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2019-Whenever Misc. Grab Bag Thread

Got a notification from UNC Health yesterday that Phase 1B1 of the vaccination program (adults 75 and older) starts Monday. So I still think there's a chance those of us in the 65-74 range have a chance of getting it by sometime in March, as long as production keeps up with demand.
 
NCFC is dropping from soccer tier 2 to tier 3. I guess fans may not notice much. Like Mudcats who went from high A to low A. I doubt fans won't care about that either. Also Kane group has all the land now for downtown south. Don't think they have money needed to build yet.
 
Paulie Walnuts said:
NCFC is dropping from soccer tier 2 to tier 3. I guess fans may not notice much. Like Mudcats who went from high A to low A. I doubt fans won't care about that either. Also Kane group has all the land now for downtown south. Don't think they have money needed to build yet.
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They had announced that they weren’t participating in the USL Championship without the caveat that they were dropping down a level. It was assumed that they were folding up the men’s team completely.

It could also be an indication that Malik is out of money and Kane is on his own at Downtown South. Which is, IMO, the way it should have been from the start. A 20,000 seat stadium would have been a white elephant. /rant
 
andyt said:
They had announced that they weren’t participating in the USL Championship without the caveat that they were dropping down a level. It was assumed that they were folding up the men’s team completely.

It could also be an indication that Malik is out of money and Kane is on his own at Downtown South. Which is, IMO, the way it should have been from the start. A 20,000 seat stadium would have been a white elephant. /rant
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I think this is just a step to save money and buy time until the stadium gets closer to reality.
 
If there is any hope of getting MLS here I think you have to keep the mens team playing . For now it looks like the only MLS chance is a relocation but that is pretty unlikely now.
 
andyt said:
It could also be an indication that Malik is out of money and Kane is on his own at Downtown South. Which is, IMO, the way it should have been from the start. A 20,000 seat stadium would have been a white elephant. /rant
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Malik apparently has the money and the drive to operate the Courage, but not so much with NCFC unless the stadium situation changes ... which isn't all that likely anytime soon. Fairly simple. The guy's rich, but not THAT rich ... and neither dumb enough or obsessed enough to spend everything he's got on a minor league franchise.

Note: It's a lot cheaper to operate the womens team. The USWNT subsidizes the most expensive salaries and you can get by with a fairly small staff. You also don't need a big, fancy facility. So long as it's a decent place to play (and the current facility is fine), and you draw fairly well ... then you're golden.
 
jeffbear said:
Malik apparently has the money and the drive to operate the Courage, but not so much with NCFC unless the stadium situation changes ... which isn't all that likely anytime soon. Fairly simple. The guy's rich, but not THAT rich ... and neither dumb enough or obsessed enough to spend everything he's got on a minor league franchise.

Note: It's a lot cheaper to operate the womens team. The USWNT subsidizes the most expensive salaries and you can get by with a fairly small staff. You also don't need a big, fancy facility. So long as it's a decent place to play (and the current facility is fine), and you draw fairly well ... then you're golden.
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With Dahlkamper headed off to Man City, he loses another important cog from the Courage. It will be interesting to see how Riley pulls all the new parts together.
 
andyt said:
With Dahlkamper headed off to Man City, he loses another important cog from the Courage. It will be interesting to see how Riley pulls all the new parts together.
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I think this next season will be a transition in a lot of ways. They've gotten younger and less expensive, but retained the rights to their Internationals who have left for Europe. I think you'll see a kind of temporary setup built around Debinha and then he'll decide whether or not to make a play to get Mewis and Dahlkemper back in the fold for a Championship push the following year. That's a guess, but it seems to be what Curt is setting up.
 
jeffbear said:
I think this next season will be a transition in a lot of ways. They've gotten younger and less expensive, but retained the rights to their Internationals who have left for Europe. I think you'll see a kind of temporary setup built around Debinha and then he'll decide whether or not to make a play to get Mewis and Dahlkemper back in the fold for a Championship push the following year. That's a guess, but it seems to be what Curt is setting up.
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Dahlkamper signed a 2-1/2 year contract. Mewis is married, I can see her wanting to come back, I think her contract is up after the English season.

But this season will rise and fall with Debinha, there is no question that she drives the bus. With her, Williams and McDonald, they won’t have trouble scoring, and they upgraded in goal but losing Dahlkamper and Daniels is big.
 
Paulie Walnuts said:
I think if NCFC was a top team he probably would back them more even with the money issue. Better team = more fans = more cash.
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You really don't understand minor league soccer. There's a reason every successful USL side was clamoring to get an MLS expansion bid. Nobody makes any real money in the USL, no matter how much they win. There's just no secondary income to support what you get from the gate. As small as it is, the NWSL has a TV deal now, and the heftier salaries are subsidized by the players's national team federations. It costs roughly half as much to operate as the men's team, despite having less local revenue.
 
Paulie Walnuts said:
If minor league soccer is such a bad business why are there so many teams? People just want to throw money away?
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For the same reason people own minor league teams in any sport. I feel like we've been through this before ... because we have. Nobody EVER gets rich owning a minor league franchise. Most of them barely scrape by covering their expenses.
 
My set of terrible instincts tells me that Malik got NCFC going because he thought he would be able to eventually spin it up to an actual MLS franchise.
 
He could have possibly gone to MLS if he had money for a stadium . The Charlotte guy has a stadium and lots of cash. He bought the Panthers for $2 billion like he was buying a nickel candy bar. And now he is going to ask for tax money for a possibly domed new stadium and I would bet he gets it.
 
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