Have no fear, Jim and Pete will be back! Rumour already on street is they will have a team playing somewhere in some league somehow. They may even be back in NASL (league clearly wants to have a team in Baltimore and sees the long-term potential, if they could only side step Jim & Pete's carnival act). Maybe Jim will have a real coaching license by next year! They must be planning on a $100,000 transfer fee for Yoshi, $200,000 for Kory Veeder and another $250,000 for Evan Bush. Maybe Mbuta could garner another $100k and Marsh and Robson another $100K. Add average of 5,000 fans per match plus 1,000 season ticket holders and that's enough for Jim and Pete to operate a team, as long as they don't have to pay any bills or spend any money on promotions! Maybe players will run clinics, coach and play for free, they just about do now! At least a decent crowd (1900+) showed up, lot's of kids and everyone seemed to have fun. I guess promotion does make a diffenerence. Imagine that. The food vendors were busy, lot's of noise, lot's of kids getting autographs, parents smiling, etc. Fairly decent game after horrible first goal just 3 minutes in. At least Marsh took out big time scorer Ryan Pore with a monster mash 2 min. into game - Pore never really threatened. Way to go Marsh. First 2/3 of season, back line was solid, but as revolving door of players, changes in venue and off-field problems mounted, back line took time each match to get organized and composed, often not in time to stop an early goal - something that was rare earlier in season. Lack of aggressive midfield play also hurts back line. It is a rare sight for opponents being pressured or doubled up by Palace middies. Third goal was meaningless 85th minute garbage. Boys played better as time went on and played pretty even thru second period, even after Santiago was red carded minutes after hitting the upright with a solid shot. Until he pulled up lame, Mbuta ran around and thru the Timber back line only to waste opportunities inside the box. Neto got off his best shot of season and keeper made top drawer save. And Val, what happened to those creaky old legs mate? With a little luck and depth, could have been a 2-2 match. Hey, maybe we can end season positively over TB who just let their coach/manager go - sounds like a Pete move.
P.S. - team was definitley hurt Saturday against Timbers because player-coach Jim Cherneski was unable to play due to injuries suffered last week in his only on-field appearance of the season. Actually, I think he was afraid to go on the field against Portland given all the crap that went on between Jim and the Timber's staff. He was probably afraid they'd destroy him on the pitch.
Maybe the NPSL. If they come back they'll play in every H.S. Stadium between Wilmington and Richmond to stay ahead of the bill collectors.
Palace may have only 11 players tonight. Jim HAS to play. Let's see, line up could be Brooks, Healey, Flores, Neto, Tak, Veeder, Pejic, Teixiera, Sanchez, Murphy and the magic man - Jim Cherneski. Bumbut and Mbuta are questionable; Lader, Evans, Robson, Marshall, Fusilier out. Tonight's match could unfortunately be the lowest of lows for the season unless a miracle occurs. Good luck lads. Don't leave town without your paychecks in hand - wish you all well and good fortune in finding a new team. Your loyal fans will miss you. All things considered, you accounted yourselves well.
This just has been confirmed by the TB Rowdies on their twitter ''CPB has arrived without any subs and their head coach will be playing in midfield''
"Good luck lads. Don't leave town without your paychecks in hand - wish you all well and good fortune in finding a new team. Your loyal fans will miss you. All things considered, you accounted yourselves well.[/QUOTE] Ditto - especially about getting your paychecks ! you guys worked hard despite everything
I guess the real question would be why would Medd and Cherneski even want to try and have a team next year if they are losing so much money that they can't pay players and staff and whoever or whatever else? Don't count on it. I mean I won't buy season tickets again after the dabacle this year with 5 home fields.
3 simple letters: E G O Can you imagine how big Jim's head must be after 2 goals. Too bad they came after the team went down 5-0 and looked positively pitiful. Some guys played with heart - more played they way they have all season, hence the result.
What, no one has had the interest or desire to post a comment since my last snip. Oh well, consider this may be the death knell. All rumours and mumblings point to Jim and Pete folding their tents and tucking their tails to head for safe ground (i.e., away from their creditors). Debtors they may be, they should have at least had the decency to pay the dedicated few players who fought to the end. But that would be too much to expect from them, eh? Anybody want to pay them, say $20m, to buy the franchise. HA! Hope the players can find their way to new teams and a steady paycheck. Later . . . . . . .
you are right = no one cares anymore except all those they owe money to.. i do know they did not pay their players at the end of the season. thats just completely wrong... and sad
Not much to comment on with no more games and I have no particular sources of info. went by the office earlier this week. the staff still doesn't know if the organization is going ahead in some form or not. their only certainty was that if there is a return it wouldn't be under the Crystal Palace name. no surprise there though with the administration/bankruptcy issues overseas shorting cp baltimore out of the money for running the academy and no foreseeable support funds coming from there in the future.
Baltimore pro soccer seems like a good idea, perhaps the CP approach was what did them in. Is there any rumors or gossip of other interested parties or is it NPSL/PDL for Baltimore?
Baltimore pro soccer seems like a good idea, perhaps the CP approach was what did them in. Is there any rumors or gossip of other interested parties or is it NPSL/PDL for Baltimore?
I think at this point a couple of things would stall any progress on a new team front. One, the CP Baltimore group is still exploring their options, though I don't how well that might progress, at least not for 2011 anyway. The other is the feasibility study being done for the Maryland Stadium Authority by Crossroads Consulting out of Tampa. The previous study for DC United in Prince George's County took about nine months. This one is running longer, and i'm beginning to wonder if the release is being held til the end of DC United's season so as not to have an adverse effect on their attendance if a move is perceived as imminnent. Of course they are already taking season ticket orders so who knows if they or MLS would even want a team in Baltimore. The study was to look at putting a 10k stadium in Baltimore for CP Baltimore, a 20+k stadium to draw United north, or nothing. The proposed DC United site in Westport is already cleared for development and would be part of a mixed use community. I feel that the final result will be a recommendation for the 20+k stadium and then the city and stadium authority will attempt to entice DC United and MLS to make the move up 95 to Baltimore. The project as a whole fits the model that other MLS cities have used, though this area is actually still in Baltimore. I'd prefer that we don't get a team that way, but in this day and age of sports sometimes thats the way its done. People in Baltimore know that too well from both sides of the equation. i'd prefer that DC fans get to keep what they've built, its just nearly impossible to get anything done in the district unless you're willing to pay the whole bill at full price on your own while making sure to tip all necessary district and federal officials throughout the process. the bad deal that dc swallowed for the nationals stadium pretty much sealed the deal on getting any help from the DC city council. in the end if a recommendation comes back for the proposed DC United site anyone looking to put a team in Baltimore in any league will probably want to wait and see how negotiations work between the city and DC United before spending money to place a team in baltimore that they may have to move again soon after their inaugural campaign. sorry for the rambling its past my bedtime
Neglected to add that we've had two NPSL teams in the area. Charm City FC played NPSL in 2009 at the high school stadium in Anne Arundel County where CP Baltimore defeated the Red Bulls in the US Open Cup. This past season the TSC Red Devils (TSC=Thunder Soccer Club) played in the NPSL. Their matches were at park fields in Howard County. The fields they used have stands for probably around 500-1000. TSC also controls the women's TSC Maryland Pride of the WPSL. Both sites are outside the city and probably about a 45 minute drive.
Forget NPSL - there are adult teams competing in Balt that more talented. Forget DC United - can you really see United with its strong, world recognized brand and huge Latino fan base leaving the District for Baltimore. No way. United is a striker, couple of internationals and a decent coach away from returning to competitive play in MLS and regaining it fans. Real Maryland still competes in USL2, and seems to fit that business model. It is unlikely that RM (drawing from a similar fan base as United plus Montgomery county and its huge youth program) would move to Baltimore and NASL. Baltimore is a viable market on its own with proper financing and management. There are club teams better managed (and coached) than Palace through no fault of the players. Palace and its present owners/management/coaches will NOT be back - shame on any league (including PDL) that takes them in. The only hope is for a new investor group that understands both soccer in the US and the basic principals of business.
I could be wrong but I believe that the Charleston Battery business model is more or less the right one. Easier said than done unfortunately.
A friend sent a note to the MD Stadium Authority about the Baltimore Soccer Stadium study. The reply was "It is in the process of being finalized and should be released by the City in just a few weeks." (They may actually be waiting until after the elections before publishing anything.) If a soccer-specific stadium gets approved for Baltimore I can't see how DCU would not make the move. Why continue playing at RFK where you are losing money? Especially if the district and surrounding counties aren't moving ahead with a stadium.
The only things that might preclude a move if the stadium for DC United is approved, in my mind, would be a lack of interest in funding the stadium from the state and/or if MLS would rather relocate the team to a different region of the country to enhance the league's national footprint. If the state and city can find the money to build it, a funded stadium on the table will be a tough deal for MLS and DC United to walk away from.
CPB never should have made the move from USL-2nd Division to USL-1st--and then compounded that mistake with the NASL move. They should have stayed in USL-2 where the travel and player expenses were a lot lower. Does anyone remember the Maryland Mania? They lasted two seasons for a variety of reasons and ownership mishaps. I think a team in the revised USL league team would do well in this market since it will be regionally focused and could build up locally rivalries. I also think its critical that a new team establish partnerships with the local academies. (Another CPB mistake may have been not working more closely with the Baltimore Bays.) I wonder how much longer we have to wait for the official death notice from the team?
The Mania lasted only one season. The first half was played at UMBC and the second half was played at Anne Arundel Community College. The Second half the team was operated by Lincoln Phillips and his family and starting the following year they operated the PDL level Chesapeake Dragons for I think the next 4 years. Lincoln is currently Technical Director of the Trinidad and Tobago National Team. I doubt you'll see a formal notice.
The Maryland Mania, wasn't that the team managed by Justin Fashanu untill he touched a underage boy ?