United Soccer Leagues President Tim Holt Answers Questions about 3 Puerto Rican Teams Removed from USL PRO
On Tuesday, IMS contributor Jay Long broke Esteban Pagán’s story of River Plate Puerto Rico’s financial troubles to the English speaking audience who follow lower level soccer in the US, Canada and the Caribbean. Previously, Long had reported on other financial difficulties with USL PRO teams Puerto Rico United and Sevilla-Puerto Rico.
Trying to understand the passion but also the politics involved with soccer in Puerto Rico is not easy. Soccer has not always been the number one sport of this island nation who love sports. The teams that were involved with USL PRO, Puerto Rico United, River Plate Puerto Rico and Sevilla-Puerto Rico, were deemed the organizations with the best opportunity to succeed beside the Islanders who had moved from the USL to the NASL after last season. The three teams were to play games in the Puerto Rican Soccer League (PRSL) and USL PRO. Games played against each other would count for both leagues.
Later Tuesday morning the USL released a statement confirming that the three USL PRO teams from Puerto Rico who had played in the International Division had been removed from USL PRO.
That same morning Tim Holt, President of the USL, contacted IMS to see if there were further questions or clarifications that he could help clear up. I was able to ask Holt some difficult questions which he did not shy away from. Here is a transcript of that Q & A.
IMS: Tim, I was told by a source that the Puerto Rican Soccer League (PRSL) actually came to the USL and asked for the three teams to be removed from USL PRO in order for them to salvage the PRSL. Can you comment on that?
Tim Holt: That is incorrect. In fact, USL management informed the leadership of the PRSL and the three teams of our decision to remove them based on an inability to meet and fulfill USL PRO standards. This was not an action taken lightly; however, the situation reached the stage where the status quo was untenable. For various reasons, we systematically ruled out all scenarios that allowed us to maintain the pre-existing alignment and it was evident that the continued involvement of three PRSL teams in the 2011 USL PRO schedule would have represented a major risk to the league and the other teams.
IMS: What can you tell us about the promises that were made to these teams from the PRSL and/or the Puerto Rican Soccer Federation and what happened politically that caused that funding to fall through? This had to be a calculated risk from the USL all along but I can’t believe you would have taken that risk without some assurances that evidently didn’t come though. What were those assurances to the three teams that caused USL to believe these organizations would have the monies to make it through the season?
Tim Holt: As you are aware, USL entered into an agreement with the PRSL to admit their three strongest teams into USL PRO. This arrangement was expressly supported by the Puerto Rican Football Federation under its President at that time. Although we understood there would be an adaptation period to some extent for these three teams in terms of adjusting to the expectations of USL PRO, we were also given every assurance by the PRSL, the owners of the three teams, and the Federation that the PRSL teams were totally committed to and capable of operating at the USL PRO level. This included meetings with civic and corporate leaders including city mayors, two of which (Fajardo and Juncos) have custom-built soccer venues under construction for the teams. It was our understanding from all these factions that the provision of significant tourism, municipal, and sporting/recreational funding would be available for each of the three clubs in 2011 to defray the added expenses from participating in USL PRO.
Since the time the decision was made to proceed with these three teams, there have been major changes in the structure, leadership, and priorities of Puerto Rican soccer and an abrupt reduction, or elimination, of income from all revenue sources that professional sports teams in Puerto Rico typically receive funding. This dearth of funding has severely disrupted the operations of all three Puerto Rican teams and manifested in inadequate operating performance per our standards and expectations.
At least as significant, and further inhibiting the performance of River Plate Puerto Rico and Sevilla FC Puerto Rico, are the life-threatening medical conditions affecting the majority owners of these clubs to the extent emergency restructuring of the ownership and executive management of the teams occurred within both organizations over recent months.
All of these factors have conspired in the worst possible way to create the environment that affected these teams to the extent that we arrived at the current state.
IMS: I understand there was a meeting on Monday with the owners or board of governors, I’m not sure which, where you discussed the potential schedule changes. I also heard that you met again on Wednesday to decide if you go to a single table or two divisions. What can you tell me about that meeting?
Tim Holt: We have formally convened our Board of Governors to determine how to best proceed with the alignment and associated playoff format. An announcement will occur tomorrow (Thursday) on these issues along with the rescheduled games.
IMS: It seems the teams that will be hurt the worst are the LA Blues and Antigua. Will the USL try to help these teams out in any way?
Tim Holt: Without getting into details, USL is providing support to all teams adversely affected the schedule changes. Of course, Los Angeles and Antigua are undoubtedly the teams most impacted by the removal of the PRSL teams due to the original alignment. These are two new teams that are off to a very solid start, competitively and operationally. The home venues for both teams are outstanding as is their game-day presentation. Every effort has been made to redistribute their games in a way that allows them the opportunity to continue to be successful over the next several months.
IMS: I know that you, Rob Hoskins and Alec Papadakis have worked hard over the last year and a half, since NuRock purchased the USL, to make improvements in the infrastructure of the organization. This incident is certainly a step backwards after several steps forward. I’m wondering what you believe USL needs to do to win back the trust of soccer fans and show them moving forward that USL PRO is a stable league?
Tim Holt: Over the past 18 months, USL has invested substantially in increasing the sophistication of every facet of our business and league management operation. The purpose for doing such is to more capably support our member teams and to that end we have aggressively enhanced our team services department to the extent that, with the exception of MLS, it is now unparalleled in American soccer. This investment also extends to dramatically raising the profile of USL PRO and the entire USL system of leagues through our national broadcast partnership with Fox Soccer, USL Live, and other new media initiatives.
Although we have worked diligently to make noticeable and meaningful changes, building USL PRO to the stage that we envision is going to take time and we are not going to arrive at our destination overnight. There have been a lot of successes already this season and will be many more, just as there will be challenges and setbacks along the way. Progress is not always linear. Meanwhile our daily focus remains upon the objectives of establishing a profitable team business model for professional soccer that emphasizes performance on and off the field and ensures all teams operate in a manner which meets or exceeds the established standards.
During the off-season, we worked actively with our teams, collectively and individually, to support their efforts by implementing processes to allow for greater operating efficiency, as well as to enhance their revenue generating activities. These teams have also renewed their commitment to strengthening their operations and are seeing positive results.
While we are disappointed that it became necessary to take this action, the removal of the three PRSL teams was required in order to be able to continue to move forward in operating USL PRO for the present and future in the manner necessary for this league to be recognized as the strongest and most sophisticated below MLS in the United States.
Comments are closed.
I’m going to leave the first comment here and ask everyone to keep this conversation civil with no personal attacks which I have seen on a few other posts recently. That has always been a rule on my site.
Holt was straight up in contacting me and making himself available. He faced this head-on even though this is clearly a big embarrassment to the USL.
As stated in the article, the league has been working hard to raise the level of the infrastructure in the league and to support their teams and give the fans more and better access. In other words, NuRock has sunk a lot of money into the USL that probably should have been done years ago. But the bottom line is they are working to bring the USL into the new millennium.
While you may or may not agree with what USL has done I would hope that you can support D3 soccer in the US and that is USL PRO, just as I hope everyone supports the NASL as they move forward. Strong lower level soccer is good for the growth of the sport. It’s that simple.
Please make your comments thoughtful and feel free to express yourself but again, lets not make it personal.
Sharp questions as always, BQ. Cheers.
Considering the circumstances, seems like the league was stuck between a rock and hard place on this one. I think they’re doing the best they can in a difficult situation.
It’s a shame too, I was feeling pretty positive about the changes the league has made since the split. I’m curious to see what moves the league will make next, especially the competition format.
“In fact, USL management informed the leadership of the PRSL and the three teams of our decision to remove them based on an inability to meet and fulfill USL PRO standards.”
To me it seems like any company when doing their due diligence would do this before the first kick-off and not after a few weeks of play. NuRock has a lawyer or two working for them that should be aware of this type of check, right?
I appreciate the great work, BQ. As always, you’re on top of the game, and you ask the questions we’re all posing in our heads.
That said, I think Holt just fed you a line.
No attacks against USL? Well, that takes out 90% of the Anti-USL posters on this blog.
I think it is pretty clear that USL was relying on representations made early on that government funding would be imminent, and based upon that funding, while USL recognized that the teams would need some guidance in the first year, they should not be at financial risk. When the politics changed, that blew all of the assumptions.
I don’t know how much more due diligence can be conducted when the mayors of the cities are assuring funding, AND building soccer stadiums as evidence of commitment to the soccer team. This failure of funding also places the viability of these soccer stadiums at risk as well, and that is bad for the local city.
For anyone to say BQ was being “fed a line” in light of the factual circumstances that can be documented (and in fact were prior to the USL announcing the release of the teams) just simply is stating a personal opinion with no thought or basis of the reality in Puerto Rico today.
This is certainly not what USL wanted when it first agreed to take on these teams, and this does create bad publicity, something it appears the new ownership was certainly trying to avoid. At least USL hit this head on, and as soon as it became apparent that trouble was brewing as a result of the funding being pulled.
From what I have read, the decision to accept these teams was certainly better vetted and researched than NASL accepting St. Louis or Baltimore last year as part of the NASL membership.
I think both D2 and D3 are going through growth pains. No group can be 100% correct in every decision that it makes as it forms the foundations of each of their leagues.
Let’s hope the lesson learned is just that… a lesson learned, and to grow beyond the mistakes.
Bart the fart- “I think it is pretty clear that USL was relying”
On finding their 70th excuse of why it was not their fault this time, again.
Nuff said!
” is stating a personal opinion with no thought or basis of the reality”
Yep!
“Let’s hope the lesson learned is just that”
Bart is just singing a tune.
There ya go BQ, not one thing bad said about Tim Holt.
Charleston said they wont be adjusting their matches that dont include the PR teams.
Looks like Wilmington have sewn their dates up
http://www.noquartersoccer.com/2011/05/battery-revised-schedule-dates.html
Puerto Rico is way too far away from Minnesota for anyone here to be concerned about.
Dane,
Unless that is tongue-in-cheek, don’t you think that is a bit of a generalized statement. Especially using the work “anyone”. I’m one of those Minnesotans and I care, so because you painted with a wide stroked brush I have already killed that argument. I do understand what you may be trying to say but they are a commonwealth and have been part of D2 soccer for a while now.
Ah, I just remembered, you’re the one who said this blog writes too much about lower level soccer as well. One wonders then why you continue to come back to leave comments?
@bart-
Can you please clarify what you meant by, “the NASL is propped up by crack monies” in an earlier post?
@bq-
Thanks for the interview, although I still think the USL should have done more due dilligence on the sitatuation. It was fairly well known that Puerto Rico was going through some immense political and social changes (the banking crisis on the island) at the time this partnership was announced, how was this not taken into account?
No State Cup
No MRL
No ECNL
No US Club National Premier League
No High School
Very little College
You’ve strayed far my friend like a stray cat roaming the alleyways in search of his next meal.
Fair enough and I’m OK with that. I still plan on hitting State Cup but IMS has become a much larger presence than just MN and by doing so I have brought much more attention to MN soccer than I ever could have if I had kept it a tiny little site reporting only on Minnesota soccer that in truth not very many people came to read about.
I have put out calls many times asking for others to help out in writing these articles concerning Minnesota soccer. I’m sure most people realize covering this sort of thing takes a fair amount of time and no one has ever stepped forward. If you would like to start contributing Dane, I would love your help. Please let me know. Thanks!
Is a league based on a “regional approach” legitimate if it sanctions franchises with teams in division several thousand miles apart? I am very surprised that question was not asked repeatedly to USL management. Ask “Why not stick to your stated business plan and beg off to potential owners outside of the regional scope?” The fact that these teams failed is secondary to the inclusion of these teams and LA & Antigua in the first place!
jmb321
http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2010/12/11/usl-president-tim-holt-address-west-coast-usl-pro-franchise/
Thanks for posting the link.
And in consideration of his previous answers and in light of the fiasco on Puerto Rico ( and soon LA and Antiqua) why not ask that question again? The inclusion of these teams makes absolutely no sense for regional based league.
I can absolutely guarantee to you that the remaining franchise stakeholders are not happy with the incongruity (and cost) of flying all over the place to meet some existential objective of USL management.
I hope Dane takes up your offer, BQ. Yet, I suspect he/she will continue to lurk in the shadows and only contribute comments every so often.
@BQ – First let me say that Dane is the exception to the rule when it comes to your readership. I think we’re all, well the rest of us anyway LOL, glad that you decided to widen your scope. This is the first soccer related site I go to every single day after strikers.com. Don’t let his whining slow you down at all!
As for the interview, well, I’ll try not to be too controversial. I think Holt said all the things you’d expect. He certainly didn’t seem inclined to pick up any of the blame for the situation personally, or for the league. I think that was a mistake, and kind of comes off a bit arrogant. Sports fans tend to be overly forgiving. Just say, yep, we share in the blame, but we’re trying to right the ship and move forward. Don’t know why that couldn’t be done. Seems like it would have been smart, sincere or not.
And I’ll just never ever be able to figure out his obsessive need to continue taking shots at NASL. Why does he need to, not once, but twice!, ramble with the best league below MLS blah blah blah nonsense yet again? Toss in his, I’ll call it imaginative, take on the 696 people on opening day in LA, and his praise of Antigua who who really don’t know how they’re doing as two of their games have no recorded attendance, and their opener lists 6,000 but is a far cry from the 2,000 and 1,200 that is given for two others. Again, I know he’s trying to spin things because this is a serious black eye for his league, but a little heartfelt honesty and some sort of apology to fans for the mess seems like it would have been better. I mean really, in the thick of this mess, you’re still taunting the NASL? Good grief. That’s the kind of thing that takes away credibility and good will with fans.
I wish all D3 teams well, I really do. I want every team from the academy level all the way through MLS to be successful. I strongly believe we need a solid, functional soccer pyramid in this country in order to elevate the status of the level of play for all of its teams, up to and including the national team. We need a proper soccer pyramid at every level so that American players with promise can go from acadamies right through D1 playing here, rather than in other countries. That’s still a long way from happening, and leagues not being able to focus on the place in the pyramid that circumstances have shook out and determined they belong at, only makes it take even longer. Enough with begruding the NASL it’s place at D2, and focus on your own league more so that you aren’t revisiting debacles like this one again. Just some friendly, non-attacking advice.
@Dane: Considering the fact that some Minnesotans have participated in ongoing the discussions related to this subject, it is clear that they have some interest. That speaks a bit louder to us non-Minnesotans than your declaration that Puerto Rico is too far from Minnesota to be of any interest.
Secondly, sometimes projects evolve and missions expand. I admit to being out of the loop of Minnesotan soccer. I live over 1000 miles away. What little I do know about Minnesota soccer, I learned here on IMS. As a result, I probably now know a lot more about soccer in the North Star State than–and yes, I am completely pulling this number out of the, ergh uhm air–95% of US soccer fans who have no sort of Minnesota ties.
I owe that knowledge almsost exclusively to IMS.
If there is a better soccer site (it doesn’t even have to be a better one, it can just be an additional one) where I can get Minnesota soccer news, please share the info with me.
After stumbling across IMS, I have now become interested in learning more about the subject. Prior to IMS, I had no more interest in the subject that I did soccer in in Wisconsin or Iowa or Idaho or a lot of other states in the region.
Thanks a lot!
-Yankiboy
@Bart “I don’t know how much more due diligence can be conducted when the mayors of the cities are assuring funding, AND building soccer stadiums as evidence of commitment to the soccer team. This failure of funding also places the viability of these soccer stadiums at risk as well, and that is bad for the local city.”
Geez, I don’t know, maybe open their books and see if they actually have the money. Remember Enron Field in Houston? There is four-letter word for it: L-A-Z-Y!
@Soccerboy– ok, I will bite. Whose books do you open? The teams did not have the monies, everyone knew it, and the funding was supposed to come from the government.
If the government commits to funding, how do you get them to open the books?
I guess this all depends on what “commits” means. Is it some elected official stating it? Was it written down contracturally – if not, probably should have been? Was their any form of bond put in place? IMO, this would have been the proper due diligence, but as we all know hindsight is 20/20. Same due diligence that should have been used for many other past NASL and USL clubs. The main reason why USSF now has D2 standards in place – to prevent this from happening.
@Bart
You’re correct in one way about my earlier post: it is only my opinion that Holt’s responses constitute what I would call “a line.”
Here’s my reasoning. Holt’s answers are particularly complex in their grammar and their construction; this leads me to believe that these answers were made by e-mail or some like medium. As such, they sound very “prepared,” contrived even. You’ll notice that at several points Holt also repeats, verbatim, verbiage which is contained in yesterday’s press release. In addition, he also provides almost no information which was not contained in that press release–what little there is only serves to clarify previous statements, but does not actually shed any further light on the concrete actions taken by USL before or during the season which have now led to the contraction of the league. He takes no fault, admits no blame, and expresses no regret. In short, he passes the buck.
By soliciting BQ, he provides the illusion of openness without giving up any leverage. He’s the good guy.
And BQ, I meant what I said in my previous post, when I thanked you. You’ve done a great job here and in every other aspect of your work on this blog. It’s just my opinion that the Holt represented in this exchange is a consummate professional, and in this instance his profession is to dispense a hard company line. He’s simply doing his job. That job doesn’t involve giving us any information which might harm the image of those he represents.
@bart-
What do you mean when you wrote about the NASL being funded by “crack monies”?
@Trevor
Interesting comment on how Holt responded. If I were you, I would ask BQ if he talked to Holt directly, or forwarded questions in writing to Holt for Holt to respond to.
If BQ forwarded written questions, that would answer your question. The manner in which this article was written would lead me to believe a written exchange took place.
It also seems that all you ultimately are looking for is some admission of guilt from USL, instead of an explanation of the facts as they unfolded, which is how BQ’s questions were worded.
It happened via email more because of me that Tim. I was not able to talk to him because of my real “paying” day job. He said I could call him that night but there was a lot going on that day and I just wasn’t able to respond to him until what would have been 10:00 ET. So I submitted questions to him via email.
I am guessing we would not have gotten answers to some of those questions if this had been done verbally. And yes, he had time to answer but not a lot because if I recall he was sort of tied up with something that was somewhat pressing and more important than me.
With that said I’ve talked to Tim quite a number of times over the last couple of years and he is very well spoken and careful with his words.
@Bart: Given my involvement with the story, I had tried to limit my comments.
But I am going to have to disagree with you on something Bart:
It was known to the USL that the clubs were expecting additional funding after the season had started.
Is it logical to expect that money would be the only capital utilized by the three clubs would be government (be it local municiplaity or Dept of Tourism, or Department of Recreation and Sports)?
I’m going to say that even if I hadn’t been researching the story, and had access to less information–just knowing what I know of the histories of the USL and PRSL, as only Yankiboy, a “Joe Fan”–it’s not logical for the USL to expect that the only capital would be future monies received from government sources. Especially given the most basic knowledge of how related matters are handled in Puerto Rico.
[And this is where things get very "tricky" for me, having been a fan for so long but being in the process of transistioning to a different sort of particiaption, with a very different protocol that I am trying to become accustomed to...]
Taking off the “IMS contributor” hat,speaking only as “Yankiboy”, someone who has enthusiastically and financially supported USL product for several years now, given the history of lower league soccer here in the US–I am really struggling with that premise.
Other capital, non-governemnt related sponsorships (because all of those involved realized that almost non-existent gate revenues–no matter how rosey they may have been projected–wasn’t going to be even vaguely begin to be enough to keep the clubs going for the first month.
Start up captial? That can be researched, prior. Access to credit can be, as well. Bonded money? Not uncommon.
As a fan of the USL and PRSL, I have a lot more questions for all of key players involved.
Putting back on the IMS Contributor cap, I hope that IMS will be granted some more interviews that we can explore some of the questions further. We’ll be working to that end.
Some of the stories from some of those in Puerto Rico regarding USL support and expectations and how things went down still do not mesh with what we are hearing from the USL (of course, some of them more or less do).
Hopefully (key word), we will be able to bring some other perspectives from other parties involved…
Unfortunately in today’s society it is always someone else’s fault. The coach doesn’t like me so I don’t play enough, the teacher doesn’t like me and picks on me so I get in trouble and get bad grades, my boss doesn’t like me so I don’t get promoted, don’t get raises, or get fired, the PR politicians promised this, that, or the other so it’s not our fault…….. This very easily could have been avoided with stronger due diligence or guarantees in place. It was President Truman who had the sign on his desk that stated “THE BUCK STOPS HERE”. At the end of the day the vast majority of the blame and consequences lies with USL. Just like St. Louis and Crystal Palace last year fell at the feet of the TOA/NASL.
@bart-
Why are you refusing to answer a very simple question about your choice of words in regards to how the NASL is funded? Until you do so, I believe most people on here discount everything you have to say as you fail to defend your reasoning.
@Bart Come on buddy you hear him. Explain what you intended by that crack monies comment.
Haven’t made an excuse yet, that’s not like you, you’re normally full of them, really really full of them.
@ Jay Long
Good points from one perspective, but consider the following:
1. If there is reliance on government funding, it is not uncommon that the government funding is a major, make it or break it source of funding in a lot of business transactions, not just PR soccer.
2. If the government commits to funding, they will NOT produce a bond to guarantee the funding, nor will they “open the books” as another poster put it. In this case, the governments placed their commitment not only to funding, but spending big dollars on new soccer stadiums. Why would one not assume that the money was good, if the infrastructure was being built for that purpose?
3. It appears that USL was aware that gate revenue in PR was not going to take the teams over the top financially, it was the promised government monies. And if it was the case that the government funding was the mechanism to bring them over the top to break-even, then, as USL has shown, failure to receive the government funding was a disasterous event.
I don’t think the teams could adequately supplement or substitute the intended funding, and all parties, not just USL, relied on the government commitment. So now, what happens to the new stadiums? Almost everyone loses on this.
I agree that more communication with USL and IMS would be great. Maybe BQ can get a sit down interview with USL, much like he did with Davidson in MN. Nothing says it best than being there in person!!
LOL USL still sux…
@bart-
Still refusing to answer the question and defend your response, are we?
That is a shame. I thought you were better than that. I didn’t always agree with you, but now I just see you as a fraud that is unwilling to defend one of the more preposterous comments ever written on here.
Tell us what you meant by the NASL is run by “crack monies”, please.
@Bart: Thanks, when I used the word “bond”, I botched. I meant to say some sort of deposit held by the league in an escrow sort of situation for emergencies.
There is no doubt that the lack of government funding was disasterous. Several parties involved (not limited to the USL and PRSL) made several fatal assumptions. There must be a lot of regrets by many of those involved.
Again, given the nuances of how deals like these get done in Puerto Rico and given the economic crisis and several other factors– the risk of attempting it at the time that was chosen is still somewhat confusing to me. The potential volatilty to someone not involved just but looking from the outside in, seems like it was very clear before going ahead with the project.
There are some lessons to be learned here as both leagues go forward.
As far as the stadium matter goes–please let the record show that it was you who brought it up. It just leads to even more, very legitimate questions…
As I wrote previously, I have been purposefully trying to not get “too” engaged in the comments section regarding the interview. I want to participate more with comments but am trying to determine when it is appropriate to do so. I also don’t want to “comandeer” the discussion.
The last couple of days, I have been patiently waiting for someone to introduce that very delicate facet of this story for discussion.
Thanks you very much for being the person who did.
evan, evidently you failed to read the first comment on this post.
@Bart, I was criticized on the Davidson interview as well for not continuing to press him on certain issues. I think one thing that people fail to realize is there is a fine line in the interview process where if you press too hard you are not going to get any sort of answer. You also have to meter it to the situation and the persons personality. In the Davidson interview (as with the David Downs interview) I only had a limited amount of time (for different reasons). I can continue to drill someone or get as many answers as possible in that time.
And lastly I’m sure I can do a better job as well in perhaps getting more to the nut of the issue.
@BQ: You have NOTHING to apologize for. Just keep on keeping on.
Holt & Co. on the other hand ….
The recurring digs at NASL, besides growing tiresome, show that these people are in this for all the wrong reasons IMO. They need to focus on their business and quit worrying about others. I get that they feel wronged, but it’s time to move beyond that and just play ball. I support my local D2 & D3 teams and I don’t wish anybody ill. But I’m running out of patience with this lot.
Thanks for keeping us all informed BQ.
It’s good that Holt is willing to answer these questions and that they have now weeded out 3 teams that really could not handle being in USL Pro.
BUT in all honesty anyone with any sort of experience in lower division soccer in North America saw this as a bad idea from the start (along with Antigua and LA). They could have avoided this black eye and bad publicity by simply sticking to their “regional league” mantra they pitched during the offseason(the sales pitch that surely played a part in convincing Rochester and Austin/Orlando to self-relegate to D3). They didn’t need to add 3 Puerto Rican teams which apparently were only semi-guaranteed the government monies that they needed to handled the costs of being in USL Pro. The whole thing reeked of pure spite towards the NASL and the Islanders.
And like Strikers Return said, to throw out the “strongest and most sophisticated below MLS in the United States” line not once but twice, while answering questions about losing 3 teams only a few weeks into your season, is just unbelievable. That’s like if the Boston Celtics were saying today “Yeah this is embarrassing but we’re still better than the Heat”.
Again I wish the best of luck to every soccer team in North America and the Caribbean. I want to live to see the day when our country hosts some of the best teams and players in the world. Let’s hope the folks in charge can make it happen.
Tim Holt is glib and gifted at presenting USL in the best light. However, if you want to get to the gist of the matter , or “nut of the issue” you have to interview the CEO. He is the only one with real decision-making authority in the entire organization.
@TOM
Well said…. but has anyone at USL been fired because of this? Francisco MArcos where are you? Where will the next stop be on your Carribbean cruise…3 teams from Haiti
@jmb321
“f you want to get to the gist of the matter , or “nut of the issue” you have to interview the CEO. He is the only one with real decision-making authority in the entire organization.”
And he does not like to be the limelight or interviewed from what I’ve been told. Although I will honestly say I have never tried to set up an interview.
They don’t like to be the limelight or interviewed…?
Jeez all that USL new team success over the years, and they doesn’t want to be in the limelight? Now that is a surprise!
I guess that’s why they pay a guy like Tim Holt to do their work when it all goes wrong. Tim mush make a fortune. Maybe at least 20 million over the years?
Hey buddy want to buy a NASL team cheap, we got a few waiting for a guy like you Tim. Now that would be funny. LOL
I guess I need to breath once in a while so my brain can function and I can spell correctly. I’m blaming it on Bart.
Hi fellas half of you still giving my team a hard time I notice – well we have 18 points and on our way to the Rhinos which hurts you but who cares, when you say why take in caribbean teams have all you NASL fans noticed where the Islanders come from?
As mention earlier you know nothing about Antigua football but hey guess what we STREAM very good so take a look then chat……………..have a great weekend of football – GO CUDA”S
@thesuperrookie
Not avoiding anything.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crack_Money
No racist intent, just a comment, based upon folks that know more than me, on how Player Agent Companies make their money.
Brian & Jay, Great job as always reporting on the lower divisions. I appreciate Mr. Holt making himself available to deal with some of the questions. I think as a follow up to this article you or other IMS contributors should interview the remaining USL Pro owners. I’d be very interested in their answers to some of the same questions. I think the coming schedule changes will say a lot.
I also hope that Mr. Holt takes a page from you interview with Commissioner Downs who spoke only about his league & seems to be above the previous sniping from both sides.
The Difference between the NASL just has 1 and USL had 4 last week and now just one this week. USL can be a successful D3 league as long as it focuses on Creating its Regional Leagues.
They have a East League set up and it should work as long they create better standards for their Teams. NASL I think could be a successful D2 League as long as it sticks to finding the right investors. If they both bury the Hatchet then we will see HUGE improvements in D2 & D3 soccer in the USA.
@Bart – Wow, no wonder it took you so long to reply to thesuperrookie. It must have taken some time to dig up that tiny “gotta be true because it’s on wikipedia” article, and somehow tie that back to Traffic. You keep working on that lawyer prrof type stuff and get back to us when you’ve got more. LOL
@cudafan – Hello again our soccer loving Antigua friend! I think maybe you’re misunderstanding the comments in how they relate to your team specifically. Personally I feel a bit badly for Antigua at this point. They managed to stay afloat while the three PR teams could not. You guys do need to be a bit more above board on the attendance numbers though. First game 6,000 reported. Next two games, no report. Fourth game 2,000, and your most recent 1,200. Big spread, some very round numbers, and two missing. Causes those of us who pay attention to attendance to feel things might be a bit sketchy in that area. One thing no one can doubt is the on field performance of your guys. The other problem you may wind up having is whether or not the league will be willing to let a lone Caribbean team back in next year. The other clubs, no ofense to yours, would probably be happier not having to fly out to your country for matches. It’s a big expense on a D3 budget. But hey, if your team can get some legit attendance reporting down, and it is good, NASL might be able to make a spot for you down the road! LOL
@bart- thanks for the reply. don’t know if i understand, but then again, i went to a private school.
It’s so sad what has been going on these past days in Puerto Rico. Seeing the likes of Chris Megaloudis, Yaikel Perez, and former Islander great Peter Villegas, among many others, without a team to play in after being offered the chance to be part of the “strongest and most sophisticated league below MLS” is deplorable.
The people responsible for having the idea to bring these teams up to D3, most of which by all accounts and opinions were not ready to play, should be called out and held accountable. I hope that in the coming days more info continues to come out from Tampa and Puerto Rico regarding how this was thought up.
As I always have stated, it appears that these teams were sold the dream of becoming the next Islanders, while at the same time others where hoping that this would lead to the Islanders demise.
Actually thinking of starting my own blog. The demographic in here is now nationwide and so writing about Minnesota soccer, in particular MN youth soccer has become irrelevant. Should maybe think about re-branding this site.
@Dane- He DID RE-BRAND IT! It is no longer called “Inside Minnesota Soccer” it is “IMSoccer News”. Welcome! (It is also Thursday, May 12, 2011- in case you were wondering.)
Unstable Soccer League
United Spin Leagues
@thesuperrookie – I understand. Two things my former firm would never hire, and that are folks that think they are somebody because they went to a private school(certainly not insinuating anything here), and anyone that graduated from Harvard.
@Strikers Return – Please dude! While I certainly wish I could devote 24 hours a day to this wonderful site, my wife does make me do other chores that take up a chunk of time. If the chores don’t get done, the belt comes off for the beating…..
Dane, What El Padre said. That’s exactly correct. It was a rebranding of sorts.
As I pointed out to you today, when you stated that I don’t cover high school or college soccer, that was very incorrect. In 2.5 years I have made 140 posts on high school soccer. I cover the State HS Tourney by writing articles on each and every game and attend all the quarterfinals possible and all semifinals and finals. I have a second writer with me in Kyle Nelson and bring my own photographer in Jeremy Olson. I don’t think you will find better high school coverage anywhere in the nation. And I didn’t just cover the tourney but had other feature articles as well like several articles on the record breaking winning streak of Apple Valley and an article on Elliot Cassutt amongst others.
Google “Minnesota High School Soccer”. My ranking is higher than the Star Tribunes.
http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/category/high-school-soccer/
As to your saying I don’t cover college soccer I have posted 234 articles in that same time mentioned college soccer.
http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/?cat=30
157 on D1 soccer, 14 on D2 and 67 on D3.
Again, Google “minnesota college soccer” and see what you find.
I think your view of what I’ve been covering is very skewed and incorrect.
I’ve already got the readership so come and write for me instead of starting from scratch. Starting from scratch ain’t so easy as I found out.
Or, perhaps you can help out Tim Gibbons with the site he took over. It seemed he had high hopes of getting others to help out writing with the site but there hasn’t been a lot on there since he took it over in January. As stated earlier, it takes a lot of dedicated commitment to writing every single day to get readership and if you don’t do it no one else will. Best of luck.
http://mnfutbol.blogspot.com/
Bart, I would have preferred if you kept ignoring thesuperrookie. I was finding him to be the annoying one. But now you go and post a wikipedia link to a page that was created today, so now it has me wondering what the hell you are trying to pull. superrook, have at it
Quick, everybody make posts Bart won’t be able to resist responding to! Let the beatings commence!!! LOL
sedlie- you know i don’t stop once i am on a mission!