Well the question on everyone's mind is, what is going on with SBFC. From not selling tickets, to being coach less and pretty much not saying anything about THEIR 2016 season. I think from this we can infer that whatever is happening is big and from the top. That really only leaves two things, they are either folding or partnering/relocating with possibly NYRB. Are they folding? I really doubt this because their activity on social media is not that of a folding club. Also there was that one tweet where they said they will announce season tickets soon. And lastly if they were folding it would have been announced earlier so that the dispersal draft could happen before other teams started making off season moves. Are they partnering/selling/relocating? For me this is more likely. That will explain why they haven't started selling season tickets yet, have no coach or pretty much haven't done anything that we are aware of. If NYRB is the other side of this partnership, both sides could be waiting for their playoff run to end before announcing something. That is a smart move because of you are acquiring a women's team you want to make a splash and not share headlines with a team in the playoffs. This will also explain why SBFC is going crazy on Twitter with promoting every possible New York team and went so far as changing their logo to match the red bulls. Independent clubs just don't do that. It also explains why they aren't selling tickets as they potentially could be playing at red bull arena. And finally, it was reported a while ago that they weren't seriously looking at any coaches which make sense if the new management which is somewhat preoccupied right now wants to move in a different direction. On the other hand, SBFC could just be that incompetent. What are your thoughts?
Well they also changed their logo to incorporate the Cosmos' temporarily. And I don't expect the Cosmos and any MLS team to cooperate, so incorporating the Red Bull logo could mean something or it could mean nothing. I think we all hope for something, though...
I'm definitely not hoping for much right now... I still can't see Hoff selling Sky Blue and/or relocating. I could potentially see a working agreement of some sort formed, but even that seems relatively unlikely to me, because what would the men's team be getting out of such an arrangement? I'm vague about the "men's team" because, as holden pointed out, Sky Blue's Twitter has been pretty pan-NY since the NWSL season ended. They've highlighted the Copa America Cenetario, and I bet if NYCFC had made the MLS playoffs, they'd be Tweeting to them too. It's not just been soccer, either, they were Tweeting about the NYC marathon and the NY Riveters a bit, and the World Series a lot. At best, I think the only possibility that we might try to read out of their Twitter feed is a potential barnstorming season, playing at various NY venues - anything else and I think we'd be cherry-picking. Cool as that'd be, it's also a massive stretch.
My one thought as to their potential silence: maybe ownership has seen that if they start advertising to far before the season starts, then excitement dies? That's the only thing I can think of for not falling in step with the other teams - like some reason they're intentionally waiting for a better blitz period. Also a stretch. I just don't know what's going on. I kinda want to say they're just incompetent, but with how active they have been with supporting other NY teams and also getting out regular reports on their own players' offseason activities, I can't say that. It's like they're intentionally keeping potential fan engagement up through means besides the tickets/coach available.
So what do we make about them not selling season tickets yet. From that tweet that someone posted here, it seems everything is set to go and they are just not announcing it for some reason. Now it could be they are playing at a new stadium which will contribute to the delay but not for this long. Its not like they having explored playing else where before so they should be pretty familiar with their options
Don't know if I buy this. You can still start selling ticket early without a big marketing push and wait until close to the start of the season before you do a blitz selling. That's what all teams do. And its not just season tickets, they haven't made ANY off season moves whether to sign players or even release players. Gabarra leaving from all indications was more up to him than the organization so there appears to be a freeze on ALL activities right now.
Now it doesn't explicitly say they are ready but if they are not at the very minimum changing their location, what could possibly be the hold up? It's not like this is their first dance at the rodeo.
So was someone from Sky Blue at this meeting? In Chicago today, #NWSL GMs and head coaches met with @ussoccer_wnt technical staff to discuss 2016. pic.twitter.com/JPQulQuh6j— Jeff Plush (@JeffPlush) November 20, 2015 I imagine the NWSL doesn't want the publicity of a team folding after all the news about the first time a women's league is going into the 4th year and without any teams folding. If anything was happening with the owners, they would probably step in to avoid that publicity. Problem is they already used Alex Morgan to entice one MLS owner this year. If Red Bulls were in the discussion, why would they come in without being offered something? Unless they consider an already established team the handout since there's less upstart costs for them and a mostly developed team.
I think we can rule out SBFC folding. As for the meeting above, probably a few assistant coaches from the team attended.
I got nothing on that, then... Well, this I can understand somewhat - hard to make player moves if you don't have a coach in the discussion.
Another component of this is the league, and in this case, most likely Gulati, may be directing things behind the scenes. While SBFC's original talks with NYRB fell through because NYRB wanted too much control, SBFC could be now forced to reconsider accepting some sort of an arrangement or even required to sell the team. I remember back in early discussions, after the first or second season, something regarding a three year period of evaluation, that the league or it may be in this case US Soccer, can at some point determine a teams fate.
Yes, it's important to remember that the League owns the teams. The so called "owners" actually are operators with operating agreements.
So was the operating agreement for three years, and if so, any renewal could be tied to new conditions having to be met. Which leads me to believe that something must be going on, because I can't believe the league would let things go on like this, unless something may be about to happen.
Well, at least something's happening. Sky Blue is expanding its partnership with Trinity Financial #NWSL— Dan Lauletta (@TheDanLauletta) January 28, 2016
I've seen more than 3 tweets since the original from them hyping this announcement. If it's just the signing of Rocky this will be the one time I hurl insult at an NWSL team on twitter.
This is like the worst announcement ever even if they signed Marta. Okay, fans. Our club is all about you, so here’s the deal. Rather than us tell you the news, how about you tell everyone instead? #WeAreNJ— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) February 11, 2016 Basically, what we are saying is we want YOU to announce this signing to the world before we even do it ourselves. Cool? #WeAreNJ— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) February 11, 2016
Where is Raquel Rodriquez? I haven't seen her name on any roster for the last 2 SkyBlue preseason matches. Is she injured?