Thursday’s kit reveal for NYCFC really seemed to put a visual image to the undercurrent of concern that has been brewing in the rumor mill for the past few weeks. No pinstripe tribute to minority co-owners New York Yankees. No bold unique feature design or proper New York shade of blue to set it apart from Manchester City FC’s kit. Nothing that stands out to connect the club to the city.
For all the jabs taken at the New York Red Bulls and all the boasting about actually being in New York, I believe it was fair to expect more out of the New York City Football Club (NYCFC) than what we have gotten so far. The promise was that NYCFC was not going to be a feeder club for Manchester City FC. The co-ownership with the New York Yankees was supposed to help market the team as belonging to the City but aside from the club name, does anything about the team seem like more than Man City 3?
The underwhelming kit reveal aside, the bigger concern for fans and supporters of the expansion club should come from Frank Lampard’s non-denial/denial of an extended loan to Manchester City. When the rumors came out that Lampard’s loan would be extended from a partial season to a full season, the former Chelsea star was quick to deny the report by side-stepping the question.
This is the quote from Lampard given to Manchester City’s website, “I’m contracted here until the end of December and my future will be at New York City at some stage.”
“At some stage.” The caveat that says I’m not telling you anything, but really reveals a lot. The Lampard loan to Man City was sold as a way to keep the aging star fresh and prepared to debut in the States alongside the expansion club. Not at some stage but on opening day.
Now certainly it would be difficult to fault Lampard for wanting to stay in the Premier League after the start that he had with Man City. He is proving that he can still be a valuable contributor to a major club and that cannot be an easy thing to give up. But if he stays in England, what does it say about NYCFC’s ability to deliver on their promises?
There is a lot of sporting competition in New York City and the surrounding area, an upstart soccer team with no home stadium was going to have a difficult time generating the ground swell of support necessary to build a successful and sustainable club. The big name signings of David Villa and Frank Lampard were supposed to help kick start things and get the hype and momentum building. It was supposed to be a short cut to success but if NYCFC fails to deliver, it will blow up in their face.
MLS broke a few of their own rules, namely the required soccer specific stadium plan in place, in green-lighting the NYCFC expansion over other cities and that did not go unnoticed. While MLS’s reasoning for and desire to have a multiple clubs in New York is understandable, the way it came about does put extra pressure for success on the club’s shoulders.
NYCFC has to live up to the expectations placed on them both by Commissioner Don Garber’s statements of claiming a successful club in New York is a key part of making MLS a top level league and the action of moving them to the head of the expansion line.
Being a Man City knock-off is not the reputation they want to have but having the promised big name players absent from the opening day rosters because they have been loaned out to the parent club makes them look like nothing else.
It will be interesting to see what direction the club takes in the upcoming dispersal and expansion drafts and it may shed some light on what is really happening behind the scenes with Lampard and even David Villa.Villa and Lampard cannot be bench players or part-timers for them to have the desired effect of generating attention and fan support around the team, so the club will need to look to build a supporting cast around them.
Of course the club will want to take the best players available but if NYCFC is aggressive in pursuing strikers or central midfielders, that would be good sign that the “bait and switch” was in play. If they go more for defense and wingers or even forwards used to playing with two up top it would be a better sign.
NYCFC have built their whole marketing campaign around two things: Being New York City’s team and big stars, Frank Lampard and David Villa. Yet, they have no stadium, no reflection of the city in their kits, and the rumors are already out that the big names are delaying their arrival.
MLS may not want to admit it but the New York Cosmos of the NASL are a real threat to steal fans from NYCFC. Despite all the digs taken at the New York Red Bulls for playing in New Jersey, RBNY is a threat to the success of NYCFC. The Yankees and the Mets are a threat to the revenue stream for NYCFC. The Knicks, the Nets, the Rangers, and the Islanders for at least four months of the season are a threat to steal attention away from NYCFC.
A franchise in New York may have a lot of upside but it also is a tough place to break into and New York citizens and fans are well known for their pride in their city. Pushing in a team that looks like and acts like a second tier club to Manchester, England and not a club uniquely connected to New York, NY, is not the way to find success.
