Onstad must still have a high opinion of him. Houston still hasn't hired a manager, but it sounds like they are close.
I guess he just likes playing a spring to fall schedule. One slight clarification, here, simply due to the maddening naming convention used in Norway: IK Start plays in the Norwegian First Division, which is the second tier of Norwegian football. They were relegated from Eliteserien, the first tier league, last season. Like how, across Europe, what we call the first floor of a building is called the ground floor, and our second floor is their first. Damned confusing, I say. Anyway, good luck to Vito. In Norway, I think he’ll be playing on quite a few artificial turf fields. I see another season ending ankle injury in his future.
Always hated how top tier of English football is the Premiere Leauge and tier two is the Championship, then we have leagues 1 and 2. Thanks, Premiere League formation, for ********ing that up...
Though, to be fair, what's our naming set-up in the States now? Tier one: Major League Soccer Tier two: USL Championship Tier three: USL League One Tier four: USL League Two, and maybe MLS Next Pro, with NISA tucked in there somewhere?
How do you figure re: Next Pro? Tier three would include USL League 1, which certainly isn't a U23/development league. If Next Pro us basically a U23 league, that makes it similar to USL 2. Not a perfect comparison, I grant you, but I'm just not sure how it compares to other 3rd tier leagues.
The word " tier" in this sense is a colloquialism originally applied by USL to explain where their teams sat in the mythical " soccer pyramid" vis a vis MLS. ( a pyramid implies that the lower levels build or lead to the upper levels, which is as we know a fiction) What matters in this context is the division level granted to you by USSF. They have specific criteria which has to be met. Third division is much more flexibly applied than first and second. You basically prove you have some viable teams and then pay them some money. https://kennethrusso.com/ussf-professional-standards/
usl2 is amateur ball...next pro is a pro league and with no salary cap you could on paper bring high quality players in the six figures
If you were I'd see it as a temporary thing. Keita and Morris were both making in the 100k range. I'd imagine Zawadski is in the same bracket. I'd guess in normal circumstances you'd want those types of young guys getting week in week out game time while you're comfortable with a Hairston making vet minimums sit on the bench in case someone gets hurt
Except that Keita and Morris are on MLS contracts. Their salaries count against the first team budget. That doesn't change if and when they get loaned out for a game or two.
Well, technically, as homegrowns, their salaries don't count against the salary budget. But I see your point.
Right, I'm saying in the future you could sign players of their caliber/potential (that you potentially don't have HG rights to) to MLS2 for a year without the cap hit on the senior roster. I'm just using their paygrade as an example