Just passing the information along. St. Louis Today soccer beat writer Tom Timmerman's article about the new breakaway league includes this comment from the author in the comment section: Bolding my own.
"I'm shocked!" "I'm stunned!" "I'm Nigel." I guess you would've had to see the TV commercial to know what I'm talking about.
I swear, you can go back and check my old posts, but I was questioning why a team announced on April Fool's Day 2009 wants to launch for 2010. I was literally thinking, "Why not do it right and launch in 2011?" Even with USL teams making the jump to MLS, they usually need at least two years prep. So an upstart organization should need at a min the same about of time. Maybe the new nickname for the club should be the Fools. As a fan or not, I kinda like that nickname as it relates to the release date.
No surprise here Good riddence to the USL and the cheap FCNY... some thing that got started in such a half assed UNPROFESSIONAL manner deserves this final ending................FCNY had disaster written all over it..... NY just cant get it right.... A marketing to an awful drink in NJ, FCNY done b-4 it even gets started and to complete the FAILURE all thats left is that COSMOS traveling friendly playing globetrotting freak show also fails.. which it will you cant have life ONLY playing meer worthless friendly games passing that crap off as a full season.... hope to see cosmos in MLS but the greed is written all over the cosmos mess that will not compete in MLS and only play friendly games...... the USL and the mafia that is mr marcos also has its days numbered hope the rebelion league is runned in a more profesional manner than USL ever was and that the TOS becomes the USA/Canada true 2nd division.... AND NO NAPOLI NO ONE FROM THE BB CAMP IS GOING TO CONVINCE THE OWNERS of FCNY TO START UP IN 2010..............................
Oh come on, this is so bogus. Have you seen that website and the professionally done logo that was not done by just pasting some clip art together using MS Paint? This a top drawer organization we're dealing with here. Let's please move on.
I'd believe FCNY not playing, but Charleston I think is bogus. Also, when did Timmerman actually start covering USL? When Jeff Cooper, his local owner took interest? Didn't he have factual errors in one of the first stories he wrote earlier this week? I don't believe Charleston for a second.
Yeah, but what about if the Borough Boys stormed City Hall, and forced mayor Bloomberg to fork over some $$$ to buy out FCNY and put them in MLS? Do you think he could get them in by 2011, and maybe they could play at Citi Field? Sorry, just had to go there.
So why would Charleston go to USL-2 when they could just as easily join the TOA who have welcomed Miami and Minnesota ? Two competing leagues will not have a good ending. Consolidate and strengthen is the olny answer. Could the TOA have the resurging NASL named clubs - Timbers, Whitecaps, Rowdies ... Miami Gatos, Atlanta Chiefs, St. Louis Stars, New York Cosmos ?
Agreed. No. They're going to have the Whitecaps for the short term. The Timbers are staying with the USL and moving up to MLS in 2011 (and hopefully keeping the name). The Rowdies are staying with the USL. Miami and Atlanta are keeping their current names (FC Blues and Silverbacks, respectively). I really hope "St. Louis Soccer United" is just the name of Cooper's ownership group and not his team's name. British businessman Paul Kemsley owns the Cosmos name and he is keeping his future plans to himself.
Actually I did. I hope he makes the team. At least he has made it this far, so maybe we might see him playing next year.
Actually who knows how long Miami FC can last in its current form. As for the Timbers and Whitecaps (who WILL retain their name) will join the Earthquakes and Sounders in MLS. MLS hope to return to Florida someday - it is a market that cannot be ignored. If the NASL trend continues, it is possible that the Rowdies (if they ever play) will make their way to MLS too. Why couldn't St. Louis, a Miami team and Atlanta adopt their old NASL moniker. Its better than some new wave name that the public has to adopt. So it's not that far fetched.
2 big reasons: 1.) they would save a huge pile of money -- smaller player payroll and no nationwide travel, 2.) rivalries -- Charlotte Eagles, Richmond Kickers, Wilmington Hammerheads (if they return). Whether they play in USL 1 or USL2 the casual fans are not going notice -- the Battery will average 3500+ per game. They may even draw better since they will essentially be the NY Yankees of USL2 and will win a lot of games. That being said, the Battery ownership has always been committed to playing at the highest level possible. The owners are worth millions, so it's not necessarily a financial decsion, but with the upheavel that has taken place it gives them a legitimate excuse to drop down until things shake out. Heck, we may see the USL1 and USL2 merged for 2010 with the weaker USL2 teams dropping down to PDL and some type of travel subsidization for the smaller USL2 clubs joining up with the remaining USL1 clubs.
That's a fun idea. However, I don't see Atlanta becoming the Chiefs. It's not politically correct these days to use Native American nicknames. Plus The KC Chiefs may have something to say about someone se using 'their' name. Lastly, the Chiefs don't have the legacy of Rowdies, Timbers, Sounders, Whitecaps, Cosmos, etc -- there's just isn't the same kind of appeal. Atlanta Apollo is another story...
Would the Kansas City Chiefs have any legal way to stop a club in another sport from being the Chiefs? If there was a new Atlanta Chiefs in the USL what percent of Kansas City Chiefs fans would even have heard about the Atlanta Chiefs? There are already the New York Giants, San Francisco Giants, New York Rangers, and Texas Rangers. I could see there being problems if a USL, TOA, or other lower level club wanted to name themselves Fire, Dynamo, Galaxy, etc. that was already used in MLS.
It depends on how long Traffic Group decides to keep the money flowing to Traffic Sports USA. The mothership certainly isn't hurting for it (considering they have the TV rights for Copa Libertadores among other things). Their poor track record hasn't deterred them so far. Then again it hasn't made them step up their efforts and live up to their original hype. I think the Rowdies will play in 2010. Their ownership seems pretty serious. Its just a matter of how this USL/TOA kerfluffle shakes out. As far as Florida being something that "can't be ignored" I'd say the league has done fairly well without any Florida presence. Having said that I would like to see MLS go back there. They could, of course, re-use the old NASL names but none of them were "big" NASL names. I don't think (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) the Stars or Gatos or Chiefs (or Apollos) are that well remembered that the public wouldn't embrace a new name. The "big" names are, with the exception of NY Cosmos and LA Aztecs, all back. The NASL was a long, long time ago. I think more people in Atlanta associate "Silverbacks" with soccer than "Chiefs" or "Apollos" (if they know there is or was a local team at all).
Despite my avatar, the name St. Louis Stars has very little cachet in St. Louis today. It's just as likely to evoke the old Negro League baseball team. I don't think the team will be called the Stars.
http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/382675.html league meeting held this week with a league schedule for the 2010 season is set to be announced on Sunday. Curious to see the outcome of this. I am sure this will answer A LOT of questions. also - FC New York said they wanted to announce a coach by this meeting too.
But after all that would FCNY even want to play in the USL? Maybe this is why FCNY wasn't prepping for the new season as much as everyone wanted them too.
Regardless of which league they play in, FCNY will need a coach, players, uniforms etc. I can understand FCNY laying low while this whole USL/TOA thing shakes out, but if they are planning to play in 2010 (and that "if" is getting bigger each day) it would be reassuring to see some signs of life from the team every now and then.