Yes, perhaps.... but doesn't confirm which season or year. I don't think Poku will leave until he has his citizenship wrapped up.
Soriano At Blazercon; Nycfc: A Year In Review
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Those of you who are annoyed by the European feeder club goal - what do you actually expect for NYCFC and MLS in general? What would be an acceptable viewpoint? Don't tell me it's NYCFC/MLS as a destination club for premium young talent, the league simply isn't there yet. Not close.
NYCFC in particular/MLS in general being a feeder system to the top 4-6 European leagues is an ambitious goal. A great goal. And it would be a definite step up, a big step up, from where the league is now.
If NYCFC becomes a team that can consistently supply young talent to bigger clubs in Europe that would be a fantastic outcome.
NYCFC in particular/MLS in general being a feeder system to the top 4-6 European leagues is an ambitious goal. A great goal. And it would be a definite step up, a big step up, from where the league is now.
If NYCFC becomes a team that can consistently supply young talent to bigger clubs in Europe that would be a fantastic outcome.
Plus becoming a feeder league to the big European clubs mean that young talent can come play in MLS as a step to get noticed by big Euro teams. We get young talent and not all of them will be good enough for Europe so quite a few will stay here. The quality of the league will improve and money from selling the most talented ones can be invested into academies.
MLS HAS to become a feeder league - the current economic model of sustainability requires it. Until MLS is big enough to have a massive TV deal like the EPL, gate receipts & merchandise can only take it so far without the owners playing sugar daddy to the clubs. The clubs NEED to be able to transfer players to the big 4-6 leagues for large enough fees that not only cover the cost to produce the player/give them a stage to shine, but also to yield a profit which would ideally be rolled over (the majority at least) into the next round of development. It's good for the league, it's great for the players that get tapped to step up to the big(ger) leagues, and is fantastic for the eventual volume of players that will have an opportunity to play in MLS. The USMNT should also benefit nicely by both the level of MLS play increasing and the yanks that head abroad.
Anybody that doesn't want MLS to be a feeder league is myopic and worried about labels.
Anybody that doesn't want MLS to be a feeder league is myopic and worried about labels.
It's funny that we are turning our noses down to being a league like Portugal, a league that HAS WON FOUR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TITLES!
With the current pay structure there's simply no way our top talent is going to stay in this league. The best players are not going to stay here and make $200k when they can go to another league and make $2 million. Not saying we'll never have good players, but the best ones will want to get paid.
Jonathan Tannenwald @thegoalkeeper 4h4 hours agoGreenpoint, Brooklyn
Ferran Soriano on Patrick Vieira at NYCFC: "We have brought maybe our best coach here."
I would agree with this and i'm pretty sure Paddy will bring someone along with him that's not CFG connected and someone who has been there and done that on the world stage like himself.
I honestly think you guys are either worrying too much and you need to trust the way the things are going because it's going to be a bright future because Shiekh Mansour and everyone downwards who he employs and trusts aren't mugs and know exactly what they're doing and you need to give them a chance.
Ferran Soriano on Patrick Vieira at NYCFC: "We have brought maybe our best coach here."
I would agree with this and i'm pretty sure Paddy will bring someone along with him that's not CFG connected and someone who has been there and done that on the world stage like himself.
I honestly think you guys are either worrying too much and you need to trust the way the things are going because it's going to be a bright future because Shiekh Mansour and everyone downwards who he employs and trusts aren't mugs and know exactly what they're doing and you need to give them a chance.
The NY Times had a write up today: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/16/s...to-brooklyn-at-blazercon.html?ref=sports&_r=0
Pretty good article summary with a horrendous and ominous ending for MLS. Apparently the author is it a believer.
Off topic, but please let the US have an experienced Poku playing in the hole in front of Nagbe and behind Bobby Wood. In GFOP terms, that gives me the thickening.
That ending and your comment raises a question I have contemplated about the growth of MLS.
I think the clear path to further strengthen the league in the US has been/is to appeal to roots-level fans. That change by most clubs has proved a catalyst to get from sideshow to actual professional league status domestically. But to take the next step to develop tv revenues, what is the optimal way forward? Do you go after US sports tv audiences who are fringe or Euro soccer fans or do you go after building the global audience? If the former, how do you get there? If the latter, do you forfeit the former and forego traditional afternoon and evening start times for earlier starts that suit Euro time zones better?
Why do I posit these as in opposition to one another? Well, moving to time slots more friendly to Euro audiences will make league games face more challenges to grow the domestic audience. Nonetheless, I think MLS now has a core fan base that is loyal and committed. I'd actually guess that MLS has a better pro rata adherence rate than any other US league. I think you rely on that core loyalty to maintain the status quo domestically and focus on putting your best games in European audience friendly time slots. Hire the best local PR guys you can get in those markets and get the league a bigger presence in the biggest respective sports news outlets. Get good stories out, fund some "Hard Knocks" type productions.
You have to use the assets you have available. The quality isn't there, but the drama and human interest side is. I think stories of underdog, hardworking players making salaries that don't offend the everyman sensibilities could be a compelling penetration strategy for foreign markets even if the quality is a bit lagging for now.
Once that coverage exists overseas, I think it would pull in the fringe US audience, especially the eurosnob element. It's basically a reversing of the marketing of the world cup to a US audience. Sell the spectacle and the drama and the people to draw in an audience that has long been a bit disinterested.
Just some suboptimal ramblings.
Presumably this means earlier games, either to afternoon and even early afternoon. I think there's merit to this, veen though many would grumble. They might still attend. It would have a larger negative effect on domestic TV ratings and growth. I doubt they do anything so bold, but they could surprise me. If they do, they need to negotiate European TV rights in advance of the next US TV rights renewal, because game scheduling is part of the local TV deal. They would also possibly need to decouple from US Soccer national teams for the local rights.
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MLS today is nothing what it was 5 years ago. You think 200k viewing numbers are bad? 10 years ago they were around 20k with MLS having to PAY ESPN to show them. If this rate of growth increases the vision of being a world contender isn't that hard to imagine.
In the mean time, I'm happy with small but leveled growth that's sustainable. Even if it means we can't contend with ManCity, ManU or Barca for players quite yet.
In the mean time, I'm happy with small but leveled growth that's sustainable. Even if it means we can't contend with ManCity, ManU or Barca for players quite yet.
Exactly. This is how world football works under the current model. If you're not a top team in a top league, then your best players will be poached by the big fish who *are* the top teams in the top leagues.
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