The Federation Ineptitude & Loss of Fans

Discussion in 'Soccer in the USA' started by JohhnyCaps, Dec 6, 2018.

  1. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Both of those things can be true.
     
  2. The411

    The411 Member

    Oct 12, 2013
    The difference is that the German and Belgian Federations were embarrassed and their leadership had their feet held to the fire so to speak.

    Here in the US the NT ensures the most embarrassing moment in US soccer and all they do is rearrange the deck chairs by putting Sunil’s stooge in charge through a crony vote.

    The USSF is Maximillian and MLS is Napoleon III.

    Nothing will change.
     
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  3. Paul Berry

    Paul Berry Member+

    Notts County and NYCFC
    United States
    Apr 18, 2015
    Nr Kingston NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Kiwi fruits and cumquats.

    Goodell, Silver, Bettman and Selig are highly paid executives who run professional leagues.

    Cordeiro is technically an unpaid volunteer responsible for an organization with 6.5 million registered players, including 4 million youth players, at 5,000 clubs (and I think that excludes school and NCAA players).

    The national team is obviously the highest priority but it's also very important for facilities and coaching to be available for all age groups at all levels.
     
  4. Paul Berry

    Paul Berry Member+

    Notts County and NYCFC
    United States
    Apr 18, 2015
    Nr Kingston NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It was the punk era.

    God save the Queen, the fascist regime, she ain't no human being and all that.
     
  5. waltlantz

    waltlantz Member

    Jul 6, 2010
    I get that, thing is soccer nations likely have their federation head more on a first name basis like us sports fans do with the big four.

    Frankly so much of domestic soccer in mainstream sports coverage is steeped in anonymity outside of WC tournaments.
     
  6. MPNumber9

    MPNumber9 Member+

    Oct 10, 2010
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Americans would enjoy the sport more if we weren't obsessed with winning the World Cup. We've been somewhat privileged as a fledgling soccer nation, but we don't see it because we expect to be WC winners. I want to blame fans, but initiatives like "Project 2010" show the insane amount of ignorant hubris in our approach to the game, thinking that sheer will and purchasing power (which the US has plenty of) should propel us to being as good at the sport as countries that have been doing it for 100 years.
     
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  7. MPNumber9

    MPNumber9 Member+

    Oct 10, 2010
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thing is, failing to qualify for the World Cup was the culmination of USSF's "big shake-up" (hiring Klinsmann in 2012). So what're you supposed to do when your "revolution" ends in failure?
     
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  8. asoc

    asoc Member+

    Sep 28, 2007
    Tacoma
    The important changes that are just now bearing fruit began before they hired Klinsman. The changes to youth development, instituting the USSDA, etc.

    And the culture has also simply grown.

    Some of this was always going to be just letting time take it's course as the kids playing in the 60s, 70s and 80s pass knowledge down to their kids and their kids doing the same.

    We are seeing the benefits of time and the USSDA right now. With time and continued improvement it will continue to get better.

    But patience and perspective isn't something USMNT fans on social media have.
     
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  9. jaykoz3

    jaykoz3 Member+

    Dec 25, 2010
    Conshohocken, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The federations problems are deeply rooted and go back longer than many of our lives. The federation has by and large caused all of its' own problems.

    Youth development? It's a herculean task in a nation the size of the United States. Not only is the task huge, the amount of money youth development costs.......is vast. Just ask MLS teams running academies that cost millions of dollars a year to operate.

    Professional leagues? The federation has long taken a hands off approach. That hands approach is biting then fed in the @$$ now. They doled out waivers for years on end to the USL and NASL. Then they suddenly decided to STOP handing out waivers (right or wrong at this point doesn't matter) leading to lawsuits.

    The youth development front and DA system that has been built may soon take a hit due to the feds hands off approach to professional leagues. USL is seriously considering moving all MLS run USL-C teams to USL League 1. As result many or all of these teams will discontinue their U19 and possibly U18 DA teams as they would be redundant to their USL League 1 team.

    The internal issues with the USWNT? Yup, all their own doing. The fed has taken advantage of the USWNT's success. In order to all but guarantee their continued success the Fed decided to pay the members of the team guaranteed salaries (many in the six figure range). Now, granted this is because there hasn't been a sustained & stable women's professional league in the US. To compound this problem, the Fed has been subsidizing the professional contracts of the national team members as well. Due to the long term nature of the contracts, player development isn't at the level it should be in the women's game as young players do not progress to the national team like they have and do with the Men's team.

    The fact that the federation has largely tried to appease everyone (MNT, youth clubs, DA's, WNT, pro league, etc.) since forever it seems, has led to them being a weak organization that is unwilling and quite frankly unable to make any tough decision. The federation has also been lacking strong leadership for decades.

    I realize that it is popular to vilify MLS when it comes to the National Team and player development. The fact is, with out Uncle Phil, Lamar Hunt, Bob Kraft and Don Garber the game would not be nearly as popular today as it is. There was a real chance that the 2002 WC would not have been broadcast in English in the US. IMG was losing money on the US Soccer rights and frankly wasn't doing all that much with them. The formation of Soccer United Marketing not only saved MLS, but it's driven a lot of the games rise in popularity in the US since 2002.

    Let's face it, the USSF's lack of strong leadership and vision has lead it to where it is today. The successes that US Soccer has had have been in spite of the federation, not because of it.
     
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  10. Paul Berry

    Paul Berry Member+

    Notts County and NYCFC
    United States
    Apr 18, 2015
    Nr Kingston NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't see why moving reserve teams to L1 is a problem. 2 years ago those teams were playing in D3. The alleged plan is to move some, or all of them back to D3. Under 19 teams will remain in L2.

    If MLS teams don't want to be relegated, they can switch to the hybrid model where the club is independently owned but playing operations are run by the MLS club.

    I think people overestimate the role of the federation. It's an amateur organisation, a regulator, a governing body, responsible for overseeing some 9,000 teams and 4.2 million registered players. It's not a business.

    The professional leagues here are run by professionals, just like everywhere else in the world.
     
  11. jaykoz3

    jaykoz3 Member+

    Dec 25, 2010
    Conshohocken, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here's where it becomes a development problem. I'll use the Philly Union as an example. They run/own Bethlehem Steel. Currently they use the Steel to test academy players against grown men/professionals to get them ready for MLS play. They also have U19 and U18 teams in the US DA system. If they are forced to move the Steel to D3, which is designed to be an U20 league they no longer have an incentive to keep the U19 and U18 DA teams as all of their best academy players in those age categories would just play in USL D3 against other 18-19 year olds.....

    This is how it's done in the Dutch and Spanish federations. Some MLS teams want to be able to develop their talent against proven professionals that are older than their academy kids. It's working for RBNY, SKC, RSL, and Philly.

    If the federation had the courage, leadership. and spine they would make the tough decision that there will only be one league at each division level. Instead they take the hands off approach which leaves them open to legal action like they're currently dealing with.
     
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  12. Paul Berry

    Paul Berry Member+

    Notts County and NYCFC
    United States
    Apr 18, 2015
    Nr Kingston NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Where did you read that League One/D3 is designed to be a U20 league?

    Looking at the current rosters it seems the teams didn't get the message.
     
  13. jaykoz3

    jaykoz3 Member+

    Dec 25, 2010
    Conshohocken, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    https://theathletic.com/1083944/201...hampionship-to-third-tier-league-one-by-2021/

    "The MLS team sources felt that fielding teams in League One simply wouldn’t be as valuable for their clubs. One said that they felt moving all the MLS-owned USL teams into League One would turn it into a “Under-21-type” circuit, in which young players would play almost exclusively against fellow young players. They feel like the benefits of having academy teenagers go up against stronger, more experienced players, like they do in the Championship, would be mostly lost.

    The proposed shift could also create redundancies with the Under-19 academy teams at MLS clubs. Sources from several of those clubs said that they would want to eliminate their U-19 teams if forced into League One. They’d redirect the money spent on the U-19s to their U-17s and U-15s and take the best players from those two age groups to their League One team. Those decisions could have far-reaching implications for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy program in which the and would need prior approval from MLS, which currently mandates that all of its teams field a U-19 side."
     
  14. Paul Berry

    Paul Berry Member+

    Notts County and NYCFC
    United States
    Apr 18, 2015
    Nr Kingston NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It doesn't say anything about it being designed to be a U20 league.
     
  15. EvanJ

    EvanJ Member+

    Manchester United
    United States
    Mar 30, 2004
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Even if it's not designed to be a U-20 league, if in practice MLS reserve clubs will have a much younger average age if they are demoted to D3, that matters. The United States wasn't designed to have a two party system, but it does, and nobody would say that we don't have a two party system just because it isn't stated in the Constitution or any other law.
     

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