News: Revs affiliating with the Rhinos

A bit more details about the potential affiliation with the Rhinos here:

 

The thing I don't like about this is that the academy players won't be able to play in games with professionals

 

No doubting you, but then how were they allowed to play in reserve league games?

 

It took me awhile to warm up to the trade off of dumping our Reserve league entrant in favor of this deal---but at this point I like the idea---a lot. The key will be for us to send players with a real upside that Rochester will be glad to have. The fact that we can get them back if necessary because Rev roster needs seals the deal for me. Rochester as a franchise has a rich tradition (even an Open Cup) and a very busy schedule which should provide quality training and playing opportunities.

This will add another layer of interest to whats happening for the lower half of the Rev roster'

I like it. I hope it works out as envisioned for all parties

 

Mixed feelings. In the past the Revs have had lots of trouble finding 11 healthy and available players to play reserve games, but they always had at least 7 or 8 players getting some playing time in the reserves league. Now it looks like they will have at most 4 non-starters available for selection by Rochester but there is no guarantee that Rochester will play them.

 

From the local paper:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com...inos-New-England-Revolution-MLS-US-Pro-soccer

From the Rhinos perspective, they also think this will help them attract better players who hope to jump directly from USL to MLS, bypassing NASL.

 

US Airways Express (operated by Air Wisconsin) is going to get some serious business. They're the only airline that flies direct from Boston to Rochester.

 

Well if we have no injuries and no fixture congestion, we can send 4 additional guys for a couple weeks at a time. If someone gets injured, we can easily recall them.

 

I like this idea as it's potentially another player acquisition avenue for the Revs in additional to a development tool for their existing talent. I believe that there's likely a solid pool of MLS-quality players in the NASL/USL that the collegiate scouting system simply missed (since soccer pro scouting in the US at the collegiate level doesn't have nearly the depth/thoroughness the other major pro sports have) and they'd be the first in line for any strong performers on the Rhinos, I imagine.

 

My real hope for the Rhinos is that it raises the quality of play. The Rhinos games that I've been to have great athletes but a poor quality of play. Everyone is athletic enough to have constant pressure on the ball but nobody is skilled enough to maintain possession in spite of that pressure. Not much fun to watch. If 4/11 of the team is MLS quality hopefully that can change, and I'll start going to Rhinos games.

 

It's a minimum of four at a time.

 

I think this current arrangement is best for bottom of the roster guys who otherwise wouldn't be seeing any non-reserve league playing time (Purdie, Murray, Roach, Polak, and Brettschneider). Those guys can spend a lot of time in Rochester and play far more consistently than they would playing for the Revs reserve squad. However, I think the current arrangement is an issue for key reserve, fringe players, and spot starters. Players like Barnes, Guy, Imbongo, etc. would benefit from playing in the reserve games which will no longer be an option due to this agreement.

 

I think for the few guys who go to Rochester, it could be a much better experience than 10 reserve league games.

OTOH, I think there are still going to be those guys, stuck in the middle, that we are going to need for the end of our bench, that aren't going to get into games anywhere.

So, I sort of see the Revs sending some of their prime development prospects (maybe a Fagundez, if he's not getting p.t. here, a Caldwell, a Polack, our #3 gk) to Rochester, yet guys like the supplemental picks, would stay here, but w/o the benefit of reserve games.

 

I think it could work, think of it like this:

(At least) 4 "long-term" loans. These would be players ala Polak last season. Just send them off to Rochester for the season and don't call them back unless absolutely needed. Only question is, do these guys count towards the Revs roster limits, even if they're at Rochester all season? Would be great if the team could sign some of the fringe draftees who would normally not make the roster, and just loan them to Rochester. Then they could re-evaluate them after the USL-Pro season, or even next offseason.

Then you could have guys like Barnes, etc. They could shoot over to Rochester to get a game in, and then come back. That's going to depend on what the USL-Pro schedule looks like, though.

 

That's what I was wondering too. Fredy Montero, for example, was just loaned out for the year, and his roster slot (and DP slot) were freed up for SEA. Would the same apply here, or does the ability "to recall them if needed" negate that?

Then you get into salary cap issues. Will CHV loan out Shalrie to USL, just to free up cap space?

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Like I said earlier, I think it will take a few years to work out the kinks of this arrangement. This is a starting point. It will be revised, refined and (hopefully) improved as they go along.

 

You're insane if you think Krafty is going to pay for them to fly! Do you think he's made of money or something? There is a perfectly good Greyhound bus schedule lying around here somewhere!

Seriously, this might work out well for the border-line guys who don't expect to see much first team action, but what about the benefits of a first-team player (Sene?) playing a few reserve games to work himself back into game fitness? Would they send him to Ra-cha-cha for a couple of games? I don't know how physical that league is, but I'd be pretty wary of him getting hurt in a game that is meaningful for all the other players on the pitch.

 

more physical than MLS

 

I'm a little worried that this means they'll go for the quantity over quality route and fill the roster with minimum salary guys instead of adding another impact player or two. Hopefully that's not the case.