Paul Dalglish finds he has nowhere to go
Soccer over here is growing at a rapid rate – much of that was down to David Beckham
David Beckham is encountering difficulties in establishing a Major League Soccer club in Miami.
Florida residents are showing some resistance to his plan, first hatched in 2014, to set up a club in the Florida metropolis and build a 25,000-seater stadium and entertainment complex on city- owned land, currently occupied by a golf course.
Obstacles and frustration are nothing new in American “soccer”, however. Just ask Paul Dalglish.
He has been coaching and managing in the United States for more than a decade.
Paul has just been voted the NPSL ( National Premier Soccer League) Coach of the Year award after guiding Miami FC to become champions of the Sunshine Conference Division.
But from there, his team has nowhere to go.
There is no promotion or relegation in the USA.
Of FIFA’S 211 member countries, only the States and Australia are in that situation. But Down Under, they have recognised the folly in that, and will introduce it next season.
That will leave the States as the only nation in the world without a competitive pathway, and that has left Dalglish as one frustrated individual.
Most people involved in the game Stateside are disillusioned that the MLS top tier is a closed shop, with no pathway into their top flight.
You need to be invited by the game’s hierarchy, as was the case with Beckham and his consortium for the Miami team – they will introduced in season 2020.
Such is the outrage – driven by billionaire Miami FC owner, Riccardo Silva – that the club has issued a lawsuit against the MLS, and appealed to FIFA as no promotion/relegation is against the ethos of the game, according to their rulebook.
They have also filed a paper to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Europe.
Paul is awaiting developments with interest.
Being the son of Sir Kenny – Scotland’s most-capped player, who enjoyed phenomenal success at Celtic and Liverpool – making a name for himself was never going to be easy.
But he didn’t do too badly as a player with a host of clubs on both sides of the border.
Paul feels he is now developing nicely in the dugout, and hopes it leads to him going on to an extremely high level in the game.
The 41-year-old suspects he may be hampered, however, by the fact that there is no promotion and relegation in American soccer, and a proper measure of someone’s capabilities can’t be taken until that fundamental aspect is introduced.
In an exclusive interview, sitting in the plush offices of Miami FC, Dalglish told The Sunday Post: “With no promotion and relegation, if you want to coach at a higher level, you need to leave the club.
“That’s not right. You should be allowed to grow with the club and show loyalty.
“If promotion and relegation was introduced, why would I ever want to leave Miami FC? It’s an amazing club, with really professional and ambitious people in charge.
“But there needs to be an avenue to allow promotion and relegation in the overall structure of the leagues. It creates competition and excitement.
“It’s a big frustration. So hopefully it will change in the not- too- distant future.”
Miami FC chief executive, Sean Flynn, is working tirelessly to correct this dysfunctional set-up.
He said: “We all deserve to know why we are the only country not complying with FIFA regulations. We need to fix our game.
“There is a massive upside to introducing promotion and relegation. It will change the sport dramatically, and create a real competitive edge which will improve things on the park and give the supporters a real edge- of- the- seat experience.
“It will also attract better players, more television and advertising money, and create more compelling storylines.”
With that fundamental change, Dalglish is confident soccer in the USA can genuinely become one of the best in the world.
He reasoned: “Soccer over here is growing at a rapid rate.
“I came over in 2006, and there were only 12 teams in the MLS. Now we have 23.
“I think much of that was down to David Beckham coming to LA Galaxy.
“He added a whole new dimension and interest from all over the world when he headed for California in 2007.
“The game over here is now past the stage of ‘taking off’. It has already taken off and is now flying high.
“It will get bigger and bigger and bigger. It will catch up with the biggest leagues in the world. “But there is still a bit to go. “Beckham will go for it in a massive way when he gets the go-ahead here.
“I’m certain he will bring in a couple of really big hitters to join his club, probably guys in their prime rather than in the last year of their careers.
“He created a huge buzz in the States a decade ago, and he’ll do the same with his new club. He is a proper superstar.
“Beck ham is now part of showbusiness.
“He was on the Ellen Degeneres TV talk show recently, and that’s massive over here. That sort of thing will help
grow football further in the USA. The stadiums are already packed, and that’s a great sign. The next step needs to be – and will be – that the people who sell the MLS television advertising get the really massive companies on board.
“That’s why the English Premier League has become massive and is watched all over the globe.
“The sort of demand there is to advertise on television during the Super Bowl is what we need to try to create for soccer.
“Soccer is now the biggest sport in the USA in terms of participation. More people play it than basketball and baseball.
“Who’d have thought that 20 or 30 years ago? That’s probably got a lot to do with both sexes now playing football in a big way.
“So the grassroots are there. Kids are now growing up supporting MLS teams rather than European clubs. That’s a massive step forward.
“The World Cup coming here in 2026 will give it another massive lift.
“We need to bring in more big money from sponsorship and that will allow us to compete for players with the big leagues in Europe.”
Right now, the US TV deal for the MLS sits at around $50m per season, which isn’t great.
Many believe that figure would more than quadruple overnight if promotion and relegation was introduced.
Away from the politics, Dalglish’s work isn’t going unnoticed. He is an intelligent man and a great student of the game.
He’d love to be able to hit the heights withmiami FC, but if red tape continues to thwart his ambition, there will be interest in him, both in the United States and back on British soil.
The 41-year-old continued: “As the game grows here, my reputation is also growing.
“People in the States know what I can do and the qualities I possess. If I had to go back home, I’d be starting from scratch.
“People ask: ‘ Would you ever go back to Scotland or England to coach?’ I’d never say never – but it would need to be something exciting and challenging because I love being with Miami FC .
“I feel I am developing and improving. In coaching terms, I’m still young and learning all the time.
“So far, I’ve been lucky enough to have had a wee bit of success. I just want to build on that, but it’s not easy.
“I try to get my team to play attractive football, score as many goals as we can in 90 minutes and concede as few goals as we can.
“I’m very conscious that the football supporter works hard all week to have money to buy a season ticket or to travel to an away game, and he or she wants to be entertained.
“Rightly so. They want value for money. Winning is not enough. You need to win AND entertain.”
While Dalglish’s ambition is to be around if and when the structure of football in the USA changes, he admits his mind does wander occasionally.
“My ultimate dream in football is to manage Liverpool Football Club,” volunteered Paul.
“It’s highly unlikely that will ever happen, but that’s what I dream of. It’s the club dearest to my heart.
“As a kid, I was fortunate enough to watch Liverpool in the 80s and 90s and they played some brilliant football.
“Ian Rush, John Barnes, Ray Houghton, John Aldridge, Jan Molby, Steve Mcmahon and many more.
“Barnes was exceptional. And what he helped Liverpool achieve was just phenomenal.
“I was lucky enough to play with him at the end of his career when we were both at Newcastle United, and he was still exceptional.”
Kickabouts with the old man in the back garden were never mentioned!
My ultimate dream in football is to manage Liverpool FC, the club dearest to my heart