http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/england/2012/05/22/3119841/drogba-says-hes-leaving-chelsea I really don't have any illusions that the Fire will actually sign him but it's nice to dream.
Sounds like China is a likely spot. But would be nice if the Fire made at least an effort to lure him to us somehow. Assuming they can afford the high price tag he'll command.
Buck up Andy. “What I say to them always is: ‘Bring me one. Bring me an impact player that has the qualities that are going to help you succeed,’” Hauptman said. “That’s all I can do. Then it’s up to them to come up to me and say, ‘OK, we have one.’ I’ll say, ‘Go for it.’ There’s nothing more or less complicated about it than that.” In the original article, he talks about how there aren't that many Beckhams or Blancos. The clear implication is that he wants to spend money on a guy that will put butts in the seats regardless of how good he is. I assume that was the theory behind Nery as well. Well Andy, Drogba is pretty much the 2nd or third most famous player on the planet at the moment and is about as close to a household name as you will get in the US with a soccer player outside of Messi or Ronaldo. Sign him Andy. I double dare you.
drogba will go to china to be with his pal, nicholas anelka who is the head coach/player in Shanghai-- BIG BUCKS in an untapped soccer market is just too appealing for drogba to pass up-- he'll be a HUGE star with the chinese people and will help raise the profile of chinese soccer which has had major scandals/problems over the past years- once the chinese players learn its a TEAM game, rather than an individual game, china will become a major force to be reckoned with, something like japan and south korea has these past 5-10 years
If the Fire can pay €13mil a season for him then I think they could also find some better bench warmers then they have. China hasnt figured that the guy in the middle is needed with that big expensive draw up top.
Hey, a phone call and a plane ticket can't hurt right? He's got tons of money and we will make more no matter where he goes. How do we know that he wouldn't like to spend a year or two here? He's not a bigger star then Henry or Beckham, so you would think he would listen if a young gazillionaire owner of the Fire made his pitch. I'm sick of hearing what we can't get. We got Stoitchkov at close to the same age and he had been world player of the year and a star at Barcelona. This shouldn't be out of the question if Andy will pony up the bucks.
China league is massively corrupt. Go there if you really want to retire. If you want to play at a slower, but still competitive pace consider MLS or Qatar.
Had Bayern Munich beat Chelsea the way they should have, then I'd entertain the remote possibility of signing Drogba. After his CL final performance someone will pay top dollar for him. I don't think it will be Hauptman.
What Chris said is how I feel. Just an effort. If it doesn't work out you move on to someone else or wait out till the right guy is available. But at least get in touch with him and his people and say "we'd love to have you in Chicago. You'd be a great addition to our team and our league." What's the worst he can do? Say no. Ok. You move on then.
China looking more and more likely. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/s...enhua-confident-of-didier-drogba-deal?cc=5901
According to this, he is making just a hair short of $3 Million. http://www.lagconfidential.com/2011...laries-la-galaxy-robbie-keane-salary-released That includes salary, signing bonus spread across the entire contract, and marketing bonus. It does not include any performance bonuses (which I would guess he has). At today's exchange rate, Drogba's Chelsea salary was about $5.46 million. The reports are that Shanghai are offering him 270,000 pounds a week. Is that for 52 weeks or just over their season? If its over a year, that is more than $22 million. Thanks but no thanks if that is the going rate. You would think that as he slows he would make less than he did at Chelsea and therefore, might at least come down in the neighborhood of Keane money.
Drogba would be great to have obviously. But Hauptman has to make a good business move as well. The money that Drogba could potentially be offered from Shanghai is just to high in my opinion for 1 guy. Perhaps if it was a guy who would help sell out every game it could be worth it. But that's not likely to happen. I'd still make him an offer similar to Keane's in hope he might take less money to come to us. If he says no you move on.
Exactly. Call his agent. Tell him we won't be splashing 10 million a year but that we could put together a really attractive package and he would have a great quality of life. See if you can talk him into a recruiting trip here. Show him one of those apartments at Lake Point Tower that has the 180 degree view of the city and lake. Take him out on the town where he will go to dinner and get recognized but not bothered. Sell Chicago. Sell the Fire. The worst that happens is that the agent laughs and hangs up. I'd just like Andy to try.
Again, this is big money, but to play in a city that is too dangerous for the team to train in. They live in moscow and fly in for their home games. Moscow is great to visit, but to live there, it is no comparison to Chicago imo. I have no idea what is in Drogba's head. Maybe this quality of life stuff (and 4-5 million bucks) isn't that important to him and he is just looking for the biggest paycheck knowing that he will be retired in a couple of years. But let's at least make an effort.
Chris M.'s points are exactly why I started the Diego Forlan thread. Make the effort. Try. Give us some hope.
I know this is pie in the sky stuff, but why not dream a little. A midfield/striker combo of Drogba and Forlan would blow away the Beckham/Keane pairing last year that was very, very good.
There is a cost to shooting the moon on a big name player and getting rejected: embarrassment in the press and distraction in the locker room. If the story leaks, as it usually does.