Academy Paid

As you might have already heard, the New York Cosmos have made a payment to Gottschee to fulfill their August obligation to the Academy. While the payment was late, it must be seen as a positive development that the new owners honored this payment. A few weeks back the Cosmos ownership, through the Borough Boys, sent a message to the fans stating they would honor this obligation.

Today we received this statement from Gottschee about the payment.

As you may have heard, Blau Weiss Gottschee just recently received its past due 

(Aug 1, 2011) sponsorship payment from the new “New York Cosmos” owners, which constituted a significant portion of the Club’s expected funding for the fall 

season. While Gottschee is very gratified for the payment and cautiously 

optimistic regarding both the new Cosmos owners and that Gottschee will be able 

to resume the plans it had for its Academy and Club programs in the near future, 

a great deal of planning and work needs to be done to put things in order and to 

transition the Club back to a sound footing. Those decisions depend heavily upon 

the new Cosmos owners meeting further commitments for the upcoming winter and 

spring, due soon.

Thank you

BW Gottschee Board

Hopefully the Cosmos will pay their second installment of $250,000 due on January 1, 2012 to BW Gottschee and the fans can start focusing on a potential MLS team, which according to a Mike Lewis Report, is still the goal for the new Cosmos owners. 


For now we say "Thank You" to the new owners for making this payment and hope that soon the fans and owners can meet to discuss how to build a relationship that has recently been put to the test. 


For an interesting take on the whole thing, see Chris Dobens' piece at Totalfootblog.com.

I have also been informed by one of the parents that the fund raiser for Gottschee will go on as planned for Saturday night. We will post the details a little later. 

What lies ahead?

MLS Cup is here and the game itself should be fantastic. The Borough Boys will be having a viewing at Jack Demseys tonight. Come down and have fun with fellow MLS fans.

There has not been much news from the Cosmos this week but the new owners will be at MLS Cup to meet with Commissioner Garber. We hope to get their identity confirmed as rumors have Seamus O'Brien from World Sport Group as the new chair.

The new owners have made a statement to the fans they have the best of intentions for the future and that includes the highly controversial Gottschee situation. We have stated to the new owners, both through this site and the staff, that we do not doubt their intentions are true, but unfortunately, due to the negative events that have unfolded, we need action before we can be assured.

The fact that Don Garber has spoken positively of the new owners is surely a nice start and we hope for more positive developments from this group. The Cosmos brand has been drug through the mud the past few months, so the new owners do have a tough job ahead of them if they wish to redeem it.

Meanwhile, the MLS announced changes to its schedule for next season  and it discusses how some conference teams will play each other 3 times and then in 2013 the fixtures will reverse (meaning the team that hosts 2 of the 3 in 2012 will go on the road to that rival twice in 2013). I guess that means that they do not expect NYC in the league for 2013. Your thoughts?

Watch the MLS Cup tonight as it should be a great match!

Academy Update

New York Cosmos: The Children of BW Gottschee Comes First

 By: Cesar Diaz

“Please assure the coaches and parent of our players that I will return from London by Friday with an answer.” – Terry Byrne’s statement read by Cosmos Academy Director Giovanni Savarese on Monday, November 7, 2011 to the parents of the Players of BW Gottschee

On Sunday, November 13, we were informed by a BW Gottschee (BWG) representative that the New York Cosmos have yet to contact them after they were assured they would receive an answer by Friday, November 11, 2011 regarding the outstanding balance of $210K owed to them.

Last Monday, BW Gottschee filed a lawsuit against the New York Cosmos for violating their sponsorship agreement. Basically, it’s been over 100 days since the New York Cosmos failed to pay the sum of $210K owed to BW Gottschee.

While it’s easy to dehumanize a 60-year old program like BW Gottschee… one thing that will not be dehumanized are the families, the Cosmos Academy coaches, and BWG representatives who were present at last Monday’s meeting.

Last Monday’s meeting was also attended by Borough Boys President Nick Laveglia, Chris Dobens of TotalFootblog.com, and me as we were made aware of it during the weekend. Prior to Monday’s meeting, we tweeted that BWG has filed legal action against the Cosmos and had obtained the lawsuit document within hours.

With permission to attend last Monday’s meeting by a BWG representative, we witnessed BWG Youth Director of Coaching Paul McGlynn inform the families of the possibility of having to revert to a “pay to play” format because the New York Cosmos organization hadn’t met their contractual obligation.

Representing the New York Cosmos that evening was Cosmos Academy Director Giovanni Savarese who read a statement emailed to him from Interim Chairman Terry Byrne. It was pretty clear to everyone the difficult position Savarese was in as he addressed the families. Unfortunately for him, he played the role of the bearer of bad news.

State of the League - Expansion

Don Garber held his state of the league address today and as always the topic of expansion came up. Some quotes:

“The issue remains the soccer stadium,” Garber said. “We do believe we have two or three sites that are viable, and we’re going to continue to work as hard as we can to move this [forward] as fast as we can.”

Does this mean that in the next few months we will be seeing a lot of news about a potential soccer stadium? There is no secret that this is the biggest hurdle for getting a team and Garber later stated he wanted ensure that whichever ownership group is selected, that the stadium plans are moving along for them. 

Garber also stated that there are still many potential owners in and outside of New York for that 20th team. He does mention other cities but gave no indication that the focus has fallen from New York city. He also took the Wilpon family out of the equation.

Finally, Garber had a comment that was in favor of the new owners of the Cosmos. 

"I, for one, believe that the Cosmos are a great brand, and we like the ownership group that's taken over," Garber also added "If they're able to satisfy all the things that we have as ownership requirements, then I think they could be good prospects. Right now it is very focused on a stadium and less focused on ownership." 

Well, it was clear that Garber did not get on well with Paul Kemsley. One of the things the new Cosmos group will need to do is win over Garber and the 19 other league owners and this is a nice step towards that goal. 


It also is a boost  that Garber is more interested in the stadium than picking an owner, as it will give the new owners some time to right the ship and get things back to normal in Cosmos Country. 

The fact that Don Garber likes this group has to be seen as a positive sign that the new owners do in fact have the best of intentions. We can not jump to conclusions on the new owners and hope that Garber's stamp of approval is a good sign that the new group will fix what has been broken. 

Cosmos New Owners speak to fans

Yesterday, we received another call from the New York Cosmos who wanted to make another statement to the fans.

As we know, Terry Byrne met with the new owners of the Cosmos Wednesday to discuss moving forward. The message we got from the Cosmos was that the meeting was positive and the new owners wanted the fans to know that they have the best of intentions for the New York Cosmos.

This ends their message. (We state this to not confuse anyone as the next portion is our statement)




Now, we have thought about ways to reply to the new owners and we decided that the best way to do so is in public.

For the past year, The Borough Boys stood by the Cosmos when many doubted the capability and/or good intentions of Kemsley & Co.  We got behind them because they were the first potential investor group to go public and state that their intention to join MLS.  We didn’t just take them at their word.  In extensive meetings, and our own investigations, it seemed that indeed, these guys were serious.  If this all falls apart, as seems quite possible, let us be the first to come forward, we were wrong. Now all we can do is the best we can to at least fix the Academy mess.

To the NEW OWNERS (rumors have you being Sela Sport but whoever you are):

We thank you for taking the time to address the fans but our stance can only be actions speak louder than words. We are not stating that you don’t have the best intentions but we are saying that we have heard this before.

Clearly there are some items of business you need to address, but in order to win back the fans and the local community the first step is to address the academy situation.  Somebody must step forward with a $210,000* check for BW Gottschee immediately.  You assumed the debt, it is your legal responsibility to pay the obligation.  It is the moral responsibility of the old owners, the new owners, and all the honorary “Cosmos” – Pele, Cantona, Messing and Alberto to make this right.  You gloried in the Cosmos name, now take some responsibility for it!

And yes, this is OUR business.  Unlike those who signed the agreement, we are New Yorkers and local New York children are being told unless their parents can pay thousands of dollars, they need to take a walk because of an unfulfilled promise.  Not to mention, if you can’t handle the orderly operation of a youth academy, why would anyone, including the league, believe that you can handle a division 1 professional team in the United States?

Once that is cleared up, we suggest a meeting between you guys and the fans. Talk to us, share your thoughts and visions with us, let us give you feedback. This will not exactly make things fine and dandy but this will be a start. (Just to set expectations, things will ONLY be 100% if and when you guys get announced to Major League Soccer.)

We are fans. We are going to be mad, we are going to complain, but if all works out, we are going to be season ticket holders.  We are going to engage our fertile soccer community with you as the centerpiece.  But first, fix the academy issue and do it ASAP.  The notifications are already out to these working class kids:  “No pay, no play”.  Make this right and then let’s meet and discuss how we can work to put the relationship on better footing.

We would also like to state that none of our anger is directed towards the staff, past or present.  We fully understand that they are in an almost impossible position, and we have always appreciated their professionalism in their dealings with us.

*EDITOR NOTE - UPDATE

The actual lawsuit from BW Gottschee is for $460,000. This is for the outstanding August payment, facility fee as well as the upcoming payment which is due in 50 Days. This is all public records.

Statement from Cosmos

Today a representative from the Cosmos front office reached out to Nick Laveglia, the Borough Boys president, to follow up on the recent news surrounding the Cosmos Academy.

During that call the Cosmos assured The Borough Boys that the goals of the organization remain the same – entry into MLS -- even under the new ownership. The transitional phase to the new ownership has taken longer than expected.

As you may know by now, the Cosmos have only partially paid its contractual obligations to BW Gottschee, which has caused the Academy serious financial hardship.  However, the Cosmos assured us that the Academy is a TOP priority and said that the situation with BW Gottschee would be rectified.

Laveglia took the opportunity to explain the fans frustrations over the past few months.  They understood, and repeated that the goal was entry into the MLS.  We certainly appreciated the outreach, and hope that the actions follow the encouraging words.

Statement from BW Gottschee

BW GOTTSCHEE FORCED TO GO IT ALONE

In 2010, Blau Weiss Gottschee entered into a sponsorship agreement with
the New York Cosmos. The terms of the agreement gave the New York
Cosmos the right to call the Blau Weiss Gottschee Development Academy
teams, "New York Cosmos Academy". In return, Blau Weiss Gottschee
received funds to facilitate free play and travel for all Academy
players. Funding is required per year, paid semi-annually (August and
January), and the first year's payments were delivered, generally, as
promised.

This season, 2011-2012, required funding for the Academy teams, 50% due
in August given the substantial up front costs and commitments for such a serious program, 
has yet to arrive, putting Blau Weiss Gottschee under extreme financial stress and severely impacting the club's operation. Assurances have been given by the Cosmos but to date no
money has arrived. As an unfortunate result, Blau Weiss Gottschee has
been forced to engage legal assistance and filed suit to ensure
compliance with the contractual terms of the agreement with the New York Cosmos.

In the meantime, Blau Weiss Gottschee's commitment to its players,
teams, community, and sport has not wavered. Unfortunately, Gottschee
will not be able to continue to provide free play in the immediate
term, but it will  continue to do what it has done for the past sixty
years; provide the highest quality soccer program possible, holding
true to its ideals of dedication, commitment, and integrity.

We will continue to keep fans posted as this situation develops. 

Academy Update

BW Gottschee has filed legal actions towards the New York Cosmos due to non fulfillment of contractual obligations.

Gottschee had a meeting tonight where they informed parents that at any time they could be going back to a pay to play system, as they have not been paid per their agreement.

Chris Dobens of Total Footblog.com, Cesar Diaz of LatinoSport.com and the Borough Boys president attended BW Gottschee's meeting tonight regarding the lawsuit they filed against the Cosmos.

There was a representative of the Cosmos present and he read a statement from Interim General Manager Terry Byrne stating that the Academy is the number one priority to them and they plan on honoring the contract negotiations. Following the meeting, we spoke with Paul McGlynn and a Cosmos representative about the situation.

Changes in the front office have halted things on the Cosmos side and the Academy is preparing for potentially having to alter its financing. Fans are already on the Cosmos Facebook page lashing out frustrations but there might be more news coming in the next week or so about this topic, and the hope is that it all gets rectified. 

It seems the NEW Cosmos ownership is planning on honoring this obligation so we must wait and see that they pay the funds. We will keep you posted as we learn more. 

For those who are unaware, BW Gottschee is a historic local club that has been around since 1951 and has been a force in local soccer. Please read about the clubs history on their website: http://www.bwgottschee.org/ClubHistory/index_E.html

What of the Copa?

With the internal changes taking place within the New York Cosmos, most fans understandably wish to know how this affects your organization's progress in becoming a MLS team. For supporters, this is the most important question that want answered as immediately as possible.

By no means am I suggesting that supporters jump ship. However the reality is, we as your potential season ticket holders are no longer interested with the marketing fluff that was previously fed to us.  While it was initially fun and amusing, we are no longer interested. The only thing we at this stage is a MLS Club.

If your goal is be part of Major League Soccer, than start playing the role by covering MLS and the local NYC Scene. You have a recognizable website with the social media accounts and we want content. We understand the online store but at the end of the day, readers want to read something related to American Soccer. From your discussions with Major League Soccer, I am sure that MLS Commissioner Don Garber is able to grant you Media Credentials.

With all do respect, your organization set the bar and has failed to achieve it... end of story. Don't blame us for being upset. We listened, we defended, and we invested in merchandise. As supporters, we have no reservation in being patient but loyalty is a two-way street and the lack of communication to us has been disrespectful.

Had you simply generated a Press Release admitting that things haven't ran as smoothly as expected, we would have been understanding and who knows, even more sympathetic in your plight. Despite our frustrations, we are impressed with two elements of your organization.

They are the Cosmos Academy and the Cosmos Copa.

For the time being, we're going to focus on the Cosmos Copa. We hope that the new ownership of the Cosmos realize the importance of this tournament. Not only for the possibility of finding some talent (MLS scouts were at last years edition) but for what it actually does for New York.

Our world isn t filled with the prejudices that once were, however, that does not mean we should stray away from bringing people together.

While the Cosmos Copa has clearly offered some fantastic soccer, it also brought together people from various communities and more importantly, various cultures.

This is something that needs to continue because in a city as diverse as New York, the variety needs to interact and what better way to get them together, than to celebrate the game of soccer.

In the past, our site has praised the efforts of Chris Noble and Spencer Dormitzer before, and we will continue to do so. The fact that 5 Points Press volunteered hours of their personal time in not only covering the Cosmos Copa but meeting with the clubs while creating a Special Edition issue clearly demonstrates the respect we have for not only Chris and Spencer but also for the tournament itself.

The Cosmos Copa is a unique spectacle that can't be pulled off in many cities around the world, but you can in New York. Let s hope the new owners of the Cosmos recognize that and continue this tradition. Not only will it be good for the Cosmos as an organization, but it will be good for New York.

We maybe upset with you right now but we anticipate that it ll be an issue of the past once we actually see some progress. You know where we stand and the it's up to you to decide how you re going to honor our loyalty.

We know that you can not provide us with an MLS team next summer, but you can provide us with the 3rd installment of the Cosmos Copa.

Cosmos Statement

From their website

http://nycosmos.com/news/management-update-new-york-cosmos

November 2, 2011 (New York, NY) - There has been a buyout at The New York Cosmos and management changes have taken place in various areas of our organization. This also results in a full restructure of both our business and staffing, which will continue to be assessed by the new leadership team that is expected to be appointed within the next 60 days. It is unequivocally the goal of the current ownership to become an MLS team in the most expedient manner possible, and decisions for the club will be made with this in mind.




The goal remains MLS, and they want it fast. Lets see how they action that.