Possible Reserve Team?

I doubt the Crew will send any of their developmental players to the PDL team. If they send them anywhere it will be to an A-League team, like Cincinnati, for better competition. What I think the cooperation deal is, is the Crew will send players and some coaches to help with the SYL teams and PDL team. Those teams may also train with the Crew on occasion. But nothing more than that.

 

The Columbus Stars will play in the PDL, an amateur league which, by definition, does not allow competition with professional players.

The PDL has become a sort of summer league populated mostly if not almost exclusively with college players. The NCAA allows them to play on these amateur teams without forfeiting eligibility.

If you start including professional players on the teams, or the opponents, then you have changed the nature of the competition. College players who participate in league competitions with or against professionals forfeit their eligibility.

There will therefore be no Crew Developmental players playing on the Columbus Magic.

 

Let's not get carried away interpreting a line from a press release. "Bridging the gap" does not in any sense mean "feeding the Crew"

Look, I have gotten into some really dumb arguments lately with infantile idiots who think I'm "opposed to PDL" for some reason. And that's the farthest thing from the truth. More soccer is good, no matter what the level. More, more, more.

All I'm saying is let's not lose track of what it really is: a place for College kids, off for the summer break, can play at an appropriate level of competition, get in shape, work on some things, etc. A good thing, particularly for college players who happen to live in Central Ohio.

So if you're at OSU or Ohio Wesleyan or Capital, or a player elsewhere who's home with Mom and Dad for the summer, there's now a suitable summertime team for you.

But here's a question for you: Did you go see the NCAA Final Four in CBus last year? Do you go to OSU games? OWU? Dennison? Muskingum College?

Becasue THAT is who will be out there. Some good players? Absolutely. But you can see them or others of their caliber, all Fall long and very few do.

What is it about calling them a USL team playing PDL competition all of a sudden makes this an exciting prospect?

Just a question here. Again, I'm NOT putting anybody or anything down. I'm just trying to put this a little bit into perspective.

As for Crew development players, as noted above that's an impossibility. My question would be however, WHY WOULD YOU EVEN WANT THEM TO?

Do you take the guys off the OSU Football bench and get them into High School scrimmages? Do you take the Cleveland Indians young bench players and send them to play American Legion ball?

Our "developmental" players have moved BEYOND college competition. We want them learning to play like, and against PROS, not amateur college kids, few of whom will ever BE pros. It would be a step backwards.

 

For whats it is worth, European professionals play against younger opponets all the time. Even the top flight professionals play against CFA teams or reserve squads.

Major League baseball does send players that are not good enough down to the minor leagues, and right now, PDL would be considered a minor league.

I think that games against lower opponets are not a step backwards, but rather help players condition themselves more match fit and prepare them for competition down the road. I understand your point, but I feel tha soccer coaches see fitness as a bigger issue than worrying about playing down the level of the opponents.

The Earthquakes play against Stanford and Santa Clara during the year, and they do not forfeit their elgibility. Frank Yallop thinks these games are great ways for players who dont play to get into game situations and get themselves "match fit".
Soccer is different in nature than the other sports and teams in the MLS have and will continue to play against those amateur college kids.

my 2 cents.

 

It was pretty funny reading, though.

 

In other words, other full-time professionals as opposed to college kids who practice once or twice a week in the evenings after they get off from their summer jobs.

To play professional baseball against other full-time professionals at a lower level

No, "right now" PDL would be "considered" what it is - an amateur league.

And I think practicing and scrimmaging against professionals is how you learn to play at the professional level.

But you're changing the subject. The subject is, and ought to be, DEVELOPING PLAYERS. Fitness is important, but the most fit son-of-a-bitch in the world who isn't able to deal with the game at the porfessional level isn't worth diddly.

We're talkingabout NCAA off-season participation rules here.

Go argue with them.

 

OK, I don't want to come off like Mr Mean here.

Rob, you asked a legitimate question, and deserved an answer; datruthurts wants to disagree with the bloody facts, and that makes me nuts. Call it a character flaw.

So "dth": Put your finger up to the monitor and follow the words while sounding them out. It may help:

MLS developmental and Pro 40 players have signed professional contracts, are paid money and are considered professional players by USSF, FIFA, USL and MLS.

The PDL is chartered to USL by the USSF as an amateur league.

For players under contract to a professional team and holding professional player cards to take the field in a league competition with a PDL team would violate the USSF's charter to the league.

It would also violate USL regulations.

It would also violate PDL league rules.

It would also violate FIFA laws.

But hey, YOU think it's OK, so screw those other guys.

And having a professional side scrimmage against a college side is NOT THE SAME THING AS PLAYING LEAGUE GAMES IN AN AMATUER LEAGUE. Not even your beloved Frank Yallop would say so.

Is this too hard to follow? Maybe some one of the "nice" people can explain this stuff to you. I'm tired of it already.

 

To the question about sending players to the Cinn. team... don't we already have some sort of arrangement with the Pittsburgh team (riverhounds I believe?)??? In the long scheme of things, I see a couple of possible outcomes:

1. The A-League will become the MLS developmental league. MLS teams will have appointed A-league teams that they can send their players between when the circumstances warrant. This would be like baseball, in having a minor league (farm clubs) for injured players recovering or players that can't hack it.

2. The other is the A-League will officially be the US 2nd division, and there will be a promotion relegation system. Not sure, but I think it might eventually happen.

 

You're right about the MLS/A League arrangement, although it may be with Cinci also.

Problem though- the formal agreement between the leagues expired recently and there is not much movement towards a new one. I don't know what the issues are except that there was some money being paid to the A League that MLS doesn't want to keep paying.

I don't know what else is involved but I'm sure it's more complicated than that.

 

pdl teams are allowed to have a certain number of paid players on their roster. i believe it is 10. you are right about the level of play and who will be out there though. the main thing i think this league does is provide a professional atmosphere for college player. put your finger away...

 

Almost.

PDL teams are allowed to have players who hold professional registration cards.

However, their contract must be held by the amateur team.

The difference between an amateur and a professional, in this case, being the kind of card you applied for from USSF. The main difference being that the pro card costs more.

But again, the player's contract cannot be held by a professional team. In this case, the terms "paid" and "professional" are not synonymous.