One chapter is finished. It seems time to start a new one. I'm dying to see who is sitting at the draft table and how the whole thing plays out.
On Monday January 9, at 7 pm, after the press conference, Steve Malik called into Soccer is a Kick in the Grass radio WYSL 1040 AM for an interview. Starts at about 33:00 on the podcast. http://5880b33d8d3e10614a28-4eef591fdc89a43c035e031f6ff5fcab.r3.cf1.rackcdn.com/KG-01-09-17.mp3 see also http://www.soccerisakickinthegrass.com/ Regarding the draft, he said that Curt Johnson will be the ‘point,’ and Paul Riley and Aaran Lines will be there and have been supporting the effort.
I'm assuming this thread will get moved once the appropriate sub-forum is created? I've ordered my season tickets & I'm ready to go. I thought for sure NCFC would pick local Duke product Gibbons at #2. She filled a need more than Ashley Hatch & is versatile enough to play as an attacking player. I'm not sure I can say the same as Hatch... she's a forward through & through. I suppose NT experience is extraordinarily valuable, but I'm pretty sure the January Camp roster was announced before the draft... with Gibbons on it.
I was actually hoping NCFC would choose Gibbons. I feel they will regret not doing this. In this article, it says that Charlie Naimo argued for Hatch and got his way. http://equalizersoccer.com/2017/01/13/vlatko-fc-kansas-city-hit-the-jackpot-in-nwsl-draft/ Can't wait for the schedule to come out so that I can plan my trip to NC.
In my opinion, they should try to keep Paul Riley as Head Coach, but release Charlie Naimo. There is no use for him anymore. Riley did guide the team to the Championship last season, he knows the players in the league and what to do with them, plus if he needs advise, great advise is available only a few miles up the road just off of I-40. In my opinion, no need anymore for Charlie Naimo to be Technical Advisor or Director or whatever he was in WNY. Charlie should go back to California and help start the LA expansion team for next year.
Lauletta says Riley is on board. The actual press release hasn't been posted on the NC website yet. Courage release names Paul Riley as the coach. #NWSL— Dan Lauletta (@TheDanLauletta) January 19, 2017
I would note that, in the most recent press release concerning the Witteman trade, the NC Courage titled Paul Riley as the head coach without qualifiers.
Well, Charlie never left LA so he can't really go back to California... but I agree that NC doesn't need him anymore and LAFC should hire him to handle starting their team.
NC now has two International Slots, & Naimo tweeted keeping the spot they were using for Kennedy was at least part of the motivation for the trade. They must be planning to sign two internationals. Personally hoping for Lucy Bronze. Important to note: @NorthCarolinaFC also keeps international slot (To be filled later)— charlie naimo (@CharlieNaimo) January 19, 2017
Can anyone out there in the Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill combined statistical area (CSA) tell us what they have seen from the NC Courage in media other than Twitter, Instagram and Facebook? What advertising for NC Season Tickets have they seen, anywhere?
Anything specific you were looking for? Most of the social media stuff is generic "get your season tickets now"... I'm not really expecting some grande & clever merchandising/advertising campaign for a club a few weeks old. One thing I did see was that there hiring for "street teams" (not really sure what that entails). 822565233789169664 is not a valid tweet id 821767094228422656 is not a valid tweet id 821118363984429056 is not a valid tweet id
It was said he was assisting the NC group around when they first said they planned to have a team within 6 months back in Dec. http://www.excellesports.com/news/north-carolina-new-nwsl-dorrance/ Not sure if that means any actual ownership piece or just consulting
I'm more familiar with what the NCAA says players can & can't do than I am with what coaches can & I can't do. I wonder if the NCAA would prevent him from having that kind of ownership stake as a conflict of interest.
Because she's a better soccer player than a cheaper replacement level American player? Or because she played soccer for a season at UNC while not really attending classes? There's a reason she went back to England. We could get into a chicken/egg debate over pro offers back home vs not doing well enough in school to remain eligible. If it's purely on the field reasons, great. If it's just because of some tenuous attachment to UNC, no thanks. Of course it would be ironic if the only two Tar Heels on the Courage were two players that left early (for whatever reason), but would've been academically ineligible to play had they stayed in college. (Jessica McDonald is the other).
American players who might be better than Bronze have no bearing on this conversation, since we are talking about what the Courage would do with the international slot they saved in the Witteman trade... Yes, I'd like to see her on the Courage because she played at UNC, but also yes because she fills a depth need & she's a very talented player who had herself a heck of a World Cup in 2015. I think there would be a big cheer if they announce Bronze as a former Tar Heel, & that would be a nice local flavor & talking point the Courage could use to sell tickets. Do you think Courage fans will care why she left UNC like you do? Do you think most of them would even know? Why in Gods name is a players academic history, sordid or otherwise, even remotely relevant to why they might fit on a team or why I would want to see them play? Forgive me for questioning the motivation of this post, but are you an anti-UNC fan that wants to see the Courage avoid getting UNC players because you don't like them? I apologize if not, but I've certainly gotten that vibe from you.
I like UNC. They pay me money. I really like UNC women's soccer (and Duke women's soccer). It's hard to cover teams to the extent I've covered both of those over the last 15 years without have some attachment to them. I have no problem with Lucy Bronze, but I'm guessing what she did two years ago in the World Cup isn't particularly relevant to 2017. Professional sports is ruthless. "Big Cheer" doesn't put appreciable butts in seats or sell a lot of merchandise. Lucy Bronze is, at best, a footnote in the long storied history of UNC women's soccer. She played one year and is probably one of maybe 20 players who never won a national championship. And, you'll just have to trust me, the NCAA pushes out several domestic players every year that are just as good at her position. I also don't think "failing out of college" is somehow sordid. I'm actually more amazed at the student athletes at power conferences that manage to fulfill their academic requirements. If you want to live in the past, Duke and Carolina usually have an old-timers game that goes along with their Spring Soccer meeting. Though I'd recommend not taking a 400mm SLR lens and looking at their knees. I'd like the Courage to have best product on the field - regardless of if/where they went to college, have been paroled for axe murdering their family, or donated a kidney to save a complete stranger. I'm especially dubious of people who want players because of college attachments. They don't sell tickets, and it's not how you build a championship team. If the best players happen to come from local backgrounds, that's a bonus. Welcome back Jessica McDonald. May you score more Carolina championship winning goals like this one: http://andymead.photoshelter.com/ga...i29.yn.WU_Q/I0000n3vKooJgaOU/C0000v3JBtyS912g
Lucy Bronze is 25... played at UNC in 2009. She is not some old relic of UNCs past. She's also maintained her good form with Man City in the past two years since the "irrelevant 2015 Women's World Cup"... contributing several goals & being part of a defense that only allowed 4 goals the entire season. Bronze is barely in the prime of her career & I think she would be an excellent addition to the COURAGE (e gahd), not only filling a need but also helping in the local product department, even if they avoid the details. You seem to be grossly underestimating the value of having players with local connections on NWSL teams & how they can use that to sell tickets. "Come see former Tar Heels Jessica McDonald & Lucy Bronze play in North Carolina again." would be a nice sell pitch in this area. & again, my comment was in relation to the international slot they saved in the Switty trade. Stop trying to tell me why American players would be better. It's probably true but that's not the point.
I've got more than 20 years of on the ground experience with how much "local connections" is with with MLS, USL/NASL, WUSA, WPS, and other professional sports. Answer: Not much. Putting a winning product on the field is worth a gazillion times more. And in the process of putting a winning team on the field, there'll be plenty of Duke, UNC, Wake, State, CASL, Triangle Futbol Club players that'll find their way to the Courage without going out and actively trying to sign them. I'm all for playing up local connections, but I think you have your team-building process backwards. Get the right player and when the local connections present themselves market it. Teams that acquire players based on local connections or other off the field reasons tend not to be the ones hoisting the hardware at the end of the season. Sporting Kansas City's recent run of success was because they had good players that fit the system they were playing. And Sporting Park is on a 6 year sellout string because of that success, not because Matt Besler, Kevin Ellis, and Seth Sinovic are local products. Back when the team was featuring Scott Vermillion and Diego Gutierrez and missing the playoffs, the "local" connections weren't worth anything. If Riley wants to go out and sign Lucy Bronze because she is the right player on the field at a justifiable price, then let's go for it. Then her local college ties should be pointed out. They should not be part of the decision making process.
I just don't get it, you're making meta-arguments to counter points I didn't even make. All while trying to convince me why your opinion has more import because of how long you've been a sports fan. I can see why so many were irritated previously. You're very arrogant.
North Carolina's average attendance last season was 1,240. Even if it was a down year, they haven't averaged over 2,000 the last 4 years (not sure about earlier since the NCAA website doesn't have attendance prior to 2013). So marketing a team specifically to those fans is not the way to build a large NWSL level attendance (meaning 3000+). They'll need to pull in fans who aren't necessarily UNC fans to get that. So independently of UNC connections, if they can get Lucy Bronze that's great and all (and preferable to putting Erceg in the back line). But is she really that much of an upgrade over Alanna Kennedy?
Lucy Bronze for Alanna Kennedy is not a good swap, no. Bronze & Witteman for Kennedy is a good deal, & while that wasn't the direct trade, Naimo made it clear a big part of the Witteman trade was to free up the international spot, giving them 2. If whoever fills that spot is from overseas (in a way where NC doesn't "trade" for them, but simply signs them) then yes... it's totally an upgrade. All that being said, Lucy Bronze has had a stellar career and is in excellent form going all the way back to 2015 & the WWC. She's an solid defender who might just be up there with Kennedy, if not better. I also look at the UNC connection from a reverse angle. Former UNC alumn might be willing to return to play for Carolina Courage for pretty cheap in a way no other NWSL club would be able to sign them for.
Washington went for local products in 2013. How did that work out for them? Getting a player who has local ties can be a positive, but it shouldn't be the main focus of building a roster.
Why do people think I'm trying to build a roster around UNC & other local players... it seriously feels like people were holding their breath & waiting to explode at the notion of the NC Courage dipping into ex Tar Heels. Hello people, this is the old WNY Flash,... the team that won the championship last year,... with the entire starting 11 from both playoff games returning (except now Kennedy),... Would getting one Tar Heel in Lucy Bronze be so bad!? If it starts a trend, I can see maybe why... but Bronze is good enough & plays at a position that the Courage need. What is the big deal with me hoping to see her be signed? You don't need 20 years experience at being a soccer fan to answer that, & if you think you do, you're not answering the question I asked. (Not to mention I didn't ask a question to begin with. "I personally hope to see Lucy Bronze" is not a question.)