MLS Offseason 2014-15: Do You Feel A Draft?

[Zomp]

I don't pretend to know a lot about the MLS, but I do know a bit about Robinho.  One of the more talented players of his generation that squandered it with his partying and laziness...and his quality has fallen off a cliff in the past few years.  I don't know if that quality is still good enough for the MLS, but I can't see him coming in and making an impact like a Keane or Henry.

 

[Titans Bastard]

- Selections in the Re-Entry Draft second phase:
 

• MTL - CB Bakary Soumare (from CHI)
• SJ - CB/RB Marvell Wynne (from COL), AM Sanna Nyassi (from CHI)
• HOU - FW Chandler Hoffman (from LA), CM Nathan Sturgis (from CHV)
• DAL - FW/MF Atiba Harris (from SJ)
• NE - FW Tristan Bowen (from SEA)
• ORL - GK Josh Ford (from SEA)

 
Bowen doesn't really get the blood flowing, but he's still relatively young and has some athleticism.  He's not a center forward type, but maybe Heaps can turn him into a winger like Bunbury.
 
- The Revs also traded a fourth round pick to Toronto for Jeremy Hall.  Hall can play right back and defensive midfield.  He's depth, nothing more.
 
- KC has signed a trio of players.
 

• Luis Marín, who comes from Universidad de Chile, and looks like their starting GK at the moment
• James Marcelin, a Haitian CM who spent time with Portland and Dallas in 2011-12 before bouncing down to the lower divisions and now back up again.  A depth move.
• Krisztián Németh, the Hungarian forward who was last at Roda JC and previously had been a prospect at Liverpool and Olympiacos.

 
 
- Portland hired Wake Forest coach Jay Vidovich to manage the "Timbers 2" team in USL Pro.  An interesting move for sure.  Vidovich has been successful at Wake, but it's unusual to see a high-profile college coach with infinite job security and solid pay leave for a USL Pro gig.  MLS clubs rarely give coaching jobs to NCAA guys anymore, so maybe this is the new career ladder.  It's good to see some ambition and risk-taking.

 

[The Talented Allen Ripley]

SJ - CB/RB Marvell Wynne (from COL)

 
Has to be the son of the baseball player of the same name, right?

 

[Zomp]

Not sure but he's a FIFA Ultimate Team LEGEND

 

[Titans Bastard]

 
Has to be the son of the baseball player of the same name, right?

 
Yup.
 

Not sure but he's a FIFA Ultimate Team LEGEND

 
He has ridiculous speed.  But he's one of those guys whose speed is so good, he never learned to read the game.  His anticipation is poor, as is his technique.
 
He was a regular with the youth national teams and even got a few senior team caps, including one terrible half in a misbegotten qualifier in Costa Rica in 2009 - Bob Bradley's "4-3-3 experiment" game.  At one point in time for the youth teams he formed a "Wynne-Nguyen" right flank with Lee.  Later on he started all three games at the '08 Olympics on the team with Bradley, Adu, Altidore, Edu, Holden, Davies, Kljestan, Feilhaber.
 
In the end, he's a guy who was an absolute physical freak with big deficiencies elsewhere in his game.  Coaches, especially US coaches, tend to think they can fix guys like that, but usually the technical/tactical gap is too big to be bridged.

 

[DJnVa]

 
Has to be the son of the baseball player of the same name, right?

 
I had (have?) 9,000 of these:
 

 

[dirtynine]

So, I follow Brighton and it hasn't been a great season. The club has EPL ambitions but is currently in the Championship, and in a relegation place to boot. Club brass recently hosted a fan meeting to discuss game day atmosphere. Here's a fan response:

What would WeAreBrighton.com like to see?
Bloody obvious isnt it? A Portland Timbers style Timber Joey mascot who, everytime we score a goal at home, takes a chainsaw to a massive log and cuts a chunk off in front of the North Stand. If a bloke with a massive ginger beard wielding a piece of high performance machinery in front of you every home game doesnt get an atmosphere going, what will? Not that he would have had much work to do so far this season.

Yes, MLS is making a mark.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Yes, MLS is making a mark.

 
That's awesome.
 
Extremely randomly, the old Columbus Crew logo has shown up in supporters sections at various clubs around Europe.  I think this is Borussia Dortmund:
 

 
 
A red version has also popped up in FC Utrecht (skip to 0:49).  Bizarre.  Not sure that this is the mark MLS really envisioned themselves making, but...

 

[Titans Bastard]

- Brek Shea officially signed with Orlando City today.  He's not a DP, which saves Orlando and the league some embarrassment.  Shea has played the full 90 minutes exactly twice for his club since he left Dallas at the end of the 2012 season - both while on loan at Barnsley last year.
 
- Some good trolling from Orlando's manager Adrian Heath:
 
https://twitter.com/OrlandoCitySC/status/546005312374054912?s=09
 
Still no final word on Frank Lampard, by the way.
 
- MLS has begun to roll out the 2015 schedule and has announced home openers.  The Revs will be opening the season at Seattle.  And I am seriously stoked for the new TV deal's regular Sunday 5pm/7pm ESPN/FOX doubleheader.  Carving out time slots on Sunday evening is so much better than lumping everything together on Saturday afternoons.
 
- Chicago officially unloaded their latest failed DP forward signing Juan Luis Anangonó.  The Ecuadorian, who had already been on loan at LDU Quito, heads to Universidad de Guadalajara in Liga NX.

 

[Cellar-Door]

Doneil Henry seems unlikely to be going back to Toronto next year. If he gets a work permit he'll be sold to West Ham.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Doneil Henry seems unlikely to be going back to Toronto next year. If he gets a work permit he'll be sold to West Ham.

 
Doneil Henry?  The same guy who is a below-average center back by MLS starter standards?  He's still somewhat young and has potential, but I have a hard time envisioning him doing well in England.
 
The other thing about Henry is that in August it was revealed that Toronto had secretly sold him to Apollon Limassol in Cyprus, who had in turn loaned Henry to Toronto for the 2014 season.  Odd.  But it looks like that deal was engineered to allow him to buy property in Cyprus and get in line for a Cypriot passport.  The article doesn't explicitly say this, but it sounds like his pending Cypriot citizenship helped the work permit appeal.
 
 
In other news...
 
 
- It's being reported that Yedlin has been granted a work permit and will transfer to Spurs this winter.  He got in on appeal and doesn't need the Latvian passport.  I'd advise him to get it anyway - it could still come in handy down the line and give him more options across Europe.
 
- Chicago has signed another DP forward from Sweden, Ghanaian David Accam.  This one looks more impressive than Kennedy Igboananike.  Accam scored 17 goals in 25 games for Helsingborg this year.  Reportedly the Fire paid a $2.5m fee.  Accam is 24, so he's the right age at least.
 
- NYCFC has acquired AM Sebastian Velasquez from RSL for some allocation $$$.  Jason Kreis is getting the band back together - Velasquez will be the fourth acquisition from RSL on the roster.  Sebastian has shown some real talent since Kreis plucked him out of JuCo obscurity in South Carolina, but he hasn't put it all together.  He wore out his welcome at RSL after a DUI.  He's the only American soccer player with worse hair than Brek Shea.  If you like rat tails, you'll love this guy.
 
- Houston is switching their affiliation from the Pittsburgh Riverhounds to the Charleston Battery.  Only a few teams haven't announced their 2015 developmental plans: Dallas (expected to affiliate with Arizona), NYRB (expected to launch a reserve team), Chicago (expected to affiliate with St. Louis) and NYCFC (??)

 

[Cellar-Door]

Doneil Henry had a couple training stints where Sam really liked him. He's only 21 and is really impressive physically. He'll probably either go to the u21 or go out on loan to a championship team to work on positioning and decision making. The most promising thing to me is that he has played really well for Canada when at Co.

 

[steeplechase3k]

The Timbers have reportedly re-signed Gaston Fernandez.

http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2014/12/portland_timbers_have_re-signe.html

Fernandez will be badly needed the first few months of the season while Valeri gets back his match fitness. I'm assuming this is the last move the Timbers will make (for players that will play significant minutes).

 

[Titans Bastard]

Cubo Torres to Houston
 
He's being bought of his contract (he was on loan while at Chivas USA), but he's going back to the mother club on loan until June.  Hey, the real Chivas is in relegation trouble even in the rigged Mexican system, they need the help.
 
Big signing for Houston.  He was great for a terrible team in 2014 and if he keeps it up, Houston will have a very good forward and a young, marketable Mexican star.

 

[Titans Bastard]

A few moves were made around Christmas:
 
- Vancouver signed Uruguayan forward Octavio Rivero.  At first glance, he looks like an interesting signing - he's 22 and just scored 10 goals in 16 games for O'Higgins in the Chilean Apertura.  The Whitecaps need somebody to finish all the chances that Pedro Morales creates and neither Erik Hurtado nor Darren Mattocks could make the position their own last season.
 
- KC signed a backup goalkeeper, Tim Melia, who has bounced around with a few clubs.  Melia is a real journeyman - to me, this is a sign that their young GK Jon Kempin is moving up the pecking order to #2.
 
- Chicago signed a homegrown player, Patrick Doody, who just finished his college career at Indiana.  He seems to be a left back.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Chivas NYC confirmed today. What a joke. Lampard will arrive around his 37th birthday and will be coming off playing through two EPL seaons with a WC in between. He then will jump into the team midseason with no rest and no time to acclimate to the team.

 

[steeplechase3k]

MLS also tweeted yesterday or the day before that they would be announcing the schedule a week from today (1/7).
 
That means the schedule will be fully announced only 2 months before it begins.  There is only one way to describe this: a fucking joke.  

 

[Billy R Ford]

What an embarrassment for the team and the league.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Chivas NYC confirmed today. What a joke. Lampard will arrive around his 37th birthday and will be coming off playing through two EPL seaons with a WC in between. He then will jump into the team midseason with no rest and no time to acclimate to the team.

 
Well, if there's one thing that New Yorkers can easily accept, it's being less important than Manchester.
 
As a city, they're not at all picky about that sort of thing.

 

[Titans Bastard]

MLS also tweeted yesterday or the day before that they would be announcing the schedule a week from today (1/7).
 
That means the schedule will be fully announced only 2 months before it begins.  There is only one way to describe this: a fucking joke.  

Good bet that this delay is because of NYCFC's stadium situation and challenges with coordinating with the Yankees schedule.

 

[Titans Bastard]

https://twitter.com/GrantWahl/status/550442187004313600?s=09

WTF?

Given that Lampard was a big part of their promotional push there will be a big mess on their hands with season ticket holders and the like if true.

edit:

Stolen from reddit

Where's your Lampard?
Where's your Lampard?
Where's your Lampard, NYFC?
Never had one, never got one.
You're a joke, Man City B

Good stuff

 

[moly99]

I don't know how the league didn't see this stuff coming. They should never have let another foreign club buy a team after the Chivas USA experience.
 
By owning an MLS club, Manchester City can . . .

• Wipe a poor transfer decision off their books. If they make a foolish purchase they can banish that player to New York or Melbourne to get the contract off their books for the accounting for EUFA's Financial Fair Play rules.
• They can have their affiliates buy players for them and then "permanently loan them" to the parent club so the transfer fees don't count for FFP.
• Forcibly transfer players who don't want to be in MLS to their daughter club. This is a big issue for me, because I think the league is way better off with mid level talents who want to play in North America like Robbie Keane than they would be with bigger name players who feel they've been exiled to Siberia. Lampard clearly doesn't like the USA, so I don't think City paying him a ton to play in New York is really fair compensation to the NYCFC fans for being treated as second class "citizens." At this point their fans don't want Lampard anyway.
• Post silly transfer fees between the clubs to get around FFP rules. Get ready for Lampard to be sold to NYCFC in the summer for $15 million.
• Transfer players around based on which club needs the players. If City has another injury to one of their strikers I'm sure they'll call David Villa up from their AAA -I mean MLS- affiliate next transfer window.
• If the New York or Melbourne clubs manage to develop a great young player there's no chance they will be able to keep them: that guy is going to play for Manchester City.

This is a not a club that is trying to grow the sport in the USA and Canada. NYCFC isn't really a team at all. It's just a shell corporation of Manchester City that's designed to serve as a vehicle for the economic interests of the parent club.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

It really makes a global energy drink brand extension seem wholesome by comparison.

 

[Titans Bastard]

I'm a Don Garber fan but he seems to have a big blind spot for this stuff. Chivas USA could perhaps be forgiven if you understand the context - the desperation of the early 2000s when hardl anyone wanted to buy into the league. 3 owners for 10 clubs at one point. Getting two new groups in was important.

But to not learn from that mistake is disappointing. There was also the BarcaMiami stuff from several years ago that never panned out - thankfully.

We're not selling widgets here. Every club needs its own identity to be successful. In a world where you can turn on the TV and watch anyone, why support the second-rate version of another club's identity?

 

[soxfan121]

We're not selling widgets here. Every club needs its own identity to be successful. In a world where you can turn on the TV and watch anyone, why support the second-rate version of another club's identity?

 
So...the Pawtucket Red Sox have no fans?
 
And I totally don't get the reaction. Of course ManCity is keeping an important depth player instead of farming him out to the minor league club. I'd be shocked if they released Lampard to NYCFC, not that they've kept him. Nor am I shocked Lampard prefers to fight for another league title instead of launching an expansion team. 
 
I'm actually more surprised that given the striker injuries for the parent club that Villa hasn't been summoned to England. 

 

[Titans Bastard]

 
So...the Pawtucket Red Sox have no fans?
 
And I totally don't get the reaction. Of course ManCity is keeping an important depth player instead of farming him out to the minor league club. I'd be shocked if they released Lampard to NYCFC, not that they've kept him. Nor am I shocked Lampard prefers to fight for another league title instead of launching an expansion team. 
 
I'm actually more surprised that given the striker injuries for the parent club that Villa hasn't been summoned to England. 

The PawSox aren't trying to build a fan base in NYC. Apples and oranges.

It's no surprise that MCFC wants to keep Lampard. I don't think it's terrible that Lampard wants to stay in England, either.

I do have a problem with two things:

1) NYCFC marketing a player hard while secretly not even having him under contract is a huge dick move.

2) More importantly, it shows me that this ownership group lacks commitment to and respect for the league. Which is the same problem Chivas USA had. From a PR standpoint they couldn't have handled this more poorly and what's more, they don't seem to care. They put out a tweet and an article about Lampard's latest goal just now. Tone deaf. Shows no understanding of the market whatsoever.

Lampard himself isn't a big deal. He's ancient. He's playing well for MCFC obviously, but in MLS he'll be asked to play more minutes and a bigger role. He'll have to do more running and he'll have to travel a ton more and play through the summer heat.

It's all about what this move means for how the team will be run - and in particular how the situation was handled. It doesn't give me confidence and it confirms my worst fears.

NYC doesn't play second fiddle to anyone. It's not going to work long term if they are used this obviously as a farm team. It's not just being forced to cough up top players to MCFC - that attitude will inevitably color other ways the team is run.

 

[Infield Infidel]

Imagine if the Paw Sox were competing with the Mets, but the Red Sox could take the best player from the Paw Sox in the middle of the season. NYCFC isn't going to be on the same competitive firmament that other MLS teams will be on. 
 
I like college football, but my team is far away. But since I want to go to games, I bought season tickets to the local college football team, which plays in a different league and sucks, but i don't care how crappy the team is, I want to go to games. 
 
I used to live in NYC, and I have no allegiance to an MLS club. I like watching soccer, and my team is far away, so I would be open to watching live soccer here. I'm exactly the kind of person who they should be going after. But since I like Newcastle, I wouldn't root for NYCFC, since they are basically a farm team of Man City. Man U fans would be even less interested, and they are probably the most popular EPL team in the states. Mets fans wouldn't be interested since they don't like the Yankees. US sports fans intrinsically understand MLB/AAA dynamics, so anyone who understands that NYCFC won't control how they are run might lose interest. 
 
Shit, if I was a Man U fan I'd start rooting for Red Bulls just to spite City/NYCFC. 

 

[nickandemmasuncle]

It's all about what this move means for how the team will be run - and in particular how the situation was handled. It doesn't give me confidence and it confirms my worst fears.

NYC doesn't play second fiddle to anyone. It's not going to work long term if they are used this obviously as a farm team. It's not just being forced to cough up top players to MCFC - that attitude will inevitably color other ways the team is run.

 
Everything else aside, this just seems like such an incredibly small-minded approach CFG is taking with NYCFC. You've just been awarded a team in a massive, wealthy, globally iconic city, and your endgame is to use it as a farm club that maybe (maybe) creates a few new fans for your flagship team 3000 miles away and allows you to circumvent financial fair play rules? 
 
From a business standpoint, is the potential reward from that even in the same universe as the potential reward that could be realized by building a popular, successful soccer team that represents New York City? That would be your proverbial license to print money (not that Mansour needs it, but I assume that the whole point of operating NYCFC is to make as much money as possible).

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

It does seem weird that the best MLS can do for such a prime east coast market is cheesy brand extensions. Seems like someone in New York who really cared should be able to take the eastern conference by the throat not unlike the Galaxy in the west.

 

[Infield Infidel]

The new Cosmos was trying to get something going, but MLS raised the expansion fee, Man City walked in with $100 million and Garber said "Thank you very much!"

 

[SoxFanInPdx]

The new Cosmos was trying to get something going, but MLS raised the expansion fee, Man City walked in with $100 million and Garber said "Thank you very much!"

 
Pretty much, MLS makes up the rules as they go along. No real transparency and it's been like that for a few years now. Anyone that reads this thread knows my feelings towards Garber, no need to rehash them. 

 

[Infield Infidel]

The thing that's crazy to me is the best thing Garber did was bring in those Pacific NW clubs. Sounders, Timbers and Whitecaps worked so well, why go and Chivas up NYC? There's already a brand there. Atlanta has at least talked with the Silverbacks (who apparently have no owner right now). Orlando City is moving up on it's own and I'm sure it's going to work out. NY? No stadium, no history, but hey, $100 million!

 

[SoxFanInCali]

That's the crazy thing.  Even now, over 30 years after their heyday, there is no greater brand in US Soccer than the New York Cosmos.  I know there were all kinds of issues around who owned the trademark, etc., but if you are putting a team in New York, don't you have to try and get that brand into your league?
 
I'll be very interested in what happens with NYCFC.  Are they going to be able to bring in new fans that didn't previously follow the sport?  Will anyone that roots for a rival of Man City and/or the Yankees adopt this team?  I know if I lived there I would never buy a shirt because it's way too similar to a Man City one.

 

[moly99]

So...the Pawtucket Red Sox have no fans?

 
The difference is that major leagues (and major college programs) are built around caring about the success and failure of the team while minor league teams are simply about going out and having a good time. Minor league teams don't usually have die hard fans. Instead they market themselves to young families. It's no coincidence that it's the supporters groups who are most outraged about this, because that's the group that's hurt by being tricked into supporting an artificial team.
 
If NYCFC really is just a farm team for City, then they need to market themselves as one.
 

And I totally don't get the reaction. Of course ManCity is keeping an important depth player instead of farming him out to the minor league club. I'd be shocked if they released Lampard to NYCFC, not that they've kept him. Nor am I shocked Lampard prefers to fight for another league title instead of launching an expansion team. 
 
I'm actually more surprised that given the striker injuries for the parent club that Villa hasn't been summoned to England.

 
It's no surprise that Manchester City wants to hold on to Lampard if it benefits them. It's a surprise that NYCFC apparently doesn't control its own roster and can't say no to them.
 

It does seem weird that the best MLS can do for such a prime east coast market is cheesy brand extensions. Seems like someone in New York who really cared should be able to take the eastern conference by the throat not unlike the Galaxy in the west.

 
I think it's the other way around. Garber has been pretty free in handing out franchises to poor operators, and those who view the USA merely as an opportunity to expand their other businesses are interested in New York and Los Angeles rather than Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, etc. Meanwhile they let the bigger market teams get away with stuff that they won't allow for an expansion team in some place like Sacramento, Indianapolis, etc.
 

I'll be very interested in what happens with NYCFC.  Are they going to be able to bring in new fans that didn't previously follow the sport?  Will anyone that roots for a rival of Man City and/or the Yankees adopt this team?  I know if I lived there I would never buy a shirt because it's way too similar to a Man City one.

 
It really is crazy. How many soccer fans in New York root for both the Yankees and Manchester City? A hundred?

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

 
The difference is that major leagues (and major college programs) are built around caring about the success and failure of the team while minor league teams are simply about going out and having a good time. Minor league teams don't usually have die hard fans. Instead they market themselves to young families. It's no coincidence that it's the supporters groups who are most outraged about this, because that's the group that's hurt by being tricked into supporting an artificial team.
 
If NYCFC really is just a farm team for City, then they need to market themselves as one.
 
 
It's no surprise that Manchester City wants to hold on to Lampard if it benefits them. It's a surprise that NYCFC apparently doesn't control its own roster and can't say no to them.
 
 
I think it's the other way around. Garber has been pretty free in handing out franchises to poor operators, and those who view the USA merely as an opportunity to expand their other businesses are interested in New York and Los Angeles rather than Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, etc. Meanwhile they let the bigger market teams get away with stuff that they won't allow for an expansion team in some place like Sacramento, Indianapolis, etc.
 
 
It really is crazy. How many soccer fans in New York root for both the Yankees and Manchester City? A hundred?

I'll say this:

If--and I admit it's a big if--Man City truly trusts in the ability of MLS to develop their young players and starts sending guys to NYCFC on loan instead of sending them to PSV, Fiorentina, Celtic, etc I think that would be a good thing for the NYCFC brand and MLS as a whole. The notion that NYCFC fans could root for somebody like Adebayor (just an example off the top of my head of somebody Man City has loaned out recently) for a season or two and then watch him Saturday mornings the next season would do wonders for how MLS is perceived. Certainly more so than having guys like Lampard and Gerrard play in LA or New York for their age 37-40 seasons.

 

[soxfan121]

I'll say this:

If--and I admit it's a big if--Man City truly trusts in the ability of MLS to develop their young players and starts sending guys to NYCFC on loan instead of sending them to PSV, Fiorentina, Celtic, etc I think that would be a good thing for the NYCFC brand and MLS as a whole. The notion that NYCFC fans could root for somebody like Adebayor (just an example off the top of my head of somebody Man City has loaned out recently) for a season or two and then watch him Saturday mornings the next season would do wonders for how MLS is perceived. Certainly more so than having guys like Lampard and Gerrard play in LA or New York for their age 37-40 seasons.

 
It's not big if. It is a never-happening. PSV, Fiorentina and even Celtic offer better competition, better training staffs and more development opportunities. 

 

[SoxFanInPdx]

Keep tossing money at older superstars, then claim you have no money to raise the average salary or the overall cap. I hope the MLS & owners get fucked so hard by Players Association during these negotiations. I'd be willing to lose a whole season for change.

 

[moly99]

Keep tossing money at older superstars, then claim you have no money to raise the average salary or the overall cap. I hope the MLS & owners get fucked so hard by Players Association during these negotiations. I'd be willing to lose a whole season for change.

 
The flip side to this argument is that the old superstars draw in new fans, while giving extra money to the guys making the minimum won't. I'm not entirely sympathetic to that view, but from a purely business oriented standpoint it makes sense.

 

[soxfan121]

 
The flip side to this argument is that the old superstars draw in new fans, while giving extra money to the guys making the minimum won't. I'm not entirely sympathetic to that view, but from a purely business oriented standpoint it makes sense.

 
Well, when they're not on loan, at their former clubs, or still actively chasing a title overseas.
 
The U$MNT thing - as much as I hate it as a USMNT fan - at least makes sense. Investing in Frank Lampard, spending money to promote Frank Lampard, selling tickets to see Frank Lampard, paying Frank Lampard a ton of money and not having Frank Lampard means there is no upside at all.
 
It is an issue MLS lovers and haters can unite on - this is no good, very bad and terrible. 

 

[Cellar-Door]

 
The flip side to this argument is that the old superstars draw in new fans, while giving extra money to the guys making the minimum won't. I'm not entirely sympathetic to that view, but from a purely business oriented standpoint it makes sense.

I'd be more sympathetic if the whole league structure wasn't fucking clown shoes all the way down.

 

[Billy R Ford]

Diego Fagundez has been named to Uruguay's U-20 squad for the South American Championships later this month, and will likely be cap-tied.
 
He's played friendlies for them before, but this would be his first official matches. As I understand it, he would NOT be eligible for a future switch to US national teams (youth or full) because he'll be cap-tied before he's eligible to play for the US. Because that makes sense, apparently.
 
Oh well, win some lose some. Thanks American immigration laws!

 

[Titans Bastard]

Diego Fagundez has been named to Uruguay's U-20 squad for the South American Championships later this month, and will likely be cap-tied.
 
He's played friendlies for them before, but this would be his first official matches. As I understand it, he would NOT be eligible for a future switch to US national teams (youth or full) because he'll be cap-tied before he's eligible to play for the US. Because that makes sense, apparently.
 
Oh well, win some lose some. Thanks American immigration laws!

The rule doesn't make sense for someone in Fagundez's situation, but it is designed more with countries like Qatar in mind handing out passports like candy for their national team. It is not possible to prevent them from recruiting some South Americans, but you can at least take some of the YNT stars who didn't quite make the next level off the table.

Anyway, it is very strange that Fagundez can't play for the U.S. but all of the Germericans can. Such is life.

 

[SoxFanInCali]

Clearly we need military bases in more countries.

 

[teddykgb]

I'll jump in on the NYCFC thing.  I know TB is very passionate about the MLS and critical of the City ownership, so I don't expect that changing his opinion is realistically possible -- that's fine.  Skepticism about the City ownership group is probably warranted if you're wanting the league to grow by leaps and bounds.  I can see why you might think the Manchester City thing may become a hindrance.
 
But the Lampard thing seems pretty organic to me.  They bought him and made him the face of the franchise -- that seemed genuine.  Then they needed him and he became an integral part of the City team.  I doubt anyone really faults the player for wanting to continue a BPL title chase over expansion in MLS.  Yes, that pretty harshly points out the current state pecking order and yes it would be a dream for MLS if Lampard came out and said that he meant what he said about coming to the MLS and prioritized NYCFC's project over his own personal goals, but I don't think there was anything planned or nefarious here.
 
In the end, NYCFC still has Villa, which is arguably a bigger get than Lampard in that he probably still had/has more in the tank and the team has one of the best owners in sport.  Seriously, I don't try to combat the folks who want to complain out of jealousy about oil money, but Sheikh Mansour has invested a ton of money into the City football group and not just on players.  This guy is in it to win and that can't be a bad thing for NYCFC.  They're going to have a tremendous headliner in Villa and plenty of investment as the league allows.  City have recently opened a massive new academy right at the Etihad which is essentially City's upgraded version of La Masia, and you can bet that some of the youth will be spread to New York -- the association with City probably gave them a shot at Villa and a continued pipeline of youth if it proves feasible to setup the loan deals.  I don't think you're going to see City players who are about to break into the 1st team, but players on that cusp will probably get some time in New York.
 
I think the NYC team will end up being a different team in that regard -- maybe more players in and out -- but the City group has committed to the project and hired Kreis a year early, which i think was a real commitment to the squad.  I don't see them half assing anything in NYC.  I can understand that keeping Lampard in England is exactly the kind of thing everyone was worried about in the first place, so there's additional trepidation, but I would be that it proves to be the exception, rather than the rule.

 

[SoxFanInCali]

Well, right now, it is the rule, since we haven't seen anything to show it to be an exception.
 
Regardless of how the Lampard situation has made them look, the team currently has no separate identity.  They are Man City Jr. playing in the Yankees' home stadium.  They have invested heavily and will likely continue to do so, but right now the first impression they have made to the public and their potential fan base is that they are a minor league affiliate of a bigger team in a foreign country.  That's not likely to be a successful marketing strategy in New York City.  Time will tell if they can overcome these initial mistakes and build a fan base and identity of their own.

 

[Titans Bastard]

I am completely on board with the concept that Lampard shouldn't be criticized for staying with MCFC. It's a better league, it's his home league, why wouldn't he.

The problem is that NYCFC flat out lied that he was under contract with them but sold season tickets using his name. Yes, he'll probably show up in July but that is very sleazy. And more than anything else the way it was handled sends the wrong message. The loan extension is best for MCFC and for Lampard. Don't condescend to new fans by claiming it is best for NYCFC too. Obviously, it's not. Be honest - you'll lose less respect that way.

Also, stop writing press releases in British English. Boy, does the UK-bases PR team suck. They really don't seem to get it and CFG needs to fix the problem ASAP.

 

[teddykgb]

Well, right now, it is the rule, since we haven't seen anything to show it to be an exception.
 
Regardless of how the Lampard situation has made them look, the team currently has no separate identity.  They are Man City Jr. playing in the Yankees' home stadium.  They have invested heavily and will likely continue to do so, but right now the first impression they have made to the public and their potential fan base is that they are a minor league affiliate of a bigger team in a foreign country.  That's not likely to be a successful marketing strategy in New York City.  Time will tell if they can overcome these initial mistakes and build a fan base and identity of their own.

 
Fair enough, but I think the fans in NY will come around, the investment in the team is likely to be obvious and while I grant that the folks in NYC aren't the types to accept "little brother" very well, I think they'll grow apart more and more over time.
 
More than anything, I just have a lot of faith in the City group.  These are serious businessmen and they aren't going to half ass this.  I think that effort will cover up a lot in any location in any country.  There really aren't that many benefits in this arrangement for MCFC.  I know many are worried about it as an FFP dodge but the actual accounting rules really make it unlikely that there will be a lot of benefit in this for the "parent" club.  I really think they're in this to build legitimate viable clubs in leagues across the globe and then link them together with massive global sponsorship deals which will probably benefit each of those clubs.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

Lagerwey is officially with the Sounders. He will be the GM and team president, while Adrian Hanauer switches to the business side of things.
 
So, how big of an effect will this have on Seattle?

 

[SoxFanInPdx]

Lagerwey is officially with the Sounders. He will be the GM and team president, while Adrian Hanauer switches to the business side of things.
 
So, how big of an effect will this have on Seattle?

 
It's a huge get, period. He was the brainchild of RSL's success for a club that doesn't have the financial resources. As a Timbers fan, I'm not enthused about it.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

Red Bulls fired their coach, apparently. And Mix Diskerud is signing with NYCFC later this week.