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Signing Liverpool Castaway Steven Gerrard Will Be Another Step Backward For Major League Soccer

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Steven Gerrard of Liverpool celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool at The King Power Stadium on December 2, 2014 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Shaun Botterill-Getty Images

The last thing Major League Soccer needs for its ever-increasing inferiority complex is adding another former washed up star to its growing list of greying marquee players. So, given the league’s history of addressing this serious problem, pack your bags, your camera and bring your beach gear, Steven Gerrard, it’s time for an extended paid vacation in America with MLS.

Speculation is increasing that the Liverpool captain will soon be touching down at an MLS stadium near you, after Gerrard officially announced on Monday his departure from Anfield at the end of the season. Current rumors had him tagged for an all-expenses paid trip to the Big Apple and extended simulated scrimmage sessions (disguised as real matches) with the New York Red Bulls.

While on the surface the rumored move seems like yet another high-profile coup for the MLS, in reality nothing could be worse. It doesn’t seem that MLS Commissioner Don Garber has learned from his recent embarrassing public spat with U.S. Men’s National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann over the league and its inferiority with top flight leagues in Europe.

The last thing the MLS needs is another marquee player in its ranks whose best-before date has long since expired. The money spent on Gerrard could be better used to buy any five accomplished but lesser-known midfielders of superior caliber from somewhere else besides the Premier League.

It’s no secret Gerrard is spoiled milk and clearly not the player he used to be. The 35-year-old England international made disastrous mistakes that cost England its World Cup campaign last summer in Brazil, while his bad passes and midfield giveaways sealed Liverpool’s collapse last season when they surrendered the Premier League title to Manchester City.

You can’t blame Garber for trying to keep the MLS in the headlines and trying to fill the voids created by the departures of soccer legends David Beckham and Thierry Henry. MLS match broadcasts are currently battling test patterns for television ratings while the league is also losing truck loads of money with the latest estimates putting the league’s combined losses at $100 million last season.

Aside from the initial buzz his signing will create, how will signing Gerrard help the league?

MLS has already become a dumping ground for retired players with the arrival of other former players like Torsten Frings (Toronto FC), Nigel Rio Coker (Vancouver Whitecaps/Chivas USA), Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle Sounders) and Rafael Marquez (New York Red Bulls). Those are just a few recent examples of players who failed to pan out in MLS.

In the end, the league’s historical fawning over any player with Premier League or European pedigree makes it a laughing stock. Just look at the way New York City FC has dealt with their designated player signing of Frank Lampard. NYCFC have allowed him to join his new team after the Premier League season ends, risking injury to their investment and irritating the dwindling ranks of MLS fans.

When asked about his own possible move to the MLS, Everton veteran Gareth Barry recently said (via telegraph.co.uk), “America was an option and there was a conversation about it but when I spoke to the coaches here they said, ‘If you are going there you are retiring’.”

There are always exceptions to the rule as Robbie Keane of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Obafemi Martins (Seattle Sounders) have made huge impacts on the field for their teams, but for the large part most of the designated player signings have been busts for the MLS.

There is no evidence that Gerrard will be able to adjust his style of play to the MLS, adapt to other factors such as the searing summer heat of New York, playing on unforgiving field turf or overcoming a serious age and quickness handicap.

The MLS and commissioner Don Garber need to change their tune soon. Adding another overpriced and washed up talking head, which it cannot afford, will not enhance the level of play or improve its already damaged credibility.

Peter Mallett is a blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RedCardTheRef1 like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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