All good points, but I can't see Becher just starting someone because of this. I think he still wants to win, and will put the best team on the field. But I can see the added pressure of playing players because the Union is paying them. But I think those same players will be motivated to do well, so that they can go back up to MLS. And doubt if that will happen if they go down and don't work hard. Just my thoughts.
I don't disagree, I guess my questions linger because I've followed minor league baseball for a while and watched many teams put player development ahead of winning. Will the USL-PRO fall into that model? Perhaps not, these are competitive teams who exist to win rather than serve merely as farm teams. But at times I wondered if some of the Union loans necessarily gave the City Islanders the best chance of winning last season. For example, Jimmy McLaughlin did some nice things on the pitch but at other times he looked very much the teenager in a league that can be rough and tumble. He didn't log tons of minutes, he was often a substitute, but he strikes me as one who might not have received that much playing time if he wasn't an affiliate loan. Ideally, winning won't be sacrificed at the expense of grooming players for MLS and the relationship only strengthens the USL-PRO, and this deal is very different from baseball's structure, but I think we'll see some fairly green rookies out there. On a unrelated note, at least two preseason scrimmages are set: March 20 vs. St. Francis (PA) and March 24 vs. Navy.
So in several of the articles about the press conference / expanded partnership there was some mention of helping the team improve their stadium situation. Which makes sense if your sending players there to play for a whole season. I wonder what type of help that would be. I also like the mention of sending some front office staff there to help and as a way to develop front office staff. I thought that was a great idea.
Lots of roster news thanks to Michael Bullock: http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2013/03/soccer_harrisburg_city_islande.html Under contract for 2013 GK - Nick Noble (seeking contract with San Antonio, NASL) GK - Brian Holt GK - Phil Tuttle (returning from 2012 injury) D - Stephen Basso D - Tom Brandt MF - Tom Mellor MF - Jason Pelletier MF - Andrew Welker F/MF - Morgan Langley F - Yann Ekra F - Sainey Touray On trial for 2013 GK - Tunde Ogunbiyi GK - Steve Spangler GK - Bret Mollon D - Damani Richards D - Eric Schoenle MF - Colin Zizzi Not returning in 2013 D - Dustin Bixler (retired) D - Bilal Duckett (New England Revolution) D - Andrew Marshall (Pittsburgh Riverhounds) MF - Drew Yates (Charlotte Eagles) F - Garret Pettis (season-ending injury) Free Agents MF/F - Brian Ombiji D - Adrian Leroy Possible Return via Loan MF - J.T. Noone (Baltimore Blast) D - Greg Jordan (Philadelphia Union) As Bullock notes, the backline needs help. Losing Andrew Marshall to interstate rival Pittsburgh was massive, while Bilal Duckett locked down the right back position in 2012. A new right back and center back are needed, Schoenle and Richards could fill those roles although they lack the experience of Marshall and Duckett. The offense is in good shape with Touray, Ekra, and Mellor returning, and Lucky Mkosana might return if he doesn't land a MLS contract. It would be nice if Noone comes back to help solidify the midfield, but apparently he was on loan from the Baltimore Blast last season and a similar arrangement has yet to be made. A solid core is there but depth needs to be acquired, either through the Union or current trials.
New England Force 3 Harrisburgh City Islanders 2 Two goals by Irvin Herrera and one by John Rause in the first half of play gave the Force a 3-0 advantage at the break. The Force controlled 65% of the possession. Harrisburgh took advantage of several lapses in the back to narrow the lead, but it was not enough as the Force continued to control the tempo and thus the game. Excellent play was also turned in by Kevin McCullen, Nate Bordeau, Dwayne Dove, Franklin Pena, and Simon Harrsen.
http://blog.pennlive.com/upper90/2013/03/city_islanders_have_their_own.html Goalie Brian Sylvestre (ex-Vancouver Whitecap and US U-17 under Coach John Hackworth & US U-20) is on trial with the Islanders.
Canadian midfielder Robbie Tice is with the City Islanders for preseason trials. He tweeted: "I'm heading to Harrisburg this weekend to meet up with the Harrisburg City Islanders for pre-season... looking forward to the opportunity!" https://twitter.com/city_islanders Tice most recently played for the Canadian national futsal team and Nesodden FC in the Norwegian second division. His wiki profile: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Tice
Indeed, that's the kind of the partnership that can really help a small market team like Harrisburg. Like you said, it makes sense for the Union to invest in Skyline if they're grooming their players there. Maybe they chip in for grounds crew, upgrades, etc. Maybe the Union does more for their two affiliates in Reading and Harrisburg to drum up support locally, I know plenty of fans who have Union tix and commute from Reading but do not attend United games. Perhaps a more visible partnership at Union matches can change that? Should be interesting to see how things evolve.
Especially liked the comments about sending front office staff to Harrisburg to help them and gain experience. That should help a lot. They have done a lot with more a less a full time staff of 2 -3 and a handful of interns. More full time staff would help bring in more sponsorship and ticket revenue.
J.T. Noone to VSI Tampa Bay, a big loss in the midfield. Losing players to MLS is one thing, but losing starters like Noone, Marshall, and Yates to USL foes is tough. Gotta wonder if these teams offered more money, especially with one being an expansion outfit and the other having more resources with their new stadium. http://blog.pennlive.com/upper90/2013/03/former_city_islander_tomer_che.html
the Battery loss Kyle Hoffer to VSI as well. and from what I can gather, they are offering pretty good contracts. they seem to be building a pretty good roster of some solid and experienced players.
I wonder if one side effect of MLS paying for four players is the ability to offer other players more money to leave their current teams. You can either decide to save that money, I guess, or re-direct it to signing guys from other teams.
Yet another goalkeeper trialist, former US U-20 and U-17 player Larry Jackson. He was WCC keeper of the year at Santa Clara and appeared at the MLS combine. http://www.santaclarabroncos.com/sports/m-soccer/2012-13/bios/jackson_larry_kxwj Recap of HCI's 2-1 exhibition loss to St. Francis (PA): http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2013/03/soccer_city_islanders_drop_pre.html
Two more trialists known thanks to the City Islanders' Twitter account of today's 2-2 exhibition draw vs. Navy: Former Seattle Sounder forward, Babayele Sodade http://www.soundersfc.com/team/historical-players/babayele-sodade.aspx Columbus Crew supplemental draft pick in 2013, defender Reed Matte http://www.thecrew.com/draftcentral/supplemental-draft Sodade and Matte were teammates at UAB and coincidentally linked up for a goal today, with Sodade finishing a Matte assist. Matte would fill a huge void in defense, especially since he's a wing back who could conceivably replace Bilal Duckett on the right. Sodade would provide depth up top where the team lost Garret Pettis to a season-ending injury and possibly Lucky Mkosana to MLS.
The Union officially loan Gred Jordan - D, Jimmy McLaughlin - M and Cristhian Hernandez - M to HCI - another player still to be sent to loan. http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/ne...s-usl-pro-affiliate-harrisburg-city-islanders Also, a few more new names from the Navy game report. http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2013/03/city_islanders_get_late_finish.html Is this the latest roster? Under contract for 2013 GK - Nick Noble (seeking contract with San Antonio, NASL) GK - Brian Holt GK - Phil Tuttle (returning from 2012 injury) D - Stephen Basso D - Tom Brandt MF - Tom Mellor [ENGLAND] MF - Jason Pelletier MF - Andrew Welker F/MF - Morgan Langley F - Yann Ekra [IVORY COAST] F - Sainey Touray [GAMBIA] On trial for 2013 GK - Tunde Ogunbiyi (Philadelphia Union trialist. Ocean City – PDL, Boston College) GK - Steve Spangler (MLS Pool Goalie, Oregon State University) GK - Bret Mollon (Michigan Bucks – PDL, Temple University) GK – Brian Sylvestre (Vancouver Whitecaps, US U20) GK – Larry Jackson (University of Santa Clara, US U17) GK – Charlie Sales (FC Sonic Lehigh Valley – NPSL, Western Illinois University) D - Damani Richards [TRINIDAD] (Philadelphia Union trialist, W Connection – Trinidad) D - Eric Schoenle (Philadelphia Union draft pick, University of West Virginia) D – Reed Matte (Columbus Crew draft pick, University of Alabama Birmingham) D – Kevin Garcia (New England Revolution draft pick, Villanova University) D – Andrew Ribeiro (New York Red Bulls draft pick, Creighton University) D – Coady Andrews (Kansas City Comets – MISL, University of Missouri Kansas City) D – Nurdin Hrustic [BOSNIA] (KFC Uerdingen – Germany, Jacksonville University) MF – Sola Abolaji (Ullensaker/Kisa - Norway) MF - Colin Zizzi (Harrisburg City Islanders) MF – Tyler Whitmer (Harrisburg Heat – PASL, Temple University) MF – Sean Peckham (Lafayette College) MF – Robbie Tice [CANADA] (Nesodden – Norway) MF – Zach Bowman (York Region Shooters – Canada, Stevens Institute) MF – Peter Kelly (SIU – Edwardsville) MF - Stephen Brossard (Marist College) F – Marco Mangione – (Baltimore Blast – MISL, Towson State) F – Jamiel Hardware [JAMAICA] (Boys Town – Jamaica, Jefferson College) F – Babayele Sodade [CANADA] (Seattle Sounder, University of Alabama Birmingham) Loan D - Greg Jordan (Philadelphia Union) M – Jimmy McLaughlin (Philadelphia Union) M – Cristhian Hernandez (Philadelphia Union) Not returning in 2013 D - Dustin Bixler (retired) D - Bilal Duckett (New England Revolution) D - Andrew Marshall (Pittsburgh Riverhounds) MF - Drew Yates (Charlotte Eagles) MF - J.T. Noone (VSI Tampa Bay) F - Garret Pettis (season-ending injury) Free Agents MF/F - Brian Ombiji D - Adrian Leroy
Zman, Well done, I was going to post the same updated list. Yes, that's the updated information that I have. A few quick tidbits, Damani Richards was injured in the Navy exhibition, no word yet about the severity, and Babayele Sodade has "impressed" the organization and looks likely to receive a contract offer. Also, Nick Noble is now reporting to the City Islanders, so perhaps his NASL deal fell through. If that's the case, it's great for Harrisburg since he was excellent last season. http://blog.pennlive.com/upper90/2013/03/harrisburg_receives_ideal_play.html
Interesting to see Noble return as it seems as if there are a lot of goalie trialists and a few of them (i.e. Sylvestre, Jackson) were likely recommended for a trial by Hackworth from his US Youth team days. The Union do not have a 3rd goalie on the team yet so I wonder if they may sign someone, perhaps even a HCI goalie or trialist, so that they can be called up in case of injury to MacMath or Konopka. The Union still owe another player on loan but they may rotate a few players (i.e. Don Anding - rookie from Northeastern who they are converting from a forward to a left back, Leo Fernandes - left midfielder from Stony Brook, Matt Kassel - played with Pittsburgh Riverhounds last season but may get a game at HCI every once in a while to stay sharp sort of like they did with Hoppenot and Hoffman) in that spot while likely hoping to keep McLaughlin, Hernandez and Jordan at HCI for the season. On a side note, why doesn't HCI have its own thread with the other USL PRO teams?
That's a interesting group on trial. I think geographically, you guys are sitting in a good locations to get some good players that are located very nearby. And I think the partnership will start to help even more to get players in. I think you might see some players opt for USL Pro instead of NASL because of a better chance to move to MLS. HCI folder/ sub forum. You can get one, you just need to open the request in the Admin folder and get 10 other posters to say they will post on a regular basis.
FYI... their is a HBG Islanders thread under the Union page as well, but it is mostly related to players being loaned from that side. If you are looking to drum up support you might want to post there.
Where is the admin folder located (I have not tried to request a new forum yet)? Thanks. On another note, it looks like Nick Noble will get his first pre-season game minutes tomorrow in the game against Maryland - Baltimore County. City Islanders @city_islanders 4m Making the trip to @UMBCMensSoccer look for Nick Noble, @AndrewWelker12 @tommellor14 @colinzizzi @J_McLaughlinIII and more. cu @ 1pm @UMBC
http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2013/03/soccer_second-year_winger_tom.html Islanders beat UMBC 2-0 on goals by Jamiel Hardware and Cristhian Hernandez on a PK. Other roster notes: * Another goalie trialist - David Flynn (St. Bonaventure) * Another ex-Union trialist - midfielder and local product Alex Mendoza * Lucky Mkosana has been recovering from an injury and will return to Columbus for another week of trialing. If he does not land a deal, it looks like he is returning to HCI. * the Islanders offered contracts to Jamaican Jamiel Hardware (who played last summer in the PDL with Ventura County) and Cody Andrews (assume he might be Coady Andrews who played with Kansas City in MISL).