CPL General

[harrycoyster]

2 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Avoiding a referendum on Crepeau here, but isnt the point of CPL to give our guys a shot and maybe they will develop?? 

That's my entire point. I don't care if the level isn't great. Fill the league with promising Canadians and let's see what happens. 

[harrycoyster]

Just now, Ansem said:

Makes business sense to save your import spots for strikers and midfielders ahead of goalkeepers, don't you think?

Why are you condemning CPL to potentially have this approach when MLS was already doing it a long time ago for the most part. 

MLS did that because the Americans have always had triple the amount of decent goalkeepers as strikers, for example. Our striker pool is far deeper than our keeper pool.

[Bison44]

9 minutes ago, harrycoyster said:

That's my entire point. I don't care if the level isn't great. Fill the league with promising Canadians and let's see what happens. 

You said we would have trouble finding CB and Keepers.  I pointed out there were plenty of CDN keepers wasting away in USL that we could get, not even mentioning overseas guys.   Moving on to other topics, cheers. 

[ReedOnTheGrand]

1 hour ago, harrycoyster said:

That's my entire point. I don't care if the level isn't great. Fill the league with promising Canadians and let's see what happens. 

You might not care but if we want to attract some casuals(we do) then it can't be solely a league to develop young Canadians. The league should try to be a good place for up and coming Canadians but also good enough for full CanMNT internationals. 

[matty]

*checks in
*sees people are still on about mls in cpl (mostly nols, bbtb and iron brining up what ifs)  despite it being mostly settled
*gets losts in other random points
*almost leaves

2 hours ago, ReedOnTheGrand said:

You might not care but if we want to attract some casuals(we do) then it can't be solely a league to develop young Canadians. The league should try to be a good place for up and coming Canadians but also good enough for full CanMNT internationals. 

Yea the league should feature a lot of young guys but also needs established MNT players to boost it up. It also needs foreign players and maybe some kind of DPs but there should be a heavy focus on "THIS IS CANADA'S LEAGUE" and embracing the CanMNT is a good way to do that.

Patriotism plays well in Canada (Ricketts arriving at TFC got a big pop, Piette in Montreal is drawing eyes, Davies going with Canada got attention and I'd be bold and say Osorio is the most well liked TFC player ever) and it's become clear MLS is sort of hands tied on being Canada's league. Playing up the CPL as Canada's league with 2-3 established CanMNT players a team leading the young Canadians will likely get it a decent fanbase to start and grow from beyond the soccer fans.

[Blackjack15]

We're 8 months away from supposedly ''The Inaugural season of the Canadian Premier League and there has only been 2 Clubs announced: Hamilton & Winnipeg.'' Jesus Christ.

This league doesn't exist! okay? at least not yet 

4-6 more teams are left to be unveiled, so can someone please tell me: What the fuck is taking so long? 

I support the idea of CPL because it helps so many canadians graduating out of NCAA, CIS, and many others in PDL/NPSL. Also lower tier european clubs as well as perhaps MLS Academies (U18). Not sure if USL/NASL Players would come over and sign considering no one knows how good this will become. 

*FC Edmonton & Ottawa Fury FC should stay*

What is Canada Soccer's next official move? 

[ReedOnTheGrand]

15 minutes ago, Blackjack15 said:

We're 8 months away from supposedly ''The Inaugural season of the Canadian Premier League and there has only been 2 Clubs announced: Hamilton & Winnipeg.'' Jesus Christ.

This league doesn't exist! okay? at least not yet 

4-6 more teams are left to be unveiled, so can someone please tell me: What the fuck is taking so long? 

I support the idea of CPL because it helps so many canadians graduating out of NCAA, CIS, and many others in PDL/NPSL. Also lower tier european clubs as well as perhaps MLS Academies (U18). Not sure if USL/NASL Players would come over and sign considering no one knows how good this will become. 

*FC Edmonton & Ottawa Fury FC should stay*

What is Canada Soccer's next official move? 

There's practically 3 teams now(Halifax already working on pop-up stadium). 2018 is still not confirmed(honestly seems unlikely to me) as the launch date. I remember hearing something about an announcement on labour day which I would guess will be a league announcement and maybe confirmation of Halifax/news of other teams. Also if we're to believe the numbers thrown around about salary it's about 150% - 200% of USL salary budgets(from what I could find online) so Canadian USL players coming over is pretty likely. Be patient and hope for the best.  

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

1 hour ago, ReedOnTheGrand said:

There's practically 3 teams now(Halifax already working on pop-up stadium)...

Assuming the amendments can be dealt with (which for all we know at this point may not be as much of a slam dunk as people on here like to think) those three plus Edmonton and Ottawa would place things on the brink of a launch as soon as next summer. Edmonton and Ottawa are the most likely candidates for the other two that have a stadium already in place of the ten markets that Paul Beirne expects to get there eventually, because if they are not you are probably looking at Halifax, Moncton, St John's, Hamilton, K/W and Winnipeg to get the ball rolling and the optics of that as a fledgling national league wouldn't be great. If Edmonton and Ottawa steer clear and rebranded MLS B team type operations are actively excluded there probably need to be four pop-up/modular stadium builders getting things ready plus two more in the pipeline to be in a position to launch. Good luck with that, because you will need it. To most easily make progress you need everybody pushing in the same direction after reaching a workable compromise but multimillionaire sized egos tend to get in the way of that as the principals involved are used to very much getting their own way in their other business interests.

[grasshopper1917]

3 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Assuming the amendments can be dealt with (which for all we know at this point may not be as much of a slam dunk as people on here like to think) 

As I reported a few days ago a city representative was on the radio and said the deal was ready to go. The reason a lease hasn't been signed is Halifax has not been awarded a franchise yet and obviously no one is going to sign a lease on a stadium with no franchise confirmed. Construction on the wanderers grounds continues at a good pace they have recently started laying the grass so it is really coming along.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

If/when we hear S|E|A saying the same we can be sure all is OK, but as explained above Halifax isn't the problem for CPL. What they really need right now is the Ottawa Fury to commit to a switch from the USL.

[Rheo]

5 hours ago, Blackjack15 said:

4-6 more teams are left to be unveiled, so can someone please tell me: What the fuck is taking so long? 

Ummmmm new professional sports leagues aren't made overnight?  Unless there is a soccer stork coming with baby CPL hanging from the beak.  Seriously though they've always said 2018 is a target but if it wasn't ready to launch then they'd go at 2019.  I understand it's frustrating to wait but this is a massive undertaking that takes time, money, governmental bureaucracy, etc.  I'm beginning to think it's going to be a 2019 launch and that's fine with me.  I've bought what they've been selling, drank the kool-aid and believe in their plan and vision so I've got no problem waiting until they think they've got it right.

[Rheo]

Halifax field coming along 

 

[mpg_29]

5 minutes ago, Rheo said:

Ummmmm new professional sports leagues aren't made overnight?  Unless there is a soccer stork coming with baby CPL hanging from the beak.  Seriously though they've always said 2018 is a target but if it wasn't ready to launch then they'd go at 2019.  I understand it's frustrating to wait but this is a massive undertaking that takes time, money, governmental bureaucracy, etc.  I'm beginning to think it's going to be a 2019 launch and that's fine with me.  I've bought what they've been selling, drank the kool-aid and believe in their plan and vision so I've got no problem waiting until they think they've got it right.

The difference between a post WC 2018 half season launch and a 2019 season launch isn't that much extra time really...

Until I hear at least some news/rumors of 6 definite/confirmed teams there is no forseeable start time to this league imo..

 

[Rheo]

2 minutes ago, mpg_29 said:

The difference between a post WC 2018 half season launch and a 2019 season launch isn't that much extra time really...

Until I hear at least some news/rumors of 6 definite/confirmed teams there is no forseeable start time to this league imo..

That's a fair and reasonable point.  They have indicated that same time launch was long enough to have two other teams in.  I'm patient though and will be ready to go whenever they are.

[michaeltfc91]

we're all dying over here .... at least announce "We will announce 2 more teams on labour day", or by Christmas Day or whenever. Just give us something!

I think it's inevitable that the league will launch April 2019 at this point. My hope is that is launches with 8 teams in 2019 though

[mpg_29]

I mean it sounds like Hamilton and Winnipeg are "definite's" and it sounds like Halifax and the group out of Sask are serious. So that's 4 potentially. Still need news/rumours of two more serious groups/cities before you could say 2018 or even 2019 for that matter is happening..

[matty]

14 minutes ago, michaeltfc91 said:

we're all dying over here .... at least announce "We will announce 2 more teams on labour day", or by Christmas Day or whenever. Just give us something!

Today is 90 days since the launch. They've apparently just finished going over ownership groups. Let them get things done right.

14 minutes ago, michaeltfc91 said:

...I think it's inevitable that the league will launch April 2019 at this point. My hope is that is launches with 8 teams in 2019 though

Dude we're a year away from the goal launch date and we've heard they're aiming for 2018 hardcore. It seems more likely than not that they will reach it. They did after all say that the process would go at this rate and the goal was 2018.

We have zero idea how long this is gonna or what is needed so maybe we should all stop guessing 2018/19 and just accept it's 70/30 for 2018. We'll all sleep better at night if we do.

Edited August 4, 2017 by matty

[Rheo]

There are things going on out of the public eye.  They have a plan and are controlling what information is out there and when we hear it.  I get the impatience but I'm just going to enjoy ride knowing what is coming, whenever it may be.

[Red Renaissance]

We havent heard much out of Quebec City since it was announced that a group from there met with CPL officials. Hopefully the bid was a serious one and they are being considered for launch.

[ChrisinOrleans]

26 minutes ago, Red Renaissance said:

We havent heard much out of Quebec City since it was announced that a group from there met with CPL officials. Hopefully the bid was a serious one and they are being considered for launch.

Québec city (et Lévis) would be the largest market in the CanPL at launch, if it proceeds, with 800,000 residents. It also would be the market with the lowest unemployment rate, a large corporate base, and the only one with a large media footprint in a market larger than just the city through Radio-Canada or TVA - whichever picks it up. 

I have my doubts that the league administration would be silly enough to ignore a market of that caliber. So, I hope you're correct. 

[Rheo]

4 minutes ago, ChrisinOrleans said:

I have my doubts that the league administration would be silly enough to ignore a market of that caliber. So, I hope you're correct. 

I'm sure they're not ignoring any market, especially that one.  However they also need to make sure that there is stable, dedicated ownership.  That's one of the reasons they're so cautious in releasing information.  They can't mess this up in the beginning and they know it.

[Complete Homer]

12 hours ago, ironcub14 said:

Completely different topic, but I'm watching the Argos game on TV at the moment, while going through my sports apps, catching up on general sports news. 

I look through the Score and Sportnet apps, and no mention of any CFL news on the front page, though there's obviously coverage of Kap, and some Tannehill and some NCAA news, as we'd normally expect. The TSN app does have a bunch of CFL news on its main news section though, with highlights from this Stampeders' trashing of the Argos on at the moment.

All of it just drives home the point to me how much CPL has to go even to just hit CFL/MLS/NASL popularity, and then even some more to hit mainstream popularity. And for me, I have no idea what the likelihood is, but how incredible of a boost it would be for Sportnet to carry TV coverage of CPL and on its website and app. Can't tell you how incredibly amazing that would be if the case, although Rogers's partnership in MLSE may make this all quite difficult. 

Maybe all this does tie in with the CPL/MLSE discussions as well. 

A big part of this is that each station cultivates content around the leagues they air. It's all about directing people towards your products 

It's most obvious to me on TSN radio vs Sportsnet radio. On the former CFL is the best thing since sliced bread, on the lattee it is a garbage minor league that is dying and isn't worth anyone's time. That is because TSN owns CFL rights, Sportsnet doesn't. I say that as a football neutral, I've never been able to get into the sport. It's also pretty evident that this narrative ends up bleeding into fans pretty effectively - lots of baseball fans seem to parrot Sportsnet's line

Long story short, you're absolutely right and it's something we haven't talked about much in the streaming vs TV discussion, if you stream exclusively you are removing the incentive to air/write stories about the league and providing incentive for MLS rights owners to push the "minor league" narrative (though maybe TSN would want to avoid damaging relationships with CFL owners). That coverage is how you grow the game, bloggers can't fill that gap

[matty]

36 minutes ago, ChrisinOrleans said:

Québec city (et Lévis) would be the largest market in the CanPL at launch, if it proceeds, with 800,000 residents. It also would be the market with the lowest unemployment rate, a large corporate base, and the only one with a large media footprint in a market larger than just the city through Radio-Canada or TVA - whichever picks it up. 

I have my doubts that the league administration would be silly enough to ignore a market of that caliber. So, I hope you're correct. 

I agree quebec city wouldbe great but alas quebec is the single hardest market in Canada to break into. At the risk of being hated on, it might not be a bad idea to not expand into quebec until it's time for teams 9 and 10 and the league is ready for such a push.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

37 minutes ago, ChrisinOrleans said:

I have my doubts that the league administration would be silly enough to ignore a market of that caliber. So, I hope you're correct. 

I seriously doubt that they are in a position where they can ignore any 200k+ market with an interested investor and a viable stadium solution (full-sized soccer field with no football lines and about 5000 seats with reasonable sight lines) because putting that combination of factors together isn't easy.

[ChrisinOrleans]

2 minutes ago, matty said:

I agree quebec city wouldbe great but alas quebec is the single hardest market in Canada to break into. At the risk of being hated on, it might not be a bad idea to not expand into quebec until it's time for teams 9 and 10 and the league is ready for such a push.

I'm not sure I understand how Québec would be the hardest market to break into. I'm not hating either, but for me, it would be the easiest! There are 8-million people there, I'd be giving it a pretty high priority.