If this is even in the works, it means that LA will be shopping for a DP spot. I agree that I don't think there is much of a chance of us getting a DP player to come in the near future. I wonder what we could get from LA for our DP spot?
Seeing that there's rumors that he flies home via helicopter from Newcastle every week, it's hard to imagine that he'd be interested in relocating to the filth and the fury of LA.
If its good enough for Posh, its good enough for him! Plus he DID play for Liverpool, it doesn't get much worse than that.
Goff is speculating that Gallardo may be out in DC, and Christian Gomez might make a return. Although it's just speculation, this could be an interesting situation. It seems like I recall that there were some bad feelings just prior to Gomez being traded last season.
Ives is reporting that San Jose has signed Amway as its jersey sponsor. We are no longer the only pyramid scheme sponsored team in the MLS! (unless if I'm missing another team that has one)
Looks like golden balls might also be out of LA http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=613255&sec=europe&&cc=5901
Today's exchange rate makes that offer equal to under $6.5 million. That isn't much of a commitment. I bet Milan has that kind of money laying around in the locker room. LAG got Beckham on a free, but I think they ought to make Milan show that they really, really want him -- AEG shouldn't sell him for anything less than...oh...$12 million. Then they'd have to scour the locker room AND the office for loose change to pay for Beckyham.
I don't think Milan would be willing to overpay right now since Beckham is available free in October. If I'm MLS, I take that $4.7M for him right now, especially in this economy. That kind of coin will make up for a lot of empty seats this upcoming season.
Yeah, if you want to be reasonable, I guess. Too bad they didn't sell Kaka. Then AEG could have taken them to the cleaners.
Interesting that the league itself has been noticeably silent on this issue, instead letting the clubs do most of the talking thus far: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=613336&sec=england&cc=5901 I [still] don't understand well enough about ownership of contracts, who has to approve what, who gets what money, etc. in MLS, but it seems like more than just LAG/AEG would have a vested interest if this actually happens (which, IMHO, seems more and more likely every time it gets brought up). I don't mind saying that I've enjoyed watching Beckham play in MLS, and I think (for the most part) that it's been good for league exposure. I don't really care if he leaves, but good for the league? Not so sure. However, Beckham has made no secret about wanting to be an active part of England's qualifying efforts for WC 2010, and Milan certainly is a better place for that than LAG. There's a reason (beyond just the $$) that all our USMNT players want to be in Europe, and Beckham's no different. The irony is, if LAG sell both Donovan and Beckham, they're left with essentially nothing other than some deep pockets (which AEG already has), a crappy roster, and a history of underachieving with star talent. I can't imagine their next DP signing will be quite so easy.
The "Chicken Dancer" is headed to Toronto. It was only a matter of time before the Cunucks got this Canuck. http://torontofc.neulion.com/tfc/console.jsp?catid=2&id=362
Ives is reporting the the McCarty deal is officially no more: http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2009/01/mls-ticker-mccarty-deal-nixed-sounders-land-cuban-and-league-bosses-meets-ottawa-group.html
Loan-star Beckham torn over move to AC Milan Sounds like Beckham is already packing his bags and just trying to find a nice way to say "See ya!" to LAG. A chance to add a Serie A championship to Premiership and La Liga titles sure seems more enticing than missing out on the MLS playoffs for a third straight year. I think LAG would be foolish not to sell him at this point, since he's likely as good as gone for free in October. Boy, that DP/Beckham rule sure has worked well for MLS, huh?
Say what you want about Beckham and the Galaxy, but didn't this experiment make the league buttloads of cash? I'd say it was pretty successful, because, not only did the league take a step toward permanent viability, LA ended up looking like a poorly managed pub team. P.S. Is everyone sure that LA wouldn't make more than 4.5m GBP with Beckham until October? I'm not. I don't think the "sell him now before he leaves for nothing" argument works if you factor in the opportunity cost of playing a full season without him, especially if you consider the increased costs of letting him go early. I think the proof of the above is that the offered transfer fee is less than his salary for this year. AEG would expect him to bring in more money than his salary, otherwise they never would have paid him that much in the first place.
Sonics sign USL's Rookie of the Year, Osvaldo Alonso Houston acquire US U-20 Striker Felix Garcia via MLS Allocation (after making a trade with Toronto. They gave up an int'l spot for 2 years in the process.
Is that a slip-up or intentional? Either way, I think I might start calling them the Sonics -- it's insulting, but also confusing. I like it.