There's turmoil around the league's front offices yet again. One team is reportedly up for sale with the owner claiming to be fed up with the volatile nature of financing a team. Another team has released all of its players and their coach has tendered his resignation a mere five games into the schedule. So is this just the beginning of another year in the A-League or is this yet another example of the world of finance intruding on the world of soccer?
In several countries around the world financial problems have caused players to go on strike, clubs have gone into administration (a.k.a. bankruptcy), and fans have worried about whether their club can survive. Unfortunately this side of the people's game has shown its face again in North America with financial strains being the major factor behind a lot of the negative conditions now being seen around the league. Much like what has happened in regions as far ranging as South America and the Far East, the USL is now feeling the pinch from owners and executives who can no longer afford to run a soccer club.
At the same time, though, there has to be some consideration for the soccer fan, right? Well not exactly because so far the situation in Vancouver of all places has displayed an unfair lack of regard for the fans in my humble estimation. Vancouver has always had one of the better supporters sections in the league and in recent years has been amongst the leaders in attendance annually in the A-League. Their almost unwavering support has given the Canadian club the appearance of being one of the most stable members of the A-League community. Even with that support, though, Whitecaps Owner David Stadnyk voiced his concerns and misgivings in no uncertain terms this week and insists that if things don't change the 'Caps could be kaput by June 10th.
Meanwhile, the Hampton Roads roller coaster ride continues to dip and swerve late into this week with the coaching staff and players not sure if they're coming or going. A potential new owner has stepped in and pending the proper paper work and a rubber stamp from the folks in Florida he will assume ownership of the Mariners. Hopefully he'll prove more committed than the group that just released all of the players in an attempt to get them to sign new incentive based contracts. In other words, if you score a goal, keep a shutout, win a game, punch out a mascot or whatever else you'll get paid. If not then you don't get paid. How's that for promoting teamwork?
Either way the wheels have obviously come off in Hampton Roads and they look perilously close to doing the same in Vancouver. There's a wave of criticism and a fan backlash towards Stadnyk in Vancouver that seethed beneath the surface after some shakeups in the off-season. Firing popular GM Bob Lenarduzzi didn't help matters and now there are unconfirmed reports surfacing of financial irregularities in the claims of Stadnyk. Then there's the matter of alienating fans and tweaking the nose of the league office with his comments in the local media.
In Hampton Roads the fans are beginning to question the sanity of their ownership after a published article in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review quoted Felicia Gordon as calling the present situation a "rumor". She then went on to speculate as to who would start such rumors. Yet she later admitted that the club had, in fact, released all of its players and accepted the resignation of Coach McDonald. So honestly, what is going on? Everyone knows USL leadership was in town to broker some sort of deal, the players had gone unpaid since the beginning of April, and there has been ongoing front office restructuring. Of course the possibility that the Mariners would fold is only a "rumor".
Yet how do we see things through the eyes of ownership? There's a deal on a facility that doesn't really belong to you, you don't get a large cut (if any cut at all) from concessions and other ancillary funds, and many times you don't get much in the way of thanks when things go right. Of course if you're an owner you like to make money and have your ego stroked but then again don't we all? Here's the thing, though, in professional sports thanks don't usually come until after championships and in soccer money doesn't come at all, at least not yet in the U.S. and Canada. The only team still operating in those two countries that I know of that has made any money might be the Columbus Crew of MLS.
The owners of these soccer teams come in for a hefty amount of criticism even when they get some things right. So of course everything reaches near nuclear levels when something goes wrong. So why even try to put up with it? I think it is because at some base level that they may have lost sight of along the way they love the game. I don't think they are getting involved solely because they think they're going to make money at it, at least let's hope not. After all, even the fans realize that there's not money to be made in professional soccer in this region of the world yet. Let's just hope that eventually all sides will realize that in some manner they need each other to survive, let alone succeed, so we may as well stop jerking each other around and remember that we are all here because we love soccer.
Send your comments to the author or
Join us to discuss this article at usldiscussions.com
