There may not be Crew Jrs. but I did have a player this past summer play for the Crew Internationals who traveled to Manchester and Ireland to play in tournamnets. I don't think wagner was on it and is robably too old anyway. This is a comical story though and it does have a comedy sketch written all over it. If the rights were sold it would be a hit.
More details on this remarkable story: MBABANE Swallows would have paid E45 000 a month as salaries for the three foreign players. The team’s PRO, Bongani Mamba disclosed this yesterday during a press conference held at Sigwaca House. Mamba said the players had each demanded to sign contracts with the team that would bind Swallows to pay each one of them a E15 000 monthly salary. Link: http://www.observer.org.sz/main.asp?id=28533&Section=sports
Crew Internationals is the latest incarnation of an exchange program founded by Nick Roberts, former Columbus Xoggz Head Coach and assistant for the Crew in it's early years. They get together a team of guys from around the area whose parents are dumb enough to cough up $2500 or so in order to tell people their kid is playing in England. Nick used to do this in conjunction with Seamus "Red Card" Riley, but now has apparently thrown in with Crew assistant Mike Lapper, and this summer they called their team "Crew Internationals" but there's really no club there. Just a one-time summer travel deal.
Huh, I really didn't know the logistics of the whole deal. Interesting to say the least. My player, who is headed to a Divison 1 school next season, did get better as a result of playing with the "Internationals" but I was under the assumptions it was by invitation. Doesn't really matter but it makes sense now because he never really talked about the other players on the team over there other than a few things here and there.
Damn. I wish I got on the first page of this classic thread. Anyway, can someone rep Bill Archer for me? That post in the Crew forum three weeks ago is a cracker.
Of course it's possible that some things have changed since I was familiar with this outfit a couple years ago. Mike Lapper is a straight-up, ethical and reputable individual, and certainly that program could benefit from a healthy dose of all those attributes. In my opinion, this was nothing more than another way to fleece soccer parents out of money and a free trip home to Manchester every summer for the organizer to see his old Mum. . As for the Merry Wanderers and their amazing adventures in Swaziland, let's see if I have this right: Three obscure players and a youth coach from the US traveled to Swaziland where they sat around for two months without work permits or contracts, not playing or coaching, not being paid and not having their expenses covered, and now they're planning on leaving a soon as someone buys them plane tickets. Maybe e need a new forum: "Yanked Around Abroad"
The Swazi Observer finds the whole thing suspcious: WHAT was hailed as a landmark deal not only for Mbabane Swallows but for football in the country has all ended up in smoke. That is the much-publicised deal involving American Renaldo Christians and his players. Link: http://www.observer.org.sz/main.asp?id=28554&Section=sportdigest
@Bill Archer, out of curiosity I ran a search this morning and found Nick back in Ohio with the Crew. Maybe you knew this already, but I didn't... http://www.thecrewyouth.com/CrewJuniorsWorthington/621869.html I'm pretty confident it's the same guy...
I did not. Much appreciate the find. What it proves as much as anything is the lengths some guys will go to to avoid having to get a real job.