York United - 2024 Season Thread

[Cheeta]

On 12/8/2023 at 3:14 PM, Joe MacCarthy said:

 

Have to say I'm not adverse to Mexican multi-millionaires throwing their lot in with CPL, admitted "amateurs" or no.  These lads exist in a business world and footballing world that just simply has never existed in Canada.  I don't have a crystal ball but I can't help but expect that those lads sharing that experience isn't going to do anything but benefit CPL.  Today and into the future.

That, and what Ollie said.  They're putting their money where their mouth is.  Bully for them.  

Edited December 11, 2023 by Cheeta

[Shway]

2 hours ago, Kent said:

I played against a CPL player last winter. I didn't complain to the league or anything to check if it's legal. My advice is to enjoy it. It's neat to be able to play against a pro, even if you aren't near their level, and ultimately your men's league results don't actually matter. Just tell the guy you know who he is and ask for a picture with him, and enjoy the game. It'll make your day and his.

Naw Iol.... I've met this guy before many times before he kicked of his pro career. He was playing with Raheem Edwards who also wasn't pro yet. I told both of them they should be playing pro and wasn't surprised to see where their careers have taken them.

The team we were playing against was a group of my friends that I have played with for years, so there was a friendly rivalry at stake plus they previously beat us 8-3 ....so when I seen him today, I said "I'm snitching, I can guarantee he's not de-amateurized" 😆 "it's either play with him, and forfeit or play without him"....

They weren't happy but we won 3-2 and we are tied at the top of the table. 

I've played with, and against tooo many former pros to not care about blatant ringer cheating. This is an OSA sanctioned league not those local club leagues where they don't have player books or the money tournaments where you literally see all the GTA pros who are in their offseason play (it's actually high stakes quality ball to watch)

[Shway]

8 minutes ago, Cheeta said:

Have to say I'm not adverse to Mexican multi-millionaires throwing their lot in with CPL, admitted "amateurs" or no.  These lads exist in a business world and footballing world that just simply has never existed in Canada.  I don't have a crystal ball but I can't help but expect that those lads sharing that experience isn't going to do anything but benefit CPL.  Today and into the future.

That, and what Ollie said.  They're putting their money where their mouth is.  Bully for them.  

I think I can appreciate these Mexicans putting money into Canadian footy.

I'm just a little apprehensive as to how the CPL board of directors or whatever believe these guys are going to do something "different" immediately.

I can't stress the fact that the location is horrible, the setup/stadium is horrible, and running the status quo back for another year isn't positive regardless of who's behind it. 

The development aspect is great to hear! But this club isn't an academy team. It needs fans, it needs a club culture. I feel like it's a missed opportunity to completely start fresh, and create a natural intrigue from that vs new ownership keeping things status quo (albeit even if it's a year) and trying to push this hoopla. 
 

[BearcatSA]

On 12/8/2023 at 5:38 AM, Kingston said:

The 80% of running a business that is identical whether your business is a soccer team, a restaurant, or a plumbing shop.

It is how you handle the decision making involved in the other 20% of the pro sports club business that is the real key, however.

Pat Kirwan on his NFL show on Sirius has brought this up a lot regarding first time owners in the NFL.  He himself was invoved with coaching and later management with the Jets and he often has a lot of good takes on the back room stuff and one of them is that some new owners who have been become incredibly successful and wealthy in other business ventures really struggle with running pro sports teams for the first time.  David Tepper of Carolina is the wooden spoon holder at the moment, Daniel Snyder before him.  The Haslams took a long time to get it right in Cleveland (wanting Manziel, among other t screw ups, though they even now took a ton of flank for signing the troubled Watson to a king's ransom) but have done extremely well with the Crew.

Good ownership is like the guy who owns the Eagles, the Hunts in KC and SKC, and the owner in for the Ravens.  They are highly involved but they hire good people to manage the show and not think they themselves are the smartest guys in the room because they are huge fans and were great running hedge funds or truck stops so they meddle and undermine the management decision making.

I hope these guys don't let any hubris get in the way of their decision making because it could easily become a clown show.  I really hope that this is a turnabout success for the club and the league.

[Shway]

I don't know, maybe I'm being weird but did anyone else think......money laundering when the details about the new ownership came about. 😆

[Bison44]

 

4 minutes ago, Shway said:

I don't know, maybe I'm being weird but did anyone else think......money laundering when the details about the new ownership came about. 😆

Do these guys have Colombian connections?  Sorry my wife is watching Narcos, I end up thinking about cartels, drugs, policia etc, she just dreams of Pedro Pascal. 

[Aird25]

38 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

 

Do these guys have Colombian connections?  Sorry my wife is watching Narcos, I end up thinking about cartels, drugs, policia etc, she just dreams of Pedro Pascal. 

I think some of those things might go on in Mexico too. Maybe

[An Observer]

1 hour ago, Shway said:

I don't know, maybe I'm being weird but did anyone else think......money laundering when the details about the new ownership came about. 😆

Tbh, I did wonder where their money is coming from as it was very opaque. Lots of references to connections including extended family but a little unclear where and how much the 3 of them actually have.  Hopefully the Cpl did their due diligence on them. 

[BearcatSA]

 

[Bison44]

3 hours ago, Aird25 said:

I think some of those things might go on in Mexico too. Maybe

Shhhhh, dont spoil it for me, thats the next Narcos: Mexico. She loves that guy from the star wars movie.    

[Shway]

1 minute ago, Bison44 said:

Shhhhh, dont spoil it for me, thats the next Narcos: Mexico. She loves that guy from the star wars movie.    

buddy you're soooo late. Mexico is the best Narcos installment imo.

[Shway]

2 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

 

YESS!!!! 
I watched this shit, and it was a classic. Maybe we'll start seeing some Forge-style signings that will have us questioning, how can they fit this under the cap lol.

[BearcatSA]

1 minute ago, Shway said:

YESS!!!! 
I watched this shit, and it was a classic. Maybe we'll start seeing some Forge-style signings that will have us questioning, how can they fit this under the cap lol.

Another thing to watch for:

In the BCHL, I know of a situation where a  team was bought by an oil industry rich Albertan guy so his son could play on it (back up goalie, in this case).  After his son aged out, he sold his majority ownership to  two other Albertan oil money guys who also had their own sons playing on the team.  Wash, rinse, repeat.

So, do any of these new owners have sons who'll be in the York squad?  To me, that would be funny as hell if these nepo-players really suck!

Makes me think of Benito Floro using our NT set up to enhance his son's coaching cred.  Btw, where is little Floro coaching now?

[Colonel Green]

23 hours ago, Shway said:

I can't stress the fact that the location is horrible, the setup/stadium is horrible, and running the status quo back for another year isn't positive regardless of who's behind it. 

The development aspect is great to hear! But this club isn't an academy team. It needs fans, it needs a club culture. I feel like it's a missed opportunity to completely start fresh, and create a natural intrigue from that vs new ownership keeping things status quo (albeit even if it's a year) and trying to push this hoopla. 

What could they realistically do in advance of next season?

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

9 hours ago, Shway said:

I don't know, maybe I'm being weird but did anyone else think......money laundering when the details about the new ownership came about. 😆

Yes, the possibility had crossed my mind given just how bad an investment this appears to be in objective terms, and the complete lack of detail on exactly what their previous business experience is and on who the other Mexican investors are, but wasn't going to post it. 

Before anyone posts that I only thought that because of the Mexican angle, I know of at least three clubs in Scotland that are alleged to have been run on that basis in very recent times albeit not at a level as high profile as CanPL. Dundee under the Marr brothers complete with signing Caniggia also looked highly questionable from that standpoint at a fully professional level in years past.

In a Canadian context, the Hamilton Thunder of the CPSL is worth googling for what has happened historically closer to home. They were running up debts quicker than you can say grow op in Barrie.

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by Ozzie_the_parrot

[Shway]

8 hours ago, Colonel Green said:

What could they realistically do in advance of next season?

Considering they were already sold on the league by the summer, and they personally saw how things were with the club....they could've 1 been ready to rebrand, and 2 ready to relocate even it was temporary. 

Where to? Lamport stadium!

The way MLS releases and plays their schedule months before the CPL, all Toronto United games could avoid scheduling home games the same day as TFC. 

[Kent]

2 hours ago, Shway said:

Considering they were already sold on the league by the summer, and they personally saw how things were with the club....they could've 1 been ready to rebrand, and 2 ready to relocate even it was temporary. 

Where to? Lamport stadium!

The way MLS releases and plays their schedule months before the CPL, all Toronto United games could avoid scheduling home games the same day as TFC. 

I think a rebrand before a permanent home is found would be foolish. The team has only played 5 seasons and has already had 2 different names. I don't want a third name and a second stadium, only to have a 3rd stadium potentially a few years down the road and maybe even a 4th name. Keep it the same now, and if they find a different, permanent home in the near future, fantastic, and if they feel the need to rebrand, that would be the time to do it. You've got all new all at once instead of this feeling that things just constantly change with this team.

I think part of the attendance problem (aside from the shadow of TFC, which I think is the biggest factor by far) is that it has always been explicitly stated that they are playing in a temporary home. Why would a fan get invested in a local team knowing that they are meant to leave your neighborhood? A new temporary home doesn't solve that issue.

[Shway]

2 hours ago, Kent said:

I think a rebrand before a permanent home is found would be foolish. The team has only played 5 seasons and has already had 2 different names. I don't want a third name and a second stadium, only to have a 3rd stadium potentially a few years down the road and maybe even a 4th name. Keep it the same now, and if they find a different, permanent home in the near future, fantastic, and if they feel the need to rebrand, that would be the time to do it. You've got all new all at once instead of this feeling that things just constantly change with this team.

I think part of the attendance problem (aside from the shadow of TFC, which I think is the biggest factor by far) is that it has always been explicitly stated that they are playing in a temporary home. Why would a fan get invested in a local team knowing that they are meant to leave your neighborhood? A new temporary home doesn't solve that issue.

From the branding standpoint, I'll agree...it would be a lot of change for not. I'm a branding guy, and I just think(even with the rebrand) they missed the opportunity to really make themselves as the other Toronto team as far as colours goes. i.e Blue as the primary colour like the Jays, Leafs, and the Argos. 

Here's an idea...

 

I also don't think a stadium will be built any time soon in the city, and I've stated many times about using Lamport Stadium as a permanent home, especially with the Arrows, and Wolfpack out of town. We talk about existing infrastructures that can host potential CPL teams, and just neglect the fact that it's an existing SSS stadium that just needs a lot of tender love and care. The city should be more than open to allowing tenants to upgrade the stadium at the expense of rental fees or tax breaks. So I don't see that as a temporary solution, but more a realistic long-term option as I don't think Woodbine will be a thing, and the WC26 is fast approaching. 

Anybody from the GTA, much less Toronto knows that there won't be a stadium built within the city proper anytime soon.
Once you go into a place like Scarborough, it instantly alienates more than half the city imo. 

Edited December 12, 2023 by Shway

[Mihairokov]

Part of what makes TFC so novel is that the team doesn't have blue as its main colour. TFC merch sticks out a lot when people are wearing it around town. York is fine with green, IMO. 

My understanding is that Lamport is far-gone enough at this point that it would take significant investment to bring the stadium back up to a suitable professional standard. I was last there in 2019 for a Wolfpack game and it was very bare bones then - they were selling drinks on card tables, the tunnels under the stands had standing water, and i'm sure the changing rooms and other internal facilities were similar.

Someone on this forum mentioned it years ago and it's an idea that i've come around on a lot recently: Brockton Stadium at Dufferin Mall. It's in the city, on a subway line, has adequate space for a 3-4K build, and probably wouldn't cost anything compared to the renovations required at Lamport. I think a team here (preferably new and not York relocated) would work exceptionally well, and would be within walking distance of tons of people and within reasonable subway or bus for the rest.

RE: Scarborough alienating half the city - that's the point, kind of. Scarborough is large enough with enough of its own character that they would probably support a team if they had one (cannot say this about the York area). There's a lot of pent up demand in that part of town if everything comes together in the right way. Master's games at L'Amoreaux are always...active, for lack of a better word.

Anyway, I don't know if Woodbine is still happening or not, but it always seemed like a bad idea to move the team to what is effectively a horse-racing track in a still-suburban part of town.

Edited December 12, 2023 by Mihairokov

[SpursFlu]

Toronto United 

[Watchmen]

4 hours ago, Kent said:

I think a rebrand before a permanent home is found would be foolish. The team has only played 5 seasons and has already had 2 different names. I don't want a third name and a second stadium, only to have a 3rd stadium potentially a few years down the road and maybe even a 4th name. Keep it the same now, and if they find a different, permanent home in the near future, fantastic, and if they feel the need to rebrand, that would be the time to do it. You've got all new all at once instead of this feeling that things just constantly change with this team.

I think part of the attendance problem (aside from the shadow of TFC, which I think is the biggest factor by far) is that it has always been explicitly stated that they are playing in a temporary home. Why would a fan get invested in a local team knowing that they are meant to leave your neighborhood? A new temporary home doesn't solve that issue.

In addition to these reasons, let's be honest: they're going to make mistakes running the team. That's just sort of the reality of new owners. So, let them make mistakes under the old (already tarnished) name before any rebrand.

[narduch]

 

 

[Rocket Robin]

Finally my summary of Soccer in Toronto for the 75 games in total I attended in 2023 for League1 Ontario, Toronto FC II, York United FC and the Canadian Men's and Women's teams games in Toronto.

http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports23/23l1o091.htm

[jordan]

Fairly sure the kid they selected first is Atleti’s equipment managers son

[Rocket Robin]

17 minutes ago, jordan said:

Fairly sure the kid they selected first is Atleti’s equipment managers son

I know nothing about that.  I just didn't get excited because I read on December 12th that a player named Zeppieri from Vaughan Azzurri (age 17) signed for Pescara Calcio in Italy so I thought York would be competing to sign him against an Italian team. 

It turns out that player is Michael Zeppieri whereas the Vaughan player drafted by York is Christian Zeppieri who is age 20.   Maybe they are brothers?  

As to your question, the player they drafted in the second round may be the son of the Atletico Ottawa kitman who I have listed on a team sheet as Bruce Hartill so you may have something there.