Perhaps the teams might try a little harder to make up that $40,000 by selling advertising and working harder to sell the product. Becoming a little more professional and a lot less "amateur beer leaguish". Thinking small all the time isn't always the best idea.
Please remember this is the USL we are talking about. However, this is the first time I feel we may finish with the same number of teams we started with in a long time.
The USL also just created a couple of commitees with the aim of better innovations and group think and a venture with Alan Rothenburg's company Premier Partnerships aimed to help sponsorship and marketing. I think this will be the start of something tremendous. Now we play everyone not once but twice. Truly the best team in the league (over the regular season) will win the Commissioner's Cup. Improving the league image will bolster fan turnout, possibly slowly but hopefully quickly. USL should be applauded for taking the fan's wishes to heart. I look forward to giving each one of you other team supporters (and your teams) as much heck as possible....
Absolutely correct. This improves the chances for league-wide sponsorship deals to go along with the existing local stuff must teams have.
All this seems to solidify the league as a true entity, as opposed to a simple game-broker (image I ahve found it projected in the past). I guess that's the point.
Yeah I was not too surprised to see Utah gone since MLS will have Real Salt Lake starting next season. I was expecting something similar to what happened to a W-League team in the Carolina's when the WUSA launched. I'm wondering if we're going to see an expansion of the MPLS league now that USL doesn't have a western presence.
I was a bit bummed. I was hoping that the Blitzz would try to make it in Boise, Tuscon, Phoenix, Albuquerque or Colorado Springs.
I don't think they're going to institute a strict pro/rel setup, rather they'll promote and relegate as circumstances dictate. It looks as if they're taking the sensible and reasonable step of eliminating the Aviators' problem in that you'll need to demonstrate a sound business operation in the lower league before you wind up in the top flight. Most of the changes seem sensible enough, particularly the capping of the top division at 16 teams.
That'd work really well! This year MLS could drop Dallas and Chicago and their new SSS (the local govt's would still be happy to fund them for USL right?). And since FIFA might not approve Canadian teams yet, you could move up Seattle and Syracuse. Wait where's Syracuse, can't seem to find them. You really think we need that now?
I think you are absolutely correct. What the US needs to do is establish these leagues with stable and committed teams. Once you have that then you can start looking into the possibility of promotion and relegation. It is difficult enough in England when you are promoted to a higher league, and the further you go up the leagues the more difficult that transition becomes (Very difficult from the Championship to the Premier league). I think that the differance between MLS and USL 1 is to great at the moment it would be difficult for any team going up and it would probably kill-off the team coming down. Somebody said earlier about looking at individual circumstances at the end of each season I think this could be the way to go in the first instance it would give teams something to aspire to, then in a few years time as the USL 1 & 2 get more established and stronger you could start looking at automatic promotion and relegation. I think this is a good long term step for the development of football in America. What you keep doing is taking small but significant steps forward, sometimes you have to take one step back to take two steps forward but generally (from an outsiders view) it all appears to be moving in the right direction, it must be because people over here (like me) are starting to take notice, not just MLS but the USL as well.
I'd be very happy with promo/relegation just between the USL. Of course I'd love to see the USL award a sizable cash prize to the team's that win their respective leagues as well, but I doubt that happens in the next few years. Each D1 team would need to contribute $10,000 and D2 teams $5,000 and that's still not enough.
Hello. And just when everyone thought the "promotion/ relegation in US soccer" topic was pretty much dead... http://www.startribune.com/stories/1405/5079882.html For those of you who don't want to register (it's free), it's an article that appeared in the Minneapolis StarTribune daily newspaper on November 11th. The Article was written by the reporter assigned to cover the Minnesota Thunder (among other beats), Michael Rand. For the most part, it's a brief condensation of the USL realignment story. However, there is one line that stands out: "It sets the stage for a promotion/relegation system among First and Second Division teams, an element common to European leagues." If not pure speculation on Rand's part... Hearing Peter Allen, as I type this, singing "Everything Old Is New Again", I remain That little old jersey collector Me
I like the changes. I think we are beginning to see some really dedicated owners starting to take charge of the USL. The additional travel costs are worrysome, but I guess there's always division 2 for those who don't like it. There are other positive changes as well. It would seem the USL is working at assisting teams in planning. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3099772&l_id=11&t_id= I am encouraged to see Boris Jerkunica (Silverbacks) taking a bigger role. He has done wonders for our team here. The Silverbacks are building an organization that will have it's own training academy, youth and amateur leagues, and a sports bar. Thus the team will make money from people who never come to a professional game, and perhaps employ the pro-players in the off season as well. In spite of the current foldings, I am optimistic about the future.
That's what I'm wondering. Perhaps the idea would be to promote the D2 champions each year until D1 gets up to the 16-team cap, and then bring in the relegation component. That would at least give the D1 teams a little time to get their houses in order before having to face the drop.
You'd need to change one league's ownership model first. You can't pro/rel between MLS and USL1 because MLS is single-entity and USL1 is the traditional "rich bloke owns a team" format. So either MLS would have to scrap single-entity (which may happen, but later rathern than sooner IMO) or USL would have to become a single-entity setup under the auspices of MLS (or a merged league)
Anyone that wants promotion and relegation really have no clue about North American soccer. Do these people actually want more franchises to die?
I have to agree. This rel/pro business is a little premature. At least the new USL Div2 is a regional league, should help those teams a great deal.
I agree that pro/rel is a non-issue for a couple years and this might just be my take on the issue but I think that by offering "promotion" to D2 teams your encouraging investors that might want to go up to the next level but are affraid of the franchise fee of a D1 team. I say give the winner of D2 the CHOICE of moving up. Once D1 hits 16 teams, then address relegating one of them but that seems at least a few years down the road.
We have a situation where the names of the various pro soccer leagues make more sense in the United States of America than they do in England. Hell has frozen over.
Why risk killing a team by relegating them from USL Division 1 to USL division 2? Just because they have relegation in other leagues around the world doesn't mean it's viable here. They have relegation in those other countries? True. They also have a lot of other things we don't have. A long history of supporting their clubs. Plenty of fans. Fans that support the team through thick and thin regardless of what league they play in. The fans in some cities may not care what leagues their team plays in (usually the poorest drawing teams aka Charlotte Eagles) however some do. How would Rochester or Montreal draw if they were to be relegated? I bet crowds would be halved. I know they would in Vancouver.
Well if Rochester falls from grace, especially after they get that sweet new stadium, it would be a shame for them to be relegated. But, if they can't find a way to get the best team on the field, bribe officials, or bribe the opposition then too bad I don't think we'll see any promotion/relegation until we have a much stronger league. Maybe when hell freezes over...or when the D2 teams are averaging 4,000 a game or so.