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Posted by
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March 24, 2017 |
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Aaron Nielsen
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@ENBSports
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Another season of tier two professional soccer is about to begin in North America, with the first games for the 2017 NASL and USL season starting this weekend. For me, the two themes for the 2017 season are opportunity and survival. Opportunity can be highlighted by the promotion of two former NASL cities Atlanta and Minnesota, who combined to draw 135,000 people for their first three MLS games, and the desire of a few USL clubs to follow in their footsteps. Survival is where the NASL is, hanging on right now, as well as a number of independent soccer clubs, who will try to survive another season of professional soccer.
Caught up in this atmosphere are the now four Canadian teams, as FC Montreal are one team who didn't survive the 2016 off season through the decision of the Montreal Impact. They made the decision that it was better to create an affiliation with the Ottawa Fury, who are now in the USL, than run their own reserve side themselves. Although opportunity is also surrounding the Canadian clubs, with talk of the new Canadian Premier League and where clubs fit in with this new league and what will the 2018 soccer landscape look like.
Both leagues head offices, as always, are selling the idea that tier two soccer is part of the pathway to something greater, especially for the players who play in the leagues. With MLS expansion this year, more players than ever have made the jump from either USL or NASL to MLS, although most would be perceived as fringe players with only a handful of them expected to get any significant playing time during the 2017 season.
Both Toronto and Vancouver did promote a few players from their USL to MLS side, with Raheem Edwards joining Toronto FC, while the Vancouver Whitecaps signed Spencer Richey and Kyle Greig from their USL side to the MSL club, with both players being American. To be fair to both teams, outside of New York Red Bulls and LA Galaxy, the two Canadian sides and even the Montreal Impact have promoted more players than most MLS clubs through their reserve system. But even this does not mean a career in soccer, as outside the extremely talented Alphonso Davies, none of these players have been given much playing time so far in MLS.
The main reason for this is, so far USL hasn't proven much of a positive learning curve for young Canadian players. Yes they have played many games at this level, but the teams haven't been competitive and the amount of investment the Canadian MLS teams have put into them has been minimal. In the case of the former FC Montreal and Toronto FC II, both clubs fielded a number of young players not ready at this level along with MLS Drafted players at minimum salaries. What I was hoping when these clubs were announced was that the clubs would be a combination of seasoned Canadian veterans, either from North America or Europe, along with the top Academy players.
Through circumstances, this is what the Ottawa Fury have become. The Fury brought back Canadians such as Edson Edward, Jamar Dixon and Carl Haworth along with Ryan Williams, Gerardo Burna, and Lance Rozeboom and will try to integrate Montreal Impact prospects such as David Paulmin, Shamit Shome, and David Choinire into the side. The Fury should be competitive in the USL East and I feel outside of the Montreal Impact loanees, had a strong off season in signing Canadian keeper Callum Irving, former FC Montreal player Aron Mkungilwa and former Rochester Rhino striker Duba. I expect Ottawa to be a playoff side, although might struggle against some of the more ambitious USL East teams during the season and in the playoffs.
Whitecaps II had a good season in 2016 through the signing of some good USL quality players in Greig and Canadian Daniel Haber, who moved on to Real Salt Lake reserve side Real Monarchs. The Whitecaps II still have Kadin Chung, Dutch defender Sem de Wit and can call in senior team players like Greig, Ben McKendry, and Marco Bustos. I also like the signing of Andy Thoma and I'm interested to see how David Norman develops as a player, but I don't feel the Whitecaps II will be as competitive this season as they were in 2016.
Unfortunately for TFC fans I expect more of the same from Toronto FC II. The club has tried to improve their chances by signing an older keeper and defenders, all Americans, although the fact they decided to pass on League One Ontario standout Niba MacDonald tells you all you need to know about their scouting priorities and recruiting capabilities. Up front players such as Luca Uccello, Aiden Daniels, Shaan Hundal, Anthony Osorio, Malik Johnson and Liam Fraaser will be trying to prove themselves, along with a number of other Academy players, that they are MLS-ready, with Fraser being the closest. One interesting story I was looking forward too, was that of Ayo Akinola, although it looks like he's no longer with the team.
With Ottawa's move, this leaves FC Edmonton as the sole NASL club who are trying to return to the playoffs in a now eight-club league. The Eddies should be competitive playing Colin Miller’s traditional conservative style and they brought in former TFC keeper Chris Konopka as well as Canadians Adam Straith and Mauro Eustaquio to help with the defending, although they did lose the league’s top goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel to Real Salt Lake. Up front, the club will be expecting a better goal total from Tomi Ameobi and Jake Keegan, especially with top goalscorer Daryl Fordyce also leaving the club. I expect Edmonton to be fighting for a playoff spot and might be challenged by former Fury manager Marc Dos Santos’ expansion team San Francisco that include Canadians Nana Attakora, Karl Ouimette and Kyle Bekker.
The USL and NASL by far provide the most Canadian content, with at least 65 Canadians playing in USL and 15 in the NASL this season. However, it should be said that 40 Canadians lost their job from playing in either NASL or USL this off season. So there is certainly a need for the Canadian Premier League and for those who say there is not enough talent in Canada, there were a 120 Canadian players who played games in USL and NASL who would disagree. Although the reality is the Canadian Premier League can provide a lot more. It will provide opportunities for Canadians who are not part of the MLS Academies that are overlooked. It will provide a secure opportunity for veteran players, not only because they are talented enough to play but will also provide leadership for younger players. Finally, it will be competitive with something meaningful to play for, and if Toronto FC II’s current management fields a team in the league, it will prove to them and anyone who follows the game in Canada, soccer development is more than just giving players games.
For the American clubs in USL and NASL, the Holy Grail is MLS. Clubs such as Tampa Bay, Sacramento, Cincinnati, Miami and Saint Louis are the leaders in the race for the next expansion team and this should also reflect the standings, as these club spent in the off season to raise interest and gather momentum in the club. Last year’s USL Champions NY Red Bulls II are still the poster child for MLS player development, with a number of their players in USL good enough to play MLS. While after winning the NASL title, and then almost folding, the New York Cosmos return as the best example of independent soccer trying to survive in the United States.
Four years ago when I first wrote about USL and NASL soccer, I first mentioned the idea of these leagues eventually being a "Farm Club" or Minor Leagues to MLS, like is the case with other professional sports in North America. I think it is fair to say this is now the case, although with the number of foreign players now playing in MLS, NASL and USL are still the highest form of grassroots soccer in the North America and for that reason it should be supported. While the US struggles with this idea of Major and Minor, Canada only had one club, FC Edmonton in 2013, with us asking for our opportunity.
Canadians opportunity is now. Vancouver has shown with Whitecaps II that they can support grassroots soccer as well as an MLS side. FC Edmonton, despite the upward struggles they have faced, should be given credit for their seventh season as a pro club. Ottawa Fury continues to be supported even with the club taking what would be perceived as backward steps in terms of ambition. While the idea that Toronto FC doesn't care about Canada is gaining momentum. This doesn't even include fans in cities such as Calgary, Moncton, Halifax, London, Winnipeg, Victoria and Hamilton, who have a desire to call a team for their own.
Due to this I would say a third theme of the 2017 USL and NASL season, and the one that excites me the most is the anticipation and ongoing development of a league Canada and Canadians can call their own.
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Aaron Neilsen is a co-founder of Prospect XI (Prospect Eleven), a scouting network and online magazine dedicated to tracking/highlighting young players that refer to as "prospects" as well as their development pathways both within North America and worldwide. Follow PXI via www.prospectxi.com or on twitter @ProspectXI.
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