York 9 2019 launch/offseason thread

[Macksam]

On ‎11‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 11:44 AM, 1996 said:

He was just stating the obvious that when the people involved with starting this league first started talking about the league they  were talking about a league of teams owned by mostly CFL owners playing mainly in CFL stadiums giving these stadiums another 15 or so dates where these stadiums would have events staged there , which is not a bad proposal to present to these CFL owners to fill their stadiums with more dates. However, as time went on and not many CFL owners were interested the people behind the CPL decided to take another approach by scaling it down budget wise and include smaller stadiums so that’s how you got the FC Edmonton’s , Halifax, York 9 , Victoria and so on involved , which was a great move and voila we actually have a league to talk about which is starting in 2019.

Except here is the issue....he keeps harping on about this like its a fact but it's not true at all. I spoke with PB and none of what you mentioned here transpired. None of it. That's the issue people have with him. He's passing off the initial RUMOUR of CFL involvement as fact when it never was. It was just that, a rumour.

Edited November 27, 2018 by Macksam

[Unnamed Trialist]

14 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

You can't have a league with only three teams and you are only as strong as your weakest link in many ways when numbers are below ten and losing teams calls the whole project into question, so not sure what CanPL could have done differently.

Name one league in the world that is only as strong as its weakest link. 

I think the truth is exactly the opposite: no league is at all affected by its weakest link, and all are driven by its strong teams. In both pro-relegation soccer league systems, and other franchise-based leagues. The NBA is not as good as Charlotte or Memphis with smaller markets, it is driven by the best teams with the leading players. Same with the NFL, the NHL, EPL, the Liga--all of them. The strong teams drive interest, tv audiences, sponsors, garner fan support from rival fans wanting to see them. Nobody ever decided they were not going to sponsor the Premiership because Bournemouth has a team. 

I am opposed to dropping standards to appease a team with less resources. The only reason for salary cap is to ensure financial viability across the board, but if it lowers quality with it to the point of making the league unattractive for decent players, you have defeated your purpose. We have to let the strong be strong, because in fact they will make the financially weak better in the mid to long term. 

[LAK]

3 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Name one league in the world that is only as strong as its weakest link. 

I think the truth is exactly the opposite: no league is at all affected by its weakest link, and all are driven by its strong teams. In both pro-relegation soccer league systems, and other franchise-based leagues. The NBA is not as good as Charlotte or Memphis with smaller markets, it is driven by the best teams with the leading players. Same with the NFL, the NHL, EPL, the Liga--all of them. The strong teams drive interest, tv audiences, sponsors, garner fan support from rival fans wanting to see them. Nobody ever decided they were not going to sponsor the Premiership because Bournemouth has a team. 

I am opposed to dropping standards to appease a team with less resources. The only reason for salary cap is to ensure financial viability across the board, but if it lowers quality with it to the point of making the league unattractive for decent players, you have defeated your purpose. We have to let the strong be strong, because in fact they will make the financially weak better in the mid to long term. 

That argument makes sense, but I feel like people treat the CFL differently. They don't talk about Saskatchewan or Edmonton, they continually talk about the woes of Toronto and most recently of all three of the MLS cities where attendance is down for those CFL teams.

Edited November 28, 2018 by LAK

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Very few soccer leagues around the world are franchise based and lack pro/rel with 10 or fewer members, but an obvious analogy would be Australia's ongoing use of a salary cap having been dictated by what keeps Central Coast, Wellington and Newcastle afloat more than by what helps the Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC be all they can be.

The implosion of the latter day NASL due in large part to the wage inflation spiral caused by the Cosmos and FC Miami not being subject to a cap is probably why Tom Fath was emphasizing sustainability so much this time last year when it wasn't clear whether FCE would be participating or would be folding outright.

[RickC]

13 hours ago, LAK said:

That argument makes sense, but I feel like people treat the CFL differently. They don't talk about Saskatchewan or Edmonton, they continually talk about the woes of Toronto and most recently of all three of the MLS cities where attendance is down for those CFL teams.

In the CFL's case, it's reasonable to talk about the woes in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver because they are the biggest cities in Canada. If these three were to fold, then it's bye bye CFL, at least as a fully-professional league. Whereas with the EPL, other than fans of Bournemouth (for example), no one cares if they are relegated or go bust. But, if the big London teams ran into major attendance (a la CFL) and TV viewing problems, the EPL would be in trouble. Not that the relegation of teams from Birmingham seem to have made a difference.

I think BBTB's comment about the weakest link should be viewed in context of the number of teams in the league. If in early years a few teams fold, the league is in big trouble. If the CPL expands to, say, a dozen teams, with more lined up to join, then it's a different story. Then it is the strongest teams that matter most. That's why some of the owners seem to be focused on sustainability with growth over time.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

...following on from that you need to have a business model that actually makes it possible to expand into more markets when you have relatively few large cities available. The problem Australia had with its A league is that they budgeted for 10,000 crowds from the outset so when they tried to expand to smaller markets like the Gold Coast and Townsville both teams quickly folded because they couldn't draw large enough crowds to make the numbers work. They later had to add second Melbourne and Sydney teams to be able to move from 8 to 10 and it looks like they may be about to add third teams on the outer fringes of those cities to reach 12. It is only by making sure that it can work in small markets like Victoria and Halifax from the very outset that future expandability of CanPL well beyond 10 with 200,000+ markets is likely to be possible. 

[Ansem]

 

  https://york9fc.canpl.ca/article/askyork9-qa

• Definitely a mix (a mix of internationals and ages) to start, but over the long term the goal of York9 is to take advantage of the hotbed of soccer that York Region is, and fill our team with the talent that already exists locally. *

• Want to avoid making lateral moves with international players. We want them to help develop our young Canadians and make them better. We will be very selective with our foreigners, and we’re looking to give young Canadians a proper atmosphere to grow develop and challenge their abilities *

• Schedule to be released early in the new year

• 2021 or 2022 season in our own Soccer Specific Stadium in York Region

• player signings that we may recognize? A couple players... good Canadian boys.

• keeping an eye on many leagues all over the world

• youth team academy in the future? Yes, but in the meantime we’re very fortunate that York Region is well served with a number of fantastic youth clubs that create a strong pipeline to the York9 first team.

• Players Recruitment? We have a wide network of scouts and contacts we rely on who refer us to players.

With what they are talking about, I'm starting to think that the $1.4M salary cap is accurate or they have some sort of financial scheme such as DP and/or TAM like MLS...otherwise, no way you can deliver the above below a $1M cap

[LAK]

1 hour ago, RickC said:

In the CFL's case, it's reasonable to talk about the woes in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver because they are the biggest cities in Canada. If these three were to fold, then it's bye bye CFL, at least as a fully-professional league. Whereas with the EPL, other than fans of Bournemouth (for example), no one cares if they are relegated or go bust. But, if the big London teams ran into major attendance (a la CFL) and TV viewing problems, the EPL would be in trouble. Not that the relegation of teams from Birmingham seem to have made a difference.

I think BBTB's comment about the weakest link should be viewed in context of the number of teams in the league. If in early years a few teams fold, the league is in big trouble. If the CPL expands to, say, a dozen teams, with more lined up to join, then it's a different story. Then it is the strongest teams that matter most. That's why some of the owners seem to be focused on sustainability with growth over time.

Important to note is that the Argos have been called a disaster by the media for decades in Toronto (even when they were getting a little less than 30,000). It was almost like a self fulfilling prophecy. They said it long enough and people started to believe it. After a while people stopped showing up to games...the media piled on and said "see". It snowballed.

I've followed the CFL for years and years, a problem that it has always had, and I think the CPL might be in danger of (especially in York) is the Canadian inferiority complex...it's our own league, so it can't be as good. They will have to fight that mindset throughout their existence unless they can figure out how to overcome it...the CFL still struggles with that.

 

[Blackjack15]

York 9 only team not part of the reveals, any idea why? Maybe it’s because they promised either way they would reveal their first signings at their Launch tonight not collectively with the league as in tomorrow at 12pm ET

 

[Kent]

49 minutes ago, Blackjack15 said:

York 9 only team not part of the reveals, any idea why? Maybe it’s because they promised either way they would reveal their first signings at their Launch tonight not collectively with the league as in tomorrow at 12pm ET

 

Well, it looks like Valour are the tallest team in the league so far

[Toronto Ruffrider]

4 hours ago, LAK said:

Important to note is that the Argos have been called a disaster by the media for decades in Toronto (even when they were getting a little less than 30,000). It was almost like a self fulfilling prophecy. They said it long enough and people started to believe it. After a while people stopped showing up to games...the media piled on and said "see". It snowballed.

I've followed the CFL for years and years, a problem that it has always had, and I think the CPL might be in danger of (especially in York) is the Canadian inferiority complex...it's our own league, so it can't be as good. They will have to fight that mindset throughout their existence unless they can figure out how to overcome it...the CFL still struggles with that.

 

I remember when the Argos drew crowds of that number, but those figures are a little misleading - the team was known to be handing out a lot of freebees. I think a more accurate paid representation over the last 20 years or so is in the neighbourhood of 15k, though even that figure would be enviable right now. At any rate, the Argos have had a lot of trouble selling tickets for some time now.

A case might be made that a Canadian inferiority complex exists, though I think it is basically limited in practical terms to the biggest cities (i.e. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver). In such cities, the option of having a team in a supposedly superior American league exists, so it may cause some people to overlook local options.

[MrsC]

3 hours ago, Blackjack15 said:

York 9 only team not part of the reveals, any idea why? Maybe it’s because they promised either way they would reveal their first signings at their Launch tonight not collectively with the league as in tomorrow at 12pm ET

 

They are revealing players at their own event tonight

[Ansem]

4 hours ago, Blackjack15 said:

York 9 only team not part of the reveals, any idea why? Maybe it’s because they promised either way they would reveal their first signings at their Launch tonight not collectively with the league as in tomorrow at 12pm ET

 

 

 

[Jith12]

https://york9fc.canpl.ca/article/players-voice-a-letter-from-york9-fcs-first-signing

Who could it be?

[yellowsweatygorilla]

12 minutes ago, Jith12 said:

https://york9fc.canpl.ca/article/players-voice-a-letter-from-york9-fcs-first-signing

Who could it be?

Reposting this here:

 

 

What GTA hometown player with significant experience in a major league (overseas or MLS) could this be?

[Jith12]

5 minutes ago, yellowsweatygorilla said:

Reposting this here:

 

 

What GTA hometown player with significant experience in a major league (overseas or MLS) could this be?

It all adds up: It's Jimmy!!!

[Alex234]

David Edgar?

[yellowsweatygorilla]

14 minutes ago, Jith12 said:

It all adds up: It's Jimmy!!!

Heh, that's what I was thinking. Everything adds up with the letter (also shows how intentionally vague it is)

[Zem]

8 minutes ago, Alex234 said:

David Edgar?

The person in the picture definitely has a beard, and Eddie fits the bill as reasonably local and very experienced, so I'd say he's the best bet.

[yellowsweatygorilla]

Simon Adjei is the first player announced for @York9FC (and technically @CPLsoccer ) according to the CanPL Players instagram:

I remember researching him for the FM mod - I believe he played briefly for @aysc64

 

Adjei impressed in L1O with Aurora FC (Managed by @JimmyBrennan11 ) scoring 19 goals in 19 games. Seems like a solid signing, but was expecting someone with more resonance for what is technically the first ever CPL player announced (assuming draftees are just trialists)

[yellowsweatygorilla]

 

[nolando]

24 minutes ago, yellowsweatygorilla said:

Simon Adjei is the first player announced for @York9FC (and technically @CPLsoccer ) according to the CanPL Players instagram:

I remember researching him for the FM mod - I believe he played briefly for @aysc64

 

Adjei impressed in L1O with Aurora FC (Managed by @JimmyBrennan11 ) scoring 19 goals in 19 games. Seems like a solid signing, but was expecting someone with more resonance for what is technically the first ever CPL player announced (assuming draftees are just trialists)

Yes....positively Whitecaps-level excitement from this press release. I can just see the memberships flying off the proverbial shelves as a result. 

All kidding aside, you're going to need a lot of players of this calibre to make a go of it at the projected salary structure, but why not hold back and go big with the first announcement....sort of a Jimmy Brennan level signing, if you will.

[Blackjack15]

 

[nolando]

Are they releasing these signings one at a time still at 10 pm in their local market or am I missing something??

[KW519]

1 minute ago, nolando said:

Are they releasing these signings one at a time still at 10 pm in their local market or am I missing something??

They introduced signings at a launch event tonight. The only source at the moment is the CPL players account on instagram