Minor League Soccer, World Cup Onion-style,

Reshaping US Minor League Soccer

Brian Quarstad from Inside Minnesota Soccer has posted a four-part series on the future of minor league soccer in the USA.  The story focuses mostly on second division professional soccer which is currently in turmoil with two ownership groups, USL and NASL, competing for legitimacy off the field while competing on the field in a interim league being run by the US Soccer Federation, but it also questions how the overall structure of the lower divisions of soccer in the US (including the NPSL in which Rocket City United plays).  

If you are a soccer fan in the USA, this series is well worth the read.  The timing is right for a reshaping of the soccer infrastructure in the USA to get control of player development away from the youth club focus and into a professionalized structure, but before that can happen the professional structure itself needs stability.

Part of the solution to provide stability seems to be an effort to keep travel costs down by regionalizing the lower professional leagues.   This would to take a page from the NPSL who currently have 4 regions and intends to expand into more regions in the future.  The regions are comprised of teams who are geographically proximate enough to allow them to travel without a tremendous cost associated.  The author provides a list of cities that may support the hypothetical regions, including Huntsville.


The Onion's Highlights of the World Cup

The humor news organization, the Onion, has released their list of highlights of the World Cup.  My favorite:

"Portugal scores 7 goals against North Korea after the goalkeeper makes a break for it, dashes into the crowd, runs up the stairs, and jumps over the side of the stadium."

Atlanta Still Being Considered For MLS Expansion

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes to say that an unnamed EPL team is currently looking to invest in an expansion MLS team and is considering Atlanta as one of the markets for the team.  Ho-hum... I wouldn't get too excited about this.  This rumor seems to crops up every summer when an EPL club comes to the States to play an exhibition match.  And guess what?  Manchester City will play Club America in Atlanta in a few weeks at the Georgia Dome. 

Old Guys, US D2 Pro League, and Nice Bike Goal

Let's Hear It for the Old Guys!

Did you know that there are 144 players in the EPL that are 30 years or older? MLS has its share of players in their 30s, too. In fact, Climbing the Ladder has named an MLS Old Player of the Year award for each season. As we know, our local league has an appreciation for old guys as HASL has announced that it will start an Over-35 division this fall. And there is also a US cup tournament for old guys with the very PC name of the Veteran's Cup.


Division 2 Preview
MLS began its season this past weekend. Now, the new USSF Divsion 2 Pro League will begin on April 10th. Brian Quarstad of Inside Minnesota Soccer has a complete preview of the league that consists of 12 teams from both the USL and the NASL, including two teams (Portland and Vancouver) who will be joining MLS next year.

Get on Your Bike

Nice overhead kick goal from the Turkish league.

On his bike

Own Goals, Schedules, FSC HD on DirecTV and NCAA/Pro Rules

The Dreaded OG: What is it?

Two players making the international sign for "Oh no! Own goal!"

OG is own goal (or autogol in some languages), not original gangster... So, what exactly counts as an own goal? Is a shot that's nicked by a defender an own goal? EPL Talk would like for own goals to be redefined to reward the attacking player even if the player was just crossing the ball and not shooting. I'm not so sure I agree. I'm of the opinion that if the original trajectory of the shot was not on goal when the defender puts it into his own net, it should be considered an own goal. What do you think?

Here are some funny OGs!

The Complexities of the Schedule

Simply put, scheduling a league is hard. The words "fair and balanced" are popular today in the news media, but those words are the ideal that each league scheduler is attempting when they sit down to work out the who, where and whens of the fixture list (as the Brit's call it). A variety of variables must be taken into account to get teams together in competition including travel, field availability, and TV time slots to name a few. Pitch Invasion takes a more intricate look at how the MLS and USL handle the task.


FSC HD on DirecTV Tomorrow?


According to Sports Illustrated's Soccer writer Grant Wahl's Tweet yesterday, "Source: Fox Soccer Channel to be broadcast in HD starting this Wed on DirecTV/DISH. Cable systems? Not yet." I'll let you all know if it's true. Update: So, it turns out it was bogus. Grant responded with this tweet, "DirecTV says will not start carrying FSC in HD on Wed. In negotiations with Fox. Bad info from Fox source. Apologies."



NCAA To Allow Amateurs Play With Pros


More from Twitter... According to the NPSL Insider Tweet, "NCAA looks to pass bylaw which allows amateur players to play on same team with pros." The tweet links to an attorney's blog about Prop 2009-22 and I gave up after three paragraphs of plowing through the "legalese". I'll take their word for it. Anyway, this could really change the make up of the NPSL and PDL teams' rosters.

Tuesday Tweets And More

NPSL Tweets

Ryan Knapp will be live tweeting the NPSL league meetings at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention this week in Philadelphia. Check it out on the NPSLInsider twitter feed.


Short-Shorts, Uh-oh!

The new NASL and USL have settled their differences for the time being. Hooray! Now, Brian Wellman, the owner of the NASL club Carolina Railhawks, has this to say according to Inside Minnesota Soccer:

Brian Wellman jokingly says NASL unanimously approved shorts from 1977 NASL. Trunks can't go 1" past groin. LOL Euwwwww!

Bundesliga BreakfastCan't go a half hour without sporting your team's colors or badge? Have I got the thing for you. A Budesliga Bread Toaster. The toaster brands your favorite Bundesliga team's logo on your toast. These are some of the silliest bits of team merchandise that I've ever seen.

Remembering 2002 and Other Stuff

Remembering the US run in the 2002 World Cup

2002 was a special year for the US in the World Cup in South Korea. The team was packed with exciting players who may not have been superstars, but were a special group of players. After squeaking through the group stage, they posted the first of the many "Dos a Cero" victories over Mexico in the round of 16. Then, they took on the mighty, mighty Germans, who they outplayed. Here's recently fount these highlights of that match.

USA outplays Germany, but still comes up short

I watched the match with several thousands of my fellow soccer fanatics at RFK Stadium's big screen TV. And I remember thousands going nuts when Tony Sanneh's header hit the net. We all thought it went in, but it wasn't and the US were suddenly out.

I still get miffed about the Tortsten "Fingers" Fring's no-call handball. After the Hand of Gaul, the Irish now know how we feel.


USSF Deny USL and NASL


The USSF has refused to sanction either the USL or the upstart NASL as a legitimate Division 2 league. Instead they have been given a week to work out their differences. What isn't clear is what will happens when they do or do not work out those differences? Here's a pretty good podcast discussing the situation.


US Soccer Dissing About The South

With the possibility that there will be no second division soccer in the US this year, the folks at MLSTalk have written about US Soccer's forgotten land; the south.


PDL More Important Than Given Credit

Here is an article that discusses the importance of the USL's Premier Developement League. A mostly amature league that has quietly developed players for years to prepare them for the big time leagues, including a large amount MLS current crop of players. The NPSL is a direct competitor with the PDL and is trying to duplicate some of its success developing players for the higher level of professional soccer.

Tuesday Nuggets

Technology Debate Continues

Do you see a foul? Of course not!

The Hand of Henry fall-out continues, fresh with an illustration of what the referees saw, or more correctly, what they did not see. FIFA has scheduled a special meeting prior to the World Cup Draw to address the situation while more big names call for instant replay.


Things Are Getting Interesting


So, the new TOA league will be called the NASL. And I've read more than once that the USL will drop its second tier USL-1 league to consolidate its third tier USL-2 league. This is in the midst of the USL issuing a press release threatening legal action against the TOA. Here is an article with plenty of nuggets from Inside Minnesota Soccer, which has been at the forefront of this whole debacle.


Wynalda Admits Mistake In Coming Back To US

Former US International Eric Wynalda

Eric Wynalda is the best entertainer in American soccer. He's never been one to check with his head before his mouth runs down a dangerous path. And that's what makes him blog gold. Here, in an interview for Yanks Abroad, he admits that he made a mistake in returning to the US to play for the upstart MLS in 1996. Aside from whining about his missed opportunities, Wynalda is championing the plight of the underpaid MLS player. There is no doubt that players in MLS are undervalued, and Wynalda feels that some of the cause for this is MLS tight-fistedness.

MLS and USL bits

New US Pro Soccer League Likely

It's looking more and more likely that there will be a new league in the US Soccer landscape after several sites reported that the new ownership of the United Soccer Leagues and the disgruntled team ownership group called the Team Owners Association have failed to come to an amiable agreement on terms to continue their relationship. Here's what Soccer by Ives, the Kartik Report, and Inside Minnesota Soccer have to say about it.

UPDATE: Here's yet another article saying that the new league application is to be turned into the USSF imminently.

MLS Playoffs Format Not Producing "Sexy Soccer"

Perhaps MLS should reconsider the format of their Conference Semifinals after the two first leg matches of this week's total goals Home and Away series produced terribly disjointed and overly physical affairs. Thursday night's Houston at Seattle 0:0 draw and yesterday's RSL 1:0 win over Columbus weren't what I would consider a good advertisement for free flowing attacking soccer. Of the two matches, the scoreless tie was the more exciting, and I think the crowd had a lot to do with that.


It's ironic that these two matches came on the heels of the MLS league office levied a fine of $5,000 DC United president Kevin Payne for criticizing negative soccer that some teams adopt in order to find results. Both visiting squads trotted out defensive minded game plans designed to limit creative players. At least the home teams attempted to score goals knowing that it wouldn't do well to sit and wait. Seattle was the more successful, but couldn't finish while hitting the woodwork and having two goal bound headers denied off the line.

In yesterday's match, RSL and Columbus did nothing except foul and dive in the hopes of fooling the referee Mark Geiger. Columbus did not even play thier most dangerous attacking players. Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Alejandro Moreno both sat on the bench for the match. Columbus coach Robert Warzycha seemed content to defend for the duration, and this approach seemed to work for 88 minutes, but somehow RSL found the net for a one goal lead going into the second leg.

Perhaps, it's time to turn to the Away Goals Rule as do most of the competitions that use the Home and Away series format. Without the Away Goals Rule, you see the visiting team being content to sit back and defend until they return to there home stadium. If the MLS league office believes that away goals aren't the way to go, just eliminate the series and go to the single elimination route. Give the team with the higher seed the single game at home. That way each team has one game to go out and do it in one match instead of marching out for a phantom 90 minutes until the second leg when it time to turn it on for real.

Here's hoping today's teams don't follow the same script that the teams in the first two Conference Semis have...

USL Drama Comes To A Head

The US professional soccer landscape could change drastically in the next week or so. A few months ago the United Soccer Leagues (USL) which controls the 2nd, 3rd and a 4th division of US professional soccer was sold by Nike to an Atlanta group called NuRock Holdings.

Prior to the sale of USL, several team owners had become upset about the handling of many league issues by USL executives and set up a group called the Team Owner's Association (TOA) to address those issues with the league offices. It had been hoped that new ownership would bring about changes on that front, but it appears that is not to be the case and the relationship between the TOA and the USL league offices has deteriorated to the point that the TOA is seriously considering splitting from the USL to form a competing league.

The blogs Inside Minnesota Soccer and the Kartik Report have been following this story very closely, and the guys from these two sites got together on the Inside the Six podcast a few days ago for a highly detailed account of the happenings. Very interesting stuff for the soccer geek!!!

World Cup Qualifying Saturday and Other Tidbits

What I'll be Watching

While most leagues are taking a hiatus for World Cup Qualifying matches, MLS is still playing a few matches. With the MLS playoff battle heating up, there are some vital points on the line in the US league. There are also some interesting WCQ matches including the USA v El Salvador which is a must win at home of the Yanks. Here's what I'll be watching.

• Scotland-Macedonia, WCQ, 9 AM, GolTV
• England-Slovenia, Friendly, 11:30 AM, FSC
• Spain-Belgium, WCQ 3 PM, GolTV
• Georgia-Italy, WCQ, 4 PM, FSC
• USA-El Salvador, WCQ 7 PM, ESPN Classic
• Kansas City-New England, MLS, 6:30 PM, Direct Kick
• Dallas-D.C. United, MLS, 7 PM, Direct Kick
• Colorado-Toronto, MLS, 9 PM, FSC

I'll be doing some channel hopping during some of the day, but I shouldn't miss too much.

USL TOA interested in the NPSL?

The folks over at MLS Talk have been speculating as to whether the group of USL team owners known as the Team Owners Association (TOA) are serious about their threats of breaking away from the USL to become an independent league. They have even gone so far as to say that the TOA may be interested in taking thier teams to the NPSL. Currently, the NPSL is an amatuer only league and is not built around the professional model. I'm awaiting comment from the league's public relations office, and will let you know what I find out.

VW Coaches You Up On Goal Celebrations

First Lesson: The Rockstar with Clint Mathis. I can't wait to learn some more.




College Soccer Has Its Place

I played college soccer and understand that it is not the greatest way for a country to develop professional level players, but, as is pointed out quite well by this blog post, it does have its place in the American soccer landscape.

Two for Tuesday

USL Sold, Owners Upset, Team Coming to Birmingham?

NuRock Soccer Holdings, owners of the PDL's FC Atlanta Blackhawks, has purchased the United Soccer Leagues from Nike beating out bids from MLS and other interested parties including a group of USL team owners. Now, it appears a group of those owners known as the Team Owners Association (TOA) are upset with the sale to NuRock and "has accelerated its pursuit of all league options for the 2010 season and beyond." What does that mean? Could there be yet another breakaway league in American soccer's future? I'll keep an eye out, but it's a pretty confusing situation, right now.
One interesting detail released during the announcement of the sale: NuRock also owns the rights to open a USL-1 franchise in Birmingham, AL.


Another Great Quote

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian has quickly become my favorite read of the week with quotes like this about Bayern Munich who has added several big-time attacking signings while ignoring their defensive deficiencies.

"Bayern's top-heaviness is fast approaching Marge Simpson proportions."

Things To Ponder

Here are a few items I found that are often hotly debated by the "internet nuts" on the soccer board sites like Bigsoccer; Promotion/Relegation in American soccer and whether has soccer "made it".

USL Up For Sale; MLS Considers Buying

The United Soccer Leagues, which consists of the USA's second (USL1), third (USL2), and a fourth division (PDL) nationwide leagues, has been put up for sale by its current owner Nike. According to this report, MLS is interested in purchasing the USL, but the two are far from agreeing on a purchase price.

The prospect that the purchase of the USL by MLS would set up MLS for promotion/relegation has soccer purists salivating. Under a promotion/relegation model similar to those in other countries around the world, they envision a system where the worst teams MLS and are relegated down to the USL divisions, and the USL champions are promoted to MLS.

Well, let's pretend MLS does buy the USL. Do you think for a second that any of the MLS franchise owners who ponied up millions of dollars to buy into the league would agree to volunteer their team for relegation to what could be considered a minor league? No chance.

I think it is far more likely that MLS sets up an system similar to Baseball's minor league system of several lower league teams are affiliated with the major league teams. MLS has been widely criticized for it's lack of player development and lack of a reserve system. The establishment of a Baseball type farm system where the salary cap would be applied toward the entire farm system would enable MLS teams to take risks on young American players and actually allow them time to develop on the field instead of sitting at the end of a bench.

ESPN Writer Gets It, Some don't, and Some Never Will

ESPN writer Bill Simmons wrote an interesting article on his trip to Mexico City to see the USA v Mexico World Cup Qualifier. I keep hearing that this summer may have been the tipping point where soccer has finally made it big in the USA. Could this mean that the soccer haters are finally seeing the light?

I don't believe it, and honestly, I don't care. Soccer is relevant to those who want it to be relevant. Simple. This guy Bill Simmons sees soccer as relevant now and that's good for him. At least now he's not going out of his way to dis a sport he doesn't understand.