I would love to have a go with Fredy as well... however, 6 years of evidence tells me the Caps will not acquire this player. Until there is a Greg Kerfoot epiphany about how to run a club, these continued rumors of players seem to be bunk. Just the Caps or someone loyal to the Caps wanting to create the impression they are active so they can say "aw shucks, we had several close deals, but nothing materialized. It really is hard to get a DP for this league". I want to be wrong. I want to see the owner change his belief system and start to have ambition and have bigger goals than "host a home playoff game once in a while".
lets hope there has been an epiphany and this rumor actually has legs- fredy is training in seattle, so he is leaving tianjin and heading back to MLS... someplace-- and apparently his wife loves the cascadia area and we know how wives play a HUGE role into a player's career choices (just ask kenny miller) both seattle and portland are filled which leaves vancouver- apparently, the allocation order would need some wheeling and dealing to allow vancouver to swoop fredy up- either cash (TAM) or a trade/draft selections for 2018- although with all the MLS 'smoke and mirrors' with money, etc, its hard to really tell- if montero does land here, then we have a very quick- but smallish- front line with hurtado doing the grunt work- we are still in need of 1 more significant MF or #9 player, depending where montero would slot in
actually if the whitecaps do land montero and if they need to do a deal to move up in the allocation order, then- if barnes is not going back to england- i would deal techera- with manneh, reyna, bolanos, bustos and davies, the Caps have enough speed and better trickery i believe the deal would have to be with Minnie UFC- if it isnt a player, it would have to be for TAM or whatever else MLS pot there is
it would be a loan for 1 year and an option to buy- source: The Whitecaps deal would be for an initial one-year loan with an option to buy, sources said. Because Montero was officially transferred out of MLS in 2014, he is subject to the league's allocation order. One source indicated that Vancouver had a deal in place to obtain the top spot via a trade with Minnesota United, though what the Whitecaps would part with in terms of assets is unknown at this point.
http://www.eightysixforever.com/201...years-whitecap-team-be-better-than-last-years read the fans comments- they are worth the read- we are not alone in our analysis for 2017 even if they do sign montero- and i think it will be a loan with an option to buy in 2018 when he is a free agent- the Whitecaps biggest void will be a team leader and captain and that is a huge hole in this team as it has been from the day that jay demerit retired
the longer the monetro story is played out, the less chance he ends up in vancouver and let me state again- there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY, THE CAPS WILL BUY MONTERO- the buyout cost plus his salary would be in the +$8 mill US level and the owners have never, ever shown anywhere near that kind of ambition- it will have to be a loan- even with tianjin picking up part of fredy's salary- and then signing him as a free agent in the summer of 2018 when his contract ends keep in mind, the highest paid player EVER for the Caps- pedro morales- came as a free agent and a salary of $1.5 mill US; the biggest cost of $2-3 mill US to buy the classic FLOP, octavio rivero, and then pay him $800 000 US in fact, if there was an epiphany about spending huge money aka TFC, then i would rather it go to some player with a pedigree of a giovinco- montero is not even on the same soccer planet as gio PS heard a rumor today that orlando is sniffing around fredy- any1 have any news about this??
A rumor that Whitecaps may be interested in Werder Bremen's Aron Johannsson. He is a 26 yr old, oft-injured US international who had enough success in the Eredivisie to get a transfer to Werder Bremen where he has shown nothing. Does a good job of putting shots on goal but not very robust and has what I personally find to be an annoying habit of throwing up his arms in frustration anytime he doesn't get a ball that he feels should have been played to him. Can be tricky with ball on the ground but would not add anything as an aerial presence in box. Most importantly, he has had groin issues that I'm not sure would be a great match for a turf field. He did have groin surgery last season. I'm sure he would be cheaper than Montero but if the Whitecaps are interested in him, I hope they thoroughly do their homework to determine if he is a fit. Injury, fitness and probably form has limited his appearances this season and last. I'm sure WB would be thrilled to get back some of the 5 mil euro transfer fee they paid for him. His contract runs through June 2019. http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/aron-johannsson-bacon-at-bremen.1981905/page-91#post-35130404
if orlando does come in with an offer- even a little less than vancouver- and gets to play with kaka and larin (orlando with head coach kreis who has a MLS Cup to his credit and a 67% point total over 7 years at RSL), or hurtado and jacobson (vancouver with head coach robinson who has a 9/10 2016 placing, 1 striker formation and a point total of 45% over 2 years) , its obvious which one fredy would take, isnt it?? and its warmer in orlando and on grass which are good for a colombian
fredy is signed- well done, whitecaps! nice to eat some crow- we do have a lot of strikers, whether or not most are not capable of scoring more than 5 goals for the season- will fredy be a #9 or #10?? IMO, i would give the very talented bolanos a crack at the #10- he and fredy could be a great combination lots of speed up front, but how many can put the ball in the back of the net? getting fredy addresses some of that need, for sure possible lineup: ousted williams, parker, waston, harvey laba, tiebert/jacobson techera/davies, bolanos/mezquida montero/hurtado, manneh/barnes other subs: nerwinski, tornaghi, reyna, bustos, greig, dean, de jong, levis, flores, mckendry, seiler something- like a trade for 1 of our forwards for money- still has to give before the season starts
Hey, it's a Whitecaps special (no transfer fee, lots of the money paid by the league, etc). However, they got a serious addition to the team. Now, if the MLS pays enough of Atiba's transfer fee, we may have another Whitecaps special. I am not sure I like Garber making up rules to benefit one specific club though. There are only three eligible Canadians playing abroad that would command a DP wage (two of them are firmly rooted in England and won't be coming here), so it is a rule that applies to one player this year. TO and MTL don't have the right fit or spots for Atiba, so this really was a bone for Vancouver "We know you won't spend money, so let's help you out because we need to get you going in a positive direction". It also adds up with why he announced that here. I do not think Carl is more than an average coach... however, if they also add Atiba, even he should be able to get a good season out of this bunch. On paper and as a group, with Atiba, this would be the best starting 11 they have ever had in the MLS.
i never thought that the Caps would pay a DP salary in the +$2-3 mill range- maybe tianjin is picking up part of the salary absolutely right and i would feel a lot of excitement and optomism for the season- i might even attend more games than i initially thought- montero and hutchinson will bring me hope and belief- i just hope that coach robinson plays the right formations to get the +results and hutchinson might just be the captain and leader that the whitecaps have needed since jay demerit retired
if the whitecaps do have montero and hutchinson, then the owners have stepped up to the plate financially, possibly to the tune of $4-5 mill and it would be awesome to say WELL DONE!
besiktas turned down a $4 mill offer from west ham for atiba last summer; now he has a contract until may, 2018 CONTRACT DETAILS 2015-2016 season: € 1.000.000 guaranteed wage and a € 10.000 match appearance fee, 2016-2017 season: € 1.000.000 guaranteed wage and a €10.000 match appearance fee Atiba will also receive a € 200.000 bonus if he starts 30 matches in the first eleven per season. his transfer value is in the $2.5-3 mill range IMO, along with craig forrest, atiba is the best player canada has helped produce- jason devos, paul stalteri and les wilson are the next 3
montero: They’re paying a pretty penny for the 29-year-old Colombian, who will occupy a Designated Player spot. According to a source, the Whitecaps will pay Montero $1.77 million in 2017, though they did not have to send a loan fee to China to acquire him. According to MLS Players’ Union documents, that’s the highest salary the club have paid a player since entering MLS in 2011, eclipsing the $1.41 million paid to Pedro Morales in each of his three years with the team. Vancouver also shipped $100,000 in General Allocation Money in 2018, $125,000 in Targeted Allocation Money in 2018 and an 2017 international roster spot to Minnesota for the No. 1 spot in the Allocation Ranking Order in order to acquire Montero. i have a hard time seeing fredy as a lone striker- its just too demanding on a player and it takes away from what he does best- scoring inside the 18 yard box- being a target player who runs all over the field is such a waste of his talent IMO and will probably wear him out and frustrate him, much like it did with rivero and i still think that 1 of the forwards will be traded
Report: Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson hinted at a potential signing on Feb. 20 when talking to reporters by saying that he has not named a captain because the club might be bringing someone else in. apparently, it could be a argentinian DMF, Adrián Arregui, 26, who might become the missing captain- he's the team captain at his team, temperley, in the argentine 1st division; MY GUESS- it would have to be a loan with an option to buy http://www.soccerpunter.com/players/282502-Adrián-Arregui if it is true, then we can goodbye to the atiba hutchinson rumor
Link says Arregui is 24 which would be young to come in cold to the Whitecaps and become captain. Unless he is clearly top guy of the squad. It would be interesting to bring in a DMF given that is the only position DP Laba can play and there is already a back up with Jacobson. I like Laba and appreciate his effort but a DMF that only wins 31% of tackles seems a bit of a luxury for a DP slot.
24 is right- on a second point, if you have watched DMF, atiba hutchinson, who has a transfer rating in the $4-5 mill area, then you can see how valuable that quality is to a team- he links to his teammates to relieve pressure- always moving to empty spaces, giving players with the ball a man to pass to in order to get out of trouble- it doesnt seem much, but his passing and linking rate is very, very high- which makes him a DP asset- hutch brings calmness and rarely wastes a pass if the Caps do sign the argentinian, then if he is almost as capable, then he will be very valuable- i would love to see hutch finish his career here in vancouver- not sure its going to happen
game vs NYRB: 1-1 1. manneh got a lucky goal 2. techera did a disgusting kick to the NYRB player's groin- should get some games suspension other- TFC is building more depth and has to be the favorite for MLS Cup- although montreal, NYCFC and seattle will be in the race - if vancouver gets a MF general/captain, they will be in the race for #4-6 playoff position
Hello all.... I do a weekly matchday thread over in the Union forum. You all are welcome to join in our discussion of the upcoming season opener. All I ask is that anyone wishing to join in keep things civil and on topic, no rivalries crap please! You can join us HERE if you'd like.
i notice that 28 year old Canadian international DMF, scott arfield, playing at burnley of the EPL, is being used as a sub- he would be cheaper than hutchinson and his salary must be cheaper also- not the same pedigree level as hutch, but he is younger- his roots are from england and converted his passport in 2016 to canada in order to play for the national team- he would be an upgrade as a DMF (sorry to tiebert) i do think the Caps will bring in another DMF, possible team captain/leader, so here is hoping it will make a difference to the team for making the playoffs- at this point- even with montero- i dont see a playoff team- seattle, portland, LA, SKC, dallas are better teams IMO- it will be dog's race with SJ, Colorado, RSL, and houston for the 6th spot (MUFC will bring up the rear) whomever they do bring in will be either a loan payment with an option to buy later, or a free agent (and i dont know any that would fit the bill)- if its a canadian international, then i see MLS HQ helping foot the bill- the only 2 available are hutchinson and arfield whatever happens, we all know that the ownership group will NOT pay a huge transfer fee- TFC and the Impact are leaving the whitecaps in the dust with owner(s) who have a vision/financial willingness to win it all and make a significant imprint in their markets (both IMO are in the top 5 picks to win MLS Cup 2017; along with NYCFC, seattle and portland)