Cleveland City in USL-1: It's Official

Today was the official announcement of City's promotion to the USL First Division. It was a nice press conference that got good media coverage. Chris Economides, USL First Division Senior Director, was on hand. He praised the team, saying that they are the example that all future franchises should follow. He also had high praise for the team's off-the-field work. Before this I never realized just how much work the team did in the community. They are truly dedicated to making the city a better place, as well as putting the highest quality product on the field.

After the meeting I spoke with GM Mark Geissbauer about the upcoming season. Here are the highlights...

-We ARE moving, but not to Byers. The team is considering:
Case Western
John Carroll
Baldwin-Wallace

-The team will honor all season tickets purchased up til now. So if you bought your tickets you will not see a price increase.

-They have a shortlist of 4 candidates as of now for the manager. All of the candidates have at least a UEFA "A-License." Mark expects there to be more applicants now that the team is in USL-1. They're looking to Europe for a coach, most likely from the UK or Germany. He also said that he expects there to be more applications now that the team is in the First Division.

-There will be player announcements very soon. The team has already been in contact with players from the past few seasons and are also scouting the world (mostly Europe and Africa) for new players. They also said that they will be signing higher caliber players since we're moving up a league.

-We have a 3-year contract with SportsTime Ohio to air our home games. Last season they got over 25,000 viewers per game. Pretty good for a Division Three team.

The GM also praised the role the Green Army has played in the team's undefeated regular season home record. There's also some more exciting news that I'm not allowed to print at this time. Hopefully it will be announced in the coming weeks.

What now for the City Stars? (Part I)

I would venture a guess that most people that read this blog know by now that Cleveland City are (supposedly) moving up to the USL First Division for next season. GOALSeattle reported this first on Saturday until the league made them remove the post. The information came from the Seattle Wolves delegation who were in the USL-2 League meeting. Canada.com and Devo's Direct Kicks (soccer blog from Rochester) have also reported that we're moving up.

If we do move up, it will definitely be an exciting season. I think that we've got enough talent to be able to compete, assuming most of our team from last season returns. Also, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced that MLS rosters will be smaller and that the reserve league has been cut. That should also increase the talent pool for USL. There will be more talented players available and willing to play in the First Division.

With that being said, here's who I would like to see return for next season:

Goalkeepers
Eric Reed

Defenders
Mark Schulte
Anthony Stovall
Jeremy Tolleson
Musa Otieno

Midfielders
Godfrey Tenoff
Floyd Franks
Derek Potteiger
Ryan Stewart
Adriano Sella

Forwards
Sallieu Bundu
Luke Williams
Adam Ruud
Jason Hotchkins

With that being said, who would YOU like to see come back next season?

If you haven't seen this video, watch it now

The Success of Cleveland City!

Yet again the video guys for the team put together a class video.  And, Sallieu's goal is probably the best (and most important) goal he scored all season.

Getting back into the swing of things

This blog may seem dead, but I'm bringing it back.  I'll start doing some off-season musings in the next couple of days. 

Cleveland vs. Bermuda post-game reaction

Like the picture? I think it's funny. Sallieu had a great game against Bermuda this past weekend, netting two goals. We ended up winning 5-1. Despite this, it was not our best performance of the season. The boys looked really lackadaisical during the first half, especially after they went up 2-0. Now, I know they said differently on the telecast, but at the game, it seemed like we just sat back and let Bermuda control possession. Our marking was absolutely horrid on their goal. There were two men left unguarded in the box. That's unacceptable. Maybe it was the new defensive set up. I wonder why they made the decision to put Stovy at right back and JT at left back. I personally would've switched them; kept Stovy at left and moved JT to right. It makes sense to start Musa and Schulte in the center. They're easily the two best central defenders in the league. Musa also netted his first ever goal from the team, a nice header to put us up 4-1.

The re-arrangement of the defense also had a positive effect on Godfrey. Godfrey looked out of position all season at right back. He's naturally a midfielder and he finally got to play that position against Bermuda. He looked like a good player. He wasn't constantly getting beat. He worked well and put in a beautiful ball to Sallieu on the first goal. It was a great little chip over a defender that Sallieu put away with a "bullet header," as Glen Duerr said on the telecast.

One final note, it's about the telecast. I'm glad they started showing more of the Green Army. We made a lot of noise on Saturday night, especially in the second half. The ref was horrid; he even stared us down after we gave him a ripping for yet another horrendous call. He also missed a blatant red card in the second half. But, there were more shots of us on TV, which was nice. Maybe getting us on the air more will help recruit members. I also liked Glen's comment about us singing "7 Nation Army." I thought it sounded pretty good.

I hope he's not drunk

Check out who's refereeing my game against Gimnastic in the Champions League. Someone better keep him away from the vodka.

7/26 Cleveland vs. Bermuda Match Preview

We face off against Bermuda tomorrow, well, today technically. This is a game we should win easily. Bermuda has scored something like 12 goals all season and conceded over 30. Our misfiring offense should be able to put a couple past them. Still, we face an tough battle to finish 3rd, let alone 2nd. It all depends on how Crystal Palace does. It is still possible for us to finish in the top two, but we really need to win out.

I'd really prefer if Martin would just decide on one goalkeeper. I think that Reed is a little better than Hunter and I'd just stick with Eric. But, that's just my humble opinion. What do YOU think?