (former) USMNT captain Carlos Bocanegra came back to MLS. Chivas USA wanted him, but were 15th in the pecking order, so they had to make a trade with Toronto FC, who was at the top of the list. For their troubles, TFC got the Goats' 2015 first round draft pick and an international slot through 2014, and Chivas got their man. That's a pretty steep price for a 34-year-old player who is in the twilight of his career. Having the top spot in the allocation order is a very important bargaining chip.
Deuce in the WCQ vs. Honduras
So when news of Deuce possibly coming stateside broke, everyone went to the allocation order and saw Portland Timbers at the top of the order, with Sounders second. If Sounders wanted their man, the Timbers, their bitter rival, was going to have to be very well compensated in order to give up their right of first refusal. Only it didn't happen that way. Dempsey was unveiled as a Sounder without any whisper of a trade. Why? Because the MLS sidestepped their own allocation process to push this through. How did this happen? They created a loophole by saying that since he was a designated player, and therefore wasn't subject to the allocation process. Here is the direct quote from MLS:
"For new players signed by an MLS club as a Designated Player, the allocation process does not apply. Examples of this include previous high profile player signings like David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane and US national team player Claudio Reyna when he signed with New York."
That's all well and good, except for that it's a pile of crap that MLS threw together to justify the move in retrospect. This "policy" was not outlined in the past, and in fact there is more recent precedent for just the opposite. Freddy Adu's return to MLS was governed by the allocation process. He was not a "designated player" in the season he came back because he was only there half a season, but he was easily making D.P. money and was a D.P. starting at the beginning of the next season. Another example is the case of Mix Diskerud earlier this year, for whom it was assumed Portland would be using their allocation spot to acquire earlier this year despite the fact that he would have been signed as a D.P.
I understand why MLS did it. This is a big time move with lots of implications for the league as outlined in my reaction yesterday. If the Timbers played hardball with Seattle to either extract more from them for swapping spots in the allocation order, it could have bogged down or delayed the transfer. With a move like this lined up, time was of the essence, and any delays could see a very important opportunity for MLS disappear into thin air. But the ends don't always justify the means, and bending or reinterpreting rules for convenience, especially when it puts one of the biggest signings in league history into the hands of one of the bigger teams (and let's face it, favoritism has been a large criticism of MLS in the past) is unjustified in my opinion.
I also understand that top players are going to want a say in where they want to go. That, in and of itself, is no problem at all. What is a problem is when the league has an established set of rules that they decide to bend or break whenever it is convenient for them to do so. It leaves teams like Portland, who have long maneuvered to get that top allocation spot, in the lurch, as their previously valuable asset is now devalued. The buzz word that has been thrown around a lot this week is transparency, and it is in fact needed. Fans spend time and money to follow MLS and there ought to be a gentlemen's agreement that the rules of the league they hold deal should be clear.
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