Happy Holidays

All, we are off for the Holidays. Enjoy the New Year and we will see you on the other side.

Garber fancies the Cosmos Name

Don Garber spoke a bit today with  ESPN's Soccer Today podcast and the topic of expansion and the Cosmos came up. Below are the quotes from Garber which you can listen to here. (27:40 it starts)

The hosts asked about the tactic of going after a stadium before an ownership group:

Garber

"There is no risk because we don’t have to expand whether it’s in new York or another market"

"We believe here in the league office that the league needs to have more energy in the New York market"

"We made the decision that the opportunity is important enough that we didn’t want to depend on an owner to drive the stadium independent of the leagues role to ensure that the stadium is in the right spot."

"It is very clear to us that we have to get it right in new York city and we have to invest significant financial and people resources to ensure that that happens."

Garber clearly is not in a rush to get the 20th team done but states that the league is really focused on NYC for that spot. 

The hosts then asked about the status of the Cosmos group

Garber:

"They are not ready to go because there isn’t a stadium opportunity for them or anyone else to get excited about."

"We remain in contact with the Cosmos, the new ownership group, I have a lot of faith in their new approach and their desire to focus much more on an MLS team, than just selling product and perhaps doing exhibitions. "

"I will say that more and more I am beginning to get caught up a bit in the Cosmos fever. While I don’t regret we didn’t purchase that logo when it was made available to us in 1996, I do believe now that there just seems to be a lot of momentum behind the relaunch of that brand and bringing back some of the excitement and appeal that the Cosmos were able to generate not just here in NY but around the world."

"I think if we are able to find an opportunity on the facility then we will be able to have a very fruitful conversation with them about coming into the league"

This is the first time in a long time that Garber admits to being taken by the power of the Cosmos brand. A more powerful sign that the Cosmos are a player in this whole thing is when Garber says that he recently had a meeting with a MAJOR sponsor and the first question they asked was "When are you bringing the Cosmos back?"

So Garber is for sure seeing the power of the Cosmos brand globally but also seems to be getting a bit of pressure from sponsors. 

It could be safe to say "If you build it, they will come".

Courtemanche still saying NY is focus for 20

Major League Soccer stated that New York City is still the focus of Major League Soccer despite today's Sacramento news.

“but we could expand beyond 20 teams at some point, however there are no specific plans right now for expansion beyond 20 teams. There are multiple markets from Detroit, to Miami, to Las Vegas, to Atlanta, and now, apparently, Sacramento. But our focus right now is on New York,”

Sacramento

The expansion candidate list keeps growing as Sacramento, California has thrown its hat into the ring. Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, who sits on the board of soccer's national governing body, is leading this charge. One of his partners is local Attorney Dick Hyde, who admits that things are still very preliminary.

"I wouldn't characterize it as a long shot, but it's an endeavor that's in its infancy," said Hyde, who was part of a group that tried to bring the MLS to Sacramento a decade ago. "I think Elk Grove is probably a really good spot for soccer."

Until New York City is able to finalize a deal, you will see more and more cities pop up as candidates. While yes, Garber did hire full time staff to help finalize a stadium deal in NYC, there are no guarantees. 


Your thoughts on Sacramento? 

Terry Byrne officially out

Grant Wahl is reporting on twitter that Terry Byrne has left the New York Cosmos.

This is not a surprise to many as Terry's name was removed from the management page on nycosmos.com some time ago. It seems that Terry was staying behind to help facilitate the transition to the new ownership.

Hopefully the new management team will be announced soon.

Gio Speaks about the Cosmos and MLS

on Paris New York Tv

Take a looks, he says that the Cosmos are working with Garber to meet all the requirements to make the jump to MLS.

Click on Link to see Video.

NYC Kit-League Table (Winter Update)

It's been over 2 months since our last update of the NYC Kit-League but all the while I've been keeping track of every football logo I see around NYC. Lots of teams have dramatically moved in the table. Liverpool is a great example of a shirt I saw nothing of in the first two weeks of the competition and have since seen everywhere. Obviously as the days turn colder Big European Clubs that sell a lot Jackets and Coats have an advantage over the Mexican and South American clubs and I think we see that in the table. That said I've decided to lay off the analysis a bit and instead focus on some of the more interesting things I've seen around the city. So here they are...

CLUB AMERICA TATTOO: Seeing this on the Manhattan bound 7 train this caught me off guard as it isn't a Jersey or a Jacket, but I quickly decided that any tattoo incorporating a teams logo deserves the full three points in this table.

BALLINROBE TOWN AFC JERSEY: Likely the most obscure kit I've seen thus far, Ballingrobe Town AFC is an Irish club from County Mayo that plays in the Welcome Inn Premier Division of the Mayo League. For those of you that are counting thats level 5 in the Irish League Pyramid.

KANSAS CITY WIZ JERSEY: In my opinion the most wonderfully hideous jersey I have seen, so wonderfully hideous that I had to go find a picture the shirt.

I decided to separate the National Team Jerseys into their own table... so here are your, League 1, League 2 and the National Team tables...

National Team Kit-League

Orlando in Play?

A bit of expansion news from Major League Soccer as the owner of the Orlando City Soccer Club, Phil Rawlins, revealed that he is in discussions with Major League Soccer and that a Non Disclosure Agreement has been signed.

"They've been following us and they've been watching us," Rawlins said. "They were very complimentary and positive about what we were doing and the success we've had in the last season ... We've signed a non-disclosure agreement with them and we're looking at the business models. We're looking at what the numbers look like to bring MLS soccer to Central Florida."

"I can see us playing in either [a newly-renovated Citrus Bowl or a soccer-specific stadium]," Rawlins said. "The city and the county has $185 million set aside for the refurbishment of the Citrus Bowl and we're in talks with them about that. As long as that money is used wisely and well, then I can see us playing in a refurbished Citrus Bowl."

While Major League Soccer still seems completely focused on New York City for its 20th team, nothing can be ruled out. The league does want a presence in the South East and with the right owners and a possible stadium solution in place, this could really pick up some steam. 

Orlando City plays its home games in the Citris Bowl and drew over 11,000 fans to the USL Championship game, on the same night of a UCF football game. This solid local support, coupled with the millions of tourists that visit the area (many of whom come from soccer loving nations) could be a nice little recipe for success. 

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!