Robinson predicts influx of English players to MLS

[Loud Mouth Soup]

Wales midfielder Carl Robinson has predicted an influx of English players into Major League Soccer.

The 30-year-old Robinson left Norwich in January for Toronto, who play their first game in MLS when the new season gets under way on 7 April.

And the Welsh international told BBC Sport: "You might be surprised in the next few weeks. I think more and more English will come over now.

"I've had six or seven players asking if I will put in a word for them."

Interest in MLS increased in January when David Beckham announced he was leaving Real Madrid to play in America for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

[Calgary Boomer]

He's right...it's the European fascination with America, the increased responsibility without the increased media scrutiny and attention.

[VPjr]

If you are a middle of the road European player, coming to MLS allows you to:

a) play your sport at a relatively high level,

not get loaned out to some small town in order to get some playing time

c) make decent money

d) avoid having every part of your life on and off the field being scrutinized by the media.

This would surely be attractive to some footballers.

[Zola25]

Carl Robinson was recently written up in the Manchester Guardian in the run-up to this weeks Euro 2008 qualifying games. He is playing for Wales in their games with Ireland and San Marino.

quote:Wales's MLS pioneer extols the value of transatlantic switch

Jeremy Wilson

Friday March 23, 2007

The Guardian

Steve McClaren might beg to differ, but moving to Major League Soccer does not necessarily signal the end of an international career. The Wales midfielder Carl Robinson completed his switch from Norwich City to Toronto FC shortly before David Beckham's arrival at the Los Angeles Galaxy was greeted with a blaze of publicity.

Beckham's first competitive game for the Galaxy is expected to be against Toronto and although the former England captain will naturally be the star attraction it is Robinson who is currently central to his country's hopes of progressing to the Euro 2008 finals.

Article continues

"I wasn't tempted to give up on Wales - I'm a proud Welshman and it's an honour to represent my country," said Robinson. "Even before I decided whether I wanted to go, my first job was to speak to John [Toshack] about it to see where I was. He said: 'As long as you're playing and you're in form then you'll be considered to be in the squad.'"

Toronto's MLS season begins on April 7 and, before joining the Wales squad for this week's Euro 2008 qualifiers against the Republic of Ireland and San Marino, Robinson had been at a training camp in Tampa, Florida, with his new club-mates.

He has faced Beckham on four previous occasions during a career which has taken him from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Carrow Road via Shrewsbury Town, Portsmouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Walsall, Rotherham United, Sheffield United and Sunderland.

His new team are coached by the former Scotland forward Mo Johnston and they know that Beckham's likely MLS debut against Toronto on August 5 will be a global event.

"There's going to be a lot of good games this year but that's going to be a great occasion," said Robinson. "Football's not getting the coverage at the moment that it does in England but I'm sure when Mr Beckham arrives it will do.

"I've been in Florida for the last 2½ weeks and I would say 10 times on the TV in the mornings David and Victoria have been featured and he's not even joined yet. There's more and more people talking about going over and I think more will follow.

"I had actually agreed to go before David. I was delighted when he joined because I know the stuff that comes with David will boost the profile of the MLS. He's a fantastic footballer and a gentleman as well."

At the age of only 30 and with two years still remaining on his contract with Norwich, Robinson's decision to move to America came as something of a surprise. He says that it was driven by the search for a better quality of life and the chance to enjoy his football away from the constant media spotlight that affects most English clubs.

There is also the opportunity to begin work on his coaching qualification alongside Johnston's assistant Bob Gansler, who was the US national team coach at the 1990 World Cup.

"It's a lot more laid-back over there; it's hotter as well which is a big bonus," he said. "Me and my family go to America every year. We have done for the last four or five years for a month at a time, so it's always been at the back of my mind to live there.

"It [the salary] is a little bit smaller than Mr Beckham's but it's not a money issue for me because I had two years left at Norwich. Some footballers are quite happy to sit there, pick up their money and not play."

Robinson, who has an initial two-year deal at Toronto with a further option, also disputes the conventional wisdom that says Beckham's five-year $250m contract was the decisive factor in his decision to join the Galaxy.

"People have said he's moving for the money but I don't think he's doing that. I think his family are set [financially] anyway. He wants a change of lifestyle as well.

"I can probably understand more than most his motives. You know the media frenzy that goes with him. I don't know whether it will get worse or bigger in America. In LA it's a massive capital of showbiz and entertainment and he fits into that. I know he'll boost the profile of the MLS, and that's good for everyone involved."

Sounds pretty positive about both Toronto and the MLS.

[Soccerpro]

quote:Originally posted by Zola25

Carl Robinson was recently written up in the Manchester Guardian in the run-up to this weeks Euro 2008 qualifying games. He is playing for Wales in their games with Ireland and San Marino.

Sounds pretty positive about both Toronto and the MLS.

Your coming to Canada, not Florida! Its not exactly a tropical paradise!

[amacpher]

quote:Originally posted by VPjr

If you are a middle of the road European player, coming to MLS allows you to:

a) play your sport at a relatively high level,

not get loaned out to some small town in order to get some playing time

c) make decent money

d) avoid having every part of your life on and off the field being scrutinized by the media.

This would surely be attractive to some footballers.

The vast majority of players wouldn't trade their fame for anything, me thinks.

I can see alot more South Americans going to MLS in the future, but not too many English players. There are 92 professional teams in England, the smallest of which still pays players a salary comparable to an MLS team.

[Loud Mouth Soup]

quote:Originally posted by amacpher

the smallest of which still pays players a salary comparable to an MLS team.

Maybe for the entry-level players. But you can't tell me regular players at Accrington Stanley, for example, are pulling in the same salary amount as mid- to upper-level players in MLS.

[amacpher]

I would say the median MLS salary is a more telling figure (and would be much lower than the average). You have a handful of players that are really driving up the average.

Meanwhile, in league 2 the wages are alot more balanced.

DC United is the extreme. Their median guaranteed salary is $36,000. Which basically means half their squad are part-timers. Either that or they live in their mother's basement rent-free.