WVHooligan - Soccer Blog

I guess this is what happens when you get an early start to the day. I’d been meaning to go through the previous allocation list in the MLS and try and figure out its recent updates. That is a task that is more guessing than easily figuring out. I thought I’d give it a shot though and see.

Yesterday we learned the order of the allocation. Which means I am sure there is still plenty of tweaking to it to incorporate the previous list. I kind of think what the league is doing though is having the clubs use up the previous allocation and moving into a new allocation system for next year that they will then begin to use from here out (or until the stop doing an allocation system all together).

Again, as of yesterday here is what we do know:

Rankings. The allocations will be ranked in reverse order of finish for the 2007 season, taking playoff performance into account. The rankings will be separate and distinct from the allocation amounts and will only be relevant in the event two or more teams file a request for the same player on the same day, in the case of returning U.S. National Team players, and/or any other player the League, in its discretion, believes should be allocated using the rankings, in which case priority will be granted to the team with the higher allocation ranking. Once the team uses its allocation ranking to acquire a player it will drop to the bottom of the list. The ranking itself can be traded provided part of the compensation it receives is another team’s ranking. A team may move up or down in the rankings, provided that at all times each team is assigned a ranking (no team can have more than one ranking and no team can be without a ranking). The rankings will reset at the end of each MLS League Season.

The 2008 allocation rankings are as follow:
1. San Jose Earthquakes
2. Toronto FC
3. Real Salt Lake
4. Los Angeles Galaxy
5. Colorado Rapids
6. Columbus Crew
7. New York Red Bulls
8. FC Dallas
9. Chivas USA
10. D.C. United
11. Kansas City Wizards
12. Chicago Fire
13. New England Revolution
14. Houston Dynamo

The top six are due to expansion (San Jose) and the every popular “you suck last year money” to the clubs that failed to reach the playoffs.

The allocation from 2007 is still being used. I haven’t found too much of an update to this list but it is as good as I can do for now. According to this page, everything is set to expire on May 15, 2008. That will more than likely just be for this list and not the allocation for 2008. Again, with the rule changes and all to this coming season, I would say the league is trying to revamp this allocation system, if not trying to figure out a way to get rid of it all together in the coming years.

Anyways, the previous list goes as followed:
1. Columbus (^&): Reason – Playoffs 06
2. Kansas City (^& ): Reason -  Playoffs 06
3 . DC (from Real Salt Lake) (^): Reason-  Playoffs 06 Split
4 . New York (from Toronto, New York): Reason -  Team Record 06
5 . Toronto (from Colorado): Reason -  Team Record 06
6 . DC (from Real Salt Lake): Reason: Comp Comm. Exp. Split
7 . Dallas (from Kansas City) (^): Reason -  Playoffs 05 Split
8 . New England: Reason: Dempsey Split
9 . Chicago (^&): Reason -  Ralph
10 . NE ( from Columbus) (^): Reason -  McBride
11 . Dallas (from Kansas City): Reason -  Preki
12 . DC (from Los Angeles, New York, Chivas USA): Reason -  Playoffs 05 Split
13 . Dallas (from Toronto, Columbus): Reason -  Playoffs 05 Split
14 . LA (from Toronto, LA) (^):  Reason -  Playoffs 06 Split
15. LA (from NE): Reason -  Dempsey Split

^ Major Allocation
# Mini-Major Allocation
& Allocation can be split

So a recap, plenty of money still out there for clubs to use. I am sure the expiring allocation will have to go first. And who knows this may all get changed soon enough anyways. I will try to track it this off season as deals go through and trades happen.

Now I kind of think that maybe some of that allocation that is listed for Dallas was already spent on getting Denlison, but I could be wrong on that. If not they have plenty to pump up contracts for Juan Toja and some others. Not to sure about some of LA’s allocation either but it wouldn’t surprise me to see them having a bunch of allocation laying around that the league just happens to tell them about. “Oh hey, Alexi you can go out and buy more players…its on us.” ….yeah that kind of thing.

Some clubs just need to get off their asses and use this stuff before it goes. I wouldn’t be shocked to see a couple clubs not use any of this older allocation because they are too lazy to do so.

So with all of that, and now that you see your club with some extra money laying around (uh New England…please use that McBride allocation, I think it is time), who would you like to see get that money? Bump up a current contract or go out and sign a new guy. Let me know…

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