In spite of a personal belief that it contains all the best stuff in the house, I decided "junk drawer" might sound like I was tossing out a bunch of surplus stuff. Yes..."Top 5" sounds so much more impressive...
- News that Chivas USA picked up the two Cuban national team players - Osvaldo Alonso and Lester Mor(e?) - who defected during this year's Gold Cup leaves me wishing that I'd watched more of the Gold Cup. In a side question, will Maykel Galindo ever stop giving to his team?
- All right, um, the rest-of-the-country's media: the Deseret News laid down the gauntlet with their complete history of Real Salt Lake trades. Not only do they name them, they manage to discuss them intelligently. Now, it's your turn...
- Soccer America reports that Chicago will announce their new coach early as next week...or, rather, that GM John Guppy would "like to make an announcement by the end of next week." Based on what's written there, Sunday's home game against the Colorado Rapids could be Denis Hamlett's sole game as Fire head coach. The way it's written makes one think Frank Klopas has as good a crack at the job as anyone.
- Call this 3A: speaking of Chicago Fire coaches, Luis Arroyave wrote a decent, somewhat personal, retrospective on David Sarachan's relationship with his little corner of the media.
- In run-of-the-mill trade news, the Toronto Star reports Mo Johnston finally got his (323rd) man: Collin Samuel has officially signed with Toronto FC. I don't know anything about Samuel and can't say how he'll do in MLS, but something in the Star's report leaves me wondering about the intensity of Mo's courtship: "Samuel, listed at 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, scored 14 goals in 115 games with Dundee." Um....
- Finally, yeah, I admit it: I got a warm, fuzzy kick out of the "Futbol Meets Football" video clip featuring David "Show Pony" Beckham and Reggie "No Nickname" Bush. Hat-tip to Laurie at The LA Offside for posting it - and kudos for her bravery in admitting a soft spot for the segment as well.
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Showing posts with label trades. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trades. Show all posts
When Revs Deal: Subtraction by...Subtraction
The Boston Globe reported this morning (or possibly yesterday) that the New England Revolution waived Daniel Hernandez - a personal favorite of mine, for the record - and that Joe Franchino will miss the rest of 2007. The same article mentions the impending/potential arrival of replacements, who are described by Revs coach Steve Nicol thusly:
To be blunt, those "couple" players had better be something more than a couple names I read in the paper. The Revs are stagnating so far as I'm concerned and that opinion doesn't lack for seconds. The team needs new blood - preferably in bodies more than a year or two removed from the college game. And suggestions that Steve Nicol views the "emergence" of Jeff "Big Red" Larentowicz to justify letting Hernandez go only ups the anxiety. (Yeah, I know Soccer New England's reporter wrote the line, but Nicol suggests it in his quotes in the prior link.)
Tell me you're ditching Hernandez to clear space, or because a train wrecked in his groin, that's one thing: but telling me Larentowicz is anywhere near as good...I'm not buying it.
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"We are working on a couple. One's a name and the other's not a name but we think he will be a great player. We are close with some stuff, but it's not done until it's done."
To be blunt, those "couple" players had better be something more than a couple names I read in the paper. The Revs are stagnating so far as I'm concerned and that opinion doesn't lack for seconds. The team needs new blood - preferably in bodies more than a year or two removed from the college game. And suggestions that Steve Nicol views the "emergence" of Jeff "Big Red" Larentowicz to justify letting Hernandez go only ups the anxiety. (Yeah, I know Soccer New England's reporter wrote the line, but Nicol suggests it in his quotes in the prior link.)
Tell me you're ditching Hernandez to clear space, or because a train wrecked in his groin, that's one thing: but telling me Larentowicz is anywhere near as good...I'm not buying it.
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Kreis, Jeff, & Esky: Desperation, Indifference, Rage
Just as I was about to mull over how a man like Jason Kreis, so recently elevated to coach, would go about acquiring the three new players he says he needs (hat-tip, du Nord), I start tripping over trades, rumored and actual.
A good one-stop glimpse at the key threads in play showed up a couple places - I happened to stumble across MLS Underground's first (LINK) - and, after picking through those, an early answer to the question of how Kreis would go about acquiring players comes back as not very well.
To lift the basics from MLS Underground's post, here's what we seem to be looking at:
Based on what I'm seeing so far, the confirmed piece of this involves Eskandarian heading to Salt Lake City (Semi-interesting side-note: I shared my opinions on media in the comments to a post by D from The DCenters about a jab (friendly? otherwise?) Washington Post Steve Goff directed at that site; I meant what I said about scoops (e.g. I don't put much stock in getting news first), but I will add this: when Goff reports something, his position means, or should mean, he's taking pains to be accurate; in other words, I rarely trust rumors till I see them in the MSM; back to it). Follow the link and you'll read the words of a player unhappy about a second relocation tips. More significantly, even as Esky has looked like one of Toronto's chief threats thus far (though this appears to be shifting), I'm not seeing him as the answer to RSL's considerable problems.
The same goes for Nate Jaqua, if that rumor ever pans out. In other words, unless that "unknown players" is just the shit - and it's hard to see a player of stature plus Jaqua - I'm second-guessing the bejesus out of Kreis' moves so far.
Then again, I could be wrong; wouldn't be the first time (as anyone who has seen my stabs at predictions would know). With at least one fan out Salt Lake Way sounding not too bothered by the whole thing...well, that just ups my chances.
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A good one-stop glimpse at the key threads in play showed up a couple places - I happened to stumble across MLS Underground's first (LINK) - and, after picking through those, an early answer to the question of how Kreis would go about acquiring players comes back as not very well.
To lift the basics from MLS Underground's post, here's what we seem to be looking at:
"* The trade of Jeff Cunningham to Los Angeles for Nate Jaqua and an unknown player
* Alecko Eskandarian from Toronto to Salt Lake City."
Based on what I'm seeing so far, the confirmed piece of this involves Eskandarian heading to Salt Lake City (Semi-interesting side-note: I shared my opinions on media in the comments to a post by D from The DCenters about a jab (friendly? otherwise?) Washington Post Steve Goff directed at that site; I meant what I said about scoops (e.g. I don't put much stock in getting news first), but I will add this: when Goff reports something, his position means, or should mean, he's taking pains to be accurate; in other words, I rarely trust rumors till I see them in the MSM; back to it). Follow the link and you'll read the words of a player unhappy about a second relocation tips. More significantly, even as Esky has looked like one of Toronto's chief threats thus far (though this appears to be shifting), I'm not seeing him as the answer to RSL's considerable problems.
The same goes for Nate Jaqua, if that rumor ever pans out. In other words, unless that "unknown players" is just the shit - and it's hard to see a player of stature plus Jaqua - I'm second-guessing the bejesus out of Kreis' moves so far.
Then again, I could be wrong; wouldn't be the first time (as anyone who has seen my stabs at predictions would know). With at least one fan out Salt Lake Way sounding not too bothered by the whole thing...well, that just ups my chances.
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SWAP-MEET: Angel, Schelotto, even Bryan Byrne
With the international window now closed, it could be this will constitute the final big wrap on trades for the 2007 season - unless, that is, Mo Johnston pulls off a swap or two to bolster a Toronto FC defense that's proved porous as tripe.
Dichio to TFC
While we're on the subject, it looks like Johnston did manage at least one more acquisition, when he picked up Daniel Dichio from the lower reaches of English club soccer (and, for some reason, I first read of this in the Boston Globe). Thanks to his connection to a Yank through marriage, Dichio will count as neither a designated player (crap, I hope not) or a Senior International.
Red Bull's Angel
But the biggest news of the day surrounds the signing of Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel by Red Bull New York - if you read MLS Underground, you'll get the impression this was a HUGE signing, at least from the Red Bull point of view. For reasons I can neither explain nor justify, I'm constitutionally unable to dub Angel the missing puzzle piece that will make Red Bull bonafide contenders. But, for all that, he's closer to how I'd like to see the league use the designated-player rule in the A. B. era (that's "After Beckham"): find a need on the roster and fill it with the best player you can afford/bargain for. On that level, I like this signing - a lot even - and hope it pans out.
At any rate, there's more about Angel in the Blogo-verse than you can shake a stick at, so here are some favories: USSoccerplayers.com pulled together some nice details about pay and such, while Ives Galarcep offered perspective on the signing closer to my comfort zone (no disrespect to the Underground, which truly is a bang-up site):
So he's jumping a bit on the Mathis bandwagon (I called shotgun on that ride, but I'll make room).
Columbus: Snag or a Fish
Yeah, I should post this on The Offside, but I've got other plans for that space.
Sports Illustrated has got off the fence and declared Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus-bound, so why's the Crew front office still holding off? Can't say for sure, but it may be they just want to cut the ribbon when the time comes. What I can say for sure is that the locals (see bottom; OK, I've done it too) are already busy figuring where and how to play their new toy.
Odds, Ends, Rumors
- No disrespect intended to Bryan Byrne, who signed with the New England Revolution late last week (maybe...by which I mean he signed, but I can't recall when I saw the story), but he's coming up as kind of an after-thought with all these other trade shenanigans going on. Hope he does well for the team I still call my own.
- The Zinedine Zidane rumors will not die - they only seem to get stronger, in fact. If the talk about him joining Beckham at the Galaxy hold true, it will make official what has heretofore only been an impression: the Galaxy is actively trying to revive the NASL model.
- Finally, Greg Lalas pulled all the designated-player odds-and-ends into a nice big bow (SMMMOOOCHHH!)
Dichio to TFC
While we're on the subject, it looks like Johnston did manage at least one more acquisition, when he picked up Daniel Dichio from the lower reaches of English club soccer (and, for some reason, I first read of this in the Boston Globe). Thanks to his connection to a Yank through marriage, Dichio will count as neither a designated player (crap, I hope not) or a Senior International.
Red Bull's Angel
But the biggest news of the day surrounds the signing of Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel by Red Bull New York - if you read MLS Underground, you'll get the impression this was a HUGE signing, at least from the Red Bull point of view. For reasons I can neither explain nor justify, I'm constitutionally unable to dub Angel the missing puzzle piece that will make Red Bull bonafide contenders. But, for all that, he's closer to how I'd like to see the league use the designated-player rule in the A. B. era (that's "After Beckham"): find a need on the roster and fill it with the best player you can afford/bargain for. On that level, I like this signing - a lot even - and hope it pans out.
At any rate, there's more about Angel in the Blogo-verse than you can shake a stick at, so here are some favories: USSoccerplayers.com pulled together some nice details about pay and such, while Ives Galarcep offered perspective on the signing closer to my comfort zone (no disrespect to the Underground, which truly is a bang-up site):
"All of a sudden the Red Bulls go from being painfully thin at forward to having three very solid options after Clint Mathis served notice on Sunday that he was back and ready to be his old goal-scoring self."
So he's jumping a bit on the Mathis bandwagon (I called shotgun on that ride, but I'll make room).
Columbus: Snag or a Fish
Yeah, I should post this on The Offside, but I've got other plans for that space.
Sports Illustrated has got off the fence and declared Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus-bound, so why's the Crew front office still holding off? Can't say for sure, but it may be they just want to cut the ribbon when the time comes. What I can say for sure is that the locals (see bottom; OK, I've done it too) are already busy figuring where and how to play their new toy.
Odds, Ends, Rumors
- No disrespect intended to Bryan Byrne, who signed with the New England Revolution late last week (maybe...by which I mean he signed, but I can't recall when I saw the story), but he's coming up as kind of an after-thought with all these other trade shenanigans going on. Hope he does well for the team I still call my own.
- The Zinedine Zidane rumors will not die - they only seem to get stronger, in fact. If the talk about him joining Beckham at the Galaxy hold true, it will make official what has heretofore only been an impression: the Galaxy is actively trying to revive the NASL model.
- Finally, Greg Lalas pulled all the designated-player odds-and-ends into a nice big bow (SMMMOOOCHHH!)
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