Havoc88 Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 I don't know much about the actual 'event' of the combine. But since it's put on by MLS, would they let scouts and management of a competing league attend? Or is it MLS teams and accredited media? Did the USL-1 teams attend this in past years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveBeau Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 quote:Originally posted by Havoc88 I don't know much about the actual 'event' of the combine. But since it's put on by MLS, would they let scouts and management of a competing league attend? Or is it MLS teams and accredited media? Did the USL-1 teams attend this in past years? Yes. Second division teams attended in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberto7 Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Radio-Canada is reporting that an announcement will be made tomorrow (Thursday) and that a huge soccer league will be announced comprising of two conferences, the NASL and the USL. This is similar to what existed in 1989 when The American Soccer League and the Western Soccer Leaugue played separate seasons and met for the national championship. http://www.radio-canada.ca/sports/soccer/2010/01/06/001-uslnasl-mercredi.shtml Une ligue à deux têtes Mise à jour le mercredi 6 janvier 2010 à 16 h 04 La USL et la NASL devaient s'entendre avant mercredi minuit, et elles seraient sur le point d'y parvenir. Mais la conclusion serait compliquée: une fusion qui n'en serait pas vraiment une. Des quatre coins des États-Unis, une seule et même rumeur émane. Il y aurait création d'une grande ligue de soccer à deux conférences, USL et NASL, chapeautée par la Fédération américaine de soccer (USSF). Des sources ont confirmé à Radio-Canada Sports que l'annonce de la résolution du conflit devrait tomber « très bientôt », probablement jeudi. Impossible toutefois de savoir si la rumeur se confirmera. Pour l'instant, il est avéré que des représentants de la USL et de la NASL sont à New York pour fignoler l'entente. Une source a confirmé que Bob Lenarduzzi, président des Whitecaps de Vancouver, se rendra lui aussi jeudi dans la Big Apple. Durant le temps des Fêtes, la USSF a rejeté les demandes de la USL et de la NASL d'obtenir une licence de « soccer de deuxième division ». Faute d'avoir pu prouver leur viabilité, les deux parties avaient 7 jours pour en venir à une solution intérimaire. L'Impact de Montréal a menacé à la fin de la saison de quitter la USL puisque le président du club, Joey Saputo, était en désaccord avec la gouvernance de la ligue. Saputo et quelques autres hommes d'affaires ont donc ressuscité la NASL, ce qui a lancé la guerre pour obtenir une licence de « soccer de deuxième division » aux États-Unis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 quote:Originally posted by BringBackTheBlizzard I think Jeffrey Loome overlooks the obvious innocuous reason for that. NASL team management would have been there anyway to check out the players in the combine given some of them will eventually either not be drafted or will wind up getting cut at the end of training camps with the MLS teams they get drafted by. Exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnie Monster Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 USSF is making an announcement re: Div 2 in New York today at 3pm EST / 12 pm PST. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calgary Boomer Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Disaster averted. I'll be interested to see how the two conferences line up. Perhaps Crystal Palace and Tampa fall under the USL umbrella in exchange for the lawsuit against them being dropped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keano Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Joey was on Oranges at Halftime last night with Noel Butler and I only caught the end of it, but interestingly he "guaranteed" that the Impact will be playing the "Portlands and Puerto Ricos" this upcoming season. Interesting choice of teams for that statement as they were not among the original mutinous teams. He also stated that cooler heads have prevailed and a solution has been reached although he didn't elaborate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 A settlement at least initially for the 2010 season was inevitable all along. Too much damage to the game would have been done otherwise. Nobody in any position of authority in soccer (USSF, MLS, CSA, major investors etc.) would have tolerated that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 quote:Originally posted by Calgary Boomer Disaster averted. I'll be interested to see how the two conferences line up. Perhaps Crystal Palace and Tampa fall under the USL umbrella in exchange for the lawsuit against them being dropped. The league will consist of two six-team conferences – the USL Conference and the NASL Conference. The USL Conference will include teams from Austin, Minnesota, Portland, Puerto Rico, Rochester and Tampa Bay. The NASL Conference will consist of teams from Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Montreal, St. Louis and Vancouver. http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/66/united-states/2010/01/07/1731779/us-soccer-federation-to-oversee-combined-naslusl-league Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keano Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 http://www.corussports.com/soccer/nouvelles/dossier-regle-l-impact-actif-en-2010-1914353.html Basically confirms the new setup, 12 teams, 2 divisions (USL, NASL) of 6 teams divided between 6 teams that have a USL contract and 6 teams that don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piltdownman Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 How is this going to work? Will they play cross division? Seems like costs are going to be through the rood if they don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 ^ Looks like they will have cross division games, if my French hasn't failed me: "Chaque équipe devrait disputer entre 28 et 34 rencontres et affrontera tous les autres clubs formant les deux conférences". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTL_4_LIFE Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), the NASL (North American Soccer League) and the USL (United Soccer Leagues) have come to terms in an agreement, Thursday, and created a second division league for 2010. A total of 12 teams, including the Montreal Impact, will play in the USSF Second Division in 2010, the first division being Major League Soccer (MLS). The league will consist of two six-team conferences: the NASL Conference and the USL Conference. The Impact will play in the NASL Conference with the Baltimore Crystal Palace; Carolina RailHawks; Miami FC; St-Louis United; and Vancouver Whitecaps. The USL Conference will include the Austin Aztex; Minnesota Thunder; Portland Timbers; Puerto Rico Islanders; Rochester Rhinos; and Tampa Bay Rowdies. All teams will match up in a 28 to 34-game season. Calendar details, as well as league rules and television rights, will be announced in the near future. The league will be managed by a board of directors that will be composed of one representative per team and one USSF representative. An executive committee will also be created to implement the directors’ decisions. “Today we can say mission accomplished,” declared Montreal Impact President Joey Saputo. “Since the onset of negotiations, we were confident in achieving a positive outcome. We are proud to state that our fans will be treated to high level soccer in 2010 with 12 teams, including three newcomers, matching up in a top quality championship. More so, the league team owners have now gained control over their destiny, which is very positive for the future of soccer in North America.” The Impact has also confirmed that it will once again participate in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship in order to qualify for the 2010-2011 CONCACAF Champions League. Impact President Joey Saputo flew to Florida Thursday morning with Executive Vice President Richard Legendre and Technical Director Nick De Santis to attend a general assembly to settle next season’s calendar. The Montreal Impact also announced that key partners (Uniprix, Vachon, Réno-Dépôt, Suzuki, Lassonde and Air Canada) have shown their trust in the organization by renewing their agreements during the past weeks, thereby guaranteeing the return of nearly all major partners in 2010 (Saputo, Hydro-Québec, Gouvernement du Québec, Bell, National Bank, La Cage aux Sports, Sports Experts, Tim Hortons, Sony, Coke and Pizza Pizza). SEASON TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY The Montreal Impact will open its 2010 season ticket sale on Monday, January 11 at 9 am. The 2009 defending champions will once again offer season tickets at affordable prices, starting at $180 in the supporters section and $250 in the Bronze category. 2010 season tickets will include 16 regular season home games, two Nutrilite Canadian Championship home matches, as well as two playoff games (should the Impact qualify). Contact the Montreal Impact to purchase 2010 season ticket packages by dialling 514-328-3668 http://www.montrealimpact.com/News/News.aspx?language=EN&ArticleID=1292&Focus=0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnie Monster Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 I'm guessing the teams will play 4 matches against teams in their conference, and 2 matches against teams in the other one. That gives you a 32 match season. Top club in each league will likely get a first round bye in the playoffs, while #2 and #3 square off in the quarterfinals. Top dog emerging from each league will play for the final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 quote:Originally posted by Johnnie Monster I'm guessing the teams will play 4 matches against teams in their conference, and 2 matches against teams in the other one. That gives you a 32 match season. Top club in each league will likely get a first round bye in the playoffs, while #2 and #3 square off in the quarterfinals. Top dog emerging from each league will play for the final. If that is so, a bitch of a travel schedule for Vancouver and Portland, who don't get to see each other much now but will a lot once MLS comes along. Kinda odd. 16 home games plus two V-Cup matches makes for 18 official home dates for Whitecaps and Impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Listening to Sunil Gulati speak to the media I gained the impression that despite thye two conferences (which exist really only because there are two groups involved) the league would play a balanced schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuirtonPark Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Since there would be six teams in each division, a more logical schedule might be to play home and away twice against the others in the division {2 x 2 x 5 = 20) and home and away once against the other six (2 x 6 = 12). Total 32. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnie Monster Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Which is what I said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKottonmouthed1555362307 Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 So who controls what now? It's basically like 2 leagues playing in the same table. As I see it the NASL 'conference' is gonna want to be able to govern the league as much as the USL; while the USL is gonna figure they retain their spots as the league boss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Schaad Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Maybe between the 2 leagues, they'll be able to come up with a better championship trophy. I got the same trophy from finishing 3rd in 5 pin bowling back in 1983. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 The USSF will be the final arbiter in the event of any disagreement but there will be a 5 person board of directors running the league, one of which will be a USSF rep and presumably two each from the NASL and USL. The USSF thus will exercise a casting vote. What's of more interest to me is the plan they will have to come up with for 2011 onwards as Sunil Gulati was at pains to insist this whole arrangement applies strictly to the 2010 season because the USSF didn't want there to be no division 2 season. I gained the distinct impression that while the USSF is keen to set minimum standards/requirements, it doesn't want to continue being in the business of running pro leagues hands on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuscan Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 quote:Originally posted by TheKottonmouthed So who controls what now? It's basically like 2 leagues playing in the same table. As I see it the NASL 'conference' is gonna want to be able to govern the league as much as the USL; while the USL is gonna figure they retain their spots as the league boss. I don't know if the USSF can really do anything about infighting during the season though, so I tend to agree with what you say. Yes obviously the USSF will have final say and more control over the situation now, but during the run of the league, what's to stop the little wars that will surely erupt between the USL and NASL? This season could be mighty ugly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the biologist Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 quote:Originally posted by Richard [...] but there will be a 5 person board of directors running the league, one of which will be a USSF rep and presumably two each from the NASL and USL. Where did you see that ? Both the Caps and Impact state in their press release that: "The league will be managed by a board of directors that will be composed of one representative per team and one USSF representative. An executive committee will also be created to implement the directors' decisions." Sources ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKottonmouthed1555362307 Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Well hopefully this allows all the owners in the split league to realize over a course of a season in a influx of whats gonna happen after wards will see that they are stronger together than in 2 rival div. II leagues. Then in '11 we an have a possible single tabled div. II of around 11-13 clubs I would assume With the MLS stuck in their 2 tabled, yet playoff seeded to one table, sides of 8. I wonder how this mess with the NASL and USL will affect the CBA of the MLS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 quote:Originally posted by TheKottonmouthed I wonder how this mess with the NASL and USL will affect the CBA of the MLS. That is an interesting question I hadn't thought of. For the players who are clearly MLS level it probably wouldn't affect much but for those who were thinking of other North American options it might give them pause for concern. How that would reflect in the CBA negotiations is hard to tell. The owners might feel they have a stronger hand and push back more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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