Uncle Numanga wrote:

socrocks wrote:

Uncle Numanga wrote:

ChelseaFan wrote:...and the plans are to expand ECNL again next year...probably to 64 clubs. So...the list of non ECNL top teams will shrink considerably.

Texans, Blues, VSA, Sereno, etc. will all be in ECNL for the 2011-2012 season.

Huh? You yanky my chain?

Not for the upcoming year. The one after that. It only makes sense.

I agree. Just didn't think I'd hear you say (at least quite so soon). Has it formally been decided by Texans as a club?

socrocks wrote:

Uncle Numanga wrote:

socrocks wrote:

Uncle Numanga wrote:

ChelseaFan wrote:...and the plans are to expand ECNL again next year...probably to 64 clubs. So...the list of non ECNL top teams will shrink considerably.

Texans, Blues, VSA, Sereno, etc. will all be in ECNL for the 2011-2012 season.

Huh? You yanky my chain?

Not for the upcoming year. The one after that. It only makes sense.

I agree. Just didn't think I'd hear you say (at least quite so soon). Has it formally been decided by Texans as a club?

It really depends on if the proposal to not allow ECNL teams to participate in State, Regional or National under the USYS system is ratified. If it is, what is the point in competing in a watered down competition? I reckon that would also prohibit any of the ECNL teams from competing in LHGCL, as well.

Tho I could be wrong, I think it's already decided...no State Cup, Regionals, Nationals or Premier League (after this coming year).

There would still be value in competing in LH (which is supposedly going to be allowed...at least near term) because of the quality of competition without having to travel.

Now, how dilluted will State Cup , Regionals and Premier league be if none of these clubs can compete?

I also heard a rumor that LH...who is married to NTX...who is not at all a fan of ECNL may consider not inviting teams from clubs who don't send their top teams to LH. I was not aware of it until told today that LH is purely invitational. This could get really ugly.

Uncle Numanga wrote:

socrocks wrote:

Uncle Numanga wrote:

socrocks wrote:

Uncle Numanga wrote:

ChelseaFan wrote:...and the plans are to expand ECNL again next year...probably to 64 clubs. So...the list of non ECNL top teams will shrink considerably.

Texans, Blues, VSA, Sereno, etc. will all be in ECNL for the 2011-2012 season.

Huh? You yanky my chain?

Not for the upcoming year. The one after that. It only makes sense.

I agree. Just didn't think I'd hear you say (at least quite so soon). Has it formally been decided by Texans as a club?

It really depends on if the proposal to not allow ECNL teams to participate in State, Regional or National under the USYS system is ratified. If it is, what is the point in competing in a watered down competition? I reckon that would also prohibit any of the ECNL teams from competing in LHGCL, as well.

If they can take out NYSSA, then one would think it's only a matter of time before ODP and local leagues fall as well. Power is a addictive....

Bear in mind that many, many clubs are pushing for the acceleration of the ECNL expansion. Largely because they don't have satisfactory local competition and feel their time is wasted in league play. So, that contingency is pushing for a quick expansion and the development of regional league ECNL play. When that takes hold....trying to do LH also...could be a problem.

socrocks wrote:Tho I could be wrong, I think it's already decided...no State Cup, Regionals, Nationals or Premier League (after this coming year).

There would still be value in competing in LH (which is supposedly going to be allowed...at least near term) because of the quality of competition without having to travel.

Now, how dilluted will State Cup , Regionals and Premier league be if none of these clubs can compete?

I also heard a rumor that LH...who is married to NTX...who is not at all a fan of ECNL may consider not inviting teams from clubs who don't send their top teams to LH. I was not aware of it until told today that LH is purely invitational. This could get really ugly.

I think it's premature to assume that ECNL's initial salvo is the deathblow for USYSA that some on this board (and elsewhere) would have you believe. It may very well be ECNL that wins out in the end, but I find it hard to believe they will be able to do so without a significant fight from USYSA.

Btw socrocks, would be nice to see a thread like this for the 96s as well. It will be interesting to see how the the possible NL teams for next year will compare to the ECNL teams.

socrocks wrote:Tho I could be wrong, I think it's already decided...no State Cup, Regionals, Nationals or Premier League (after this coming year).

There would still be value in competing in LH (which is supposedly going to be allowed...at least near term) because of the quality of competition without having to travel.

Now, how dilluted will State Cup , Regionals and Premier league be if none of these clubs can compete?

I also heard a rumor that LH...who is married to NTX...who is not at all a fan of ECNL may consider not inviting teams from clubs who don't send their top teams to LH. I was not aware of it until told today that LH is purely invitational. This could get really ugly.

I would think this is a very big bargaining chip for LH. The older teams (U15+) wouldn't be all that affected, but what happens to the numerous younger Sting/FC Dallas/Solar teams if they can't play LH?

Gunners wrote:

socrocks wrote:Tho I could be wrong, I think it's already decided...no State Cup, Regionals, Nationals or Premier League (after this coming year).

There would still be value in competing in LH (which is supposedly going to be allowed...at least near term) because of the quality of competition without having to travel.

Now, how dilluted will State Cup , Regionals and Premier league be if none of these clubs can compete?

I also heard a rumor that LH...who is married to NTX...who is not at all a fan of ECNL may consider not inviting teams from clubs who don't send their top teams to LH. I was not aware of it until told today that LH is purely invitational. This could get really ugly.

I would think this is a very big bargaining chip for LH. The older teams (U15+) wouldn't be all that affected, but what happens to the numerous younger Sting/FC Dallas/Solar teams if they can't play LH?

Only the the team that is competing in ECNL would not play LHGCL. The rest will.

They just need to make it an academy league and leave it at that

Sting Wins ECNL with 25 goals for 3 against in 7 matches
Sting wins USYSA Championship tourney 15 goals for and 0 against in 4 matches
Sting Wins LHGCL 47 goals for 6 against in 14 matches
LHGCL is the toughest league for Sting in this little comparison, maybe the travel causes goal scoring and defending to be easier?

Uncle Numanga wrote:

Gunners wrote:

socrocks wrote:Tho I could be wrong, I think it's already decided...no State Cup, Regionals, Nationals or Premier League (after this coming year).

There would still be value in competing in LH (which is supposedly going to be allowed...at least near term) because of the quality of competition without having to travel.

Now, how dilluted will State Cup , Regionals and Premier league be if none of these clubs can compete?

I also heard a rumor that LH...who is married to NTX...who is not at all a fan of ECNL may consider not inviting teams from clubs who don't send their top teams to LH. I was not aware of it until told today that LH is purely invitational. This could get really ugly.

I would think this is a very big bargaining chip for LH. The older teams (U15+) wouldn't be all that affected, but what happens to the numerous younger Sting/FC Dallas/Solar teams if they can't play LH?

Only the the team that is competing in ECNL would not play LHGCL. The rest will.

They just need to make it an academy league and leave it at that

In theory that's fine. But the possible scenario that I heard is that if Texans do not send their top teams to LH, then LH will not invite the rest of the Texans teams to participate in LH....and because they are an 'invitational" league, that is their prerogrative. To me it sounds like suicide for LH. But it was put to me that NTX would conceivably not sanction the formation of or the transition to any other league either.

IMO, should it come to the point that ECNL teams could not manage the LH schedule (or would not be allowed by ECNL) and had to give up LH, LH would be best suited to just let them go. They would only lose 5 teams per age group (which are easily replaceable) and their coffers would remain full. If it turns into a power struggle and all of the ECNL clubs are forbidden from bringing all of their non-ECNL teams to LH....where does that leave LH's cashflow? I'd imagine the "uninvited" teams would just move to Plano and Arlington.

US Club Soccer FAQ
Can I still register my team with USYS?
Clubs have a
right to register teams with both organizations. Many clubs will
continue to register at least some of their teams with the state
association so they may, for example, play in state cup. USSF Bylaw
603(2) states in part: "An Organization Member (other than a
Professional League) shall not discriminate against the participation of
players, teams, coaches, or clubs on the basis of that player, coach,
team, or club's membership in, or affiliation with, another
organization."

What is the 100% Rule?
The so-called 100% rule is a
USSF requirement that all players in a club or league be registered with
the appropriate USSF member. It cannot be interpreted to mean that if
some teams want to play in state cup, for example, that all the club’s
teams have to register with the state association whether they play or
not, as long as they’re registered with another USSF member. A USSF
member can only require that the players that are participating in its
programs register with them, as long as the other players are registered
with the USSF via another member.
USSF further clarified the "100% rule" at its Nov. 12, 2005 Board Meeting and unanimously adopted the new Policy 212 (see the full text of Policy 212).

ChelseaFan wrote:I know this forum is focused on Texas Teams...especially NTX teams...but would anyone care to make predictions for the finish of TX based teams in the ECNL? I will start with U15's.

Challenge A Top Four:
Mustang
Sting
CASL
OH Premier or Eclipse Select

D'Feeters and Challange make good efforts but fall just short of top four.

Challenge B Top Four:
Albertson Fury
SC Del Sol
FC Milwaukee
Birminham United (BUSA)

Solar and Lonestars Red get close (next four).

Thoughts on this or other age groups?

It looks like my prognostications for the 95 age group in ECNL last year had some hits and some misses. The good news is that the a couple of the misses were a direct result of TX teams doing better than I had anticipated.

I got three of the four in Challenge A with Sting, CASL, & Eclipse making the final four but Mustang was replaced by by Arsenal with Ohio Premier and Mustang filling the next two spots.

In Challenge B, both Lonestars and Solar did advance into the Challenge A...which was better than anticipated...but which also meant that my prognostications were way off. None of my top four picks made it into the finals for advancement with the other two replacement teams being San Juan FC and FSA Soccer Plus. All but the latter advanced.

Would any one care to hazard a guess as to the final standings in 2010-2011? Don't be shy.

Well...since nobody is eager to take the first bite...I will...

If you go simply rankings of the three major sites (GS, NSR, & SIC) and combine for an average...then the top eight (remember 8 will vye for the ECNL National Championship next year) look like this:

1	Dallas Sting
2	CASL Spartan Elite
3	Scorpions
4	Ohio Premier Green
5	FC Virginia
6	Real Colorado
7	Bethesda Freedom
8	Mustang Blast

...the next eight look like this...

Sereno White

Arsenal

Lonestars Red

Eclipse Select

Solar

PDA

Charlotte SA

Challenge

...and then you start getting some of the Challenge B teams (in purple) into the thick of it...

Crossfire Premier

BUSA

Concorde Fire

Carmel United

San Juan FC

FC Delco

D'Feeters

Albertson Fury

Taking the rankings is too easy and superficial. Here are my projections for top eight...
I will substitute Arsenal and PDA in for Real Colorado and Bethesda Freedom.

ChelseaFan wrote:Well...since nobody is eager to take the first bite...I will...

If you go simply rankings of the three major sites (GS, NSR, & SIC) and combine for an average...then the top eight (remember 8 will vye for the ECNL National Championship next year) look like this:

1	Dallas Sting
2	CASL Spartan Elite
3	Scorpions
4	Ohio Premier Green
5	FC Virginia
6	Real Colorado
7	Bethesda Freedom
8	Mustang Blast

...the next eight look like this...

Sereno White

Arsenal

Lonestars Red

Eclipse Select

Solar

PDA

Charlotte SA

Challenge

...and then you start getting some of the Challenge B teams (in purple) into the thick of it...

Crossfire Premier

BUSA

Concorde Fire

Carmel United

San Juan FC

FC Delco

D'Feeters

Albertson Fury

Taking the rankings is too easy and superficial. Here are my projections for top eight...
I will substitute Arsenal and PDA in for Real Colorado and Bethesda Freedom.

Good job Chelsea, I would add that Arsenal definately belongs in the top group to knock out either 4,5,or 7 take your pick. Also San Juan FC is pretty stout and probably deserves to be in group 1 also. I think Lonestars or Challenge would be in group 1 too. I guess it depends on who comes out swinging the most when games resume.

Mr Haney wrote:

ChelseaFan wrote:Well...since nobody is eager to take the first bite...I will...

If you go simply rankings of the three major sites (GS, NSR, & SIC) and combine for an average...then the top eight (remember 8 will vye for the ECNL National Championship next year) look like this:

1	Dallas Sting
2	CASL Spartan Elite
3	Scorpions
4	Ohio Premier Green
5	FC Virginia
6	Real Colorado
7	Bethesda Freedom
8	Mustang Blast

...the next eight look like this...

Sereno White

Arsenal

Lonestars Red

Eclipse Select

Solar

PDA

Charlotte SA

Challenge

...and then you start getting some of the Challenge B teams (in purple) into the thick of it...

Crossfire Premier

BUSA

Concorde Fire

Carmel United

San Juan FC

FC Delco

D'Feeters

Albertson Fury

Taking the rankings is too easy and superficial. Here are my projections for top eight...
I will substitute Arsenal and PDA in for Real Colorado and Bethesda Freedom.

Good job Chelsea, I would add that Arsenal definately belongs in the top group to knock out either 4,5,or 7 take your pick. Also San Juan FC is pretty stout and probably deserves to be in group 1 also. I think Lonestars or Challenge would be in group 1 too. I guess it depends on who comes out swinging the most when games resume.

I agree with the Arsenal selection, and I think that Eclipse Select will be consistant and do well. Lonestars and San Juan has good team speed, both need to learn to play a little better team ball but I like the chances of those two teams. Not sure Real Colorado can hang on I think the numbers just worked for them this year.