Possible? Likely? Anyone have insight, or inside knowledge? I think it would be beneficial to Sac, adding credibility to their start-up for the "casual fan"
I have no idea if it will come to pass, but I would be stoked if it did. There are several young players on the 'Quakes roster who would benefit from more consistent playing time than the MLS reserve league, which is only 10 games this season. That being said, the 'Quakes don't have a long history of loaning out players. I can only think of two of the top of my head. Justin Morrow probably benefited from his loan to Orlando City (I think it was Orlando) three or four years ago, but I think his loan spell was pretty brief. I have no idea what the 'Quakes are thinking about this. Wish I did.
I think SJ is the obvious (and best) choice given proximity and the existing market, but I know this ownership group has ties to Portland and recently went up there, so I'm really not sure what they're going to do the consensus seems to be it will be either of those teams. I have a feeling that Smith and the ownership team is leaning towards Portland, whereas the fan base and market are leaning towards SJ. Portland makes sense in that they are a successful example to follow, but they are just not as good a choice as the existing NorCal MLS team. Having your affiliated club 2 hours away as opposed to 9 is a big deal. I can see a lot more Sacramento fans making a day trip to SJ and vice versa, whereas to Portland it's a multiple day trip, or expensive flights. It's also a matter of convenience for players and coaches. A guy can be loaned out that day and make the game in town that evening if new be, and perhaps still live at their home rather than a visiting hotel or something. There are already many established SJ fans in Sacramento, given they've been the only NorCal pro team for years, and it might be a little strange cheering on a Portland loaner to succeed... I know they have been soliciting input from fans and asking what their favorite team(s) are, so they can't ignore the demographics. Not too many Timbers fans in Sacramento.. (Yet?..).. I got to talk to Warren briefly on Sac Soccer Day and he said he knows both Dave Kaval and Merritt Paulson.. I hope Dave is guiding him the the better of his options.
expect announcement on friday. hearing you will be getting a coach from timbers too. don't know why san jose didn't want in. might want to ask warren.
May work out better that we affiliate with a team farther away. Instead of developing a little brother relationship with the Quakes, we can develop a rivalry when our team plays their Reserve squad (assuming they don't affiliate with someone else). I don't follow Portland, but will root for any player wearing the Crimson, White and Goldish-brown-tanish (whatever third color) of the Republic. W. Smith seems like a pretty smart guy. He's going to develop the relationships needed to grease the MLS-to-Sac wheels. Coat tailing a team that made the jump in the same way we intend may be a pretty good strategy.
Good points, 30king. That may indeed be a plus if things go that way. Blueballs, do you have inside info from somewhere? How do you know they will announce this tomorrow?
Portland? Yuck. It would probably a smart move, but as a fan of both SJ and Sacramento a partnership with Portland would be a weird situation. Portland is not a team I like, and it would be a little harder to root for players still on the books there (assuming a loan situation) because a player who had success on loan in Sacramento would just head back to Portland to contribute to their efforts in MLS.
My son is pulling for a Gal affiliation. He is under the impression we'll get Dovovan up here (one of his favorite players). He's 9
there are two sides to this, 1) maybe SRFC don't want to be labeled as a minor league affiliate since there obvious ambitions are to get to mls and would want to build there fan base up. 2) working with the quakes could be very beneficial and help them learn how to run a mls organization m which in the long run will help them prepare for a mls bid. maybe link up with the quakes but also keep a open relationship with Portland and schedule friendlies against both clubs.
Ugh, Portland? That would really sour me on this whole thing. Hopefully the team remains largely independent with loans from whomever seeks to loan their players to Sac. Even a Quakes partnership would feel weird in a soccer context.
I see this partnership more as an MLS mentorship. And I'd much rather see this team mentor under Portland than San Jose.
In terms of how to establish and launch the team and its presence in the local community, I would sadly have to agree with you there.
If it got us to the MLS, I'd mentor under the Chivas.....................(that was a joke,.........Seriously!!)
The latest on MLS/USL affiliations... http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...fielding-reserve-teams-usl-pro-or-affiliating So, assuming "partnership" means loaning of players and not having your reserve squad play a game or two against a USL squad, there should be several more "loan" affiliations next season. Maybe any Sac Republic announcement had to wait for this more general announcement first.