Toronto Ruffrider

It's Pacific, I have it on a good source. 
They've decided they already are training fine on a paradisiacal island with postcard sunsets.
As for the opportunity to play against weak semi-pro club teams in the preseason, well they are already lined up against Whitecaps u-23.
And most importantly: if they want to hang out on a boat, they can go over to Issey's place.
I suppose a certain, comforting % of those here will appreciate this post. 

Details of the York 9 FC Pub night held last night in Brampton.  
I've got audio files of the presentation, and my interviews with players Matt Silva, Ryan Telfer, and Cyrus Rollocks.  
http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports19/19york078.htm
Also details of upcoming training in Dominican Republic, York Lions Stadium plans, new details of the York 9 fans trip to Hamilton. 
 

You have to take a look at his father, at his main mentor, and how his brother went. The sense of loyalty is unstable, the way Jonathan could opt for Holland so easily, and they have their backs up most of the time regardless. They are fundamentally mavericks, they do their own thing, i their terms. 
His dad had an idea you could often hear like  "us against the world", and that sort of mentality seems to be what JDG is picking up, a point of antagonism and unreflecting hostility we did not perceive when he was a player.

I'm in the same boat - I have TFC seasons, but I'll be at the Forge/Y9 game. Gonna watch history unfold!

I'm in the same boat - I have TFC seasons, but I'll be at the Forge/Y9 game. Gonna watch history unfold!

I'm in the same boat - I have TFC seasons, but I'll be at the Forge/Y9 game. Gonna watch history unfold!

Just saw the format. I definitely made a "wtf" look at my computer screen. This format is bizarre to say the least. Oh well, I'm looking forward to the competition nonetheless.

Just saw the format. I definitely made a "wtf" look at my computer screen. This format is bizarre to say the least. Oh well, I'm looking forward to the competition nonetheless.

Speculation, but here it goes! TFC had a lot of problems with schedule congestion last year and this is likely why the bizarre format. They probably pulled some strings to get it. The obvious and natural system (where the 10 non-MLS teams do a playoff round to get to 5 then add-in 3 MLS teams and you have an 8-team elimination tournament) would mean 2 extra games in the TFC fixture list.

Just saw the format. I definitely made a "wtf" look at my computer screen. This format is bizarre to say the least. Oh well, I'm looking forward to the competition nonetheless.

Just saw the format. I definitely made a "wtf" look at my computer screen. This format is bizarre to say the least. Oh well, I'm looking forward to the competition nonetheless.

Lol
Yeah, I was there, too. I told them I wasn't renewing based on that performance, especially after the last game where Crepeau made the initial stop only to have the rest of the defence ball-watch while the visiting forward tapped in the rebound. I'm waiting to see what "pleasurable style of play" the coach has promised to implement. The stats I gathered was that the Fury were second-last in the league in goals and last in the league in shots. They were also second last in number of passes and passing accuracy. They were 7th in red cards and top 10 in fouls conceded. Crepeau in net was the lone bright spot. The stats show a portrait of a team that lacked quality and was poorly disciplined. To me that falls on one of 4 things:
Dysfunctional Locker Room - seeing as they got rid of over half their squad, I'm guessing that was addressed in the off-season Coach with a bad system - The coach said he didn't have the players to implement his desired style of play. You're supposed to give a coach three transfer windows to allow him to get the team he wants, so he's got this year and that's it. I expect him gone if he has another season like the last one. The GM can't find the the players to fit the coach's system - I'm not sold on De Guzman's front office abilities. I have bad Mo Johnson vibes from his decisions. No way would I have given him a 3 year extension. The ownership can't provide the funds for the GM to get the coach the players he needs - This one worries me the most as the Fury have always felt like the neglected step-child of OSEG that gets the scraps from the RedBlacks organization. I'm of the opinion that the Fury next year probably will be a gong show. It might be for the best if they shutter for next season, and considering what that would do the the fan base, that's saying something.

This is what I think.  CPL opened the door, OSEG were not interested.  OSEG/Ottawa Fury spoke for years in regards to CPL launch.  It's not like the Fury were blindsided by CPL launch.
If OSEG and Ottawa Fury do not want to be part of CPL, then I have no problem with them being left out of our league.  There won't be a single Valour fan that is upset.  That doesn't mean I don't want Ottawa in CPL.  But I think OSEG have created a false narrative for their fans, that CPL are the villains.  We don't need their negative bs, CPL are on a positive roll.   Let them stay in USL.  
I don't think it's in the best of interest of Ottawa Fury fans, or their club, but that is their decision and they have made their choices.  Time for CPL to move forward.  Plenty of other enthusiastic markets hoping to be part of Canada's league.  Let's focus on cities/ownership groups that want to be part of our league
All the best to OSEG/Ottawa Fury in USL !
 
 

I think at the heart of this problem lies the wild speculation and mud-slinging that is taking place right now. There is speculation on top of speculation, and until any hard details emerge, no one is going to have a firm idea of who is responsible for the events that are transpiring.
Each side wants to paint the other side as the bad guy. I really want the CPL to succeed, and I wanted Ottawa on board as well, so it would be easy for me to take the above quotation as fact and assume that OSEG is looking for a convenient excuse to get out of the soccer picture. On the other hand, fans in the Ottawa camp might be buying into whatever JdG is peddling vis-a-vis the CPL's alleged role in being a thorn to the Fury's side, which sounds equally dubious in my opinion. The truth of the matter, as is so often the case, is very likely in between what we have heard and read.
It is amazing how much speculation and back-and-forth jockeying has taken place over so little information. All we really know is that CONCACAF is attempting to block the Fury from playing in the USL. We don't even know conclusively who at CONCACAF is responsible for this move - we can all make an educated guess, but for all we know the motives at CONCACAF could be very different from what we imagine would make the most sense from our perspective. Until such details become clear, I think we all need to take a deep breath and wait for more unbiased information to emerge.

I think at the heart of this problem lies the wild speculation and mud-slinging that is taking place right now. There is speculation on top of speculation, and until any hard details emerge, no one is going to have a firm idea of who is responsible for the events that are transpiring.
Each side wants to paint the other side as the bad guy. I really want the CPL to succeed, and I wanted Ottawa on board as well, so it would be easy for me to take the above quotation as fact and assume that OSEG is looking for a convenient excuse to get out of the soccer picture. On the other hand, fans in the Ottawa camp might be buying into whatever JdG is peddling vis-a-vis the CPL's alleged role in being a thorn to the Fury's side, which sounds equally dubious in my opinion. The truth of the matter, as is so often the case, is very likely in between what we have heard and read.
It is amazing how much speculation and back-and-forth jockeying has taken place over so little information. All we really know is that CONCACAF is attempting to block the Fury from playing in the USL. We don't even know conclusively who at CONCACAF is responsible for this move - we can all make an educated guess, but for all we know the motives at CONCACAF could be very different from what we imagine would make the most sense from our perspective. Until such details become clear, I think we all need to take a deep breath and wait for more unbiased information to emerge.

Flat out, those Ottawa wage averages and housing spend are not true. That is absolutely the higher end. Slightly higher than CPL.

Disregarding all of the debate with respect to whether or not the Fury should be forced to switch leagues, those salary numbers are interesting. Assuming the reports we've seen with regard to USL salaries, the Fury were way above the USL average last season. They didn't get very good bang for their buck, so it's any wonder why they cut such a big chunk of their roster.

Disregarding all of the debate with respect to whether or not the Fury should be forced to switch leagues, those salary numbers are interesting. Assuming the reports we've seen with regard to USL salaries, the Fury were way above the USL average last season. They didn't get very good bang for their buck, so it's any wonder why they cut such a big chunk of their roster.

Some nice tidbits of CPL info from the AJ Jakubec interview on TSN 1200 in Ottawa (starts at 21:20):
https://www.tsn.ca/radio/ottawa-1200-1.1225738
Bob Young is the money behind the HFX Wanderers as well as Forge FC. He will most likely be the money behind Kitchener/Waterloo as well for 2020.
CPL Salaries being offered are in the $30-35K range with no housing compared to the $60-70K with some housing that was the average in Ottawa last year.
CPL has been telling players and agents for a while not to sign in Ottawa because they would not be sanctioned.
My take: Which means if the CPL knew ahead of time, then Ottawa should have known ahead of time as well. This wasn't really a surprise for them. I can't blame the CPL for using this as a negotiating tactic with players either, because JDG has been telling Canadian players not to sign with the CPL because the playing level would be too low.

1st Part, agreed.  Completely. 
2nd Part, disagree.  Completely.  I read opportunity.  A big-fat-opportunity.  See 1st Part for explanation regarding the removal of an obstruction from CanPL into the Ottawa Vale.  

Yes, they made decisions, really BAD decisions.  And now they are suffering the consequences.  They needlessly burned bridges in CPL.  Acted like complete amateurs.  The Ottawa Fury have nobody to blame but themselves.   
 

I remember when the Argos drew crowds of that number, but those figures are a little misleading - the team was known to be handing out a lot of freebees. I think a more accurate paid representation over the last 20 years or so is in the neighbourhood of 15k, though even that figure would be enviable right now. At any rate, the Argos have had a lot of trouble selling tickets for some time now.
A case might be made that a Canadian inferiority complex exists, though I think it is basically limited in practical terms to the biggest cities (i.e. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver). In such cities, the option of having a team in a supposedly superior American league exists, so it may cause some people to overlook local options.

Just got my FC Edmonton season tickets very very affordable,$440 dollars for 2 season tickets which includes 14 regular season games and 1 Voyageurs cup match! I honestly can’t complain, also when I was speaking with the rep, he mentioned they were 95% sure the league would be to either 10 or 12 teams the following season without Ottawa in the equation so that’s awesome!

The growth in York 9's numbers has been fantastic. Whether the base purchasing deposits was there but not reported, or there was a surge in people and groups purchasing deposits, I have been pleasantly surprised by this turn of events. It also sounds like many ticket packages being purchased are of the more expensive variety, which is a good sign too.
For a while I questioned the way York 9 was conducting itself in terms of marketing and growth, but I'm quite happy to be wrong with the direction that the club appears to be heading in.

The growth in York 9's numbers has been fantastic. Whether the base purchasing deposits was there but not reported, or there was a surge in people and groups purchasing deposits, I have been pleasantly surprised by this turn of events. It also sounds like many ticket packages being purchased are of the more expensive variety, which is a good sign too.
For a while I questioned the way York 9 was conducting itself in terms of marketing and growth, but I'm quite happy to be wrong with the direction that the club appears to be heading in.