When Brek Shea and FC Dallas parted ways in January of 2013, it is unlikely that either side expected to see the young gun from College Station, TX returning to MLS just two years later. However, after two injury plagued years spent struggling to see the pitch in England, Shea returns to MLS with the Orlando City Soccer Club (OCSC). With quite a lot of fanfare too, which begs the question: What does this move say about the state of MLS?
To understand the answer, I think we need to take a quick look back at the departure of Brek Shea from FC Dallas.
Both club and player were coming off a down year in 2012. Shea scored only three goals in 21 games that season and FC Dallas missed the playoffs just two years removed from an appearance in the Finals. It seemed, at the time, that transferring Shea to the Premier League was going to be a salvation of sorts for the rising US star. It was expected that FC Dallas would be in decline for a few years and that holding onto Shea would only stifle his development. The argument was made that by transferring Shea to Stoke City, the club could use the transfer fee to rebound quicker from the set back and Shea could develop into a stud for the US National team.
For their part, FC Dallas did rebound rather well. The Frisco, TX based club suffered one more losing season in 2013 before bouncing back this past year with a 16-12-6 record and a playoff berth. FC Dallas earned a Wild Card round playoff victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps before being bounced from the playoffs by the Seattle Sounders. The elimination to the Sounders left a very bitter taste in the mouths of FC Dallas since they were the first club to truly fall victim to the “Away Goals Rule” implemented for this year’s MLS Cup playoffs. FC Dallas never trailed in their two game series with Seattle, scoring first in the 1-1 tie of leg 1 and ending leg 2 tied at zero.
Eliminated despite being the only team to finish the MLS Cup playoffs undefeated.
Brek Shea did not rebound nearly as well across the pond. Injuries derailed any chance he had of making a solid first impression with the Potters. Mediocre to subpar play while on loan to Barnsley and Birmingham City prevented any hope of him getting a second chance with the Premier League club. To make matters worse, Shea saw a decrease in US National team call ups while in England and failed to make the World Cup roster.
Unfortunately, Shea’s adventure into the world of European football became reminiscent of too many previous failed attempts by US nationals.
So, what does this move say about MLS? I believe it says that the perception of what the league needs is not in-line with the reality of the clubs need.
Having a player with the potential star power of Brek Shea is often seen as a real benefit for a club looking to find its place in a market, especially one as crowded with competition as the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area. However, FC Dallas never really suffered any substantial setbacks after the transfer of Shea to Stoke City. In addition to a return to the playoffs in 2013, attendance continued to climb every year, reaching an average of 16,816 this past season.
Soccer has had a foothold on the sporting landscape in this country for some time now and it is only growing stronger. A recognizable name, or superstar athlete may help gain national recognition for a club and the league but, locally, soccer fans support their clubs because they love the club, even without big name stars.
MLS as a league needs big stars to further their national marketing campaigns and the world wide brand the league is striving to establish. From that standpoint, bring someone back that is a recognizable name, like Brek Shea, is a real benefit and makes that player worth a more financially than when they left.
Rightly or wrongly, you can debate, MLS has made a point of trying to get MLS players onto the US National team roster and takes a great deal of pride when they do so. Yes, the league does then get extra publicity off of the National team but it also serves to over inflate the value of those players. Michael Bradley, Matt Besler, Brek Shea, and others have seen their value to the league increase not from their play on an MLS pitch but because of the name recognition stemming from their National team duty.
But the club itself does not actually need that national exposure to remain viable. The supporter culture that has grown in this country alongside the popularity of the sport actually reduces the value of such a big name. Instead the value is placed on community and familiarity. It is not to say that superstars are not welcome, but that over paying for such a player is entirely unnecessary.
Strictly from an on the field, club perspective, what kind of player is OCSC really getting with the Brek Shea signing? Shea is four years removed his All XI form, has hardly seen the pitch in two years and has been injury plagued since 2012.
If Shea can return to the form that earned him All Star honors in 2011 than his signing can be looked at a real win-win for the league and club. If he does not, however, he becomes another example of the salary disparity that is undoubtedly being addressed in the ongoing CBA negotiations.
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