(Didn't think a new thread needed to be started is why I'm posting this here.) Did anyone catch Dante's comment during the broadcast of the snoozer vs. the Wizards. Basically, he said that players are always nervous when they know that there is a SI slot and a DP slot open. Does anyone think that Sigi has a DP signing in the offing? Who would be the next player to go?
Not being a DC (or even region) resident (though I have lots of NoVa family) I will just nod and smile shyly, while avoiding eye contact and backing away slowly. Regarding the mules, I have heard that lately a bunch of them have been traveling to far corners of the world and making asses of themselves.
I have no problem with releasing Burch. As to the defesne (and the rest of the article), our defensive depth would be increased if Kotschau returns, but we necessitate someone else going down to the Dev. Roster or being released. From a roster standpoint, I don't get this move at all. From everything I've seen, Burch was ALREADY on the Developmental Roster, as per myshap's unofficial roster thread AND on the crew.com. Myshap's roster: Senior Roster (18 of 18) GK Will Hesmer GK Bill Gaudette D Marcos Gonzalez (SI) D Chad Marshall D Rusty Pierce D-M Ezra Hendrickson (GC) D-M Frankie Hejduk D-M Stefani Miglioranzi (SI) M-D Duncan Oughton (GC) M Eddie Gaven M Ned Grabavoy M Danny O'Rourke M Jacob Thomas M Ricardo Virtuoso (YI) M-F Joseph Ngwenya (GC) M-F Brad Evans F Andy Herron (SI) F Jason Garey Development Roster (9 of 10) GK Andy Gruenebaum D Tim Ward (GA) D Jed Zayner (GA) M-D Marc Burch M Brandon Moss M Danny Szetela (GA*) M-F Aaron Chandler M-F Robbie Rogers (GA*) F Kei Kamara (GA) Unsigned D-M Ben Hunter (YI) D Ryan Junge M Tonci Skroce (YI) M-D Ted Niziolek M Kevin Burns Myshap has 18 on the senior roster and nine on the Dev. roster. The Crew.com has the same senior roster and only 8 on the developmental (they don't have Brandon Moss listed) SENIOR ROSTER (18 of 18) 1 Will Hesmer GK 1981-11-23 1 18 Bill Gaudette GK 1981-09-14 2 6 Marcos Gonzalez D 1980-06-09 S-I 1 14 Chad Marshall D 1984-08-22 3 4 Rusty Pierce D 1979-07-24 7 2 Frankie Hejduk D-M 1974-08-05 7 23 Ezra Hendrickson D-M 1972-01-16 10 15 Stefani Miglioranzi M-D 1977-09-20 S-I 1 8 Duncan Oughton M-D 1977-06-14 5 12 Eddie Gaven M 1986-10-25 4 11 Ned Grabavoy M 1983-07-01 3 5 Danny O'Rourke M 1983-05-31 2 7 Jacob Thomas M 1977-02-14 1 25 Ricardo Virtuoso M 1984-03-01 SYI 1 3 Brad Evans M-F 1985-04-20 0 10 Joseph Ngwenya F-M 1981-03-30 3 9 Jason Garey F 1984-07-19 1 26 Andy Herron F 1978-03-02 S-I 3 DEVELOPMENTAL ROSTER (8 of 10 - Missing Moss) 30 Andy Gruenebaum GK 1982-12-30 DEV 1 20 Tim Ward D 1987-02-28 DEV 2 24 Jed Zayner D 1984-12-13 DEV 0 17 Danny Szetela M 1987-06-07 DEV 3 13 Marc Burch D-M 1984-05-07 DEV 1 29 Aaron Chandler F-M 1983-10-03 DEV 0 22 Robbie Rogers F-M 1987-05-12 DEV 0 16 Kei Kamara F 1984-09-01 DEV 1 My question is this: what gives? Either Sigi is lying about what is going on (and Burch also) or those rosters they come out with prior to cut down days aren't accurate. I don't think its the lformer. Though I'd bet the farm on myshap being accurate. Plus, Burch on the SR would make 19. Did the guy never count? Or Sigi either? The other question would be, who goes down to the developmental roster if we reacquire Kotschau? Looks like Grabavoy, Evans, or one of the GK. But I don't know if any are eligible. Field players must be 24 the year they play, or GK 25: Grabavoy (turns 24), and Evans (turns 22) seem the logical choices, though Marshall, Gaven, Garey, and Virtuoso would all be eligible from an age standpoint. Aside from the roster accuracy issues, I like the move, and the acquisition. The last question is, what level of acquisition will the #10 be? Discovery, allocation, or DP? Kasey Keller's still out there and would solve our GK and leadership issues in one swoop.
I think Kotschau is expected to return because they gave him jersey #22 (took away from Robbie Rogers, now #19.)
Hesmer doesn't turn 26 until the season is over, is he still eligble to be a Dev? I think Evans is the other guy that would have to go down, but don't know if his contract structure would be compliant with that. I also think it would be hard to move Chad or Garey down to Dev, but Chad might deserve it after not doing much lately, he could use some development. As it is now, I don't know how trading Burch opens a roster spot for the Argentine. One of these guys has to be on the dev roster when we're showing them on the senior roster. My money is on Evans or Hesmer.
On the Crew main site, it's got the "Team Leaders" that has Burch at the top. I realize that this is alphabetical, but it's ironic that we're discussing waiving our leading scorer (again...)
I don't believe that it's either. I believe Mitchell just doesn't understand the roster rules totally. Burch is being traded because he will not accept a Developmental Contract. If you really look at the article, Sigi nor the article states that Burch is being traded to open a senior roster spot. What it says is that Burch wants a Senior Roster spot, but Sigi did not offer him one. And while I think Bill's explaination of Burch being told he was getting a SR spot, then the club later saying they couldn't is certainly plausable, I really don't think it was the case. If it were, he would have shown up as a SR player on the March 1 press release. Instead 18 other players did and he was listed as a Dev player. I think Sigi throughout the whole process was only offering him a Dev Contract. Burch didn't want that, so he asked to be traded. I think when you look at whose going down to the DR, it's not just an age thing, it's a money thing. Non-GA Developmental players only make a certain amount. I don't believe either GK can move down to the DR. MLS used to have a GK could be 26 rule, but I don't believe they have that anymore. Grabs, Marshall, Gaven, Garey, Virtuoso all have great to decent contracts and would have to take a huge paycut to get down there. Plus I don't think Grabs, Marshall, or Gaven could go back down because they were all P40 and "graduated" from the program to the SR. Therefore, I think the chances of any of those players going down is slim to none. The only real canidate to drop down is Brad Evans as he's a rookie.
So either Evans drops down or we're making an additional roster move in the near future, is that about correct?
Yes, either Evans drops down or the Crew have to cut someone on the senior roster in order to add a player to the SR.
Since we're talking about the Crew. The new Argentinian will probably be hurt, go on the DL and make room on the roster.
Thanks for the insight. I like your explanation of the Evans thing better than Mitchell's, which made no sense to me at all. Also, I think you must be right, Evans must be a Dev when Ritchie comes back.
Burch deal is finalized according to Goff. He'll return a 3rd Round Supplemental Pick from DC. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/
According to Goff: This is the real mystery here. Why would Burch not accept a developmental contract here, but go to DC and accept a developmental contract? It really makes no sense. Sure he spent a year in Maryland, but the guy is from Ohio. Maybe he looked around at the guys around him and decided he had no shot at ever getting a SR spot here. I can't think of anyone on the SR that I would prefer him over. Who cares really. In the end, he didn't want to be Crew...So ******** him.
I think 17,000 goes alot further in Ohio then it does in Washington, D.C. Maybe he just wanted to be on bobbyboswell.com? In my honest opinion, he's a little p*ssy.
I'll buy that, but I think you may have slightly missed it as well. It seems likely that the real deal lies somewhere in between: that Burch was told he would be given the opportunity to win a SR slot in preseason. Hence his comment that he "didn't get a fair shot to win a spot" in CBus. He evidently feels that Sigi promised him that shot but that he never really was given the chance he felt he'd been promised. Still, unless Burch is on a little too much medication, he should have been able to look at the same roster all the rest of us have available and seen that beating someone on it out for a spot - which is what it really boils down to - was going to be a really tall order. Among the forwards, he'd have to get Keimara or Ngwenya dumped, which seems unlikely ay best. On the left side of the midfield, as pointed out earlier, we're stocked to the raters, and if his cahnces were slim when the preseason started they evaporated completely when Rogers came in. Among defenders it's even tougher; maybe if Rusty lost a step or two, or Hejduk showed up unable to perform, he had a chance in back. But it was always a tall order, and I'm sorry that he seems to be a bit bitter but realistically it wasn't going to happen. It was always going to be the dev roster or nothing. I'm certain if he came in nd just knocked everyone's socks off he wouldhave been accomodated. Apparently he didn't, and it was always pretty unlikely. I keep waiting for that guy who comes around posting that players all hate Sigi and don't want to come here and/or all want out. I don't really buy it; I can see himbeing somewhat distant as opposed to the "touchy-feely" school of American coaching, but if some of these guys think there's a lack of communication and the taking of long hot showers together, they should try it overseas. At a major clubs you're lucky if the coach acknowledges that you're alive, and the only :chance" you get to make the roster is the "chance" you earn by going out every dqay and kicking other guy's asses. The coach isn't going to ask you out for beers to discuss your progress: the only discussion they're interested in is done on the pitch. We had a coach (I use the term loosely) here who was everybody's best pal. He communicated, he empathized, he emoted and felt their pain. That sure worked out well, didn't it? This issue, like all the others, boils down to one thing, and there's no question that both Sigi and Mark McC understand it completely: if he wins, Sigi can keep the job as long as he wants. If he doesn't he'll get the axe. Nobody has to like him. And honestly, Sigi appears to be monumentally disinterested in being loved. SO now Burch and Kiki WIllis can be roomies and play on SUnday mornings together and I can cordially dislike them all. Next.
Lesson to Burch. Guys can pop off in the press (ala Busch) if they have played and earned the right to do so a little. Guys like Burch who can't crack the 18 man roster need to keep their pie hole shut because a coach isn't going to deal with a whiny bitch if he can't back it up by kicking a$$ on the field. Soehn will give him the heave ho if he goes there with the same attitude, what ever happened to his threat of quiting if he was on a developmental contract this season?
They should try signing Will Johnson. Heerenveen did not renew is option. He is a solid young player. Played for the Fire, Canadian National team member etc.
This kid is from Turpin here in Cincinnati (unfortunately, I live in Cincinnati). He played with or against many of the kids in this area. He and his family are universally felt to be egotistical pains in the ass who always feel he is a better player than he actually is. I tried to introduce myself to his family at a couple of Crew games last season. (They were the ones low in section 128 wearing Bengals jerseys). They wouldn't even shake my hand or speak to me. I literally couldn't even get them to turn and acknowledge me. Good riddance. OK, so let's move on to speculate about who this unnamed Argentinian from Boca Juniors might be...
Another fan from Cinci! I was beginning to think no one from down here had ever heard of soccer, let alone MLS. I moved down here from Columbus and will have to miss quite a few matches this year.