That's kinda the point though. A weak league that has nothing to offer is not going to force anyone "into line" b/c no one needs them. So: Team owners = egotistical? League owners = not egotistical? Link?
I'm not saying league owners aren't, but there's usually only one person or group running a league, as opposed to a dozen or more owners or ownership groups, each with the own ideas about what the league's direction should be, etc... It ends up being rule by committee, which usually doesn't work all that well particularly for a business. That's why leagues like the NFL, MLB, etc... have a strong league leadership that the owners have agreed to kowtow to. Even egotistical maniacs like Al Davis end up having to follow what Roger Goddell says unless he convinces enough of the owners he's right and the no confidence vote the commish (which very rarely happens. I think Fay Vincent was the last one it happened to in any major sport). Now granted USL is a bit more formal in that "leadership role". But the principle remains the same in that that owners are subservient to the league. I just don't see the TOA able to do that. Not with so many disparate personalities involved and so many levels of "breakaway" among even the USL teams interested in going with the TOA.
No wonder Rochester Rhinos are not part of the TOA, the owner is a proponent of penalty shoot-outs: he talks about in 29:00....... http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c58802/KG-09-28-09.mp3 also about the new league: 32:50........ Actually he is right about Aaron Davidson, that a infant team and owner shouldn't decide about the new league. Looks like MLS2 could happen if a owner talks about it. 36:00....
And that's exactly what TOA is saying - they don't even have the opportunity to "no confidence vote the commish" because they have no official say on what Marcos and Holt want to do for the USL because the owners have nothing to do with the league office. You're right, there is one person running the NFL, MLB, NBA... in the interests of the owners. The way you make it sound - if TOA had their way, they'd all sit around a round table and shout ideas on what they wanted to do until something happened. I'm sure they're just looking for the chance to appoint a president/commissioner/board who serves the owners and have the opportunity to vote on league matters. It's not that complicated.
Just because a USL owner talks about it doesn't mean it's going to happen. Not until the MLS starts talking about it is there anything really to discuss.
Yo Morris...are you reading this in your tea leaves? opportunity...no confidence get your head out of your a#*. There is a new sheriff in town and he is from Nurock..Marcos is GONE yes he has a title and assignment and a lounge chair with a drink on the other side of the ocean. Holt will be back in California in 6 months. I am told that the new sheriff was with the MLS last week. TOA - miami last in the league in attendance a high school volleyball team gets more fans. carolina they do okay. tampa? tampa who? minnesota..read the st.paul newspaper the own money all over town. montral and vancouver are off to MLS in 2011. These 6 teams of which 2 are leaving..the 4 left I suggest the read chapter 11 before they start living it..
Marcos and Papadakis are buddies. Everyone knows Marcos brought in NuRock at the last minute because with Cooper or Traffic in control he wouldn't be. Now he is in the same position as he was. His buddies own the majority of the league. He owned a minority stock in the League before NuRock (with Nike/Umbro) and he controls a minority share now. As for dismissing all the TOA teams, I think we can point to failures like Cleveland as counter balance to some of the weaker TOA teams. Sure teams like Miami drew like flies, but their owner was rich and it didn't bother their bottom line. Besides aren't percieved pro-USL teams like Portland gone for MLS too? It works both ways fella.
Philadelphia to be exact. His dad is a founder of the famous youth academy FC Delco. I am sure there is always a job for him there.
Its public knowledge. I knew it from Google or something like 5 years ago, then when I actually spoke to the man, he just confirmed it. I know a lot of pro-TOA don't like Holt, but he is a really nice guy. He is just doing a job and representing his boss. I think we have all been there.
Heck if Tim wanted he could probably have pretty good job with Philly Union. He's a sharp guy, but I suspect NuRock will want to keep him in place and see what changes he recommends.
I was quite shocked Clark mentioned the possibility of MLS2! Also seems like Saputo is teaching Clark a few things about the birds (TOA) and the bees (USL).
Everything except the bolded part is ridiculously naive. The commissioner in any of those leagues serves at the whim of the team owners. The only thing Al Davis, or any other owner, "kowtows to" is the collective will of the majority of the other owners, as enforced by the commissioner. Yes, no-confidence votes are rare because the commish is the owners' guy to begin with - hell, in MLB, he's an actual team owner! Let's also remember that membership in the NFL/MLB/NBA/NHL offers teams huge revenue streams and legitimacy that cannot be matched outside those leagues. To put it mildly, the USL does not. If the St. Louis Cardinals decided to join the Frontier League, they'd collapse, and there'd be a rush of ownership groups vying for the rights to put an MLB team in St. Louis. If the Montreal Impact joined some other league, would anybody even notice? It sounds like the TOA owners are asking, legitimately, what they're getting from USL1 in return for those league fees. NuRock better come up with a great answer pretty damn quick, because right now it looks like the TOA could do it just as well themselves with Cooper's and Traffic's money.
You don't see the TOA being able to elect a commissioner? Even though they've been begging the current league owners to let them elect a commissioner for years? Even though the current breakaway started because the league refused even to appoint a commissioner itself? You said it yourself: even Al Davis and Jerry Jones are smart enough to know that they need a commissioner to run the league they own. Why exactly don't you think the TOA will be able to see the same thing? As for "independence"...here's what you don't get. The commissioner's job is to be independent in disputes between the owners, and otherwise to represent the interests of the owners. Period. The last sports commissioner who thought his job was to represent the interests of the sport rather than the owners was Fay Vincent. Which is why he was turfed out and replaced with a commissioner who is a team owner himself. What you're not getting is that there is no "league" in any other major sport that is separate from the "owners." What there is is a mechanism that allows the individual owners to resolve disputes among themselves in the way the benefits the maximum number of them. That is not something the TOA will be frightened of or upset about. It's what they've been trying to get for years. Your idea that an independent USL would be run like a consensus-based facilitation meeting at a collective farm is a straw man, pure and simple.
Could have kept it in the Seattle area thread as it's not really relevant to anything in here but um, thanks. I think a structure like the Premier League and the FA is really what the TOA is looking for, except probably a little less independent. The Premier League is operated as a corporation and is owned by the 20 member clubs. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The clubs elect a chairman, chief executive, and board of directors to oversee the daily operations of the league. The Football Association is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the Premier League, but has veto power as a special shareholder during the election of the chairman and chief executive and when new rules are adopted by the league.
hey guys, this article is in french, but the audio part is in english. It's papadakis who speaks about the possibility of seeing the Impact in the USL next year. He expects to have an announcement probably next week. http://www.corussports.com/soccer/nouvelles/impact-une-derniere-fois-en-usl-1767161.html
Based on this article, Papadakis' comments and other information I have access to it is very likely there will be a new second division league playing in 2010.
If that's true either USL 1 or this new second league need to kill the other off fast, as in before the 2011 season. If one or the other lingers it's just going to create an unnecessary divide in US soccer among fans, sponsors, owners, investors, etc... that we don't need at this stage in the game. Particularly since it looks like they're not dividing the potential new league and USL one in an East/West manner, which to my mind is the only way they could coexist.
I translated the page and it looks like that Saputo will have it's own group? and MLS another league? If the future of the Impact in the USL ends, the Montreal club would still have two options. First, the impact could choose to form their own league with other owners who support Joey Saputo. Secondly, the impact could evolve into a second division of the MLS that would be created.
Rumor or truth, anyone know about this: Tim Holt has sent an e-mail to Players from Minnesota, Carolina, and Miami telling them that they are no longer in contracts to their teams because the three teams have not re-newed their team status by not paying next years league fees by the due date, which are now 30 days past due. ??? Anyone...
If that's true it's an interesting twist. But just to play devil's advocate (if I'm correct), weren't those 3 of the teams that were in trouble financially?
I don't. But it makes me wonder why Vancouver and Montreal aren't in your list, as they've been listed as members of the TOA and made strong statements in support of it. *sigh* I'm really looking forward to all this stupidity being done.