Last week the somewhat surprising news dropped that the Riverhounds are jumping back into the affiliation game. Even though the Hounds did well as an independent team in 2015, the siren’s call is no doubt alluring. Obviously the new affiliation will be a big part of how next season plays out.
The general feeling from many of us after the 2014 season was that working with Houston was more trouble than it was worth, with players bouncing up and down on a weekly basis and the two biggest pieces of that agreement, Lisch and Arena, missing big matches when recalled to Houston due to injuries to the MLS side. That off-season, came a new coach, new president, and news that the hounds had decided to go solo in 2015, leaving Houston to find another dance partner. That decision left the roster more stable, with only a pair of goalkeeper loans from MLS sides to help during a couple of lean weeks. In turn, some high ceiling talent (or defenders of any reasonable height) that passed through Highmark Stadium in 2014 were absent last year. Pluses and minuses to everything.
A new season is here and Columbus will be shipping some players to Pittsburgh. If this affiliation works much like Houston did, then we may all need to be prepared for a lot of “WTF!” moments on Saturday afternoon when we learn that ‘Key Contributor X’ is in Columbus without any prior notice. If, on the other hand, players are sent to Pittsburgh with honest intentions of spending the season here, then the affiliation seems more sensible. In short, if the Riverhounds allow Columbus to derail their season, then we should all be wishing it was 2015 again.
Another concerning angle to this is the US Open Cup. If Columbus insists on holding back their players to avoid them being cup-tied to Pittsburgh, it will be disappointing. The run last year was fantastic and those early round tournament games are some of the best times of the season. To have players loaned out, but then withheld for a major component of the season should be avoided. We would hope the organizations discuss this well in advance.
With all of that said, we should be willing to give this all another go-around. The agreement is for one season and is under the stewardship of a different head coach than in 2014. Some of the chatter from Crew supporters I’ve seen online indicate their FO cares a lot about player development and tend towards more long term loans without the back and forth. There’s also indications that Columbus has some strong young talent that could use some playing time, and the Hounds find themselves with some holes to fill. Obviously it’s too early to tell, but this could work out pretty alright.
An affiliation can be a tough thing to write about. Reactions run the gamut depending who you ask. Where some are cautious about it, others, including the strong Crew fan base here in Pittsburgh, are pretty pumped. Our poll on Twitter in the hours after the announcement showed 69% in favor of it. We’ve also already heard from multiple Yinzers living in Columbus that are excited about the agreement and want to arrange some trip to the Burg. Who knows… maybe this will be quite the galvanizing relationship on and off the field.
In a time where USL teams are announcing things left and right it’s nice to finally hear something out of the Hounds camp. So, now that we have an affiliation, how about that roster?
#UNLEASH
