i thought Alejandro Moreno was worth a shot ... around 30, good experience and professional, knows MLS ... high work rate ... counts as domestic ... still a NTer for Venezula ... sure as hell better than Chad Barrett.
As the dust settles I'm realizing that LA might have just made themselves better with this draft. They may get a good player (even if it just for depth) in Colin Clark, and if they can get Hesmer down to a salary in the low 100's they have really upgraded their goalkeeping position without breaking the bank. They still have a lot of question marks (Donovan and Juninho being back and who replaces Beckham) but this could be a very good start for them.
Edson Buddle to Colorado for allocation money and the Rapids first round supplemental draft pick next month. http://www.coloradorapids.com/news/2012/12/rapids-acquire-forward-edson-buddle-la-galaxy
Of course, somebody just pointed this out: http://www.soccerbyives.net/2008/07/mls-all-star-ga.html#more
In his defense that is a half decade ago. I mean RSL and KC aren't anything like they were in 2008.....
Moreno is 33, will be 34 next July. That's quite a bit older than "around 30", at least in soccer terms. Nobody has ever clarified what the rules are for offering a player a "genuine offer", it's not clear if that means any salary or some percentage of what the player was previously making, or something based on seniority, or just the minimum salary for an MLS player. I read that it is specified in the CBA, but nobody has documented it anywhere else that I can find. Since a team owns the rights to a player if they make the "genuine offer", it would seem like the team may have to make more than just a minimum salary offer. Anyway, my point is that Moreno was making $185k in base salary in 2012, so he may have been too costly to pick even as a veteran backup. And the problem with the "veteran guys" is that their contracts get guaranteed when they sign the contract, so teams may prefer to sign new players to MLS who can be cut in the first half of the year and not paid their full year's salary.
Can't believe that no one took a chance on Hartman. I know he's no spring chicken, but the guy is still a quality keeper, and I don't think he would balk at being a backup somewhere.
i hadn't realized he was so old or so expensive ... never mind what i said ... i thought he was only 30 for some reason?
Yeah - the thing that I'm really curious about is what the rules are around contract offers teams have to make to these guys taken in Stage 2. If a team can just offer $60k or something, then it could be worth the risk of drafting someone. But if they have to offer something closer to what the player was making, then it isn't worth it for most guys. You can just let them not get drafted, and then invite them into preseason and have them basically try out and then offer them any salary you think they are worth.
So...are we to take it that Philly is relying on Conor Casey and the Rapids are relying on Edson Buddle to be their starting strikers this season, around which they'll build the offense? How depressing for them, if that's the case. Where are the DPs? The exciting, in-their-prime attacking players? Hopefully coming soon. Ryan Johnson is better than either of those guys these days.
The season opener is still 10 weeks away. The draft and opening of the international transfer window are still a month away. I think it's a little early to assume that anyone has set their attack at this point.
I think Philly is in decent shape. Casey is a risk because of his injury but he was an elite forward in this league not too long ago. And he is the type of forward they need. Him and Le Toux are risks but you could do a lot worse than those guys plus Jack Mac. Buddle did look really lost out there last year. And obviously both teams still have a lot to do to improve their teams. Ryan Johnson has never put up the numbers those guys have. You are definitely overrating him.
That was pretty much overblown. Why would it be such a surprise not to want to be traded?? He didn't want to leave Philly in the first place, so you think he would tell Petey "sure coach, send me anywhere"? He knew darn well that Nowak was a goner, it was just a matter of when. I think he was trying his hardest to hang on and outlast him. Why make it easy on the douche who wants you gone?
That's right. Maybe it was the Armchair Analyst column that annoyed me, but it sounded like one of those "we've found our guy" spins on Buddle. There are so many teams with older center forwards who might see 20-22 games if they're lucky, between injuries and dropping quality. Blas Perez, Koevermans/Hassli (I guess one's a sub for the other), Casey, Buddle, Pajoy, Kenny Miller--that's just about a third of the league right there and none of them can be counted on, and only Koevermans was truly productive last season. At least DC seems to have a plan to bring in a true DP forward. We'll have to wait for the rest. Casey and Buddle to me are the offensive equivalents of Califf and DeMerit--living off of name recognition and perhaps not even in the upper half of starting players in that position anymore in MLS.
I was actually hoping the Red Bulls would snag Chad Barrett. He went before they had the chance anyway though. They are sorely lacking in speed, and most of Chad Barrett's blown opportunities are opportunities he creates single-handed. He takes more of a beating than he should. I'm not saying he is my dream striker, i'm saying given how ********ing SLOW the Red Bulls team was after trading Dane Richards, i would have welcomed an extremely erratic quick guy.