Ottawa CPL Club

[shamrock]

2 minutes ago, Initial B said:

If the Fury and CPL are bidding on players, I don't see how CPL teams can compete on pay. The best players will play for Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, the next tier will play for Ottawa, and the rest will play for CPL clubs.

No. Players want to play. Ottawa can only field 11 players a game, the others will start to look somewhere fast. 

[Cheeta]

1 hour ago, ted said:

Of the seven teams already in the league which 5 are the, "core teams"? 

 

Not York and not Pacific.  

 

[Ansem]

32 minutes ago, Initial B said:

If the Fury and CPL are bidding on players, I don't see how CPL teams can compete on pay. The best players will play for Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, the next tier will play for Ottawa, and the rest will play for CPL clubs.

We won't know that until the league's comes our with financial figures. Healthcare being taken care off and more minutes could help sway the decision. Players WANTS to play.

Of course money counts but let's not count those on loans into that equation. USL numbers aren't fully disclosed so nothing stops clubs to say whatever they want fit their narrative 

Edited September 10, 2018 by Ansem

[BuzzAndSting]

Duane Rollins saying today that JDG is the driving force behind the Fury’s decision to remain in the USL and that he actively discouraging Canadian players to stay away from the league.

[Kent]

6 minutes ago, BuzzAndSting said:

Duane Rollins saying today that JDG is the driving force behind the Fury’s decision to remain in the USL and that he actively discouraging Canadian players to stay away from the league.

If this is true, it's not good for my world view. I want JDG to be one of the good guys. I like seeing the articles and videos canpl.ca has been putting out with former/current(?) national teamers supporting the league. Ante Jazic, Milan Borjan, Atiba Hutchinson, and of course guys involved in the league like Jim Brennan, Rob Friend, and Josh Simpson (sorry to others I may have missed). I don't want former nats to be trying to torpedo the effort that is going into this league.

Hopefully Duane has this one wrong.

[yellowsweatygorilla]

1 minute ago, Kent said:

If this is true, it's not good for my world view. I want JDG to be one of the good guys. I like seeing the articles and videos canpl.ca has been putting out with former/current(?) national teamers supporting the league. Ante Jazic, Milan Borjan, Atiba Hutchinson, and of course guys involved in the league like Jim Brennan, Rob Friend, and Josh Simpson (sorry to others I may have missed). I don't want former nats to be trying to torpedo the effort that is going into this league.

Hopefully Duane has this one wrong.

I was very angry when I first heard the news, but after listening to the entire podcast, specifically Duane mentioning that he thinks the rumoured lower cap (though I am unsure if its $500 or $750 he is referring to), it seems reasonable that if players are asking JDG whether to hold off on accepting offers overseas, JDG might advise against it. Their other offers would likely be much higher than the $20-30k you'd make at CPL. I can't blame him as it's a livelihood issue ?

[Ansem]

2 minutes ago, Kent said:

If this is true, it's not good for my world view. I want JDG to be one of the good guys. I like seeing the articles and videos canpl.ca has been putting out with former/current(?) national teamers supporting the league. Ante Jazic, Milan Borjan, Atiba Hutchinson, and of course guys involved in the league like Jim Brennan, Rob Friend, and Josh Simpson (sorry to others I may have missed). I don't want former nats to be trying to torpedo the effort that is going into this league.

Hopefully Duane has this one wrong.

That would be in the interest of the Fury so Canadian talents knocks on their doors first.

Seems like JDG went fully corporate mode

[Vic]

"[the Fury is] going to be a place to house a lot of the Canadian National Team talent to play somewhere regularly together."

 

Check it out. Dustin Hoffman, 'Rain Man,' look retarded, act retarded, not retarded. Counted toothpicks, cheated cards. Autistic, sho'. Not retarded. You know Tom Hanks, 'Forrest Gump.' Slow, yes. Retarded, maybe. Braces on his legs. But he charmed the pants off Nixon and he won a ping-pong competition. That ain't retarded. He was a goddamn war hero. You know any retarded war heroes? You went full retard, man. Never go full retard. You don't buy that? Ask Sean Penn, 2001, "I Am Sam." Remember? Went full retard, went home empty-handed.

 

[Ansem]

12 minutes ago, yellowsweatygorilla said:

I was very angry when I first heard the news, but after listening to the entire podcast, specifically Duane mentioning that he thinks the rumoured lower cap (though I am unsure if its $500 or $750 he is referring to), it seems reasonable that if players are asking JDG whether to hold off on accepting offers overseas, JDG might advise against it. Their other offers would likely be much higher than the $20-30k you'd make at CPL. I can't blame him as it's a livelihood issue ?

Looking at the 5 pools that CPL announced:

1-Foundationals (MNT and top leagues)

2-Up and Coming (Developmental leagues, lower leagues)

3-Home talent (Youth players from team's area)

4-college and University draft 

5-Overseas (Internationals)

1-Only Foundationals would be entitled to higher pay here.

2-Current USL (not including loans and those on MLS contracts) don't earn that much. Why would CPL seek to pay that much more than USL, when healthcare is taken care off, playing time plentiful and similar pay but in Canadian dollar. Lower Euro or American divisions don't earn that much either.

3-Youth players would likely get minimum pay anyways 

4-Same as point 3 for Universities and colleges

5-For me this is where it will hurt the most. The $1.5M rumored salary made us think that CPL would go after good internationals to upgrade the quality. If the lower cap is true, this is where CPL owners decided to cut and are unwilling to go all out on season 1, choosing a more prudent path to see how they do on the 1st season.

Maybe there's a DP possibility here (1-2 players not counting against the cap) or soft cap + luxury tax...but the pools 2 to 4 were always looking at lower wages and I never expected the league to pay these guys several time higher than what they are getting now in USL or above their current market value.

So to me, the league must have came to the conclusion that the Foundationals are scarce and unlikely to leave where they are. That would explain why they wouldn't allow the Fury to keep all the foundationals they accumulated for themselves in season 1, scarcity of that pool and bad optics (CPL getting thrashed by a USL team) which is likely to happen if poll 5 (Internationals) saw a severe reduction of intended spending.

The league also came to a conclusion that for Season 1, to be prudent on International spending and go heavy on Canadians at first was the more reasonable path for long term viability

That's how I read it

 

Edited September 10, 2018 by Ansem

[Ansem]

http://canpl.ca/article/state-of-the-league-clanachan-on-ottawa-fury-cpl-roster-rules-and-more

We’ve had interest from Ottawa from multiple parties, which is very important to us. We believe that the nation’s capital is a great place for a club, so we’ll be looking at that as well.”

Fn told you so

 

 

Could you provide an update regarding the Ottawa Fury’s decision to remain in the USL?

“Let me start by saying that we are committed to the city of Ottawa and think it will be a great Canadian Premier League market. Let’s be clear, in order for us to be a truly successful Canadian league, we need to be in our nation’s capital. We have a positive relationship with OSEG overall and value the financial commitments they have made to soccer in Ottawa, and we will see where this goes in the future.

“As far as a specific ownership group goes, we’ve had many discussions with the Fury and with OSEG through the last three years. They were very much included in all information and strategy over that time. As for a transition to the Canadian Premier League, we were quite willing to adapt in a number of areas, because we recognized the fact that they were an existing team playing in the USL this year, under different circumstances. We were prepared to accommodate them, specifically around details like players, soccer operations and player salaries. We had actually offered to have them operate under the exact same circumstances as they are now. We felt like we presented a series of accommodations on a number of different things in order for Ottawa to feel confident about playing in the Canadian Premier League. We did everything we could to help them feel welcome. Unfortunately, they made a different decision and we were surprised after the accommodations we had proposed, when they notified us last week that they were prepared to continue to operate in the USL.

“There are very few countries in the world that operate their own, independent domestic professional league while also permitting two different foreign leagues to operate inside their borders.  To reach our potential in world soccer, we as Canadians need to become the agent of our own soccer future. In the USL, the focus of control is based in the U.S. and Canadian interests will always be subjugated by the interests of American soccer. This would continue to leave us dependent and underdeveloped as a soccer country.”

“From a salary and soccer operations budget, we’re north of seven figures. We have a very robust payroll package setup for our clubs. It’s important that we do that. We’ll have players at different levels of payroll based on their experience and their abilities. And, I’m pleased to say we are getting enquiries from Canadian players that have gone abroad and are playing in leagues outside of Canada, that now want to come back home. There’s no better sign of a positive attitude toward what we’re creating here than Canadians who are already playing professionally wanting to come home. Frankly, I don’t blame them.”

Edited September 10, 2018 by Ansem

[Ansem]

https://the11.ca/my-league-is-better-than-your-league-sing-it-fury-vs-canpl-and-what-comes-next/

Basically, the warning is this. You can either let it go or escalate the situation, where the collateral damage will hurt Canadian soccer as a whole.

That’s not to say the CanPL doesn’t have its own course. It’s no longer morally obligated to hold a spot for the Fury. If someone else from the nation’s capital comes forward, the CanPL can listen.

As well, the current owners of the existing seven member CanPL teams are the ones who make the rules. They didn’t have to pay huge fees to join the league because they’re the ones founding the league. But, well, in the future, if OSEG comes back to the table, the existing CanPL owners can say, “well, you’re an expansion team, now, and with that comes expansion fees.” And any money the Fury might save on USL exit fees or whatnot could very well be swallowed up by an entry fee to enter the CanPL.

So, basically, if you’re angry about what the Fury has done this past week, remember the most important thing Star Trek has ever taught us: Revenge is a dish best served cold. The time will come down the road when the Fury and CanPL will likely be back at the table.

[Alex D]

Soccer Warz North!

Common ingredient, USL

[masster]

1 hour ago, BuzzAndSting said:

Duane Rollins saying today that JDG is the driving force behind the Fury’s decision to remain in the USL and that he actively discouraging Canadian players to stay away from the league.

I can't confirm this...but I had heard something similar. I didn't believe it at the time. Wow.

[masster]

Canadian Press article that confirms that the Fury can exit the USL at any time as long as they give proper notice.
https://www.timescolonist.com/sports/ottawa-happy-with-the-usl-experience-for-now-but-will-be-watching-cpl-closely-1.23425655

[Ansem]

Anyone wants to speculate on who the other ownership groups are for Ottawa?

Melnyk is an obvious name to bring up as he wanted to have an MLS team and a new stadium at a point in time.

Who else?

Edited September 10, 2018 by Ansem

[Viruk42]

1 minute ago, Ansem said:

Anyone wants to speculate on who the other ownership groups are for Ottawa?

Melnyk is an obvious name to bring up as he wanted to have an MLS team and a new stadium at a point in time.

Who else?

Melnyk has enough money problems with the Sens I'd be surprised if he were still trying to get a soccer team here. Maybe some of the developers he bid with (or against) on the LeBreton redevelopment? 

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

5 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Anyone wants to speculate on who the other ownership groups are for Ottawa?

Melnyk is an obvious name to bring up as he wanted to have an MLS team and a new stadium at a point in time.

Who else?

We’ve had interest from Ottawa from multiple parties, is not the same thing as ownership groups. 

[Rattler280]

6 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Anyone wants to speculate on who the other ownership groups are for Ottawa?

Melnyk is an obvious name to bring up as he wanted to have an MLS team and a new stadium at a point in time.

Who else?

Melnyk can't even afford to keep the hot water on at the CTC. A divorce and SEC sanctions have crippled him financially.

Where would this mystery team even play? Seems like a whole lot of bluster just to try and save face.

[Ansem]

8 minutes ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

We’ve had interest from Ottawa from multiple parties, is not the same thing as ownership groups. 

My bad, thanks for clarifying 

[shamrock]

Problem is OSEG has that awesome stadium. I mean, every other stadium option would be a serious downgrade. 

I feel like CSA should force them out of USL, if not now, next season. What good does it do for soccer in Canada to have them playing there?

Edited September 10, 2018 by shamrock

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Paying fringe CMNT players a reasonably liveable salary rather than burger flipping type ones?

Edited September 10, 2018 by BringBackTheBlizzard

[Ansem]

24 minutes ago, Viruk42 said:

Melnyk has enough money problems with the Sens I'd be surprised if he were still trying to get a soccer team here. Maybe some of the developers he bid with (or against) on the LeBreton redevelopment? 

I was thinking that too. The guys who bid against Melnyk for LeBreton Flats are the group of Devcore, Canderel and DLS Group

1-Gatineau-based Devcore group is one of the region's largest developers with annual sales of $100M

2-Montreal-based Caderel

DLS

(D for Desmarais) 3-F'N Power Corporation of Canada. The Desmarais family is among the richest in Quebec who's estate is north of $5.6B US. 

(L for Laliberte) 4-Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil, worth over $2.1B

(S for Sinclair) 5- William Sinclair, co founder and former president of JDS uniphase

Other people involved in the bid against Melnyk

Mierins Family who owns Mierins Automotive group

Ottawa Architect Ritchard Brisbin from BBB Architects who were involved in the Ottawa airport expansion, Shaw Centreband Lansdowne Park

 

As you can see...Any one of those would do or group of those.

Whoever it is, the league MUST hear them out and now are UNDER NO MORAL OBLIGATION to hold the Ottawa market for the Fury.

There's some "Gary Bettman" in Clanachan and I love it.

The Fury can come around sooner rather than later or be edge by another team. Ball's in their court. They aren't in a position of strength anymore.

Edited September 10, 2018 by Ansem

[Ansem]

8 minutes ago, shamrock said:

Problem is OSEG has that awesome stadium. I mean, every other stadium option would be a serious downgrade. 

I feel like CSA should force them out of USL, if not now, next season. What good does it do for soccer in Canada to have them playing there?

The City of Ottawa has this awesome stadium. 

Also, modular stadium like Halifax can be built elsewhere in the city.

[BuzzAndSting]

5 minutes ago, Ansem said:

The City of Ottawa has this awesome stadium. 

Also, modular stadium like Halifax can be built elsewhere in the city.

As has been discussed before, OSEG has exclusivity for operating a pro soccer club at TD. 

[Ansem]

1 minute ago, BuzzAndSting said:

As has been discussed before, OSEG has exclusivity for operating a pro soccer club at TD. 

Then a new team could have a soccer specific Halifax type stadium somewhere else in the city.

They lost that city-wide no compete clause for operating soccer when the Lansdowne deal was being done.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.958968

A clause that would make it difficult for any new stadium in Ottawa to get support from the city during the next 30 years has been eliminated from the Lansdowne Park redevelopment deal.

City council and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group agreed Friday to remove the controversial clause from the public-private partnership agreement. 

Edited September 10, 2018 by Ansem