wow 4-1 this time....
http://websvr01.neulion.com/tfc/console.jsp
TFC Academy U-16 win again in Denver Tournament!!!
wow 4-1 this time....
http://websvr01.neulion.com/tfc/console.jsp
some nice goals there
That Allando Matheson looks like an absolute beast out there! Could be something special.....got one of those feelings.
Is he #9? One thing i noticed just after two games is that he can finish (sign him now.. ahah).
The first 2-0 video where he basically beats the keeper and gets foiled by the post .. then calmly picks up the ball and blasts it into the net. I wish our strikers would do that! Nice finish into the side netting in the second video too!
Last edited by ag futbol; 07-06-2008 at 11:38 AM.
are any of these guys signed?
Nope.Originally Posted by reggie
so any of these guys can walk?
None of them are under contract at all. If a Canadian kid is identified as a major talent through the TFC Academy, most likely that kid will be taken to a bigger club in europe. But there's a trade off (and sometimes I wonder how many on this board really cares about this), Canadian soccer improves by getting the best in the best developmental environment, but TFC loses out on a talented young player. Canada reaps the rewards, but not TFC. For the other players that are not as "superstar" talented, they now have a place to play and hone their skills instead of stopping their careers at young ages. We've seen late bloomers all the time in professional sports. So a guy like Tyler Hemming would be more technically and tactically gifted and probably ready for the limelight if he started in the TFC academy. Canada's player pool gets bigger and TFC improves. Their are no negatives really.
If they feel over time that they're getting the training they need here, why would they leave home for no more of a guarantee? You can't sign professional papers in England until you're 17, I believe, so they might as well stay and play for their local club for a couple of seasons, where they'll get time, before going over.
THat's what happens with the Brazilians and Argentinians, don't see why it would be any different here in the long run.
Probably because they pay you in europe, even if it's very slight.
It's still more lucrative to play there, we'll have to accept that for now, until the level of play in MLS increases and MLS stops paying players like Mcdonald's employees.
The half solution we need here is a bigger squad size. If any of these kids really step up we could put them under contract and continue to train them through the youth academy. That would at least give us some protection if they end up moving on.
I totally agree with jloome, but I think maybe I didn't make the distinction between "superstar" and "the rest" as apparent as I had hoped. Right now TFC has League One development quality coaching. I'd think it would be in a kids best interest to go to any top tier league developmental system if they can. Brazil produces the best players, so if Canada started to really have an outstanding developmental system, then I think most would wait until their 17 or 18.
Anyways, the kids I like on this team of Ferriera, Cobby and Matheson.
Ithink this is slightly different because the players are started at 16 now so there will be no Superstars look at the kids who did start in europe like David Edgar he was already in Newcastle's system by now. These kids are the ones who should and will be looking at the MLS as a path into the world of professional football and they'll take the sure thing of TFC academy for now. When we eventually expand it to u-14 and u-12 then thoses players will be poached but the kids who make it to the u-16 team will stay with us
I follow what you're saying completely, but these guys U-16....which means 14 and 15 years old. Edgar went to Newcastle because of his dad's connections. Some of these guys potentially haven't had the opportunity yet. Hargreaves left when he was 16 for instance. Most of our players leave about that time. We're playing in a U-17 tournament with a U-16 team.
I think it’s more likely that we’ll lose the top players to the NCAA in a couple of years rather than Europe right now. Only upside to losing players to the NCAA that I can see, is that they might be keen to come back to TFC once they’re done with college.
Well, I read in an article that Tannous of our U-18 team has committed to Maine.
http://www.vaughantoday.ca/story.php?id=819
I was kind of wondering about this because it seems irrational for TFC to keep players on their academy rosters that will leave to the NCAA and not be linked to TFC via the two year rule. So, upon graduation this guy will be subject to the draft. If he had spent two years with the TFC academy we would have the rights to him.
If an academy player makes a first team appearance with TFC they automatically lose their NCAA eligibility (because they would have played professionally). We'll probably see a situation where lots of these players head out on scholarships and maintain (in)formal ties with the club until they've completed their education. Hopefully by then the salary cap will be gone and we can pay players what they're worth.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../WBsoccerblog/
I agree. If developmental contracts are large enough it will be worth while for players to take the shot. Another alternative is offering TFC academy graduates a GA type scholarship in case it doesn't work out.
yeah or working something out with like U of T or York or somewhere where they can be enrolled as part time students and TFC picks up the bills. But these if these kids are set on becoming professionals then signing with TFC at any level is the way to go.
I thought I recalled reading at some point that as an aside to the Academy systems being set up by the teams that if a player was with a team's academy program for a set period (two years I think) then that player would be property of the team even if they went o College. They'd then be able to join the team after college without having to be drafted.
I could be wrong, but I also believe that the USSF (and by extension one would think, the CSA) would recognize the players being part of their MLS team if they went over to Europe after college instead of joining the MLS then their MLS team would be entitled to a small transfer fee. Nothing restrictive, but something like $50K.
Granted it was about 2 or 3 years ago when academies were first being discussed that I read this.
The roster restrictions have to change for sure. Aside from bumping up senior roster slots to 20, and increasing the cap/minimum pay, we need to change the rules on developmental slots (and get another 2-4 slots). If we could keep their pay outside the cap, but up them up to a max of 50-80k, it would be much better. Also, I don't know of the rules currently involving maximum play time for a dev player, but if you made a hard max play time (400 minutes / season) you could avoid teams using that to avoid the cap. Essentially it would allow team owners to keep around (And develop) talented players, instead of them having to go to Europe in order to afford to buy food.
The kids on the U16 Academy side are the ones we ought to be paying the closest attention to, realistically. These are the kids that will have the most to gain by being part of this TFC Academy program. Some of them will be part of the program for 2 or 3 years.
The majority of the current U18s are likely going to go the University route. That is what they were being groomed for all along when they are were part of the OSA All Star program. Maybe 1 or 2 will try their luck overseas or explore other options (like going into the MLS draft).
None of them likely will be part of the Academy for the 2 years needed for TFC to be allowed to bring them into the senior team (as a handful of MLS teams have done with a few Academy players, but not many). The current crop of U16s might have a couple of players who will have that opportunity down the road.
We really need more pro teams in Canada because I truly believe that, from a competition standpoint, talented players should avoid US college like the plague. I'd rather see 18 and 19 year olds going to school in Canada and playing in the USL, USL2 or even the CSL rather than playing US college soccer (mini rant over).
Is USA College soccer level as good as USL or CSL level?
Tough to say. I imagine quite a few CSL players have played College Soccer. USL is obviously higher than US College as many of those players are players that played NCAA soccer or at an even higher level (pro leagues around the world).
We have a u18 player who played for Canada's u20s vs. Argentina.
He was named in the all high school football team (as in american football) but his coaches say if you think that is impressive you should see him play soccer. wow.
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/280487
there is the article
We got some serious athletes in our academy teams.
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