https://nypost.com/2018/01/06/nycfc-finally-kicking-off-their-long-awaited-youth-movement/
I guess this is the "bigger story?"
2018 Offseason Thread
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
I guess this is the "bigger story?"
Nice!
Here's a thought. Can Etihad pay Sean Johnson under a sponsorship deal? Seems like a way to circumvent MLS rules by having him do some sort of promotional deal over there...
MLS holds his contract, and while I’m sure they’d love to cut salaries, they won’t allow subterfuge like that to openly circumvent the rules.
So, what's the deal with a bunch of the guys going to Abu Dhabi? SeanJohn is already there, but Lewis and Harrison just posted getting on the plane
Actually, thinking about this a bit more, isn't Mix like the ideal CM we would be looking for?
TAM-level CM who can interchangeably play all 3 midfield positions for us at a decent level. Not saying that we should go bring him back in (for the record I think we should, excepting for whatever locker room drama there may be) or that we will (we won't), but I think he is the ideal kind of guy we should be getting.
Mix was brought to MLS 3 years too soon. As a new face coming over, without the stigma of a crazy high salary that other players resented, he’d have flourished.
Well MLS owns their contract and Etihad Airways is a sponsor of MLS, not just NYCFC, so I'm sure there's some payment involved, even if that means the entire trip and all expenses are paid.
Lewis, Harrison, Johnson, and Sweat. It's definitely a promotional video that will be on NYCFC and Etihad social media. They're been increasing the Etihad-ness of NYCFC more and more since year 1. Like in 2016, it was just called Pitchside Club. In 2017 it's now called the Etihad First Class Pitchside Club. In 2017, it's now called Etihad Pitch at Yankee Stadium. Before it was just Yankee Stadium.
Since they all keep calling it a "video project" my bet is that it's an all expenses paid trip there. Out of it will be a video of their time there used as a promotional vehicle to show how great a place it is to visit and how nice it is to fly there on Etihad. Regardless of the outcome I'm happy for the players as I'm sure they will be very well taken care of. Maybe access to things like this helps convince players to come our way or at the very least stay a year of two longer once they are with NYCFC.
What odds that the players are being sent out there to do some investigative journalism on alleged human rights violations in the UAE?
No, you're right. Probably quite the opposite.
Sadly I'd bet if it has anything to do with human rights it will be more propaganda video than investigative expose. "What human right violations look at all these nice carefully curated places we he taken the players to, see not so bad, now if you would please move along and don't look over there"
Exactly. I mean, I'm only barely OK with turning a blind eye to the association, but don't make it worse by trying to obfuscate it.
Almost certainly this. They'll take a couple of videos of them interacting with locals at some random events, probably get them to do something like a penalty challenge where the "goal" is some part of an Abu Dhabi landmark or other, shots of the beach, etc. Just your standard cross-promotional fare - NYCFC gets videos of football, Etihad Airways get videos of them flying luxury flights between continents, Abu Dhabi gets videos of their tourist attractions.
Does that really matter? Firstly does it matter because this isn't a video series which is aimed at Europeans, it's a video series aimed at the NYC market, but secondly does the ethnic origin of the people in your video actually make you more likely to visit that location?
