Carlos Bocanegra to Chivas USA
It's the dream of every long-time NT servant to finish his career with the glorious Chivas USA.
It's the dream of every long-time NT servant to finish his career with the glorious Chivas USA.
MLS 2013 -- Deuces Wild
- Thread starter Titans Bastard
- Start date
Juninho's contract with New York has been mutually terminated. When will the Red Bulls ever learn?
The Timbers sign Alvas Powell on loan, an 18 year old defender who already has 5 caps for Jamaica.
Chivas USA signs a 16 year old from their academy, Caleb Calvert. Calvert was born two days after MLS Cup 1996 -- I think we're all getting old.
The Timbers sign Alvas Powell on loan, an 18 year old defender who already has 5 caps for Jamaica.
Chivas USA signs a 16 year old from their academy, Caleb Calvert. Calvert was born two days after MLS Cup 1996 -- I think we're all getting old.
Juninho's contract with New York has been mutually terminated. When will the Red Bulls ever learn?
Anyone has any more info on this? From what I could gather in our press he wasn't happy with his own performance, but he also said that his relationship with the manager wasn't helping matters. Juninho is a pro's pro, so I tend to believe him.
Anyone has any more info on this? From what I could gather in our press he wasn't happy with his own performance, but he also said that his relationship with the manager wasn't helping matters. Juninho is a pro's pro, so I tend to believe him.
Five managers in one season and a drop from Premier to Segunda B in two seasons in Santander. Compared to the shitshow that is Racing right now, Chivas will seem like Disneyland.Titans Bastard said:
Crazy week in MLS so far.
Last weekend, Philly scored a late goal to go up 2-1 on Dallas, and then were fortunate not to give up the equalizer in stoppage time when the assistant ref didn't see that the ball had crossed the goal line. Dallas scored at 90+5' anyway to tie the game.
Colorado won a barnburner against Montreal 4-3 with goals at 77' and 90+5'.
The Revs got an 88th minute equalizer from Chad f'ing Barrett to earn a point on the road at Chivas.
The Quakes completed an epic 3-2 comeback against the Galaxy. Alan Gordon scored at 67', Shea Salinas equalized at 90+2' and then Gordon nailed the winner a minute later.
Midweek, the Galaxy pulled a comeback of their own -- Keane converted two PKs at 85' and 90+1' to beat Columbus 2-1. Likewise, Philly coughed up a lead late once again at Salt Lake when Javier Morales tied the game from the spot at 90+7'.
Current playoff standings:
East:
1. Montreal -- 30
2. New York -- 28
3. Philadelphia -- 27
4. Kansas City -- 27
5. Houston -- 23
---
6. Chicago -- 21
7. New England -- 21
8. Columbus -- 20
9. Toronto -- 13
10. DC -- 9
West:
1. Salt Lake -- 34
2. Dallas -- 31
3. Portland -- 30
4. LA -- 27
5. Vancouver -- 26
----
6. Colorado -- 26
7. Seattle -- 24
8. San Jose -- 21
9. Chivas USA -- 13
I've been surprisingly entertained by Colorado and New England this season, two teams that have been pretty boring to watch for quite a while. They are both midtable teams right now, but they've suddenly got young talent in spades. Check back in a year or two.
Last weekend, Philly scored a late goal to go up 2-1 on Dallas, and then were fortunate not to give up the equalizer in stoppage time when the assistant ref didn't see that the ball had crossed the goal line. Dallas scored at 90+5' anyway to tie the game.
Colorado won a barnburner against Montreal 4-3 with goals at 77' and 90+5'.
The Revs got an 88th minute equalizer from Chad f'ing Barrett to earn a point on the road at Chivas.
The Quakes completed an epic 3-2 comeback against the Galaxy. Alan Gordon scored at 67', Shea Salinas equalized at 90+2' and then Gordon nailed the winner a minute later.
Midweek, the Galaxy pulled a comeback of their own -- Keane converted two PKs at 85' and 90+1' to beat Columbus 2-1. Likewise, Philly coughed up a lead late once again at Salt Lake when Javier Morales tied the game from the spot at 90+7'.
Current playoff standings:
East:
1. Montreal -- 30
2. New York -- 28
3. Philadelphia -- 27
4. Kansas City -- 27
5. Houston -- 23
---
6. Chicago -- 21
7. New England -- 21
8. Columbus -- 20
9. Toronto -- 13
10. DC -- 9
West:
1. Salt Lake -- 34
2. Dallas -- 31
3. Portland -- 30
4. LA -- 27
5. Vancouver -- 26
----
6. Colorado -- 26
7. Seattle -- 24
8. San Jose -- 21
9. Chivas USA -- 13
I've been surprisingly entertained by Colorado and New England this season, two teams that have been pretty boring to watch for quite a while. They are both midtable teams right now, but they've suddenly got young talent in spades. Check back in a year or two.
Turrable said:
I think he's a really exciting player. I only really only know him from international play. Just when it started to get possible to see English Premier League games in the states, he moved from United to Spain, and then when they started getting easier to watch, he was gone to Brazil. I saw a few games he played with Inter, but he wasn't memorable in them. Not nearly as memorable as some of his URU appearances.
D.C. United sold Alain Rochat to Young Boys for $500k one month after trading a 2nd round pick to Vancouver for him. They turned around and sent some of that money to Toronto for Luis Silva. Silva is a nice low-cost, high-reward pickup, a skill player who didn't fit in Toronto especially well.
Montreal finally signed their midfielder draft pick Paolo DelPiccolo. DelPiccolo had opted to sign a 6-month contract with Eintracht Frankfurt II, but it didn't go anywhere.
Dallas signed a defensive midfielder from Brazil.
Chivas USA signed a highly touted 16 year old forward from their academy.
D.C. signed homegrown midfielder Collin Martin, who leaves Wake Forest after one season.
Montreal finally signed their midfielder draft pick Paolo DelPiccolo. DelPiccolo had opted to sign a 6-month contract with Eintracht Frankfurt II, but it didn't go anywhere.
Dallas signed a defensive midfielder from Brazil.
Chivas USA signed a highly touted 16 year old forward from their academy.
D.C. signed homegrown midfielder Collin Martin, who leaves Wake Forest after one season.
I've been enjoying the Revs this year. I've actually started pre-planning watching games or DVRing them. Exciting young team for sure. It will be an interesting game for them this weekend against Houston.Titans Bastard said:
Now if we can just get the stadium to Somerville, I could see them live more than once in a blue moon.
New York signed Ibrahim Sekagya from sister club Red Bull Salzburg. He looks like the cover NY needed with Heath Pearce's season-ended hip injury.
Colorado agrees to a permanent deal with the Atlanta Silverbacks for Chris Klute. Klute has been a real find this season, five assists and good defending at LB. If he keeps it up, he's going to be in the mix for the next January USMNT camp.
Kansas City sent C.J. Sapong and Kevin Ellis on loan to Orlando City for the rest of the season. Ellis is a young-ish player from KC's academy who is third string at both RB and LB and could really benefit from regular playing time in USL. Sapong...well, it's a big fall for the a guy who was Rookie of the Year in 2011. He's been slowed by injuries and poor form and KC just has too many good forwards in his way. He's not well suited to a wide role in the 4-3-3 and he's not going to beat out Bieler at CF. Might as well give him time to get back on track, but this is a guy who was a fringe NTer 18 months ago.
Chivas USA takes Cubo Torres on loan from Big Chivas.
The Fire sign Shaun Francis from the Charlotte Eagles of the USL.
RSL waived David Viana.
Colorado agrees to a permanent deal with the Atlanta Silverbacks for Chris Klute. Klute has been a real find this season, five assists and good defending at LB. If he keeps it up, he's going to be in the mix for the next January USMNT camp.
Kansas City sent C.J. Sapong and Kevin Ellis on loan to Orlando City for the rest of the season. Ellis is a young-ish player from KC's academy who is third string at both RB and LB and could really benefit from regular playing time in USL. Sapong...well, it's a big fall for the a guy who was Rookie of the Year in 2011. He's been slowed by injuries and poor form and KC just has too many good forwards in his way. He's not well suited to a wide role in the 4-3-3 and he's not going to beat out Bieler at CF. Might as well give him time to get back on track, but this is a guy who was a fringe NTer 18 months ago.
Chivas USA takes Cubo Torres on loan from Big Chivas.
The Fire sign Shaun Francis from the Charlotte Eagles of the USL.
RSL waived David Viana.
Interesting profile on Diego Fagundez, the Revs 18-year old wunderkind who grew up in Leominster and hasn't graduated high school yet.
And within the article is Fagundez refusing - like a PRO - to hint at his national team aspirations. (He was born in Uruguay and has played a bit with their U-20 team).
And within the article is Fagundez refusing - like a PRO - to hint at his national team aspirations. (He was born in Uruguay and has played a bit with their U-20 team).
I love the kid, but unfortunately it's going to Uruguay or bust for him, because he has a long road to citizenship here, probably too long.
soxfan121 said:
I really enjoy watching Diego play. He created a lot of chances for the Revs against Houston on Saturday, including setting up their only goal. Still, he can over dribble at times and can force things, but he's the most exciting Revs player I can remember since Dempsey was here.
As for the Saturday game, I only caught the 2nd half and was frustrated. N.E. had good pressure, but got sloppy on defense leaving Moffet to score twice from a bit of distance. The Revs goalie should have had the first, IMO, but the second was just a snipe and a bad bounce. Felt the Revs deserved better from that one, but I suppose these are the games that will help them get better down the line.
TheRealness said:
And Fagundez is still three years younger than Dempsey was during his rookie year.
The Revs may or may not make the playoffs in 2013, but I really have my eye on 2014. There's a lot of young talent that's coming together and it's going to take time for them to become the new core. We've seen flashes of the youth movement taking over games this season, but they are still too inconsistent. It would be huge if the team could re-sign Agudelo, although he's likely to test the European waters. But Agudelo has been injured so much lately that his options may be more limited than they would be otherwise.
Let Fagundez, Rowe, Farrell, Caldwell, Agudelo continue to develop. Sign Jose Goncalves permanently. Dump overpaid, underperforming foreigners like Bengtson, Cisse, and Toja and re-invest more intelligently.
Longer term --
Soccer formations made easy with this11.com
The incredibly relevant All-Star roster:
2013 MLS ALL-STAR GAME ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS: Raul Fernández (FC Dallas), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS: Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Aurélien Collin (Sporting Kansas City), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Patrice Bernier (Montreal Impact), Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Will Johnson (Portland Timbers), Mike Magee (Chicago Fire), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS: Marco Di Vaio (Montreal Impact), Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Camilo Sanvezzo (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
2013 MLS ALL-STAR GAME ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS: Raul Fernández (FC Dallas), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS: Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Aurélien Collin (Sporting Kansas City), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Patrice Bernier (Montreal Impact), Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Will Johnson (Portland Timbers), Mike Magee (Chicago Fire), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS: Marco Di Vaio (Montreal Impact), Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Camilo Sanvezzo (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
Kevin Alston has returned to training and is traveling with the Revs squad to Colorado. That was a quick recovery after a leukemia diagnosis; congratulations to Alston.
Danny "OTC" Califf has retired. Toronto is also shipping out Irish defender and team captain Darren O'Dea to increase their salary cap flexibility, apparently. It's unclear where he's been sold, but it's rumored to be a Ukrainian club.
For defensive cover, Toronto picked up a defender on loan from the Atlanta Silverbacks.
RSL signed Benji Lopez, an 18 year old forward from their residential academy in Arizona.
Danny "OTC" Califf has retired. Toronto is also shipping out Irish defender and team captain Darren O'Dea to increase their salary cap flexibility, apparently. It's unclear where he's been sold, but it's rumored to be a Ukrainian club.
For defensive cover, Toronto picked up a defender on loan from the Atlanta Silverbacks.
RSL signed Benji Lopez, an 18 year old forward from their residential academy in Arizona.
Titans Bastard said:
I wonder what the likelihood of re-signing Agudelo is, because I admit when I saw they traded for him I started tuning in and Fagundez kept me doing so. I'd love to see Juan back, but I admit I don't know much about the market for his services overseas. Given his up and down nature the past year, I would imagine another solid year starting in MLS would be helpful to both his ultimate destination in Europe and any potential USMNT aspirations he has.
As for Diego, I figure some Euro team will be hot on his trail and our time with him will be limited. It's also why I hold out hope he goes through the rigors of getting citizenship so I can enjoy his play on the USMNT in the future. It seems unlikely, but a man can dream.
TheRealness said:
I think Agudelo definitely wants to go overseas and furthermore, I think that if healthy and playing regularly he'd show himself to be talented enough to garner interest, especially for a guy available on a free transfer just after his 21st birthday.
However, he's never had anything close to a full season. Hans Backe was never fully enthusiastic about using him in New York and then he's been dogged by injuries while at Chivas USA and New England. His injuries have lowered his stock and made him more of a risk. I am not optimistic that he will re-sign with NE, but I think there's a chance, especially if the season ends well and it's clear that Heaps' youth movement is heading for a big 2014. Offer him a sizable contract, remind him how important regular minutes are to a player in his particular situation, and throw in a reasonable release clause if necessary.
As for Fagundez, good luck. Maybe there's a tiny chance of him suiting up for the US if you are feeling good about a DREAM Act-esque bill making it through Congress. However, he doesn't even have a green card at this point.
The trouble is, the moment he suits up for Uruguay in an official match, he's gone. The only reason for him to put that off is if he sees U.S. citizenship on the horizon and wants to play for us, but if that's his plan, why is he playing U20 games with them? History is not on our side here, see Andy Najar who was years away from U.S. citizenship and so went ahead with playing for Honduras.TheRealness said:
Titans Bastard said:
Here's a good interview with Goncalves, I can't believe its taken 18 seasons for the Revs to get their first Portuguese player.
http://ojornal.com/portuguese-brazilian-news/2013/05/first-portuguese-player-signed-by-the-revolution-defender-jose-goncalves-very-happy-with-response-to-date/#axzz2ZGCEFwJx
D.C. United traded Brandon McDonald to RSL for a third round pick. He's been good at times, but he's out of favor now. RSL needs the CB cover with Watson-Siriboe out for the season and Schuler and Salcedo on the shelf. They also took a young forward on loan from Derby County. Doyle surprisingly signed with Derby out of HS but hasn't done much. He was on the 2011 U-20 team.
San Jose landed Rosenborg's Jaime Alas on loan. I mostly remember Alas as the Salvadoran U23 who killed our Olympic hopes when he scored on Sean Johnson.
Dallas acquired Mauro Diaz, a 22 year old attacking midfielder from River Plate.
Montreal loaned out Sinisa Ubiparipovic and Calum Mallace to the NASL's Minnesota United for the rest of the season.
San Jose landed Rosenborg's Jaime Alas on loan. I mostly remember Alas as the Salvadoran U23 who killed our Olympic hopes when he scored on Sean Johnson.
Dallas acquired Mauro Diaz, a 22 year old attacking midfielder from River Plate.
Montreal loaned out Sinisa Ubiparipovic and Calum Mallace to the NASL's Minnesota United for the rest of the season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU3dj7iWAS0
I hope these guys do well. The minor leagues have almost no presence west of the Rockies after Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver were poached by MLS. These guys seem to be off on the right track. I'm a big fan of the crest.
Chicago signed a DP forward, Juan Luis Arangogo, buying him from Ecuadorian club El Nacional. He had been on loan at Argentinos Juniors. It sounds like they're trying to get rid of their last bust of a DP forward, Sherjill MacDonald.
Montreal also brought in a DP, a Argentine midfielder named Hernan Bernardello.
The Red Bulls signed Bradley Wright-Phillips. Signing League One level foreigners is classic NYRB.
Chivas took another Mexican-American on loan from the parent club.
Meanwhile Laurent Courtois, the latest non-Mexican to get the boot from Chivas USA, signed with the Galaxy.
Montreal also brought in a DP, a Argentine midfielder named Hernan Bernardello.
The Red Bulls signed Bradley Wright-Phillips. Signing League One level foreigners is classic NYRB.
Chivas took another Mexican-American on loan from the parent club.
Meanwhile Laurent Courtois, the latest non-Mexican to get the boot from Chivas USA, signed with the Galaxy.
The discrimination suit against Chivas got the HBO Real Sports treatment with Bryant Gumbel
http://www.thegoatparade.com/2013/7/22/4546118/preview-chivas-usa-hbo-real-sports-with-bryant-gumbel-segment-discrimination-mexican
It seems like every report that previews a Chivas game brings up this suit. When will the MLS owners decide it's too much and dump Vergera?.
Raise your hands if you speak Spanish
http://www.thegoatparade.com/2013/7/22/4546118/preview-chivas-usa-hbo-real-sports-with-bryant-gumbel-segment-discrimination-mexican
It seems like every report that previews a Chivas game brings up this suit. When will the MLS owners decide it's too much and dump Vergera?.
Raise your hands if you speak Spanish
DC United working on Buzzards point stadium deal...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mayor-gray-dc-united-reach-tentative-deal-on-soccer-stadium-for-buzzard-point/2013/07/24/b3c6594e-f315-11e2-ae43-b31dc363c3bf_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mayor-gray-dc-united-reach-tentative-deal-on-soccer-stadium-for-buzzard-point/2013/07/24/b3c6594e-f315-11e2-ae43-b31dc363c3bf_story.html
The Hunt family just announced that they sold the Columbus Crew. I'll be waiting to see reporting on how much money the Crew went for.
The new guy is from Denver, but currently based in San Francisco. He says he's committed to Columbus. However, it's a small market and however significant Crew Stadium was when it opened in 1999, it's very dated compared to most of the facilities around the league now. Hard to say what the long-term angle will be here.
Anyway, the march towards 1 team / 1 owner is nearly complete (the Hunt family still owns FC Dallas). It's just AEG, who own the Galaxy and 50% of the Dynamo.
The new guy is from Denver, but currently based in San Francisco. He says he's committed to Columbus. However, it's a small market and however significant Crew Stadium was when it opened in 1999, it's very dated compared to most of the facilities around the league now. Hard to say what the long-term angle will be here.
Anyway, the march towards 1 team / 1 owner is nearly complete (the Hunt family still owns FC Dallas). It's just AEG, who own the Galaxy and 50% of the Dynamo.
I hate this.
I understand that building a league through domestic talent is important, and I want MLS to get better, but the PL at the moment is the only league that I watch and follow every week. I'd rather watch my favorite guys play against the world's best, which is something CONCACAF and MLS can't offer. I mean, good for Seattle, this will help them sell tickets and win trophies, but for everyone else this sucks. I'm probably not the only American fan who feels that way either. At least there's Jozy, I guess.
I understand that building a league through domestic talent is important, and I want MLS to get better, but the PL at the moment is the only league that I watch and follow every week. I'd rather watch my favorite guys play against the world's best, which is something CONCACAF and MLS can't offer. I mean, good for Seattle, this will help them sell tickets and win trophies, but for everyone else this sucks. I'm probably not the only American fan who feels that way either. At least there's Jozy, I guess.
Leominster represent!soxfan121 said:
SoxFanInCali said:
I can't say I understand this move. Tottenham payed £6 million to bring Dempsey in last season and he seemed to be getting good time with them. Dempsey wanted to play CL football not more than a year ago and now he is headed to Seattle?
Love that DP allocation doesn't count for USMNT players anymore. This league and Don Garber is an absolute joke by making up the rules as they go along. Would be nice to have some transparency for once.
Well, I don't think anybody saw this one coming.
My view is mostly positive. It's a good move for the Sounders and it's a good move for the league. Whether he's making $4m or $8m (reports conflict), it's a good move financially for Clint. And there really isn't much downside from an on-the-field perspective, either. He's been playing in the EPL for years now and has improved because of it. He's at his peak now and he's not going to get any better. Unless you think he's going to fall apart in 12 months in MLS, I don't see what the big deal is w/r/t the national team. If anything, he'll be in midseason form in 2014 instead of being tired after a long English season.
What I like about this is that because the Sounders are making this move, it's more about on-the-field results than selling tickets. The Sounders don't need help selling tickets -- he'll play in front of larger crowds in Seattle than he did at White Hart Lane. The sooner teams in the league feel comfortable making big signings for on the field reasons over marketing gimmick reasons, the better. Don't get me wrong, I think Beckham was good for the league, but we need to outgrow that phase.
It's been fun to watch all the insecure US fans on BigSoccer who don't watch MLS because it's a "retirement league" complain that the league is now bringing in a US star in his prime.
My view is mostly positive. It's a good move for the Sounders and it's a good move for the league. Whether he's making $4m or $8m (reports conflict), it's a good move financially for Clint. And there really isn't much downside from an on-the-field perspective, either. He's been playing in the EPL for years now and has improved because of it. He's at his peak now and he's not going to get any better. Unless you think he's going to fall apart in 12 months in MLS, I don't see what the big deal is w/r/t the national team. If anything, he'll be in midseason form in 2014 instead of being tired after a long English season.
What I like about this is that because the Sounders are making this move, it's more about on-the-field results than selling tickets. The Sounders don't need help selling tickets -- he'll play in front of larger crowds in Seattle than he did at White Hart Lane. The sooner teams in the league feel comfortable making big signings for on the field reasons over marketing gimmick reasons, the better. Don't get me wrong, I think Beckham was good for the league, but we need to outgrow that phase.
It's been fun to watch all the insecure US fans on BigSoccer who don't watch MLS because it's a "retirement league" complain that the league is now bringing in a US star in his prime.
This is where I'm at - he'll likely be the best player in MLS for the next twelve months AND he'll get a couple weeks of vacation/down time ahead of being tired at the end of the season.
This is a positive for the USMNT and the fans of Seattle. It's too bad Dempsey never got CL football like he wanted but with Bale leaving Tottenham, there was less of a chance tomorrow than there is today. But he is at his peak and the less rigorous schedule is better than the heightened level of competition at this point in his career.
I don't get it either. What American am I going to root for in the Premiership now ? I'm not a big Jozy fan but maybe he can convince me otherwise. The Revolution didn't get him because they must prefer to suck instead.
biollante said:
Well, he got to choose where he played in the MLS. Would you rather play for the Revolution or the Sounders?
The Sounders will have live video of Dempsey getting introduced tonight:
http://events.soundersfc.com/2013/live/08-03-prematch/index.html
http://events.soundersfc.com/2013/live/08-03-prematch/index.html
I said I'd believe it when I saw it. Well...
I'm excited for this move. Great for MLS, and I don't think his form will suffer for the national team. Just wish he returned to the Revs instead!
I'm excited for this move. Great for MLS, and I don't think his form will suffer for the national team. Just wish he returned to the Revs instead!
Pretty surprised that a lot of you think this is a good move. Not just for Dempsey going over to a more inferior league, but they way MLS went about making sure that he went to Seattle. I mean, MLS paying for the $9 million transfer fee to Spurs to enable the transfer. Portland tried to get Mix Diskerud before the season and the league blocked it. Pretty clear to me that the league only has an interest in growing American soccer and not running a top tier league. What a joke.
I remember the league obstructing Dempseys' original move to Charlton in 2006. I believe they cost him a year and $1.5 million dollars. Dempsey then announced he was leaving in 2007 no matter what the league said.
I hope he becomes the face of US soccer and makes gobs of money in endorsements over and above the reported $32 million he is getting in salary.
I hope he becomes the face of US soccer and makes gobs of money in endorsements over and above the reported $32 million he is getting in salary.
SoxFanInPdx said:
Do you have a link for the Diskerud piece? I hadn't heard MLS blocked the move before.
Anyway, Dempsey has the leverage here and he only wanted to go to a select group of clubs. He wanted Seattle, Seattle wanted him, Seattle is coughing up $24m over 3.5 years. The league probably preferred the Sounders to Toronto or LA, but it sounds like the other two have different DP plans anyway. I don't think the league would fund a $9m transfer fee unless it had the backing of most of the owners, and again with a $24m contract it's not like Seattle is getting a ton of stuff for free. It's hard for me to get too worked up over it.
Section30 said:
The league "obstructed" Dempsey's move to Charlton in the same way any club "obstructs" a lowball transfer offer. They sold him a year later to Fulham for more than twice what Charlton was offering.
Interesting. I could have sworn that I read somewhere -- I want to say on the Washington Post's website, but I can't find it now -- that Dempsey's first choice was Houston, but the club couldn't make the money work. What's the appeal of Toronto?
Awesome Fossum said:
I've read that too, although I forgot about while reading Wahl's article. Dempsey is from East Texas, so that makes sense. Perhaps Seattle, LA, and Toronto were the three teams he was willing to play for with the desire, financial resources, and potential roster configuration to take him on.
Agreed that Toronto is a strange choice. They've been terrible pretty much every year of their existence and they aren't close to Houston.
And Clint was unhappy about losing a year of service in the UK and being stuck in the US making around $80,000. I had a friend who was a season ticket holder for the Patriots and they used to throw in tickets for Revs games. I would sit in the chairs behind the advertising fence opposite the main stands. I struck up a few conversations with him before he would start his warmups. He told me that the only thing keeping him above water financially was his shoe contract. It's certainly a big change for him to come back and have his choice of team and to make 100 times what he did 6 years ago.Titans Bastard said:
I don't blame him for being unhappy, but what childless 24-year old can't make ends meet on $80,000?