Snip: Philadelphia Union owner Jay Sugarman did not hold back when discussing the intentions of his team’s USL Championship affiliate, Bethlehem Steel FC. In a wide-ranging interview with Pro Soccer USA on Wednesday, Sugarman made it clear what the second-division side have to be. “It’s development first and commercial considerations second,” Sugarman said. “We need this team to be developing top-tier players. Full stop.” https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/ph...sugarman-outlines-bethlehem-steel-priorities/
Detroit City FC is moving to NISA: https://www.metrotimes.com/the-scen...troit-city-fc-is-officially-a-pro-soccer-team
Hartford signed a defender Alex Lara, who I believe is a '98. Based on his height he's probably a CB. https://www.hartfordathletic.com/news_article/show/1071337
Also, how about that new teammate of his, Sam Strong! One of the more interesting footnotes of recent YNT history.
No big surprises here (unless I suppose you happen to spot a player of note) but here's video of Donovan doing interviews during an open tryout for the new San Diego team. https://www.cbs8.com/article/sports...outs/509-d4b4b6da-3f4c-45b6-8c46-0ac846bc8ec2
He’s still relatively young. If he does good for the Monarchs he could get his chance at an MLS contract
Here's a feature on the news: “I started to get the hang of it really fast because I really wanted to play,” Avila said. “It was my first year playing on a pro team. It was kind of a big challenge for me because I wasn’t used to the professional environment. The competition was good. I’ve never backed down from playing older people because I used to play with my older brother on his team. The only big factor they got on me for was physicality. I need to work on getting bigger. “I feel like I’m really close. I just need a little bit more confidence on the ball. I think I really impressed the coaches last season and that gives me an advantage because I’m starting from preseason. https://www.statesman.com/sports/20...eto-avila-signs-pro-contract-with-austin-bold
BREAKING: Orange County SC signs historic partnership with @RangersFC of the Scottish Premiership. Read the full Press Release on our website. #ForCounty | #RangersFChttps://t.co/t8DF1FFiKd— Orange County SC (@orangecountysc) December 23, 2019
Ciaran Winters, a 2001 midfielder, signed an academy contract with FC Tulsa. https://www.fctulsa.com/news_article/show/1073840 He has some experience in the SKC academy.
D.C. United academy's Ted Ku-DiPietro, 17, signs USL contract to play for @LoudounUnitedFC. Midfielder from Oakton, Va., was with the second-division side as an amateur last season (9 matches, 1 goal). #dcu #usl— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) January 7, 2020 An '02 who has been with DCU's academy for several years. http://dcut.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=7411696&player=543876708
The Revs signed Connor Presley '98 and Nick Woodruff '98 to USL League One contracts. Presley is on his third USL team (and second MLS2 side). Woodruff is a former academy player and a CB. They also signed Mayele Malango, a '97 player born in DRC. He has played HS and college soccer; it's not clear when he arrived in the US, but his DA page does not indicate he has US citizenship.
Chattanooga Red Wolves signed a '97 named Jonathan Ricketts. I've Scoped out that he's from Dayton, TN...
Assuming he's the guy from Bryan College, he has a decent amount of highlights on YouTube. These are the most recent.
Go kid go! Based on so little viewing that my opinion is worth basically nothing, he looks interesting. I'm guessing that his aggression and willingness to take people on off the dribble won't immediately translate from the NAIA level to the USL. But if he can bring some hold-up/aerial stuff to his game as well, he might have a shot. He also looks maybe a bit bigger than the listed 6' 2", unless he played against really small guys in those videos. And with that, I'll stop talking out of my butt for a few minutes.
This can be interpreted as a step forward.................. Dynamo team coming to USL-1 https://t.co/tD4ixCZSWg— 3rd Degree (@3rdDegreeNet) January 9, 2020
Also maybe says something about the state of lower-division soccer in the U.S. At the time of the announcement, it seemed logical enough that an investor group might be interested in handing over soccer operations to an MLS organization like happened in RGV so it could focus on building a business -- and vice versa. It seems that neither Houston nor RGV felt like it was working well enough. Maybe that implies good things about both the perceived need for development by MLS organizations AND the opportunity for independent teams if they have more control. Maybe not. We'll see. Of course, there was a simple factor complicating this deal, which was the sheer geographic distance between the two operations.
Moving🆙Congrats to Tormenta FC Academy's Stephen O'Hearn, Tristan Deloach and Grant Hampton on signing pro contracts with our League One team! pic.twitter.com/I1pfawN2Y8— South Georgia Tormenta FC (@Tormenta_FC) January 9, 2020
Apparently U-Va. '00 Daniel Steedman left school to sign with Atlanta 2. He was born in Scotland but according to the DA is a U.S. citizen, and clearly was at least partly raised here.
'98 midfielder being loaned to Orlando City B for the year. YA Thread ⚽ Ignacio Poplawski, jugador de nuestro equipo de Reserva, fue cedido a préstamo por un año a @OrlandoCityB 🇺🇸 sin cargo y con opción de compra pic.twitter.com/xHs6hjCwYS— Estudiantes de La Plata (@EdelpOficial) January 9, 2020 h/t @Luksarus
I was checking up on some players who are MIA and noticed that Transfermarkt lists Jose Carranza as retired. They usually only do that when there's been some sort of definitive statement to that effect. Otherwise, the player is simply "without club" or perhaps "unknown". Did I miss some sort of announcement from the player?
I'm not so sure Carranza is retired. He does train regularly on his IG stories. Shaft Brewer is another one who I don't think is retired yet, and was spotted training in Norway recently (unclear if at a specific club).