There was the rumor a couple of months ago, when Garth said they were pursuing an American defender playing in Norway, but I'm told that it is a done deal now. We all know how many rumors actually pan out (Jay Jay), but it looks like this one will.
Last time this "American playing in Europe" rumor came up, everybody on BS was convinced that it was Nat Borchers, it turned out to be Ian Joy. Are you sure it's Borchers?
1. Played for the crapids. Rose to the fringe level of the national team. Left for the greener pastures of Norway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Borchers 2. no idea
IBIK, i made the same mistake. Ian Joy played in Germany, but Nat Borchers was the rumored American playing in Norway. That would be pretty neat to have the back line look like: L........................................R Joy...Mantilla...Olave...Borchers That's a serious change. I'm guessing Borchers would beat out Wingert and Beltran at that spot, although i think he is a center back. But who knows? What an amazing transformation in back. Borchers has been capped too I believe. Here's his bio on yanks abroad.
No, this scuttlebutt was separate from Joy--who at the time had already been announced (unofficially). I had a blurb up about Borchers--based on James Edward's DesNews article that same day--on January 11th on rslfm.com. Others soon speculated (erroneously) that Josh Grenier might be the Yank-in-Europe that Garth was referring to. Anyway, interesting development if true.
Talk about a change...whether this group would be the answer we are looking for remains to be seen, but one thing for certain is at least the attempt to fix our backline.
The only way to win games is to score more goals than the opponent, When will REAL realize their shortcomings.
I think when RSL realized had they not had Nik Rimando last year, they may have lost some games by 4 or more goals.
I don't see the connection. You identify players, you work on acquiring those players, and unless you're only going to sign whoever the first one to work out is, you acquire them in the order in which things work out. I have confidence in Garth when he says he is working on a number of options for another forward, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be thrilled to have Borchers in the back. We want Sturgis and Wingert and Beltran to push the other defenders. We want another starter-quality forward to push Findley and Yura and Fabian. Garth says he wants quality at all 18 game day roster spots, and from what I've seen, he intends to make this happen.
Last time I checked, defense was a huuuuuuuuuuge shortcoming for RSL. In 2007 RSL was just as bad for goals allowed as goals scored (10 of 13). I don't think there's a position on this team that couldn't use more good signings except maybe the central midfield. You're right, but I think they've been alluding to this for a while anyway. There's a chance we may be having Kreis on the RSL Show podcast in the near future - if that happens, I'll ask him about Sturgis playing in the back.
ODD Grenland confirms Nat Borchers is returning to MLS. "Nat Borchers leaving ODD Grenland" ODD Grenland confirms Nat is leaving and then thanks him for his contributions to the club and wishes him luck as he continues his career.
Didn't we just re-sign Wingert to a multi-year deal? Why would we leave him off the starting 11 after doing so? Doesn't make sense. Perhaps Olave isn't going to pan out?
They did. The defense needs work, hence...they are working on it. Part of scoring more goals than the other team also means not letting them score at will on you.
hmm i don`t know how you defence is atm but, i did see Odd in a few games last year and well they were not very impressive, and if i remember correctly Borchers struggeld to get playing time.
It is my understanding that if Borchers does come back to MLS that there are two other teams ahead of RSL that have dibs on him!
SJ would have first crack at him. I would think they have a more pressing need for him, as well. And even if they didn't want him, I'm sure LA or Columbus would jump at the opportunity and make a good offer.
Did he ever play with the NT? Doesn't the lotter/allocation only apply to returning NT players? If so, do they have to be current NT players or just ever have played on the NT. As far as Nate Sturgis at CB, this was already addressed by Garth who said that they see Nate focusing as a D-mid, and even though he has played CB with the U-20 NT he now needs to specialize in this league. I don't remember which interview this was, but maybe someone else does. Without revealing your source, can you characterize what type of source it is? I am a little skeptical that we'd do this unless he is coming dirt cheap. If this is $100K plus money, I'd rather see us spend this on a forward. It'll be interesting to see where we stand from a salary cap standpoint with all of the turnover in our lineup.
I tend to believe Jeito's claim. He has a solid track record with new info, and uber-cautious Garth Lagerwey all but telegraphed this move last month. That said, I question those who would automatically pencil Borchers into RSL's starting XI. It could be the overall impact of this move would be roughly equivalent to when Chris Lancos was brought back from Germany. Salary wouldn't seem to be a major obstacle, IMHO--at least not for this player and for this roster.
I disagree. Borchers showed that just a couple years ago he could play very well in the MLS. Lancos never established that. In the case of Borchers the question is $$$,$$$. For what it's worth, back when the "Borchers coming back to the Rapids" rumors were rampant on the high plains of Colorado, the salary that was with those rumors was $200k. If that is the case I fail to see how Borchers is worth it.
I wasn't necessarily questioning his information, but this only really makes sense if he is at a $100K and under salary. If prk166's info is right about his market value being around $200K then this seems like it could be a bad signing especially if he ends up being a non-starter. I hope we are not back to the days of starting a CB at an outside back position (or vice-versa). And I don't see him displacing Mantilla and Olave, who Lagerway has been highly touting (could be one of the best CB's in the league - I think those where his words).
He's in the USMNT player pool. Any player who played on the youth and/or senior team falls into that category. As a returning Nat player, SJ would have first rights to sign him. Not likely. He'd be at least in the$150-175K range, if not higher.