MLS 2014: The U$MNT Comes Home

[Titans Bastard]

Some key dates:
 
12/12 -- Re-Entry Draft Stage 1
12/18 -- Re-Entry Draft Stage 2
1/16 -- SuperDraft
3/8 -- Opening Day
3/11-3/13 -- CONCACAF Champions League QF 1st Leg (SJ vs. Toluca, KC vs. Cruz Azul, LA vs. Tijuana)
 
Coaching Carousel:
 
The big (but fairly expected) news tonight is that NYC FC has hired Jason Kreis to be their manager, ending a seven-year tenure at RSL.  Kreis is a proven success in MLS and he builds teams that play quality soccer, so he's a great hire.  NYC FC doesn't start play until 2015, so he'll be on the sidelines next season.
 
Other departures from late season or the early offseason include Schellas Hyndman (Dallas, "resigned"), Chivas USA (Jose Luis Real, left for Chivas Guadalajara), Vancouver (Martin Rennie, fired), Chicago Fire (Frank Klopas, fired), Columbus Crew (Robert Warzycha, fired), San Jose (Frank Yallop, fired).  This is more turnover than usual, but from a neutral's perspective it's a pleasing purge of deadwood.
 
Chicago has hired Frank Yallop, Columbus hired Gregg Berhalter, and San Jose removed Mark Watson's interim tag.  RSL, Dallas, Chivas USA, and Vancouver are still in the hunt.  Eric Wynalda is one of the finalists for the RSL job; he'd immediately become the league's most entertaining manager, at least in the post-Chelis era.  Meanwhile, Vancouver is rumored to be chasing Bob Bradley, who would likely be significantly more effective and significantly less entertaining than Wynalda.
 
Signings, Trades & Departures:
 
We're mostly at the stage of the season when teams are clearing house.  Salary cap considerations mean that teams decline options on quite a few decent, but overpaid-by-league-standards players, who either renegotiate cheaper deals or are selected in the Re-Entry draft process by another team willing to pony up.
 
Some long-time players have retired, including the last active player from the league's inaugural season in 1996, Ramiro Corrales.  Long-time guys like Pablo Mastroeni, Brian Ching, Kevin Hartman, Matt Reis, and Chris Albright are also done. KC's Jimmy Nielsen announced his retirement the other day.  Eddie Gaven has retired before his time as well.
 
On the acquisition side, some notables:
 
* Columbus signed 23-year-old Costa Rican left back Waylon Francis from Herediano.  They also signed ex-Crew academy defender Matt Wiet, out of UCLA.
 
* Dallas traded Brazilian DF/MF Jackson to Toronto for money and a draft pick and finally signed last year's draft pick Ryan Hollingshead.  Hollingshead fell in the draft because teams knew that he wanted to spend the year helping his brother build a church....I guess he's ready to play now.
 
* DC picked up veteran midfielder Davy Arnaud from Montreal.
 
* Seattle acquired Stefan Frei from Toronto.  Once well-regarded, Frei was hurt in 2012 and into early 2013, which allowed Joe Bendik to steal his job.  The Sounders apparently like him enough to replace Michael Gspurning, who was released a few days ago.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* NYC FC stadium proposal goes public
 
* Stadium news from Miami
 

 
Miami-Dade County commissioners will have their first say next week on a potential new soccer stadium in downtown Miami.
 
The board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on legislation that would ask Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s administration to identify possible stadium sites — and negotiate construction contracts with any interested private developers.

 
* The Revs lose a long-time GK (Matt Reis has retired and joined LA as a GK coach) and acquired a former keeper, Brad Knighton from Vancouver.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Another busy day today --
 
* Columbus traded Big Chad Marshall to Seattle for a little money and a draft pick.  This was a salary dump; Marshall was due for a big raise.  Marshall is a beast in the air, but he's slow and has a scary history of concussions.  He was Defender of the Year in 2008 and 2009, but has slowly faded since and it's been a long time since he's been on the fringes of the national team.
 
* The first phase of the Re-Entry Draft has typically been a non-event because teams are required to pick up the (usually expensive) option on the players available.  The action is in the second phase, when teams can negotiate salaries down.  Nonetheless, this was the busiest year ever, with five players being selected:
 
1. Sean Franklin (from LA to DC)
2. Steve Zakuani (from Seattle to Portland)
3. Corben Bone (from Chicago to Philadelphia)
4. Marc Burch (from Seattle to Colorado)
5. Bobby Boswell (from Houston to DC)
 
Portland was able to select Zakuani after they acquired the second pick and Jorge Villafaña in exchange for Andrew Jean-Baptiste.  Zakuani was electric before he broke his leg.  He's still a reclamation project, and it's eye-raising that Porter was willing to part with a serious CB prospect in AJB in order to get him.

 

[Billy R Ford]

Another busy day today --
 
* Columbus traded Big Chad Marshall to Seattle for a little money and a draft pick.  This was a salary dump; Marshall was due for a big raise.  Marshall is a beast in the air, but he's slow and has a scary history of concussions.  He was Defender of the Year in 2008 and 2009, but has slowly faded since and it's been a long time since he's been on the fringes of the national team.
 
* The first phase of the Re-Entry Draft has typically been a non-event because teams are required to pick up the (usually expensive) option on the players available.  The action is in the second phase, when teams can negotiate salaries down.  Nonetheless, this was the busiest year ever, with five players being selected:
 
1. Sean Franklin (from LA to DC)
2. Steve Zakuani (from Seattle to Portland)
3. Corben Bone (from Chicago to Philadelphia)
4. Marc Burch (from Seattle to Colorado)
5. Bobby Boswell (from Houston to DC)
 
Portland was able to select Zakuani after they acquired the second pick and Jorge Villafaña in exchange for Andrew Jean-Baptiste.  Zakuani was electric before he broke his leg.  He's still a reclamation project, and it's eye-raising that Porter was willing to part with a serious CB prospect in AJB in order to get him.

 
Zakuani played for Porter at Akron, no? May explain why Porter was willing to take the risk.

 

[steeplechase3k]

As a Timbers fan I will really miss AJB, but I'm not so sure his skill set fits into Porter's system.  He doesn't quite have the ball control skills needed.  But I'll still always love him for the header goal he scored against the LAG in the 95th minute.  I've never heard any stadium that loud, people said they could hear it almost a mile away.
 
Picking up Zakuani could be big if he is healthy.  He played with Nagbe and for Porter at Akron.
 
Also Rodney Wallace underwent knee surgery to repair a ACL tear and broken bone

 

[Titans Bastard]

 
Zakuani played for Porter at Akron, no? May explain why Porter was willing to take the risk.

 
Indeed.  Zakuani won't come cheap, though.  In a salary cap world, that's a tough call.
 
 

More moves today:
 
* Toronto announced the signing of a new Designated Player, Internacional's Gilberto.  He's a 24 year old forward coming off a season in which he scored 14 goals in 24 games while on loan at Portuguesa, also in Brazil's Série A.
 
* Seattle acquired FW Kenny Cooper from Dallas in exchange for CM Adam Moffat.  It's the fourth team in four years for both players.  It's also another sign that Seattle is likely to trade Eddie Johnson.
 
* KC acquired MF Sal Zizzo from Portland for allocation money.
 
* New York sent their first round draft pick and 2016's 3rd round draft pick to Toronto in exchange for Bobby Convey their 2014 2nd round draft pick (whew!).  Bobbinho, who has gotten incredible mileage out of his 2005/06 season at Reading, probably won't be very impressive.
 
* The Crew picked up Daniel Paladini, a journeyman midfielder, from Chicago.
 
* Conor Doyle, who had been on loan from Derby County, signed with DC United permanently.

 

[steeplechase3k]

CONCACAF approved teh changed to the US Qualifications today
http://www.concacaf.com/article/concacaf-approves-u-s-soccersmls-request-to-amend-their-qualification-process-to-concacaf-champions-league
 
Qualifiers are now:
--MLS Cup winner
--Supporters' Shield winner (team with best regular-season record)
--Winner of the conference opposite the MLS Supporters’ Shield winner qualifying
--Lamar Hunt US Open Cup winner
 
Which means that the Timbers are in and RLS is not.  MLS approved this before the season, but CONCACF only just met to approve it.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* MLS published a roster for the new Caribbean Combine in Antigua.  I'm skeptical that much will come of it, but there's nothing to lose.  There are some great names in there, at least. Jean Ismael Voltaire is my favorite, but Kimaree B.A. Rogers is pretty awesome too.
 
* The Guardian reports that Dempsey is going on a two-month loan to Fulham.  Fulham is may be the only thing in soccer colder than Clint Dempsey right now, so this could be a sad coda to his career at Craven Cottage.
 
* Vancouver will announce current assistant and former Welsh international Carl Robinson as manager today.  They took a shot at Bob Bradley and it appears Robinson was Plan B.

 

[steeplechase3k]

As has been rumored for a week or two, Eddie Johnson trades to DC for Al O'Cation.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Columbus signs a new keeper -- Steve Clark.  Clark has spent most of his career with Hønefoss BK of Norway, but is coming back home and will probably start for the Crew.
 
* Andy Gruenebaum, Columbus' erstwhile starting keeper, is on his way to KC where he'll be Jimmy Nielsen's replacement.
 
* Toronto has acquired LB/CB Justin Morrow from SJ in exchange for cash.  Morrow had a great 2012, which saw him enter the fringes of the USMNT, but really took a step back last season.  SJ's other fullback Steven Beitashour is also said to be likely to leave for Europe.  Beitashour, another former USMNT fringe guy, has recently become cap-tied to Iran.
 
* The well-traveled Lovel Palmer, last seen missing PKs in MLS Cup, is on his way to Chicago.
 
* Portland sends David Horst to Houston.  Horst is very tall and always injured; he'll likely continue that trend with the Dynamo.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Coaching Carousel:
 
* After taking their sweet time, Montreal has fired Marco Schällibaum and hired Frank Klopas as manager and director of player personnel.  After Klopas' uninspiring stint with Chicago, it is a little surprising to see another club not just hire him, but give him full control.  Consider that it's Joey Saputo calling the shots, perhaps it's not surprising.  Anyway, it's an amusing turn of events when you consider they fired Jesse Marsch after a very respectable expansion season because they felt he wasn't EuroSexy enough.  And now Klopas?
 
* RSL has replaced Jason Kreis from within, by promoting assistant coach Jeff Cassar.
 
* This leaves Dallas and Chivas USA as the final two vacancies.  Dallas claims they'll hire someone within a week.  Chivas USA....was recently turned down by Curt Onalfo.  That's pretty much the pits.  Who the hell wants that job?
 
Player Moves
 
* Today was Round 2 of the Re-Entry Draft.  Same group of out-of-contract players as the first round, but this time they come with negotiable salaries.
 
D.C. picked Fabian Espindola (NY) and Nana Attakora (SJ)
Toronto picked Dwayne De Rosario (DC)
Vancouver picked Mehdi Ballouchy (SJ)
SJ picked Shaun Francis (Chicago) and Brandon Barklage (NY)
Seattle picked Chad Barrett (NE) and Corey Hertzog (Van)
 
Much quieter than last year.

 

[Mr. Wednesday]

* RSL has replaced Jason Kreis from within, by promoting assistant coach Jeff Cassar.

I must have missed something, whither Kreis?

 

[Titans Bastard]

I must have missed something, whither Kreis?

 
Kreis was out of contract this offseason and NYC FC snapped him up, so he's basically sitting out the 2014 season.

 

[Mr. Wednesday]

Oh, that makes sense. Thanks!

 

[Titans Bastard]

News from the Mountain West...

* There's some shenanigans going on between Colorado and Dallas regarding current Rapids manager Óscar Pareja. Dallas, looking for a replacement for Schellas Hyndman, took a pass at [former Dallas player & former Dallas academy director] Pareja earlier this offseason. Colorado didn't allow Dallas to talk to Pareja and Dallas seemed to move on to other candidates. However, the Dallas managerial search has interminably dragged on and on and now they're going after Pareja again. Dallas may be trying to unsettle Pareja/Colorado through the press, as the news from Texas is that Pareja is unhappy that the Rapids haven't given him a raise and contract extension since Dallas' approach. News from the Rapids camp suggests that Pareja has been given a significant raise and a contract extension.

Whatever the outcome, the Caribbean and college combines, SuperDraft, and preseason camp openings are happening soon. Dallas needs to hire someone ASAP. And if it's Pareja, the Rapids will really have to scramble late in the game.


* RSL has signed a homegrown player, Jordan Allen. He's a winger who just finished his freshman season at Virginia and he's a very good prospect who I expect to be a part of the upcoming U-20 national team. Signings like these are why the college draft is decreasing in importance. Allen would have been a top pick if available.

 

[steeplechase3k]

Still not officially official, but The Timbers appear to have signed Gaston Fernandez.
 
http://fansided.com/2014/01/02/portland-timbers-sign-gaston-fernandez-one-year-contract/
 
Merritt Paulson all but confirmed on twitter a week or so ago, but said that the actual announcement would be delayed until after the new year.  Should be fun to watch him paired up with Diego Valeri.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Markus Holgersson's contract with New York has been terminated by mutual consent.  The departure of the big Swede along with Heath Pearce earlier this offseason means that NY will need to make some additions at CB.
 
* Some drama surrounding 2013 Golden Boot winner Camilo.  Querétaro said that they were signing him on a free during the winter transfer window, but Vancouver said he was still under contract.  The confusion lies in Camilo's contract language -- Vancouver says they picked up a club option, while Camilo & his agent say that it's a mutual option and that he's a free agent.  Also, Querétaro is the same club that officially announced the acquisition of DaMarcus Beasley last month and then had to meekly backtrack.
 
* Federico Bessone has left Kansas City having failed to make any impact whatsoever.
 
* MLS has signed four underclassmen to Generation Adidas contracts:
 
GK Andre Blake (Jr. UConn / Jamaica)
DF Eric Miller (Jr. Creighton)
MF Marlon Hairston (So. Louisville)
MF Schillo Tshuma (So. Maryland / Zimbabwe)
 
The draft this year is definitely shaping up to be a weak one.  At this point, a significant percentage of top prospects are being swept into MLS academies and away from the draft process.

 

[Titans Bastard]

News from the Mountain West...

* There's some shenanigans going on between Colorado and Dallas regarding current Rapids manager Óscar Pareja. Dallas, looking for a replacement for Schellas Hyndman, took a pass at [former Dallas player & former Dallas academy director] Pareja earlier this offseason. Colorado didn't allow Dallas to talk to Pareja and Dallas seemed to move on to other candidates. However, the Dallas managerial search has interminably dragged on and on and now they're going after Pareja again. Dallas may be trying to unsettle Pareja/Colorado through the press, as the news from Texas is that Pareja is unhappy that the Rapids haven't given him a raise and contract extension since Dallas' approach. News from the Rapids camp suggests that Pareja has been given a significant raise and a contract extension.

 
Update: Pareja quit today.
 

 
 
Pareja's departure from Colorado ends a messy situation that came about after FC Dallas made a play for the former Dallas player and assistant coach. FC Dallas balked on paying a sizable buyout fee to hire Pareja, but when Colorado failed to counter with a new contract for Pareja, the Colombian-born boss soured on Colorado.

Pareja had one year remaining on his existing contract, which means he won't be able to coach anywhere else in 2014 unless the Rapids reach an agreement to release him from his commitment. FC Dallas remains a likely destination for the former Dallas player, but he won't be able to coach FC Dallas unless a deal is reached with the Rapids.

 
Guess the Rapids' leak about Pareja's extension wasn't very factual.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Camilo's in a Querétaro shirt, but Vancouver continues to insist that he's still under contract.  This one could get litigious.
 
* San Jose signed Ajaccio's captain, Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi, a 28 year old Corsican midfielder who had been a one-club man to this point.
 
* D.C. United signed another homegrown player, defender Jalen Robinson, following his sophomore season at Wake Forest.
 
* Cal's junior CB Christian Dean has signed a Generation Adidas contract and will go into the draft.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Los Angeles has taken a young forward named Samuel on loan from Fluminense.  Acquisitions straight from Brazil are always a bit of a mystery.  It looks like Samuel has been a rotational starter for Flu; he scored 9 goals across all comps in 2013.  Fluminense sucked this year, though.
 
* Colorado has acquired Marvin Chavez from San Jose in exchange for Atiba Harris.  I can only assume that Colorado is coughing up a little cash as well.  Chavez isn't consistent enough to be a truly elite player in MLS, but he's a speedy weapon on the flanks.  Harris is another piece in SJ's collection of thuggish forwards.
 
* Rumors that Wisconsin CB A.J. Cochran has signed a GA contract and one or two others have been offered as well.  The general weakness of this draft could really use a few more underclassmen in the pool.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* New England signed Charlie Davies to a permanent deal.  He had spent time on loan with the Revs last season (to very little effect) and recently terminated his contract with Randers in Denmark.
 
* Another American returned from from Scandinavia, Brian Span.  Two years after leaving UVA early for Djurgarden, it didn't work out.  He signed with the league, ended up in a weighted lottery, and wound up in Dallas.
 
* Toronto signs.......a 17 year old forward from their academy, Jordan Hamilton.  And Dwayne De Rosario.
 
* Seattle signed two former academy players, midfielder Aaron Kovar (So./Stanford) and forward Sean Okoli (Jr./Wake Forest) via the homegrown rule.
 
* Columbus also signed a pair of homegrown players, midfielder Matt Walker (Xavier) and defender Ross Friedman (Harvard), two college seniors who are probably the equivalents of free lower-round draft picks.
 
* MLS has confirmed the Generation Adidas class for the upcoming draft: CB A.J. Cochran (Jr. / Wisconsin), CB Christian Dean (Jr. / California), and CB Damion Lowe (Jr. / Hartford) join the original quartet of signings: GK Andre Blake (Jr. / UConn), RB Eric Miller (Jr. / Creighton), CM Marlon Hairston (So. / Louisville), AM Schillo Tshuma (So. / Maryland).

 

[Titans Bastard]

[SIZE=10.5pt]* So….I heard Toronto signed Michael Bradley and Jermaine Defoe.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=10.5pt]* MLS TV rights expire at the end of 2014 and the word is that the new rights will be awarded soon.  The rumor is that ESPN is still in, NBC is out, and FOX is back in.  Also rumors that the deal will be worth significantly more $$$.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=10.5pt]* Chivas USA has finally hired a new manager.  It's Wilmer Cabrera, who comes from the Colorado Rapids, where he was an assistant.  Prior to that, he was the US U-17 manager.  This will be a tough gig for Cabrera, but at least no one will blame him when he gets fired in July.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=10.5pt]* This leaves Dallas as the last team in the league to fill a managerial vacancy.  Apparently they are getting close to a buyout deal with Colorado for Oscar Pareja.  If I were a Rapids fan, I’d sure hope there’s a quick contingency plan.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=10.5pt]* Chicago signed Notre Dame senior forward Harrison Shipp to a homegrown contract.  Shipp is one of the three finalists for the Hermann Award and would have been a first round pick in the draft.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=10.5pt]* Billy Schuler, who left UNC early to sign in Sweden, has signed with MLS and will go into a weighted lottery.  Like his manager Gregg Berhalter, his time at Hammarby didn’t pan out.[/SIZE]

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Michael Parkhurst is returning to MLS.  Columbus traded the 4th overall pick in this week’s draft and allocation money to New England for his rights.  He may shift back to CB based on the Crew’s lack of quality CBs, but things can always change over the offseason.  And it’s a nice deal for New England as well.  The Revs already have a good defense and don’t need a lot of help.  NE now has three 1st round picks and #4 overall is reasonably valuable in particular.  The allocation money should help free up the salary cap for foreign signings as well.
 
* Los Angeles signed Canadian target man Rob Friend, who will come to MLS for the first time after a long career in Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany.  Should be a role player for the Galaxy.
 
* Orlando City made their first MLS signing, kind of.  They re-signed Trinidadian midfielder Kevin Molino to a multiyear contract, which means he’ll be on board for their debut season in 2015.
 
* Chicago signed former RSL keeper Kyle Reynish, who spent last season with the reborn New York Cosmos and won NASL GK of the Year.
 
* Chicago also signed a former academy defender, Chris Ritter, who just finished his redshirt senior season at Northwestern.
 
* Portland signed an ex-MLS / current minor league GK as well – Andrew Weber, last with Phoenix FC

 

[steeplechase3k]

Still not officially official, but The Timbers appear to have signed Gaston Fernandez.
 
http://fansided.com/2014/01/02/portland-timbers-sign-gaston-fernandez-one-year-contract/
 
Merritt Paulson all but confirmed on twitter a week or so ago, but said that the actual announcement would be delayed until after the new year.  Should be fun to watch him paired up with Diego Valeri.

 
 
Anyone speak Spanish?
http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/videohub/video/clipDeportes?id=1999139&cc=3888
 
(and I love that they are using the older Timbers Logo)

 

[Titans Bastard]

Still no official word on the new TV deal, but we must be close to an announcement based on all the details coming out.
 
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/media/2014/01/8538709/mls-gets-its-life-changing-television-moment
 
 

The league is on the cusp of an eight-year deal with ESPN and Fox to televise both M.L.S. and U.S. World Cup qualifiers, for an annual fee of $70 million per year. That's a roughly four-fold increase going into the pockets of each M.L.S. franchise. And it doesn't include rights in other languages: Univision paid $9 million, or roughly a third of the total pie, in the last round. So there's more money coming.
 
Even with expansion increasing the number of teams, that's about $3 million more per team per season from English-language rights alone. To put that in perspective, the M.L.S. salary cap for each team last year was $2.9 million.
 

 
 
$70m for the English language rights would be fantastic given the stagnant TV ratings.  The current ESPN/NBC deals amount to $18m.  It's a much longer deal (eight years), but if somehow the league takes off to the point where $70m per year is an underpayment, well, that would be a good problem to have.
 
The CBA is up after 2014.  With a TV deal like this, the players have to be licking their chops.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* D.C. United’s Canadian CB Dejan Jakovic has completed his transfer to Shimizu S-Pulse.  I’ll be curious to see how he does – he’s very mediocre in the context of MLS.
 
* D.C. has found a replacement for Jakovic rather quickly – they acquired Jeff Parke from Philadelphia in return for Ethan White and the #1 spot in the allocation order.  Philly is thought to be clearing cap space for Maurice Edu.
 
* Columbus has acquired Hector Jimenez and a 2014 1st round draft pick from the Galaxy in exchange for a 2014 2nd round pick and cash.
 
* San Jose won a weighted lottery for Billy Schuler, a former UNC forward who spurned the MLS draft for Sweden a few years ago.  His stint at Hammarby went poorly and now he’s back, probably for a lot less money than what he was offered out of college.
 
* Chivas USA signed Bofo Bautista.  This has the makings of another legendary Chivas USA signing.  Once a regular in the real Chivas’ lineup, Bautista has been ineffective since scoring 13 goals for Chiapas in 08/09.  He’s 34 now and coming off a goalless Apertura in Mexico’s second division with Atlético San Luis.  What could go wrong?
 
 

 

[steeplechase3k]

The Timbers delayed their anticipated announcement to Wednesday, all reports say it is 4 big things.
--Signing forward Gaston "La Gata" Fernandez from Argentina (Estudiantes)
--Signing defender Norberto Paparatto from Argentina (Tigre)
--Loaning forward Jose Valencia to Argentina (Olimpo)
--Signing Defender Bryan Gallego to a HGP contract (who would forgo his Senior year at Akron)
 
Reportedly Fernandez and Paparatto are not DP contracts.

 

[Titans Bastard]

I hadn't seen this one before:
 

 

[steeplechase3k]

The Timbers delayed their anticipated announcement to Wednesday, all reports say it is 4 big things.
--Signing forward Gaston "La Gata" Fernandez from Argentina (Estudiantes)
--Signing defender Norberto Paparatto from Argentina (Tigre)
--Loaning forward Jose Valencia to Argentina (Olimpo)
--Signing Defender Bryan Gallego to a HGP contract (who would forgo his Senior year at Akron)
 
Reportedly Fernandez and Paparatto are not DP contracts.

 
Confirmed:
http://www.timbers.com/news/2014/01/portland-timbers-sign-striker-gaston-fernandez
http://www.timbers.com/news/2014/01/portland-timbers-sign-argentine-defender-norberto-paparatto
http://www.timbers.com/news/2014/01/portland-timbers-loan-forward-jose-valencia-argentinas-club-olimpo
http://www.timbers.com/news/2014/01/portland-timbers-sign-bryan-gallego-homegrown-player

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Chicago and Seattle swapped a bunch of CBs today and 1st round draft picks.  Seattle got Jalil Anibaba and moved up to #8 and sent Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Patrick Ianni and the #13 pick to the Fire.  Seems like a decent deal for the Sounders to me -- Anibaba is probably about the same quality as Hurtado, maybe a little better, they move up in the draft, and clear some cap space.
 
* Philadelphia signed a DP midfielder, Cristian Maidana, who has played in a variety of places, most notably Spartak Moscow.
 
The draft is tomorrow.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Consensus is that the Revs had one of the best drafts around.  They used the 4th pick to take Georgetown midfielder Steve Neumann, turning down several trade offers from other teams who wanted to take him.  Then they traded the 12th and 19th picks to take two-time NCAA player of the year Patrick Mullins at #11.  There are some questions at how Mullins' production will translate to the pros, but he's a risk well worth taking at that stage in the draft.
 
Things didn't go as well for Vancouver.  They had three different starting GKs in 2013 and were hoping to trade up to take UConn's Andre Blake, who has been billed as the best GK prospect in the draft since Brad Guzan.  However, Philly outbid them and the Whitecaps ended up with a young Jamaican midfielder, Andre Lewis, with the #7 overall pick.  A day after the draft....and reports arise that the NASL's New York Cosmos has snapped up Lewis, who had trained with them over the offseason.  This all on top of confirmation that last season's Golden Boot winner Camilo has officially departed for Querétaro.  Yikes.  At least Vancouver got reportedly more than $2m for Camilo.
 
In other news...
 
* Garber has said he expects to make an announcement about Miami in February.  Possibly more expansion plans?
 
* San Jose signed their first ever HG, forward Tommy Thompson out of Indiana.  He's coming off a Big Ten Freshman of the Year season and he's impressed quite a few people.  Glad to see him in the pros, in terms of young Americans MLS is all of a sudden much heavier on defense than attack.
 
* LA also signed a pair of HGs.  One is Raul Mendiola who was the back-to-back USSDA Player of the Year at the U-16 level and then with the U-18s.  LA has been trying to sign him for a year, but there was some mysterious dispute with Pachuca over a training/development fee.  I'm glad that's been resolved.  They also signed a forward, Bradford Jamieson, who was a recent arrival from Chivas USA's academy.  With a name like Bradford Jamieson, he was clearly part of the club's purge of all non-Mexicans.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Houston has taken Rapids winger Tony Cascio on loan for the 2014 season. This appears to be the first instance of an intra-league loan in MLS history. The loan fee is an international roster slot

* The hubbub around the #7 overall pick Andre Lewis has died down. He is under contract with New York Cosmos, as reported, but is going on loan to Vancouver with an option to buy.

* Chivas USA has signed Tony Lochhead, a true blast from the past for this New Englander. Lochhead is a Kiwi left back who spent the last six years in the A-League playing for Wellington Phoenix. He was cut by the Revolution in early 2007.

* Orlando has reacquired RSL defensive midfielder Yordany Alvarez. Alvarez was the USL Pro MVP for Orlando in 2011. His contract will take him back to MLS when Orlando moves up in 2015.

* In another transaction involving RSL and players who have played for minor league teams in Florida, Salt Lake has signed MF Luke Mulholland, most recently of the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Mulholland is a 25 year old Englishman who played NCAA DII soccer and has since worked his way from D3 to D2 to MLS.

* Colorado has finally signed Cameroonian midfielder Charles Eloundou. They won his rights in a weighted lottery about a year ago, but there was some convoluted issue with his ITC that even I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to. Anyway, he's 19 and has already played for Cameroon.

* The Toronto/Wilmington affiliation is official.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* New York signed a Spanish CB named Armando Lozano, last at Córdoba in the Segunda Division. He's also spent time with Barcelona B, Levante, and Málaga.

* Taylor Twellman reports that Philly's GM has flown to Stoke to finalize the Maurice Edu transfer. Twellman has been crushing it this offseason, so the Edu saga may be close to an end.

* Grant Wahl reports that SKC turned down a $1m offer from Juventus for....Erik Palmer-Brown, a 16 year old center back who came through their academy. Palmer-Brown signed a pro deal last August and hasn't played yet. He's the youngest player in MLS, having been born in 1997(!) He's a regular with the US U-18s.

* Chivas USA signed Andrew Ribeiro, a midfielder who was drafted and cut by NY last year and subsequently played for Harrisburg in USL Pro.

* Ex-Philly fullback Don Anding is reportedly on his way to KC.

* There are some rumors that reigning league Defender of the Year José Gonçalves may be entertaining a return to Europe. Grumble, grumble...    Would be terrible news for the Revs if true.
 
* Vancouver has affiliated with the USL Pro Charleston Battery.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Philadelphia has announced the acquisition of Maurice Edu on loan for 2014 with the option to buy.
 
* Steven Beitashour is heading to Vancouver. That's a nice pickup for the Caps, who need help at RB. Beitashour was rumored to be heading overseas, but clearly that didn't work out.

* They've also signed Mehdi Ballouchy. How this guy has stuck around for so long, I'll never know.

* LA has released Carlo Cudicini and Michael Stephens. Cudicini was a dumb signing who was awful last season, until being benched after the Galaxy signed Jaime Penedo. Stephens will pop up on an MLS bench somewhere, but on a lower salary.

* Two college players signed with MLS after the draft and went into weighted lotteries. Christiano Francois (Maryland) went to D.C. and Giuseppe Gentile (UNC-Charlotte) wound up in Chicago.

* Toronto signed defender Bradley Orr on loan from Blackburn. A 30+ year old Englishman who is languishing on the bench of a Championship club? I guess Toronto has changed that much this offseason.

* And in another shuffle, Toronto sent their previous mediocre English RB Richard Eckersley to New York.

* Chivas USA another defender from USL Pro. This time it's Fejiro Okiomah from Charlotte.

 

[tmracht]

To add to that Marko Perovic has returned to the Revs.  He was the Revs Team MVP for the 2010 season, but has lost his scoring touch since moving to Belgrade and then Iran.  Wont hurt to have another creative midfielder, but not sure what he brings to the table at this point.  But was shocked when they declined his option in 2011.

 

[Titans Bastard]

To add to that Marko Perovic has returned to the Revs.  He was the Revs Team MVP for the 2010 season, but has lost his scoring touch since moving to Belgrade and then Iran.  Wont hurt to have another creative midfielder, but not sure what he brings to the table at this point.  But was shocked when they declined his option in 2011.

 
I think he's only on trial for the time being, so we'll see how that goes.  I'm not expecting much from him at this stage; he hasn't had much success since leaving New England and the league and the team have improved.
 
A top-quality DM and a replacement for Agudelo are really what we need to contend this year.  Our current DM options are Caldwell, Dorman, and DelPiccolo, which isn't good enough.  I think Caldwell is starter-quality, but he's not a natural DM and the other two should be depth only.
 
It's getting pretty difficult to find worthwhile players on trial.  Who is out of contract and willing to trial in Jan/Feb?  It's not a particularly amazing group of players.

 

[tmracht]

Agreed there, resigning Nguyen is something.  

I still am not sure how the heck we trot out this lineup with Caldwell as our 6. 

 

[Titans Bastard]

* LA has announced that they've created LA Galaxy II, who will be playing in the third-division USL Pro league.  Galaxy II will be a mix of LA Galaxy loanees and players on USL Pro contracts.  IMO, this is a big move.  LA will now be able to give playing time to a large number of prospects and academy products.  They'll also be able to use amateur academy players without jeopardizing their amateur status, thanks to a recent rule change.  If executed properly, this will be the most complete vertical integration of an organization from the youth teams to the first team that we've ever seen in the US.
 
LA is the right team to attempt this, as they are sitting on a goldmine of talent in SoCal.  If successful, teams in other soccer meccas like FC Dallas and NYRB should follow suit.
 
* Portland and Mickaël Silvestre have mutually terminated their contract.  He didn't make much of an impact, having torn his ACL in May.
 
* Chivas USA continues to unimpressively vacuum up minor league players.  This time, they've signed Donny Toia from Phoenix FC.

 

[Pxer]

 
I think he's only on trial for the time being, so we'll see how that goes.  I'm not expecting much from him at this stage; he hasn't had much success since leaving New England and the league and the team have improved.
 
A top-quality DM and a replacement for Agudelo are really what we need to contend this year.  Our current DM options are Caldwell, Dorman, and DelPiccolo, which isn't good enough.  I think Caldwell is starter-quality, but he's not a natural DM and the other two should be depth only.
 
It's getting pretty difficult to find worthwhile players on trial.  Who is out of contract and willing to trial in Jan/Feb?  It's not a particularly amazing group of players.

Too bad the Revs weren't in on Jermaine Jones. Who knows if he would've had any interest in MLS, but he's the type of player that could make a huge impact on the team and take it to new levels.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Sporting CP announced they've exercised their option to buy on-loan striker Fredy Montero from the Seattle Sounders.  It's been reported by various outlets in the past that the option to buy was around €10m.  If it's anywhere near that total, that's a damn good piece of business by Seattle.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

Sporting CP announced they've exercised their option to buy on-loan striker Fredy Montero from the Seattle Sounders.  It's been reported by various outlets in the past that the option to buy was around €10m.  If it's anywhere near that total, that's a damn good piece of business by Seattle.

 
Good job not calling them Sporting Lisbon.
 
Abola reports that the fee is 2 million. Since their source is Sporting's filing to the securities exchange, that number should be correct. I think Elias is the club's record signing at just under 9 million. 
 
Montero has signed a 5 year contract with a 60 million release clause. 

 

[steeplechase3k]

So the Earthquakes revealed a new badge...

http://www.sjearthquakes.com/since1974/logonarrative

 

[Titans Bastard]

 
Good job not calling them Sporting Lisbon.
 
Abola reports that the fee is 2 million. Since their source is Sporting's filing to the securities exchange, that number should be correct. I think Elias is the club's record signing at just under 9 million. 
 
Montero has signed a 5 year contract with a 60 million release clause. 

 
Damn soccer media.  Never getting it right!  (Edit:  "It" being both transfer information and the names of Portuguese clubs.)
 
Would be nice for the Sounders if they got a sell-on percentage, but there's no reason to believe that's the case.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

 
Damn soccer media.  Never getting it right!  (Edit:  "It" being both transfer information and the names of Portuguese clubs.)
 
Would be nice for the Sounders if they got a sell-on percentage, but there's no reason to believe that's the case.

 
Found the official notice.  It's 2.75 USD now, with an additional 1.75 for a vague performance clause. 
 
4.5 would be fair for a guy who is 26 and may have had a career couple of months. The goal rate he's had this season stands out as an outlier. Who collects transfer fees in MLS? Is it split between clubs? 

 

[Titans Bastard]

 
Found the official notice.  It's 2.75 USD now, with an additional 1.75 for a vague performance clause. 
 
4.5 would be fair for a guy who is 26 and may have had a career couple of months. The goal rate he's had this season stands out as an outlier. Who collects transfer fees in MLS? Is it split between clubs? 

 
Seattle gets two-thirds, the league gets the rest.

 

[Infield Infidel]

MLS and Beckham announced the expansion team in Miami. http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1705374/?cc=5901
 

 
 
"We don't want public funding," Beckham said to applause. "We will fund the stadium ourselves. We have worked very hard to get to this stage where we can fund the stadium ourselves. We want to create a football club that is the people's football club."

 

[Infield Infidel]

Beckham did a Google hangout answering questions from fans - he said they are willing to go with a temporary location first. FIU?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npY_gwdxRpw&t=9m18s
 
Southern Legion supporters group looks like they are on board http://southernlegionmls.com/david-beckham-to-discuss-bringing-mls-to-miami/

 

[Titans Bastard]

Beckham has decided to exercise his option to purchase a franchise at the highly discounted rate of $25m, but the franchise isn't official yet.  Surely, MLS is waiting on more details on the stadium situation before granting franchise rights, but because Beckham's group isn't seeking any (direct) public funding and the mayor and city council seem to be on board, the outlook is good.
 
MLS wouldn't be making this sort of announcement if they weren't confident behind the scenes.
 
If the stadium deal is wrapped up reasonably soon, I would expect a 2016 start for Miami and they'd probably need a year or two in a temporary stadium while they build.
 
MLS has really been crushing their goals off the field lately.  NY #2, two teams in the South, a considerably larger (still unofficial, but heavily rumored) TV deal.  Atlanta may well be #23 and #24 will be anyone's guess.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Some player movement news:
 
* Seattle has signed Marco Pappa from Heerenveen.  The Guatemalan winger was a bust at Heerenveen, but he was rather useful in Chicago.
 
* LA also signed a winger, Sweden's Stefan Ishikazi, who comes from Elfsborg.
 
* Philly signed French midfielder Vincent Nogueira from Sochaux.  They also signed a goalkeeper, Brian Holt, who last played for Harrisburg.
 
* Vancouver signed a pair of attackers from a Uruguayan club called Boston River.  Sebastián Fernández comes on loan, while Gabriel Mezquida is a permanent transfer.
 
* Benji Joya signed with the league, entered into a weighted lottery, and was won by Chicago.  He played in the last U-20 World Cup for the US, but was unable to establish himself at Santos Laguna despite a few first team appearances.  He's generally an attacking midfielder, although he played a holding role for the US U-20s.  At the pro level, he's in danger of being a tweener, lacking the defensive chops to play CM and lacking the quickness/speed to be a quality wide player.  He has good technical skills and a solid soccer brain, so I think he'll make it but I don't think he'll be a star.
 
* Chivas USA shipped Gabriel Farfan to Chiapas of Liga MX on loan.  He'll join his twin brother Michael in Mexico, who recently moved from Philly to Cruz Azul.  Gabriel Farfan is no great shakes, but he's a useful MLS player who can play wide left and fill in at LB in a pinch.  I'm not sure why Chivas USA is dumping this sort of player while bringing in a bunch of players from USL Pro.

 

[dirtynine]

Vidic moving on in the summer... that would be a splashy move for an ambitious MLS club.