We are now seeing the same bad management we have learned to accept here in DC United. DC have two players who can make the club substantial money, like independiente in Argentina did a few years ago ( Ustari and Aguero) Not saying Najar and Hamid are at this level but if our management was smart we would make sure to allow these players to play and move them in the summer. Even if coach Olsen has decided he likes Willis more and Cruz ( please he is a hockey player) use Najar and Hamid for next 4 weeks and showcase them and sell. Our team can use the money as we know how bad we are financially. We keep hearing about training center or stadium but nothing is done because he have no money. Sell Najar after Olympics and Hamid in Summer and we will have enough money , i believe goff say we get 75% of their sale not the usualy 60%. Or we can be very short sited and play cruz who will help win a few games or find a way to get the best out of Najar , like year one. I think lack of good coaching has stopped him from getting better, maybe he has learned all he can from our club and needs to move on for all of us. Hamid is the same situation.
I don't know man...I like having starting quality depth on our roster. I don't know if I'd want to trade/sell it away
ok so i really dont see what we can do here... at the very very very best each of them will sell for 10mil (a number that im sure is way too high and i pulled out of my ass) assuming we do get 75% and not the usual 60%, we would get 14mil total. what do we do with 14mil? we cant build a stadium on that, we cant even buy land for a stadium on that.
Is it rude of me to point out how idiotic a statement (hell, whole concept) that is. If the FO ever decide who should or should not play in actual league point-paying games for reasons such as selling price, then this organization REALLY has gone to shit. You ever stop to actually think for a second that maybe playing Cruz over Najar right now IS making Najar a better player in the long run? I guess all those teams should have played Freddy Adu 90 minutes in every game too? You are the one with the short-sided view, not Ben Olsen (well, he may too, but he gets paid for it).
Diamond Jack Warner would have easily gotten approval and council buy-in for that stadium in PG County. I'm just sayin'
I was going to respond to this original post in a clever way, but its not a clever post, so here's the easy-reader version: We want to win. Whoever gets us there should be on the field. Trading away/selling our depth will not get us a lot of money. It will cripple the team if anyone gets injured, carded or goes cold, and as such is a BAD idea. I expect that by season end Najar, Hamid and Salihi will all be regular contributors if not every game starters. Who qualifies as "depth" now and who will be seen as depth in December (12/1/12 is MLS Cup) will likely be different. If for once we have a team that is deep enough to be dangerous without our first 11 on the field -- for the first time in donkey's years -- this is NOT the same DCU. This is what they call GOOD MANAGEMENT, which after recent years would be a MAJOR IMPROVEMENT.
There's a grain of good sense in there that you're batting around like a beach ball in the wind. Try again.
Other people have addressed the bizarre nature of the opening post, so instead I'll take this opportunity to say something else. It's spelled "short-sighted." Thanks.
I think it would be very short sighted to trade away depth and competition for places when it's not even a third of the way into the season. Players will get hurt and lose form and those two players available will be helpfu. It's a long season and I'm sure they will have the chance to start again.
I don't have emotional attachments to any players. If the team can get a transfer fee that is worth more to the team than the player in question, it is a smart business move to sell them. That being said, having a deep bench is a sign of good management by the DCU front office, for once.
You, sir, are the King of Big Soccer for today I had to check 3 times to see if it wasn't thread from 2 years ago that someone resurrected.
Yeah, I think they are headed that way anyway, but the timing has to be right. United won't sell them during the season, pulling the rug out from under the coach of a team that hasn't made the playoffs in four years and its' suffering fans. Say what you want about the FO, but at least they have the sense not to enrage the fan base. In the winter, particularly if Najar has a good Olympics, I wouldn't be surprised to see them both sold.
To each their own, but I am 180 degrees from this position. I would also point out that two seasons ago I was really worried that Najar was being played too much and expected to do too much. This season, his tendency to make heroic runs only to finish off with an absolutely terrible pass seemed to validate that concern. Sitting on the bench for a little while--not being expected to bring the spark Every. Single. Game. is probably just what he needs.
United has quality depth at almost every position for the first time since Barack Obama was a little known freshman senator. Good teams have quality depth. That means good players who could start don't always start. If that means some favorites sit because there's more competition for playing time, well, I'm ok with that if it means the team is getting results. And right now, the team is getting results.
A lot of people jumping at the OP, but let's be realistic. Barring injury, both Hamid and Najar will end up in Europe. We would be so lucky to get something in return, or else lose them on a free transfer. Where I disagree with OP is that having them on the bench somehow stifles the players. They're both super young and they've both had tons of playing experience already for their ages. If anything grounding them a little may cool the interest abroad which increases the chance that they would sign contract extensions with MLS, which should mean an even bigger pay day in the future ... kind of the way Dallas locked Shea into a 4 year deal right before he blew up. That should see them a nice chunk of change when they sell him. Of course I say that last part having no idea what the Najar and Hamid contract statuses are.
yeah let's worry about transfer fees and forget all about winning for a damn change. The players in form are playing and that's how it should be.
Are these numbers based on current contracts (probably) or on their estimation of the current interest in Europe for any of these players While I don't agree its critical to start playing Hamid and Najar to get European teams interested in them, I do agree with the general strategy of SELLING good young players and pocketing the transfer fees - Yes, that would cut into our depth, but then we could use that money to go out and buy someone else's good (albeit lesser known) player This is a BUSINESS and sometimes you have to make BUSINESS decisions - Sometimes you're forced to by the league, as when we had to unload Diaz-Arce, Harkes, Pope, etc, etc - And sometimes, the right opportunity comes along to SELL a player who wants to go to advanced leagues I would amend the original post by stating that there's a good time to do this, and a bad time - A bad time would be right now, while interest and publicity are low - A good time might be after the season, particularly after a string of high-publicity international games For Najar thats the Olympics, and for Hamid thats WC Qualifying and Friendlies in the fall - If they sparkle and star, then interest will be never be higher this year And Boloni86 has a good point - Its best business practice to do this for a young player who has a long contract
All of this back and forth about sales and transfer fees takes as a given that Bill Hamid is more Tim Howard than Zack Thornton and that Andy Najar is more Stuart Holden than Santino Quaranta. I'm not convinced about either. Let them sit, watch and play when they deserve it. We'll see if they are a cut above and deserving transfer interest or just better than average MLS players on their best days.
