If Nguyen leaves, I hope we get an actual player for him, rather than allocation money. Who knows what we do with allocation money.
It does seem like we are seeing some improvement in their ability to find and sign players (we have yet to see how good they are, or how well they will fit in, though). Three young players who look at this point like they could be good additions is at least an improvement at this stage. As Burns pointed out, the big salary dump they made in the offseason has made available assets they can use to sign players. I share your skepticism about their ability to find good value for allocation money, but I'm feeling less so than a few weeks ago.
Well, the Nguyen situation is off to a fun start. Here’s @NERevolution general manager Mike Burns on Lee Nguyen not reporting for the start of #NERevs preseason.The club is taking a zero-tolerance approach. #MLS pic.twitter.com/HYQNQh0x7Q— Jonathan Sigal (@JonathanSigal) January 23, 2018
Just like they took a zero-tolerance approach to Pepe Moreno, who had a long and illustrious career with the club. Play hardball and you will always get them to crumble. Humiliate him, and he'll be so grateful that another MVP-like year is on the cusp of the horizon! You tell 'em, Mikey-Mike!
Oh, you beat me to it. Nothing quite screamed at me so much with "We don't have a backup plan" then watching that Jose Moreno situation blow up. Looks like they'll handle this situation with the same "delicate" approach.
"Not showing up" doesn't seem like a good way to handle it either. For one thing, it's kind of self-defeating, because it hurts the team's chances of getting quality trade offers.
So much for my theory of BF sitting down with Lee to clear the air as a first order of business after he was hired. On the bright side, if they trade Lee for assets, they can get the roster back down to 20...
Quality offers might be taking a back seat to convincing the team to agree to a trade (an exit). Knowing the general mood of these boards, Lee will vilified. I think it is interesting. It is a part of sport and is done fairly regularly. I’m more interested in why he wants traded.
So after acquiring competition "in spades" from the draft to compete with Farrell at RB, we're trialing a veteran who plays...RB
If I were Farrell, I’d have my bags ready to pack in a hurry. Friedel is not showing much interest in keeping him in the lineup, it seems to me.
I wonder about the thinking that goes with taking a contract to get a substantial raise and then asking to be traded before the contacted completion of the contact
Periodic reminder from someone who has dealt with Mike Burns: He is a terrible GM.— Ron Waxman 🏳️🌈🇺🇦 (@RonWaxman) August 7, 2017
National media isn't exactly helping Burns in his argument right now. One thread starts with this... New England from the start has squandered their potential return for Nguyen and even now look to get much less than if they moved him before the draft...— Harrison Crow aka Homey (@Harrison_Crow) January 23, 2018 Another... Instead of looking to cash in on Nguyen in what was a ripe market, #NERevs holding out and trying to bring back an unhappy player. Don't think this ends well. @bwarshaw14 wrote about Ola and how Berhalter's approach is noticed by players around league. Revs actions are, too. https://t.co/2qbcEuxyPi— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) January 23, 2018 Nguyen's value won't be higher than it is right now. Guy has 82 goals+assists in past four seasons, behind only BWP, Giovinco, Valeri and Villa. He's 31 going on 32. #NERevs like to grind down contracts, but sometimes you have to capitalize on value and assets.— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) January 23, 2018
Sometimes you just have to quote yourself. While I'm not happy with the way Lee is handling the situation, Burns is still the one with history in screwing up these delicate situations. Burns sucks at signing new players, Burns sucks at retaining players, and Burns sucks at selling players. Isn't that the entire job description of a GM!?
It is also an historical fact that Burns sucks at guarding the near post. The Sucker is good at sucking.
During the SuperDraft broadcast, the desk jockeys were talking about Chicago trading Accam to Philly. They were speculating that Chicago was making space to acquire Nguyen.
Lee Nguyen doesn't report for first day of New England Revolution preseason January 23, 2018, 5:55PM EST Jonathan Sigal
The general mode of these boards tends to blame ownership/management (see existing replies as evidence). If Nguyen ends up being vilified, it's because of the way he's handling it, not that long after signing an extension.