Photo: Paul Rudderow
Philadelphia Union
The Union’s U13 team gained valuable experience at the Players Cup.
With Sunday’s win, Andre Blake unlocked a new achievement in his MLS career.
MLS
USMNT vs. Honduras and Mexico vs. Costa Rica in the Nations League semifinal tonight.
Tomas Romero rejects El Salvador to maintain USMNT eligibility.
Here are your AT&T Goal of the Week candidates.
Barnsley declined Daryl Dike’s purchase option.
MLS planning on launching a new third division league, according to Jeff Reuter of The Athletic.
World
England announced their 26-man squad for the Euro’s.
Interested to see if a club decides to go in on Dike. Figure he’s going to have plenty of suitors.
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Why is the USL structure not working for MLS clubs? Eager to read more about this.
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Also, managerial merry-go-round in Europe is pretty crazy. Ancelotti to Real is not great for Everton at all. And I can’t believe Spurs are going to hire Conte. You’d think if Conte can’t win something at Spurs, no one can. Feels like that club needs a refresh, though, and Conte doesn’t strike me as the type to have patience for that. Fascinating stuff.
These remarks are based on memory and have not been reverified.
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1. There was always a tension in USL and then USLC between the MLS2 clubs that were less concerned about ticket sales and more focused on player development and the independent clubs. Probably at the bottom of it is that MLS sides are required by US Soccer to have much deeper pockets than the USLC ones. Check the requirements for certification as D1 and certification as D2. To illustrate, I once walked by Louisville City’s custom modified bus in the parking lot at Lehigh’s Goodman stadium. Fold-down individual bunks, railroad pullman style so they could sleep while traveling. after 2016, Bethlehem Flew everywhere except to DC and Red Bulls. For Lousiville they flew to Cincinnati and then bussed a couple of hours down I-71.
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2. in 2017 the phrase “player development side” no longer appeared in official USL articles, on its website, anywhere.
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3. Later on only five Academy amateurs could be in the gameday 18.
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4. Very diplomatically in public opposing coaches would mention that they had no idea who would show up to play for an MLS 2 side because of injury rehab and youth development. Mo Edu played the full 90 at Charleston in the next to the last game of the season one year that had influence on Charleston’s playoff position. The coach said nothing, but they were probably fuming, even though they won (I think) I know Bethlehem did not win.
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5. Unless the player was on a season-long unrecallable loan to USL, the paperwork required to get an MLS player certified to play in a USL game was massive. Deadlines, forms to be signed, and the whole process repeated for each player every game. And each player had to sign each document. Think about the duplication and waste. and all of it had to be paid for.
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6. It makes sense that each club had to put up a fee each year to participate in the league in advance of the next season. For the 2020 season that fee for division 2 USLC was $200,000. That pays for Bradnan Craig’s and Craig Sullivan’s salaries this year and leaves $50,000 left over.
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And MLS officials and clubs were not in control. USL was. Ernst Tanner very gently, carefully and diplomatically would use the words streamline and simplify.
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They lose the level of competition USLC provided as a competitive foil to develop their players, and we don’t know how good any new league may be. It will be a loss while the new entity gets off the ground and grows.
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Finally, ownership cannot be expected to lose money forever. USL was expensive. Men like Jay Sugarman and Richie Graham have to see a reasonable possibility of no longer losing money at some distant point in the future.
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Hope these thoughts have helped some.
They have. Interesting stuff.
I’m guessing logistics and travel costs is what prevents a true MLS2 set up?
You’d think a basic minor league farm team arrangement wouldn’t be too difficult to regionalize – play the games at local university fields like Goodman Stadium.
Goodman was what sank Bethlehem.
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USL was determined to get a TV contract. Viewership exists at night. Goodman ha no lights and the Board of Trustees did not want to antagonize its residential neighbors surrounding its south campus, apparently.
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And of course renting the place was an expense.
Agree Tim – it’s a shame they couldn’t find another suitable field up here in the Valley. Bethlehem SD or Easton SD might have worked, but were probably too small for USL’s taste. BASD stadium is also turf.
Nothing about the Messi to Miami in 2 years rumors?
Was just thinking about the Union’s schedule this year and realized that including CCL they play on 7 days of the week.
Wow that’s crazy. When do they play Friday? I can’t ever remember a Friday Union game. Or Monday for that matter.
Friday is Labor Day weekend, the New England game which was moved due to CCL. Monday is in Nashville on July 5.
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Union have definitely played on Friday’s before. Two that come to mind are the very first game in 2010 in Seattle and the game at home a couple of years later against Chivas on a very wet night where the ref gave the Union an indirect free kick on a pass back to the Chivas keeper where he picked the ball up.
For my fellow Union 2 follower out there, they play tomorrow at Audi Field in DC at 6 pm.
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It appeared this afternoon on the revamped schedule on Union 2 under academy on the website.
#13 for Venezuela, Jose Martinez, is on the bench for today’s World Cup qualifier in La Paz.
Excellent information, Andy!
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by memory that’s further along towards the pitch than he got last year.
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Means he could easily be away this summer and fall.
He’s getting his first cap in the 72nd minute with the team down 2-1. He’s also shaved his head!
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Should also mention that Josef came on a few minutes earlier. I’m guessing it is likely that both will be on the Copa America roster and will miss the game in Atlanta on June 20.