I wonder if its like the german league when you have to make the jump; getting licenses and filling specific criteria. If not, would that bump Red Star into the promotion picture? God wouldnt it be something to see that sleeping giant climb the ladder again.
Teams in Ligue 2 must be professional. There are various meanings behind this, but they do have a license process that the club will need to attain. The minimum stadium size in 5k. Tarascon-sur-Ariege is about 10k away and might have a stadium that might meet the requirements.
Speaking of soccer stadium locations, does anyone know of a website that recapitulates what FootieMap.com used to do?
Not to add to what I wrote yesterday, but it might simply be easiest for Luzenac to add 2k to their stadium. The pitch is much nicer than the one in Tarascon-sur-Ariege. Also considering that Fabien Barthez in involved with this, I am sure that there is a plan in place for promotion.
I agree that MLS might be an option, but I would guess that he resigns with Luzenac. He seems to enjoy the country. Going from Evian to Luzenac is like going from Orlando, FL to Woodland Park, CO. To make that decision and spurn other offers you must really like playing in that country. I bet he says.
Hard for me to envision a Ligue 2 journeyman GK snagging a starting GK position or even a backup one in MLS.
Steve Clark and Troy Perkins both went from D1 in Norway to MLS starters. Westberg has played a season in Ligue 1 and 2, he can't be that far off of their level.
Plenty of players have played in certain leagues and it doesn't mean squat. The soccer (and indeed sports in general) world is littered with the proverbial corpses of players who have seen minutes at higher levels but never amount to anything. Westberg doesn't even meet that description. Even so, let's indulge on that comparison. Troy Perkins was a starter at DC before going to a mid table Norwegian club at Valerenga and started there for two years before returning to MLS. He's an average MLS keeper currently. Steve Clark was a 3 year starter at Honefoss, helping them earn promotion in 2011, stave off relegation in 2012 (earning a Tippeligaen goalkeeper of the year award and supporters player of the year) and left in 2013 after being relegated. He's earned a starting spot with Columbus, but who knows if he'll stick. Westberg, on the other hand, has played 4 Ligue 1 and 5 Ligue 2 matches over the course of his career. The only league he's ever been a starter in has been the 3rd division. Now, I have no idea if he's good enough to earn an MLS starting role (I assume that anyone who claims to know one way or the other has watched many of his games this season), but it's ludicrous to compare him to either Steve Clark or Troy Perkins based on resume.
to be fair he did say "not that far off". Perkins and Clark are on MLS level and successes in Norway. I can't imagine Norway and Ligue 2 aren't that far off in similarity. Either way Westberg shouldn't be expected to just walk into MLS as a success.
Even if Tippeligaen=Ligue 2 (there can't be many people on this forum who watch enough of both to judge that anyway), Westberg has played in Ligue 2 only 5 times over the course of his career. He hasn't proven himself at that level. I hope he finds himself as a starter at some higher level than the Championnat National, but he has yet to prove himself at a level higher than that.
Actually more than 5; he even had a few games in Ligue. While he still hasn't "Established" himself at that level, I think he's played at a pretty good level that's comparable to the Norway keepers.I think he could be a starter in MLS. http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/FootballFicheJoueur20905.html
Donovan Ricketts not good enough, Jaime Penedo not good enough, or Raul Fernandez not good enough? Anyway he's probably staying at Luzenac, so this is moot.
Ricketts played 85 matches in League One, which is at a much better level than the Championnat National, and had been playing for Jamaica for a decade before coming to MLS. Jaime Penedo has been widely considered one of the best goalkeepers in CONCACAF for years, and Raul Fernandez won goalkeeper of the year in Peru twice, and PLAYER of the year once, while also starting for a Peru side that finished third in the 2011 Copa America. I get the point that you're trying to make (resume doesn't make a player), but your examples are absolutely terrible. ALL of those players had a much better background than a guy who has played 9 matches in fully professional French leagues, and has never made a senior international appearance.
Apparently a different website shows he played 6 games in Ligue 2 over the course of his career instead of 5. Mea culpa. I'm sorry for accidentally under-representing the amount of League 2 games he's played by so much. Show your work. How do you figure he could be a starter? How many games of his did you watch this year? How many French 3rd division games did you watch? How many Tippeligaen games did you watch? Can you summarize the strengths and weaknesses of his game? What can he improve on? Why hasn't he caught on at a higher level yet? If you're saying "he's played a few games in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 and therefore he can be a starter in MLS" then you are simply wrong. He may be good enough to play in MLS but is has nothing to do with the scraps he got in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. There are a ton of players who have gotten similar amounts of minutes in levels better than Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 that simply aren't good enough for other leagues. The point is you have to go on current ability, not on what league he's playing (or played) in or how much. Judging based on the dearth of game day posts about Westberg over the course of his time with Luzenac, I don't think many on here have watched him enough to honestly judge him. The rest is speculation at best and biased statements at worst. It's funny that you bring up 3 keepers who were established in their respective national teams before coming to MLS. Each one had played at least twice as many games for their national teams before joining MLS as Westberg has played in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 combined.