Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and Montreal... If things continue on their current path, Orlando and San Antonio could also make the jump.. Care to explain how lower eivision teams are being blocked from making the jump? How'd Rochester being blocked impact MLS expansion?
You're saying FIFA doesn't give a damn if D2 ever grows. How many people will want to invest in D2 if they see existing clubs getting blocked from the top flight for no other reason than refusing to sell? New investment in D2 would stall right there.
I'm just wondering how the parity thing is working out for Toronto? I don't know if I would rather have a superclub in D2 or be the worst team in MLS. Because it doesn't matter if they were in MLS or NASL they still would get to CCL.
The question is this: what if a team refuses to sell but demands access to the top flight? What if they meet all D1 standards, dominate on the field, but get shut out of D1 for no other reason than refusing to sell? Is this what will draw new owners to the sport? This is FIFA's angle, encouraging growth. This is why they'll care.
Heh. MLS is already moving up the CCL ladder. They used to get their ass kicked by Central American teams, now they are competitive, if not dominating. Mexican teams are still quite a bit better, but even there mLS is performing better and better. It might be awhile, but MLS should get to the point where they are competitive with Liga MX teams.
D2 is growing. The Cosmos being blocked isn't going to stop anyone from investing in a D2 team as long as other D2 teams are making the jump.
*laugh* Parity doesn't override an incompetent FO. Their is no reason to think that Toronto would be a superclub in NASL, or that they would be making the same amount of money that they are now if they were a NASL team.
It would encourage prospective owners to stay out of the game or invest in other countries where such obstacles are not in place. If you think owners don't think along those lines you're fooling yourself. Your confidence in the growth of D2 is pretty damn amazing given its track record of disaster.
And yet people continue to invest. It is the history of failure that is a bigger impediment than any perceived block to getting to D1. This is even more so now that a number of lower division teams have made the jump.
With the way American soccer is now, anyone after big money won't touch division 2 with a pole. They are going to the English Leagues regardless if the Cosmos make huge amounts of money. Traditionally D2 owners are in for the game or just aren't informed about the sport and think it is a big moneymaker. The Cosmos won't change that. The Battery for example, have owner that is very passionate about soccer and has put a lot of faith and money into soccer, not to make millions, but just because he likes the sport. Going for Middle Eastern owners won't help D2 and the divisons below that.
Oh, so teams have failed in the past therefore they won't mind getting blocked in a bid for the top flight? That makes no sense. The fact that others have sold out doesn't mean everyone will want to or should. That's no way to attract investors, telling them they can't own what they bought and still get to the top. Might as well invest in Asia where you can.
Montreal didn't agree with the league, and they are in MLS now. The owners who want to make money don't care about the US market. I don't want Malcolm Glazer investing in American Soccer when he didn't save the Tampa Bay Mutiny. A lot of Manchester United fans wish he didn't invest in Manchester United. I want owners like Rob Heinnaman of Kansas City and Greg Kerfoot of the Whitecaps who actually care about the game and not just see $$$$
What? Where did you get that from? The Cosmos being blocked would not stop people from investing in lower division teams, because, more than likely, other lower division teams would be making the jump... The biggest impediment to investing in lower division teams is the fact that they are giant money pits.
On the subject of the lack of announcements, the Cosmos PR team really could do a better job starting a build up towards the 2013 season. There are interesting topics to discuss. You could space these types of interviews with Seamus O'Brien and others in the Cosmos leadership over a period of weeks to keep things buzzing: Manager search progress report - What the Cosmos are looking for in the manager who will launch the club into its NASL re-birth 2013 Stadium location update/announcement - If they have not nailed down Hofstra, provide an update on what they are looking for in a site. Talk about some potential candidates. If its Hofstra, announce it. 2013 uniform sponsor announcement Manager signing First player signing 2013 uniform unveiling New youth academy strategy More player signings Big name player signing There are probably more topics that could be covered. There's plenty they could get started with to build towards February 2013.
I don't know if SA is a money pit, it's a money pit if you don't own your own SSS. Rowdies for example are sole tenants. all merchandising profits and concessions go to them, if they have attendance over 3k they are making a profit.
On the team, or on the other revenue streams that owning a MLS team opened up to them? If you're talking about just the team, a small number of them. If you're talking about all of the revenue streams, then most, if not all.
My point is it doesn't matter if it's minor league if a player gets more money to sign with Cosmos than NY RedBull he's going to Cosmos.
The first two don't require that you have done anything, just share what you are thinking, the selection criteria, the progress, etc. That should buy you about a month to get a few of the other items done for more announcements.
They become bigger money pits if they get blocked for promotion. THAT is what would discourage investment, the denial of the best chance for profit.
And yet, it would only be one team that is being blocked... If the Cosmos don't make the jump, but San Antonio and Orlando do, investors aren't going to look at the Cosmos, they are going to look at Orlando and San Antonio.
I don't understand why so many people are defending MLS system..next year we will be the only league with that system.