Announcing New Club Invites

The money train keeps on rolln....choo choo. Soccer isn't free in pay to play. 8 to 10K is the reality.

I would love to hear your proposals on paying coaches, leagues, referees, and training facilities without a pay to play model. Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is. Choo choo

Your the expert Zizou you figure it out.

Ziz offered up a curve ball of a softball pitch with that question...

The answer...

1. Go back to the days of when select meant select.
2. Break the MLS Monopoly it has as a closed league.
3. Allow transfer fees to be paid to the clubs that develop the talent.  We are the only country in the world that does not allow it.
4. Institute promotion and relegation at the pro level.


Wait, I think I just described every country in the world except our own...

With a population the size of ours... The financial backers there would be... We have Americans that own epl clubs as an example...

They would be mining the fields and developing them at a rate no other country has seen... No incentive when it costs what it does to buy into MLS and then what... Profit share... Ppppfffttt..

Medicine Man wrote:Your the expert Zizou you figure it out.

That’s what I thought!

At the Pitch,

You are spot on! Relegation, etc...is the way out of this mess. You're a pretty smart fella!

Brilliant!

AtThePitch wrote:Ziz offered up a curve ball of a softball pitch with that question...

The answer...

1. Go back to the days of when select meant select.
2. Break the MLS Monopoly it has as a closed league.
3. Allow transfer fees to be paid to the clubs that develop the talent.  We are the only country in the world that does not allow it.
4. Institute promotion and relegation at the pro level.


Wait, I think I just described every country in the world except our own...

With a population the size of ours... The financial backers there would be... We have Americans that own epl clubs as an example...

They would be mining the fields and developing them at a rate no other country has seen... No incentive when it costs what it does to buy into MLS and then what... Profit share... Ppppfffttt..

This would shut a lot of kids out from playing the game until the financial backers and signing bonuses started to role in. This could take time and their is initial risk involved.

bird04 wrote:At the Pitch,

You are spot on! Relegation, etc...is the way out of this mess. You're a pretty smart fella!

Relegation has nothing to do with developing a non pay to play system. Pryor to ECNL and DA the system was a relegation system that built the pay to play system we have today.

Relegation at the P R O level... Not youth soccer.

Open the floodgates like the rest of the world Zizou. Why restrict to a few that can afford the old system when we have the resources in players and the money to pump into this sport. Without risk there can be no reward. Nothing come easy but over time we can right the ship. Everybody should be at the round table w equal opportunity.

Soccer is the world's sport, there are no excuses for our lack of presence here in the US.

Yeah, they can just send you the bill.

Closed market doesn't work Zizou. We will continue to digress on the world stage. Put your money where your mouth is and get to marketing the sponsors instead of squeezing the public.

Market is not closed. Players that need the help and have talent can get assistance. Be careful sponsorship will focus primarily on the elite players that could eventually bring returns.

Pay to play is a closed market we need an open market Zizou otherwise your are alienating alot of the soccer players. We all need to feed at the table EZ not just a few.

Market has more girls playing in it than ever before. I’m sorry that it is closed to you. I feel your pain! Not

AtThePitch wrote:Relegation at the P R O level... Not youth soccer.

Thank you...I thought that it was clear that it was at the Professional level, but I guess I should have been more specific. Rest of world and all that...

bird04 wrote:

AtThePitch wrote:Relegation at the P R O level... Not youth soccer.

Thank you...I thought that it was clear that it was at the Professional level, but I guess I should have been more specific. Rest of world and all that...

Is that one of your aliases Ziz?

There has never been pro/rel at the professional level at any point in this country.

Gulati spent an awful lot of time explaining why it won't work (propping up his investors)......maybe now?

Can someone please explain to me what is so special about soccer that it requires promotion/relegation to develop world class players/teams?

Basketball, baseball, hockey, etc., all seem to do just fine without pro/rel.  Why does soccer need it?

And I’m not talking about the US here.  I’m not aware of pro/rel or transfer fees, etc. in any of those other sports in the US, Europe, Asia, South America.  Why is it only soccer?

AtThePitch wrote:

bird04 wrote:

AtThePitch wrote:Relegation at the P R O level... Not youth soccer.

Thank you...I thought that it was clear that it was at the Professional level, but I guess I should have been more specific. Rest of world and all that...

Is that one of your aliases Ziz?

There has never been pro/rel at the professional level at any point in this country.

No...not Ziz. Tulsa guy...Yes, there never has been relegation/promotion at any point in this country...hence, the reason MLS is a cut rate league. If you had rel/pro, it would really spark more fan interest in pro teams around the country as you have a chance of advancement and a chance of being relegated. More interest = more youth interested=more of this country's talented athletes going into soccer instead of football, etc...Just my opinion, but hardly an original one...

DeltaTauChi wrote:Can someone please explain to me what is so special about soccer that it requires promotion/relegation to develop world class players/teams?

Basketball, baseball, hockey, etc., all seem to do just fine without pro/rel.  Why does soccer need it?

And I’m not talking about the US here.  I’m not aware of pro/rel or transfer fees, etc. in any of those other sports in the US, Europe, Asia, South America.  Why is it only soccer?

Soccer is not a sport you can pick up at say 15 and be good just because you are big, strong, fast, hit ball far, etc...

Takes years and years of perfecting the craft.

Pro/rel here in this country could go 1 of 2 ways, ideally split between the two..

1. Big money spendors open flood gates like Chinese league or EPL and spend spend spend.
2. A bunch of borussia dortmunds spring up constantly turning out top level talent.. to sell and keep the club top level..

A nice split of the two would be great.

Raising salaries and interest by youth.

AtThePitch wrote:

Soccer is not a sport you can pick up at say 15 and be good just because you are big, strong, fast, hit ball far, etc...

Takes years and years of perfecting the craft.

You think it doesn't take years to perfect the craft in those other sports?  

C'mon Dude, the overwhelming majority of the best players in the world at those sports didn't just "pick it up at say 15".  They've been playing it since their early youth just like all the top soccer players have. Oh, by the way, picking it up at 15 is exactly what Alex Morgan did, and just as she is the exception to the rule, the ones that do it in those other sports are the exception to the rule.

There is nothing inherent to the "beautiful game" that makes it take any more time or effort to perfect the craft than it does in any other major sport.  In all of these sports (yes even in soccer), the best players are almost always elite athletes first, but then they are smarter, more mentally tough, and work harder than the other elite athletes to get to the top rung of their sport.

Sorry, I'm just not buying the elitist crap about soccer needing promotion and relegation and transfer fees, when none of these other major sports do.

Pay to play is a closed market. Bottom line. Alex left her dad's team in her teenage years so she could pay to play.

How many Ms. Morgan's are out there being missed?

None, if you can play. They will find you!

594 post of nothing. TXSoccer Author not