Having a direct line for youth to work their way up. At least build a foundation that is easy to follow. Then maybe building on it by focusing on developing fundamentals in lower tiers. Isn't that similar to what most European countries do?
Most European leagues also have a way for clubs to move up too. I don't think any club or fan base is interested in their team turning into a permanent farm team.
Not necessarily. There is value in having players play on teams with the goal of winning first. Also most European leagues do not follow the MLB style. The professional levels tend to be made up mostly of independent teams without any affiliation. They do have farm teams mixed in, but they tend to be at lower levels. Really only the richest teams are able to put together farm teams that can compete at the D2 level in Europe. Like USAsports I have no interest in farm teams. If I had my way at the very minimum the top two leagues in every sport would be made up of 100% independent teams.
For the record, I'm fine with there being farm teams but I'd rather have them be in lower division leagues like @The One X said.
I wouldn't want promotion and relegation til later on. I'm thinking having minor league afilliated teams so your brand is spread out through the state/ region of the country. Maybe allow people to follow a favorite player up or having a farm team in your community to get more people invested and then follow up the ladder. Just a thought and probably sounds better in theory than actuality.
So essentially the USL then? They have teams like Galaxy II, Sounders 2, Red Bulls 2 etc. Even the NPSL is slowly shifting towards that with Indy Eleven NPSL, Cosmos B, Rowdies B etc.
That is actually why I don't like the idea of farm teams. I want the cities to have teams that they feel are theirs, not some other cities team where the only reason people pay attention is to see the next Wayne Gretzky before he is Wayne Gretzky. I want the cities and fans to feel like they have some ownership in the team, and have pride in it.
They need to have different names than Galaxy 2 and etc. Having the town name like Ft Wayne gives pride and ownership. Start the 1st couple years independent and then form a relationship.
There are also independent teams in the USL that essentially have a relationship with an MLS club where they agree to loan players back and forth.
Welcome to the forum! I don't think that the major league/tiered minor league structure that works for baseball would work for soccer in the same way. Minor league baseball gets relatively good attendance in many places in the US (including Indy), but I don't know anyone who is a die-hard Indians fan. And there's a reason for that: the players aren't really a part of the club. Their status is dictated by the major league club--they can be called up at any minute, and the team's roster can also be disrupted at any minute if the major league club wants to send a player down, either as a demotion or for rehab. The end result is that no one really cares all that deeply how the team does. During my first year in Indy, the Indians went deep into the AAA playoffs. I went to a game, figuring it would be a boisterous atmosphere. But there was hardly anyone there. Really, virtually no one cared. I think the same would be true if the soccer structure somehow converted to something like the baseball structure. I'd probably still go to some games, because I love soccer. But I don't think I would really care.
Watching a few minutes of the Cosmos-Railhawks match. Man, the Cosmos really need to get out of the Hofstra stadium. That field is just ugly. Imagine that we had to play on a field emblazoned, "IUPUI Jaguars," in colors that don't match Indy Eleven's. Ugh. The lacrosse lines don't help. Plus, the crowd is pathetic.
Cosmos win, so Indy drops to fourth, but with a game in hand on two of the three teams ahead of them. Not a bad position at all.
You'd really think a brand as powerful as the Cosmos would have a better stadium and/or crowd, especially since they (to me, at least) try to brand themselves as something like the 'Bayern' or 'PSG' of the NASL.
The Cosmos brand is about as powerful as Rayo OKC. Whatever happened back in the 60s/70s is meaningless today.
I know, but you can't ignore those signings of players such as Juan Arango, Niko Kranjcar, Raúl, and maybe more that I can't remember. And they're obviously the most known club in the NASL. They're not the same Cosmos, but it seems a lot of people think they still are.
I don't think the Cosmos are that well known for the old Cosmos, but they're the most well known NASL club purely due to their big player signings. Their pay roll also probably dwarfs most of the NASL besides Minnesota United.
Week 5 results: Saturday, April 30 Ottawa Fury 2-0 Miami FC Fort Lauderdale Strikers 0-1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Rayo OKC 1-2 Indy Eleven Sunday, May 1 NY Cosmos 1-0 Carolina RailHawks Standings: 1. CAR 5 g.p. 12 pts +4 ------------------------------ 2. MIN 4 g.p. 9 pts +5 3. COS 5 g.p. 9 pts +2 4. IND 4 g.p. 8 pts +2 5. TBY 5 g.p. 8 pts +0 6. ROK 4 g.p. 4 pts -1 7. JAX 3 g.p. 4 pts -1 8. EDM 4 g.p. 4 pts -1 9. OTT 5 g.p. 4 pts -4 10. MIA 5 g.p. 2 pts -4 11. FTL 4 g.p. 2 pts -4
Week 6 schedule: Wednesday, May 4 Jacksonville Armada v. FC Edmonton 6:30 pm BeIN Sports Saturday, April 7 Ottawa Fury v. Minnesota United 2:00 pm ESPN3 Jacksonville Armada v. Rayo OKC 7:00 pm BeIN Sports Carolina RailHawks v. Fort Lauderdale Strikers 7:30 pm ESPN3 Indy Eleven v. FC Edmonton 7:30 pm WISH-TV/ESPN3 Miami FC v. NY Cosmos 8:00 pm OWS BYE: Tampa Bay Rowdies
Thanks! Guess I'm spoiled by Ft Wayne ' s minor league teams and their success. The Komets on hockey are beloved and the city has adapted to big league affiliates. The Mad Ants and Tincaps have won recently too. The Tincaps have brought an atmosphere to the city similar to the Komets. Before that when they were the Wizards, the atmosphere was awful and lacked support. However I think majority of cities are lacking atmosphere to support clubs.
Week 6 Wednesday result: Wednesday, May 4 Jacksonville Armada 0-1 FC Edmonton Saturday, April 7 Ottawa Fury v. Minnesota United 2:00 pm ESPN3 Jacksonville Armada v. Rayo OKC 7:00 pm BeIN Sports Carolina RailHawks v. Fort Lauderdale Strikers 7:30 pm ESPN3 Indy Eleven v. FC Edmonton 7:30 pm WISH-TV/ESPN3 Miami FC v. NY Cosmos 8:00 pm OWS BYE: Tampa Bay Rowdies Standings: 1. CAR 5 g.p. 12 pts +4 ------------------------------ 2. MIN 4 g.p. 9 pts +5 3. COS 5 g.p. 9 pts +2 4. IND 4 g.p. 8 pts +2 5. TBY 5 g.p. 8 pts +0 6. EDM 5 g.p. 7 pts +0 7. ROK 4 g.p. 4 pts -1 8. JAX 4 g.p. 4 pts -2 9. OTT 5 g.p. 4 pts -4 10. MIA 5 g.p. 2 pts -4 11. FTL 4 g.p. 2 pts -4