I'm just going to call a spade a spade - the announcement yesterday by the USL Team Owners Association (TOA) is a bluff.

The TOA - which includes, the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina Railhawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact, St. Louis Soccer United, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Vancouver Whitecaps - has decided to "aggressively explore all options for the future" and accelerate 'its pursuit of all league options for the 2010 season and beyond" following the conclusion of the sale of the USL to 'a third party (NuRock Soccer Holdings) which does not own a team in USL-1."

Get the sense the TOA is not happy with the sale?  The release the TOA sent out goes on about FIFA and establishing a league that complies with FIFA rules and one that is controlled by teams - as FIFA rules require.

And as the details of the sale of USL from Nike to Nu Rock continue to trickle out, one thing has become perfectly clear is that (some of) the owners were duped. Those owners were led to believe that sale was heading to, even being completed with, another party. By all accounts, that party was Traffic Sports - owners of Miami FC - and other USL franchise owners.

Nu Rock Holdings, which few USL owners were even aware of, slid in at last moment and claimed the winning bid.

This is where it gets sticky.

USL founder and president Francisco Marcos is believed, by those within the Traffic bid, to have been apart of the Nu Rock bid - despite not being listed on any of their releases or as official ownership.

The USL announced today that Marcos had stepped aside as president to take on a role as senior director of development. NuRock CEO Alex Papadakis, a former NASL player, will now assume the CEO role within the league - and it's reported NuRock has the rights to acquire a franchise in Atlanta and Birmingham.

The two moves would bring the USL back, at least superficially, under FIFA regulations in regards to non-single entity ownership. Technically, if NuRock does purchase a USL franchise, they would be considered a team operated league. USL has historically operated under a single entity ownership, so even a one team owned league would be a step in the right direction from FIFA's perspective.

But what's a league without any teams? Enter the bluff.

Take a look at the teams on the TOA list and something should jump out at you.

5 of the 8 cities (not necessarily owners) have been linked to a move to MLS in the last year.

Atlanta, Miami, Montreal and St. Louis all bid for entry into the 2011 MLS expansion. Vancouver was accepted.

MLS, despite often being referred to as a single entity ownership league, is in fact an owner based league. The individual franchise owners sit on the MLS competition board, their board of directors and a host of other sub-committee posts - and that's the spirit in which it's intended by FIFA. A league run by multiple groups, not one person or entity.

This bold, jump out at you, threat by the TOA is a calculated one.

Why stay here with you when we've been cut out of the pie and the guy down the street, whose pies sell for 40 times as much, is accepting new bakers all the time? And your pie will be worth almost nothing if we all leave together.

The only one willing to speak on the record yesterday, was a baker who has already signed on to sell his pies elsewhere - Bob Lenarduzzi, president of the Vancouver Whitecaps.

"For us, it's business as usual. We're moving ahead with our plans to join MLS in 2011," he said by phone last night.

"Having ownership control USL has always been apart of this league plan, the Team Owners plan. So, now that USL is not team owned, they're (TOA), we're, looking at other alternatives that would accommodate that." 

Vancouver's found their alternative. Montreal, likely, too.

The other three haven't shown their cards yet, but it's a sure bet with them essentially being dealt out of USL, they'll each be looking to run the table over the next year and move on up to the high stakes game - MLS.

Cheers

ben.rycroft@metronews.ca

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