How about a short summary on results this season and predicted future on the 10 D1 teams. I will go first and encourage others more knowledgeable to disagree and/or fill-in the blanks.
In order of finish . . .
Solar--Leader of the pack as expected in pre-season chatter. Tied for first in PL, won CL, won SC. Cant say much bad about that. But will they stay together next year? Or will some get picked off by U16 academy teams?
FC Dallas--Started season strong, but appears to have stumbled late in year with losses to Tejanos and TFC. Overall, biggest and strongest team of the lot. Match up very well with Solar. Could also be in trouble next year if academy poaching takes place.
Andromeda--I like watching these guys play. Knock the ball around well. But just dont have the horses to get to the top. Need a couple strong midfielders to control the field.
Texans Red--I'll be honest. It's been a disappointing year for the reigning champs. Only really did well in Dallas Cup, with the help of guest players. Will be interesting to see what happens next year. Rumors of coaching change appear to be true--DH at the helm.
Tejanos--Clearly the best of the rest. Not at the level of the "big four" but the only one within spittin distance. Appears short on players though. Can they hold it together next year?
Solar Red--Another mid-cities-mystery. Solid core group, but will they hang around next year? Likely enough solid players on Tej/SR to merge and form one really solid team. But that will never happen. Too bad. The Mid-City-Monsters has a nice ring to it.
Titans--You've gotta give these lads credit for finishing 7th. They've even got some little guys playing up to fill the roster. I've got the odds at less than 30% we see them back in D1 next year--unless they absorb another team. Nice job though guys.
Texans Rainbow Coalition (W, RS, RW)--3 Texans teams at the bottom of the pack. Surprising. Well, actually, not really surprising given the turnover on DTW and the significant big brother poach from DTRW. Would be surprised if DTW and DTRW survive going down to D2. My guess--and you heard it here first: Texans give DTRS D1 spot to DTRW and combine best players from all three to form one competitive D1 team and give away their two D2 spots.
There you have it. The good thing about opinions is that they are your own and you are allowed to have them--right or wrong.

Give away two D2 spots? I sure don't see that happening. I don't think it fits in with the big club world domination masterplan.

my2cents wrote:Give away two D2 spots? I sure don't see that happening. I don't think it fits in with the big club world domination masterplan.

Agreed. The Texans don't give anything away. Hassan is too good of a business man.

THE NEEDLE wrote:

my2cents wrote:Give away two D2 spots? I sure don't see that happening. I don't think it fits in with the big club world domination masterplan.

Agreed. The Texans don't give anything away. Hassan is too good of a business man.

The problem is bodies. Where will they come from? This is the age of reduction, rather than growth. At best they will move DTRN from D3 into a D2 spot. It's purely a function of numbers. I dont think they will be there.

Agreed with all of the above. There was no way Texans could keep all 4 teams in D1. I am suprised that DTR dropped as much as it did this year. Would have expected nothing less from the bottom three. DTRW thought it would be a cake walk in D1 and found out differently. Rumor was DTR wanted a second player from DTRW but couldn't get it to happen. DTW barely held together at signing day, and lost one of their best at end of league play to big brother. I would be surprised if DTS makes it through another year.
The smart thing would have been to combine the best of the three teams at the beginning of the season and then build down from there. But, it is first and foremost a business, so needless to say that didn't happen. Now kids and parents from these teams are scrambling to move to the top 4 teams, and there just may not be that many spaces. Granted some of these boys are D1 players, but some should work on progressing in D2 for another year or two.
The panic started in April. It's going to be a long May and June. Hold on tight.