YNT-eligible NASL/USL players: 2017/18 offseason thread

NASL lost appeal for injunction to remain as DII, so the future is murky going into next year.

They will appeal.

NCFC is going to USL.

 

Even if they had won, I don’t see how NASL could have possibly made it through an entire season. I think that the league is toast.

 

Yup.

https://www.socceramerica.com/publi...ssf-why-court-ruling-against-nasl-was-no.html
NASL v. USSF: Why court ruling against NASL was not unexpected

 

Watching NASL compete in 2018 would have been entertaining in a watch the world burn sort of way...probably the best way for them for them to go out would be in a blaze of glory or lack their of depending on your perspective.

They are appealing, so still on life support.

 

Am I right in assuming the only thread-eligible player that this impacts is Eric Calvillo of New York? Especially since Jose Carranza and NCFC are moving to USL

 

Alexis Velela is on loan from the Cosmos to a club in the Spanish fourth tier.

D.J. Taylor is on NCFC as well, though I'd guess that like most minor leaguers he's only signed through the end of the season, so TBD if he sticks around.

 

Looks like Atlanta is looking to have a USL team for 2018.

https://www.metro.us/sports/sources-atlanta-united-looking-to-add-expansion-team

 

Good news, all MLS teams should have a USL team.

But this doesn't mean that they can just stash young players there, I still expect them to play young players next season on their MLS team. They didn't do much of that this season.

 

Big if true. With the number of young players Atlanta already has under contract and the way they are recruiting talent to their academy, they need this.

Atlanta needs this about as badly as Dallas does. Atlanta is going to spend bigger on foreign talent and their manager isn't the Once and (hopefully) Future Youth Whisperer like Pareja, so their youngsters need to get games in the USL.

 

Atlanta needs a long-term place place for Okonkwo, Kunga and Golsin next year. Miles Robinson could also benefit from significant minutes next year. I think if you did a season long-loan to Charleston like Atlanta did will Romario Williams that Charleston will give those players a fair shake. You try to yo-yo them back and forth and they likely won't play much because they will not be able to establish themselves at the club.

It would be advantageous to have the option to yo-yo Carleton and Vasquez because they will likely be fighting for sub minutes. You could send them down for a game if Atlanta has an off week or they could be active for both games if both teams are home. RSL did the former with Saucedo this year, NYRB did the later with Adams last year.

Atlanta also has at least 6 (Garces, Brighton, Jones, Crain, Asensio, McGann) prospects who could compete for some minutes and be evaluate further by Atlanta in a USL setting.

 

I kind of think Robinson needs MLS minutes next season. It would be one thing if he was getting USL minutes this season, next season he'll be 21 years old. This is the problem we see with the guys that come out of college, effectively starting your career at 22 (if he gets a regular spot in 2019) limits your career. Your counterparts around the world are starting their careers 3-4 years earlier.

That team should be for Goslin (1 season), Okonkwo (who I'm not sure will become an MLS level player), Kunga (who's exceptionally raw) and some academy players. IMO, Carleton as an option for that team is Atlanta embarrassing themselves, and I think it would be insulting to Vazquez, a player who did rather well with his MLS minutes, to not have him as a regular with the first team. I'm also not sure a comparison to Romario Williams is something many players want to follow, that guy is not an MLS level player, IMO.

 

I do think the USL level is not ideal for everyone. But a prime example of how the USL system can help a player's development is for someone like Tyler Adams. He is a star right now for a dang good team. A lot of names have been mentioned, but the one I'd like to see play for a USL team the most would be George Bello. He will be on a HG contract next year and good outside backs are already tough to find. Okonkwo, Kunga, and Goslin will also be helped by USL playing time, but Bello might be on a fringe between USL minutes and more time with the academy.

Robinson is in a weird situation. He didn't look good to me in the Open Cup and he couldn't break through to the Battery's starting lineup. Granted, Mueller and Lasso are actually pretty good CBs ( I think Lasso could play some MLS minutes for someone). But he did look solid in preseason and such. I agree with @ussoccer97531 that this next year will be key for him. He needs minutes of playing time regardless and I really think Martino worked Parkhurst and Gonzalez Pirez into the ground this season, so Robinson should/could get a few spot starts next year.

 

I hope that Bello's progress isn't interrupted by playing for the U-17's. As far as I'm concerned, I regard his development as an '01, even though he's an '02. He nearly made the U-17 WC team, and while I think Hackworth made the right call to not take him, he's far more advanced than most 02's, even if he's raw for his skill-set. He should play next season with Charleston, and hopefully gets some minutes in 2019 with Atlanta's first team, or certainly no later than 2020. I'd hope for the next two years we don't hear the excuses that some used for why Carleton wasn't playing pro games. YNT games should come second after professional club matches.

 

This is the reason why a team like Atlanta could really use a reserve team.

Potential lineup:

Garces
Veteran-McGann-Crain-Bello
Asensio-Goslin
Veteran
Kunga-Veteran-Veteran

Bench: Veteran GK, Two Veterans that can cover RB/LB/DM, Brighton, Jones, Castro, Candela-Perez

Others in the academy who can play a role next season: Rayvon McGann, Kendall Edwards, Natnael MacDonald, Jackson Conway, Daniel Mangarov

I don't think there are any stretches there either with that lineup. Garces and Goslin were standouts at the U-17 WC, Bello and Asensio just missed the roster, Kunga has already played a number of pro games, those CB's have U-17 call ups and are both very good. Maybe it would be stretching it to have two 17 year old CB's starting, but I think this shows why the teams with the best academies need reserve teams. They have 10-15 USL level young players at once (of varying abilities) who are not yet ready for their MLS team.

This is exactly why FCD also needs a reserve team. Its why LA has one right now. I think one of LA's biggest mistakes is not supplementing their talented youth with veteran USL players. You can't throw out a development roster of all kids and expect to get great results, you need some veterans in the group of players. LA should've cut bait on many of their academy products who haven't made it. They wasted too many minutes on guys like Vera, Mendiola, Ja. Villarreal, Fuji, Turner, etc. These reserve teams should have nearly no guys in the 20-25 age range, it should be for 16-20 year olds (a few 15 year old exceptions, cut bait at 20 if players aren't first team quality) and then some veterans 25 and older who can help the youngsters learn to be professionals.

Being realistic here, not all these MLS teams have enough academy players worthy of playing in USL in the 16-20 age range, but I think MLS teams sharing USL teams could work out well. Lets say Chicago and Columbus don't have 15 of these players each, could they both pitch in 7/8 players where minutes are divided rather evenly between their young players? Could New England NYCFC have a similar partnership? Colorado and San Jose? I don't see why not. This of course would only be for teams without USL teams. I personally don't think a club like Orlando has enough talent to run youngsters out there, but if they want to do so, I don't mind. The US teams without USL teams are currently Chicago, Columbus, DC, New England, NYC, Orlando, Colorado, Houston, Minnesota, SJ, Atlanta, FCD. Even if Atlanta has a USL team, it'll be 12 with LAFC. Need to find solutions here.

 

Sounds like Atlanta United will get a USL team in 2018 playing in Gwinnett (which is really Lawrenceville). No mention of whether it'll be a independent team or what the operation will be, but good news for Atlanta's youngsters.

http://www.myajc.com/sports/atlanta-united-will-launch-usl-team-gwinnett/4i8sZbEFMdd3oqkTFWvfAN/

 

Other than playing at a AAA baseball stadium this is positive news.

 

I like Dan Hunt and everything he's doing, but Atlanta can make a USL team a couple months while Dallas has been making preparations for a couple years.

 

I don't think the issue is the logistics of the team.

I think the issue is money. FC Dallas can't possible be making a lot of it while Atlanta has to have more of it than anybody and can sink millions into the USL pay for it many times over with their profits off Atlanta United alone.

Not to mention Blank could drop a million dollar bill on the pavement and it not be worth his time to go back and pick it up.

 

Outside of building Crew Stadium and certainly help the league survive during the lean years, I've never considered the Hunt family good owners. They failed to engage much of a fan base in KC or Dallas.

 

Memphis is official for 2019.

http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/856482?referrer_id=2333971

 

Well...................one can't underestimate the importance of Lamar Hunt to soccer in the US. Integral to the NASL, the 94 World Cup, MLS, and on and on. Lamar Hunt is directly responsible for the soccer landscape in DFW, which the USMNT and pro soccer has been benefiting from for generations (from Kyle Rote, Jr. to Clint Dempsey to Weston McKennie). Why does Houston not have that history? No Lamar Hunt. We can say his legacy is now "history," but the culture in the community is ongoing.

The issue with FCD vis-a-vi the USL is one I can't explain. It would seem every single person in the community knows FCD needs a USL team. The Hunts are the 15th wealthiest family in the US, right behind the DuPonts. If they wanted to start a USL team, they could start a USL team. I think Dan Hunt is given an "allowance" in terms of FCD, and he's spending it on stadium construction and the HOF this year.