((HT: Gulf Coast Armada))
Abram Chamberlain, the leader of the Pensacola City FC Supporter's Group- the Gulf Coast Armada- has put together a half-hour on the situation involving the dissolving of Pensacola City FC.
He analyzes the owner's approach to having a franchise and its marketing for the 2014 season (or a lack thereof), interviews (now) former players about living conditions and their individual situations, asks legitimate questions around the operation of a franchise- regardless of professional level, and has a noble goal for the future...
It's worth a look...
We'll be asking Chamberlain some questions as we go forward in week 2 and beyond...
Showing posts with label Bill Fetke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill Fetke. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Monday, June 2, 2014
DEVELOPING: NPSL Pensacola City FC's Joe-Tyla Butcher Responds To New Owner Statements
Earlier today, OSG Sports reached out to Pensacola City FC's former players to gauge their response to the new questions put forth to the team owner, Bill Fetke.
Defender Joe-Tyla Butcher came forward with his response to the new statements:
The fact that Bill is still maintaining that the players were drunk before the Chattanooga game is ridiculous, I can vouch for the players that none were out drinking the night before that game. I know for a fact all the boys at the fountains were asleep by 11 that night and most definitely didn't drink or go out and that vouches for about half the team. And the fact that Bill is saying we all played very poorly in a 1-0 defeat to the best side in the league is ridiculous, the coaches asked the players to play two, some even three (if involved in the reserve game which 13 players on our roster were) 90 minute games, one at 4 and 7 on Saturday and the second at 1 on Sunday, less than 24 hours apart, the third game being played in mid day heat at 95 degrees. On top of that the coaches only made one change to the starting line-up for Sunday, meaning 10 players were playing in both games or some even 3 games, 4 players went down with cramp in that game which only shows you that the demand on the players to play two 90 minutes in that heat in such quick succession just isn't realistic. Especially when you are playing the best side in the league who are going to dominate possession against most teams they play. Another decision which has to question the footballing knowledge of the coaches if im honest.
Its funny that he uses the Chattanooga game as an example because we only lost 1-0, to a very good side who honestly deserved to beat us on the day and we played a game the night before. Knoxville lost 4-0 last night to Chattanooga after not playing for days and being fresh, so I think if you compare the two we really didn't do that badly. Especially with the depth that Chattanooga have on their roster compared to other teams in the league.
And i'd just like to say that the players aren't not kicking other players out the apartments, but obviously if you stay in the apartments into June, then you come liable and responsible to contribute to the rent and utilities, which due to all us training and playing everyday in may and not working just isn't realistic. So he is indirectly evicting players by not paying the rents which he committed to pay, Bill's not a stupid guy, he obviously kicked us out on May 28th so that he wasn't liable to support the players for another month. Luckily enough for me I have managed to sort out other arrangements and I am not stuck in Pensacola but I know that some of the boys are still stuck there, and i'd like to say that the Armada (the fan group) are doing a great job trying to help out the players still in Pensacola. Bill can try and switch the blame onto the players, but everyone involved with the club knows what really went on and regardless of his reasons he left the players with very little options or time to figure anything out. You can see he is embarrassed from the fact that he deleted everyone on Facebook and deleted the teams profiles, probably to avoid any more questions or abuse from players or outsiders observing the situation. If he felt he was in the right, then why would he have done that?
OSG Sports also reached out to midfielder Remy Moulard- Moulard is waiting for his appointment with a specialist to finally know about the extent of his injury. Also quoting:
But if Mr. Fetke told me all my medical bills will be covered (included physio), the housing and food are not even [included] If I can't move
Players are still looking for new homes to play and ways home if they're not playing in the league.
More when we know more...
Defender Joe-Tyla Butcher came forward with his response to the new statements:
The fact that Bill is still maintaining that the players were drunk before the Chattanooga game is ridiculous, I can vouch for the players that none were out drinking the night before that game. I know for a fact all the boys at the fountains were asleep by 11 that night and most definitely didn't drink or go out and that vouches for about half the team. And the fact that Bill is saying we all played very poorly in a 1-0 defeat to the best side in the league is ridiculous, the coaches asked the players to play two, some even three (if involved in the reserve game which 13 players on our roster were) 90 minute games, one at 4 and 7 on Saturday and the second at 1 on Sunday, less than 24 hours apart, the third game being played in mid day heat at 95 degrees. On top of that the coaches only made one change to the starting line-up for Sunday, meaning 10 players were playing in both games or some even 3 games, 4 players went down with cramp in that game which only shows you that the demand on the players to play two 90 minutes in that heat in such quick succession just isn't realistic. Especially when you are playing the best side in the league who are going to dominate possession against most teams they play. Another decision which has to question the footballing knowledge of the coaches if im honest.
Its funny that he uses the Chattanooga game as an example because we only lost 1-0, to a very good side who honestly deserved to beat us on the day and we played a game the night before. Knoxville lost 4-0 last night to Chattanooga after not playing for days and being fresh, so I think if you compare the two we really didn't do that badly. Especially with the depth that Chattanooga have on their roster compared to other teams in the league.
And i'd just like to say that the players aren't not kicking other players out the apartments, but obviously if you stay in the apartments into June, then you come liable and responsible to contribute to the rent and utilities, which due to all us training and playing everyday in may and not working just isn't realistic. So he is indirectly evicting players by not paying the rents which he committed to pay, Bill's not a stupid guy, he obviously kicked us out on May 28th so that he wasn't liable to support the players for another month. Luckily enough for me I have managed to sort out other arrangements and I am not stuck in Pensacola but I know that some of the boys are still stuck there, and i'd like to say that the Armada (the fan group) are doing a great job trying to help out the players still in Pensacola. Bill can try and switch the blame onto the players, but everyone involved with the club knows what really went on and regardless of his reasons he left the players with very little options or time to figure anything out. You can see he is embarrassed from the fact that he deleted everyone on Facebook and deleted the teams profiles, probably to avoid any more questions or abuse from players or outsiders observing the situation. If he felt he was in the right, then why would he have done that?
OSG Sports also reached out to midfielder Remy Moulard- Moulard is waiting for his appointment with a specialist to finally know about the extent of his injury. Also quoting:
But if Mr. Fetke told me all my medical bills will be covered (included physio), the housing and food are not even [included] If I can't move
Players are still looking for new homes to play and ways home if they're not playing in the league.
More when we know more...
DEVELOPING: Pensacola City FC Owner Answers More Questions, Stands By Hangover Claim
Week two in the whole Pensacola City FC saga is now underway, and PCFC owner Bill Fetke is still standing by claims he made about his roster last week to OSG Sports.
We submitted another series of questions to him about last week as the saga moves forward and here are his reponses:
First, OSG Sports asked about the conversations Mr. Fetke had with the league office:
Everyone in the conference was really trying to save the season. Of course, they have been in panic mode because
they are losing a home match. My conversation with the league was the same. I really feel bad for the other clubs. They are all awesome owners and their fans deserve nothing but the best. Long term, it is best that this happened. I hope this puts a little concern into the league about how to prevent this in the future and better vetting future owners so there will be less "one and done" teams.
OSG Sports previously reported that midfielder Remy Moulard would be needing an MRI and that PCFC would take care of that, but go no further in paying any kind of bills.
the insurance said it takes 2 weeks to get a claim number. Remy Moulard needed an air cast for his ankle so I purchased it for him.
Do season ticket holders get their money back?
i am in the process of getting all tickets reimbursed for the New Orleans match and all the season tickets.
And he stands by the assessment that players were "hung over" after the match with Knoxville when they showed up to practice the next day.
I have validation from two of the players that many went out after the Knoxville match. I truly hope they were hungover based of the performance of most during that match vs Chattanooga. Still, the heat index was pushing 100 that weekend, and alcohol or lack of sleep could have been a serious health risk. They need to take better care of themselves and be aware of their situation. They are all adults but are still acting like kids, taking no responsibility for their own actions.
Then, OSG Sports wanted to clarify the living arrangements and the billeting of players for the 2014 season since players ceased being PCFC players and were having to look for their next homes come June 1st in a lot of situations.
the set up of the living situation was that I asked a couple of the local players if they had extra room. Based on how many people they could house depended on how much I reimbursed them for. The verbal agreement was "as long as we were playing, I would be paying". I was asked in our termination meeting about the players and I told them that they needed to work out an agreement with who they were staying with. True, I was paying the rent, but I never told anyone to kick out the players that were staying with them. That has nothing to do with me. If anyone was kicked out immediately, then it was the local players who have the apartments who voluntarily kicked their teammates out.
The previous stories on Pensacola City FC and their dissolving are hyah, hyah, hyah , hyah, and hyah
It encompasses the entire first week of the workings among the players, the Gulf Coast Armada supporter's group, the team, and the league. OSG Sports has put in a request that the players who told Fetke about being "hung over" for that post-match practice be vetted by us as well.
More when we know more...
We submitted another series of questions to him about last week as the saga moves forward and here are his reponses:
First, OSG Sports asked about the conversations Mr. Fetke had with the league office:
Everyone in the conference was really trying to save the season. Of course, they have been in panic mode because
OSG Sports previously reported that midfielder Remy Moulard would be needing an MRI and that PCFC would take care of that, but go no further in paying any kind of bills.
the insurance said it takes 2 weeks to get a claim number. Remy Moulard needed an air cast for his ankle so I purchased it for him.
Do season ticket holders get their money back?
i am in the process of getting all tickets reimbursed for the New Orleans match and all the season tickets.
And he stands by the assessment that players were "hung over" after the match with Knoxville when they showed up to practice the next day.
I have validation from two of the players that many went out after the Knoxville match. I truly hope they were hungover based of the performance of most during that match vs Chattanooga. Still, the heat index was pushing 100 that weekend, and alcohol or lack of sleep could have been a serious health risk. They need to take better care of themselves and be aware of their situation. They are all adults but are still acting like kids, taking no responsibility for their own actions.
Then, OSG Sports wanted to clarify the living arrangements and the billeting of players for the 2014 season since players ceased being PCFC players and were having to look for their next homes come June 1st in a lot of situations.
the set up of the living situation was that I asked a couple of the local players if they had extra room. Based on how many people they could house depended on how much I reimbursed them for. The verbal agreement was "as long as we were playing, I would be paying". I was asked in our termination meeting about the players and I told them that they needed to work out an agreement with who they were staying with. True, I was paying the rent, but I never told anyone to kick out the players that were staying with them. That has nothing to do with me. If anyone was kicked out immediately, then it was the local players who have the apartments who voluntarily kicked their teammates out.
The previous stories on Pensacola City FC and their dissolving are hyah, hyah, hyah , hyah, and hyah
It encompasses the entire first week of the workings among the players, the Gulf Coast Armada supporter's group, the team, and the league. OSG Sports has put in a request that the players who told Fetke about being "hung over" for that post-match practice be vetted by us as well.
More when we know more...
Saturday, May 31, 2014
NPSL: The First Weekend Without PCFC
The only thought is to have the remaining six games be walkovers and let people get their points since they may not play each other in true round-robin fashion. But the end is currently in discussion at the NPSL league level.
The Southeast Conference is one short with the shocking folding of Pensacola City FC and the whole saga is far from being over.
At least, that's the gut feeling at the HQ. PCFC was supposed to play the Georgia Revs Friday night before their next meeting was supposed to be in Chattanooga FC, but that's now in the wind.
As is the rest of their season...
The other teams carried on as they did: Nashville was hosting Rocket City. Chattanooga FC was playing Knoxville Force and New Orleans traveled the eight hours to Atlanta to take on Silverbacks Reserves against that backdrop (pictured right, thanks New Orleans Jesters their own selves). It was as everything was normal save the fold/dissolving/whatever-you-want-to-call-it after only three games into a season.
The opinions have been documented from both sides over the last few days from both ownership and players of the franchise- you can catch up with them hyah for starters...
So, what do the rest of the league think of what has gone down...???
"It surprised me," Silverbacks head coach Alejandro Pombo admitted. "It has never happened before. When you're here, you commit to the league and I have always thought that you end the season. Three years ago, when we were Atlanta FC, we had on-the-field problems. But we finished the season.
"What happened there... that's not the way. You have to figure it out to the end. They were supposed to travel to Chattanooga to play, but now they're not. They should have talked with the league to see if they could get some help to continue to play and finish the season.".
New Orleans Jesters head coach Kenneth Farrell was more matter-of-fact about it:
"Irresponsible. Unprofessional. Embarrassing...
"We can pull together as brothers in times like this," he admitted. "Once you have committed, you have committed to the league. You should have talked to the league about it and figured out what to do. And the league would have done that. You don't blame the league in a situation like this. It happened without them knowing- any of us knowing... we're a good league and you just don't do that."
Sources close to the league that OSG Sports talked to about this raise the standard financial questions. Did the re-branding and name change from the Texans family to PCFC come as a result of partners pulling out and, therefore, create a loss of funds that Bill Fetke counted on for financial stability...? There were plans, we are told, of bringing in players from all corners- including Asia. That did't happen, either.
So, is this a part of a larger cascade for Fetke and PCFC that created the dissolving...???
Only he can answer... and now some of the Internationals on the roster have to still find a way to pay bills and have a roof over their heads starting tomorrow...
And that prospect is daunting at least and scary at most...
More when we know more...
The Southeast Conference is one short with the shocking folding of Pensacola City FC and the whole saga is far from being over.
As is the rest of their season...
The other teams carried on as they did: Nashville was hosting Rocket City. Chattanooga FC was playing Knoxville Force and New Orleans traveled the eight hours to Atlanta to take on Silverbacks Reserves against that backdrop (pictured right, thanks New Orleans Jesters their own selves). It was as everything was normal save the fold/dissolving/whatever-you-want-to-call-it after only three games into a season.
The opinions have been documented from both sides over the last few days from both ownership and players of the franchise- you can catch up with them hyah for starters...
So, what do the rest of the league think of what has gone down...???
"It surprised me," Silverbacks head coach Alejandro Pombo admitted. "It has never happened before. When you're here, you commit to the league and I have always thought that you end the season. Three years ago, when we were Atlanta FC, we had on-the-field problems. But we finished the season.
"What happened there... that's not the way. You have to figure it out to the end. They were supposed to travel to Chattanooga to play, but now they're not. They should have talked with the league to see if they could get some help to continue to play and finish the season.".
New Orleans Jesters head coach Kenneth Farrell was more matter-of-fact about it:
"Irresponsible. Unprofessional. Embarrassing...
"We can pull together as brothers in times like this," he admitted. "Once you have committed, you have committed to the league. You should have talked to the league about it and figured out what to do. And the league would have done that. You don't blame the league in a situation like this. It happened without them knowing- any of us knowing... we're a good league and you just don't do that."
Sources close to the league that OSG Sports talked to about this raise the standard financial questions. Did the re-branding and name change from the Texans family to PCFC come as a result of partners pulling out and, therefore, create a loss of funds that Bill Fetke counted on for financial stability...? There were plans, we are told, of bringing in players from all corners- including Asia. That did't happen, either.
So, is this a part of a larger cascade for Fetke and PCFC that created the dissolving...???
Only he can answer... and now some of the Internationals on the roster have to still find a way to pay bills and have a roof over their heads starting tomorrow...
And that prospect is daunting at least and scary at most...
More when we know more...
Friday, May 30, 2014
DEVELOPING: NPSL Pensacola City FC Reax- Alvaro Pichardo
OSG Sports has received an e-mail from Pensacola City FC midfielder Alvaro Pichardo about what has happened over the last 36 hours...
This is his first-person account as to what he experienced in the folding of the franchise...
It is a stream-of-consciousness review and OSG Sports left punctuation alone...
It is heart-breaking, head-scratching and leaves a lot of questions still...
Well, we received an email from Bill at 9:10 Wednesday night that said we had a meeting the next day (Thursday) at 1:00 pm because he was doing an equipment check. (who does equipment checks at this level, why would you need to check our equipment if there hasn't been a problem with us wearing the wrong gear or anything? at this point we started talking as a team about what we thought would happen and some of us came up with the thoughts that the team was folding because we hadn't trained on Wednesday, 2 days before a game, and we hadn't discussed the traveling plans for Thursday afternoon to travel to Georgia for the game.
Anyway... we get there and Bill takes our equipment, when he is finished "checking" our equipment he gives us this lecture of how we are workers and just like any business if you don't do your job you can get fired, he even goes to say that he heard that some of the guys had gone out to drink the night before the Chattanooga game, which i know for a fact that no one went out, we finished the game and everyone went home because we had a game the next day at 1. then he says that we played like "shit" against CFC because we were hungover... i have 2 things to say about that, 1st we didnt play like shit, we lost 1-0 against the best team in the conference, a team that is competing in the US Open Cup and is one of the best in the NPSL year after year with almost the exact same line up from the night before in 90 degree weather with a team that has almost no organization due to the fact that we have had 0 tactical sessions all year and don't know how to defend and play as a team, this goes to tell you that we worked our asses off for Bill and we only lost 1-0... 2nd no one had any alcohol in them. we lost because they were the better team.
Bill also added that him and his business partners decided that it was not worth spending so much money when the public was not reacting and supporting us, this is normal in sports, you dont make a team and 2 years later start making money, this is normal in any business, it takes years to start making money first you invest, then you start breaking even and then you make a profit... this is what i think actually happened, Bill doesnt really have a good idea on how to run a sports team.
At first I didn't want to say anything because I had a good relationship with Bill, he had been really nice to me last year and even this year but it really bothers me that he has blamed us for terminating the team, this is not our fault, you do not expect us to win every game when the set up has been an absolute joke, from having no goals for the first few days to doing the same thing every single day at training without any intensity and not working tactically, soccer is not a sport that you just go out there and kick a ball around, you have to be organized and run a system, which we didn't do... we pretty much were just thrown out there to kick the ball around. If anything, Bill should be happy that we worked hard in the games and didn't lose by more with such a disorganized and unprofessional environment around us...
Also, I'm not too happy about how he is treating the injured players, Remy (Moulard) hurt in ankle and had to be taking the hospital about a week ago and he has yet to have an MRI, I wonder how Bill would feel if this happened to his son and the owner of the team simply didn't care about his health. I dont think he has realized how much we gave up to come play for him and how much we have lost now that he terminated the team. Remy is injured and has nowhere to go but he doesnt care about this, he is probably gonna have to sit out his next college season due to this injury and this could affect him to reach his goal of becoming a professional soccer player but evidently Bill could care less... I had other options before coming here, PDL other NPSL team and I even passed up on playing with my countries national team because i was promised a professional environment and a very organized team with MLS and USL coaches coming to watch us (which never happened)...
He also said "i have no control of where they lived, they stayed with local players. so local players are the ones who kicked out their teammates" this has really pissed me off that he would lie like this, he had control of where we lived, yes we stayed with local players but those local players live in apartments which require you to pay rent obviously, and guess who agreed to pay that rent... Mr. Bill Fetke himself, so now that we have 2 days till rent is due, what are we supposed to do? No one has enough money to afford rent because we have not been working, because of the fact that Bill promised us food and housing.
Yes he has folded the team and there is nothing we can do now but the least he can do is keep his promise to pay for our rents, at least for 1 more month to give us time to find another team and he could pay for the injured players' medical bills. Just like in any business if you get injured while working, the employer has to pay for medical bills but it seems like he forgot about this or maybe he is just a cold person that doesn't care about the well being of others.
More reaction will be posted as we receive it and OSG Sports also has another question into NPSL Commissioner Michael Hitchcock about how the folding of the franchise relates to the rest of the schedule going forward...
This is his first-person account as to what he experienced in the folding of the franchise...
It is a stream-of-consciousness review and OSG Sports left punctuation alone...
It is heart-breaking, head-scratching and leaves a lot of questions still...
Well, we received an email from Bill at 9:10 Wednesday night that said we had a meeting the next day (Thursday) at 1:00 pm because he was doing an equipment check. (who does equipment checks at this level, why would you need to check our equipment if there hasn't been a problem with us wearing the wrong gear or anything? at this point we started talking as a team about what we thought would happen and some of us came up with the thoughts that the team was folding because we hadn't trained on Wednesday, 2 days before a game, and we hadn't discussed the traveling plans for Thursday afternoon to travel to Georgia for the game.
Anyway... we get there and Bill takes our equipment, when he is finished "checking" our equipment he gives us this lecture of how we are workers and just like any business if you don't do your job you can get fired, he even goes to say that he heard that some of the guys had gone out to drink the night before the Chattanooga game, which i know for a fact that no one went out, we finished the game and everyone went home because we had a game the next day at 1. then he says that we played like "shit" against CFC because we were hungover... i have 2 things to say about that, 1st we didnt play like shit, we lost 1-0 against the best team in the conference, a team that is competing in the US Open Cup and is one of the best in the NPSL year after year with almost the exact same line up from the night before in 90 degree weather with a team that has almost no organization due to the fact that we have had 0 tactical sessions all year and don't know how to defend and play as a team, this goes to tell you that we worked our asses off for Bill and we only lost 1-0... 2nd no one had any alcohol in them. we lost because they were the better team.
Bill also added that him and his business partners decided that it was not worth spending so much money when the public was not reacting and supporting us, this is normal in sports, you dont make a team and 2 years later start making money, this is normal in any business, it takes years to start making money first you invest, then you start breaking even and then you make a profit... this is what i think actually happened, Bill doesnt really have a good idea on how to run a sports team.
At first I didn't want to say anything because I had a good relationship with Bill, he had been really nice to me last year and even this year but it really bothers me that he has blamed us for terminating the team, this is not our fault, you do not expect us to win every game when the set up has been an absolute joke, from having no goals for the first few days to doing the same thing every single day at training without any intensity and not working tactically, soccer is not a sport that you just go out there and kick a ball around, you have to be organized and run a system, which we didn't do... we pretty much were just thrown out there to kick the ball around. If anything, Bill should be happy that we worked hard in the games and didn't lose by more with such a disorganized and unprofessional environment around us...
Also, I'm not too happy about how he is treating the injured players, Remy (Moulard) hurt in ankle and had to be taking the hospital about a week ago and he has yet to have an MRI, I wonder how Bill would feel if this happened to his son and the owner of the team simply didn't care about his health. I dont think he has realized how much we gave up to come play for him and how much we have lost now that he terminated the team. Remy is injured and has nowhere to go but he doesnt care about this, he is probably gonna have to sit out his next college season due to this injury and this could affect him to reach his goal of becoming a professional soccer player but evidently Bill could care less... I had other options before coming here, PDL other NPSL team and I even passed up on playing with my countries national team because i was promised a professional environment and a very organized team with MLS and USL coaches coming to watch us (which never happened)...
He also said "i have no control of where they lived, they stayed with local players. so local players are the ones who kicked out their teammates" this has really pissed me off that he would lie like this, he had control of where we lived, yes we stayed with local players but those local players live in apartments which require you to pay rent obviously, and guess who agreed to pay that rent... Mr. Bill Fetke himself, so now that we have 2 days till rent is due, what are we supposed to do? No one has enough money to afford rent because we have not been working, because of the fact that Bill promised us food and housing.
Yes he has folded the team and there is nothing we can do now but the least he can do is keep his promise to pay for our rents, at least for 1 more month to give us time to find another team and he could pay for the injured players' medical bills. Just like in any business if you get injured while working, the employer has to pay for medical bills but it seems like he forgot about this or maybe he is just a cold person that doesn't care about the well being of others.
More reaction will be posted as we receive it and OSG Sports also has another question into NPSL Commissioner Michael Hitchcock about how the folding of the franchise relates to the rest of the schedule going forward...
DEVELOPING: More Owner+Player Reax From NPSL Pensacola City FC Fold
After reaching out to players and the front office personnel, we're getting more details about the situation at Pensacola City FC after owner Bill Fetke decided to fold the franchise yesterday- blaming his relationship with the city and bringing forward issues with player behavior.
Fitke responded to follow-up questions from OSG Sports early Friday morning:
All the teams in the conference and the commissioner have been in contact with me. As far as the players go, it is not a good situation, being terminated/let go is a part of business. I do feel for them, and actually, I had lots of tears while I addressed them today. If they were not playing for me this summer, most would have found a way home. Some are truly stuck, and I feel bad for them. I remember them playing hung over or not putting forth an effort in training or matches or not willing to go to practice, then I have to say to myself, they didn't care about me and the investment I made on them. At the end of the day, this is a business, and when employees do not do their job, they get fired. Businesses close everyday, people lose their job everyday. This is not what I envisioned when I started this, but what entrepreneur plans on going out of business. But the players were a small piece of the problem, the city of Pensacola and lack of support from the community these last couple years were a bigger part of the problem.
For the record, I had nothing to do with the players getting kicked out of the apartments. I have no control over where they lived. They stayed with local players. So local players are the ones who kicked out their teammates.
Responding to our desire for player comment was defender Joe-Tyla Butcher:
When I arrived the training field didn't even have goals, and was in shocking condition. A joke compared to last years facilities, what makes me laugh is that I was told it was urgent to come down here and even skipped walking at my graduation so that I could be here in time for the first game. yet I arrive and the training field doesn't even have goals, I should have known from there it was going to be a joke. Secondly I had been messaged by a few of the players saying that the coach was unorthodox and not very good, but whatever I gave it the benefit of the doubt, I got here and in all fairness Gary Hindley is a very nice guy, but in soccer terms he was totally out of his depth in my opinion, we did the same drills every day, possession then a scrimmage, I did more advanced sessions when I was ten years old, he played players out of position, seemed to have no tactical knowledge of the game at all, a huge contrast to last years coach Neto(Knoxville force coach) who is probably the best footballing coach I have met out here. A lot of the players quickly became unmotivated and actually considered quitting but we all stuck around as we had made a commitment to bill, coach gary and the team.
Anyways yesterday we get a text, no training. team meeting at the stadium at one, bring all your equipment, and that is when we were told the team would be folding, apparently the players didn't care enough and went out every night before games (false information) I know for a fact none of the boys went out before the Knoxville or Chattanooga games, perhaps the reason for players being tired is they were asked to play two 90 minute games within 24 hours of each other, putting almost an identical line up to the first game out (tactical knowledge hint hint) and I forgot to mention that the second game was scheduled at 1pm in 95 degree heat against the best team in the league, some good management right there. Then to top it all off the assistant coach Don Maples (just as hopeless) goes on his personal facebook after shaking all our hands and sympathizing with us at the meeting saying that it was the players fault the team broke down, two faced… perhaps he should stick to coaching u15 girls in Tennessee.
But the part that is most a joke is that all these players were brought down here, id say at least 80% of the players are international, the messed up thing is all of our food and bills were being paid for, so nobody has worked in preparation for this summer, everyone is working on limited funds. And we the team gets folded ay 28th, rent for next month is due June 1st with none of us having worked or any way to pay for it, effectively not only leaving the players without a team for the summer, but potentially with out housing or money to buy foods. Now everyone is frantically contacting their parents and other teams trying to sort something out for themselves, some of the American boys have already left. The thing that gets to me the most is that one of our players got hurt in a reserve game, went away in an ambulance, he was scheduled to have an MRI the day the team gets folded, and guess what still no MRI, the owner says that he will pay for his MRI but has told him, I don't care if you don't have the money or a place to stay its not his problem anymore. Bearing in mind this lad is an international, hasn't worked or saved up money and was fully expecting to be supported by the club for this whole summer, I think its extremely f**ked up to be honest. Now he will in a few days not have a place to stay, is also injured and on crutches, possibly out for his college season as well, the least they could do is support the agreement they made all of us which was to house and give meals to the players until the end of the season July 4th.
Adding to that is the comments goalkeeper Steven Hermosa who sent word to the Gulf Coast Armada supporter's group...
From the Armada Twitter:
Also, Bill's comment about players not wanting to "waste gas" in order to train in perdido was questionable. I have no record of anyone saying that but most of the players rely on just a few cars for transportation. Bill changed the scheduled training times the day of- so those with cars had made plans according to the original schedule and couldn't just switch around to switch bill's schedule because he was unprepared.
OSG Sports is still waiting for any kind of public comment from NPSL Commissioner Michael Hitchcock as this continues to play out in the soccer media.
Fitke responded to follow-up questions from OSG Sports early Friday morning:
All the teams in the conference and the commissioner have been in contact with me. As far as the players go, it is not a good situation, being terminated/let go is a part of business. I do feel for them, and actually, I had lots of tears while I addressed them today. If they were not playing for me this summer, most would have found a way home. Some are truly stuck, and I feel bad for them. I remember them playing hung over or not putting forth an effort in training or matches or not willing to go to practice, then I have to say to myself, they didn't care about me and the investment I made on them. At the end of the day, this is a business, and when employees do not do their job, they get fired. Businesses close everyday, people lose their job everyday. This is not what I envisioned when I started this, but what entrepreneur plans on going out of business. But the players were a small piece of the problem, the city of Pensacola and lack of support from the community these last couple years were a bigger part of the problem.
For the record, I had nothing to do with the players getting kicked out of the apartments. I have no control over where they lived. They stayed with local players. So local players are the ones who kicked out their teammates.
Responding to our desire for player comment was defender Joe-Tyla Butcher:
When I arrived the training field didn't even have goals, and was in shocking condition. A joke compared to last years facilities, what makes me laugh is that I was told it was urgent to come down here and even skipped walking at my graduation so that I could be here in time for the first game. yet I arrive and the training field doesn't even have goals, I should have known from there it was going to be a joke. Secondly I had been messaged by a few of the players saying that the coach was unorthodox and not very good, but whatever I gave it the benefit of the doubt, I got here and in all fairness Gary Hindley is a very nice guy, but in soccer terms he was totally out of his depth in my opinion, we did the same drills every day, possession then a scrimmage, I did more advanced sessions when I was ten years old, he played players out of position, seemed to have no tactical knowledge of the game at all, a huge contrast to last years coach Neto(Knoxville force coach) who is probably the best footballing coach I have met out here. A lot of the players quickly became unmotivated and actually considered quitting but we all stuck around as we had made a commitment to bill, coach gary and the team.
Anyways yesterday we get a text, no training. team meeting at the stadium at one, bring all your equipment, and that is when we were told the team would be folding, apparently the players didn't care enough and went out every night before games (false information) I know for a fact none of the boys went out before the Knoxville or Chattanooga games, perhaps the reason for players being tired is they were asked to play two 90 minute games within 24 hours of each other, putting almost an identical line up to the first game out (tactical knowledge hint hint) and I forgot to mention that the second game was scheduled at 1pm in 95 degree heat against the best team in the league, some good management right there. Then to top it all off the assistant coach Don Maples (just as hopeless) goes on his personal facebook after shaking all our hands and sympathizing with us at the meeting saying that it was the players fault the team broke down, two faced… perhaps he should stick to coaching u15 girls in Tennessee.
But the part that is most a joke is that all these players were brought down here, id say at least 80% of the players are international, the messed up thing is all of our food and bills were being paid for, so nobody has worked in preparation for this summer, everyone is working on limited funds. And we the team gets folded ay 28th, rent for next month is due June 1st with none of us having worked or any way to pay for it, effectively not only leaving the players without a team for the summer, but potentially with out housing or money to buy foods. Now everyone is frantically contacting their parents and other teams trying to sort something out for themselves, some of the American boys have already left. The thing that gets to me the most is that one of our players got hurt in a reserve game, went away in an ambulance, he was scheduled to have an MRI the day the team gets folded, and guess what still no MRI, the owner says that he will pay for his MRI but has told him, I don't care if you don't have the money or a place to stay its not his problem anymore. Bearing in mind this lad is an international, hasn't worked or saved up money and was fully expecting to be supported by the club for this whole summer, I think its extremely f**ked up to be honest. Now he will in a few days not have a place to stay, is also injured and on crutches, possibly out for his college season as well, the least they could do is support the agreement they made all of us which was to house and give meals to the players until the end of the season July 4th.
Adding to that is the comments goalkeeper Steven Hermosa who sent word to the Gulf Coast Armada supporter's group...
From the Armada Twitter:
Also, Bill's comment about players not wanting to "waste gas" in order to train in perdido was questionable. I have no record of anyone saying that but most of the players rely on just a few cars for transportation. Bill changed the scheduled training times the day of- so those with cars had made plans according to the original schedule and couldn't just switch around to switch bill's schedule because he was unprepared.
OSG Sports is still waiting for any kind of public comment from NPSL Commissioner Michael Hitchcock as this continues to play out in the soccer media.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
BREAKING: NPSL Pensacola City FC Update- Front Office + Gulf Coast Armada Respond
Here's Part One in the responses involved with the folding of Pensacola FC
OSG Sports has caught up with PCFC's Bill Fetke, who released this statement:
It is not one thing that happened. It has been a progression of negative issues that when looked at as a whole, made us determine that it is just not worth the headache. I am embarrassed to quit mid-season, but why waste the extra money when we knew we were going to quit at the end of the season.
Fetke then referenced the Pensacola FC news from earlier this week
On top of this, the players refused to train yesterday because they felt the practice field I secured was too far away (30 min for most) and they didn't want to "waste" gas. I had enough and everyone wins and I lose. On top of that, people just didn't care to come to the matches. We had a reserve match Saturday vs the local adult league, none of them stayed. The youth players don't come, even when I was part of the biggest youth club last season. So I was asked, "why are you doing this?" I responded "passion". To which the response was at some point in time, you need to cross over the line from passion to logic.
So that is where I am at today.
Then, the HQ asked about the notions that international players (or non-Pensacola/Mobile based players) are, in effect, stranded with bills that need to be paid without a way back to their respective homes, and if the NPSL league office has been in contact about the situation.
OSG Sports is awaiting that answer...
Abram Chamberlain of the Gulf Coast Armada supporter's group answered our inquiry as well:
The end result of not even reaching the end is inexcusable. Season ticket holders have no idea if there will be refunds. More than anything we are furious about the treatment of our players. There are rumors flying of players stuck with no place to live and no way home. Rumors of broken promises to our boys. To say we are disappointed in ending this way is an understatement."
We still have feelers out to players (now ex-players) and the league and will continue to update as we can...
As for highlights, here's the end of the PCFC-Rocket City FC match- a match that ended in a 1-1 draw earlier this season
((HT: Rocket City FC))
OSG Sports has caught up with PCFC's Bill Fetke, who released this statement:
It is not one thing that happened. It has been a progression of negative issues that when looked at as a whole, made us determine that it is just not worth the headache. I am embarrassed to quit mid-season, but why waste the extra money when we knew we were going to quit at the end of the season.
Fetke then referenced the Pensacola FC news from earlier this week
On top of this, the players refused to train yesterday because they felt the practice field I secured was too far away (30 min for most) and they didn't want to "waste" gas. I had enough and everyone wins and I lose. On top of that, people just didn't care to come to the matches. We had a reserve match Saturday vs the local adult league, none of them stayed. The youth players don't come, even when I was part of the biggest youth club last season. So I was asked, "why are you doing this?" I responded "passion". To which the response was at some point in time, you need to cross over the line from passion to logic.
So that is where I am at today.
Then, the HQ asked about the notions that international players (or non-Pensacola/Mobile based players) are, in effect, stranded with bills that need to be paid without a way back to their respective homes, and if the NPSL league office has been in contact about the situation.
OSG Sports is awaiting that answer...
Abram Chamberlain of the Gulf Coast Armada supporter's group answered our inquiry as well:
The end result of not even reaching the end is inexcusable. Season ticket holders have no idea if there will be refunds. More than anything we are furious about the treatment of our players. There are rumors flying of players stuck with no place to live and no way home. Rumors of broken promises to our boys. To say we are disappointed in ending this way is an understatement."
We still have feelers out to players (now ex-players) and the league and will continue to update as we can...
As for highlights, here's the end of the PCFC-Rocket City FC match- a match that ended in a 1-1 draw earlier this season
((HT: Rocket City FC))
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