How does LA get a bunch of allotment money? I thought you get allotment money by sucking.... I agree with you I hope we put out a more offensive lineup in 2013, but as long as Pause is on the roster there is NO way that Frankie has him on the bench.....
I am pretty sure that MLS started to give considerable allocation money (like a few hundred thousand) for top clubs who enter CCL. I think it was an initiative started like 2 or 3 seasons ago after our teams were getting knocked out early. Basically they realized that if certain clubs are going to have to play in an additional competition, then they might need more money for depth. The allocation system is a bit of a mystery and you can only take little pieces here and there that people have said, but I remember watching an Extratime podcast a while back and they talked about it.
DMB doing a bit of Q&A on twitter: Q:Any truth in the rumors that you're interested in a MLS return? A: Jus rumors my friend! Q: Damn.Would have liked to see you in #cf97 red again. A: One day. I hope! There's still hope..
Already, I've stayed away in frustration since the Houston game long enough. Time to get back into it. What about Kenny Cooper? Lots of money, but would probably be a lot more effective than Sherjil.
I don't see how RB gives him up. I know he makes 275k but I think he is worth every penny. He was arguably the 2nd best striker in the league last year, he put up DP numbers and for 275k he is a bargain. That is why I suggested LeToux, his contract is up at the end of the year and I think RB seems pretty set with Henry/Cooper and it makes LeToux available.
NYRB just signed Espindola (and Olave) from RSL. Might be willing to offload one of their other strikers now...
Could Cooper and MacDonald play together? I don't see Fire ditching him that quickly (nor do I want them to, I still believe in Mackie). And neither of them would make sense as a sub given their salary and/or DP status. Which leads to other problems, like having to play Rolfe as an AM and only having one DM (which doesn't suit any of our d-mids styles)
http://www.chicago-fire.com/news/2012/12/fire-decline-options-three-players Finally some news, Seagres not having is option picked up is a pretty big surprise at least to me. The other two were a given.
Yes, feel bad for Bone, How much did we slow down his growth I wonder? Or was he just hype out of college?
Wow. Didn't see the Sega move coming. Either somebody is on their way in, or Jumper is really good for someone who made just 5 appearances last season. Hopefully this doesn't distract Klopas from the fact that we need a real RB too. Or this could just be an expensive game of chicken. Sega on $210,000 apparently, and Bone on way too much. Could just be a chance to renegotiate.
Segares is one of the highest paid LB in the league. Off the top of my head only Pearce makes more, but his contract is actually paid for by both CUSA and NY for the Agudelo deal, so maybe no one pays more for their LB then the Fire. I'm OK with him leaving, I think if you are going to pay a quarter million for a outside back in MLS, he has to be really good. Maybe Jumper is ready, maybe the Fire already have their eye on someone in the Superdraft...who knows. But I'm not upset about loosing Sega at that price. If Cooper is available I'd take him over MacDonald. I would be shocked if anyone would disagree. He has 1/2 the wage of MacDonald, doesn't count as an international spot, is the same age, and has scored 18 goals in this league twice. The guy is good. He and Rolfe together would be amazing. Both of them can not only score goals but both have good touches and can pass the ball. They could play really well off each other. A full year healthy season from Rolfe/Cooper could bring the fire 25-30 goals together. A duo like that plus upgrading CM and outside backs and I think we could win the league.
Cooper is the softest big man in soccer.He plays like he is 5'7 and a buck -30, not saying he has to be a bad ass.But this team already has enough guys who get shoved off the ball and pushed around with ease.I think he would replicate his NY numbers if he is on the field with a guy like Mac not Rolfe.Though it would be nice to have all three with Rolfe in Mid (on the right with Nyarko on left).
Cooper would be very suitable in the role Rolfe played this year.Thats exactly the role he should play, not as a target forward, thats not him.Rolfe and Cooper on at the same time (as a lone and withdrawn)wouldnt work, there is no way i would choose Cooper as a lone striker over Mac.
According to Jeff Crandall on twitter, only 5 players have been taken in the first phase of the Re-entry draft. The highest paid one was Arturo Alvarez, whose salary was $192k. Its a little risky because there aren't exactly a huge number of good LBs, but it isn't like everybody is taken that goes through
Highest skilled player on the team the last two years, wilted under pressure and receded from conflict. Just a hunch.
Big gamble by the Fire with regard to Segares Given the dearth of LB's in MLS I believe somebody with a hole at that position and cap room is going to pick him up. Maybe the teamlooked at cap room and who needs a good left back I decided it was worth the risk. You just can't get find quality left backs off the street in what has become a key position in modern soccer. And all this to save $50K or so?
I've harped on this before, but Seth Sinovic was literally on the street. He had been released by NE (God only knows why) and was available for a whopping $42K a year. He had been in the Fire PDL side that had made it to the final one year, so we knew about him AND this was at a time that we were signing and drafting multiple people at left back and yet we never made a phone call to him. He sat on his couch for a month waiting for the phone to ring, when he finally got to train one week at RSL (likely because of CJ's knowledge of him) when SKC called, and now he is a fixture in what may be the best back line in the league. Part of me wanted to post this again as an "I told you so" to the FO. But in this context, I'm posting to suggest that you can, in fact, pull a quality left back off the street if you know what to look for (and that is one of our potential problems.) I love Sega, but he was at best a middle of the pack left back since he returned from injury and before he left for Cyprus. A real shame, but he is an example of a serious injury that was never going to allow full recovery combined with a little age. Yeah, I want him back if we have no better option, but as I have said before, it is a really big football world out there. Go find a better option FO.
Thanks for the replies. When Bone was in the draft I thought he was a Dom Kinnear type of player. I think we're pretty well stacked in the middle of the park so I doubt we'll go after him as a developmental prospect.