Nah, NISA's boned. I think they'll be lucky to get six teams still solvent at the end of year one. Have you looked at Chris Kivlehan's speculative list of inaugural clubs? 6 that have never kicked a ball in a competitive match. At least two clubs in MLS cities and one in a USL city. The one speculated existing club? Owned by Matt Driver. No one knows anything about who is running the league or who is going to show up in winter in New Jersey or Connecticut. I keep seeing people wanting NISA and NPSL Pro to merge or join forces or whatever, but I don't see why NPSL Pro, with its existing clubs and pragmatic approach to slow growth, would want to come within a astronomical unit of NISA until it's proven that it won't be another minor league trainwreck.
I'm trying to be positive here. But with Wilt gone, unless Wynalda comes to the rescue and brings lotsa well moneyed people with him, it's hard to see NISA getting any traction at all. At least USL3 has the advantage of gaining traction with failed USL D2 teams voluntarily relegating themselves there in the coming years...
Dangerously speculative theory alert: the only league that would have Matt Driver as an owner is a !eague run by Matt Driver.
That may be true. What would the impact be on NPSL Pro clubs left behind? Would they be able to maintain that league? Would it be possible to go back to NPSL? Who knows...a lot of this is in such flux it may be silly to worry too much about unintended consequences. Chart a course and focus on that.
This is a bit like crossing the bridge before you get there. I'd give NPSL Pro a better chance of surviving right now than NISA. NPSL Pro as a USASA version of a pro "D4" can exist based on its own merits and not over whether they meet USSF D3 standards for net wealth, etc. If the history of USL/PDL is any guide, then yes. 1. I wish that course had been charted in 2013 & 2014, rather than after my club needlessly lost our stadium. 2. If NISA truly fills a void and finds its niche somewhere in between NPSL Pro and a non-USL D2 of some sort, soccer in America will be the better for it. 3. The journey towards a more open system where clubs are individually worth more than new expansion slots in centrally controlled leagues should be a bigger priority than any draconian attempt at imposing Pro/Rel at this point in the evolution of lower division soccer.
If NISA has Silva and Commisso behind it I can see it failing a la NASL. That seem to be trying to put the cart before the horse. I can't see them waiting for the "bottom up" approach to develop.
Why? I'd take either Silva or Commisso as owners of the Chicago Fire and/or Columbus Crew in a heartbeat. I'd also trust them with the long term future of American major league soccer over Don Garber and his crew of single entity sycophants.... 1037390606803202048 is not a valid tweet id
Wait, how did we get to the point where the only way to #saveTheCrew was by extorting the taxpayers to replace Mapfre? I thought the problem was PSV refused to market the team, not anything specific with Mapfre.
The current Investor Operator has essentially withdrawn funding for the stadium. No running repairs are done, run with a skeleton staff. Everything done on the cheap. It was spartan before but now it's getting run down.
I knew Precourt was running it into the ground, but I thought that was an act of throwing his toys out of the pram.
He's a ********ing wanker. On the bright side, if you want an MLS team in your locale, you've probably got a better chance if you just make Stan Kroenke an offer. Just wait til he has a g'raaage sale, approach him with a list of nick-nacks. "I'll take the alarm clock, the box of overstock, George cardigans, the coffee table, the Colorado Rapids, the standard lamp and the set of coasters". "Huh? What was that fourth thing?" "The Colorado Rapids." "What's that?" "Not sure. Someone said you owned it? Some soccer thing? $200 for the lot?" "Sounds reasonable." Then claim that the market hasn't adopted the team, mock up a picture of some hipsters standing in the town center of your preferred location, then... relocate. Far easier than making an expansion bid.
I suspect owning a MLS, NHL, NBA, NFL and EPL owner is an ego booster for Kroenke. And the valuations of MLS teams rose 80% between 2013 and 2016, which isn't exactly a bad return.
Because we need more publicity stunts. Why don't Rocco and Silva just by the Fire and the Crew and work the system from the inside?
If the Modell Law holds up, the Crew are very much for sale. They could become part-owners of LAFC. They wouldn't even necessarily need to buy them. I'm sure that nobody would notice if two more people slipped into their ownership committee meetings.
OCFC B announced today. Nipun Chopra said FC Dallas 2 and Minnesota United 2 may be the last two "founding" members. Penn FC and Richmond possible to drop.
I think I'll just leave this right over here.... Tim Hankinson is announced as @ChattanoogaSocc's first Head Coach and Technical Director."I have to give a shoutout to the @chattahooligan, so they know, they are just as vital to this team's success as anyone else." Owweee! #USLD3 #USL #NPSL pic.twitter.com/UfcsLSlp2K— Jason Weintraub (@HomeSweetSoccer) September 11, 2018
So it will basically start out as a reserve league with a handful of independents. Having reserve teams available to fill out the league is a big advantage over NISA/NPSL Pro