This speaks for itself. Screen shot of Carli's Twitter profile. I don't think she ever had a photo of herself in a Dash uniform. (But I am not 100% on that) pic.twitter.com/IrCtOnDpri— Corey Roepken (@RipSports) February 15, 2017
7 actually. Nevertheless, I'll be surprised if she is back at all even though she is saying all the right things. It's been a rocky relationship with plenty of fault on both sides.
Well, depending on what the new CBA says and pays she may never come back. I hope the team didn't have any Carli Lloyd bobblehead giveaways planned. This does highlight a big flaw in having players not contracted to the league/clubs - seems like you can't plan on anything related to national team allocated players. This wouldn't be tolerated in any other sport or professional team league. BTW, I still don't think this league makes it past next WWC.
Don't bet money on that, you'll lose. League is the strongest it has ever been (Washington mess aside). Queue of strong clubs that want to enter the league, expect 2 more for 2018. A+E Networks just gave the league a nice chunk of cash. Digital rights deal actually pays money now. Most clubs on strong financial footing and want greater flexibility to spend more money on players. League office finally bulked up this year and aggressively pursuing more sponsorship money. Nobody is using the term NWSL 2.0, but we've definitely moved into NWSL 2.0 this year.
See, I disagree on this - the league sold off part of itself to A&E, that's not a rights fee they got they diluted equity. IF ( and a big IF) A&E sees it as a cheap source of programming they will fund the inevitable capital calls but I think a lot of this is spin packaging.
To be clear, there is no cash going to teams and there are no dividends going to A+E (not A&E, two different entities). The investment is being used to bulk up the league in areas that have badly needed it that translate directly into new revenue generation. No cash calls. They are not invested in the teams, they are invested at the league level and are partnering on the new NWSL Media entity which is (finally) focused on monetizing (and developing) all of the digital properties that NWSL has available. The league has been underperforming its revenue generation potential, and regardless is continuing to strengthen and grow. Now, they are finally for the first time in a position to be doing the things they should have done all along.
The women's game wants to be taken seriously, then they suffer the same fate as the men when they make stupid decisions. Beckham pulled this crap, then Lampard, and they both got annihilated by the fans for it. Carly needs to be lambasted when she comes back. I know if I was a coach, I would be sitting her ass on the bench for a while. Minutes are for members of the Dash team.
Disagree. I've blasted her in the past, but this is a function of the current state of affairs with the USWNT CBA. She has no contract with the Dash or the league. The CBA has technically expired with negotiations ongoing, who knows what comes out of that. Could be a strike, could be a lockout, could be a new structure, who knows. In the meantime, she plays for a team where the front office threw her under the bus last season. She got blasted by fans and media when it turns out her absence had been known and approved by the team all along and was not for any profit driven reason but rather a personal event (family and friends) that could not be moved without massive expense. She has every reason to tell the team to go f themselves and head elsewhere. She had a huge offer from China (the Chinese are starting to throw around big money in the women's game too) but turned it down as it would have meant missing the entire NWSL season. She has seized a unique opportunity to go play in Champions League by virtue of the shortened FA-WSL Spring series as they transition to an autumn to spring league. She's gone out of her way to tweet about how she looks forward to joining up with her Dash team after the shortened FA-WSL season. Meanwhile, her coach is subtly trashing her in the press. I'm no Carli fan, but I've got zero problem with this move.
Whatever... I've always felt about any team I root for is "if you don't want to be here then bye". Contract in soccer are basically worth what it's written on. All a player has to do is bitch and pretend to be unhappy to push for a transfer. Kind of a reflection of our society these days....
One step further here. Lloyd doesn't have a contract with Houston, nor has she ever. However, I'd also point out that she has effectively said she does want to be here but this is a unique chance to go somewhere for 3 months and play in Champions League. Such a short window opportunity will never happen again. When you are about to turn 35 and have never played in a competition like Champions League and have the opportunity to do so and play in 70% of your NWSL club's matches, why wouldn't you? Now, I still am skeptical that she ever will be back unless Waldrum is gone, but we'll see.
Don't disagree with you at all. She won't be back... practicing at 200 euro training facility and playing in some of the best stadiums in the world against playing and practicing in hot as Satan's butt hole Houston. I love, love, love this city with everything that I am made of, but not outdoor sports friendly.
Actually the women don't play in the men's stadiums. They typically (which is the case for Manchester City) play in the same much smaller stadium that the Academy team's play in at the club's academy facilities. Training set up is definitely better, though.
It's a job, and people need to make sound decisions based upon financial goals just like every other job.
I agree with you that she is effectively out of contract from NWSL so can't blame her for signing elsewhere. But this shines another light on how dysfunctional the setup is for the NWSL with national team players. And Lloyd clearly has shown the Dash is about priority #8 on her list,somewhere after eating her favorite Philly cheesesteaks for dinner. I go back to the big post WWC game where the USWNT players no-showed - a silent power play. I like this: 831921328361988098 is not a valid tweet id
I don't see any reference to an NWSL title for the Dash in her future goals. All she wants to do is collect guaranteed pay from USWNT team, train with her personal coach in Jersey, and do book tours http://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/sports/soccer/carli-lloyd-manchester-city-women.html
Under the expired CBA (although I think it's in continued effect until a 60-day notice is given), the USWNT players got an extra $60k or something to play in NWSL. They could opt out of it and play elsewhere. Dash did not pay any of the USWNT players on their team directly
The Dash pay her nothing. She is not under contract with them. All the allocated USWNT players are paid by US Soccer like Westie says. One modification to what Westie says, though, is that it is not "$60k extra". Effectively what happened in the letter agreement related to NWSL is the USWNT players took a paycut from their previous USWNT salary and gained an NWSL salary such that the net gain was only around $20-30k max. If they aren't playing in NWSL, the NWSL portion of salary goes away but USWNT portion increases.
Don't quote me on those numbers, by the way. Been a while since I read the agreements so they may be wrong.
I'll also add that ideally this system changes soon. Most of the teams in the league would gladly pay the USWNT players sufficiently to keep them in the league, and as a byproduct gain contractual control. It's only a couple of smaller clubs that are keeping that from happening now. However, those smaller clubs are rapidly changing hands to more well financed owners so that will change eventually.
I guess missing NWSL games and practices for paid promotional and book appearances isn't "money chasing" in her mind 'They take the women's side seriously': @CarliLloyd talks priorities, #NWSL and why she chose @ManCityWomenhttps://t.co/s2ynQhxScM pic.twitter.com/kAE1xCrXJ0— FourFourTwo USA ⚽️ (@FourFourTwoUSA) February 16, 2017
In fairness, she's not talking about that kind of money chasing, she's talking about a paycheck in terms of where she plays. Believe it or not, this is the first time in her pro career that she has actually been able to choose where she plays. She's never had a choice before, she's always been told where to play.
That's not really true - it's only because she kept signing the guaranteed USWNT contracts. If she didn't sign those, she could play anywhere