Category: Sidewinder Insider

Man, I’m gonna miss the National Premier Soccer League season when it ends.

Thanks to Greenville FC giving me a local team to root for in their inaugural NPSL season, I shifted much of my domestic focus to “grassroots” football this year, relegating Major League Soccer to the backburner.

With the North American Soccer League in legal limbo, the NPSL provided the New York Cosmos reserves a home, and I’ve enjoyed following their (to date) unbeaten campaign.

As a Cosmos guy from back in the original NASL days, I’ll support them any time, in any league.

I also became reacquainted with Atlanta Silverbacks FC, who had a terrific season and claimed the Southeast Conference championship of the South Region.

And after immersing myself in all things NPSL this summer, watching as many live streams as I could, I believe now more than ever that an open system that springs from lower division soccer is the key to a stronger foundation for the sport’s American future.

Once an innocent bystander in the promotion/relegation movement, I now count myself as a true believer. The big question is whether or not the United States Soccer Federation would ever allow it. And if not, how would it be feasible?

The United Premier Soccer League, a full-season adult amateur league, started experimenting with pro/rel last season. And there have been rumblings that maybe the NPSL can ultimately let it take root domestically.

The National Independent Soccer Association is a proposed open system that plans to start with third and fourth division clubs, possibly in 2019.

So why is an open system a big deal? Why should I or any other American soccer fan have an issue with MLS and the way “top tier” soccer does business here? Yes, it’s a closed system, but that’s the way pro leagues function in the United States.

No one expects the Huntsville Rockets of the Gridiron Development Football League to be “promoted” to the NFL, just as the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League will never be in the National League of Major League Baseball and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League won’t have the chance to trade up to the Association.

There are a fixed number of franchises in each league, and the only way for a “new” city to become a part of it is through relocation or expansion.

That’s how MLS rolls, even though it differs from many of the other leagues in that it does business as a single entity structure.

I just think soccer is a different animal, and don’t really like seeing it altered to fit U.S. pro sports norms. The Beautiful Game is also the simplest game, and that’s why it’s played throughout the world by people of all shapes, sizes and stations in life.

And in many towns and villages, it’s the very soul of communities that groom future stars from its neighborhoods.

The best part, though, is that it’s designed so that you can take it as far as it’ll go.

Winning trophies doesn’t just mean standing atop your league, it can ultimately mean stepping up to another league.

Play winning soccer, and you get promoted.

Play losing soccer, you get relegated.

It’s not what you pay that determines your place in the pyramid, but how you play. And that structure brings in more players with more incentive to play on and play up.

However, MLS thinks its model is just fine. And for years, I thought it was just fine, too.

If you live in a city with a franchise, it’s easier to share that sentiment. Supporters of Atlanta United FC don’t seem to have a problem with it, averaging 52,409 fans per match this season.

In the interest of full disclosure, last Sunday I was among the 72,243 people who watched Atlanta and Seattle play to a 1-1 draw at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the vast majority of those in attendance had a great time. And I get the feeling promotion/relegation isn’t something many of them even think about since it has never been part of their reality.

Regardless, with the United Soccer League starting its D3 circuit in 2019 – and leagues such as NPSL representing the Fourth Division – MLS sits atop a closed pyramid that promotes players, not teams. It’ll look more and more like the kind of farm system used in professional baseball in the coming years.

And MLS has the full support and blessing of the United States Soccer Federation, which is clearly biased toward MLS at the expense of all other challengers.

Ideally, soccer governing bodies (under the umbrella of FIFA) oversee the sport with a more inclusive eye. It’s that body that actually implements pro/rel.

The USSF is snugly in bed with MLS, whose investor-operators also own Soccer United Marketing (the marketing arm of both MLS and the USSF). All are in the business of making money for stakeholders, and the way to get the most bang for their bucks is to mold one league above all others into something akin to a soccer version of the NFL.

So when someone buys into MLS, there is no risk that a bad season will bring demotion, just as the Brooklyn Nets don’t ever have to worry about spending a season in the G League because they stunk it up in the NBA.

If you have no other point of reference than the American sports model, you’ll likely shrug at the torch and pitchfork crowd coming at MLS and demanding change. And if you think American soccer should do business like American football, American baseball, American basketball, etc., you’re getting what you want.

Still, I’m hopeful a pro/rel system can happen outside of MLS (and outside of the USSF) sooner than later, and give grassroots soccer a place to grow up and grow out.

Just as the NFL once had the American Football League to deal with and the NBA received competition from the American Basketball Association, a renegade soccer federation in the U.S. would be welcomed by people like me.

In the meantime, I’ve got four NPSL playoff games to follow tonight: Orange County FC vs. FCM Portland, Miami FC 2 vs. Little Rock Rangers, AFC Ann Arbor vs. Duluth FC, and FC Motown vs. New York Cosmos B.

And if you haven’t given lower division soccer a serious look, you’re seriously missing out.

By Scott Adamson
Adamsonmedia.com

Greenville FC has earned a share of the spoils in its last three matches at Eugene Stone Stadium.

Tonight would be an opportune time to take all three points in the friendly confines.

With just two home matches left and four remaining in its National Premier Soccer League schedule, GVLFC faces the New Orleans Jesters (5-2-3) at 7 p.m. in a crucial showdown. Lee Squires’ club is currently seventh in the standings at 3-3-4, and sitting three points out of sixth place.

The top six teams in the Southeast Conference Division of the NPSL South Region make the playoffs.

“We are in no position to talk about playoffs,” Squires said earlier today. “We know we control our own destiny still, and that there is so much left to play for, but it’s one game at time starting with New Orleans, and trying to earn three points.”

Greenville is coming off a 1-0 road victory over Asheville SC last Saturday, a clash that served as the first leg of the inaugural “Carolina Clasico.”

Not only did French forward Ismael Noumansana come off the bench to notch the game-winner in the 76^th minute, goalkeeper Austin Mullins got the clean sheet – the team’s first shutout of the season.

“That first clean sheet is definitely welcoming,” Squires said. “We made a change in goal with Austin Mullins coming in, and while Austin played well, any clean sheet is a collective effort.”

Winning a rivalry game in a hostile environment was the headline from Saturday, however.

“The Asheville game is one our players, fans, and coaches will remember for a while,” Squires said. “The atmosphere was unbelievable and added to the occasion. Our boys fought hard for 90-plus minutes to earn the points, which we needed.”

With the schedule winding down so is the energy level of the players, who are forced to grind through the last part of the regular season in oppressive heat.

“Our training time has gone down as a result of all the games;  we’re literally in a cycle of Sunday and Monday off, Tuesday preparation, Wednesday game, Thursday off, Friday preparation, Saturday game, and on repeat for the rest of the season.”

Tonight the cycle shifts to game mode against the Jesters, a squad Greenville topped 2-1 in The Big Easy on May 19 for the first victory in franchise history. Nola, coached by Kenny Farrell, is currently one point off the top of the table following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Inter Nashville FC.

Chattanooga FC (5-3-2) leads the way with 18 points.

“We can’t read too much into last time out against New Orleans,” Squires said. “Our 11 will be different, formation likely different, and I’m sure they won’t be exactly the same as when we played them before. We’ll just prepare as we always do, and try to execute our game plan.”

By Scott Adamson
Adamsonmedia.com

Take a look at the National Premier Soccer League standings, and you’ll see that Greenville FC is next to last in the Southeast Conference Division of the eight-team South Region Conference.

Look a little closer, and you’ll realize a playoff berth remains a very real possibility.

Now one match into the second half of its 14-game league slate, Greenville sits at 2-3-3 and well within reach of one of the six available postseason berths. Lee Squires’ charges are just six points behind first place Chattanooga FC (4-1-3).*

* The New Orleans Jesters (5-3-1), who lost to the Upstate-based squad earlier in the campaign, have 16 points but have played nine games.

With a road match tonight in Knoxville at Emerald Force (3-8-0) and on Saturday at Asheville City SC (4-3-3), Greenville has a chance to make a dramatic surge.

“I’m not sure it’s a surprise, but I am most pleased with how the team has come together as a group and are ready and willing to go to battle each game, with and for each other,” Squires said. “We have developed a resilience, highlighted by the fact we have come from behind to take a draw or win the game in five of our last six games. The biggest hurdle is arguably the adjustment to the league.

“A lot of the teams have older, more experienced, more physical players than us, so we’ve had to adapt, play to our strengths, and find a way.”

The most recent rally came last Saturday at Silverback Stadium.

Despite trailing 1-0 and having to wait out a 90-minute lightning delay at the half, GVLFC scored two unanswered goals to defeat Atlanta, 2-1. The result snapped the ‘Backs’ five-game unbeaten streak.

Both of the club’s victories this season have come on the road.

“I think confidence is high at the moment,” Squires said. “We are (unbeaten over the last four matches) and got a great result away at the Silverbacks last weekend. It’s important now to follow that up and try to beat Emerald and Asheville this week.

“If we can do that and maintain the upward trend, then we’ll be in a good position to make the playoffs after a poor start.”

There are plenty of players who have contributed to Greenville’s positive momentum.

“We have several guys who have grown into leadership roles,” Squires said. “(Defender) Toby Sims has become the vocal leader of the group with his personality and passion, and (midfielder/defender) Laurence Wyke (who scored the game-winner against Atlanta) has come in and provided an energy and spark in midfield. Overall though, the group has grown and really taken on our messages to lead by example in their own ways.”

Team defense has been solid throughout the season, with goalkeeper Paul Tyson establishing himself as one of the better netminders in the division, and the backline offering rock-solid support.

“I think we’ve defended very well collectively in a lot of games and for long periods, yet are still waiting for that first clean sheet,” Squires said. “Paul is getting better every game, and had made big saves – including a PK save – against the Silverbacks at home.

“And the switch to a back 3 (a formation featuring three defenders) seems to give us more stability.”

Tonight’s match, as well as Saturday’s, are set for 7 p.m.

GVLFC returns home on Wednesday, June 27, to face New Orleans at 7 p.m. at Stone Stadium.

And while making a playoff push is Job One, like any soccer-minded person on the planet, Squires is also following the World Cup.

The native of Sheffield, England, has enjoyed what has been a remarkable group stage of the quadrennial event.

“The World Cup so far has been fascinating,” he said. “Some of the big nations have struggled and there have been a few surprises. I think Spain and Portugal will be tough to beat, and Croatia could well surprise people.

“Of course, I hope England go all the way.”