It will help them a lot if they choose a better name than the USL club, which shouldn't be difficult.
Interesting... another fan-owned team http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/fc-united-manchester-sustainable-success-3190082
I met with DeBraya Ayala, from Sold Out Strategies, and one of the other members of the ownership group today. Lots of information. Basically: 1. NPSL is set and on for this summer 2. New logo/colors/badge will be revealed as part of the NPSL kit this summer. 3. NASL is still on track with new ownership group. 4. Waiting to make large announcement until the lease agreement at Taft is finalized. Right now, McLaughlin has the rights to the lease (even though he doesn't have a team)?!? Hoping to work it out nicely and quietly. If not...stay tuned. 5. NPSL will NOT play at OCU this summer. It seems that Tim McLaughlin made an arrangement with the school, after he was out as part of the NASL group, and now the rent for that field would be 4x's what it was last summer. They told me where they are MOST PROBABLY going to play, but until it is announce I don't want to say, due to the fact that Funk, et.al could be trying to submarine any lease deal (seriously.) Found out a lot of the behind the scenes things that have been going on since last spring. You could LITERALLY write a book about the entire escapade! They were very gracious, and didn't want to besmirch anyone. I however, got a new impression of people like Tim McLaughlin. Something for all of the people who are putting their faith in Bob Funk Jr; apparently, last year, up until the point that SoS was making their presentation to the school board for the Taft lease Funk didn't even know there WAS another league out there?!? Way to conduct your due diligence, Bob... I would also speculate that until he flew to Seattle to see a Sounders game last year he may have never even seen or attended a soccer game in his life! So what, right? There are other things that happened that I really don't feel at liberty to divulge. But it was a very interesting talk. I very much appreciated DeBray and Sean sitting down with Aaron and I. They didn't have to. There was no large crowd, just us. So I want to thank them for that. They are as frustrated as I have been about not going forward. But, literally, they have not been able to until now.
All good to hear except 4 and 5. It would seem to me that if McLaughlin was not interested in using his lease at Taft for something, he would have given it up already. Just speculation, but he's holding onto it for a reason, and it can't be good for SOS. I wouldn't be surpised, based on the cryptic things you've said about him below, if this fallout ends up with the Energy playing at a renovated Taft. Wonder how the mantra of "Taft Rulz! Everywhere else drulz!" will change if that happens. Still looking forward to seeing OKCFC play this summer, where ever that may be. Dirty pool for sure, but a sound business strategy. As it stands, the Energy are the known entity in the city and if they can scuttle SOS getting anything going, then that's just better for them. Is it (morally) right? Not at all. Is it smart? Most definitely. Will it make friends? No, but then again, with the animosity these two apparently carry for each other, I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was true, and if SOS wasn't doing all they can to harm the Energy as well. Which is odd, because he was thought of so highly. Then again, I would take anything coming from the injured party with a grain of salt. I have no doubt they are telling the truth to you as they see it, but I'm sure we'd get a completely different story from the other side. Sucks there was that much drama though. Whatever it was, it's keeping fans in the dark and that's never a good thing. Hopefully it all get sorted out. To be fair, he's not the only one. Ask around to the average, non-BS visiting fan in the city and most will not know about much more than the MLS and the Energy. I bet most couldn't even tell you what league the Energy will play in so I don't know why it is surprising that he didn't know. Hell, I'll throw myself under the bus and say that I didn't know about anything beyond the MLS and USL when it came to soccer in the states before I started coming here. And the only reason I knew about the USL (and it was name only, nothing about the actual league, teams, designation, etc), was because of the affiliation between DCU and Richmond. *cue raunchous laughter from the penut gallery* It would definitely be something if he had never even seen a game until then, and his first game was viewing the garbage that is the Flounders, but I digress. He isn't coaching, he isn't playing, he isn't marketing, etc. If I understand correctly, he's the money man, nothing more. If he was, or is, more hands on with that minimal of experience, then yes, it could be a problem, but I doubt he has fingers in things like that. That was very cool of them to do that. It shows they actually care and want to at least give someone some hope that they are moving forward. I'm sure they are just as frustrated as everyone else, especially since it seems McLaughlin has everything basically done for HIM not the team, and now he's apparently left them in a lurch. I'd love to know what went down, but I'm just a fan who wants to watch the game, so I'll probably never know the down and dirty behind the scenes goings on. I do wish them luck. With the bind they've been left in, and the Energy pulling out all the stops, it seems, they have an uphill battle ahead of them. But they'll definitely get my money until I see a season not to give it to them.
The Funks have always had good intentions; you only need to look at their track record with spectator sports to understand that they are still going through a process. Maybe they will do better with the Oklahoma City Energy. Could some of the high school stadiums be used(?); not sure about the configurations. In the inner-city area, Douglass, Millwood & Star Spencer, Mount St. Mary's have their own stadiums. There are some on the outskirts in the Yukon, Western Heights, Moore, Midwest City, Del City (1900 South Sunnylane) etc. OCPS will not have a lot of options with Taft Stadium (north side) and Capitol Hill Stadium (south side) going through major renovations. Wouldn't be surprised to see McGuinness & Mount St. Mary's stadiums worked into the mix.
I've always heard that the road to Hell was paved with good intentions. I just don't understand why THIS time will be any different. What's the definition of insanity? OKC FC has a place to play this summer. I just don't feel at liberty to say until the ink is dry on the contract due to what has happened already. As far as next year with the NASL they are still planning to play at Taft. There will be legal wrangling done, which might actually come from the NASL to pressure McLaughlin to relinquish his lease for TAFT, WHY would you hold on to a lease that you have no intention of using?!? And apparently he never even SIGNED the lease until AFTER he left the ownership group of the NASL team??!?
Speaking about "the road to hell paved with good intentions,' what is going on? Is it more to do with Brad Lund? Maybe the Funks have a good foundation to despise Mr. Lund--this period with McLaughlin didn't reach a honeymoon period and they are falling out. You mean that McLaughlin is going to hang on to a lease he never intends to use? I'm glad you have an inside track concerning OKC-NASL. In all fairness, you' indicated that you'll share this information with us when it becomes available.
I really believe that this is ONE Funk, and that's Jr. From ALL accounts Brad Lund had a great relationship with Funk Sr, for many years. But about 9 mos after Jr's coming to work for daddy, Lund and DeBray Ayala are out at Express Sports? Hmm... I've searched the archives and all Brad Lund said at the time was that he just didn't enjoy coming to work anymore. I know this is merely anecdotal, but my wife went to college with Funk Jr, and she agreed that he was a prick, even back then. I have no idea what he's doing. I DO know that he tried to sell out to Funk, at one point, without even talking to the other owners in the group If I have anything that can be shared I will. I want these guys to succeed. I have no financial stake in this thing. I just want this group to prevail. Here's hopin...
McLaughlin has close ties to OKC PS, so I bet he's been looking longingly at the primo sod being laid at Pribil Stadium wondering if it's still worth it to install something comparable at Taft. I'm guessing that, unless the Energy agree to move to Taft next year (why would they?), OKC PS will end up installing artificial turf at the new Taft Stadium with permanent field markings. And Bishop McGuinness will be hosting high school playoffs/championships (that otherwise would have gone to Taft) due to their new field. As an OCU alum, I've never understood the fascination with Taft. Dilapidated, poor parking, sketchy neighborhood, no nightlife, had to sit on cement steps because there were no bleachers. However, I do know the grass field itself had been the best thing (only thing?) it had going for it, and the stadium has hosted high school soccer playoffs and championships dating back decades. Yup. Time's a wastin'. Guess you kinda have to try to put yourself in his shoes... McLaughlin originally thought he was signing on for a USL Pro bid as a logical extension of their new PDL club, was convinced to support a far more expensive NASL bid, then finds himself as the public face of the NASL bid because of the lawsuit.... and I betcha he was probably told that if he just stood his ground, that Funk Jr and Prodigal would fold like a cheap suit and back off, and USL Pro would never play a game blah-blah-blah, leaving OKC with an NASL team playing at Taft, which benefits both OKC soccer and OKC PS.... couldn't blame him if he now feels really burned by the entire situation. Mostly sour grapes, I think. For all the complaints about the Barons, most don't understand that Prodigal's go-to guy for the Energy is John Allgood, who is a Redhawks baseball guy. Funk Jr's presentation to OKC PS for use of Taft Stadium touted his group's experiences with the Saturn Cup MLS exhibition games held for a few years last decade. So no, I don't think Funk Jr's group is completely stupid when it comes to soccer.... Brad Lund's uncle Jeff, on the other hand-- (but I digress, as this info would be more appropriately discussed in Tulsa "fora"... lol.)
From what I heard that is not actually true. McLaughlin was brought in AFTER SoS and the others realized that USL was stringing them along. McLaughlin knew his role. He was to be the face of the NASL bid, which SoS ran OKC FC and dealt with the USL. The ownership guys told me that after they had established the WPSL team, their goal, all along was to have a PDL team (to test the waters) and if that was successful to then move up int o USL-Pro. They did initially want to go to USL-Pro due to the fact that it was a much less expensive initial outlay of capital, than NASL. They knew all along that the USL had reached out to Funk almost three yrs prior. But seeing as how THEY were the ones entering PDL and establishing a franchise and a treritory, they thought that ; 1) Funk would not exercise his option 2) USL would get behind THEIR bid. It was after they expressed interest to USL that they wanted to move up in to USL-Pro that Tim Holt and USL started acting squirrely. SoS, and the other partners, had been told in the beginning that the entry fee for USL-Pro was $250K. USL kept telling them, "don't worry. We're your partner. Just concentrate on the PDL right now." Well they knew something was up. They even went so far as to ask USL if they could go ahead and give them a $250K check right now, which could be put into escrow, drawing interest. That was when USL came back and said, "well, now the entry fee is $500K..."!?!? They knew then that they were being screwed. So a decision was made to reach out to NASL and investigate joining them. After they successfully won the lease for Taft, however, McLaughlin's demeanor changed to the rest of the group. From what I know of the situation he, at some point, said that he needed to have 51% of the team. The others agreed to this, even though afterwards he would never agree to discuss just what the percentages of the group were. At a later date he then asked to be given 61% (a super-majority). It was about a this time that he apparently tried to sell out the team to Prodigal, without discussing any of it with the ownership group. The new owner only found this out because one of the OTHER owners had gone to Skinny Slims to watch a USMNT game. She was approached by one to the posters here on BS, who told her he had heard they were merging with the Energy. BTW, this woman recently quit as part of the NASL ownership and soon after her son got a tryout with the Energy... Hmmm....? This is exactly what he was told...by every person in the ownership group. That if they would simply hold a press conference, announcing the team, the ownership group, the league, that there was a very GOOD chance that Funk may have never gone forward. This didn't happen though. They could never get him to hold the press conference. he would always say they need to "research some more" So I DO blame him. Funny thing is, the others that I talked to don't have bad things to say about him. They don't think he's a terrible person. They just feel betrayed and confused by why he did things the way he did.
Wow, if this is true, then that is crazy. I don't understand why the USL wouldn't just go with the group that already had an established team in the city. Seems like a no brainer to me. And why would they come back with an amount of 500k if they had already given a team to Funk? What would of happened if SOS would have said, sure, and ponied up the cash? We would have two USL teams in the city right now? Or was the 500k to keep them from asking and THEN they closed the deal with Funk? This makes no sense. Why would they give someone majority ownership who wasn't originally a part of the group? You said they brought him in after the shadyness from the USL, so he wasn't originally in the group, yet they decide to give him majority ownership? And did they eventually give him the 61%? Because that's even stupider! And why try to sell to Funk? If I'm seeing the timeline correctly, Funk is already moving forward with the Energy at this time, so why would he want anything to do with the competition? I guess maybe to buy them out then sink the team before they even started, but that seems like an expensive proposition when you already have the momentum out of the gate. To be fair, ANYONE could try out for the Energy. You, me, the loveable Mr. Warmth, anyone. I think it was like 200 bucks for the two day try out. You paid the money, you get to get on the field and show them what you can do. While it is strange that a former owner would even allow her son to tryout, I don't think it means anything that he got too. Hell, I think they said there were 200+ people there. Bigger thing, to me at least, is that you said "this woman recently quit as part of the NASL ownership". So they lose McLaughlin, this woman, what is going on over there? I want to see them succeed, but it seems like people are abandoning ship here. Maybe I'm outside the "Circle of Trust" here, but it seems to me that McLaughlin didn't want to be there. Why he said yes to being a part of it, I don't know, but if everything you have written is true, his actions definitely show that he didn't want anything to do with the NASL. Not doing a press conference, demanding, and getting, majority ownership to only turn around and try to sell out to Funk, holding onto his lease to both OCU and Taft, etc, it seems like he wanted to be in cahoots with Funk and thought he could get his way in this way. That seems like some next level, dirty, Gordon Gekko level of conniving going on. It almost seems to unreal. But again, I'm on the outside looking in, but I just can't square the level of trechery that you are telling us about with the praise I heard about McLaughlin.
If Tim McLaughlin is "Gordon Gekko," then I guess that makes Brad Lund, "Harold Hill." Just sayin. I think some people in the SOS front office need to be very careful about how they characterize others, knowing full well those opinions can be posted on the internet for all to see-- including Mr. McLaughlin's lawyers. Just like last summer when SOS surrogates insisted that USL Pro had "no place to play" and would "never play a game," I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop...
Nobody asked you. Just sayin. Nobody from the NASL side "characterized" anyone. I did that, from what I was told happened. Me. A nobody, with nothing to gain/lose. They made it very clear that they did NOT want to talk ill of anyone, no matter what has happened. Any inferences made are my own. I've also noticed what appears to be your latest gig, pimping info and videos for Funk and the Energy on B.S. You seem to have forgiven them for taking the name of your beloved team. And apparently you're ok with them starting that new team in Tulsa without any input from, or regard for, your present team. Looks like it didn't take much for you to sell out. Maybe I'm wrong.
Forgive him, it's a combination of C - Level trolling and Typical Tulsan Talk from his generation. Not so much jealousy as much as it is disbelief & self-delusion that OKC isn't ugly little sister anymore
I don't need to be asked. It's a public forum. Buck up, girlfriend. You just aired SoS's dirty laundry for them on the internet. You understand that, right? Ummm. No. I posted an Energy score (a 1-0 win over a mediocre NCAA D-1 school) which could be taken as pretty sympathetic to those who feel USL Pro doesn't play at a much higher level than amateur. Truth be told, I was rooting for Oral Roberts to upset them (Johnny Chavez and Wayne Farmer started for the A's last season), but the Energy showed themselves to be a pretty talented club put together in a relatively short amount of time. I believe I've posted facts and given credit where credit is due (when deemed appropriate). If you think that's "pimping," then you're every bit as paranoid as SOS was last fall... and God, were they paranoid. Brad Lund and his uncle Jeff did the very same thing...... and I believe they were told in no uncertain terms that the A's owners intended to move up to another league in short order. But that didn't stop Brad or Jeff from pursuing a Tulsa NASL team to play at Chapman Stadium with an OKC group holding up to a 49% interest. I guess stating your intention to co-opt Sonny and Dr. Kern's short term and long term plans is better than Funk Jr. partnering with the Drillers to essentially do the same thing... Oh, and they (Brad & Jeff) also wanted to make damned sure that the new NASL team was called the "Tulsa Roughnecks," so who in the world could blame Prodigal for trying to secure the name before it gets trademarked by their rivals? I certainly couldn't. The only way I'll "sell out" is if it becomes apparent that the best long term interests of Tulsa soccer are served by a USL Pro club owned by the Drillers with a 49% minority stake coming from Funk Jr. Currently, I do not believe this to be the case. The best thing the Athletics can do is to build as much as they can on last season's work, and be the best organization they can be and provide the best fan experience possible. I hope this results in a serious NASL bid for us, since that seems to be the only direction we can go in without eventually either folding or moving out of Athletics Stadium to some high school venue. Concentrating on trashing your rivals rather than focusing on the task at hand can easily backfire. And I will continuously try to supply David with as many rocks and pebbles as his slingshot is capable of holding in time for his 2015 confrontation with Goliath.