Does a Young USL Championship Roster Help Teams Succeed?

Does a Young USL Championship Roster Help Teams Succeed?

In the USL Championship there is a clear distinction between teams who develop youth players for bigger stages and those who don’t. Some teams talk a big game and back it up while others focus on different player-development goals. While Orange & Black Soccercast focuses on Orange County SC, and yes there will be some conscious bias here, we do like to talk about the broader USL Championship landscape from time to time. I even asked smart-kid John Morrissey to weigh in. Here we’ll talk about some assumptions of USL Championship roster-age and how much each team focused on young player development – and how that impacted on-field success

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"Same Problem, Same Solution": A Commentary on the Events from 5/6

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"Same Problem, Same Solution": A Commentary on the Events from 5/6

Editor’s Note: This article was written by Orange and Black Contributor Tyler Griffith, and is edited minimally to preserve his opinion. 

New information has been released following the incident that occurred during the May 6 match against OCSC and San Diego Loyal.

First, the league announced the conclusion of their investigation:

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Like Him or Not, Richard Chaplow Did What No OC Coach Had Done Before

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Like Him or Not, Richard Chaplow Did What No OC Coach Had Done Before

On August 18, 2021 the mood around Orange County SC was not a very joyful one. They had just been beaten by the Tacoma Defiance in a 0-3 rout at home on a cold and rainy night. That mediocre game came after an equally mediocre form that saw the team give up late goals, lose to low-table teams and overall looked out of shape. For then head coach Braedan Cloutier, the Tacoma game served as the dagger and he was sacked after four seasons as head coach of Orange County SC. 

For Orange County, the decision to sack a manager mid season was not an easy one to make. Under Cloutier’s tenure the club was quite successful. In Cloutier’s four seasons, the club qualified for the playoffs twice, had the best record in the Western Conference in 2018 and made it to the Western Conference Finals that season as well. At the time of his sacking, Cloutier had amassed a record of 64 wins, 47 losses, and 33 draws across all competitions; very respectable numbers. However he was unable to win a title. His replacement for the time being would be his assistant Richard Chaplow. 

Tampa, We Have a Problem (or Two, or Three)

Tampa, We Have a Problem (or Two, or Three)

Wrong names, mispronunciations, and emotional questioning of the referee’s calls are just some of the broadcast issues I witnessed over the past two Orange County SC matches. For fans of the league, these issues are a known thing. If the USL wants to be taken more seriously, they need to fix them.

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