Ezra Hendrickson Joins DC United

[Red&Black]

WASHINGTON, DC (June 23, 2004) - Having acquired the rights to Ezra Hendrickson from the Dallas Burn in exchange for a fifth round selection in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft and future considerations, D.C. United announced today that the club has signed the defender. Per League and team policy, the terms of the contract were not disclosed. Hendrickson returns to Major League Soccer after a short stint with the Charleston Battery of the A-League, and will be available for United’s exhibition match this evening against the current A-League Eastern Conference leaders, Rochester Rhinos.



“We are thrilled to have Ezra join United,” said Dave Kasper, United Technical Director. “He’s a solid veteran defender who has won several championships during the course of his professional career and we look forward to his significant contributions towards the success of our club.”



Hendrickson was drafted by the MetroStars in 1997 and made eight appearances before a trade sent him to the Los Angeles Galaxy. Over the next seven years, he appeared in 145 matches for the Galaxy - including a start in their 2002 MLS Cup championship - tallying 17 goals and adding 26 assists. He was also named the Galaxy MVP for 2001, the same year that they won the US Open Cup and the CONCACAF Champions Cup. A July 2003 trade sent Hendrickson to the Dallas Burn, where he made 16 appearances (15 starts), picking up a goal and an assist.



In his brief stint with the Battery in 2004, Hendrickson started five games in which he recorded three shots on goal. Originally from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Hendrickson has 50 caps under his belt with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Team, seven of which came during 2002 World Cup qualifiers. He recently represented his country as captain of the squad that advanced to the semifinal qualifying phase for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

[Lanky134]

5th round and future considerations? That's worth it.

[Pints]

Wow! So how does everyone feel about this guy? I know some of you were Ezra Pro. Will he get time this weekend against his former team mates?

[Jose L. Couso]

Cool!

Thanks for posting this information Red&Black.

I can't wait to see him play on Saturday against the Burn.

[Blacksheep]

Why not, you better bet Dallas is going to be playing Reyes!!!

[Lanky134]

Wow! So how does everyone feel about this guy? I know some of you were Ezra Pro. Will he get time this weekend against his former team mates?

I was never a huge fan of his, but he had a habit of being effective, using his gigantic feet to block crosses rather than make solid tackles, and scoring clutch goals on set pieces (sometimes against us). I think he was on the Best XI in 2001.

[redzin]

So what's the buzz on the Ezra Hendrickson signing? I've always thought he was a good defender and he certainly moves forward well. I think it was a good move.

[redzin]

Just saw the other thread on this. Sorry about that. Mods, please close.

[Lowecifer]

5th round and future considerations? That's worth it.

Can't we just tell Dallas to keep the future considerations that they owe us?

[Marco10]

Well, I'm obviously surprised by this. Wonder if this means a change of tactics? Or is EZ much more flexible than I imagined? Hmmm.... Seems likely Nowayne know more than me, but I can't help but wonder about this move.

[Lowecifer]

Well, I'm obviously surprised by this. Wonder if this means a change of tactics? Or is EZ much more flexible than I imagined? Hmmm.... Seems likely Nowayne know more than me, but I can't help but wonder about this move.

Haven't we been speculating about this for a week now?

We are, after all, very thin at the back. He's also another target on set pieces, which we are in desperate need of. We need a defender and a striker. One down, one to go.

[Marco10]

Yes, I meant that said speculation seemed pretty far-fetched to me as I said in some thread or other, and now that it turns out I was the far-fetched one, I am surprised. That's all.

[fatbastard]

in exchange for a fifth round selection in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft Isn't that our first pick ?!? :D

I'm not sure how to feel about this ... I spent years hating this lanky bastard ... since he's always been a Galaxy player as far as I was concerned.

He really can get up the field in a hurry (he's not so fast getting back somehow), and will be tall on set pieces, freeing up someone else.

Maybe after his 3rd corner kick goal I'll love the guy, until then I have guarded optimism about the move. I hope he was cheap. Then we'll still have room for a few other decent warm bodies.

Poor guy, struggles to get out of the A-League and back to MLS and the first game he plays in .........

[Cweedchop]

Well, I'm obviously surprised by this. Wonder if this means a change of tactics? Or is EZ much more flexible than I imagined? Hmmm.... Seems likely Nowayne know more than me, but I can't help but wonder about this move.


I don't see any real change in tactics whatsoever.. Nowak adamantly stated weeks ago that he is staying with the 3-5-2 come hell or highwater..

If Stokes can play (if some could claim that at all) in a 3-5-2, then EZ should be able to do it with his eyes closed..

I'm all for bringing in solid MLS experience at this point on the backline and EZ is just that and probably didn't cost us a whole lot either on the salary cap end of things as well..

It's tough to say if he's going straight into the starting X1 anytime soon though..

[DCU]

Ezra played at both Left Wingback and (more rarely) Left Marking Back in the Galaxy's 3-5-2 during his time here. This definitely adds depth to those positions for United. That is a good thing. Looking ahead...If EZ works out, I think he really makes Dema Kovalenko expendable because now Dema's only position is in central midfield. If EZ plays left wingback at the level he used to with the Gals, he becomes preferable to Dema at that position - at close to 100k cheaper - and it might tempt Nowak to play Convey centrally. Ok, I'm lapsing into conjecture.

Does anyone have any idea how much cap room he's going to take up?

[Sandon Mibut]

I'll tell you who could get squeezed by this and it might not be who you think: Earnie Stewart.

EZ played RIGHT midfield in the Galaxy's 3-5-2 formation in 2002, the year they won MLS Cup.

So, while he has plenty of experience playing right back in both a three-back set and a 4-4-2, he has also had plenty of experience at right mid and once Nelsen and Namoff are healthy, I won't be at all surprised if they're in the backline in a 3-5-2 with Petke or Prideaux and EZ is playing right mid ahead of an ineffective Stewart.

Now, EZ will miss games with St. Vincent's national team since they advanced to the semifinals - they're in the same group with Mexico, T&T and another Saint Something - but I fully expect him to play a lot of minutes for DCU, and do so practically from the jump.

In case there's any doubt, I like this move. EZ's a versatile veteran who, while a bit awkward , has been very effective in seven MLS seasons and who has won a lot of hardware.

I dunno guys, I'm starting to run out of things to complain about. All season long I've been saying Cerritos was taking up too much cap room, the team lacked depth in the back and they desparately needed a proven target forward.

Well, Cerritos is gone, they've just added some nice depth in the back and they are on record as being in the market for a target forward. I guess Payne has started to listen to us Internet Nuts afterall!

[CG]

why does DC have to trade for him to Dallas when they waived him? If Dallas doesn't want him, DC shouldn't "owe" them anything. Charleston should be getting $$ or a player. MLS has the dumbest rules.

[John_Harkes_6]

why does DC have to trade for him to Dallas when they waived him? If Dallas doesn't want him, DC shouldn't "owe" them anything. Charleston should be getting $$ or a player. MLS has the dumbest rules.

The same way that DC got comp for Reyes. The league owns his rights and no one took him during the waiver draft. Therefore he remained the property of Dallas if he returned to the league. This one is actually pretty straightforward to understand

[monster]

Yes, I meant that said speculation seemed pretty far-fetched to me as I said in some thread or other, and now that it turns out I was the far-fetched one, I am surprised. That's all.
I don't know how the speculation could have been far-fetched considering he disappeared from the Charleston Web site the same time the speculation began.

We got a versatile player who always seemed to give everything he got. That's a good start.

[monster]

The same way that DC got comp for Reyes. The league owns his rights and no one took him during the waiver draft. Therefore he remained the property of Dallas if he returned to the league. This one is actually pretty straightforward to understand
Exactly. Part of the "Lalas" rule, keeping players from "retiring" or otherwise leaving the league for a short time just so they can get a new team.