So.... Who's the coach? Who's on the roster? Where do they draft? I know these haven't been answered yet, but it'll be intriguing to find out!
They have to hire a coach. The roster is the FCKC roster with any off-season changes. They draft in FCKC's position.
Probably proof that the management and/or office staff have never really put a ton of effort in to running the team properly... I just want to know what this means for the existing RSL Women. I hope RSL keeps the team in UWS and uses it as a reserves squad.
Its official, FCKC ceases operations, roster moves to RSL: http://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/#nwsl-announces-that-fc-kansas-city-will-cease-operations
It's a sad end for FCKC. They were so successful in the early years. The team played an attractive style. Two NWSL championships. Entertaining, heated rivalries with Portland and Seattle. Solid attendance, especially in 2013. Still a mystery to me where all those people went after the team changed venues a few times. I can see losing a handful, but not such a precipitous drop. With how poorly the team was being run, and the low number of butts in seats, and Sporting KC repeatedly rebuffing offers to acquire the women's team, this move had to happen. But it's disheartening to lose one of the shining lights from early NWSL. I wonder how much of the roster stays intact after this move. For 2016, and especially 2017, it seemed the players stuck together out of loyalty and appreciation for Vlatko's coaching. Without him around, I can see several higher profile players making moves for personal reasons, i.e. Leroux to Orlando, Sauerbrunn to Portland (though breaking up the Great Wall of Emily is not the wisest). On the other hand, the nicer RSL facilities and more professional standards might convince them to stay put. I had KC pegged for playoffs in 2017 before Rodriguez hurt her knee. If she can return strong I think the team has a solid enough core. They do need to add some pace and youth to augment the veterans, and get A-Rod/Laddish/Ribeiro healthy. Maybe coax back Toni Payne from overseas. Vlatko was pretty steadfast on using U.S. talent, he hardly ever signed internationals. The new coach may not have such resistance. Signing a foreign attacking midfielder in the mold of Holiday could really benefit them. RSL (official name TBD) retains KC's existing #1 pick for 2019 draft. I am not knowledgeable enough about the college game to know who this is likely to be. Anyone? As far as geographic distribution goes, it's nice to have another Western team.
I think you got that wrong. I think RSL is getting an extra pick, to be #1 overall, in 13 months as part of its expansion agreement. The draft order for 2019 has yet to be determined as the 2018 season has yet to be played.
It's not an extra pick. They're simply guaranteed to have the #1 overall pick in 2019, regardless of their finish in 2018, and regardless of any potential expansion. I am kind of annoyed that it seems like only MLS teams get perks when they join. Portland got the NT players they wanted in the initial allocation, Houston got their own set of federation players plus the ability to pick more in the expansion draft, Orlando got an extra international spot, and RSL is getting a guaranteed #1 draft pick. What perk did NC get when they joined? Nothing.
North Carolina didn't join. The Courage are the Flash. Malik made a deal directly with Sahlen. RSL is different. RSL bought a new team, and I'm guessing the #1 pick is part of the deal where RSL agreed to take on the existing mess of a team, sans head coach, that was FCKC. RSL did not buy FCKC.
Coaching announcement expected tomorrow. Also, just found this nice article from the Salt Lake Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/sports/rsl/20...pro-soccer-team-generate-a-following-in-utah/ Some highlights: ---Tickets are expected to be at $15/game on a single-game basis or $10/game average for season tickets ---Low ticket prices are there in hopes of high attendance - average of 12K is the target???
The $10/game average for season tickets and $15/game for single game tickets look to be comparable to the Thorns' prices. The Thorns' average attendance in 2013 (NWSL Year 1) was 13,320. If my best guess as to the quality of the RSL market for women's soccer is correct, then I think 12,000 average attendance could be close to what they can get. It looks to me like they very much are modeling what they're trying to do on the Portland model. For attendance, let's hope it works, as it will be good not only for RSL but also for the League.
Well, it's confirmed: Laura Harvey isn't done with NWSL yet, will be the first coach for RSL's NWSL team. I'm glad that the RSL NWSL team will have a great coach, and glad that the number of female head coaches in NWSL is now higher than it was last year, but this reminds me of the POR/WAS/NJ/WNY coaching shuffle of a few years ago. I'd love to get some new blood. Joke conspiracy theory for what's been behind the entire shuffle this past month or so: Laura and Vlatko were having an argument over who was the better coach and decided to swap rosters to settle the debate. X-D =EDIT= Team name to be announced Wednesday, apparently.
The naming of Salt Lake is complicated by the fact that NWSL already has a "royal" themed team: the Seattle Reign.
I don't follow. There are plenty of "royal" words out there, and there's no problem with two teams having names from similar categories. MLS started with both the Burn and the Fire and now has three Uniteds, and there are plenty of examples from the Big Four major leagues of teams with bird names or cat names or whatever.
Last night: "Tomorrow’s scheduled announcement has been postponed due to the legal process. A new date will be announced when everything is finalized."
Peek at jerseys: Be bold, go gold. pic.twitter.com/v4kTbBuHcn— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) November 30, 2017 Random funny from TORvCLB last night: 936048668515352576 is not a valid tweet id