Good catch, but its been 3 years, he needs a new call-up. Best of luck to Scorps, but my money is on the Stars in 2013. How can it not?
To me the commish sounds a little butthurt and jealous towards the MLS-USL partnership in this interview.
Agreed. A few of his remarks like "our priority is not to be a developmental league, but a league where you want to win" sound rather petty. He doesn't come across as terribly bright either referring to the arrangement as a development league similar to minor league baseball. The two aren't even close to being similar.
My understanding is that the NASL already walked away from this, by choice, and was invited to be a part of it. (Not the same commish, though, so he might have to parrot a party line he doesn't agree with to keep face.) It's being presented as though it were more similar than it is, by all parties. I'm not sure why.
The first iteration of the relationship is distantly similar to the minor leagues, but the next iteration is going to be a lot more similar. Starting in 2014 there are going to be MLS teams that have their reserve teams playing their full schedule in USL-Pro, instead of just one or two games. For those teams, it will be virtually identical to a MLB/MiLB set-up.
For the MLS reserve teams changing leagues, yes. That still does not turn USL-Pro into a 'developmental league'. It's obvious what he was insinuating with that remark. Yes, the two sides did have discussions, and Downs appeared to be more in favor of it. Peterson had no reason to comment publicly on something that had nothing to do with his league, and some of his statements weren't exactly professional.
So I guess you were in the room with Downs when met with them?...or just got your info on here?.....I remember Downs saying in an interview they were open to things, then passed on the opportunity because they weren't interested in becoming a developmental league. BTW , Downs was always nothing but cordial in statements made about the USL....do some research, however everyone has their own interpretation of things, and some like to make the NASL out to be the bad guys. And if you've seen Pat and Jesse's remarks on local TV, you'll notice they say its an opportunity to "develop young talent and help them get to the next level".....Jesse talked to I believe 13wham tv , maybe YNN. And Pat has said that as well on radio,etc.....that kinda sounds like their talkin Development league style setup......nothing wrong with it if thats what you want your team to be. And the reason why NASL comes up so much in local media/blogs/SS,etc is because people ask them all the time about joining the NASL.....I was at a function back last spring and a few guys I didn't know asked Pat about it....probably Devo gets the same,matter of fact , he's said people ask why the Rhino's arent in NASL.....its over now, no big deal, each league has their own course, and its good the the US soccer pyramid.
Is it? When you have Tim Holt and the USLpro talking about "dozens of franchises across the country", talking about this being a great pathway to MLS (lol), etc? Nothing is good for the U.S. soccer pyramid as long as the NASL and the USLpro keep fighting over markets, keep having one league bringing expansion teams into markets where a team in the other league already exists and when both sides seem to have very, very little regard for one another. If the NASL were to fold, whether due to a direct result of this new MLS/USLpro merger or whatever other reason, you won't have a soccer pyramid anymore. You'll have MLS and it's developmental, farm league. Which is what Tim Holt and the USLpro seem perfectly happy with as an outcome.
I don't think I ever remember Downs saying he passed on anything. He always wanted a development relationship with MLS. But it had to be the right one. Downs said he suggested to MLS a few models. - The MLS reserve league integrate into the NASL and play a full NASL schedule. - MLS forming affiliated teams near their markets to play in the NASL. Like Barcelona B. - A complete affiliation system like MLB. He used the example of the Fire paying for the entire Stars rosters and coaches. - A similar model to the NBA D-League. Ironically, some of the stuff he suggested goes ever further than the current USL/MLS deal. Did Traffic, or people within the NASL with delusions of grandeur, twist his arm away from that? Who knows? Downs also said the Impact and Whitecaps would place reserve teams in the NASL. Which never happened. Again, it is ironic that USL and MLS might fulfill two of of his suggestions. An affiliation system and eventually MLS starting clubs within USL-Pro. So I can understand why the current NASL Commish, who seems out of the loop, is a little butt-hurt. He was quoted as saying he would eventually get around to talking to his old buddy Don Garber about a relationship. Well there ain't much to talk about now Mr. Peterson. MLS is going to date another girl. But at least you have the Cosmos for half a season. And the teams in your league want to win. Except when two of them can't even play the first half.
You sound like you wish it was the NASL who was in the position USLPro is in which, IMHO, is surprising coming from a Strikers fan. Well, IMHO, I don't think D2 should be a developmental (minor) league. I've stated before that I think the NASL should strive to have a similar situation as the Football League in England. Let MLS be a closed league for now and maybe, in time, the NASL will be in a better position to get us to a real soccer pyramid here in the states.
I don't have a problem with what the Peterson said. Maybe he could have expressed it differently, I don't know. If MLS teams primarily choose to field their own USLpro teams, those teams will exist for the sole purpose of developing talent for the MLS parent club. Correct? The independent USLpro teams would then be competing against teams who do not exist to win trophies. I think the affiliate set up is interesting because now we have a situation where MLS teams are choosing to do away with their reserve team and instead send "a minimum of four players" down to the USLpro affiliate. What happens to the rest of the reserve squad? Will the MLS teams push to have far more than the minimum number of players sent to their affiliate? If an MLS team sends 8 or 9 players down, how can you argue the affiliate USLpro team is anything other than a farm/developmental team for the MLS parent club? If MLS teams don't ever send more than 4 or 5 players down, maybe not so much but I have a hard time believing MLS teams who go the affiliate route and who axe their reserve team will only want 4 or 5 guys in development in any given season. More likely is that MLS team will either send far more than the minimum number of players to their affiliate or they'll loan out even more reservists to other, non affiliated USLpro teams. 2013 might not look so much like a full on MLS developmental league, but 2014 and beyond surely could once the entirety of the MLS franchises have sorted out what course they plan to take and we start to see entire expansion teams either directly owned by MLS clubs or pre-existing USLpro teams becoming affiliates chock full of MLS reserve players.
Just a few random thoughts here: Perhaps the ultimate purpose of the NASL won't be to develop players so much as to develop markets. MLS expansion seems likely to slow way down after club #20 finally joins the league. That leaves a lot of cities that could support a club out in the cold -- cities like, say, Indianapolis, which had a fan base in place and found an ownership group that could build something around them. NASL could become a viable option in other cities like this, especially considering the lower cost of entry and the ability to start building up a fan base early -- just like Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and Montreal did before they joined MLS in the last five years. Eventually, MLS will expand again, and when it does, it will start looking at cities that have established clubs. Does that mean the NASL will be a giant walking chaos engine for the rest of this decade and beyond? Probably, yeah. Ultimately, though, the mission is to continue growing the game in the U.S.A., and by starting clubs in cities where MLS hasn't, the NASL serves that mission pretty well. Of course, nobody affiliated with the NASL or its clubs will ever state specifically that it's purpose is to develop markets for another league, but they will say they want to grow the game, and there's still plenty of room for growth. To say nothing of the fact that the NASL wouldn't be a bad league for developing managers as well. After all, if you can build a successful team in these conditions, you might get a look from some higher-division clubs in need of that particular skill.
In a perfect world I want MLS-NASL-USL to all work together for the benefit of North American soccer. But this isn't a perfect world. And they aren't working together which hurts NA soccer. MLS was going to side with one or the other at one point. MLS and has now made a choice with the USL. We we will have to see where that leaves the NASL. And don't give me the Strikers fan stuff. The Strikers are not publicly talking about MLS expansion and are trying to talk up the NASL. You're a Scorpions fan and your ownership has made MLS a goal. Do you wish for your club not to kiss off the NASL and pay the MLS expansion fee in about five years? Will you demand your club pay an exit fee when they leave the NASL for MLS? Something tells me it will be NASL who? Like Joey Saputo. It is a minor league. Whether you like the term or not. Then what is its purpose if it is not a developmental league to D1 in closed system? A gathering place for players not good enough for MLS? "To provide live soccer to markets where MLS is not" is the correct answer. But the USL is also going to be doing that and maybe at a much faster clip now. So where does the NASL see itself fitting? Permanent4 might be right that the NASL might end up developing markets instead of players. But that holds a lot of risk. Some markets are going to fail since not everyone is SA. And MLS will pick off the better developed markets leaving the NASL even weaker than before. If you have say an Atlanta, and you replace them with a Birmingham, it might not make much of a difference in attendance. You are still going to draw in the 3-5k range. But it does weaken your league's potential and reinforces what it is. MLS is beyond what a market draws and is now into what it means for television. That is where MLS sees the its financial boon happening. So the NASL will be what it claims it is not. A developmental league. Just not one that focuses on developing players. A "real soccer pyramid" here in the states? Oh boy. Not this pro/rel or "let's do things like they do in jolly ol' England" nonsense again. And how exactly do you expect the NASL to do this? Pixie dust and rainbows? Especially now that they aren't in the MLS/USL loop and we know who runs the USSF. Evil underpants gnomes I hear. Garber just the other day said the Southeast was priority #1 after NYC. I am beginning to think MLS will not take any break after #20. They might view getting to NYC as the break.
Personally I like the Japan version of Pro/Rel better. Back to the point. I was watching the whole Brek Shea/ Stoke City fiscal. Seeing that made me think if NASL could sell to American and Canadian players that NASL will not interfere with player transfers unlike MLS.
So what's this mean: Sporting KC strikes a deal with Orlando City to be a farm club Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/23/4027865/sporting-kc-strikes-a-deal-with.html#storylink=cpy
I'm from Orlando and I didn't like it. Even if we all know that it only means KC is sending 4 players to Orlando to play. Hold it, this is NASL News, lets stay on topic.
The only catch is paying a $100,000,000 expansion fee while getting to own no brand rights or player contracts. The MLS TV contracts have yet to draw an audience worth much to advertisers so the broadcast advantages they're offering are still trivial. The biggest selling point for becoming an NASL owner may wind up being that the cost of an MLS club is starting to get awfully pricey for what you'll get back in return. This wasn't the case five years ago. You can get in D2 for a price more than 50X less, keep your own revenues, and make your own business decisions without holding a vote of the corporation. And maybe once the league gets up to 12 teams in 2014 they can go out and score their own crappy-ass TV deal that gets terrible ratings just like MLS. What is MLS now offering that's worth a nine-figure fee plus surrender of control over your business? Toronto paid a $10 million expansion fee. Is MLS now offering 10X that value to new teams? Their NYC2 expansion fee seems to send a message that growing beyond 20 teams is not a high priority. It looks like they're stepping back and conceding future expansion opportunities to NASL by design. I think MLS believes that NYC2 will give them the final business model they've always wanted and they don't need anyone else to join any time soon. If someone wants to pay a super-high price to get in, then sure, MLS will make room for them but how many people will really pay that price? We all know MLS is no longer rushing out to court prospective ownership groups the way they were just a few years ago. NASL will get the new clubs because MLS is no longer interested.
Please enlighten us about these lucrative revenue streams of gold that are ripe for the picking by NASL clubs? Don't get me wrong, if the MLS entry fee is too steep then by all means the NASL is right up your alley. But don't pretend that NASL and MLS are anywhere near each other in quality, prestige, media attention and, ahem, revenue. Just ask Joey Saputo.
They all have revenue. I didn't say "profit." The real point was that a $100 million expansion fee changes the calculus. What's an owner getting from MLS that's worth that much money up front? How much control are you prepared to give up? Joey Saputo paid $40 million. Now we're all of a sudden at that price times two-and-a-half. I didn't say NASL was equal to MLS. The question is at what point MLS expansion becomes over-priced. Why do we have multiple lower division expansion teams with MLS aspirations? Why didn't they just jump into MLS right away? Maybe it's the cost. They may say they want MLS but that doesn't mean they'll be able afford any time in the near future. They might stay in the same league they're in now for ten years or more. Some may never get to MLS. This is how the lower divisions will grow. This is what they can afford.
Ok. Now you are singing a different tune and are at least in the same book as me, if not the same page. Your previous statement I thought implied that the NASL was preferred over MLS. If you want to be minor league, spend minor league money and make minor league money than the NASL is a good choice. If you want to spend and make major league type money then MLS is your only choice. This idea that you can do so in the NASL and make it something it isn't is just silly. And this meme about lack of control in MLS is just crap as well. Who do you think make the rules and decisions in MLS? That is right. The owner-operators. Not some mysterious 'them' who thwart individual investor's plans.
All our leagues are minor leagues. MLS does not make or spend major money nor will they any time soon. The US & Canadian pro game is a small fish in a small pond. Lack of control = salary cap. The day will come when the richest soccer tycoons in the world will buy clubs in the North American market. I'm talking about people who'll want to spend many times the MLS salary cap. They're not going to seek the approval of people who cap themselves at a few million bucks. It's not about the Cosmos or anyone else here now. It's about the REALLY big fish who haven't come here yet. The Cosmos are, if anything, their trojan horse. The USA will become far too lucrative a market for them to ignore. You know who they are. You know they're watching from afar. NASL is their in. That's where they can spend anything they want without anyone's approval. THAT is what I mean about control. Tell us what MLS is gonna do about it. I'd like to know.