Lessons from a Blitzer-owned club: Real Salt Lake

mardi 4 juillet 2023

This is long. There's a TLDR at the bottom.

Although Blitzer is no longer heavily involved with Palace, it's interesting to see how the multi-club model is working and what to expect since Textor does it too and it is increasingly popular in the world of football.

History: In January of 2022 when the group Blitzer was a part of first took over RSL there was a lot of excitement and talk that connections to clubs (like Palace) would have an immediate impact. People started talking about getting players like Benteke (who eventually went to non-Blitzer D.C. United). This didn't pan out. There was no immediate influx of cash or players and new manager Pablo Mastroeni was asked to do a lot with little. RSL had a few solid veteran players and really only one young player showing promise in RB Aaron Hererra. Eighteen months later, Hererra has moved on and RSL is flooded with young talent and looking twice the team that they were.

Lesson 1 Scouting Network: RSL has used the draft and purchases of developing players to great advantage.

MLS has a player draft where teams select and obtain the rights to graduating US collegiate players. Players like Jacob Montes come from this and end up 23 year-old rookies who never break into the first team. The "best" player ever selected in the MLS draft is probably former Stoke and QPR defender Geoff Cameron. Surprisingly, for two years in a row, RSL has drafted a collegiate player who immediately had an impact and got first team minutes in Jasper Löffelsend and Emeka Eneli. Loffelsend will probably always be a low-level squad player but Eneli has proven very dependable at RB and DM. People outside the club haven't noticed yet but he is good.

RSL also obtained the rights to U19 Diego Luna who looks and plays much older than he is and makes up for lack of pace with excellent field vision and passing (think a tatted-up Will Hughes). After a year with the team Luna has finally broken in as a dynamic first-team starter and is making noise in the league after a great showing with the U21 USMNT.

On top of all that, a recent influx of young Colombian players Andres Gomez, Brayan Vera, and Nelson Palacio have immediately added much needed youth and flair to the RSL first team.

All this is to say RSL scouting has been great in North and South America right from the jump with the new owners. A cut above other teams in the league. It took 18 months but is showing through now which is sooner than reasonably could have been expected. Note that the previous owner built an excellent academy by US standards four years ago and it is only just now starting to pay dividends. Not sure if they'd have gotten that from the current owners.

Lesson 2 Shady Deals: The managerial equivalent of the dark arts in football. Owners of multiple-clubs can use loans and player transfers to circumvent fair-play and financial regulations. It's not all bad though. In most cases, if you have an overpaid player who isn't performing they hang around like an albatross. Not so if you are part of a multi-club group. Almost every RSL loan last season involved a Blitzer-owned club and while impact on the pitch was low, the loans mattered to club finances. When the books are going to balance either way, getting a loan done for players like Sergio Cordova and Everton Luiz are much easier. This is also a good thing for the players who can get a new opportunity without a pay cut if their current club/manager isn't a good fit. I imagine it might help recruit younger players with lots of potential who know they can get a move if they get stuck. If clubs like Chelsea are going to play these games, smaller clubs at least can try to keep up.

Lesson 3 Backing the manager: Viewing the club as an investment isn't ideal but it does mean the owners want to enhance the club's value. I'm convinced that the results of 18 months of good scouting and talent development combined with savvy player transfers have made it feasible for RSL to pull the trigger on the biggest deal in club history bringing Colombian Cristian "Chicho" Arango in. Chicho scored 16 goals last season and won the MLS cup with LAFC. With a good striker, RSL is at a high water mark right now and has a chance to really compete this season after a long struggle.

Why didn't we see this when Blitzer got involved with Palace? Two reasons. first, the Premier League is at too high a level, more than a step above the level of RSL. The costs are much higher, the stakes are much higher and the competition includes super-rich clubs that will cut your throat to get the best players. Second, Parish rightfully maintained control of Palace limiting what Blitzer could do.Textor seems in a better position to take advantage of links to Palace. He has hooks in better clubs (Lyon and Botafogo are considerably better than FC Augsburg and RSL). Given time, we might see more benefits from the relationship than just the occasional U21 player loaned to Molenbeek.

Overall. I don't like the multi-club ownership model. It's still better in every way to a Sovereign Wealth Fund.

TL DR: RSL has seemingly benefitted from being part of the Blitzer group of clubs. In just 18 months they have shown savvy scouting, recruitment, player investment, and a willingness to back the manager when the finances are in order. Things aren't all rosy and football is still ultimately doomed but it's something.


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