Pacific FC - 2022 Season

[masster]

Here is the article from the Victoria Times Colonist:

https://www.timescolonist.com/sports/pacific-fc-adds-former-cpl-commissioner-paul-beirne-to-front-office-5700808

[ted]

8 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

If they crash out of Concacaf League maybe the odd hard-core might grumble but I don't think it's a big issue 

I don't know how much more "hard core" you can get than me (as in obsessed, not as in "tough guy" LOL) and I am about the leave for the Herediano game just hoping we don't get trounced like we did to Waterhouse. This team is good and has lots of CR National Team Players as I understand it.

As far as I am concerned we have met our goals for this competition and any further results, let alone progression, is gravy.

[RS]

1 hour ago, ted said:

I don't know how much more "hard core" you can get than me (as in obsessed, not as in "tough guy" LOL) and I am about the leave for the Herediano game just hoping we don't get trounced like we did to Waterhouse. This team is good and has lots of CR National Team Players as I understand it.

As far as I am concerned we have met our goals for this competition and any further results, let alone progression, is gravy.

I think your guys will be fine tonight. It's the return leg that might get messy (if Pacific doesn't remain focused).

[PegCityCam]

Stadium looks PACKED and sounds great! 🔥🔥🔥

[PegCityCam]

What, no ad space on their foreheads?! Those kits🤢🤮

[PegCityCam]

Follow the money💰

 

[grasshopper1917]

I just as a North American sports fan understand this. Pacific is in a hunt for the league Championship as well as entering into a big international competition and they sell one of the leagues top players for a few hundred grand? I just cant wrap my head around it. The most critical time of the season and they let their top player go.

I mean some who follow European soccer seem to think this is fine and even many Pacific fans think it is cool. I dunno I think it insanity. Build a good team then sell off your best players at the critical time of the year? I just dont get it - and thats fine. For me the goal is to win titles and you need your best players to do that.

[P-O]

What's not to understand that Pacific FC is taking the "We are a great club that will sell you if you need to make the jump into a bigger league"

The Norwegian transfer window is closed and the deal had to go through.

This will help Pacific as players will know they will not hold you against your wishes.

CPL is a new league, already getting transfer fees and the visibility I had expected would take 10 years.

I know it must be difficult to see the bigger picture here, but Canadian Soccer is always the winner in this situation, even if clubs are paying the price short term. Or are they? They just received a fee + add ons.

Contracts are short in our league and we have to sell any asset as soon as they have the opportunity.

[narduch]

1 hour ago, grasshopper1917 said:

I just as a North American sports fan understand this. Pacific is in a hunt for the league Championship as well as entering into a big international competition and they sell one of the leagues top players for a few hundred grand? I just cant wrap my head around it. The most critical time of the season and they let their top player go.

I mean some who follow European soccer seem to think this is fine and even many Pacific fans think it is cool. I dunno I think it insanity. Build a good team then sell off your best players at the critical time of the year? I just dont get it - and thats fine. For me the goal is to win titles and you need your best players to do that.

NYCFC lost their best player this summer too (Castellanos). And I don't think they even added anyone to replace him.

It's rare but it happens. Even for European teams.

Hell even Pacific's opponent, Herediano, just sold a good young player to Sunderland days before the match.

Its basically part of the game.

Edited August 17, 2022 by narduch

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

35 minutes ago, grasshopper1917 said:

...I mean some who follow European soccer seem to think this is fine and even many Pacific fans think it is cool...

...but some probably don't which is why explaining how the transfer fee received is going to be used to strengthen Pacific FC in some way would have been sensible in PR terms.

Before this thread gets derailed again this means I don't doubt it is going to be not least because I remember Paul Beirne in podcasts before the league launched explaining what the plan was on allowing clubs that sell players on to use transfer fees on player salaries over and above the cap or to invest in club infrastructure in some way.

The recent trade of players with York United or even Paul Beirne's arrival that may be more expensive than what Rob Friend was taking out of the club where a salary was concerned are examples of what the windfall may have already been used on.

[Aird25]

3 hours ago, grasshopper1917 said:

I just as a North American sports fan understand this. Pacific is in a hunt for the league Championship as well as entering into a big international competition and they sell one of the leagues top players for a few hundred grand? I just cant wrap my head around it. The most critical time of the season and they let their top player go.

I mean some who follow European soccer seem to think this is fine and even many Pacific fans think it is cool. I dunno I think it insanity. Build a good team then sell off your best players at the critical time of the year? I just dont get it - and thats fine. For me the goal is to win titles and you need your best players to do that.

I'd hazard a guess that it may have more to do with being a fan of top teams in their respective sports, and not a fan of a minnow in a global game that gives you this impression. You can guarantee that fans of the European giants would be upset if their teams had done the same thing, but we're a long ways from being able to hold onto our top players. I completely agree that the timing of the Diaz transfer sucked though ,and I really wish they'd held on until the offseason. I suspect they were doing the player a favour, rather than cashing in.

3 hours ago, P-O said:

What's not to understand that Pacific FC is taking the "We are a great club that will sell you if you need to make the jump into a bigger league"

The Norwegian transfer window is closed and the deal had to go through.

This will help Pacific as players will know they will not hold you against your wishes.

This is true, but you have to think winning championships and playing deep into continental tournaments will help recruitment even more. Plus another match with 5000 tickets sold may have offset any difference in fee we might have received by selling Diaz in the offseason. He's having a baby soon, he's 26, it's the right time in his career to move to Europe, and I feel the club did him a favour. I hate the timing of it, but it seems this is the approach CPL teams are taking this season.

[Bison44]

Probably this deal was worked out sometime ago and he was allowed to play as long as he could before they announced the deal.  In the long run.. Pacific attracted a good player, won a championship, got 2.5 years out of him and still managed to cash out.  That seems like a good bit of business for them even if the timing of his departure sucks.  

[Unnamed Trialist]

This argument would be relevant if you could definitively argue that not having Wero was the difference last night. You can't really say.

You are playing a team that is on paper far superior, a team that may not be MLS level but could be close to a lower MLS, and you hold them and handle them for 80 minutes. 

Sometimes transfer offers are very specific to a moment. When the season ends for CPL no transfer window is open, so you have to take the opportunities when they arise. This was such a case. You can't be talking about another home game in Concacaf because, reasonably, a round with Herediano and the 2nd match away had you as a clear underdog regardless. Sure, they still have a chance, I'd say, just because they are not soft playing away, are used to long road trips, and Herediano is not even playing in their usual stadium, they'll also be "away" from home. But they are far from favourites and never were even close.

Pacific does have to sort out goals for the league. If the Wero transfers sees them deflate and not compete these last 2 months, then you'd have a better argument. But it would still be an argument that includes "why didn't Merriman adjust" and "why didn't the other attackers step up".

[shorty]

Not too worried about PFC in the league to be honest. They were way less loose yesterday than they have been earlier this season, despite a few gaffes, one of which led to the goal. They had to be, given the opposition featured many CR national team members (4 from Canmnt’s last match against CR). It’s a good sign that they can tighten up with Diaz gone, because they will need to. They did actually generate more chances than Herediano (also a good sign given that Herediano is more organized than probably even Forge and Cavalry) but they couldn’t put them away. Daniels was closest. 
 

The thing I noticed most was how PFC got muscled in the midfield and how there was less margin for error in passing. More obvious in the first half and they adjusted well in the second. There’s a way bigger margin of error in CPL play, which is too bad because it can teach bad habits. 

Edited August 17, 2022 by shorty

[Aird25]

7 minutes ago, shorty said:

They did actually generate more chances than Herediano (also a good sign given that Herediano is more organized than probably even Forge and Cavalry) but they couldn’t put them away.

Not scoring on our chances is the concern...no? Two games now with virtually no offense since Diaz left.

Maybe it's just my bias opinion but while I feel we struggled at first, I think we were better or equal for much of the game. We just didn't create as much as we normally do offensively. Credit has to be given to Herediano though. They were very disciplined. 

[shorty]

I’m just thinking that we created chances even against a superior, more organized and more experienced defence and midfield than we normally face. I think we will get more chances against CPL opposition than we did yesterday and even if we only put away 1 in 3, that will be okay if we can tighten up defensively. I saw progress in the latter yesterday, mistakes notwithstanding. 

 

[ted]

16 hours ago, grasshopper1917 said:

 I just cant wrap my head around it. The most critical time of the season and they let their top player go.

Rob Friend (1/3 owner and CEO for now) spoke to one of our guys about this at the game and said that he was gutted that he had to let Diaz go, but Diaz wanted out and the deal was immediate. PFC is building trust with players and selling itself as a team that will build careers, not hold anyone back. They had no choice and frankly, if they had forced him to stay his heart would not have been in it so, kinda pointless.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

6 hours ago, ted said:

Rob Friend (1/3 owner and CEO for now)...

Seriously doubt that seven seasons in the Bundesliga with midtable clubs is lucrative enough to make a 33.3% stake in something like this likely. Suspect he's an owner as opposed to an employee in much the same sort of way that Jimmy Brennan was with York 9.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Ozzie_the_parrot

[Aird25]

3 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Seriously doubt that seven seasons in the Bundesliga with midtable clubs is lucrative enough to make a 33.3% stake in something like this likely. Suspect he's an owner as opposed to an employee in much the same sort of way that Jimmy Brennan was with York 9.

Like many athletes, I believe Josh and Rob have long since been involved in other business ventures. I’m not sure how this is relevant to Ted’s point though. I suppose I’m relieved to hear management understands how much this transfer could derail our season and that it wasn’t a cash grab 

[shorty]

I think it's also an eyes-wide-open understanding of the long term goals of the CPL and the place of the league in the world order.  The business model has to involve showcasing talent and selling it on.  Both the clubs and the players benefit from this.  When this goal and league competitiveness conflict, the long view has to prevail.

Edited August 18, 2022 by shorty

[Ansem]

If anything - it just makes it clearer that depth is a challenge for this league and they have to think of ways to mitigate it. A higher cap makes sense to sign a "1A" striker after selling your "A" striker. The Diaz transfer makes CPL that much more attractive and easier for the league to recruit. Now's not the time to hold players back.

[ted]

11 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Seriously doubt that seven seasons in the Bundesliga with midtable clubs is lucrative enough to make a 33.3% stake in something like this likely. Suspect he's an owner as opposed to an employee in much the same sort of way that Jimmy Brennan was with York 9.

"1/3" can mean both one-third (ie 33%) or, more simply, one out of three with no stake percentage attached. He is one of the three owners and there is no evidence that he he holds anything less than 33%. Either way, it's got nothing to do with my point since he is the fucking CEO of the club for the last four years and is the one who makes these decisions.

Sometimes your comments are helpful and sometimes they are utterly absurd. This is an example of the latter.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

OK, but the point being discussed in that post is not the only one that has been actively discussed on here in recent days. Some people appeared to be convinced that a completely new ownership group was coming in when it should have been obvious in my opinion that all that was actually imminent was a change in front office staff. Understanding where Rob Friend actually fits in the larger scheme of things is the key on that angle.

[Unnamed Trialist]

2 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

OK, but the point being discussed in that post is not the only one that has been actively discussed on here in recent days. Some people appeared to be convinced that a completely new ownership group was coming in when it should have been obvious in my opinion that all that was actually imminent was a change in front office staff. Understanding where Rob Friend actually fits in the larger scheme of things is the key on that angle.

There were inferences that they were all pulling out, by the wording of one tweet perhaps. So fair to wonder about it. I did too, but the evidence was thin. 

Clearly, if a new ownership wanted in, they could consider it, but it doesn't seem to be the case. 

I'm highly confident that Friend will do all he can to ensure the two clubs compete like hell with no favouritisms from the owners. 

[Big_M]

Pacific FC signs experienced English forward Jordan Brown