Gilberto Silva has 18 months left on his Arsenal contract - if he goes anywhere else, I'd prefer it to be Seattle MLS. Why not?
How about one of the big name Japanese Players Inamota, Takahara, Nakumura, or Alex. They will all be 30-32 years old and would be a huge draw for the local Japanese community. The only questions is would they be willing to end their careers in the states rather that going back to a J League team.
Well, who wouldn't want to be the Ichiro of soccer in the northwest? Certainly that's an angle the front office could play while conducting their search. But I think it would also be important to scour South America (think Wilman Conde or Luciano Emilio) & Europe (think.......ok I'll have to think about that one) for young talent as well (doesn't have to be a DP slot).
Looks like Alessandro Del Piero is getting his walking papers. Not exactly a spring chicken but he's got a couple of good MLS seasons left in him, I would think.
That goes for any DP we sign! The thing that worries me is going for an older big name player who may be treating the MLS as a "pasture"; somewhere to relax right before retirement. I would much rather sign an Ángel; someone who may not be the best player in the world but who works hiss b***s off, than a Denilson who, right now, just seems to be cruising.
I hate the idea of Keller, quite frankly. If we want a name to attract non-soccer fans, I don't think a goalie is the way to go. And truly, Chris Eylander is the guy I want between the pipes.
Kasey is the man. Period. However, not who I'd shell out DP money for. If he could be signed as a transitional, or whatever the heck the second tier is allowed maybe. You need to get an exciting, creative, dangerous player who will excite fans into coming out as a DP. Frankly, with Allen's money almost no one is off the list. If Allen decided they wanted Ronaldinho I wouldn't bet against it happening. Money talks folks.
I think Keller WAS the man, but I'd much rather have Tim Howard any day of the week. That said, I still wouldn't waste DP money on him (or transitional, for that matter). The Sounders have a very good keep right now, I'd like to see him stay.
As long as we're in fantasy land, let me propose an alternate one. Rather than throwing money after a fat, slow, lazy, aging superstar (and one that still 98% of the public will not have heard of), I'd like to see the team make a real effort at building a team using local talent, or least built on talent that has a past in the region. You could build a damn good team made of nearly entirely of locally born players, former area college players, and former (and current) Sounders. If you do this, you build a team with ties to the community, and you send a message to your fans and to potential future players. Maybe that's a pipe dream, but it's every bit as realistic as signing Messi. Or we could throw good money after a slow, lazy, aging Shevchenko.
It would be foolish to spend DP bucks for an expansion team on a GK or a defender. There are plenty of MLS caliber GKs (that is, good enough to stop most MLS shots) already in the league or coming up, and more often than not, good defense isn't particularly exciting to watch (the occaisional off the line clearance notwithstanding). Necessary yes, but not exciting. They'll be plenty of casual fans coming through the gates the first year, and if they sit through 0-0 draws, they won't be coming back. I'd say throw the money at the midfield, preferably some type of midfielder with a lot of flair. You want a player who's all over the field (more value), and makes moves that impress the casual fan who doesn't know soccer that well. Looking up "playmaker" on wikipedia gives you a list of the type of guys to look at. Guys in their prime (Cesc Fabregas, Messi, Kaka) aren't coming through the door anytime soon, but I think someone like Juan Roman Riquelme (30 at the start of the 2009 season) or Nakamura (mentioned above, and also 30 at the start of the '09 season) would be doable. Another thought that comes to mind, but would be a major coup, is Andrea Pirlo (29 to start '09, still playing well for a Euro power, and will be in the hunt for a spot on the Italy WC'10 team, and playing outstide of Itally could hinder those chances). Looking at the quality that Adrian Hanauer put on the field with no money makes me giddy to see what he can do with an MLS budget, plus the DP slot.It hit me the other day that Paul Allen joining the ownership troika means that, in theory, Seattle MLS could afford to bring anyone they wanted to over. That's an exciting thought, even if the rationale or reality in executing such a move is a whole different matter.
To go back a bit, I agree with the 'mostly-local' angle if the local talent warrants it. If players are equal, take the local product for sure. We have some great local coaches and college sides. Watch for Kevin Forrest at UW. It would be nice to see what he can do at the next level. http://gohuskies.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/forrest_kevin00.html OK, now back to the DP talk.
I also think we should think local, its always good to see the local players do good and it inspires the up and coming kids that if they play hard they can have a place to go. The Real question is who is the DP? Do we go for a name which for how much most of the MLS teams have had to spend in the past is someone who is old fat slow and more interested in recieving a paid vacation in the US than they are in playing hard competitive football. I always believe you should get the most out of your money and would like someone young Maybe one of the following the ages are their current age so add up to 2 years on the following. We should also look to Asia, Africa, Centeral and South America NOT EUROPE for talent, you get way more for your money in these places. Unfortunatly some of the following are already playing in Europe but they because they are fairly young and not playing as much as they could maybe a little cheaper than a Rutgerus Johannes Martinius van Nistelrooy . or a Ronaldinho or a Lionel Andrés Messi Sergio AGUERO 19 years old Argentina Midfield Forward Current clubAtlético Madrid (Spain) Golden Ball: FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2007 Golden Boot: FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2007 Maximiliano MORALEZ 20 years old Argentina Midfielder Current club FC Moscow (Russia) Bronze Boot : FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2007 Silver ball : FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2007 Macauley Chrisantus 17 years old Nigerian forward Current club Abuja FC (Nigeria) Silver Ball: FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2007 Golden Boot: FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2007 Ransford OSEI 16 years old Ghana Midfield Forward Current club Kessben FC (Ghana) Silver Boot: FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2007 But if we have to get someone older to put people in the stands and be someone we can afford how about someone like the following; Martín "El Loco" Palermo 33 years old Argintina Forward Current club Boca Juniors Juan Román Riquelme 29 years old Argintina Midfielder Current club Villarreal CF (Spain) Hernán Jorge Crespo 32 years old Argintina Forward Current club Current club Internazionale Milan In two years these older players maybe very affordable even Ruud maybe available by then?
Fully agree we shouldn't waste a DP slot on Keller or some other high profile keeper. That's one position that there's plenty of available talent in this country. Keller would be great to have, but not at that salary or wasting a DP given his age and stage of his career.
I would like to see Shevchenko or Robbie Fowler. I don't know how realistic but both seem to fit the DP for MLS and hopefully Seattle.
Henry is going to NY Cosmos... Anyway I think Freddie Ljungberg would be a good DP for several reasons though he has some injury issues. But on the plus side. Captain of Sweden Calvin Klein model, which if marketed correctly could be a draw akin to Becks. Granted it will not be on that level but he is still very marketable. Can play several roles effectively. He can play as an outside mid on either side of the field comfortably or in the central mid. He has also worked as a with drawn striker. Freddie Ljungberg offers a lot for the money. He offers a lot of options on the field position wise, he has loads or international and top level experience and I really believe he is with in reach of an MLS team with out trying to break the bank I could see Ljungburg coming over for some where around the JPA level money. And Seattle climate wise is not that much different from where he is playing now.