We've signed him here at Charleston www.charlestonbattery.com/news.asp?y=2003&page=1&id=70 I wish him all the best.
From the article: "Charleston Battery Players Signed So Far: Chris Bagley, Jamar Beasley, Ted Chronopoulos, Paul Conway, Linval Dixon, Seamus Donnelly, Josh Henderson, Dusty Hudock, Steve Klein, Andrew Lewis, Barry Moore, Terry Phelan, Rick Titus, Ryan Trout, Mark Watson and John Wilson." Holy freakin' crap.
That is a lot of names, but remember that many (most?) A-League contracts are for one year only. As a result, veterans are usually resigned over and over and over again. (Check an A-League team's online roster page during the offseason and it will usually be next to empty.) Most of those players were on the team last season -- I know for certain that Conway, Lewis, Phelan, Trout, Watson and Wilson were, and I think Dixon and Hudock (and maybe others) might have been as well.
Dave is right, all the people he mentioned were here last year, including Hudock, Dixon, and Steve Klein as well. Most A-league players are on one year contracts, but Charleston has been lucky this year to keep its defense together (the best in the a-league last year) and most of its best players, while adding where Coach Ramsey thinks we were in need the most. Titus gives us depth in the back and Jamar is a pair of young fast legs that should pair up with Trout, Chrono, Moore and Klein well. Holy freakin' Crap is right
Until MLS expansion (and maybe even after), I think we're likely to see even more recognizable MLS-quality or near-MLS-quality players on the better-funded A-League teams. Perhaps even after expansion. The best part of this story to me is that it should be a great fit for Jamar. And since my parents are moving to Charleston, my first time seeing the battery at home may come very soon.
Man, I really miss watching the Battery (we lived in Charleston for two years, had season tickets and everything). Great stadium, lots of good times. Sounds like they've got the firepower to go all the way this year. I'll be checking them out on FSW this summer, I hope. Best of luck, Battery. I'll be cheering you on from up here in Virginia.
The best thing about the Battery is they are a class organization, from the people, to the facilities (especially the pub), to the website. Every match is available via webcast http://www.charlestonbattery.com/webcast.asp so no matter where you're at, you can listen to the Battery. After most matches they post links to the goals on the match report page. And with the great players we have I expect some great times in Charleston this year. Mikey
If your talking about funding from the City of Charleston. None. It is a private "company" with a number of owners (17) with a majority of it owned by Anthony Bakker. They also built Blackbaud stadium with private funds. If your talking about attendance, we averaged around 3500 last year, with reports that they have already sold 300 more seson tickets than last year with nearly a month to go til the season. Charleston has a relatively small market (pop. 550,000) I have been curious what this breaks down to in percentage of population but I think its very good compared to the other A-league markets (and MLS) If your talking about media, its good too. Most the TV stations report the scores of the match, while two actually have camera crews there. The paper does a good job but of course, us supporters always crave more. All the away games are on a local AM radio station. And the Battery is not only know as the place where some of pretty houses are in Charleston, but they are known as the local soccer team with most of the, uh, locals. Charleston also has a lot of competion for enertainment dollars between hockey, baseball, NBDL basketball, college sports, golf, fishing, beaches, historical attractions, etc. I did a personal comparison of attendance figures on one Sat. night last year where the Battery drew around 3600, the baseball team, the Riverdogs, drew around 3500 and the NBDL team, the Lowgators, drew around 1000. Also there was a race at the Summerville Speedway (they didn't have attendance numbers for that). I hope I anwsered your question sorry to be so lengthy, I kind like our little club here. Mikey