Anybody want to guess Cosmos long term plans? Let's say we get a 20k stadium. Then what? Do we dominate NASL year after year or do we move to MLS?
I get the impression these guys think that if they could win the US Open Cup and somehow win the CCL. That would fix everything. Which would be a massive feather in the cap. However it would not fix day in day out perception of the NASL getting railed from all directions. Even if they accomplished that most die hard soccer fans don't give a rats arse and general sports fans don't know anything about the competitions. So then what have you accomplished when assuming perception carries weight?
Somehow in the back of my mind I think what they are trying to do will eventually falter but good for the game in this country.
Winning the CCL + US Open cup would be massive for the NASL. I agree most general sports fans don't know about these events, but if an NASL team went to the club World Cup it would sure as hell turn some heads and give this league new respect. He'll even just getting out of the group stage would be big and probably get the NASL an automatic bid to the CCL.
Montreal is in the semi-final with a two goal lead going into the second leg. If they win this thing nobody is going to think OMG they are so amazing (well maybe a little). The Impact have fed the bottom of the league for awhile. Just us diehard soccer heads are going to really care.
Why? Outside of a few people on the internet it would be a non starter. Winning the Open Cup would be huge, and getting out of the group would be huge, but it would change nothing. It would be a great story and run, and things would just go on normally the next year.
Personally I stopped following CONCA champions because it was all Mexican teams in the final stages. Now that Montreal is there I will wach and hope they win. Monotomy is what makes the competition borring, if a team from the NASL makes it more than just diehard soccer fans will take note. It may not change anything overnight, but at least it makes it more interesting.
http://www.theguardian.com/football...ide?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter http://worldsoccertalk.com/2015/08/...asl-need-to-stop-focusing-on-mls-competition/
Minnesota gone, Atlanta, Raleigh fading and San Antonio looking like they want out. Oh and the Atlanta MLS team that doesn't play until 2017 has 24,000 season ticket holders. NASL might have nice numbers right now but they are getting squeezed with no short term sign of relief. ULS is growing like firecrackers with easier travel costs etc etc. I think the Cosmos thing is cool but this will come to a head in 5 years. Hope they move up somehow.
He wrote that earlier this year. But given that the NASL went 0-7 against the USL this year, I don't think we have to worry about NASL clubs winning the CCL and US Open Cup anytime soon. Of course don't tell that to Seamus O'Brien, who has the NASL on the same level as MLS in five years. Sometimes you just have to laugh...and then cry cause you can see the iceberg from here and the ship's captain is going full steam ahead.
Very true. Subconsciously, at least, I was thinking not as much about what he said as about Cosmos fans several years ago who talked about how they didn't need MLS to reach high levels of international competition because winning the U.S. Open Cup was so easy.
Emirates, Cosmos extend sponsorship deal http://www.empireofsoccer.com/emirates-cosmos-extend-sponsorship-deal-46497/
Even Pele thinks that they eventually need to be in the top tier according to a recent article. Pelé on what Cosmos must do to become relevant again I want the Cosmos to do well. I also want NASL to do well and for both to remove alot of the unwarranted stigma that both of these great names get from newer and younger fans of the sport in this country. I think that those two entities are a good part of why MLS even exists today. But for that to happen, the Cosmos need to swallow their pride and re-direct their efforts back on getting into MLS. NASL will never be an alternative first division to MLS. Even pro/rel is more likely than that and that's not very likely at all. If the Cosmos had a proper understanding of the way top-level US leagues are inured from competition then they'd forget this pipe-dream and do what's right for their fans. Sure MLS wasn't completely fair to them, but the Cosmos (who do have a valuable brand that MLS would be lucky to have) erred by overestimating the amount of leverage that they had. They had enough leverage to make themselves the favorites to expansion when it came to that, but not enough to get their way without giving in to MLS' monetary requirements. MLS was never going to give on the money because they knew they'd find someone to pay it. I just want to see this name back at the level that they belong at and I'm certain that if the Cosmos put up the money and committed to building a stadium MLS would bring them in, no problem. Even with 2 other NY teams. I don't know what it will take to make that happen, because it first requires the Cosmos' ownership to change their current tact and redirect their focus on MLS. I don't know what would have to happen to convince them that their current plan won't work in order to get them to do that. Who know, but it may even take an entire ownership change, which I'm not certain would be a great thing. Noone knows why the current owners balked at the asking price; was it bc they didn't like it or bc they couldn't pay it. They seem well-heeled what with the Emirates sponsorship and the money that they're splashing away right now without the guaranteed return of SUM and MLS' more lucrative TV deals. So that's where I stand on all of this. I want the Cosmos to become realistic and make a real move on MLS. MLS won't keep them out bc of RBNY and NYCFC if they put up the money and seem able to find a site for a stadium within a somewhat reasonable timeframe.
Nothing new but a good summary of the problems and options http://midfieldpress.com/2016/05/31/it-is-time-for-the-cosmos-to-get-over-the-belmont-blues/
If NASL fails how would you feel about these options... Cosmos fold Cosmos to USL New owners for NY Redbulls and rebrand to become Cosmos. What you prefer?
I think, though it is just my opinion, if the NASL folds the Cosmos go with them. Re-branding NYRB is way more difficult than most people on here seem to think (there are actual contract agreements, etc. that cannot be just ignored), USL isn't really an option since they burned those bridges (not that they would want USL anyway). All that said, I do not think the NASL is going away yet...things do not look good, but they also could be worse.
Rebrand into an NWSL club! Ok, I guess that wouldn't work. I think? Elite women's soccer needs a NY team! Red Bull have overall been great owners. No need to look for new owners. Also, I think 20 years from now that brand will be seen as ok and maybe even cool. Time will do its work. Especially with Red Bull now in Bundesliga. Bayer became a legitimate soccer brand, so will Red Bull.