DrummingInMySleep

Are we talking about Balsile here maybe?

I’m not sure they are reporting anything we didn’t know already. The concourse we were told weeks ago wasn’t going to be finished until mid-season and that the capacity will grow next year when they remove the hydro pole. I’m looking forward to watching the stadium, and indeed the club itself, grow rapidly in the next few years.

Yeah, definitely not Langford as the MNT does too well at BC Place. I could see the WNT coming through maybe, especially when they get Westhills up to 8k capacity next year.

I think the main failing of the CSA is communication. They are not stupid people and have things on their desk that we don’t- and shouldn’t- have access to. There must be other factors that we can’t see. They might even be made public going forward but I’m sure there was a better way to communicate the rationale with the announcement. Although I would have preferred the CPL sit out The League this year and be better prepared to both allocate our spot AND actually perform in it, clearly, CONCACAF was going to change the format this year regardless and if we didn’t claim our spot, we would have had to wait for the next reformatting. I would also guess that they felt they could go back to the well on the first-come-first-served logic from The V-Cup table for concerns over competitive balance with the more intuitive picking of a mid-season front runner. Maybe they can tweak the schedule (which also explains the delay) to make sure ‘The Haves’ play each other home and away in short order. But again, whatever the reason is, it should have been made plain.

I’m sure whatever cost and hassle resettling MDJ and his family can avoid will make up the difference in his contract. If he’s on 80-100k, he’ll be happy I’m sure.

I bet Valour is the odd one out for week one. It will be Al Classico in Calgary, for the better optics, and Pacific hosting Halifax for that whole coast to coast angle.

I don’t understand all the potshots at Duane. I consume his stuff all the time and even when he’s wrong (like him guessing a large percentage of foreign players were going to be American), he doesn’t deserve snide personal attacks. The guy has contributed more to Canadian soccer than just about anyone posting on this board.

Haha. I was just thinking about that. I don’t know where the main camera will be assuming we don’t want to show a highway, hydro pole and smattering of standing fans. O, and I guess the luxury box dealies?

I think PFC has arguably the most advantageous regional player pool in CPL as Ontario is undoubtedly more abundant in talent but already has 3 pro teams (of a similar level) competing for players. They would be be wise to snap as much BC Mainland talent as possible before they have to compete for players wanting to be close to home.

I agree for the long term but there wouldn’t be a lot of movement with the tight salary cap in the first few years. What we are used to seeing with purchases in Europe is a player being pulled up into a bigger club of league where they can earn significantly more. A standout CPL player in the first few years would likely only be able to earn an extra 20k from a team with more cap room. That’s to say nothing of wanting to keep good assets out of the hands of a rival, which every other team will be in a small league.

Chung is a great first signing. I saw him play several times for WFC2 and he was always a stand out player (especially when tearing up the left side with Davies). I’m hoping they can secure Melvin on a loan from WFC.

I think the town centre area of Coquitlam would be a great option for a CPL club. It’s also growing rapidly but I like the positioning with it being within reach of Vancouver, and everything else on the sky train, and just over the Port Mann for anyone driving out from the Valley. Surrey could work as well, but I think Kelowna might actually come first when it comes to BC clubs on the horizon.

Simon Thomas moved on from the caps a few years back. He may be available for a proper signing.

Well, first of all, the CPL has been very clear that they want their owners to be completely independent from MLS so it's not going to happen in any case. But even if they were, follow the logical events. Say WFC buys a CPL club in the Okanagan. From their POV it makes lots of sense for their younger players needing meaningful minutes (or injured vets coming back into match fitness) and certainly wouldn't mess with their market like a Fraser Valley CPL team would. Say they loaned an exciting young player to OFC (or whatever). Since it would be under their control, and that WFC's on and off field success is much more consequential to the owner, they would have them develop according to what's best for WFC and not OFC. Also, you would see loans done in the same manner like an important player for the CPL club being loaned back- or 'called up'- to the big club during the business end of the both MLS and CPL seasons. Would the fans of the Okanagan come to see OFC as THEIR club and grow it's fan base over time or like an AHL hockey team?

I agree %100. WFC can loan out 3 or 4 players even to, say, PFC but they will never control their minutes or development like they did with WFC2. CPL will be a fairly low 1st div league but if it always maintains it's independence then it can grow into something more respectable (and comparable to MLS) whereas if it starts as a feeder league, it will be doomed to low attendances and disinterest. Sports fans are keenly aware of when they are watching 'farm teams'