Steve Guppy to DC United? :: Combined Thread

[Knave]

When D.C. United arrived at its training grounds outside RFK Stadium yesterday, a fierce wind was shooting snow and ice into the players' rapidly reddening faces and carrying away anything unsecured. The white soccer ball, indistinguishable on a snow-covered field, was replaced by a bright orange one. Young midfielder Nana Kuffour was the target of snowballs as he set up one of the mini-goals.

"Beautiful -- just like summer in Poland!" Coach Peter Nowak, a native of Poland, said before cutting off practice about a half-hour early.

And ...
The club is closing in on a deal with English veteran Steve Guppy, a left-side midfielder who turns 36 this month. He might join the team next week, a source close to the situation said.
I trust Nowak, but if I ever had reason to doubt him ... well, signing Guppy would be a good reason. I don't like this one bit.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18286-2005Mar8.html

[Section106]

I'll reserve judgement on Steve Guppy until I see him play. I do trust Nowak. I think someone who played for Celtic and those EPL teams can contribute to the team and help the younger players. Maybe Nowak is looking for more veteran leadership now that Stewart has left.

As for Odvan...
"We need a couple more days to see how he really is," Nowak said. "The first couple days were pretty good. The guys have started to see what he's about."
...I think this statement bodes well for Odvan's chances of signing with the team.

[Lowecifer]

United signed rookie midfielder Nick Van Sicklen and free agent forward Jamil Walker to contracts. Terms were not disclosed.

Good to see.

I can't figure out why the hell we're interested in Steve Guppy. 36? Wycombe?

[SABuffalo786]

I trust Peter is acting in the best interest of the team.


Hopefully Guppy can bring some of the veteran leadership and midfield depth we lost when Earnie went to Velno.

If he doesn't play up to scratch, he f---s off back to Blighty. Plain and simple. Peter won't tolerate anything less than 100 percent.

[spidergoose]

Apparently when United set out to replace Earnie Stewart on the wing, they really set out to replace Earnie Stewart...

Guppy is literally one day younger than Stewart. So there's that.


The youth movement continues! :D

[Hezbolt]

If they had a similar contract to what Jamie had/has - based heavily on incentives with a low base salary it might not be to bad. Then, if he is more of sub he doesn't eat up much in salary, though I don't like having an SI slot used on a bench player. But if he can bring some added leadership and experiance for the younger players to learn from on and off the field then it might not be that bad of an idea. Having never seen him play or know much about him I will leave that to others. Although, I can't imagine Poitr signing or agreeing to bring in someone that wouldn't cut it or be a contributor in someway. Just seems to go against everything I have seen or heard from him or about him.

[Zman Gunner]

Apparently when United set out to replace Earnie Stewart on the wing, they really set out to replace Earnie Stewart...

Guppy is literally one day younger than Stewart. So there's that.


The youth movement continues! :D

Good catch on the youth movement - I guess that we can begin searching the internet for a winger who is one day younger than Guppy who will be his eventual replacement.

[Zman Gunner]

I'll reserve judgement on Steve Guppy until I see him play. I do trust Nowak. I think someone who played for Celtic and those EPL teams can contribute to the team and help the younger players. Maybe Nowak is looking for more veteran leadership now that Stewart has left.

As for Odvan...

...I think this statement bodes well for Odvan's chances of signing with the team.


I believe that the trial for Odvan and the non-trial for Guppy is strictly based on the fact that Guppy has been playing on a regular basis in 2005; whereas, Odvan's Fluminense contract expired at the end of 2004 and has not had any competitive games. Guppy's 1 cap career for England is mainly based on England's absolute lack of a left winger at the time. We are now officially loaded at midfield:

AM - Gomez, Adu, Quintanilla
RM - Gros, Van Sicklen, Kuffour (plus Quaranta if needed)
LM - Kovalenko, Guppy
CM - Olsen, Simms
DM - Carroll, Lawson, Kuykendall

With Guppy, Van Sicklen, and probably Odvan joining the senior roster and Walker joining the developmental roster (along with Boswell and the remaining 2005 draft picks), the roster does not seem to have room for everyone - I smell a trade.

[Sundevil9]

If they had a similar contract to what Jamie had/has - based heavily on incentives with a low base salary it might not be to bad. Then, if he is more of sub he doesn't eat up much in salary, though I don't like having an SI slot used on a bench player. But if he can bring some added leadership and experiance for the younger players to learn from on and off the field then it might not be that bad of an idea. Having never seen him play or know much about him I will leave that to others. Although, I can't imagine Poitr signing or agreeing to bring in someone that wouldn't cut it or be a contributor in someway. Just seems to go against everything I have seen or heard from him or about him.

Depending on the length of the deal, it doesn't matter to me. If it's a one year deal, then I see no harm (unless he has a Stoichkov-like clubhouse pressence). Assuming that Odvan is also picked up, then United has addressed all of it's needs for the season. The roster and budget will be completely filled. And Guppy/Odvan will be the #3, and #4 SI spots. So we won't be looking overseas for any mid-season help.....leaving only in league trades.

I think it could only be a problem if Guppy has a longer, high $$ deal.

[doctorjim]

Mid-Atlantic Soccer reports that Guppy is to sign a two-year deal with DC. Guppy has been with four teams since January 2004 -- making a total of 36 appearances. His best years seem to have been with Leicester and before that Port Vale. He has been on a game to game contract with Wycombe.

[griffin1108]

With Guppy, Van Sicklen, and probably Odvan joining the senior roster and Walker joining the developmental roster (along with Boswell and the remaining 2005 draft picks), the roster does not seem to have room for everyone - I smell a trade.

Doesn't the Guppy signing add further fuel to the Kovalenko will be traded rumor mill? BTW, I love the name Guppy, just makes me grin :D

[Cweedchop]

A decided weakness on this team right now is outside midfield.. If Guppy can come in and play with the same commitment that his fellow midfielders employ, I don't care if he is 36 or 66.. If he can do the job, so better for us..

So far Nowak has been pretty damn good at putting pieces together for this team and Guppy it seems is just another piece to the puzzle..

If it turns out after a few weeks of training that Guppy is a bad move, then so be it.. It's not like this team hasn't seen the likes of Alavanja or Villegas before..

Let's not shovel dirt on this move until we see what he have in Guppy. Is there reason to be skeptical over signing a player recently from the 4th division of English soccer? Sure there is, but one thing I've learned from being around Nowak is that he doesn't make moves like this without a reason.. He doesn't suffer fools greatly..

[Sachin]

I like the way terms of Sick's contract were not disclosed after some Wisconsin paper reported them last week or earlier this week.

Methinks the Goff-father might be having some competition. :D

Sachin

[rugman]

Mid-Atlantic Soccer reports that Guppy is to sign a two-year deal with DC. Guppy has been with four teams since January 2004 -- making a total of 36 appearances. His best years seem to have been with Leicester and before that Port Vale. He has been on a game to game contract with Wycombe.

This makes no sense. Why would Nowak sign a guy to a 2 year contract when he is on a game to game basis in the English 4th division? There must be something behind this that we are not hearing about. Does Peter personally know this guy from when he was a player?

???????????

[Sanguine]

This makes no sense. Why would Nowak sign a guy to a 2 year contract when he is on a game to game basis in the English 4th division? There must be something behind this that we are not hearing about. Does Peter personally know this guy from when he was a player?

???????????

maybe it's going to be a player/coach deal.

[TCompton]

maybe it's going to be a player/coach deal.

Does anyone know what type of winger Guppy was? I wouldn't be surprised if Nowak wants someone with specific "winger" experience to help out players like Josh, Nick, Nana, etc. It'd be sort of like the arrangement that Hristo had with Alecko and Santino. (I think I remember reading/hearing something about Hristo coaching Santino on something as simple as the type of shoes to wear or how to cover the laces.) If that's the case, then I think this is a great move. If Guppy can help make our young wingers better players, then that's wonderful. Some people are worth more to the team in the locker room or practice field than on game day. (I think Earnie was a great example of that last season. After he left, we heard more about his contributions as a leader in the locker room than anything else.)

But back to Guppy, why wouldn't someone who is definitely in the twilight of his career and on a game-by-game contract with his current club not want to be apart of DC United? He'll be able to start transitioning his role on a club from player to coach; grow the game in the US; beat the Metroscum at least 4 times this season; win a CONCACAF Cup trophy, an MLS Cup trophy, a US Open Cup trophy, and if we're lucky, a Carolina Cup trophy. I mean, if I could transition my career from a fan with an accounting degree to a bench player and do all that, I'd do it in a heartbeat! :D

Plus, I don't really care if Guppy is brought in as a 47 year old sub or a starter. Nowak has made it perfectly clear that only the top players will make it into the game.

[DeKo21DCU]

Doesn't the Guppy signing add further fuel to the Kovalenko will be traded rumor mill?

I've said it before and I hate to say it again but I think the chances of Dema ending the season in a United kit are slim.

This news just adds to that even further. He's becoming more and more redundant.

[michael greene]

maybe it's going to be a player/coach deal.

How about player/mascot? Guppy could be backing up Talon or Pollito if they get hurt. :)

[GoDC]

I don't remember people being all that excited when Gomez was signed last year either. Yes Ray had identified him long before but no one knew much about him. I am willing to give our new FISH a chance.

[BBBulldog]

you guys act like every dude in their 30s is about to die of old age :D