well, according to article, he says that he is/was going for 2011 and that it was because of ..." But with USL for sale and the roller-coaster that the league seemed to be going through, 2011 seemed the better choice."
It seemed strange to me that Cooper and Glavin hadn't even talked to each other, though. If Glavin keeps the PDL team, they could both benefit by having a good working relationship. ACSTL could loan players to the Lions, scrimmage, etc.
But then, with USSF refusing to sanction NASL, so are Cooper's. If/when there is a compromise, I'd imagine the conflicting territory rights will have to be worked out.
That is close to what I recall Shipley saying about the Lions' plans before, that they were moving toward USL-1 but the sale confused the issue. I think their original plan according to their press release was 2010. Incidentally, I think Shipley also said Cooper and the Lions had talked, but Cooper wanted total control and wasn't willing to work with the Lions much. I don't have the exact quote handy.
But NASL has the capability of putting on a league. At this point, USL does not. Cooper is in position to have a Div II team and Glavin is not.
That's too bad, I like Glavin. He's been toiling away to keep soccer going in St Louis for awhile, but unfortunately he's apparently not a hundred millionaire. I hope he doesn't get shunted to the side.
NASL isn't capable of putting on a league either according to USSF and they are the only opinion that matters here.
I had a plan a few pages back saying that since both leagues were going to have to work together that Cooper and Glavin should work something out. So here is my plan in a nutshell. 1. Cooper runs the DII league for which ever league it is for (USL or NASL). If its USL they Cooper should buy the rights from Glavin. 2. Glavin should continue running the PDL Lions and his youth programs. Glavin should also merge into the AC St Louis / St. Louis United umbrella. 3. All levels of soccer in St. Louis be run by one organization (united we stand, divided we fall kind of thinking). AC St Louis, WPS Athletic, PDL Lions, and the youth teams all working together. Teams could loan players to each other hold friendlies and such. 3. After a few years, hopefully St. Louis will get a MLS team. Cooper could take his DII league into MLS by spliting the team into two parts. Half players go to MLS, half stay in DII. 4. Glavin could then take over the DII team and move some of his players from the Lions into AC St. Louis. And they all lived happily ever after, hopefully by 2014.
I am reading the recent posts and some clarification is in order. Because we all know how Big Soccer posts get twisted and since I said them then I will clarify The Glavin and Cooper have talked but that was when Cooper was pursuing the MLS team. Both met to discuss what each persons objective was in the market. At the time Cooper said he was not interested in pursuing anything other than MLS. Tony has no desire to pursue MLS. They had two seperate business plans. Tony's objective is to pursue a USL-1 team for the St Louis area. He clearly stated that when he started the PDL team. He also put that in his five year plan that he outlined to the USL. Cooper's change in direction and pursuing the entire USL raises some questions as opposed to talking about obtaining the USL-1 rights to the St Louis area. No matter what happens in the Div II world the PDL Lions will continue to operate, no question. There is room for everyone and room for everyone to work together to get professional soccer back in St Louis. Let the USSF/NASL/USL work this out and then we will deal with the hopefully minor issues that arise. Speculating only can add to misinformation and can damage the relationships.
Is there any preferences or rumors for players for St Louis? There has got to be a non-starter in MLS, a recently unsigned Cleveland or Minnesota player (maybe even a Charleston USL1 player), some player in Europe with Cooper or Anelka or Filho connections? Here are a couple, sorta random: -John DiRaimondo, former MLS, former USL, former Billiken -Dipsy Selolwane, former MLS, former Billiken, currently in South Africa
If they're gonna take someone from Cleveland, they should get Teteh Bangura or Evan Bush. Both have got lots of potential.
There has been no word from the coaching staff about what kind of player they are going after. During the first intros Claude Anelka said something about available euro and national players but that is all. I would personaly love to have John DiRaimondo play for ACSTL. I know him though family connections. He is an amazing player but just needs a little more coaching and development.
Wow, can I guess them or what? Anyway, good for DiRimando. I wonder what decent College players St Louis or any NASL teams are looking at for the MLS Combine next week?
O wow...there's a reason he couldn't cut it in MLS. That's whay the USL and NASL are MINOR league. John was a solid player at SLU, but I hope this isn't the BEST we can come up with.
Are you saying that bad signings are why they're minor league? I think they're minor league because the play in the second division. Big signings don't make minor league teams into major league ones.
Interesting! I wonder if Anelka and Filho went or if they sent their scouts to spot? Also wondering if they had anyone already in mind?