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Chat Reel: Grant Wahl

'Fusion are going to surprise a lot of people'

CNNSI Host: Welcome to today's chat with SI's Grant Wahl. Welcome Grant and how are you doing?
Grant Wahl: Doing fine -- looking forward to this.

From Matt Warbasse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: The big question in Chicago this year is the forward situation. What type of roles do you see Dema Kovalenko and John Wolyneic playing this season? Do you think the post-Razov Fire will score more or less goals than they did last year?
Grant Wahl: I feel pretty good about Chicago's front line. Josh Wolff is my choice to lead the league in goals this year. And when Hristo Stoitchkov is healthy he and Wolff can be unstoppable. But Wolff will be gone often for World Cup qualifying and I think players like Wolyniec and Kovalenko will be plenty capable to take up the slack. What's more, I hear that Chicago is interested in picking up Jamar Beasley from New England as an additional reserve up front.

From Matt in New York: Grant, is there any chance that the MLS minimum salary will be raised to a livable amount sometime soon? I think getting the bottom tier up to $50,000 a year is nearly as important as building new stadiums and instituting reserve squads.
Grant Wahl: I think it's important to raise the minimum salary especially for players that live in the Bay Area and New York where rent can be really expensive and $24 000 a year isn't going to do that. Whether the league investors see that as a priority is a different matter. Already this season they have dropped the player limit to 18 players per team, and paying a decent salary has never been much of a concern before.

From Kevin: What type of impact will Landon Donovan have on MLS, both on and off the field?
Grant Wahl: You don't want to put too much pressure on one guy, especially when he's only 19-years old. But if Donovan has a good year for San Jose then it's possible to envision him getting a fair amount of publicity for the league. At this point though, I see Donovan being in a similar situation to Clint Mathis and Josh Wolff as young American attackers who can bring fans to the stadium.

From Krafty: Do you think Eric Wynalda can have any impact on the Revolution's front line, or is he pretty much washed up?
Grant Wahl: It's hard to say, we'll know pretty soon if Wynalda has improved from the injuries that have plagued him for the past couple years. The fact is, he took a very big pay cut this season for a reason. Nobody wanted him at his previous high salary, and if he becomes a consistent scoring threat this season, that will surprise a lot of people.

From Brian Shea in Hanover, Pa.: What do you think the roster limits should be? Do you think teams should be forced to have a certain number of roster exempt players in order to encourage youth development?
Grant Wahl: That's a good idea. Some teams like Chicago and the Metro Stars have already started their own developmental teams. And if those teams prove to be useful, you'll see other teams follow their lead. But it has to be cost effective too, or the league's investors won't want to do it.

From Neil Hamilton in Montclair, N.J.: There has been a controversy recently in online soccer magazines as to whether it is better for young American national team players to play in the MLS or to sit on the bench in Europe. The recent play of MLS players like Clint Mathis and Josh Wolff and the regression of European based players like Eddie Lewis and Frankie Hejduk, convince me that playing in MLS is better. Do you agree with this assessment?
Grant Wahl: It's very simple, if an American player can go to Europe and get regular playing time on a first division team that would be better for American soccer. But as we're seeing in several cases, it's much better for an American to play regularly in MLS. And for the player to get better in a good, professional environment. That's why Landon Donovan came back to play here. He also knows that US coach Bruce Arena won't call up many players from Europe if they're not playing there.

From Will Rosen: Grant, what effect will the Galaxy's preparation for the World Club Championships have on their MLS prospects for the MLS season?
Grant Wahl: I think it will have some effect just because so much has to point towards the World Club Championship for the Galaxy. LA has an opportunity to make a name for themselves on the world stage, and it would be understandable if their focus strayed from the MLS season. That said, I still think LA will be one of the top five teams in the league.

From Sergio: Which team will be this year's Kansas City worse-to-first story?
Grant Wahl: I think Miami has the best chance to make a big jump though I don't expect the Fusion to win the title. I do think that Miami has made the biggest upgrade in the league with the addition of Carlos Llamosa, Chris Henderson and Preki, who are all solid veterans who have won the MLS Cup before. In my league preview I have Miami as the No. 3 team in the league behind Chicago and the Metro Stars. Maybe that's going out on a limb but I think the Fusion are going to surprise a lot of people.

From Kevin: Will the MLS expand in the coming couple of years? And if so where?
Grant Wahl: The league has already stated that it wants to expand with another team in the New York area and in Philadelphia or Atlanta. Whether that actually happens will be something we learn in the next few months, because this is a league that has lost $250 million dollars in the last five years.

From United: Do you think DC United's rebuilding plan is headed in the right direction, and can they be competitive this season? Also, is Thomas Rongen the right coach for this job?
Grant Wahl: As far as the rebuilding is concerned I think DC is slowly heading in the right direction. United has a number of young players who will be exciting to watch, guys like Bobby Convey, Jose Alegria and Chris Albright besides, DC still has some extraordinary players in Marco Etcheverry, Jaime Moreno and Eddie Pope, all of whom I expect to rebound this year after last year's disaster. I think DC will make the playoffs, but barely. As far as Thomas Rongen is concerned, he will have to make the playoffs to keep his job.

CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have today with Grant Wahl. Grant, thanks for joining us.
Grant Wahl: Thanks for being having me on.

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