Wilman Conde (Update 1/30: OFFICIALLY Sold to Red Bull)

Re: Wilman Conde back to Chicago?

You would hope agents would realize that too.

Re: Wilman Conde back to Chicago?

Agents don't have to take cold showers after games and they get a cut of every new contract.

Re: Wilman Conde back to Chicago?

And they will always want you to sign where you get more money (more for the agent also).

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

Really a draft pick for a previous MLS best eleven and two time all-star? Especially considering it will be a 2nd rd I am really disappointed if thats all we get. I would have really pushed for Agudelo. They have no need for him now that they have Cooper.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

They think they can get a seven figure transfer fee for Agudelo, which is certainly worth more than Conde. Keep in mind they don't have Conde yet, he isn't under contract with MLS.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

People hoping we were going to get Agudelo for Conde's rights were dreaming. Agudelo may be out of favor in NY, but he's worth a lot.

That said, I'd be disappointed if we get nothing but a 2nd round draft pick.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

You would have been laughed out of the room.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

Yeah, I can't even see NY being dumb enough to trade a possible 6 million dollar transfer fee for the rights to a player (even though they sid let Portland bend them over for Cooper). If your FO has absolutely no interest in Conde then you are essentially getting a second round pick for nothing, which isn't much to complain about imo.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

McBride had no interest in TFC and TFC got Chad Barrett and a first round pick they turned into Stefan Frei. The Fire will have to play against New York three times this year and only three points separated the two clubs last year. Chicago's front office should do everything they can to maximize the value of this not only because they paid so heavily last time but also because they are giving a conference opponent help on the field.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

it appears that Klopas had no interest in Conde returning (as did some fans). I would hope they picked up a decently high draft pick for it. Conde has clearly showed hes interested in returning and a motivated Conde could be solid option for Red Bulls. Hopefully Fire got something worth while here.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

Once again, a voice of reason, Tweed.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

Ives is reporting allocation $$ only. Six figures.

Fricken $$. That's it. They gave up a first rounder for Cooper n got crap for Dero surely we could have fleeced them also.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

How many goals do you figure Allocation Money will get for us this year.?

Cause if we're depending on Peurari 2.0, Oduro to score 10 then miss 29, or Barrouch it's going to be a long year.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

Allocation money can be used to subsidize a players salary when we are over the cap. Surely you can't think that isn't worth something for someone who had little value at the end and a very bad attitude. Conde was always wanting/looking to go elsewhere. It's a good deal for the Fire.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

Of course, nothing is the value of most 2nd round draft choices!

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

Truth be told, Oduro had a pretty good shot to goal ratio at roughly 1 goal every 6.5 shots.

Compare that to Dero who was 1 goal every 7 shots, Wondo at 1 every 6.8 and Montero at 1 every 9 shots.

Chicago had 46 goals scored by 12 players where as LA had 48 by 14. Not a huge difference there between the two. In fact, LA's goal numbers by players were very similar to Chicago's as to how they were spread out.

Oduro - 12
Pappa - 8
Chaves - 6
Grazzini - 5
Gibbs - 3

Donovan - 12
Barrett - 7
Magee - 5
Franklin - 4
Juninho - 4

Will Oduro duplicate the numbers he did last season? History say no, but then again, who knows. Point is, the goals will come. The question is will our defense remain strong and prevent others from scoring. That's what LA did.

The allocation off a CB the Fire clearly had no intention of signing is not a bad pull. We know it's 6 figures, but that 6 figures is quite vague. And that 6 figures could go quite a ways to pay a player who would normally require much much more then what the cap is set at.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

We essentially sold Conde for a six figure transfer? Hell yeah! That's a victory in my book when you don't even have a player that probably wouldn't start for us anyway.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

It's not such a good deal if he returns to form becomes an MLS best 11 and helps the Red Metros pass us into the playoffs.

Plus no doubt he will score on us like most ex Fire players do.

Plus whose to say Fire will use the $$.

Btw Ives says Chris Rolfe wants back in MLS

Who in MLS needs a goal scorer? That right we do!!!

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

I'll take Wondo or Montero over Oduro any day. Most of Oduros shots are from breakaways he really doesn't score any other way and simply tap ins aren't so simple for him.

Plus that allocation money wont be of any comfort when Conde intimidates Grazzini out of the game and then scores the game winner on a header in the playoffs (my worst fears)

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

i would too, however, that doesnt diminish Oduro's year. What i'm hoping is that Oduro's breakout year last season is a sign of improvement rather then luck. Hopefully he's found a system that plays to his strengths. I fully suspect he'll notch a decent amount of goals next season, but will 12 be duplicated?? I'm not sure.

In the end, we shouldnt be relying on that 1 striker to put away Golden Boot numbers. How did DCU and SJ do with their Golden Boot contenders/winners?

I would much rather see a team where Oduro is complimented with other players who score 6-8 goals each. Grazzini had half a year and notched 5. We need players like Nyarko and Puppo/Borrouch to put up more goals. If we still have Pappa, we need him to net a handful or more. How many years did we go without a player netting 10+ goals? Did we suffer then? We typically had 2 strikers netting 6-9 goals and the rest coming from various other players on the field.

And most importantly we need our defense to become a strong presence.

Conde made 13 appearances for Atlas, how many games has Atlas played in 2011? Are we even sure that this is going to be the same Conde of 2007 and 2008 or is he going to be a shadow of that?

What happens if the Fire net a brace of goals due to some nice blunders by Conde in the playoffs?

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

there's a question, do we still have his rights or have they run out?

Also, with Rolfe playing Left Mid for his club, would Klopas continue using him there or throw him back up top?

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

Excellent points about our goal scoring compared to LA. I don't know what the league record is for the lowest number of goals allowed but LA has got to be close with 28.

I'd love to see the Fire shut down opponents the way LA did last year. Hell, I'd even settle for Philly or RSL's numbers (36 goals against). We let the ball go by 45 times last year and ended up with a goal differential of +1.

Bottom line - Making our defense stronger should be our #1 priority.

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

and in particular, set-piece defense.

hope this CB drafted in 1st round is good in the air

Re: Wilman Conde (Update: Sold to Red Bull)

I'm disappointed to hear that we gave up Conde's rights for so little. We used to give NY the finger when they wanted something. I liked that attitude more. A better NY is not good for us.