Canadian Premier League

[Complete Homer]

I think CSA would think long and hard about a 4th MLS team. I don't think they'd dismiss it out of hand. 

I think the more important factor in negating the risk of team poaching is the way the single entity/hybrid is structured. If all teams (or a core group of teams, with more external franchises granted in some markets) are centrally owned, it becomes much more difficult structurally to extricate a team for MLS, especially in comparison to NASL. Probably not impossible, but it gives the league a huge say in the matter

[TRM]

The CSA will mandate that for every goal an MLS team scores against a CPL team they have to take one player off the field  

 

[TRM]

15 hours ago, Kent said:

There is an original post on this thread? I thought this thread had no beginning or end. You just blew my mind!

This is the thread that never ends
It goes on and on my friend
Some people started posting, not knowing what it was
They're going to keep on posting simply just because
This is the thread that never ends
It goes on and on my friend
Some people started posting, not knowing what it was
They're going to keep on posting simply just because
This is the thread that never ends
It goes on and on my friend
Some people started posting, not knowing what it was
They're going to keep on posting simply just because

[rob.notenboom]

25 minutes ago, TRM said:

This is the thread that never ends
It goes on and on my friend
Some people started posting, not knowing what it was
They're going to keep on posting simply just because
This is the thread that never ends
It goes on and on my friend
Some people started posting, not knowing what it was
They're going to keep on posting simply just because
This is the thread that never ends
It goes on and on my friend
Some people started posting, not knowing what it was
They're going to keep on posting simply just because

Geezus I'm going to be singing this all day ... the drawbacks of having kids, being susceptible to ear worms, and having on off-beat sense of humour. 

 

That's very good btw. Well done. 

[Blackdude]

I tapped out on this thread like 100 pages ago. 

[PJSweet]

Another teaser tweet from Anthony Totera about the CPL. I wonder what this one seems to mean. I will certainly stay tune tomorrow. Please Anthony give us more solid leads this time. Tell us something new rather than something that we already know as of months ago.

[TRM]

9 hours ago, rob.notenboom said:

Geezus I'm going to be singing this all day ... the drawbacks of having kids, being susceptible to ear worms, and having on off-beat sense of humour. 

 

That's very good btw. Well done. 

That stupid wheels on the bus song and the song that never ends are stuck in my head and as much as I wish I could purge them I can't. Oh well at least my kid liked Futurama (yes he watched it with me)

[Kent]

2 hours ago, PJSweet said:

Another teaser tweet from Anthony Totera about the CPL. I wonder what this one seems to mean. I will certainly stay tune tomorrow. Please Anthony give us more solid leads this time. Tell us something new rather than something that we already know as of months ago.

It sounds exactly like an advert for a rant. I wouldn't read anything more from it (and I like Totera just fine).

[rob.notenboom]

1 hour ago, Kent said:

It sounds exactly like an advert for a rant. I wouldn't read anything more from it (and I like Totera just fine).

A shocking development would be a quiet or subdued message.

[Gopherbashi]

Yeah, sounds like a "This is why I support CPL" instead of "We're here for an exclusive interview with Paul Beirne, Vic Montagliani, and Frank Stronach" kind of stuff.

[Gopherbashi]

I got bored while my wife was watching the Oscars and decided to rig up a potential Voyageurs Cup format that fully incorporated the D3 structure (mainly by supplanting their existing, self-contained cup tournaments).

Qualifying Rounds:
Each league produces its own champion by mid-June using single-legged ties, leaving three teams.  I brought in FCE at this point to face the BCRT3 champ, while the L1O & PLSQ champs face off in the east.  The winner of these two matches then face off to determine which of them qualifies as the 12th team for the main tournament.  I picked the Canada Day long weekend as the date for this match, as it's probably easier for amateur players to get time off of work then as opposed to flying cross-country mid-week, and none of your NCAA players will have gone back to their colleges by this point.

(For the sake of argument, I assumed 8 CPL teams, and that one of those is OFFC.  That's likely not the case at the start, but it makes the bracket less messy.)

Proper Rounds:
For the tournament proper, I've got 12 teams - 3 MLS, 8 CPL, and our one qualifier.  4 teams need a bye out of the first round - this could be done by random draw, or you could reward the previous year's 4 semifinalists with those 4 byes (which seems like a funner option to me).  1st round pairings could be done geographically or by random draw (my preference).

Ties at this point are two-legged, provided the qualifying team can find a stadium that meets various minimum requirements.  Finals would wrap up around Labour Day, giving lots of time for the pro teams to focus on their league playoff runs.

Additions:
It's tempting to try and make room for more D3 teams, USL teams, PDL teams, or Challenge Cup teams into the tournament proper with those bye spots, but I think this way balances the need for quality matches (and avoiding useless cross-country travel) with the desire to open up the Voyageurs Cup.  [Post-thought: Yes, you could eliminate the 5th (and maybe even 4th) qualifying rounds, and just put those teams into a geography-based 1st round proper to save some travel costs, but you might start having too many one-sided matches for comfort.]  Adding the Challenge Cup winner might be difficult as that trophy is awarded the year before, and it might be difficult to keep a similar roster between seasons.  PDL teams are also tempting to add, but since they're formally "below D3" (and the CSA wants to promote our D3 system), it might be tough to find a good place for them to enter (my best suggestion would be a Canadian PDL cup, whose winner enters against the BCRT3 champ instead of FCE).

Hopefully my glorious excel bracket makes some amount of sense to you.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

7 hours ago, Gopherbashi said:

Yeah, sounds like a "This is why I support CPL" instead of "We're here for an exclusive interview with Paul Beirne, Vic Montagliani, and Frank Stronach" kind of stuff.

Think if we have learned one thing over the last week or so, it's that Anthony Totera isn't in the loop where the new league is concerned and has even less idea on what is happening in terms of the timing of announcements than some of the fan group people that are posting on here, who have a limited degree of access to Paul Beirne. He uses things like the proposed new domestic pro league and the Giovinco to China non-story to gain attention for his podcast, basically.

Winding things back to the Kurt Larson article about Bill Manning's views about "CPL", I find it interesting that MLSE are in the dark over what's happening even after speaking to Victor Montagliani in September last year and more recently Scott Mitchell. Although I think MLS affiliates should be involved in something like this in a Canadian version of USL sort of way that tends on one level to strongly suggest that they won't be as I am sure plans would have been shared to a deeper extent if the "CPL" swathe of ownership wanted to proceed in that direction.

Going a bit deeper, however, given Larry Tannenbaum's ownership role with both the Argos and TFC and the fact that the last Grey Cup was at BMO Field and would no doubt have involved a set of league meetings and social gatherings, how credible is it that there is a deep CFL involvement beyond the Ticats as suggested by Duane Rollins, if MLSE (who no doubt will be aware of his podcasts and their content) claim to still be completely unaware as to who the Ticats would be bringing into "CPL"? At any Grey Cup related social gathering it would presumably be easy enough for somebody like Larry Tannenbaum to ask the representatives of other CFL owners (e.g. Calgary and Winnipeg) where they stand on pro soccer at the moment and how they feel about playing against TFC II if they are thinking about launching a team.

[Ansem]

Another fact that shows that the status quo and our dependence on the USSF system has been a failure

 

Pre MLS Era since 1976, we were there in:

• 2007 as host
• 2005
• 2003 (Quarter-Finals)
• 2001
• 1997 (Round of 16)
• 1987
• 1985
• 1979

Then MLS era came .... Nothing

[Rheo]

17 hours ago, PJSweet said:

Another teaser tweet from Anthony Totera about the CPL. I wonder what this one seems to mean. I will certainly stay tune tomorrow. Please Anthony give us more solid leads this time. Tell us something new rather than something that we already know as of months ago.

Can't link to tweets on the computer at work but his announcement is that he's having four former CSL players on tonight discussing why now is the time for the CPL.

[Rheo]

Also John Molinaro talked to Manning about his CPL comments.  Off to read now...

http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/tfc-toronto-fc-bill-manning-tim-bezbatchenko-cpl-canadian-premier-league/

But multiple sources have told Sportsnet that the CPL is opposed to TFC involvement as optically it could cheapen the league to have an MLS reserve team competing in it, and that it would make the CPL look like a minor league. The CPL is also fearful that TFC would attempt to dictate league policy, sources told Sportsnet. 

Interesting that they have multiple sources.  Nice to see something concrete from a mainstream outlet.

[Ansem]

This is as official as you'll get...yes, talking about the BBTB gang

But multiple sources have told Sportsnet that the CPL is opposed to TFC involvement as optically it could cheapen the league to have an MLS reserve team competing in it, and that it would make the CPL look like a minor league. The CPL is also fearful that TFC would attempt to dictate league policy, sources told Sportsnet.

[Macksam]

3 minutes ago, Rheo said:

Also John Molinaro talked to Manning about his CPL comments.  Off to read now...

http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/tfc-toronto-fc-bill-manning-tim-bezbatchenko-cpl-canadian-premier-league/

it's pretty much what he said previously with the Pizza shop owner. I still say fuck him. I can't stand MLSE and their monopoly with regards to pro sports in this city. Toronto in the CPL is literally our chance to bring the power of pro sports back to the people.

[Kent]

2 hours ago, Ansem said:

Another fact that shows that the status quo and our dependence on the USSF system has been a failure

 

Pre MLS Era since 1976, we were there in:

• 2007 as host
• 2005
• 2003 (Quarter-Finals)
• 2001
• 1997 (Round of 16)
• 1987
• 1985
• 1979

Then MLS era came .... Nothing

I had noticed that a while back as well, but I also noticed that there was only one qualification (1987) during the CSL era (1987-1992). Smaller sample space, but it's a stat that doesn't look great for a Canadian pro league argument.

[Macksam]

5 minutes ago, Ansem said:

This is as official as you'll get...yes, talking about the BBTB gang

But multiple sources have told Sportsnet that the CPL is opposed to TFC involvement as optically it could cheapen the league to have an MLS reserve team competing in it, and that it would make the CPL look like a minor league. The CPL is also fearful that TFC would attempt to dictate league policy, sources told Sportsnet.

I think so to.

LOL, but a apart of me kept getting this image of Molinaro just viewing this thread and plucking the arguments used here as his "multiple sources"

I hope not though.

[Rheo]

Like I said when the Manning comments first came in the Larsen article, the fact that TFC feels the need to get out in front of the CPL to try and form the narrative for the general public is the best sign I've seen for the league.

[dyslexic nam]

To be fair, it was really only a small minority of posters who ever thought it was even remotely a good idea to have them involved.  To everyone else, the implication was pretty obvious.

[Ansem]

4 minutes ago, Rheo said:

Like I said when the Manning comments first came in the Larsen article, the fact that TFC feels the need to get out in front of the CPL to try and form the narrative for the general public is the best sign I've seen for the league.

and also how seriously they take CPL. From a business point of view, if my competition is small fry, you don't exist to me.

Wrestling comparison for fun!

WWF vs. WCW= They acknowledge publicly their competition and co-existence in an aggressive attempt to beat one another

WWE vs TNA= "What's a TNA???"

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

19 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

To be fair, it was really only a small minority of posters who ever thought it was even remotely a good idea to have them involved.  To everyone else, the implication was pretty obvious.

Not many people posting here compared to something like a TFC board, so what's a minority opinion here may not be a minority opinion overall amongst people who follow Canadian pro soccer. Beyond that even in the absence of the reserve teams it would still in all likelihood be viewed as minor league by many/most if MLS teams are the one lifting the Voyageurs Cup trophy each and every season, so I think it's mainly a problem with CFL people in Hamilton not being able to cope with Toronto not being the main rival because they are used to the Ticats vs Argos thing.

[Ansem]

4 minutes ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Not many people posting here compared to something like a TFC board, so what's a minority opinion here may not be a minority opinion overall amongst people who follow Canadian pro soccer. Beyond that even in the absence of the reserve teams it would still in all likelihood be viewed as minor league by many/most if MLS teams are the one lifting the Voyageurs Cup trophy each and every season, so I think it's mainly a problem with CFL people in Hamilton not being able to cope with Toronto not being the main rival because they are used to the Ticats vs Argos thing.

You're obsession at seeing your dream of CPL fail and be in MLS shadow is both amusing and disturbing.

Sigh....

Let's go back to the UEFA Champions league.

So La Liga lifting the lion share of the trophy in recent years makes French Ligue 1 a minor league? Seria A? Bundesliga? All minor leagues?

Stop taking mental shortcuts...

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Does La Liga have a team in Paris and does the French Football Federation have a deal with La Liga to sign the best French prospects with La Liga teams? There's no sensible analogy there.