If you were referring to my post, its more of a committment rant. Cooper sold controlling interest to the Vaids, who according to this source "have reportedly run into “funding difficulties” that have put the teams at risk." http://www.thetelegraph.com/sports/troubles-40437-face-financial.html I have also read that the futures of the Athletica are tied to the men's team and that "Several sources are saying that Cooper has indeed left his post of the two troubled teams and “has distanced himself from the club.” http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2010/...int-louis-athletica-in-peril-jeff-cooper-out/ Am I pissed at Cooper? of course. How could I not be? It just goes to show it's dumb to put your faith in anyone's supposed soccer passion and supposed support for the women's team, when they are willing to put them at risk and then bail because of their own financial mistakes. It also appears that ACL, not the Athletica, were the focus of the front office to the detriment of the Athletica.
I've now seen sources that contradict the "Cooper left both teams" & left town info. I don't know which sources are to be believed. (I've been reading threads in the ACSTL forum--there's been contradicting info all over the place). However, nothing I've seen or read gives me any reason to disagree with your last sentence.
I went to the opener this season and even as a casual fan it was VERY apparent to me that they were casting aside the Athletica to promote a sub-par men's side. Although, it's difficult to take these rumors seriously as a college student at a public Illinois university dealing with a struggling state government torn to shreds by Blago & Co. Every week you'd hear the President of the university scaring people by claiming to not have enough money to make payroll and making statements like 'Whelp. We may just have to shut down the place.' Given the chunk of change that Cooper is hanging on to and the logistics that people have pointed out in terms of expenses, I just don't see the Athletica logisitically folding. If they do, he's going to have a difficult time holding his head up in the soccer community, as well as cleaning the splattered egg off of his front door. But, I'm an eternal optimist and for all you Athletica fans, I'm hoping for the best.
New blog "update" from Tom, though no real new news: http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzo...010/05/friday-update-nothing-new-other-notes/ One thing that sticks out to me is his take on WPS' need to keep Athletica going. I do agree that, if necessary, they'd keep the team going until the end of the season, but what after that? A big question there (if Athletica is still in major trouble at that point) is: what's going on on the expansion front? If WPS really was getting at least one new team in the west like they're hoping, STL would definitely not be so vital.... Though I guess I would prefer a relocation to a dispersal, and both MUCH more than WPS crashing. But I hope to God it doesn't come to any that....
I was not implying he left town, just that I'd heard he was more hands off. At the moment, it seems he is very hands on, but what will come of it remains to be seen. Obviously making the Euro brothers majority owners was one of a series of bad ideas. I wonder why that was done? Money? the only way to get other investors?
I think I read earlier (maybe it was in the ACSTL forum) that they were connected to Anelka somehow. Never saw that commented on or repeated anywhere, though, so not sure how much that statement's worth....
As soon as you bring in the hedge fund guys, the situation becomes very explosive, to say the least. If the Euro guys took a beating, everything they touched turns bad. Ugh. I hope Cooper or someone else steps in to save the day.
If you're following along in the ACSTL men's forum, there are now multiple stories and pieces of info from various folks (blogs, posters w/ sources, etc) but no clear "It will be ok" statements from Cooper, yet. Several posters have claimed there is a big jersey sponsorship that will be announced soon. No idea if that sponsor is just for ACSTL or for both teams. Or is in jeopardy b/c of the money woes rumors. I do think the major concerns from the POV of Athletica & WPS fans is whether (or how much) the Athletica will be sacrificed (either in terms of staff as now or worse) to further the men's team.
Apologies if this has already been posted, but it seems new: http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.co...ll-cooper-no-longer-functioning-as-owner/9091 Bad news that they are having trouble making payroll.
Couldn't WPS survive with just 7 teams? After all, the first season only had 7 teams... What would be the lesson for a potential owner if Athletica indeed disappears? Owning a sports team could be very risky...Whether it is US or Europe...Look at Portsmouth in EPL...
The WPS could survive with 7 teams, but with two teams going out of business within 5 months of each other, how are you going to attract potential owners in the future? Lesson number one: Never bring foreign ownership into a business, a market, and/or a situation they don't understand. I would love to hear the sales pitch Cooper gave the Vaid brothers to lure them over here. While Athletica's financial situation was never great, it shouldn't have went down the toilet in 3 months. Lesson number two: It's all about marketing. For one, you do have to actually market your product. People aren't going to be driving on highway 44 and see a sign that says Soccer Park Road and say "I wonder what they do there. I think I'll stop and take a look." Your marketing staff is the most important part of your organization, other than the actual team. You have a small potential audience. Market to get those people out to the games. Lesson number three: When getting into this business, think of your worst freaking nightmare financially and then plan for worse. Rosy outlooks are nice when it's not your money, but they won't pay the bills. Lesson number four: If you're going to treat it like a hobbie that you will abandon when you get bored or it becomes too expensive, don't bother. You're screwing with people's lives and we don't need those types of owners. What I don't understand about this situation is that in most major sports leagues, new ownership has to be approved by the league. Was the transfer of ownership to the Vaid brothers ever brought up before the league? If it was, I didn't hear anything about it.
I agree since we all saw Hope Solo and Lori Chalupny on ESPN and NBC during the World Cup and Olympics but the men's team has who??!?? A bunch of players you've never heard of! Ok, I know about Ralston but he's washed up from MLS I hear. I totally understand how much people want a men's team but if we have to have only one team can we PLEASE somehow keep the Athletica and just wait until we can get a bigger tier men's team? I know this could be just wishful thinking about saving one team while the other folds IF things are REALLY that bad but WPS is the best women's league in the world while there are probably 2 dozen men's leagues in the world that are better than this "NASL".
So Cooper is not even the owner of the 2 teams anymore??!? What the @#*& is going on here??!?? Cooper was all over St.Louis media since 2006 proclaiming his love for soccer including the women's team and saying he'll do all he can to bring and keep soccer including putting up a lot of his own money. Someone referenced that he's made zillions from his winning lawsuits and he has so that's CLEARLY enough money to just run the teams for the rest of the season! Unless Cooper has run into some outside financial trouble that we don't know about or he just no longer has the interest like he used to which I really doubt. How much interest would London based Sanjeev and co. have in St.Louis based teams??
What the HELL??!???!??!??? If Cooper is worth over $200 million then he could EASILY run both teams with the loose change between his sofa cushions!! Unless Cooper ran into horrific financial trouble through awful investments or something which I REALLY doubt. Rich people know how to take care of their money. Something just doesn't add up here.
How do you know Cooper made financial mistakes? Money troubles?? If the reports of him being worth over $200 million are true then I highly doubt he has enough money troubles where he couldn't come up with a few hundred thousand to run both teams.
http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.co...ll-cooper-no-longer-functioning-as-owner/9091 "Sources familiar with the situation have also confirmed that Jeff Cooper is no longer functioning in an ownership capacity with the club. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, last fall Cooper sold controlling interest in both the men’s and women’s clubs to Sanjeev and Heemal Vaid, who had been overseeing the clubs’ operations since December. It is unclear the extent to which the Vaids maintain involvement with AC St. Louis; however, sources have verified the Cooper’s involvement with the club is limited and not expected to persist." More confusion.
The silence is deafening. Let's face it, if you're following Athletica or the Joanies on facebook or twitter, YOU"RE ALREADY GOING TO THE GAMES. We're not the people you need to get out to Soccer Park, it's the other 2.5 million people in the freaking St. Louis area.
From what I understand is that Cooper jumped ship, leaving the team to "investors" who have since stopped investing. My biggest concern is that is anyone bound by contractual obligation? Well, obviously the club is to make payroll, but aren't the investors bound to the club? Because I can't believe that a business like SLA would leave themselves unprotected and vulnerable by not locking in an investor for a certain time period (ie: through a season) to avoid situations like this. MOREOVER, I can't believe WPS wasn't looking out for the best interest of the club and themselves by being involved in this situation before it blew up 2 days ago. There are a lot of things no one is telling us right now, and that's something I really hate about the smallness of this league -- it's impossible to find out the nitty gritty details.
Hope Solo's post-game tweet: "Todays shutout goes to my man Coop! (Can I get in trouble for saying that?) Haha! Go USA!" Let's ponder this for a minute. Is she being sarcastic? Or did Cooper come through?
I sure hope someone comes thru and makes sure the team finishes the season. i love hope and she played wicked tonight!
If WPS was like the EPL, then yeah I bet she could get in trouble, especially if she was being sarcastic. But WPS isn't nearly that high-profile (unofrtunately?). The fact that she's joking around about getting in trouble (I doubt she'd be joking if she explicitly mentioned it) makes me think this is entirely good-natured and not sarcastic, whether Cooper has solved some/most of the problems or not. Then again, she is the one who caused a "scandal" three years ago by speaking out about Scurry and Ryan, so...
I wouldn't read too much into it either way. I know last year, Cooper went out and hired Paul Rogers, her goalkeeping coach, which I think she was pretty happy about. I doubt if it was sarcastic, although she may have been joking a little.
It's a bad PR indeed...But, couldn't WPS claim that it's not really responsible for failures of Sol and Athletica? Blame the owners who didn't do a good job. I think those types of owners are common...Remember Man City was owned by the former prime minister of Thailand...Then he sold the club to some folks in Middle East because he couldn't afford to run it any longer... A good point...In MLB, the owners have to approve the transfer of ownership...Sometimes, WPS doesn't act as if it's a professional league...Unfortunately...