Bryan Irwin is at the MLS combine...

I'm surprised that no one else has posted on this yet... Here's a link to Oregon Live:

http://www.oregonlive.com/pilots/index.ssf/2009/01/pilots_forward_bryan_irwin_is.html

Brian has athleticism and size going for him..However I think it'll be a tough pull for him to crack the next level.
With his ability to either get or have a British passport..he might have better luck trying to crack into the lower leagues over in Europe.
Not a knock on Brian at all , just seems a more likely possibility.

I like Brian's game but I wonder if he has the pace to play professionally. I hope I am wrong and wish him good luck.

Yeah, we'll see. He's been listed in the middle 40 group of players (below the top 10 and above the bottom 10) from what I can tell. He did score on day 3 of the combine... The quoted blogger below says "not MLS quality", but, we'll see...

http://proplayerpipeline.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/mls-combine-2009-day-3-game-1/

I hope he makes it with someone...

Irwin goes undrafted from what I can tell (with a quick scan of the 4 rounds). Maybe he'll move toward the USL...

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/draft/mls/

It will be interesting if he signs on anywhere as a free agent... Although since the MLS (Shortsightedly IMO) no longer supports a reserves league, the USL may very well be his destination. Unless of course he signs on at some lower level European league...

DaTruRochin wrote:It will be interesting if he signs on anywhere as a free agent... Although since the MLS (Shortsightedly IMO) no longer supports a reserves league, the USL may very well be his destination. Unless of course he signs on at some lower level European league...

Not a bad option..If you want to be across the pond.
The money even in the lower leagues Division 1 or 2 in England or B2 or B3 in Germany or the Danish, belgian or leagues of that level would pay much more than the MLS is currently offering. And you are not "owned" for four years either.

I think it's crazy that the MLS has distanced itself from the USL.

footyfan wrote:

I think it's crazy that the MLS has distanced itself from the USL.

I think you are going to see a lot closer relationship between the USL/MLS as the big league has gotten rid of reserve teams, and scaled down their rosters to 24. I think you are going to see a lot more loan moves to the USL, and hopefully some of the USL players brought up can prove their mettle, bringing the league some much deserved respect. I know it's not realistic, and American sporting/advertising would never accept it but my dream would be to have the MLS and USL to develop a Euro style relegation system between the leagues. I know the logistics are different here as far as travel (The U.S. is SLIGHTLY bigger than individual european countries...) and non-soccer fans would be tough to attract, but I can dream...

I think a lot of footie fans would like that, myself included. But it's going to be hard for all the reasons you stated, not to mention the fact that you could do all that work to get an MLS franchise and very easily end up right back in the USL a season or two later.

If there was promotion and relegation in baseball, we could have had the Mariners coming to Portland most every year...

DaTruRochin wrote:

footyfan wrote:

I think it's crazy that the MLS has distanced itself from the USL.

I think you are going to see a lot closer relationship between the USL/MLS as the big league has gotten rid of reserve teams, and scaled down their rosters to 24. I think you are going to see a lot more loan moves to the USL, and hopefully some of the USL players brought up can prove their mettle, bringing the league some much deserved respect. I know it's not realistic, and American sporting/advertising would never accept it but my dream would be to have the MLS and USL to develop a Euro style relegation system between the leagues. I know the logistics are different here as far as travel (The U.S. is SLIGHTLY bigger than individual european countries...) and non-soccer fans would be tough to attract, but I can dream...

Possibly. I think that the USL is a fine league for training the guys who might not quite be in the top 60 college players or who don't get drafted in the MLS SuperDraft. IMO the advantage of the USL is to see where good rivalries are and where great fan bases and talent lies. The Puerto Rico USL team, for example, was a huge success, creating a South American style of ball in the US. However, I'm not sure if players can do direct transfers from Europe to the USL like they can to the MLS. Maybe someone who knows more about the USL can correct me if I'm wrong. But, Kasey Keller said that one of the things that really impressed him about the MLS was the possibility to do direct transfers from some of the leagues in the world...

I'm fairly certain they can (usually on a free transfer), if I recall the Timbers had a Japanese international on their team this last year, and the Sounders leading scorer from the last few years was a Frenchman, neither came up through the college ranks... I'm fairly sure there isn't anything preventing a direct transfer to the USL other than money...

Yeah, I'm not sure if Keller was implying anything by his comments. Here's an interesting perspective:

http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/usl-needs-to-compete-directly-against-mls/512