MLS Commissionner Don Garber met a few supporters at local pub Burgundy Lion to answer their questions and address some of the concerns prior to the Impact's inaugural season in the league next year.
Pint in hand, I was present to see what M. Garber had to say about Montreal's progress. Along with club president Joey Saputo, they discussed growth, markets, viability and salary caps.
Together, they answered a dozen simple questions and Garber seemed a bit disappointed that the crowd wasn't as pumped as the Portland fans. To be fair to him, there were about 40 to 50 supporters including the club's staff.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Garber admitted that he wasn't really a fan of the game before joining the league's administration in 1999. Today, he's turned into a true and loyal supporter: "Soccer gets under your skin. I love it. It's like a virus". Being the league's commissionner and all, I was hoping he would say that..
He discussed the importance of understanding the fans to ensure the league's development in the long run, without using them as a marketing incentive for sponsors. "We are looking to build fan base, but aren't necessarily interested in taking your info and sending it to our partners. We have to understand our fans, and what drives them".
In the long run, "the MLS will become as good as the Premier League, we'll be able to compete against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United", Garber said.
The MLS commissionner also mentionned the Santos Laguna game and how surprised he was to see a 52 000 crowd for a non-MLS team.
Club president Joey Saputo discussed Montreal's team approach to the MLS next year. Not a believer of the superstar/designated player approach, Saputo explained that he preferred to look at clubs like Real Salt Lake.
Over the past months, it seems that he's been stressing this in a few of the MLS-releated press conferences. I suppose that the club wants to explain to its current and future fanbase not to expect a star-studded starting eleven next year, which is understandable really.
It's easy to see why, especially from a club's financial perspective, but I'm curious to see how the future Montreal MLS fans will react. Soccer fans in Montreal are obviously looking at teams like New York and Los Angeles and hoping that Saputo will 'splash the cash' on one or two designated players...
The club president also explained his concerns about being the third Canadian team to join the MLS. "Toronto joined the league in 2007 and it was a success. Vancouver looks like it's going to be even better. Now it's up to us."
Garber and Saputo both addressed the player development status explaining that homegrown players are beneficial to the markets. Rather than have to buy a DP or go through a draft, teams can focus on developing their own players. "All MLS teams must have a player development program".
Apart from that, there were a few discussions about market viability (and I decided to focus on my pint at that exact moment).
We've got something going here in Montreal, let's keep it up.
As for club ownership, Garber did mention a thing or two about MLS team owners who operate several team franchises under the same banner. Was he taking a swipe at MLSE? Perhaps. Is it any different from Colorado Rapids owners also having he Avalanche, Nuggets and Rams? Nope. And how did they do last year?