by Cheeta
You could say the summer of 2009 was a pretty good one for Mr. Marcus Haber of Vancouver, British Columbia. After a year or two in Holland the gifted Big Man came home to spend a summer with family, friends, and of course the Vancouver WhiteCaps Football Club. Impressive individual performances, coming within a skipped heart beat of the Voyageur's Cup, a 1st Division runners up medal, and a United Soccer League's Rookie of the Year award all added up to a return trip to Europe for trials and as announced this Friday past, a contract with Coca Cola Championship side and promotion favorites West Bromwich Albion.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]So aside from the usual congratulations to young Mr Haber on advancing his career in exactly the fashion everyone was expecting him to after a very, very good 2009, how do things stand as of this Monday as a result of all this? Analysis.
1).The 'Caps will be hard pressed to replace an attacking player who'd become by years end so influential and productive.
2). Canada's football community will for a little while longer have to endure the smug grin on Bob Lenarduzzi's face as the pre-MLS WhiteCaps organization, for a fee of course, sends yet another player onto bigger and better things in Europe.
3). After two years in Holland and a year in the USL bloggers back home in Canada will have to be forgiving of Mr Haber's frequent use of the phrase “ka-CHING” when replying to what it means to be playing in the CCC with West Brom.
Setanta subscribers may get the very first look at Marcus Baggie this coming Monday as West Brom are away to top of table Newcastle on the 18th. Live kick-off scheduled for 2:45PM EST.
North American Soccer League Mark II, sort of.
So while Marcus Haber has jetted-off to set up his locker at The Hawthorns back in the New World all that purse swinging between the break away North American Soccer League (Mark II) and the United Soccer Leagues has come to be replaced by simple evil looks thanks to the family councilling skills of the United States Soccer Federation.
Both groups will compete in a thing called the USSF 2nd Division in 2010 with the various club members split into two strictly cosmetic conferences diplomatically titled the USL Conference and the NASL Conference.
While USL head quarters will call this compromise league structure a victory and crow about how it was earned entirely on that organizations strong reputation within US soccer circles all the singing, dancing, and otherwise joyful carrying-on is happening at the various NASL rebel clubs. The band-aid league has given USL a measure of face saving and the NASL group a year more to throw their considerable collective financial clout and business experience into a more polished article.
With the cream of the crop from the old USL 1st Division still working towards the NASL no one is taking bets at any odds that after the USSF 2nd Division mandate expires at the end of this season there will be anything other than a freshly re-minted NASL to replace it.
So look for the North American Soccer League, Mark II coming to a city near you in 2011.