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After Frank Lampard NYCFC mess, it’s time to blow MLS up and start over

By Zac Wassink

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The debacle involving Frank Lampard and NYCFC shows why MLS needs a fresh start.

Every professional sports organization on the planet has questionable moments from time to time. It’s what happens when human beings who have flaws are put in charge. The National Football League is, for example, coming off of a playoff game involving the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys that left more than a few observers dropping the “fix” word. Major League Soccer is certainly not immune to the occasional miscue. Those running the league sometimes trip over themselves, and other times they make what are, upon review, poor and regrettable decisions.

This mess involving New York City Football Club, Frank Lampard and MLS is, however, a different matter.

What has evolved into one of the bigger stories to hit North American club soccer in recent memory gets stranger and more infuriating with every turn. The previously mentioned Lampard remaining with NYCFC parent club Manchester City through the completion of the current Premier League season was always likely, and those who believed otherwise were in denial. It is the news that Lampard is a City Football Group employee who may realistically never step foot on a pitch for a competitive match while wearing a NYCFC kit after he was used by the MLS outfit for promotional purposes last summer that is making the expansion side look as plastic as ever.

This issue is no longer about one team or a single ownership group. It has embarrassed those who passionately follow MLS, it has left some NYCFC customers demanding refunds for money spent on season tickets, and it has shown a massive spotlight on glaring issues that are holding MLS back from growing into a league that is as respected as are the so-called “top four” organizations on the continent. No explanations, apologies or public relations press releases can fix or erase the damage done by what is being referred to as “Lampardgate.”

The time for drastic changes to strike MLS has arrived, and it begins with the man who runs the league.

There is, right now today, zero indication that MLS commissioner Don Garber did not have full knowledge on the situation regarding Lampard, NYCFC and Manchester City in the summer of 2014. If that is indeed the case, Garber unintentionally or not had a hand in a conspiracy that involved merchandise and ticket sales based on the lie that Lampard was a NYCFC player when he wasn’t. That is absolutely unacceptable, a more serious offense than anything NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was guilty of in 2014.

In short, Garber has to go. Immediately. Today.

MLS fans now have no reason to believe anything that Garber or any other league official states during press conferences or via any other platform. That is an impossible situation for any league, let alone one that is constantly fighting for recognition and legitimacy as is MLS. Garber is now, fair or not, the public face of a sham, and his mishandling of the Lampard situation has stripped him of the right to lead the North American top-flight league for another day.

The days of MLS needing a businessman who may one day want to be commissioner of the NFL to lead the league are in the past. MLS recently landed a new media rights deal (one that may do more harm than good for the league, but that’s another story) Garber has realized his dream of having two clubs in the New York and Los Angeles markets, and MLS is now, during the regular season, featured programming on multiple cable networks. Garber did plenty positive for the league, and his final act should be to step down for the good of MLS.

In his place, MLS needs to appoint knowledgeable soccer individuals who also happen to be smart businessmen/businesswomen. There is no reason that MLS, or any other league for that matter, needs to have one individual in charge. A board of directors, one that consists of former players, former coaches/managers and former general managers, would work just fine in helping MLS grow in popularity and in exposure. MLS will have a chance of becoming a top-tier soccer league only when top-tier soccer people are in charge.

The first task of that mythological board would be to restructure how players sign for MLS teams. MLS having a salary cap makes sense for a lot of reasons, but the league’s minimum salaries for players of certain age groups has to raise. Any club that can afford to have a single designated player on its roster should be able to pay every guy on the senior squad at least $50-60,000 a year. A 22-year old coming out of college who signs for a MLS club shouldn’t have to live with three teammates just so he can afford his apartment and also be able to pay off school loans.

And another note: It is past time to allow players to join whatever teams they want. Keep the MLS SuperDraft if you absolutely must, but practices such as blind draws for players and discovery claims have got to go. LA Galaxy did not discover Steven Gerrard anymore than I discovered Cristiano Ronaldo by watching him via beIN Sports. Limiting both the amount of money that can be spent on squads and the amount of designated players each team can have is enough to guarantee spirited competition every MLS season.

An additional task that needs to be accomplished is MLS addressing the promotion/relegation issue. There are valid arguments on either side of the coin here, and those who believe the matter is black-and-white need to put personal agendas aside and embrace real conversations on the subject. MLS remaining a single-entity league for the foreseeable future “just because” isn’t going to cut it anymore. Those in charge of MLS need to explain why the league is against the model utilized by the top soccer competitions in the world, if for no other reason than to give the public a better idea of where MLS is headed between now and the end of the decade.

The most disheartening thing about the Lampard-NYCFC debacle is that nothing is going to change. Garber will remain in charge of MLS, NYCFC will be a Manchester City farm team that is a tool to expand the City brand in the United States, and fans will continue to be left in the dark regarding how certain players link up with teams. Only when fans demand better and stop giving their money to MLS will needed improvements come to the league. Until then, MLS will remain major in name only.

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