Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber has hinted that the league’s 20th franchise will likely be based in New York City (via Goal.com), and reports from NJ.com suggest that the team could well be connected with the same ownership that runs Manchester City.

As always, fans and media share differing opinions regarding whether this would be an overall positive move for MLS.

The pros are clear: a soccer stadium in New York City, America’s largest market, would immediately attract engaged soccer fans that are intimidated by the prospect of traveling to New Jersey to see a match.  Queens, the predicted location for the stadium, is one of the most diverse places on the planet.  Different ethnicities obsessed with soccer litter the borough, so finding consumers would not be an issue.

There is also the bonus of adding another rivalry to Major League Soccer, a trend the league has made clear it believes is important to growing the game stateside.  Because of the proximity to Red Bull Arena, the new franchise would forever be associated with New York Red Bulls.

Such a relationship would fit in nicely with the already established New York area rivalries like the Knicks and Nets, Devils and Rangers, Jets and Giants and others.

Having a club based directly in New York could be intriguing for superstars, too.  The draw of playing in one of the world’s most popular cities might be an interesting adventure for players like Thierry Henry looking for new sporting challenges.  That could well improve the quality of the league.

The doubters can point to a few issues that suggest that it might not be the best move for Garber to bring his 20th team to Queens.  For starters, the argument can be made that a venue in New York would not necessarily draw in fans when considering that the Red Bulls rarely sell out any matches. 

Why should the front office expect another team to do well at gate when the team already established in the area is struggling to do so? 

Then there’s the side of the debate that points to the many other areas of the country desperate for a team. 

Cities like Orlando, for instance, have a built-in fanbase and a soccer-hungry area.  Spreading out across the nation to soccer-barren areas might help to further capture the interest of people outside New York City.  Expanding the brand could well be a prudent business decision. 

Regardless of whether or not the move makes the most sense for Major League Soccer appears to be in the cards.  And it will certainly be a wild ride to watch how everything progresses over the next weeks, months and years.

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It's evident that Major League Soccer is missing something.

As the Chicago Fire take on the Philadelphia Union in a league matchup, with both teams fighting for their playoff lives, the missing ingredient in the MLS is becoming slowly evident.

The oldest argument in the book about the MLS is that the players are lower quality, so the games lack the excitement of European leagues.

What's lacking, however, is not excitement. It's a game that is controlled by the middle of the field. Certainly in today's matchup, it's impossible to ignore the gaping hole in the middle of the field. This is evident when you view a game from the press box, as opposed to watching it on TV.

If you're into tactical observations, the press box is the place for you. A birds eye view is how soccer is meant to be viewed.

The recent world football era of small, attacking midfielders (mostly in Spain) may appear to have "ended" with Barcelona and Real Madrid getting worked into submission by the taller, air-attack heavy Bayern Dortmund sides. Maybe, though, America is just a few years behind Europe when it comes to properly utilizing our midfielders. 

What the MLS is missing—and what every major European league has—is a solid core of both attacking and holding midfielders.  

Here are the reasons for Chicago's 1-0 loss to the visiting Union:

1.) Long balls from the Fire's defending core of Jalil Anibaba, Austin Berry and Gonzalo Segares went for naught as Patrick Nyarko struggled to put the ball in the net. Moving from defense to midfield and midfield to strikers (one pass at a time, one section of the field at a time) isn't part of the game plan. 

2.) On corners, the taller and more physical Anibaba pressed forward to either take corners or scrap in the middle for headers to win. This left their defense quite a bit more vulnerable than the Union, who play a more conservative style and don't press forward. This is part of Chicago's weakness (a lack of striking and/or finishing power). 

3.) Simple play works most effectively for the men in red.

Logan Pause and Jalil Anibaba epitomize this style of play, which for Chicago doesn't typically translate to goals.

It does translate to what they're known for—a solid defensive core, with last year's Rookie of the Year Austin Berry, Anibaba, and newly minted backup keeper Sean Johnson. Pause is much more of a holding midfield and doesn't attack like we're used to seeing in Europe (watch Barcelona's Andres Iniesta work his magic to push forward while still playing defense).

Especially with Philadelphia's "stack the back" game plan on defense, Frank Klopas' men have proved the importance of spreading your defense and developing individual players as opposed to "parking the bus," as John Hackworth's men have done. Unfortunately, spreading the defense failed on the game's only goal off a long ball from Sebastian Le Toux to forward Jack McInerney.   

4.) In the second half, Daniel Paladini came on and provided a much more stable midfield presence, which led to multiple opportunities for the Fire. You see this all over the MLS, though.

Moving the ball from one third to the next and trying to skip the middle portion is like writing a book report without ever reading the middle portion: You can get the gist, but you can't work out the details or do any real analysis.

5.) Dilly Duka and Joel Lindpere are new midfielders in the Chicago system, so it's possible they haven't adjusted yet.

I'd argue nine games is plenty of time to adjust, particularly since Duka is an MLS veteran and Lindpere is 31 years old. I suspect they're both solid clubhouse leaders that posses intangibles we didn't see here today. 

In general, the MLS has evolved greatly in the past 10 years, if for no reason other than its popularity seeing a noticeable boost. On the field, there is still far less organization on both ends than we're used to seeing in Europe. There is a general lack of crispness but no shortage of creativity on both ends.

For both Chicago and Philadelphia, they are most effective when they spread the field. Most of this would be solved with a crew of midfielders dedicated to a smoother flow of moving the ball from one end to the other. 

In conclusion, America is a few years behind on our "book reports." MLS (and more specifically, the current Chicago squad) has failed to scout the best midfielders.

What's next in the MLS? Will we see a charge ahead to find midfielders that will create security in the middle third of MLS matchups? Or will aging stars like Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill, Robbie Keane and Obafemi Martins show up in the league for star power?

The more important question to address is whether commissioner Don Garber cares more about developing the style of play in MLS or the style of player.

There's a book report waiting for you, Mr. Garber. My advice is to take a seat at midfield and think carefully about what you want your league to look like. 

Follow me @ericdrobny for more on world football. 

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Major League Soccer recently released information proving it is North America’s most diverse professional sports league. 

Sixty-two nations are represented on the 19 teams that make up soccer’s top competition in Canada and the United States.

Since its inception, MLS has seen foreign stars grace its fields and draw in the attention of fans both abroad and domestic. 

In the early seasons it was South American playmakers like Carlos Valderrama and Marco Etcheverry who won the hearts of supporters with skillful grace and eloquence. It was difficult to determine what was more appealing about them, their unique hairstyles or brilliant ability on the ball. 

More recently foreign superstars like David Beckham (now at PSG) and Thierry Henry have made homes in the States and have done a fantastic job not only as players but as ambassadors of the game as well: bringing world-class résumés and skills to America and Canada’s version of the beautiful game.

Contributions from the greats like those mentioned above are well-noted and documented. 

However, it is not just big-name stars that are making the difference in Major League Soccer these days. 

The league is littered with young talents from South and Central America from countries like Colombia, Costa Rica and Honduras. Not only do some of the best players in CONCACAF chose MLS for their club careers, Europeans like Jonny Steele and Joel Lindpere have also picked the states as their destination to pursue a career of professional soccer.

The fruits from such a diverse league make MLS a fascinating watch. Just like America is so uniquely populated with individuals from nations across the world, so is Major League Soccer. Not only can fans attach to players from their own homes but they can also root for someone from a completely different background. 

And in a world that is constantly changing into a global society, that can only be a good thing.

The league’s interest in keeping foreigners a big part of its plans in the future is quite clear. If no other evidence than that of the recent Designated Player signing of the 21-year-old Argentinean Matias Laba by Toronto FC.

Not only did the Reds invest a significant amount of money in a foreign player, but they also did so in a relatively young player. The move here is to say that TFC will look to build around their newly inked Argentinian. More will follow in the near future, no question. 

The more the merrier, for as the league continues to mirror the country it is based in, only good can come. 

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Will the storied New York Cosmos franchise make a resurrection in Major League Soccer?  Although a New York City-based expansion team is set to enter the MLS and be based near Flushing Meadows, it will not be called the Cosmos.  That iconic name is being revived in the newly reconstituted, but lower tier, North American Soccer League.

Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan is reportedly the frontrunner to purchase the newest MLS franchise, which would create a natural rivalry with the New Jersey-based Red Bulls.  The New York Times reported that the sheik, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, has entered the final stages of acquiring an MLS franchise.  Franchise expansions fees are expected to fetch $100 million.

Sheik Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group already owns the English Premier League's Manchester City Football Club, which it bought in 2008 for $385 million.  Prior to the purchase, Manchester City was in dire straits.  The ownership group quickly turned things around.  The club qualified for the Champions League and won the FA Cup in 2011, and a year later won its first Premier League title in 44 years.  Today, the Manchester City soccer team is worth $689 million, according to Forbes’ valuations of soccer clubs.

MLS commissioner Don Garber expects the deal to be finalized soon.  Meanwhile, the U.S.-based league is gaining in stature.  The Washington Times recently ranked the MLS as the #7 best soccer league in the world behind leagues in Germany, England, Spain, Italy, Brazil and Mexico.  Last year, MLS overtook the NBA and NHL in average attendance, making it the third most attended sport on average in the U.S.

The Abu Dhabi ownership group would bring additional legitimacy to MLS and would not be shy about investing large sums of money into sports franchises.  Sheik Mansour, who is deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, might be willing to open his wallet and bring some of soccer's greatest superstars to the MLS.  These players could include American-born players who often leave their native country to join more prestigious—and higher paying—global leagues.

In less than 20 years, the MLS has grown from 10 teams in 1996 to conceivably 20 teams today.  Last year, MLS television ratings were up across the board.  This bodes particularly well for MLS, which had negotiated a three-year broadcast deal with NBC Sports in 2011 worth $10 million annually.  Based on the increased popularity and ratings, the next broadcast deal in 2014 should be more lucrative.

A new franchise based in New York City would be a boon to Major League Soccer overall.  A new local rival will up the ante on the New Jersey-based Red Bulls, owned by GmbH, an Austrian-based company that in 2006 purchased the team while it was called the MetroStars.  The league is beginning to gain steam and compete with the major sports leagues in America.  Expect the trend to continue as more global eyes focus on the league. 

Jed Hughes is Vice Chair of Korn/Ferry and the leader of the executive search firm's Global Sports Practice. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter @jedhughesKF.

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Week 11 of MLS started Wednesday with some beautiful goals and late drama throughout six matches. 

Four of the six were decided by one goal.  The only match with a larger margin of victory was Houston's 4-0 drubbing of DC United. 

Thierry Henry added another gem of a finish to his portfolio with an athletic overhead game-winning goal as the Red Bulls nabbed their fourth-straight victory.

New York is now tied atop the Eastern Conference table with the Houston Dynamo.

Two Western Conference road teams earned three points over Eastern Conference opponents with heart-stopping late goals and, in one case, a massive penalty save from the best goalkeeper in Major League Soccer, Nick Rimando.

The San Jose Earthquakes did what they seem to do just about every single match: Come from behind and win with just minutes to go. 

Sporting Kansas City faithful got to see a goalscoring machine return from an adventure abroad. 

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The bigger the number, the higher the stakes in MLS Week 11. Who will answer the bell when their feet are put to the fire?

Ironically enough, it hasn’t been Chicago. Not this season.

A full slate of midweek matches turned MLS on its head. The New York Red Bulls and Houston Dynamo share the top spot in the Eastern Conference. FC Dallas stands alone in the West—salvaging another point at home, thanks to some superb diving from Blas Perez.

But there’s no time to dwell. The turnaround is quick in MLS. Another full slate of matches await 18 teams this weekend.

So, what warrants your attention in Week 11? Read on to find out.

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This week, Major League Soccer’s players’ union released the players’ salaries for 2013.

The list contained two numbers for each player, their base salary, as well as their guaranteed annual compensation. The base salary is exactly what it sounds like. The guaranteed annual compensation is each player’s base salary, plus any signing bonus they may have received, annualized over the length of the contract.

For our discussion, we will be using their base salaries only.

Using numbers broken down by Liviu Bird at the blog Sounder at Heart, the average salary for a goalkeeper in MLS is $85,504, the average salary for a defender is $110,661, the average salary for a midfielder is $128,631 and the average salary for a forward is $220,943.

Using those numbers as a basis, who are the most overvalued and undervalued players in MLS?

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Trying to gauge how the best Major League Soccer teams would fare in the English Premier League is an academic question, but one that’s worth looking at just for fun.

Deciding the “best” MLS teams is an exercise in itself, but to keep matters simple, I selected the L.A. Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo, the two teams who battled in the MLS Cup final in 2011 and 2012.

Here are the factors I considered:

How many points would it take for an MLS team to avoid relegation?

The “magic number” for avoiding relegation in the EPL is generally considered to be 40 points. Looking at the past five seasons in the EPL, that number is pretty close to the center of the dart board.

Here is what it took to finish in 17th place and avoid relegation in each of the last five EPL seasons.

2011-12            37 points          QPR

2010-11            40 points          Wolves

2009-10            35 points          West Ham

2008-09            35 points          Hull City

2007-08            36 points          Fulham

How do L.A.’s and Houston’s squads match up?

Again, this is an impossible question to answer, but in an attempt to take an unbiased look at the squad values, I used the transfer values of the typical first XI from each squad.

The Houston Dynamo’s first XI, adding up all of the transfer values from transfermarkt.co.uk, is worth £4,550,000. The starting XI for the L.A. Galaxy is worth £5,950,000.

By comparison, I put together similar numbers for Fulham, Wigan and Birmingham City. I used Fulham because their average league finish over the past five years was 9.8, or about 10th place, therefore making them a good example of mid-table team. The transfer value of Fulham’s starting XI was £37,350,000, pretty far away from the values of the Galaxy and the Dynamo.

Wigan, who I used as an example of a team that manages to barely escape relegation each year with an average league finish of 15.2, has a transfer valuation of £38,175,000 for their starting XI.

Hoping to find someone comparable in the English Championship, I selected Birmingham, who finished this season 12th out of 24 teams in the English second division, exactly in the middle of the table. Even at that level, the transfer valuation far exceeded that of either L.A. or Houston, with a value of £12,425,000 for their starting XI.

Supporter Strength

While it’s impossible to quantify the effect a team’s supporters have on a squad, it is certainly an important factor. England is rightfully proud of their fanatical support for their local clubs. So, how do the size of the crowds in MLS stack up?

The average attendance for MLS last year was 18,807 per game. That number was high enough to put MLS seventh in the world in average attendance behind the Bundesliga, the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Argentina’s Primera Division and Liga MX.

While detractors, especially those from Europe, might think this is due to the giant NFL stadiums in the United States, the vast majority of MLS teams play in soccer-specific stadiums, much more like the size of Fulham’s Craven Cottage.

The crowds of the Galaxy, at an average of 23,126 fans per game, and the Dynamo, at 21,015 fans per game, stack up favorably with the bottom of the EPL table. The Galaxy  would fall between 17th (Reading) and 18th (Swansea City) comparing the average attendance of the 2012 MLS season to the average attendance of the 2012-13 EPL season.

Are MLS teams deep enough to compete in the EPL?

While most MLS teams can put a fairly strong first XI on the field when they are healthy, the injuries that occur as part of any footballing season can put a serious strain on MLS teams, who usually do not have great squad depth.

The Dynamo would struggle if any of their regular defenders in Kofi Sarkodie, Corey Ashe, Bobby Boswell or Jermaine Taylor were out for lengthy spells in a league as competitive as the EPL. Their midfield is a little better equipped to handle injuries with Adam Moffat, Ricardo Clark, Boniek Garcia, Brad Davis and Andrew Driver available, but not by much. Up top, the Dynamo have Will Bruin and Giles Barnes, but to think 34-year-old Brian Ching would be called on to become a regular starter should Bruin or Barnes go down is a scary proposition.

The Galaxy are slightly better equipped in terms of squad depth with defenders Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Sean Franklin, Todd Dunivant, Leonardo and Tommy Meyer all available when needed. In the midfield, however, the Galaxy are thin, with only Marcelo Sarvas, Landon Donovan, Juninho and Mike Magee truly considered first-team regulars. Up top, the Galaxy have Robbie Keane, but then rely on youngsters Jack McBean and Jose Villarreal.

If either the Galaxy or the Dynamo were to compete in a league as strong as the EPL, their campaigns would take a serious hit should any of their regulars be knocked out for any length of time. Even with their current schedule, MLS teams struggle to compete in multiple competitions with the U.S. Open Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League stretching squads to their limit.

Star Power and Experience

The one thing that could save a team like the Galaxy in an EPL campaign, should everyone stay healthy, is their star power and experience.

Even though Donovan’s early forays into the European game were not successful, he proved on two separate loan stints with Everton in 2010 and 2012 that he could not only compete in the EPL, but thrive. In both loans to the Merseyside club, Donovan was named the club’s Player of the Month.

Keane has also proved time and time again he can compete with the biggest names in Europe. He was thrice named Tottenham’s Player of the Year and the EPL Player of the Month.

Omar Gonzalez, while still a relative youngster, has been dominating the league defensively for the past two seasons. He may also be ready to prove he is capable of playing at the highest levels with a summer move to Europe possibly on the cards—the type of move which has worked out relatively well for American defender Geoff Cameron.

Coaching

As far as coaches go, MLS could not have two better representatives in Bruce Arena of the Galaxy and Dominic Kinnear of the Dynamo.

Arena has won the MLS Cup on five different occasions and, as coach of the United States men’s national team, won the CONCACAF Gold Cup twice and led the USMNT in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

Kinnear is also highly regarded, having won the MLS Cup twice and having led the Dynamo to the championship game the last two years running.

Both coaches should also be praised for their ability to win in MLS, where the league’s single entity rules make it impossible for a team to act freely in the transfer market. Transfer fees, wages and allocations must all be approved by the league and managers and teams alike work under a very tightly controlled system.

Overall

Although MLS continues to grow in quality and popularity, it is doubtful even the best MLS teams could earn the 36-37 points necessary to stave off relegation. Perhaps they could manage for a season, buoyed by the excitement that often accompanies newly promoted teams, but overall, MLS in 2013 is probably most aptly comparable to the mid-to-bottom range of the English Championship.

Follow me on Twitter @JohnDHalloran

Follow me on Facebook www.facebook.com/AmericanTouchline

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Fans of Major League Soccer had to wait until the final match of the weekend to see two of the league's marquee clubs square off. 

Houston took care of business at the Home Depot Center by beating the Los Angeles Galaxy by a goal. 

Elsewhere across the league, two four-goal draws highlighted the Saturday slate of matches, while Sporting Kansas City scored four goals of their own at home on Sunday.

Find out where your favorite MLS club landed in this week's edition of the power rankings. 

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Robbie Rogers says he could come back to Major League Soccer this year. If he does, his return will give the league, its players and even its fans a chance to put into practice all the enlightened talk that surrounded his big announcement from just a few months ago.

And if that happens, then the real work can begin.

Rogers, a former Columbus Crew and U.S. national team midfielder who turns 26 next week, in February revealed on his website that he is gay. His announcement predated that of Jason Collins, and it coincided with Rogers' retirement from professional soccer after an injury-plagued spell with Leeds United in England.

It also produced a stream of positive reactions from the American soccer community, led by MLS commissioner Don Garber.

I am proud to be part of a sport that has been so supportive of @robbierogers. I admire his courage and hope he stays involved in the game.

Said L.A. Galaxy center-back A.J. DeLaGarza (per LAGalaxy.com), who played with Rogers in college at Maryland: "He is one of the nicest kids that I've ever met. He's a great player and coming out is brave of him. To live like that for however long that he's known that has sure been tough, but he's happy now and we're all happy for him."

The collective reaction suggested the American soccer community is a progressive, forward-thinking group. That status was reinforced by a tweet from the Washington Post's Brian Straus and report from Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl, who found in an anonymous survey that 14 of 15 MLS players he interviewed would welcome a gay teammate in the locker room.

Now the hypothesis might be tested. Rogers on Sunday told the "Soccer Today" program on ESPN Radio in Dallas that he could see himself playing again professionally. Rogers said his change of heart came about after he saw video of himself training with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

"I just need a bit more time to evaluate and to see how things play out, but I've really enjoyed myself (in Galaxy training). It feels normal to be back. I've grown up playing soccer my whole life. I've always been on a soccer field, so I feel at home on a soccer field."

The key words here are "normal" and "home." If Rogers does come back, it will test, in a real-life environment, the positive, welcoming reactions from the American soccer community. Put simply, it will test whether MLS really is capable of viewing and treating Rogers as a normal player.

Regardless of one's personal or religious views about homosexuality, Rogers deserves to be accepted as a professional player on the sole condition that he is good enough to be on the pitch. Anonymous surveys of players suggest MLS and American soccer are ready to do so, but we'll only know when the situation plays out in real life.

If that happens, American soccer—maybe even all of American sports—can move to a new phase of this process, the part where announcements are no longer even necessary, or at least no longer a potentially harrowing process.

As former U.S. international defender Eddie Pope tweeted in February:

@robbierogers Brave men like you will make it so that one day there's no need for an announcement.That day can't arrive soon enough.#Support

While that day remains in the future, for now, here in America, as soccer fans and human beings, we'll keep watching Rogers' situation with interest.

Follow @MikeCummings37

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