Maybe in the DP v.1 era, but that's really not true anymore. There is plenty of evidence of people being brought in at younger ages that dispel the Beckham + scrubs 2007 Galaxy formula (Jozy, Alessandrini, Giovinco, Castillo, Diaz). Which isn't to say anything of the Young DP rule. A DP doesn't have to be someone you slam $6 mil on. They can be, but there are a lot of ways to utilize that roster tool. The idea of competing in 5 years in MLS is someone selling you a mirage in the desert. I'm not discounting the value of a robust academy, but shrewd roster composition and a certain level of investment can turn your team around in an off-season or two. These squads aren't static. Bedoya and Haris aren't getting younger. In five years time you'll have had to replace them too, in addition to the pieces in which we're already looking to upgrade. And what will they be telling us then? I will give them credit for certain things, but their spin is all wrong.
If you could drug up Jay Sugarman with Sodium Pentothal, where do you think "Win MLS Cup" would be in a rank-order list of his goals for the Philadelphia Union? Increasing value in his investment is obviously #1. But winning the cup? 2nd? 3rd? 10th? Is it something he even considers as a thing at all? Earnie is just operating in the atmosphere he was given. No money...no scouting network...but, hey, here's an academy...good luck. I can't believe he actually wanted to come here. He could be in Europe with an owner that will actually let him buy good players for his first team.
I doubt it. He gets a kick out of developing youth. He said yesterday that he was watching a recent AZ Alkmaar game and that 6 kids he had brought to the Academy started. And that another 3 from 'his' academy entered as subs so that when the game ended a total of 9 of 'his' academy kids finished the game. Just to put this into context: last year AZ finished 6th and qualified for the European competition.So slightly better than a .500 team but not even close to one of the top 3 teams.
It's only going to get worse too... TFC is a monster, both NY teams are capable of spending, Chicago has had an awakening, Atlanta figured this shit out on year one, Montreal has the resources but lacks execution as does Orlando maybe... after yesterday is DC going to be a big dog again? God knows Miami will be bringing massive names to the table and god forbid Kraft gets a stadium and starts spending his money. That's the east alone.
Anyone know the CAP this league is gonna put on the total # of teams? Hopefully its stops at 30. That's 8 more teams or roughly 10 more years until the Sugar man sells and makes a handsome profit. I think that is our realistic "light at the end of the tunnel", looking forward to 2027.
The word is 28 but I don't buy it.. they will at least go to 30 if not 32... I think they could sustain 40 if they really wanted to but I doubt they'd go that high.
That's an issue with all US academies, not just ours. Until US Soccer/MLS steps up and guarantees that a players youth club will receive a portion of transfer fees, this is always going to be an issue.
I have been suggesting for them to do things on a weekend for the last 5 years when I moved a 3hr round trip of driving away, yet they still do things in a midweek. While it is great that the town hall gives STHs the chance to interact with people and get answers to their questions, do those STH who don't live close enough to be able to make a 6pm midweek event not deserve to know what is being said either? As far as I know they spend as much (more if you include the travel cost) to come to see the team as STHs that live close. It definitely doesn't make you feel respected as a fan who won't get home until after midnight, when they have to be up before 7am the next morning, when they continually make things impossible for you to join in. It is ok though, when I asked to be told what was discussed I was offered the chance to do the chalk talk on Saturday. That makes things all better...... (although seeing as what is likely to be an emotional tailgate, I don't think I'd be in the right frame of mind for a chalk talk).
I enjoyed going, it was an interesting look into what direction the team is going towards. Reading between the lines, they are really going to focus on keeping our young players together for several seasons and area really just building towards that. At the point that our younger players come into their prime, then they will invest in a big money player to push them over the top. Earnie seemed to elude to a 5 year plan. At that point, Elliot will be 24, Yaro 25, Epps 27, Najem 25, Rosenberry 26, Herbers 26, Wijnaldum 27, Picault 29, Blake 29 and they will have all been playing together for four years. Now, the owners group could invest in some talent to bridge that period, but they don't seem to be inclined to do so. I actually like what the academy, Earnie, and the marketing department are doing. But I think they are just good poker players whose only option is to try to hit a straight because they are getting a crap hand from the ownership group. As much as I love the idea of what the team will look like in 3 or 4 seasons, it hurts to think that we'll have to sit through more of what we are currently watching until we get there. The fact is that we are not spending enough money to compete in the next 3 or 4 years. It's hard to justify buying season tickets just so that we can maintain the academy until it gets around to producing real results but that's pretty much what we're being asked to do IMO.
if that's the plan (and you can add Jones to this) why are most of them sitting in the stands instead of playing games now? That certainly isn't going to help them improve, and didn't do so for Pfeffer. Speaking of the past- I remember the last time we were told we were going to build around a youthful core. Within about 18months every single one of that youthful core was sold on.
I like Earnie, I like the plan (in theory) and I want to see it executed. BUT. . . That was the identical plan in 2013 with Pfeffer, Hernandez, McLaughlin, the Farfans, Williams, Hoppenot, Wheeler, Kassel, Hoffman, Jordan, Ferdnandes, etc. This season is Year 5 of that Five Year Plan. Not one of those guys is still in MLS. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Philadelphia_Union_season#Current_roster.
The problem is that this team has always been building for the wrong era. We came into the league building an MLS 2.0 squad and before it could come together, a lot of money came into the league and MLS 3.0 was born. Now we're re-building to compete in the current climate, but not expecting results for at least another 1+ years. With even more money and teams coming into the league are we even thinking about how different the league will look? We're always going to be behind if we are only focused on development. In addition, I'm not even sure we can bank on guys like Elliot & Blake being around when this "plan" comes to fruition. MLS is a "win now" league. That's why teams can literally go from worst to first in a short amount of time. Too much time spent fiddling around with small parts isn't going to win a championship in this league.
Not exactly what I'm saying. My point is you try to finish a playoff team with a Dp. Much like Seattle last year. Toronto had DeFoe before they built the team and that turned into a disaster.