Getting a player like Appiah at the age of 28 would have been great. Too bad this opportunity seems to have passed. I wonder if there are lingering injury issues.
He must be the player Hyndman referred to in his interview with 3rd Degree about a player from Turkey which "everybody would be very happy about". I guess he didn't know how stingy his owner was but now he knows. There's this from the article too: Can't you imagine the following scenario? They could have gotten Appiah if not for Beckham and Donovan, but by March, Donovan may be gone to Germany permanently, and BOTH Appiah and Beckham may end up at Milan. Only in MLS!!!
Fkin hell, Appiah would be the best player in the league. Milan, Arsenal and Chelsea are looking to sign him, but Dallas passes
Without knowing all the details - specifically related to his knee situation - it really is crazy, isn't it? On the one hand, as an American soccer fan you have to love the Hunt Family for everything they've done for soccer in this country going well back into the 60s. I don't even know all their history but it's safe to say there'd be no MLS without them. But decisions like this seem to cut off their (and ours) nose despite their face. A player of Appiah's pedigree just falling into their lap - without a transfer fee of any kind as far as I can tell - and they decline. I mean, there's baby steps, and then there's baby steps.
The one who kept MLS and soccer alive in the country is unfortunately in heaven right now. Our GM has spouted that he wants to build us into a dynasty and is willing to spend the money if the right situation comes. A 27 year old world class midfielder who is the captain of a World cup second round team for free WHO WANTS TO PLAY FOR YOU! Granted, I'd be shocked if negotiations are dead or anything, so I'll wait to see what happens before completely freaking out. I'd sell Cooper in a heartbeat if it meant signing Appiah for multiple years...a freaking heartbeat.
Wouldn't there be other teams in MLS, with cap room and DP slots available, who could grab his signature? Surely there would have to be. Goodness, he'd be a great addition to any MLS club.
Ghana played Mexico in a friendly before the World Cup at Pizza Hut Park, so perhaps he had memories of it?
Wasn't Toronto ready to sign a DP in a "couple of weeks"? No surprise LA can't sign him, they have only 1 DP slot. DC surprises me, I personally haven't been impressed by Gallardo, they deserve better for 1.9 million. But, it is their money.
I'm sitting here up late on the West Coast watching an EPL rerun from earlier in the day just mulling over how shocked I am by all this. If I was an earnest FC Dallas fan like you are, I think I'd be apoplectic (sic?). Of course, we're going on scraps of details and don't know the facts of the case as always, but if Goff has the gist of the case down, it really is pitiful to the point I figure there's got to be more going on here. I can't even get over my earlier-cited Galaxy scenario: they turn him down 'casue of Donovan & Beckham and all 3 of them might be gone by next spring. Frickin' hilarious if not so disappointing... Anyway, it's late. Maybe the Hunts took a dive in the stock market crash
I can see that connection. But the D.C. United connection? How did those talks come to fruition? And certainly, his management team must have done their research about some of the other teams in MLS, too. So I'm sure he has other options in the U.S., as long as there are teams with cap room and DP slots open.
They're looking for a striker if I'm not mistaken though I did hear they were thinking about bringing de Guzman home, and he's a midfielder.
If FCD passes on Appiah and signs Borghetti to a DP contract, I'm not sure I'll be back to a game until Borghetti is off the team. I'm usually very supportive of the FO, in fact I still stand by Denilson not being a bad signing(better to have tried and lost than not tried at all). However, to have a world class player WHO IS WILLING TO PLAY FOR YOU FOR UNDER MARKET VALUE and you still don't want to pay...well let's just say it sucks rooting for a small team. As you said though, not all the details are out yet and I'll wait until they are before I make my judgement.
Well, as long as I'm wasting my life tonight, I researched him a bit and it was a long injury layoff 'cause of the knee though he's been back so far as I can tell since last '07 or early '08 (not sure). Maybe so far both DC and FCD have been scared off from teh injury concerns...after all, Ljundberg just went unde the knife after just being signed. Who knows. I'll go back to watching the World Club Cup.
big fan of appiah. He's not very well known to American soccer fans, but given DC's immense African population, he would have put lots of African butts in seats who were previously Eurosnobs (I should know, many of them are my cousins). Not Beckham or Blanco numbers, but would definitely be a noticeable increase. He's very well known among African soccer fans.
I swear, MLS has some idiots run it. Stephen Appiah is a well-rounded player that could defend and attack, in a great age, well known internationally with positive press behind him.
The only conceivable idea that I come come up with of why DC/FCD would pass on Appiah is the thought if signed he would bolt right back to Europe the first time someone showed interest. What me makes think this? The fact that he hasn't played in months and could use MLS as a way to build his game back up to show potential suitors. Well, he could sign with a European club in Jan. and accomplish the same thing? Yes he could, but with MLS he would actually have a preseason and actually be ready to play in potentially more games from March to August as opposed to Jan-May in Europe where it might take longer to get on the field because he hasn't played. I just think DC/FCD passed because Appiah's entourage may have indicated MLS would be a short term option and $2 million would be a lot to spend in that time frame. If this is the case I could see why they passed. With everything said a some point you just have to go for it. Sometimes when players of this caliber express interest you do whatever it takes to get them. You have to shove the potential problems to back of your head. I hate to say it but you think about the present first, future later. Appiah is known talent. A quality player who can raise the profile of any MLS club and the league. A legend in Ghana if you will. His resume speaks for itself. It sucks DC/FCD passed but if the above was considered/talked about I could see why the passed.
MLS isn't run by idiots. The choice of giving Appiah a DP contract is a club decision and totally separate from any league decisions. So what you probably meant was that MLS clubs are run by idiots, which I will say, in this case, you are probably wrong (FCD is run by idiots but this isn't a hugely stupid move I don't think). DC has two DP slots and would need to buy out or transfer either Emilio or Gallardo. You aren't going to see Emilio go because that leaves them with two DPs in the midfield and no one for them to pass to up top. It will probably be extremely expensive to buy out Gallardo's contract and may be just as hard to get him transferred. So DC is kind of in a tough spot to sign him. FCD is a more interesting case because they have a DP spot available. Their coach likes him because he can play both ways and it seems like it would be a good signing. From what I remember though Appiah is more of a D-mid or Central Mid type player which is not really a position they are in need of. They need a left mid, a striker (if cooper goes), and a true playmaker. If Appiah could fill the playmaker role I think they would jump on it. However, it makes more sense for them to concentrate on finding a player that fits their needs instead of just finding a good out of contract player and buying him, even if they don't need him. Now I could be wrong about the FCD situation and an FCD fan will let me know I'm wrong. But based on my knowledge of FCD and my (limited) knowledge of Appiah I believe that it is probably the correct decision. Until we get to the point where we have a higher cap and multiple DP slots you are going to see teams have to pass up class players i order to make sure they are a well rounded team.
Philly...this guy easily would have been (in true soccer circles) the best signing MLS ever had..and Dallas in particular. This is a world class player at 27...not 34. World class two way mids just dont fall in your lap.
I completely agree with this. However, as a previous poster stated, who's to say he won't blow out of MLS in August when the transfer window opens up? To me, this is the biggest risk of all and MLS clubs would be foolish to take a chance on that happening as opposed to gauranteed contracts for thier DP players now. Trust me, as soon as Appiah is back to full fitness and playing well (not exactly a given in MLS these days), European teams will look at his $2 million dollar transfer fee and snicker and overpay as they usually do. This of course will give MLS a healthy profit but do you take that chance? My guess is that both DC and Dallas both said that it wasn't worth it. DC already has Gallardo on the books and it's not easy to just dump him for Appiah. Most DC fans will say "Hell yeah, dump his ass, Gallardo sucked this year!" which wasn't exactly true. Yes, he was a major dissapointment because he was injured for over half the season but his play on the field was effective. It's easy spend someone else's money. I can see why DC passed on this opportunity.
I understand that. I understand he would be like a Beckham class type player. The problem is that our league just isn't structured yet to accommodate a player like that. Is Appiah going to be able to be like Beckham and Angel and buck up and accept that the level of play is not what he is used to? Or is he going to start complaining about the level of play and feel like he made a mistake. I love the DP experiment and I think it is great that we have it. I just don't think we have the league set up yet to take full advantage of it. Appiah still might come (nothing is ruled out yet) and he might be everything we wished Beckham would be (hard for Beckham to make in impact with the cast he has around him). I truly hope that he comes and sets the MLS alight. I just don't think we have any teams that have an open DP slot that need him or will pay for him.
I really think Appiah is the perfect Aquisition to this league, much like Etcehverry coming when he was 27, he could come still youthful and show the MLS what is really good. He like etcheverry both come with injury prone bodys, but i think its worth the risk given his playing style and how good he is. And to answer the question on how he got connected to DC, this is how i see it, Victor Mcfarlene said about next season a couple months ago were going to look into African talent more so than South America, which makes me think they looked at Appiah, and given how Gallardo was looking at recently leaving to go back to play for River, but then they decided that he isnt worth it right now, thats how talks fell through to get Gallardo out of his Contract and back to River, and Appiah in as the new DP.
even if he does bolt to europe in august, any transfer offers would be pure profit. the two millon is just salary so its not like that would even be a bad thing, it would just give mls more money to buy some young south americans later on. also if its pride thats bugging you about him just coming to use us, who the hell cares, were probably not even in the top 20 leagues in the world based on quality so when we can get a great player to bump up the play even for just one summer we should take it. there are top level teams in europe that would love this guy; FCD needs to realize the opportunity thats been gifted them and snatch appiah up. oh and if these mls teams are too dumb to sign him, spurs could use a good dmid