Thanks for that. I do want to point out right away however that anything critical he said about the REVs or MLS is just simply totally off base.
Sounds like he is pretty much on board with that team, good luck to him. I wonder if we will see the rest of the reserve guys who weren't retained for this season signing elsewhere soon. Manzonelli? And I remember reading about that Toronto reserve match, so retarded. I felt pretty bad for those guys.
I can't remember precisely when it is, but usually every spring we get to play "Find the Former Rev" amongst USL-1 and USL-2 rosters.
Interesting that Brill said that Nicol already knew him before he signed with the Revs. It sounds like the coaches know just about all of the top local players.
I have mixed feelings about that article and more to the point, what he says. I'm sure he has some valid complaints about the revs and the reserve system, but "being screwed out" in the DC game? Please, you're a reserve player. Suck it up. Maybe if you were better, you would have started. He comes across as a someone who feels victim (which he has little to no right to feel. he was an un-drafted walk on/invite playing in a reserve league, what did he expect?) and he sounds like a bit of a whiner. the flip side is that it's interesting to see what life (and this is just a small glimpse into it) of what it's like for a guy who probably wont make it as a pro in big league or a high up division. This is a guy who will probably struggle and slum around in lower division in smaller leagues. He'll probably never make a great living do this. He'll play just for the love of the game and may have some very cool experiences and an interesting life story.
That's rather harsh, I think. Any defender is going to take it personally when the coach picks a midfielder to fill in on defense. Probably every player on the bench (and those not making the game day roster) feels they deserve more playing time. There's nothing wrong with that. If you let it affect your attitude or your work-rate, that's another story. Sounds like a good opportunity for him, I hope he gets the job, learns the language, drinks a lot of beer and develops his game.
Should have used sarcasm emoticon. Well, keeping in mind relativity and point of view... We've seen videos of Khano/Parkhurst/Shalrie making negative comments, we've seen Matt Reis make a negative comment, and now Sam Brill. All of the comments, in my opinion, have largely been shrugged off on these boards. I think there is more there but expect these boards to mostly turn a blind eye. Specific to Sam Brill, he basically said the Reserve League was a joke, specifically mentioning the guest players along the way. I'm trying to weigh that off against comments on these boards that, with the demise of the reserve system AND smaller rosters, these guys are still going to get some good game time agains local college teams. Fewer Reserves + More Guest Players (or tired starters) vs. College Teams (occasionally) = Good/Adequate development? Maybe MLS agreed with Sam Brill and that's why they shut down the Reserve division. Maybe not. I don't agree that the youth teams are adequate for development. They should feed a healthy reserve division.
I don't remember seeing anyone say that this is a good situation. Presumably, w/o the reserve league, teams will go back to what they used to do - scrimmage against local college or pro teams. I haven't heard anyone say they think that is an improvement (whether the reserve league was a joke or not). While I'm sure there were problems with the reserve league, Brill calling it a "joke" is more than a little over the top. So, the Revs and some other teams often didn't have enough healthy players and had to bring in "guest" players. That makes it a joke? I watched a lot of the games, and they resembled college or USL games, much more than MLS games, but they were still useful. Reserve league had its problems, but MLS should be working to improve it, not eliminate it, IMO.
I completely agree. I really think the folding of the reserve league at this time was much more of a temporary financial consideration than anything else.
A little off-topic but... Does anyone have a sense of what percentage of players who have had developmental and/or GA contracts eventually are signed to senior contracts?
going a little farther back there's Thompson, Brad Knighton, and Parkhurst only a few years ago as well which leads to an interesting revelation: Of the 18 guys currently on the senior roster, seven were DEV players promoted to senior contracts within the last 3 years. Beyond that, Phelan could be considered as well since he was signed to a senior contract immediately after being picked up from Toronto and Videira, though never actually on a DEV contract, is a recent draftee signed to a senior contract.
Wow Sachsen Leipzig! I've seen them play in that stadium......yeah it holds 45K but the game I was at only drew about 1500. At least he is not with Lokomotive Leipzig, ewww. I would say USL and college would be a step up from this level, just my opinion. Maybe thats why they can move him up to an attacking position. Leipzig is a great city though he should enjoy himself, good luck to him.
Having actually played against Brill in HS, and seeing one of his 'joke' reserve games, I wish the guy the best of luck, and hey the guy's still young enough to resurrect his 'career'. What do you think the chances are of him returning to the rev's some time in the future?