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Post by Not_Nick_H on Jan 22, 2008 9:51:15 GMT
With a name name "Aztex" - I imagine they'll be pitching quite heavily towards the Hispanic community(?)
Also - will Phil be encouraging the team to adopt red and white stripes as it's kit ;D? Doesn't LA's "other" team (Chivas?) play in stripes?
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Post by thepremierbanksy on Jan 22, 2008 10:25:56 GMT
"I am delighted to have the opportunity to bring a top-class professional soccer franchise to Austin," said Rawlins.
I hope he shuddered inside when saying these words, not that I deny he needed to say them. 'Franchise' and 'Brand' are no way to describe even a soccer club, nevermind a football club.
I would have prefered: "Hey, all you colonials, get back to your roots with some Association Football, and bring the immigrants with you!"
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2008 10:26:35 GMT
Potentially good for both clubs I guess Makes me wonder whether or not PhilR's investment into stoke has taken a backseat due to this Also, in his recent interview, wonder if Pulis was on about the US as the source of new players??? We all thought it was Salif Diao's academy
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Post by thepremierbanksy on Jan 22, 2008 10:39:40 GMT
Rawlins has always been fairly backseat though hasn't he? He was a bit more high profile at times under the iceland regieme, but mainly when they wanted him to play Good Cop.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2008 11:08:53 GMT
yeah he has been mainly backseat in decision making but in the early days wasn't he heavily funding certain aspects of the club - some on the old oatcake said that this stopped due to his divorce ???
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Post by bayernoatcake on Jan 22, 2008 11:15:36 GMT
With a name name "Aztex" - I imagine they'll be pitching quite heavily towards the Hispanic community(?) Also - will Phil be encouraging the team to adopt red and white stripes as it's kit ;D? Doesn't LA's "other" team (Chivas?) play in stripes? They do as they linked with Chivas Guadeljhara who play in red and white in the Mexican league.
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Post by sovietonion on Jan 22, 2008 11:19:49 GMT
Great news! And a wonderful change from bloody cowboys running Stoke City! ;D
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Post by jpm64 on Jan 22, 2008 11:48:28 GMT
It's just been on Sky Sports News !!!
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Post by Not_Nick_H on Jan 22, 2008 12:27:52 GMT
It's just been on Sky Sports News !!! It got a mention on Radio Stoke this morning as well. I can just see the Sports department fighting amongst themselves to go to Texas on a jolly and cover it! ;D
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Post by Butters on Jan 22, 2008 14:50:19 GMT
Soccer
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2008 15:44:38 GMT
BillyOnions, that last piccy is bloody San Francisco mate!!! Dallas, you couldn't be more wrong about the way footy is arranged in the USA. The best youth players play for 3-4 elite clubs in each state...some are run by the MLS teams, some by amateur clubs. Recently the USSF (FA-like body who runs the game) has just set up a system where several clubs per state have been deemed 'Academy' clubs, and they all pick up the best talent and play each other on a weekly basis regionally. Every year more and more good talent comes through and so this is a GREAT move for Stoke City. Crystal Palace have a team in this leage based in Baltimore nr Washington DC, and whilst struggling to sell tickets, they do obviously get to check out some of the 2nd tier talent below MLS. FYI, Texas, California and the Northeast of America are the major players usually, and teams from clubs in those areas win most of the National Tournaments and Championships.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2008 15:51:24 GMT
bugger, wrong button!
The only worry is that the MLS still get's the best talent and some of it is quite good (Adu at Benfica, Dempsey scoring goals for Fulham, every bloody keeper they produce, Demerit at Watford), and if you want those kind of players then lyou have to pay good money. Preston recently were after Taylor Twellman from New England but were quoted the best part of a million quid.
Thus the PDL has diamonds in the rough.
I do believe that the PDL franchises have a youth setup too, so hopefully this will be a good thing for us.
The work permit thing is a bugger though, as unless a player has a British Granny or something they will need to have played 75% of their countries internationals to get one...and I can't see that being the case for these kind of players.
Lastly, the latino population in Texas is huge, and generally Mexican, so a work permit for them will be impossible.
It's good to see us have a go at somethign new though.
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WurstBoy
Youth Player
Please leave your message after the beep. Rebekah will respond later.
Posts: 496
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Post by WurstBoy on Jan 22, 2008 16:04:21 GMT
billyonions - that middle picture is Minneapolis...and the top one is Sacramento..
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Post by Dallas Cowboy on Jan 22, 2008 17:57:25 GMT
"Lastly, the latino population in Texas is huge, and generally Mexican, so a work permit for them will be impossible."
Can't quite follow the logic of that statement. A large number of the Hispanics playing will have been born in the United States and have US citizenship.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2008 19:04:48 GMT
They can't get a British work permit for footy unless they either played 75% of internationals for their country in that calendar year, or unless they have a relative who is British that they can wangle a passport through...and as they are mostly US citizens of Mexican descent, that's unlikely. If they play 75% internationals then they won't be playing in the PDL which is virtually semi-pro, so we won't get them for free/cheap.
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Post by markscfc72 on Jan 22, 2008 19:20:35 GMT
4PM UPDATE: PULIS WELCOMES US DEAL Be the first reader to comment on this story
16:26 - 22 January 2008
Stoke manager Tony Pulis has warmly welcomed today's news of an historic partnership between City and Texas-based football team Austin Aztex.The two clubs have been united across the Atlantic by Stoke director Phil Rawlins after his consortium won the right to launch the Aztex for the 2009 soccer season in America.
The partnership will include training camps and an exchange of players, ideas and goodwill in the coming years as Rawlins forms a bridge between his birthplace and his adopted home.
And this afternoon Pulis responded to the deal by stating: "To have a tie with an American club, and with an owner like Phil Rawlins, presents us with a marvelous opportunity.
"It not only gives us the opportunity to look at possible players from a vast pool of talent over there, but also gives the club the chance to tap into a massive area like Texas.
"British football has become global and this gives us the chance to go over and explore all kinds of avenues on and off the field."
Meanwhile, Pulis plans to work his players hard this weekend by having them in for training on Saturday after last Wednesday's FA Cup exit left them without a fixture.
* See tomorrow's Sentinel for the latest Stoke news
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