MLS not taken seriously in some quarters, says Birchall
The Sentinel
CHRIS Birchall fears his three-year stint playing for LA Galaxy could hinder his chances of proving himself in the higher echelons of the English game.
The 27-year-old midfielder, from Newcastle, left America at the end of December after helping Galaxy claim the Major League Soccer Cup.
Birchall is now training with former club Port Vale, where he hopes to tie up a month-to-month deal while he weighs up his next career move.
Birchall scored nine goals in 91 appearances for Vale before boss Micky Adams signed him for Championship side Coventry City in August 2006 for £325,000.
But after Adams was sacked five months later Birchall fell out of favour under his successors Iain Dowie and Chris Coleman.
After making just 18 league starts for the Sky Blues, and following loan spells with St Mirren and Carlisle, Adams rescued Birchall by taking him to Brighton in January 2009.
The Trinidad international believes he still has what it takes to cut it in the second tier – despite the stigma attached with playing in the MLS.
"I'm confident I can play in the Championship, but it's hard to convince managers," said Birchall, who trained with League One side Oldham before linking up with the Valiants.
"I did well at Coventry under Micky, but when new managers come in they have their own ideas, so I had to leave.
"When you have played in the MLS you get more respect from players than you do from managers.
"Some managers still think there's that stigma of playing in the MLS and only certain players can play at a higher level. But when I've trained with Oldham and Vale some of the players said they envied me for playing in LA.
"From a manager's point of view, though, they don't see the standard as being so high."
Birchall joined the Galaxy from Brighton in 2009 and made his debut by replacing former England captain David Beckham, right, in a 3-1 win at the New York Red Bulls. In all, he made 66 competitive appearances, including 50 starts, for the Galaxy.
But Birchall decided to leave Bruce Arena's side after facing the prospect of a pay-cut if he accepted the option of playing for a further year.
And he says the fact fiancee Lucy and their young son Ashley could only spend 90 days in America due to visa issues weighed heavily on his mind.
"If I had made 20 starts last season I would have had the automatic option of taking the extra-year option and been paid more money," explained Birchall.
"But because I made 19 starts the option was taken out of my hands and it was then up to Galaxy to make me an offer.
"I knew they weren't going to offer me an increased wage, but I didn't expect to be offered less money than what I was already earning.
"There are no hard feelings because we ended up winning everything last season, plus I have a good relationship with the management and coaching staff.
"The manager knew my intention to come back to England even if I had been offered the better option because I wanted to see what my options are.
"The fact Lucy and Ashley could only spend 90 days with me at a time was the main problem.
"It was becoming such a hassle for her to keep flying our son out to America and it was expensive.
"One of the highlights of living in LA was the lifestyle, although the big drawback was spending time away from my family."
