Today he has added a new podcast/video interview with NASL or USSF Div II Carolina Railhawks Brian Plotkin. The two discuss the crazy offseason that surrounded the USL/NASL/USSF Div 2 as well as some other items.

Enjoy.

According to a press release (see below) sent out by the USSF, both sides failed to meet certain requirements to be sanctioned.

CHICAGO (Dec. 30, 2009) – The U.S. Soccer Board of Directors voted unanimously on Tuesday to not sanction either the USL or the NASL to operate a Division II professional league in 2010.

The decision was made on the recommendation of the Professional League Task Force, which determined that neither organization on its own was able to provide a viable and sustainable operation during the upcoming season. Both organizations were unable to meet U.S. Soccer’s requirement of a minimum of eight viable teams for 2010.

Despite the ruling, the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors has given both organizations seven days to try to work out an interim solution for the 2010 season.

“After carefully reviewing the findings from the Task Force it was clear there are still too many uncertainties for both organizations, which would be extremely difficult to resolve in a timely fashion that would allow them to prepare for the 2010 season,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “In the best interest of soccer in the United States, we decided to not sanction either league at this point. However, we did encourage both leagues to come together in the next week and attempt to develop another plan which would allow a single league to be approved on a provisional basis. We are committed to finding ways to improve the long-term viability of all leagues and teams and continue the growth of soccer in the United States.”

Now things go back to the board room and both sides will have to some how work together to find a resolution. I think in a way it favors the USL side more than anything. Something about this just lets me think that even though the USL won’t be sanctioned for next year it does help them out in possibly getting some clubs back in their corner. The lawsuits obviously had something to do with this ruling as well.

Again, I’m not shocked by this ruling. I won’t say right now whether or not this is the right ruling by the USSF or the wrong ruling but I will say I am just not shocked by it. I think the USSF wants one single division two league here and not two separate leagues.

I know a lot of folks will not like this ruling but its the hand that has been given right now. Just another fun chapter in this story. I do think both sides need to just hug it out and settle their issues here.

The three clubs had allegedly�committed�contractually to play 2010 in USL�s First Division but instead opted to play in the yet to be sanctioned North American Soccer League. (Here is a link to the court filing.)

Seeing the league sue these clubs is probably a bit about protecting their best interest and I don’t think we can blame them for doing so since these clubs were slated to be apart of the USL in 2010.

I’m sure this was one thing the meeting with the USSF wanted to avoid here. Going down this road has to be a troubling path for both sides. This whole time I haven’t really been on either side of the fence between the USL and NASL. I like some things both have done but I’ve tried to stay as neutral as I can here with it. I do think though right now the NASL needs to cool their jets a bit though. They are a very ambitious bunch that still has loads of work to do like putting schedules together, getting a front office, doing some PR, etc. All that and more with only a few months time to do it in.

If the NASL wanted a season so bad in 2010, they should have decided to do a shorter season to get their stuff in gear before doing an actual full season in 2011. Sort of a dry opening before the grand opening if you will.

Now as far as the USSF goes, they need to act quickly here to cool the bad press that will come of this news. We know they put together a little “task force” to over see things here with this mess but really that won’t be good enough here. It’s pretty clear the USSF has no real stance on this situation right now, other than being sort of confused I think.

This messy situation just keeps getting messier.

The league has nine clubs now that Tampa and Baltimore have jumped ship and they could look to add a tenth with the possibility of Rochester leaving the USL after 2010.

Currently there are only 5 teams remaining from last year�s USL-1 season.� Austin, Cleveland, Portland, Puerto Rico and Rochester, with the expansion team of� New York bringing the league to 6. Some may say what about Charleston? Well, they are headed to the USL-2 in the form of a self-relegation. Some folks are saying Cleveland could easily do the same.

Let’s not forget that after this next season for the USL they will stand to lose Portland. That bring their lovely total down to just four for the 2011 season unless they get some expansion sites up in a hurry before then.

The USL does looked doomed here but will this NASL really work? Vancouver and Montreal are headed MLS’s way in the near future but this little league could be fine if the chips keep falling for the USL. But the thing that worries people like me is how in the world will they get all their crap together before the start of the season next year? At the very least they could have a website up now that they have a name but since http://www.nasl.com is already taken they could be in trouble on that front.

Things do look good for the TOA, or now rather the NASL, which is still a stupid name in my mind to go with.

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Wynada On His MLS Time

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He still regrets coming back to MLS when it started up. I respect Wynalda but its a douche bag kind of thing to say about a league that probably did him more good than anything else. I’d be willing to be we would have never see him in broadcasting had it not been for MLS.

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Missed PK and What It Means For Donovan

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An excellent point that I thought about last night when I saw Landon Donovan blast his PK try over the bar and into the 40th row. How will that missed PK affect his potential to go back to Europe this winter? Hell the bigger picture that I am concerned about here is how will it affect him going into next year’s World Cup. We need Donovan to be the dominate player he was in the summer and not the LandyCakes we’ve seen in the past and during that PK try.

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Duka Ready For MLS

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So young Dilly Duka didn’t get a contract in Europe like some had figured so he will stay with MLS and get selected in January’s SuperDraft. The kid sounds excited though about coming to MLS and I think he has a great shot to do something special here for a couple years before heading to Europe.

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More Somerville Talk For Revs

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The Revs have been “talking” about building a stadium in Somerville for a couple years now. Will they finally do it is the question. They definitely need to that is for sure. We know they need to get out of the NFL stadium that they are in right now because they cannot draw well in there at all.

The owners of the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina Railhawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps, along with new club St. Louis Soccer United today announced that they have formed a new professional soccer league to play in the United States and Canada beginning in April 2010.

The TOA has applied for second division status from the USSF and first division status from the Canadian Soccer Association. The league is apparently looking to add at least one more club since their potential team in Tampa went back to the USL last week.

Joey Saputo, President of the 2009 USL-1 champion Montreal Impact, was recently elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the new league.

�This is not your typical new league,� Saputo said.� �Most of our teams have existed for years.� We have united some of the best owners, teams and markets around a new vision for a professional soccer league in North America.

�We look forward to elevating our teams and league in order to give more opportunities to players, coaches, media and sponsors, entertain our fans and play our role in helping soccer truly recognize its potential in the United States and Canada.�

Jeff Cooper, the principal owner of St. Louis Soccer United and spokesperson for the new league, said team owners have commenced a search for a league commissioner and are actively finalizing other details, including a name for the league and its sales and marking plans.� The league intends to launch an extensive marketing campaign in the coming months, Cooper said.

I think one thing we will need to keep an eye on is Minnesota. Apparently according to Inside Minnesota Soccer (which has covered this situation like no one else) the Thunder are in some serious financial problems right now. All the players have been released from their contracts and from the sound of things the owners have no money left to run things.

Should Minnesota not be able to muster up the cash to play it could put this league down to six clubs, which makes things pretty rough if you ask me for people to take this league serious.

Another interesting item is to see what Vancouver and Montreal are going to do here. Vancouver is expected to go to MLS in 2011 and from the reports its sounds like they will keep a reserve team in this new league (smart move). Montreal on the other hand is still hoping to get into MLS in the coming years and could do a similar thing with this second division.

Lastly, another interesting thing will be to see if this league can get any sort of recognition from CONCACAF to play in the Champions League. I would imagine they will need at least eight clubs in the league to even be considered but more than likely these clubs will still have to go through the US Open Cup to even have a shot at getting in the CCL.

Once I get more details on this new league I will pass it along to you.

The USL called it a new era for the league, especially the first division. From the sound of things they are banking heavily on some expansion in the coming year to make up for the losses of clubs like Miami, Montreal, and Minnesota to name a few. Last night they announced expansion plans in cities like Detroit and Baltimore as well as a couple Canadian cities to make up for the losses of Vancouver and Montreal.

I think the move to get a couple Canadian cities on board was going to happen regardless of the TOA thing. Losing Vancouver to MLS in a couple years and potentially Montreal really put pressure on the USL to get more Canadian clubs back in the league. Adding Ottawa and Edmonton seem like a good idea on the surface, especially when you think Ottawa failed as a MLS expansion bid.

Detroit and Baltimore are big cards in the USL’s hands. Getting Detroit is a big time thing that should make up for losing some small markets like Minnesota and Carolina. What the USL did by bringing in Detroit and Baltimore wasn’t just new cities in the top division it was expanding it’s TV map to bigger markets. You can’t tell me trading Carolina and Minnesota in for Detroit and Baltimore isn’t a big win for the USL in this on-going battle with the TOA.

Others on hand at the meeting were new clubs that will join next year in Tampa and New York. Sure New York is a shared TV market with its MLS brother but it is still a big market to have in the league no matter what. Tampa as we all know carries a big name in the Rowdies, which should help in some ways. Tampa being at these meetings kind of signals that they have made peace with the USL and are possibly done with the TOA. Seeing Tampa make peace with the USL really hurts the TOA right now.

Right now for the TOA it comes down to what Carolina, Miami and Minnesota are going to do. We know Vancouver and Montreal have MLS in their sights as it is so going with the TOA would really be just for a single season or two for Montreal.

People need to not worry how the USL will move forward from this whole TOA issue because with this news they certainly have. Something tells me this mess with the TOA is long from being over but don’t be shocked to see at least Carolina and Minnesota come back to the USL. Miami seems like a wildcard in all of this but at the end of the day if they lose another club in their little party it will pretty much mean the end of things for the TOA.

The time is now for the TOA to make their move but what that move will be is going to be interesting. I think the longer they wait to act the tougher it gets for them.

But first there we gotta go back into the TOA-USL talk that we’ve been going around and around with for the last few weeks. Reports tonight suggest the TOA and their clubs could very well soon be forming their own league, even as soon as TOMORROW.

Carolina RailHawks president Brian Wellman confirmed in the link above that he along with the rest of the TOA group would be submitting an application to the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to form a new league. They may even be doing it as soon as tomorrow. The new league would consist of Minnesota , Miami FC, Montreal, Vancouver and Carolina from the USL and three other new clubs from Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and Atlanta.

Some folks are saying that other owners from the USL could even join them down the road too. I mean if you look at it, if these clubs bolt town tomorrow to form their own league that could or could not be linked to MLS, you have to wonder what those in Rochester and Charleston are thinking.

Wellman also suggests this new league could also play on the favored FIFA calendar, meaning they’d play through the winter. Honestly hearing something like that may just be pandering to fans that want a FIFA style calender here in the states. Sure they have a few markets that would be fine to play in the winter but I don’t see games in Vancouver, Montreal and Minnesota going over well during the cold months.

The USL also came out and said in regards to this news that no talks have actually took place here but they are just being patient with this group.

There is also the talk that Don Garber is in the TOA’s corner for this one. To that news you just have to wonder. I’m still in the court that thinks a MLS-2 won’t happen anytime soon but the possibility of a new league has to have some kind of connections with MLS to succeed I would think. I’m sure more information will come out of this all very soon though.

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Payne Fined For Comments Then Apologizes

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Was it really wrong for the league to fine DC’s Kevin Payne over some comments about the current play by some teams in this league (go here for those comments)? In a way the fine was okay but at the end of the day it just shows how much of a PR makeover this league needs. You really can’t blame a guy for being honest about the way a couple clubs play. The truth hurts but move on with it, DC failed to reach the playoffs and he was just bitching.

In a radio interview in Montreal, Alex Papadakis confirmed that neither of the Canadian based clubs would be part of the USL for the 2010 season after the two sides failed to reach an agreement for continuing play next season and that the TOA was ready to move in another direction.

“The negotiations are finished,” Papadakis told CKAC.� “We decided to continue our preparation for the season 2010 with the teams which wished to remain with us.”

“I would like to thank the two Canadian teams, the WhiteCaps and the Impact, for all that contributed to the USL for the past few years,” Papadakis told CKAC.� “They were excellent for our League and I have much admiration for them. Now, I wish them good luck in their future plans. “

With the Whitecaps scheduled to join MLS in 2011 you have to wonder what Joey Saputo and his Impact will now do. More than likely they will make a serious push for a MLS bid.

Neither club has announced anything of this news on their websites and apparently according to the report the Impact are still selling season tickets for next season.

There is also a thought that Montreal could still join whatever league comes out of the TOA, possibly a MLS-2 for some daydreamers out there. But the more you look into Montreal the more you got to believe they will be a MLS club before long.

No tonight I wanted to quickly touch base on a couple interesting links. One surrounds the on-going USL issue, one is about the LA Galaxy’s post season tour in Europe and the last is about FC Dallas.

First up the USL. Apparently some folks are telling the angry USL owners to just suck it up and deal with what it happening. With the USL final this weekend players from both Montreal and Vancouver will more than likely be getting the same letter that a couple other club’s players got recently telling them they are no longer under contract with the USL. A nice parting gift especially to the club that actually wins the league (note Montreal is up 3-2 over Vancouver going into the final leg).

The Whitecaps and Impact are part of the Team Owners Association (TOA), a group of franchises, plus expansion Tampa, on-hiatus Atlanta and prospective St. Louis that are upset with the new USL ownership. Yes that is sugar-coating it but by now if have been keeping up you know the two sides just don’t get along.

Now apparently the new USL management is just telling the TOA to just suck it up and accept defeat.

You can bet after this weekend’s final there will be a load of stories that come out of the USL front office surrounding talks with the TOA. Okay, well it may be the other way around. Its the TOA who has been talking not the USL. Still whoever does talk next week will sure let us in on what is going on. I still believe that the USL and the TOA will come to terms before long. And yes I just don’t buy that MLS-2 stuff that people have been saying the TOA would turn into. They just don’t have the teams to do it unless a couple other USL clubs joined in with them, which probably won’t happen.

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LA Post-Season Tour News

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The last two years we’ve seen a crappy LA Galaxy team head off to Australia and other places like that for their post season tour. Now that the Galaxy are seemingly good again apparently so will be post-season tour. This time the club is cashing in on a trip to Germany to play Bundesliga-2 side Kaiserslautern on Thanksgiving day.

While I honestly don’t get the post season tour for MLS clubs, I do like the Galaxy going to Europe instead of New Zealand and Australia. Plus Kaiserslautern is really good this year so it should be a quality test for the Galaxy.

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The All-Hyndman Rejects Team

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FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman has made a lot of moves since becoming the front man for the Red Stripes. Buzz Carrick thought it would be nice to put a starting XI together of former Dallas players that left under Hyndman’s belt. While there is no keeper that has gone it still is an interesting collection of talent that has come and gone in the year and half that Hyndman has been in charge.

There’s even a couple guys that would be on the bench for this team as well. Some folks were quick to point out that Kenny Cooper and Juan Toja were no rejects. I’ll give them that but let’s face it they were both gonna be gone no matter who was in charge in Dallas. Plus that back-line would give up so many goals in this league it would be scary.

While Major League Soccer is enjoying a slower week in terms of news and even games (yeah only three this weekend) due to the World Cup qualifying going on, the USL keeps rolling in the news.

I just caught wind of another release via SoccerNet that goes into more details about how some clubs could be splitting from the USL and it’s new ownership after this year. Now we discussed last night how owners in the USL first division were looking at their options and according to one, starting a new league could be that option.

Selby Wellman, owner of the Carolina Railhawks and spokesman for the eight teams, said a breakaway league was on the agenda.

“It is certainly one of the options,” he told Reuters in an interview. “We are clearly at odds with USL, we have been at odds with them for two years over the fact that we are the only league in the world that doesn’t have (team) owners controlling it,” he added.

Selby said the teams, which also include franchises in Montreal and Vancouver in Canada and Tampa Bay and St.Louis, would be open to a compromise with the USL but that he was not optimistic common ground could be found.

“I have to be honest and say that my expectations of it are quite low — if you just bought a league for that money and put it in Nike’s pockets you are probably unwilling to turn it over to other people.

“We have been at this for two years..we are not willing to start all over again and drag it out for another year or so. Quite frankly we are tired.”

Also yesterday the USL announced a new structure for their front office organization. CEO Terry Holt commented on the owners saying “we’ve seen the announcement, which contains several incorrect statements but we don’t want to comment right now.”

Holt also added that they were looking several things and didn’t want to get caught up in a war of words.

In a way this sounds worse than what we could see out of the MLS Players Union later this fall when they go into CBA negotiations.

One of the bigger reasons for the owners concern is the constant coming and going of clubs in the first division (and probably other divisions as well). Teams are closing doors after a season or two or in the case of a couple are getting bumped up into MLS.

What could be more interesting is what happens to the lower leagues because of all of this, not just the first division clubs. Though those that could leave the first division and start their own league could face a huge up hill battle. Things need to get patched up quickly because I believe heading down a road like that could really doom those clubs that are thinking of leaving the USL. More from the Moor-Ihemelu Trade:

Apparently Dallas gave up “a considerable amount of allocation” to get Ugo Ihemelu in exchange for Drew Moor. As someone that sees a lot of Dallas this trade continues to show that Schellas Hyndman is working hard on getting his kind of guys in uniform here in the Big D. Ugo is an ex-SMU player for Hyndman so there you have it. But from what I’ve gathered the last day and a half, Dallas had a lot of allocation to work with so what may seem like a lot probably wasn’t too much at all. My bet it was enough to make up the salary cap difference between the two players.

Hyndman Scorecard

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Speaking of Hyndman, here is a fun look at all the moves he’s made thus far in his year and half time with Dallas. Captain Obvious over at 3rd Degree has some interesting thoughts about certain moves that Hyndman has made. The non-Schellas section is where it gets really interesting. I can see this winter a lot of moves taking place with guys in that section. Especially some of the young guys that should be getting PT that aren’t under Hyndman.