The New York Red Bulls announced that they will be placing a full reserve team in USL Pro. It’s not an over exaggeration to state that from a team-building standpoint, this is the biggest and best decision in club history. The Red Bulls have the best Academy in the country and now they have a bridge between the youth ranks and the senior team which will allow players to develop. Are there other advantages to having a reserve squad in USL Pro? Yes.

Blog over. Let's go get some ice cream.

"No, I want to hear the other reasons."

Really? Okay. Here they are.

KEEPING MORE PLAYERS WITH THE CLUB

There are a limited number of spots on a MLS roster. A team cannot sign every player that they want from their Academy to their senior roster and rosters will reportedly be getting smaller in the new CBA. There are a lot of players who aren’t ready for a MLS Homegrown contract and signing them to the "B team" allows them to stay in the system and develop. Other teams have begun signing former Academy players to their USL Pro squads, which will be greatly beneficial to the long term prospects of both the clubs and the players. Teams still hold the rights to any Homegrown players they sign to their USL Pro team.

Journalists, writers, league and team officials, and other soccer types constantly pay lip service to "the path to being a pro" and "bridging the gap between the Academy and MLS." Having a team in between the two levels (and in, around, behind, or between college) will only aid players in adjusting to the pace and intensity of the professional level.

YOUNG PLAYERS WILL STAY WITH THE CLUB

Bradford Jamieson IV is a highly rated, young American player who had plenty of opportunities to play abroad. However, he elected to sign a Homegrown deal with the LA Galaxy. Why? In his own words, "When I looked at whether to go to Europe or to stay, the fact that LA Galaxy II was created was a huge part in me staying here. There was no way that I would have been satisfied with being on the bench for basically the whole year." The six LA Galaxy Homegrown players who played with LA Galaxy II in 2014 earned 6,568 minutes with the club.

It’s no secret that the Red Bulls have a lot of young players walk away from the senior roster, turn down contracts, and leave the Academy for clubs abroad. While MLS club may not offer the salaries and prestige that other clubs can offer talented young players, they now can offer the comfort of playing for the hometown club and getting professional game experience in meaningful competitions (the latter obviously being a recent development).

SQUAD PLAYERS GET MORE GAME EXPERIENCE

At the end of every year, Red Bulls fans make valid complaints about how there aren’t many great options on the bench and the team lacks depth. Players who are considered to be afterthoughts at the beginning of the year can develop thanks to a full season of competitive matches and contribute during the playoffs. For example, Sporting Kansas City striker Dom Dwyer was loaned to Orlando City in 2013 and scored 15 goals while on loan. When he returned to Sporting following the conclusion of the USL Pro season, he made a massive contribution to their MLS Cup run by scoring the game winning goal against Houston in the Eastern Conference Final. Another example is Ian Christianson who didn’t make an appearance for the Red Bulls during 2013 and most of 2014 due to injuries. However, after a post-rehab stint with Orlando City, he was able to work his way into the notoriously difficult to break into midfield rotation with his MLS club.

Not every loan player will have as meteoric a rise nor contribute as much as Dwyer, but the game time earned in USL Pro will surely aid development more than once a month games in the defunct MLS Reserve League.

ACADEMY PLAYERS CAN PLAY FOR THE USL PRO SQUAD

Academy players can play professional matches without signing senior contracts and without losing their college eligibility. This obviously helps with development, but it has the added benefit of aiding in the recruitment of youth players. The Red Bulls can now bring youth players into their academy and offer them the opportunity to play professional matches before the attend college or sign a contract. USL Pro allows up to five academy players to play with the team per game. As pointed out by Reckless Challenge, according to NCAA Bylaw 12.2.3.2.1, "any individual may compete on a professional team provided he or she does not receive more than actual and necessary expense to participate on the team." While Academy players won’t be paid for their participation in USL Pro (they receive travel and meal stipends), they receive the benefit of playing professional matches which only helps to aid in their development.

TAKING CHANCES ON PROJECT PLAYERS

Sometimes there is a player who a club finds interesting, but cannot find space for him or doesn’t waste valuable cap space on the senior roster. Perhaps it is a former youth international that never quite developed into a star. Or maybe it’s a guy who keeps getting injured and needs a chance to rehab. To keep a player such as this on the senior roster taking up salary cap space would be silly (Very, very, very silly). A USL Pro reserve squad provides the chance to sign players who may not be worth using a senior roster spot and seeing if they develop. To use the Galaxy as an example (again), they signed former French youth international Andre Auras to a USL Pro contract and he performed extremely well for the club. It’s possible that either this season or in the near future he will be playing for the LA Galaxy thanks to his play in USL Pro that has been described as "stellar."

LINEUP, FORMATION, AND POSITION CHANGE EXPERIMENTATION

Possibly the best use of a team having its own reserve squad is the ability to experiment with players and lineups without worrying about the result of matches. A team cannot send their player to another team and ask their coach to play a player out of position for the sake of experimentation. The lower league’s coach has to worry about winning games and cannot be expected to test things out for another coach.

The LA Galaxy were able to use their Reserve team to turn Robbie Rogers into a left back. After playing USL Pro matches to build fitness coming back from injury, he was able to learn a new position and become one of the best left backs in the league. Instead of people questioning why the Galaxy traded away Magee for him, he is now getting hyped as a possible left back for the U.S. National Team. According to LA Galaxy Technical Director Jovan Kirovski, "Robbie was tested at a different position and went on to really be one of the best left backs in MLS."

ANY QUESTIONS?

How much will this team cost?

LastWordOnSports writer Brad Barnett estimates the operating cost at about $2 million per year. Reckless Challenge writer Chad Hollingsworth finds this number to be a bit on the high end for the smaller USL Pro clubs, but doesn't doubt that clubs like Sacramento Republic spend that much.

Do the Red Bulls have rights to the non-Homegrown players on the USL Pro team?

No, they do not. Other teams can still file Discovery Claims on the players on your USL Pro team. Crazy, right? That’s just how MLS rolls. They punish teams for investing, all in vague name of parity. But at least teams maintain the rights to their former Academy players who are on the USL Pro team roster.

What will the team be called?

I don’t know… FC.

Will the Red Bulls still have a U23 team in PDL for college players?

I don’t know. I doubt it, but they still should. College players cannot play for the USL Pro team because they would lose their eligibility. So a U23 team in the PDL would still serve a separate and distinct purpose for the club.

Will the USL Pro team play in the Open Cup?

They can. LA Galaxy II played in the Open Cup.

If the USL Pro team plays in the Open Cup, will they play against the senior team?

They’ll be on opposite sides of the bracket, so only in the final.

What if the USL Pro team wins the Open Cup before the senior team?

Then we throw a party at your house with chips and beer. I like Sun Chips and Blue Moon, so please stock up on both.

Seen any good movies lately?

I liked Nightcrawler. It was pretty good. Gyllenhaal's performance is legendary. You should see it.