http://nycosmos.com/news/management-update-new-york-cosmos They say the goal remains MLS but actions do speak louder than words - lets see what other changes they make. Hearing it was a complete clean out of the front office.
Wow, did they let Joe Fraga go or did he voluntarily leave? He was sort of the rock at that place with the NYC community and/or city government. These Saudis either must have some confidence in Terry to right the ship, or else they're going to hold onto a brand without any significant value unless it joins MLS. The thoughts of Sela Sport putting together the "globetrotters" version of the Cosmos to play in testimonial games in the Middle East just to sell some more jerseys (given that Sela's primary expertise is in sports marketing) is quite disturbing. As usual, time will tell all.
Wow it's only taken them about three weeks of rumour and counter-rumour to publish a one paragraph statement containing what most of us already know. That's some brilliant PR there. Let's hope Chuck Blazer pulls something out of the fire.
Fraga's gone. That worries me... is this just another group that will come in and think they know better than everyone, when in fact they don't understand the vagaries of MLS and the complexity of building a large structure in NYC? Seems to me Fraga could have been very helpful to the next group (if they are indeed interested in getting into MLS, as they purport).
I honestly think they have learned there lesson and will hire people with some kind of MLS MGMT background or someone familiar with the league. I think have Cobi Jones on board is a plus if they use him correctly.
Thats a good question - i really didnt consider them part of the front office - im more curious about Gio - he was actually doing something for the Cosmos. As for Fraga - in conversations I have had with big time local soccer writers and city people, no one has done more for a stadium in this city than Fraga - as Metrogo said - it scares us that he is out. Not only that - he was the guy that when we called him up, he listened to what we had to say and relayed the message. My other concern is the Cosmos Copa - it is one thing they did that I feel was special. T he Copa and the Academy were my favorite part of the Cosmos - I really hope they held onto Spencer and Chris to continue that. Great tournament that brought together the various cultures in this city. ADDITION http://nycosmos.com/management This page was udpated - Eric and Cobi still on there and Shep Messing still listed as an ambassador, despite his being on that new group with Blazer and Curtis Martin. Interesting. Terry still there as well as Theresa, Chris and Kevin. Finally the Cosmos Copa looks safe - thank goodness.
COSMOS ACADEMY NOW IN DANGER IT SEEMS; Received from a friend TO ALL U16/U18 ACADEMY PLAYERS & PARENTS: Please see below notice from BW Gottschee club. As you are all probably aware, since just over a year ago our club, BW Gottschee, has had a sponsorship agreement with the New York Cosmos ("NY Cosmos"). In it, the NY Cosmos provide a certain level of funding in exchange for naming rights to call our Academy teams " New York Cosmos Academy". Additionally, the organizations agreed to work together to try and create a soccer program that would potentially facilitate the establishment of a professional team in the metropolitan area. The agreement is based on yearly funding which was paid in full last year. This year, due to an internal reorganization at the NY Cosmos, funding has been limited and full payment is still pending and as a result has put an un-foreseen burden on the club and raised the possibility that we will have to revert to operational methods that existed prior to the Gottschee-Cosmos agreement. The NY Cosmos have indicated that the funding is due to come through within days and it is our sincere hope that it will; however, we felt it necessary to inform you all of the situation in the event we have to transition back to a 'pay to play' scenario. We will share further information as soon as it comes available BW Gottschee Board In addition, Academy U16 and U18 parents are required to attend a mandatory meeting at the Inter Club on Monday, November 7th at 8:30 pm. Inter Club Address: 6957 South Juniper Blvd. Queens, NY 11379 QUESTION How many of the players/families will be able to pay to play? How many will be able to afford the costs of the Florida Showcase in December? Not too many I fear
uh. as an MLS team they will have to have a totally free youth academy just like every other MLS team does. so ... yeah ... i guess they'll just have to come up with the $100M and the money to actually operate the team ... they'll have to pay for people to coach the team too, and to look after the fields and a myriad of other things ... it is going to cost far more than $100M to put a fully functioning team into MLS.
Jesus this is sad - i understand changing front office personal and scrapping some stupid plans like inspirational games but the academy was one of the few things the Cosmos did well. This would be bad!
If thats the case, they should hang it up, because having a full fledged MLS team and running a free academy is something other clubs do. I imagine the cost of a full MLS team is pretty high, if you cant do both, you shouldn't be doing it at all.
If you are looking to join the MLS in 2013/2014, then surely the way to go is to build your academy in the hope of progressing some players to the full team - same as just about every other team in the world! If they cannot afford to run an academy, then can they really afford to raise the money to join the MLS However, it does say that they hope funds will be coming through in a few days ....................hopefully
In all fairness to the Cosmos group or Sela Sports whichever, when your restructuring that means there looking and the books to see who still needs to get paid and what people are going to be in charge. Do we even know when the money was due? I know if i where running a organization that was in turmoil i would want to know who was staying and going and who the checks should be made out too. That's probably the first best thing they have done in all this ! Balance the books and get back on the right track, god knows what kind of chicanery PK and his fellow Brits where up to.
Gottschee will still exist like it always has. If the Cosmos ownership situation ever comes clear and there are owners with deep enough pockets then they can start a relationship with any other youth club they want or start their own. But right now it seems unnecessary since an MLS team is not in the picture at the moment.
In an ideal world sure you would love to have the youth teams up and running before the MLS team gets going but it is completely unnecessary to to use it to build your team. MLS expansion teams are simply not built that way.
you make a point but it goes beyond this. The Cosmos made a promise to these kids, kids that play on the fields of Queens, which is the most likely locations for a stadium. 1) The academy is one of the better things the Cosmos group did, and it offered kids a chance to play for free. 2) You are alienating potential fans if you sever this relationship. Gottschee is a big family. Always has been since I can remember. This is not going to leave a good taste in the mouths of the people. People who live in Queens and you might ask to be in support of a stadium in a few years time.
I didn't understand why they took an existing youth club and anointed it as "their" youth club, instead of starting their youth club from scratch. That probably pi**ed off all the other youth clubs. Not only was this unfair to the other clubs, who now felt rejected, it might have caused some of their best players to switch for the free ride.
http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/sections/mls2.php?article_id=29027 This article refrences Hristo Stoichkov (Played in MLS) If there going to lean on someone with MLS expirence he might just be the one.
I understand the frustration of red bull fans, but I can't understand the impulse to irrationally criticize and tear down everyone else. That you can spin the Cosmos giving young soccer players an opportunity to play at an elite level for free into something terrible is bizarre. All it does is reveal the desperation of red bull fans. No, Downtown United didn't feel "rejected", believe me. The last thing they and many of the other youth clubs around want to do is to give up the pay to play policy, lest their wealthy little white kids be forced to compete with little Carlos from Ecuador. Now, if it turns out that they don't make the payment to keep up the gotschee program, then that will be a disaster for them (not to mention the kids). We need to continue to pay attention.
He's also a bit of a headcase and he hasn't been successful in any management position he's been in and his MLS time was a while ago his knowledge of the league today is limited at best. Honestly the most he brings now is name recognition, like most others the Cosmos have hired.
Well you are right it is an unfortunate situation but it seems like it is not feasible at this point. However from a management prospective the youth team affiliation is not a high priority at this point.