Does the TA (Timbers Academy) make sense for Portland / Oregon youth players. i.e. WSM 09 boys, should some of them move to the TA? They are good enough, but does the TA offer anything WSM doesn't?
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A professional environment, exposure to US and other countries National team scouts, college scouts, MLS Next competition etc…
WSM only offers Beaverton Cup -
Leave WSM 09s alone. Not a single player joining TA speaks for itself. Team stronger than ever. Players with real pro path there. One already at Chivas Academy.Comment
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TA makes sense for Portland, but PTFC can’t make sense of the TAOriginally posted by Guest View PostComment
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A few years ago, cony spoke to a group of parents and pointed out that westside, like any other youth club, was just a youth club. It wasn't an academy -- it didn't have a professional team, it doesn't offer full time training, and it has a small budget like any nonprofit.
If it still is a more attractive option for players than the Timbers Academy, that is a horrible condemnation of PTFC.
And westside is a club that has historically been more than willing to promote its players to TA, rather than trying to hoard them because they are the personal training clients of the director, cough adf cough.Comment
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MLS owners vary in their commitment to an academy.
Large markets (Dallas, Philadelphia, Seattle, New England, etc) with a lot of players have incentive to invest in an academy, because one player being sold to Europe can fund the academy. For example, New England Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic was just sold to Chelsea for 18 million dollars. Those owners value their academy and see a long term benefit, because the large population and talent pools make it more likely they will see a return on their investment.
Owners with smaller academy markets and more short-term thinking (like Merritt / Portland) don't value the academy. The smaller population and talent pool make it less likely a player will ever make the first team or get sold to Europe. The quicker and easier option is to sign second tier European and South American players who can compete right away, as opposed to spending money on an academy that MIGHT produce one player who can play with the first team.
The Timbers only have an academy because it is a requirement. The always advocate and try to get rid of this requirement when it comes up with MLS / US Soccer. So long as Merritt is the owner, the Timbers won't prioritize or invest in the Timbers Academy.
Having said that, the Timbers Academy does offer more exposure to D1 college soccer than any of the other clubs in Portland. Competitive D1 schools recruit from MLS Next, Internationally, and on the Transfer Portal from other colleges. They don't really recruit USYS (OYSA) players, and ECNL only comes after those channels mentioned previously.Comment
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It is more attractive because WSM can connect top players with big clubs like Chivas, Benfica, etc. Real soccer path. Timbers won't sign any 15 or 16 yrs old player. The 08s from TA are coming back to WSM and other local clubs so what sense does it make?Originally posted by Guest View Post
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Stop it. Petrovic never played for the NE academy as you are insinuating. He’s 23 years old and just signed with NE a year ago. This was a quick and lucky flip.Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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Petrovic maybe a bad example, given his short time in New England prior to transfer. Paxten Aaronson from Philly to Eintracht Frankfurt for 4 million is more indicative of a player who spent multiple years with their academy then was sold to Europe.Originally posted by Guest View Post
Regardless, the larger point is still true...
MLS owners in larger markets with long term perspective value and invest in their academies because it is more likely to have a return on the investment.
Owners in smaller markets with sort term perspective (like Merritt and the Timbers) do not value or invest in their academies.Comment
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The US can't see youth academy players nor charge a training feeComment
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Perhaps Petrovic is a bad example. A better example might be Alphonso Davies. Vancouver BC is a market roughly the size of Portland, and the Whitecaps got a $20M transfer fee for selling Fonzie to Bayern.
Guys like Davies are black swans. You never know when one will show up. But they can, like the rat in the movie who becomes a chef, come from anywhere.Comment
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One might question WSM about the ethics of partnering with an openly racist club like Chivas...Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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It is much easier for Vancouver to sell players as they are part of the common wealth. The US cannot sell US players.Comment
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Horse manure. The commonwealth has nothing to do with it, and MLS clubs buy and sell players from/to foreign clubs all the time.Originally posted by Guest View Post
What has until recently been in doubt was whether US youth clubs and academies could collect solidarity payments from foreign clubs when their alumni were signed or transferred internationally. FIFA has now said yes.Comment
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Timbers and Thorns Academy have never made any sense from a development standpoint. They've always been 100% about money for Merritt.Comment
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