Tony Sanneh for Allocation?

[Cweedchop]

I'm just thinking aloud here folks..

What if Ryan Nelsen does indeed end up with surgery for his hernia and it essentially puts him out for the rest of the season..

Would DC make a real push to use their allocation on Sanneh and bring him here to DC to fill in for Nelsen?

A couple of thoughts on this..

1) Sanneh would be a serious upgrade to anyone one the roster right now defensively (Nelsen excluded) with his experience playing central defense in a 3-5-2 for Nurnberg in Germany..

2) I believe as Sanneh gets older, his future will lie in central defense for the National Team and would be tailor made to play this position in MLS..

3) This could be quite do-able seeing as we have freed up a good deal of money with Cerritos being released and Convey sent to England..

4) It's obvious that United probably needs to look for a solid goal scorer or playmaker (suited to Nowak's style of course) but if the chance comes to sign Sanneh, especially considering the gaping hole which will be our central defense until the end of the season, I think Payne/Kasper should seriously consider plugging the hole in the dyke, so to speak..



Is this a situation that could reasonably happen?

[owendylan]

I'm just thinking aloud here folks..

What if Ryan Nelsen does indeed end up with surgery for his hernia and it essentially puts him out for the rest of the season..

Would DC make a real push to use their allocation on Sanneh and bring him here to DC to fill in for Nelsen?

A couple of thoughts on this..

1) Sanneh would be a serious upgrade to anyone one the roster right now defensively (Nelsen excluded) with his experience playing central defense in a 3-5-2 for Nurnberg in Germany..

2) I believe as Sanneh gets older, his future will lie in central defense for the National Team and would be tailor made to play this position in MLS..

3) This could be quite do-able seeing as we have freed up a good deal of money with Cerritos being released and Convey sent to England..

4) It's obvious that United probably needs to look for a solid goal scorer or playmaker (suited to Nowak's style of course) but if the chance comes to sign Sanneh, especially considering the gaping hole which will be our central defense until the end of the season, I think Payne/Kasper should seriously consider plugging the hole in the dyke, so to speak..



Is this a situation that could reasonably happen?

Firstly, it was reported during the Crew game over the weekend that Sanneh was looking to go to the Crew, so that may put a damper on him coming here. While Sanneh is experienced he's also getting on in years and who knows how his surgically repaired back will feel after a long stretch of play. I would think Sanneh wants a max salary, isn't taht one of teh reasons we got rid of Pope? At max salary who would you rather have Sanneh or Pope? I would think the answer is Pope. Also I don't think Sanneh has a future anymore on the USMNT, at least not much past some qualifiers. With Pope, Bocanegra, Gibbs, Califf and Berhalter available to play in the center of the defense Sanneh doesn't beat those guys out. On the right he would be up against Cherundolo and maybe even Albright, both younger and Cherundolo has definitely proven himself with Hannover. If Sanneh's salary is really low like Moreno's, than it's a good deal, but anything over $75K is too much. I do agree that we need a defender first and foremost. We can score goals as we have proven in several games but we can't have a chance to win if we are giving away too many goals.

[elconejito]

i was under the impression that Sanneh played in front of the 3man backline or on the right side. I could be (probably am) wrong, but thats how i remember it. Its been along time since he's played tho.

There are two main questions in my mind
#1) can he play? this includes skill and fitness as well as how well his injury has healed.
#2) how much will he cost? other than the allocation that we lose, how much salary will he eat up since that may prevent us from filling other holes that desperately need filling. Its also directly tied to #1 cuz if he goes down after we sign him, we have less money and no more allocation

If he requires an allocation, I doubt he'd be cheap. I dont think the league is in the practice of using allocations on a $50k a year defender. He'd probably be much closer to max.

If he is healthy and cheap (the only way we make this move, IMHO) then he would be a great addition. He can help out along the whole backline and in midfield and maybe even striker. lets not forget he started out as a striker and he's well over 6ft (6'3"?)...

[DutchFootballRulez]

Since we're talking about the Crew.

What about Akwari? If the Crew does get Sanneh..they can't keep all this young talent on the bench. Akwari, Wingert..even if he's not truly ready..


and How many careers are we gonna place in Andrulis's hands!!!

[Th4119]

When United pounded the Crew a little while ago at RFK, the worst player on the field was by far Akwari. Right now, he'd only be an upgrade over Stokes, which sure isn't saying much.

[griffin1108]

Let's see, blow an allocation on an old, recently seriously injured player. No thanks. Don't waste an allocation on a stop-gap replacement for Nelsen. If he is gone (surgery and free agency), then use the allocation on a long-term replacement in the back. (And to think we cut Reyes to keep Cerritos -- how frickin' dumb must Kasper feel now?) In the meantime, if Nelsen can't go, put EZ and Stokes!!??!! in the middle, Namoff & Prideaux outside and bunker down boys and girls because it will get very ugly.

[DutchFootballRulez]

See..I don't expect Young defenders to be very good. Akwari is what 20 - 21?

[Th4119]

See..I don't expect Young defenders to be very good. Akwari is what 20 - 21?

Jeff Parke is doing alright this season.

Carlos Bocanegra and Nick Garcia both had pretty decent rookie seasons.

Chad Marshall isn't doing that badly at all.

Todd Dunivant was pretty fricking good last year.

Chris Albright has sucked for all his pro career and in what is basically a rookie season (or worse because he had NEVER played there before) he's not only playing solid defense but among the league leaders in assists.

Jim Curtin did well when he started playing for the Fire.

I could go on and on here, but maybe it's useless for two reasons. First, defenders, even young ones, can come into this league and have very successful seasons. It's been proven many a time.

Secondly, the point could be moot if you're trying to bring in another long term project in the back, but I think we've got more than enough to handle there at the moment with Mr. David Stokes. Why trade for someone you admit isn't very good, are you David Kasper's sockpuppet or something?

[Section106]

What happened to the Emilio rumor? Are we going to sign him and if so will that be the allocation? If I understand the translations from the other thread then there shouldn't be an allocation needed to sign him. In this scenario we have Sanneh, who did play central D at Nurnberg, with an allocation and our proven goal scorer on a free. The real question is can Tony still play. If Moreno is any example of soccer after back surgery then the answer is probably yes. Also playing Stokes is better then playing him wide. He was a central defender, IIRC and would do alot better then on the wing.

[DutchFootballRulez]

I was using Akwari as an example. Because Marshall is inaccessible, and I don't think Wingert is ready (nor a central defender)..

I was thinking of the Crew because adding Szetela, Andrulis has got to Save his job somehow..

[garbaggio]

Sanneh can still play and has proven it as recently as his USMNT appearances - the most recent of which was June 2 against the depleted Honduras side. I have no doubt that he would be an immediate and noticeable upgrade to DC United's onfield talent. Heck, we might even get him to make some runs forward like he did in the WC quarterfinals so we can have, at least at times, a bit of a large physical presence in front of our opponent's goal.

For DC United, the questions about Sanneh revolve around his long term durability and how much he would cost to acquire. In my opinion he is worth an allocation, IF he stays healthy. (Sorry, I don't how to make that "IF" print out bigger)

Sanneh still entertains notions of playing at the Bundesliga 2 level if you believe the Yanks Abroad threads. So I don't think we could sign him for much less than the league max, although an allocation would defray some of the costs for a time. However, if German teams don't demonstrate any interest his salary expectations will probably decline and make him more affordable to the DC. But I think if we sign him right now (as a stopgap for an injured Nelsen) we will need to pay a fairly hefty price by MLS standards.

[monster]

Read this (http://www.yanks-abroad.com/content.php?mode=news&id=000060) and tell me if you think Tony Sanneh is coming anywhere in the US, much less D.C.

[Serie Zed]

No. Love Sanneh. Would love to get him back. But not for an allocation. We've wasted enough of those, thanks.

[bofahey]

To me, it's really just a health question. If Tony is healthy, I believe he's certainly worth an allocation and league max.

If Nelsen ends up leaving, I think Tony could fill the void for several seasons as our central defender.

Once again, it's really all about his health in my book and I can't blame Tony for getting upset that MLS won't pony up the money he wants. If healthy, he's worth it.

[Jose L. Couso]

With Nelsen out for the next month/two months (and possibly in England next year), it may be time to rethink the subject.

Sanneh may be willing to come back to DC United is he gets the max salary.

If Sanneh stays healthy, he would be worth it.

[Section106]

Why can't people understand that Sanneh played for Nurnberg FC and not Nuremburg. The former is a football club and the latter is a city where the Nazi elite where tried after WW2. Sorry to be picky but my step-grandmother comes from Nurnberg. It is a lovely city that is famous for its Christmas cookies. And after reading the article Monster linked I'd say MLS has blown any chance of signing him.

[Grasscutter]

How about a three-way?

Sanneh to the Crew with our allocation; Crew give Danny Szeitgeist to MetroScum; we get back Eddie Pope.

Or some variation (Scum also give a spare forward like Galvan Rey or Glenn to one or both teams. Crew get first dibs on spare forward.) Everybody happy?


Why can't people understand that Sanneh played for Nurnberg FC and not Nuremburg. The former is a football club and the latter is a city where the Nazi elite were tried after WW2.

Good to know. Always thought it was a Koln/Cologne Munchen/Munich thing.

[Cweedchop]

Read this (http://www.yanks-abroad.com/content.php?mode=news&id=000060) and tell me if you think Tony Sanneh is coming anywhere in the US, much less D.C.


Brian, that article was written some time ago and MLS and Sanneh have made some serious progress since then..

I'm still putting this in the "I won't believe it till' I see it" category because I don't think that Sanneh is actually worth a max salary..

I was merely trying to suppose a strategy for United based on the fact that our best player will be out for almost two months and any help we can get will be a good thing for United.. We could do a lot worse than bringing back Tony Sanneh.. Besides, with the allocation, Tony's salary probably won't even hit the books this season..

[John L]

Tony's gotta realize he's crested his career in the Bundesliga and the rest of Europe - Unless he's got more personal reasons for wanting to stay - Any of which could be legitimate reasons for accepting play on a Div 2 team

Other than that coming back here seems like such a natural fit - Outside Def or Outside Halfback (but probably doesn't have the speed anymore) - Great in deadball situations, Def and Off - I'd pressure the MLS to try to negotiate a lower salary and then pick him up - But realize we got Cap room now and will likely have a lot more after the Dispersal Draft -

[monster]

Brian, that article was written some time ago and MLS and Sanneh have made some serious progress since then..

I'm still putting this in the "I won't believe it till' I see it" category because I don't think that Sanneh is actually worth a max salary..

I was merely trying to suppose a strategy for United based on the fact that our best player will be out for almost two months and any help we can get will be a good thing for United.. We could do a lot worse than bringing back Tony Sanneh.. Besides, with the allocation, Tony's salary probably won't even hit the books this season..
It was written a week ago, not "some time ago.".

The guy actually talked to Tony. Have you? Have you talked to Ivan about Tony? Or Durbin? Or Garber? Or Payne? Or Kasper?

If the answer to those questions is No, I'll take the word of a guy who has actually interviewed people involved.

If the answer is Yes to any of those, please share the comments so it can counter the interview of Tony Sanneh.